WEBVTT 00:00:25.234 --> 00:00:27.855 Negative Testing Testing Good Alrighty. 00:00:27.855 --> 00:00:29.797 Good evening family. 00:00:29.797 --> 00:00:38.152 It has been a couple of weeks since our last evening service and it's been about four months for me since I last did one of these. 00:00:38.152 --> 00:00:42.073 So I want to thank you in advance for your patience, because I am feeling a bit rusty. 00:00:42.073 --> 00:01:08.147 But for those of you who are here for the first time or if you're joining for the evening series, we've been doing a series called Route 66, or book by book through the book of books, and what we're essentially doing is looking at each book of the Bible in thematic strokes, looking at each book and doing a large overview, and as we do that, we're basically understanding this bigger picture that the Bible creates for us. 00:01:08.147 --> 00:01:16.031 Two weeks ago, pastor Doug led us through the book of Job and for anyone who wasn't here, I highly recommend you give that sermon a listen. 00:01:16.031 --> 00:01:19.099 It was honestly one of my favorites. 00:01:19.099 --> 00:01:32.629 So if you're in a season of rest or in a season of suffering, that sermon will often offer a lot of wisdom and encouragement on how to deal with situations of anxiety or unknown. 00:01:32.629 --> 00:01:46.873 So I highly recommend checking out the sermon that Pastor Doug did two weeks ago, for tonight I have the privilege and the daunting task of taking us through one of the biggest books, or the biggest book in the Bible the book of Psalms. 00:01:46.873 --> 00:01:50.750 I hope you brought your sleeping bags, because we're doing 150 chapters. 00:01:50.750 --> 00:01:59.188 Obviously we're not doing 150 chapters, but I do pray that after tonight's overview you'll have a greater appreciation for the book. 00:01:59.188 --> 00:02:02.579 So, before we get started, please join me for a word of prayer. 00:02:02.579 --> 00:02:05.802 Before we get started, please join me for a word of prayer. 00:02:05.802 --> 00:02:12.009 Gracious Father, it is indeed a pleasure to gather as your people and to worship you. 00:02:12.009 --> 00:02:32.027 We ask, o Lord, that you would open our eyes so that we can behold wonderful things from your law, and I pray this, o Lord, in your Son's name Amen. 00:02:32.027 --> 00:02:33.956 If you have a Bible with you, turn with me to Luke, chapter 24. 00:02:33.956 --> 00:02:34.539 Luke, chapter 24. 00:02:34.539 --> 00:02:38.044 Now I know you're wondering aren't we doing the book of Psalms? 00:02:38.044 --> 00:02:43.221 We are, but I just wanted to give us a little snapshot of the destination, kind of like a director giving you a taste of what the end is going to look like. 00:02:43.221 --> 00:02:44.484 I want to do that for tonight. 00:02:44.484 --> 00:02:50.193 So, luke 24, and I'm just going to be reading verses 36 to 44. 00:02:52.961 --> 00:02:56.027 As they were saying these things, he himself stood in their midst. 00:02:56.027 --> 00:02:57.350 He said to them. 00:02:57.350 --> 00:02:58.133 Peace to you. 00:02:58.133 --> 00:03:02.329 But they were startled and terrified, as though they were seeing a ghost. 00:03:02.329 --> 00:03:08.443 Why are you troubled, he asked them, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 00:03:08.443 --> 00:03:11.990 Look at my hands and my feet that it is I myself. 00:03:11.990 --> 00:03:17.733 Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you can see I have. 00:03:17.733 --> 00:03:21.182 Having said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 00:03:21.182 --> 00:03:27.966 But while they were still amazed and in disbelief because of their joy, he asked them do you have anything to eat? 00:03:27.966 --> 00:03:33.064 So they gave him a piece of broiled fish and he took it and ate it in their presence. 00:03:33.064 --> 00:03:48.862 He told them these are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. 00:03:48.862 --> 00:04:02.842 These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. 00:04:02.842 --> 00:04:08.042 Take that last verse, start in your back pocket and we'll come back to it at the end. 00:04:08.042 --> 00:04:10.004 Now let's go to the book of Psalms. 00:04:13.270 --> 00:04:18.543 So for this evening, we find ourselves probably in one of the most appreciated books in all of the Bible. 00:04:18.543 --> 00:04:22.600 It is a book that speaks so pointedly to the human experience. 00:04:22.600 --> 00:04:26.380 It is a book that we turn to when we need encouragement. 00:04:26.380 --> 00:04:32.262 It is a book of those famous words that probably even non-Christians know that the Lord is my shepherd. 00:04:32.262 --> 00:04:49.346 It is also a book that so plainly stands out from the rest of our Bible because when you look at it in our modern translations, you're not met with long paragraphs of genealogy and narrative, but instead you're welcomed with concise couplets, stanzas and verses. 00:04:49.346 --> 00:04:56.201 You're met with imagery that stirs the imagination and that moves the heart. 00:04:56.201 --> 00:04:59.249 That stirs the imagination and that moves the heart. 00:04:59.249 --> 00:05:05.170 You can say that this is the language that the Lord uses to woo the souls of his people. 