WEBVTT 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:23.839 We'll be reading from the book of Psalms, sixty-eight, one through to thirty-five. 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:31.120 God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered, and those who hate him shall flee before him. 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:34.640 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away. 00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:39.920 As wax melked before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God. 00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:42.000 But the righteous shall be glad. 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:45.679 They shall exalt before God, they shall be jubilant with joy. 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:48.640 Sing to the Lord, sing praises to his name. 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:52.560 Lift up a son to him who rides through the desert. 00:00:53.039 --> 00:00:54.159 His name is the Lord. 00:00:54.320 --> 00:01:02.079 Exalt before him, Father of the fatherless and protector of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:04.959 God settles the solitary in the home. 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:08.480 He leads out the prisoners to prosperity. 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:12.719 But the rebellious dwell in the purged land. 00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:29.680 O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, the earthquaked, the heaven poured down rain before God, the one of Sinai before God, the God of Israel. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.519 Rain in abundance, O God, you shared abroad. 00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:37.280 You restored your inheritance as it languished. 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:40.560 Your flock found a dwelling in it. 00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:44.000 In your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:46.000 The Lord gives the word. 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:51.599 The women who announce the news are great hosts. 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:55.599 The kings of the army, they flee, they flee. 00:01:56.159 --> 00:01:58.640 The women at home divide the spoil. 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:02.000 Do you men lie among the sheepfolds? 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:08.800 The wings of a dove cover the silver, its pioneers with shimmering gold. 00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:17.599 When the Almighty scatters kings there, let snow fall on Zalmon, O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan. 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:21.840 O many pecked mountain, mountain of Bashan. 00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:23.919 Why do you look with hatred? 00:02:24.159 --> 00:02:26.560 O many pecked mountain. 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:29.919 Are the mounts that God desired for his abode? 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:30.800 Yes. 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:34.080 Where the Lord will dwell forever. 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:38.639 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands. 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:40.000 The Lord is among them. 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:42.639 Sinai is now in the sanctuary. 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:54.719 You are scended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there. 00:02:55.039 --> 00:02:58.000 Blessed be the Lord who daily bears us up. 00:02:58.240 --> 00:02:59.840 God is our salvation. 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:02.000 Ah, God is a God of salvation. 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:06.639 And to God, the Lord belong deliverances from death. 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:14.159 But God will strike the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways. 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:17.680 The Lord said, I will bring them back from passion. 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:28.000 I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, that you may strike your faith in their blood, that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe. 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:35.680 Your procession is seen, O God, the procession of my God, my king, into the sanctuary. 00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:41.280 The singers in front, the musicians last, between them, versions playing tambourines. 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:44.479 Bless God in the great congregation. 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:48.719 The Lord, O you who are of Israel fountain. 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:51.919 There is Benjamin, the least of them. 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:56.960 In the lead, the princes of Judah is their trunk. 00:03:57.280 --> 00:04:00.319 The princes of Zebulon, the prince of Neptali. 00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:06.560 Summon your power, O God, the power, O God, by which you have worked for us. 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:10.719 Because of your temple at Jerusalem, kings shall bear gifts to you. 00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:22.639 Rebook the beasts that dwell among the reeds, the heads of bulls, with the calves of the people, trample on their feet those who lost after tributes. 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:26.560 Scatter the people who delight in war. 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:39.920 Noble shall come from Egypt, who shall hasten to stretch out our hands to God, O kingdom of the earth, to sing to the Lord, sing to God, to sing praises to the Lord. 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:55.759 To him who writes in the heavens, the ancient heavens, behold, he sent out his voice, his mighty voice, as cry power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies. 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:58.480 Awesome is God from his sanctuary. 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:04.800 The govern of Israel is the one who gives power and strength to his people. 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:06.480 Blessed be God. 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:07.120 Amen. 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:26.160 We're starting back into it. 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:32.800 There were 67 Psalms that we've done in other summers before. 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:43.839 And if you want to come back for Psalm 100, uh, which uh Jenny read um in her prayer earlier, you'll have to come back, I think, in like two or three years uh for Psalm 100. 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:48.399 And as Mark always jokes, we don't know what we're gonna do when we get to Psalm 119. 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:49.600 Uh it's the longest Psalm. 00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:51.759 But we do have a fairly long uh Psalm today. 