00:05:05.170 --> 00:05:11.134 Like a poet, the book of Psalms, as Matthew Henry once said I'm going to modernize it brings us into the sanctuary. 00:05:11.134 --> 00:05:17.997 It draws us from conversation with men, with the politicians, philosophers or disputers of this world. 00:05:17.997 --> 00:05:51.553 Another commentator says this literary sanctuary in the scripture, the place where God meets his people in a special way, where his people may address him with their praise and lament, in the same way that the sanctuaries of the Old Testament, primarily the tabernacle and the temple, were considered to be the physical center of the people of God. 00:05:51.553 --> 00:05:55.884 So too is the book of Psalms in the middle of the Bible. 00:05:55.884 --> 00:05:57.637 I thought that was beautifully put. 00:05:57.637 --> 00:05:58.704 So in the same of the Bible. 00:05:58.704 --> 00:05:59.649 I thought that was beautifully put. 00:05:59.649 --> 00:06:00.711 So in the same way. 00:06:00.732 --> 00:06:03.139 The Bible was written over a long period of time with various authors. 00:06:03.139 --> 00:06:05.257 The book of Psalms is the same. 00:06:05.257 --> 00:06:08.257 The book of Psalms has 150 chapters. 00:06:08.257 --> 00:06:11.839 47 of the chapters have anonymous writers. 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:27.999 We have one chapter written by Moses, one written by Ethan the Ezraite, two by King Solomon, 12 by the sons of Korah, 12 by Asaph and 73 by King David. 00:06:27.999 --> 00:06:33.322 Now the 150 chapters of Psalms are divided into five books. 00:06:33.322 --> 00:06:36.343 Book one is chapters one through 41. 00:06:36.343 --> 00:06:39.105 Book two, chapters 42 to 72. 00:06:39.105 --> 00:06:42.067 Book 3, chapters 73 to 89. 00:06:42.067 --> 00:06:45.172 Book 4, chapters 90 to 106. 00:06:45.172 --> 00:06:49.096 And book 5, 107 to 150. 00:06:50.177 --> 00:06:58.713 As I mentioned earlier, we will not be covering every single chapter in this book, but instead we're going to be looking at patterns that can be seen throughout the entire book. 00:06:58.713 --> 00:07:04.413 And as we look at these patterns, I think it will help us get to what is at the heart of Psalms. 00:07:04.413 --> 00:07:07.482 So here are the four patterns that we're going to look at this evening. 00:07:07.482 --> 00:07:12.942 We're going to look at patterns of praise and worship, patterns of prayer and petition. 00:07:12.942 --> 00:07:17.721 Patterns of acknowledging the past and prophetic patterns of a person. 00:07:17.721 --> 00:07:19.666 Number one patterns of acknowledging the past and prophetic patterns of a person. 00:07:19.666 --> 00:07:21.172 Number one patterns of prayer and worship. 00:07:21.172 --> 00:07:23.040 Number two patterns of prayer and petition. 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:28.317 Number three patterns of acknowledging the past and prophetic patterns of a person. 00:07:28.317 --> 00:07:45.997 Time doesn't allow us to be exhaustive in each of these points, so for this evening, I'm just going to look at one or two, maybe three psalms in each of these sections and then, for further study, I will list psalms at the end of each section for study, if you're interested. 00:07:45.997 --> 00:07:50.060 So, patterns of praise and worship. 00:07:50.839 --> 00:08:11.750 Before we turn to a psalm, it's important to note that the Hebrew word for psalm is tehillim, which is translated to praise or praises, and the English title that we have for psalms is derived from the Greek word psalmoi, which means songs of praise. 00:08:11.750 --> 00:08:14.192 So from the title alone, we can anticipate that this book is going to be saturated with praise. 00:08:14.192 --> 00:08:16.394 Now, if you have your Bible, turn with me to Psalm 117. 00:08:16.394 --> 00:08:29.564 Now, this psalm is an example of what is called a psalm of praise, or a praise psalm, or a hymn. 00:08:29.564 --> 00:08:34.226 Now, even though Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in all of Scripture. 00:08:34.226 --> 00:08:40.495 It gives us a very clear pattern of how psalms or praise are usually structured. 00:08:40.495 --> 00:08:42.317 And psalms or praise can be structured in three parts. 00:08:42.317 --> 00:08:51.803 There's a call to praise, there's a reason or a basis to praise, and then there's a repeated call to praise or a closing reflection. 00:08:51.803 --> 00:08:57.211 Now can I have someone volunteer just to read Psalm 117? 00:08:57.211 --> 00:09:14.562 Thanks, Mom. 00:09:15.601 --> 00:09:17.923 So our call to praise is found in verse 1. 00:09:17.923 --> 00:09:21.024 Praise the Lord all nations, glorify him all peoples. 00:09:21.024 --> 00:09:25.607 Our reason or basis for worship is found in the first two lines of verse 2. 00:09:25.607 --> 00:09:29.296 For his faithful love to us is great. 00:09:29.296 --> 00:09:30.604 The Lord's faithfulness endures forever. 00:09:30.604 --> 00:09:37.783 And our repeated call to praise is the final line, hallelujah, which is also praise the Lord. 00:09:38.769 --> 00:09:42.000 Now, in this psalm our call to praise starts with the word praise. 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:44.759 So it's pretty easy to spot in this example. 00:09:44.759 --> 00:09:49.240 But a formal call to praise will not always literally start with the word praise. 00:09:49.240 --> 00:09:54.261 In other cases the psalmist will exhort to sing or rejoice or ascribe. 00:09:54.261 --> 00:09:57.014 An example of this is ascribe to the Lord. 00:09:57.014 --> 00:09:58.960 Psalm 29, verse 1. 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:01.091 Shout for joy to the Lord. 00:10:01.091 --> 00:10:02.634 Psalm 100, verse 1. 00:10:02.634 --> 00:10:04.356 Sing unto the Lord. 00:10:04.356 --> 00:10:06.900 Psalm 96, verse 1. 00:10:08.303 --> 00:10:21.370 Now, in addition to the exhortation to praise or to rejoice, a call to worship will include two other elements as well, include two other elements as well. 00:10:21.370 --> 00:10:23.014 One element is who the call is directed to. 00:10:23.014 --> 00:10:28.846 We see that in Psalm 117, the call is directed to all nations and all peoples Praise the Lord, all nations. 00:10:28.846 --> 00:10:32.053 Glorify him, all peoples. 00:10:32.053 --> 00:10:38.784 And the second element that we see, in addition to the call, is the mode or the manner of praise. 00:10:38.784 --> 00:10:42.801 This could include song or dance or instruments. 00:10:42.801 --> 00:10:45.096 So turn with me to Psalm 33. 00:10:45.096 --> 00:10:49.576 , psalm 33. 00:10:49.576 --> 00:10:59.706 And let's read these first three verses Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones. 00:10:59.706 --> 00:11:06.634 And let's read these first three verses Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones. 00:11:06.634 --> 00:11:07.515 Praise from the upright is beautiful. 00:11:07.515 --> 00:11:08.339 Praise the Lord with the lyre. 00:11:08.339 --> 00:11:09.240 Make music to him with a ten-stringed harp. 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:11.206 Sing a new song to him. 00:11:11.206 --> 00:11:15.836 Play skillfully on the strings with a joyful shout. 00:11:15.836 --> 00:11:24.719 In this call to praise we see the exhortation to rejoice in the Lord and we see the call being directed to the righteous ones. 00:11:24.719 --> 00:11:42.139 But in verses two and three we are invited with a mode of praise. 00:11:42.139 --> 00:11:46.481 The psalmist says to praise the Lord with the lyre. 00:11:46.481 --> 00:11:56.427 Now, it was not unusual for the psalms of praise to be accompanied by instruments in the Israelite community, particularly in temple worship. 00:11:56.427 --> 00:12:02.096 Listen to these words from 1 Chronicles, chapter 23, verses 1 through 25. 00:12:03.740 --> 00:12:09.092 When David was old and full of days, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel. 00:12:09.092 --> 00:12:13.000 Then he gathered the leaders of Israel, the priests and the Levites. 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:16.335 The Levites, 30 years old or more, were counted. 00:12:16.335 --> 00:12:19.962 The total number of men was 38,000 by headcount. 00:12:19.962 --> 00:12:38.023 Of these, david said, 24,000 are to be in charge of the work of the Lord's temple, 6,000 are to be officers and judges, 4,000 are to be gatekeepers and 4,000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments that I have made for worship. 00:12:38.023 --> 00:12:41.620 Listen also to these words from 1 Chronicles, 25. 00:12:41.620 --> 00:12:44.498 This will be verse 1, and then verses 6 and 7. 00:12:44.498 --> 00:13:00.167 David and the officers of the army also set apart some of the sons of Asaph, heman and Judathan who were to prophesy, accompanied by lyres, harps and cymbals, accompanied by lyres, harps and cymbals. 00:13:00.167 --> 00:13:14.043 All these men were under their own father's authority for the music and the Lord's temple, with cymbals, harps and lyres for the service of God's temple. 00:13:14.043 --> 00:13:18.100 Asaph, judith and Heman were under the king's authority. 00:13:18.100 --> 00:13:27.764 They numbered 288, together with their relatives, who were all trained and skillful in music for the Lord. 00:13:27.764 --> 00:13:35.755 Now, while there is debate about whether instruments or certain kinds of instruments are appropriate or not for worship. 00:13:36.417 --> 00:13:44.186 I think what we can learn from the heart of the praise psalms is not so much the mode of worship but rather the reason for worship. 00:13:44.186 --> 00:13:46.753 Let's look again at Psalm 33. 00:13:46.753 --> 00:13:54.293 I'm going to read verses three to nine and let's pay attention to the basis, or the reasons for worship. 00:13:54.293 --> 00:14:02.432 The psalmist says sing a new song to the Lord, play skillfully on the string with a joyful shout. 00:14:02.432 --> 00:14:10.254 Here are our reasons, for the word of the Lord is right and all his work is trustworthy. 00:14:10.254 --> 00:14:13.322 He loves righteousness and justice. 00:14:13.322 --> 00:14:16.451 The earth is full of the Lord's unfailing love. 00:14:16.451 --> 00:14:22.663 The heavens were made by the word of the Lord and all his stars by the breath of his mouth. 00:14:22.663 --> 00:14:27.236 He gathers the waters of the sea into a heap. 00:14:27.236 --> 00:14:29.712 He puts the depths into storehouses. 00:14:29.712 --> 00:14:31.892 Let the whole earth fear the Lord. 00:14:31.892 --> 00:14:39.153 Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him, for he spoke and it came into being. 