00:05:51.839 --> 00:05:53.360 Thanks, G Day, for reading. 00:05:53.519 --> 00:05:56.480 Um, but next week is one verse longer. 00:05:56.639 --> 00:05:59.279 Um there's all the there's all the stats. 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:09.759 Um so yeah, this summer we'll be looking at uh we're starting today and we'll be looking at the next seven or eight uh Psalms um until the end of August. 00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:13.920 Um but yeah, we're gonna look at Psalm 68 uh today. 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:27.519 One of the things that people worry about, uh you've probably seen with AI and ChatGPT, etc., is that we're gonna have um we're gonna have people trying to pass off work as it's like it's already come up, hasn't it? 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:41.199 With not only with uh writing essays and stuff like that, um with art, with music, uh we're bringing back, and we bring like people have put together like new Beatles songs and new this, that, and the other songs using this AI. 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:50.000 And people are worried about it, and they're worried a huge amount because uh of people passing off work um as if it's their own. 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:57.360 Um I read uh recently about some researchers who published a paper about this and about the challenge. 00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:06.079 Like they they they wrote about um how it's gonna be a great opportunity for education and uh the possibilities for um for us. 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:12.720 Um it's gonna it's gonna open up a huge amount of possibilities, but the challenges of people passing off work for themselves. 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:20.959 Uh the funny thing about the paper was that they got ChatGPT to write it, um and that was just proving uh their point. 00:07:21.519 --> 00:07:27.439 Um, but this isn't something new, passing off work as our own, uh plagiarizing, cheating, etc. 00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:38.319 People have been stealing uh ideas, they've been stealing inventions, they've been stealing um just straight up articles and paragraphs and whole books for years and years. 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:45.040 And in this Psalm, David calls us and he encourages us to worship God for who he is and what he's done. 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:50.319 Our worship should be oriented towards the one who is worthy of all praise. 00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:52.800 And David helps us to do this. 00:07:53.759 --> 00:08:02.160 And one but one of the amazing things that we'll see in this Psalm is that although God is victorious and he's the one who is worthy of all praise, he should get the credit. 00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:04.079 We don't plagiarize it. 00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:06.160 He shares it with us. 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:09.439 We benefit as if we've achieved it. 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:11.120 Absolutely amazing. 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:20.000 David gives us plenty of reasons uh to worship God, and we're gonna look through Psalm 68 to see them that our hearts might praise him more and more. 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:22.959 So that's where we're headed with Psalm 68. 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:28.639 So let's look at some reasons that um that David calls us to worship God. 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:33.519 We worship God because He leads his people. 00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:36.240 And he does this in a couple of ways. 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:37.919 He does this with great power. 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:39.759 You can see that through the Psalm, can't you? 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:43.440 Just even the opening line, God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered. 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:47.200 And then he does so as a tender and loving father. 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:52.799 You'll see that down in verse 5, Father of the Fatherless. 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:57.679 When I read this through this Psalm, um that's that that stuck out to me first. 00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:01.519 And I hope that stuck out for you, and it will stick out for you as you leave today. 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:10.320 So we see uh those those ways that God leads his people uh in a couple of ways with great power and as a tender and loving father. 00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:18.960 So we'll look at uh him uh as his leading his people as a tender, loving father first. 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:25.919 He's bringing he's leading his people through the wilderness to the promised land to dwell with them forever. 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:29.840 That's where we see his love first of all, and that's in the first line. 00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:34.639 Uh, because that first line, God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered. 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:39.840 Uh we see his power in that, but it shows that he cares for them. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:42.399 You see, this comes from Numbers chapter 10. 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:45.679 Moses and the people uh were going through the wilderness. 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:53.759 God was bringing them to this wonderful promised land, and Moses, every day that God went out before them, he was present in the ark. 00:09:53.840 --> 00:09:58.399 Every day that he went out before them, Moses said, God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered. 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:05.600 The first line here is a quote from Moses speaking of how God was going out before them every day, leading them to the promised land. 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:12.559 He was present with them, and he would he went before them, he was leading and guiding them. 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:17.679 And we see um we see how tender and loving uh he is. 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:20.399 He cares for the weakest and the most vulnerable. 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:25.600 Like I said, father of the fatherless, verse five, and protector of widows. 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:32.320 And this isn't just something he does every now and again, it's not a minor part of who he is. 00:10:32.480 --> 00:10:36.960 David says that this is God's nature in his holy habitation. 00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:38.960 The end of verse five. 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:44.799 That's who he is in the place where he dwells, in his holy habitation. 