00:14:39.153 --> 00:14:43.416 He commanded and it came into existence. 00:14:44.846 --> 00:14:50.557 Now notice how the reason for praise is tied to who God is and what he has done. 00:14:50.557 --> 00:14:59.971 In this psalm, in verses four to five, we learn about who God is, and in verses six through nine we learn about what he has done. 00:14:59.971 --> 00:15:02.836 This is also known as theology proper. 00:15:02.836 --> 00:15:10.913 It is the study of the attributes and the acts of God, and there is a lot of theology proper found in the book of Psalms, especially in the Psalms of praise. 00:15:10.913 --> 00:15:19.413 But if we were to go back to the structure of the praise psalm, I believe there is a pattern that helps us to understand what praise and worship is all about. 00:15:19.413 --> 00:15:23.936 The call to worship is the call to worship the Lord. 00:15:23.936 --> 00:15:35.515 The reason for worship is based on who the Lord is and what he has done, and then the repeated call to praise, or the conclusion, is praise to the Lord. 00:15:35.515 --> 00:15:47.147 The beginning, the middle and the end of worship is the Lord, for from him and through him and to him are all things. 00:15:47.147 --> 00:15:54.572 So what we learn from the psalmist is that true worship is ultimately not about us, but it is about the Lord. 00:15:54.572 --> 00:16:05.745 Other psalms of praise that you can look at for your own study you can look at Psalms 8, psalms 113 to 118, psalms 145 through 150. 00:16:05.745 --> 00:16:10.076 Now we're going to look at patterns of prayer and petition. 00:16:11.926 --> 00:16:21.099 Prayer ought to be something that is normal and constant for Christians, and yet oftentimes it can be a great struggle, and this can be for various reasons. 00:16:21.099 --> 00:16:29.248 Sometimes there is a desire to be formal and articulate before the Lord, and sometimes the root of that can be more so about impressing others. 00:16:29.248 --> 00:16:36.970 We can also think that our problems are too big or too small, so we forget to pray or choose not to pray all together. 00:16:36.970 --> 00:16:46.192 There's also the fear of sounding too repetitive and then, if you're like me, there are just some days you do not feel like praying. 00:16:46.192 --> 00:16:56.274 In Scripture we see more examples of the people of God praying rather than words about prayer, and this is certainly the case with the Psalms. 00:16:57.245 --> 00:17:08.174 And while there are different types of prayers in the Psalms, such as prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of adoration or imprecatory prayers, for this evening I want to focus on a couple of the laments. 00:17:08.174 --> 00:17:12.634 Laments make up nearly one-third of the entire book of Psalms. 00:17:12.634 --> 00:17:14.866 And the reason why I want to focus on the laments? 00:17:14.866 --> 00:17:18.076 Because I think it's the laments that make the book of Psalms relatable. 00:17:18.076 --> 00:17:22.251 It's the laments that we see the humanity of the writers. 00:17:22.251 --> 00:17:28.934 I think the laments provide a pattern of what dealing with God honestly looks like in prayer. 00:17:29.786 --> 00:17:31.673 So turn with me to Psalm 13. 00:17:31.673 --> 00:17:43.451 Let's start with verse 1. 00:17:43.451 --> 00:17:55.213 How long, lord, you don't have to be a Christian, you don't have to be an expert to understand the question. 00:17:55.213 --> 00:17:55.955 How long? 00:17:55.955 --> 00:17:58.112 We all know what it's like to wait. 00:17:58.112 --> 00:18:06.214 I taught VBS this week and even when my kids had a general idea of what the schedule is, they were always asking me when are we going to the next station? 00:18:06.214 --> 00:18:08.011 How long are we going to be waiting for this? 00:18:08.011 --> 00:18:13.195 How long, lord, will you forget me forever? 00:18:13.195 --> 00:18:15.952 How long will you hide your face from me? 00:18:15.952 --> 00:18:22.298 How long will I store up anxious concerns within me, agony in my mind every day? 00:18:22.298 --> 00:18:27.786 How long will my enemy dominate me Now? 00:18:27.826 --> 00:18:37.335 I want you to keep in mind that this is the same person who said in a previous psalm I cry aloud to the Lord and he answers me from his holy mountain. 00:18:37.335 --> 00:18:38.498 Psalm 3, 4. 00:18:38.498 --> 00:18:49.659 This is also a person, the same person who said of the Lord you have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and their new wine abound. 00:18:49.659 --> 00:18:54.336 These words are coming from a man who has seen the faithfulness of the Lord. 00:18:54.336 --> 00:19:08.277 He has experienced the joys of knowing him, and yet we see in this psalm him crying out, or you can even say complaining, in a way that almost seems that he has forgotten about who the Lord is. 00:19:08.277 --> 00:19:09.724 Now. 00:19:09.724 --> 00:19:14.458 Haven't there been moments for ourselves where we have seen the Lord answer prayer. 00:19:14.458 --> 00:19:26.096 We've experienced his joy and goodness and yet, with that knowledge and experience, we still find ourselves asking the Lord sometimes how long? 00:19:26.096 --> 00:19:30.068 This is one of the reasons why I say the laments are relatable. 00:19:30.932 --> 00:19:41.527 Now, there are generally seven elements that make up a lament psalm and they're not strict in their order, but I do think that there are three consistent things that you'll see that can help us spot a lament. 00:19:41.527 --> 00:19:43.369 The three things that you'll see is an opening cry to God for help. 00:19:43.369 --> 00:19:47.035 The three things that you'll see is an opening cry to God for help. 00:19:47.035 --> 00:19:50.559 Two, a complaint or complaint. 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:57.846 And three confidence in God's character. 00:19:57.846 --> 00:19:59.430 And we can see these three things in the psalm that we just read. 00:19:59.430 --> 00:20:02.655 In verse one, we have our cry to God for help how long, lord? 00:20:02.655 --> 00:20:08.415 In verses one and two we see the complaints, but I think the real complaint is at the end of verse 2. 00:20:08.415 --> 00:20:11.394 How long will my enemy dominate me? 00:20:11.394 --> 00:20:19.144 In verse 3, we have another cry for help and in verses 5 and 6, we see confidence in the Lord's character. 00:20:19.144 --> 00:20:21.953 But I have trusted in your faithful love. 00:20:21.953 --> 00:20:24.673 My heart will rejoice in your deliverance. 00:20:24.673 --> 00:20:29.376 I will sing to the Lord because he has treated me generously. 00:20:30.326 --> 00:20:32.430 Now let's turn to Psalm 102. 00:20:32.430 --> 00:20:40.104 This is another Psalm of lament, psalm 102. 00:20:40.104 --> 00:20:49.337 I'm going to read verses 1 through 13 and then skip over a few verses and then read verses 25 through 28. 00:20:49.337 --> 00:20:50.621 Psalm 102. 00:20:50.621 --> 00:20:55.554 Lord, hear my prayer. 00:20:55.554 --> 00:20:57.809 Let my cry for help. 00:20:57.809 --> 00:20:59.013 Come before you. 00:20:59.013 --> 00:21:02.433 Do not hide your face from me in my day of trouble. 00:21:02.433 --> 00:21:07.644 Listen closely to me, answer me quickly when I call For. 00:21:07.665 --> 00:21:11.027 My days vanish like smoke and my bones burn like a furnace. 00:21:11.027 --> 00:21:14.376 My heart is suffering, withered like grass. 00:21:14.376 --> 00:21:18.567 I even forget to eat my food Because of the sound of my groaning. 00:21:18.567 --> 00:21:20.392 My flesh sticks to my bones. 00:21:20.392 --> 00:21:24.646 I am like an eagle owl, like a little owl among the ruins. 00:21:24.646 --> 00:21:26.050 I stay awake. 00:21:26.050 --> 00:21:28.116 I am like a solitary bird on a roof. 00:21:28.116 --> 00:21:30.669 My enemies taunt me all day long. 00:21:30.669 --> 00:21:33.734 They ridicule me and use my name as a curse. 00:21:33.734 --> 00:21:42.327 I eat ashes like bread and mingle my drinks with tears because of your indignation and wrath, for you have picked me up and thrown me aside. 00:21:42.327 --> 00:21:48.239 My days are like a lengthening shadow and I wither away like grass. 00:21:48.239 --> 00:21:52.434 But you, lord, are enthroned forever. 00:21:52.434 --> 00:21:55.693 Your fame endures to all generations. 00:21:55.693 --> 00:21:59.315 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion. 00:21:59.315 --> 00:22:01.111 Skipping to verse 25. 00:22:01.111 --> 00:22:05.777 Long ago you established the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 00:22:05.777 --> 00:22:08.753 They will perish, but you will endure. 00:22:08.753 --> 00:22:18.497 All of them will wear out like clothing, you will change them like a garment and they will pass away, but you are the same and your years will never end. 00:22:18.497 --> 00:22:24.851 Your servant's children will dwell securely and their offspring will be established before you. 00:22:26.133 --> 00:22:38.057 We have our opening cry in verses 1 and 2, our complaints in verses 3 to 11, and our confidence in God's character in verses 12 and 13, and 25 through 28. 00:22:38.057 --> 00:22:47.998 The laments serve as a reminder that life will be difficult, especially for the righteous, as we've heard today in Tao's sermon. 00:22:47.998 --> 00:22:54.866 But the ongoing pattern that we see in the Psalms is that we can go to the Lord in our honesty, with our struggles that we face. 00:22:54.866 --> 00:23:06.490 But the most important thing for us to do, once we have expressed ourselves, once we have made our complaints, is to simply remember who God is and what he has done. 00:23:06.490 --> 00:23:15.301 For more laments for further study, you can look at Psalm 12, psalm 25, psalm 39, and Psalm 86. 00:23:15.301 --> 00:23:20.615 Next we're going to look at patterns of acknowledging the past. 00:23:22.105 --> 00:23:30.289 The psalm that we will be looking at in this section is coming from what is called the historical psalms, or you can call them a psalm of remembrance. 00:23:30.289 --> 00:23:41.038 These psalms simply draw our attention to God's redemptive work throughout the history of Israel, and this is done so by recounting a series of God's acts. 00:23:41.038 --> 00:23:56.167 If you're ever doing a Bible reading plan and you're somewhere in, like the prophets, or even in the historical narrative, and you forgot what has happened, these psalms serve as really good Old Testament summaries of the first five books. 00:23:56.167 --> 00:23:58.571 So turn with me to Psalm 78. 00:23:58.571 --> 00:24:12.338 This is the most popular one and I'm not going to read all of this, but I want us to look at a couple of things in regards to the psalmist looking at the past. 00:24:12.338 --> 00:24:21.219 As I read verses 1 through 8, we're going to learn about why the psalmist looks at the past. 00:24:23.685 --> 00:24:27.396 My people hear my instruction, listen to the words from my mouth. 00:24:27.396 --> 00:24:36.647 I will declare wise sayings, I will speak mysteries from the past, things we have heard and known and that our ancestors have passed down to us. 00:24:36.647 --> 00:24:48.281 We will not hide them from their children, but will tell a future generation the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, his might and the wondrous works he has performed. 00:24:48.281 --> 00:25:09.910 He established a testimony in Jacob and set up a law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children, so that a future generation, children yet to be born, might know they were to rise and tell their children so that they might put their confidence in God and not forget God's works but keep his commands. 00:25:09.910 --> 00:25:21.638 Then they would not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart would not boil and whose spirit was not faithful to God. 00:25:24.026 --> 00:25:36.057 For the psalmist, looking back at the past was not information for the sake of information, but rather something that served as an impetus to prevent disobedience and to urge obedience. 00:25:36.057 --> 00:25:41.096 Looking back for the psalmist served as a way of instruction and caution. 00:25:41.096 --> 00:25:46.957 There's that famous quote those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. 00:25:46.957 --> 00:25:51.431 Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. 00:25:51.431 --> 00:25:53.737 The end goal for the psalmist and his hearers was communion and confidence in the Lord. 00:25:53.737 --> 00:25:57.066 Listen to these words from Paul from Romans 15,. 00:25:57.066 --> 00:26:06.292 For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the scriptures. 00:26:07.756 --> 00:26:10.347 Now I'm going to read verses 13 through 19,. 00:26:10.347 --> 00:26:14.480 And I want us to see how the psalmist looks at the past. 00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:16.846 We just looked at why he looks at the past. 00:26:16.846 --> 00:26:21.617 But now I want us to see how he looks at the past, starting with verse 13. 00:26:21.617 --> 00:26:29.708 He split the sea, referring to God, and brought them across the water, brought them across the water, stood firm like a wall. 00:26:29.708 --> 00:26:34.278 He led them with a cloud by day and with a fiery light through the night. 00:26:34.278 --> 00:26:39.134 He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as abundant as the depths. 00:26:39.134 --> 00:26:48.189 He brought the streams out of stone and made water flow down like rivers, but they continued to sin against him. 00:26:48.209 --> 00:27:26.329 I want us to notice how the psalmist looks at the past with a biblical lens, meaning that when he makes mention of the Red Sea or the water coming from the rocks, those situations were not happenstance or some kind of scientific mystery to be solved, but rather these were wonderful acts done by the hand of God. 00:27:26.329 --> 00:27:32.612 And then he deals with the actions and the motives of the people of Israel in a biblical way. 00:27:32.612 --> 00:27:39.128 He doesn't sugarcoat their behavior, but he views it in light of who God is and what he has done for them. 00:27:39.128 --> 00:27:41.292 Look again at verse 16. 00:27:41.292 --> 00:27:50.317 He brought streams out of the stone and he made water flow down like the rivers, but they continued to praise him. 00:27:50.317 --> 00:27:57.057 No, but they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High. 00:27:57.057 --> 00:28:02.317 They deliberately tested God, demanding the food they craved for. 00:28:02.317 --> 00:28:09.317 They spoke against God, saying is God able to provide food in the wilderness? 00:28:10.665 --> 00:28:28.801 What we learn from the pattern found in this psalm is that taking time, taking the time to acknowledge the past, will rightly help us to remember who we are and where we have come from, but, more importantly, it reminds us of God's dealing with sin and his faithful love that endures forever. 00:28:28.801 --> 00:28:36.499 And being reminded of those things should have a two-fold effect of sobering us but also encouraging us. 00:28:36.499 --> 00:28:54.792 The ultimate purpose of looking back is to stir our hearts to worship the Lord for his marvelous acts, and, as fallen Christians, we need the constant reminder of the Lord's faithful acts in the past, especially when he seems to be quiet in a particular season in our life, because the Lord does not change. 00:28:54.792 --> 00:29:03.159 For further study, you can look at Psalms 105, psalms 106, psalms 135, and Psalm 136. 00:29:03.159 --> 00:29:14.938 Again, just to reiterate the point of the importance of looking back at the past, paul says these words in 1 Corinthians. 00:29:15.770 --> 00:29:21.502 Now, these things took place as examples for us, so that we will not desire evil things as they did. 00:29:21.502 --> 00:29:24.717 Don't become idolaters, as some of them were. 00:29:24.717 --> 00:29:29.579 As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and got up to party. 00:29:29.579 --> 00:29:37.038 Let us not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in a single day, 23,000 people died. 00:29:37.038 --> 00:29:38.559 Let us not test Christ, as some of them did. 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:39.123 And and in a single day, 23,000 people died. 00:29:39.123 --> 00:29:39.854 Let us not test Christ, as some of them did. 00:29:39.854 --> 00:29:41.840 And were destroyed by snakes. 00:29:41.840 --> 00:29:44.188 And don't grumble as some of them did. 00:29:44.188 --> 00:29:45.751 And they were killed by the destroyer. 00:29:46.653 --> 00:29:55.694 These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction on whom the end of the ages has come. 00:29:55.694 --> 00:30:00.183 So wherever things he stands, must he be careful not to fall. 00:30:00.183 --> 00:30:06.580 No temptation has come upon you, except what is common to humanity, but God is faithful. 00:30:06.580 --> 00:30:18.999 He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it. 00:30:18.999 --> 00:30:27.223 And now we move on to our last pattern this evening prophetic patterns of a person. 00:30:28.549 --> 00:30:38.921 Now, to be honest, you can spend a lifetime on this point, and I was figuring out what to do for this point, but for this evening I'm just going to do a few things. 00:30:38.921 --> 00:30:51.281 I'm going to zoom out and then, once I'm going to zoom out and then I'm going to zoom in, concentrate on one psalm and then bring us back to where we started. 00:30:51.281 --> 00:30:57.156 Now, the reason why I want to zoom out is because before we started this whole series Route 66, book by book. 00:30:57.156 --> 00:31:11.739 I want to zoom out is because before we started this whole series, route 66, book by book we did a series by Vaughn Roberts called God's Big Picture, tracing the storyline of the Bible, and the purpose of that series was to give us a general understanding of how the Bible fits together to tell one big story. 00:31:11.739 --> 00:31:17.817 Now you can liken that series to what would be the border of a really big, complex puzzle. 00:31:17.817 --> 00:31:20.346 Without the border, it's hard to establish and to figure out. 00:31:20.346 --> 00:31:21.309 Be the border of a really big, complex puzzle. 00:31:21.309 --> 00:31:25.869 Without the border, it's hard to establish and to figure out where the other puzzle pieces fit together and how they relate to the whole. 00:31:25.869 --> 00:31:39.211 So the Bible is a big book and there's obviously a lot in it, but taking the time to remind ourselves of its borders will help us to understand what to focus on in the smaller areas and how to make sense of the parts. 00:31:39.211 --> 00:31:40.836 That can be confusing. 00:31:41.738 --> 00:31:48.259 So before we look at the prophetic patterns of a person found in the Psalms, I'm going to take us back to Genesis. 00:31:48.259 --> 00:31:50.103 So I'm zooming way way out. 00:31:50.103 --> 00:31:53.778 Listen to these words from Genesis 3.15. 00:31:53.778 --> 00:32:02.392 I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring, or seed, and her offspring. 00:32:02.392 --> 00:32:07.760 He will strike your head and you will strike his heel. 00:32:07.760 --> 00:32:15.077 The question of the Old Testament since the fall of Adam is who will be the one who crushes the serpent? 00:32:15.077 --> 00:32:20.385 Who is the Lord's true anointed one, the Lord Messiah? 00:32:20.385 --> 00:32:30.179 It can be argued that there are some prophetic patterns of the anointed one seen in each of the patriarchs Abraham, isaac and Jacob but they all eventually die. 00:32:30.179 --> 00:32:39.584 When we get to Moses, god uses him as a primary instrument in redeeming his people from slavery, from the land of Egypt, to bring them into the promised land. 00:32:39.584 --> 00:32:46.278 But due to Moses' disobedience, he's not able to go into the promised land and he also eventually dies. 00:32:46.278 --> 00:32:55.076 Joshua comes into the picture and through him the people of Israel managed to defeat a lot of their enemies in the promised land that God gave them. 00:32:55.076 --> 00:33:02.566 And it is in the life of Joshua that we have these words None of the good promises the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed. 00:33:02.566 --> 00:33:06.938 Everything was fulfilled Joshua 21 to 45. 00:33:06.938 --> 00:33:12.652 But eventually Joshua also dies and we move into the time period of the judges. 00:33:13.875 --> 00:33:23.422 And if you were around when I led that study, we saw that the main problem and the theme of the book of Judges was that in those days there was no king in Israel. 00:33:23.422 --> 00:33:26.598 Everyone did whatever seemed right to him. 00:33:26.598 --> 00:33:32.001 Israel needed a king and they eventually got one, and his name was Saul. 00:33:32.001 --> 00:33:50.040 He seemed promising at first, but he was not from the tribe of Judah, to which Israel, it was promised that the scepter will not depart from him, judah or the staff from between his feet until whose right it comes and the obedience of the peoples belong to him. 00:33:50.040 --> 00:34:02.663 Now, during the time of Saul, comes a shepherd boy from the tribe of Judah who gets anointed to be the next king of Israel, and this shepherd boy goes by the name of David, and this was a man after God's own heart. 00:34:02.663 --> 00:34:07.576 Shepherd boy goes by the name of David, and this was a man after God's own heart, and he was most certainly twice the king Saul was. 00:34:07.576 --> 00:34:15.101 Now, even though David was a great king, it was made clear early on in his life that there would be one to come after him. 00:34:16.063 --> 00:34:26.134 The Lord made a covenant with David and said these words when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up after you your descendant, who will come from your body. 00:34:26.134 --> 00:34:28.820 I will establish his kingdom. 00:34:28.820 --> 00:34:35.880 He is the one who will build your house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 00:34:35.880 --> 00:34:39.094 I will be his father and he will be my son. 00:34:39.094 --> 00:34:50.672 When he does wrong, I will discipline him with a rod of men and blows from mortals, but my faithful love will never leave him, as it did when I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 00:34:50.672 --> 00:34:58.875 Your house and kingdom will endure before me forever and your throne will be established forever. 00:34:58.875 --> 00:35:04.510 And this brings us into the last psalm I would like to look at for tonight Psalm chapter 2. 00:35:04.510 --> 00:35:16.454 Psalm chapter 2 gives us a more detailed pattern of David's greater son and a pattern of God's future rule through this son. 00:35:20.780 --> 00:35:24.786 Why do the nations rage in the people's plot in vain? 00:35:24.786 --> 00:35:32.398 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers conspire together against the Lord and his anointed one. 00:35:32.398 --> 00:35:36.440 Let's tear off their chains and throw their ropes off of us. 00:35:36.440 --> 00:35:38.777 The one enthroned in heaven, laughs. 00:35:38.777 --> 00:35:44.619 The Lord ridicules them and he speaks to them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath. 00:35:44.619 --> 00:35:48.838 I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain. 00:35:48.838 --> 00:35:51.242 I will declare the Lord's decree. 00:35:51.242 --> 00:35:54.153 He said to me you were my son. 00:35:54.153 --> 00:35:56.599 Today I have become your father. 00:35:56.599 --> 00:36:02.920 Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance and the ends of the earth your possession. 00:36:02.920 --> 00:36:10.992 You will break them with their iron scepter and will shatter them like pottery. 00:36:10.992 --> 00:36:13.096 So now, kings, be wise, receive instruction. 00:36:13.096 --> 00:36:19.105 You judges on the earth, serve the Lord with reverential awe and rejoice with trembling. 00:36:19.105 --> 00:36:28.217 Pay homage to the Son, for he will be angry and you will perish in your rebellion, for his anger may ignite at any moment. 00:36:28.217 --> 00:36:32.260 All who take refuge in him Are happy. 00:36:32.260 --> 00:36:41.858 From the very beginning of this altar, we are met with a prophetic pattern that speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ and his future kingly rule. 00:36:41.858 --> 00:36:48.077 And throughout this altar we are given many prophetic patterns that foreshadow the life of the Lord Jesus in various ways. 00:36:48.157 --> 00:36:59.894 You have Psalm 2, psalm 22, psalm 69, psalm 78, psalm 110, just to say a few, and this is likely why the Psalms is the most quoted book in the New Testament. 00:37:01.036 --> 00:37:05.431 Now listen to these words again from Luke 24, verse 44, the words that we started with. 00:37:06.413 --> 00:37:19.831 He told them these are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. 00:37:21.233 --> 00:37:28.010 The book of Psalms is a book that leads us and shows us to what true worship with the Lord is. 00:37:28.010 --> 00:37:36.974 And as we sing the Psalms, as we pray the Psalms, we now worship the Lord in light of what he has fulfilled through his son, jesus Christ. 00:37:36.974 --> 00:37:40.280 Let us pray, father. 00:37:40.280 --> 00:37:43.385 We thank you that we have the Psalms. 00:37:43.385 --> 00:37:52.072 We thank you, lord, that we see that we are weak and that we can cry out to you in our humility, that we can complain, lord. 00:37:52.072 --> 00:37:58.458 We are reminded of the great things that you have done for your people in the Old Testament and what you have done for us through your son, jesus Christ. 00:37:58.458 --> 00:38:00.757 We thank you for his kingly rule. 00:38:00.757 --> 00:38:03.123 We thank you for his intercession for us, and Lord, may we worship you for his kingly rule. 00:38:03.123 --> 00:38:14.574 We thank you for his intercession for us and Lord, may we worship you in spirit and truth as we continue to read your word faithfully, be honored and glorified in all that we say and do the rest of this evening and the rest of this week in your son's name. 00:38:14.574 --> 00:38:15.617 I pray amen.