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:56.720 Um most people would say that they're mostly themselves when they're at home, or when they come, when they realize, oh, I'm in this place, I'm I'm being myself, they they might call that home. 00:10:57.519 --> 00:10:59.519 I'm blessed that that's how I feel at City. 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:03.360 Um I feel like I can be myself, and so I I feel like it's my home. 00:11:03.600 --> 00:11:04.559 And it is. 00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:15.840 Um God doesn't change, but verse five points us to the fact that God, in his very nature, is a loving father who protects the most vulnerable. 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:21.759 And we get that homely image uh in verse six as well. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:25.120 God settles the solitary in a home. 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:28.480 He doesn't just provide a roof over your head. 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:36.559 He's not like um you wouldn't expect this from an estate agent or your landlord to come in and uh your first uh day or your first week there. 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:46.720 I know a lot of you have moved to Dublin recently, whether that's in the last year or two, or lots of people have moved lots of times in their lives, but you don't expect the landlord to come in and like tuck you in the first night. 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:48.240 Uh they don't try and settle you in. 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:52.240 They say, here's the key for the apartment or the house that you're getting. 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:54.799 They don't try and make it a home for you. 00:11:54.960 --> 00:11:57.360 Um, you're gonna have to do that yourself. 00:11:57.919 --> 00:12:04.879 But, and that would be weird, like I'm glad they don't do that, but um, this is what God does for us. 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:14.720 He cares for us, he cares for the lonely, he cares for the orphan, the fatherless, he cares for the widow, and he rescues his people. 00:12:15.919 --> 00:12:25.679 We started where the Psalm starts, thinking about God leading his uh people through the wilderness, but David also points us back to how God led his people out of slavery in Egypt. 00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:29.120 He rescued them from being prisoners in the land. 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:34.399 In verse 6, he leads out the prisoners to prosperity. 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:53.919 He rescued them from being prisoners in a land that wasn't their own, where they were slaves, and he was bringing them out to prosperity, to a land that is described as flowing with milk and honey, where he would provide for them, where he was gonna dwell with them forever, satisfying their every need. 00:12:57.440 --> 00:13:02.960 And yes, God chose to dwell with his people, he didn't choose his dwelling based on worldly things. 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:05.519 God isn't about location, location, location. 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:10.159 We see that if you flick down to if you if you uh jump down to verse 15. 00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:18.080 So Bashan was an area to the north, O mountain of God is not uh O mountain where God dwells. 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:22.559 It was O mountain that's majestic and uh is is amazing. 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:25.840 Oh many peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan. 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:31.360 Why do you look with hatred, O many peaked mountain, at the mountain that God desired for his bo abode? 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:36.159 It seems like Bashan will be the best place for God to dwell. 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:41.360 It was this majestic, uh had these majestic mountains, had this very productive land. 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:46.960 Yet God chose uh Zion, he chose to make his dwelling among his people. 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:51.200 Um He chose and he chooses. 00:13:51.679 --> 00:14:02.320 We've we've seen we're seeing through this Psalm that we're looking at God's nature, not just these individual things that he's doing and that he's done, but at his nature, he chooses the seemingly lesser place uh to be with his people. 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:08.559 He often chooses the seemingly lesser things over what the world would say is amazing. 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:15.519 So we've seen that God leads his people as a tender, loving father. 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:21.200 But he leads them in power and he decisively beats his enemies too. 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:24.000 He defeats those who rebel against him. 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:40.000 The title in uh the ESV here, I'm not sure about other um other versions, but it says God shall scatter his enemies, and that obviously comes from uh verse one there, and ideas like um at the end of verse six, verse 12, verse 14, you'll see this God is powerful. 00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:46.000 And um sometimes that so that title there, God shall scatter his enemies, that's not part of the original text. 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:56.480 Um, but to the just to note the to the choir master, a psalm of David, a song that would have been in the original text, but the title wasn't, and sometimes uh the title can be helpful, it points us in the right direction. 00:14:56.639 --> 00:15:01.440 But I think the title here only gets that small bit, God shall scatter his enemies. 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:10.799 That leaves aside all that we've mentioned, all that we were just talking about there from um verses five and six, especially, Father of the Father is protected of the witness. 00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:14.000 But it is true that God shall scatter his enemies. 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:23.519 I just want to just want to highlight that the uh I know when I looked at this Psalm first, I was like, oh, it's all about power, it's all about uh God defeating his enemies. 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:29.759 That's a huge part of it, and but and and we'll talk about that now, but he's so loving and he's so tender. 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:38.799 Um so he is a god of justice, and that's why we should worship him. 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:43.279 He cannot tolerate evil and sin, and he will deal with sin. 00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:46.879 He will deal with evil, he will deal with the wicked. 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:50.080 But this is actually good. 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:59.519 We want this when we've been wronged, we want justice to be served, we want wrongs to be punished, and they should be. 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:11.840 We know this is good, and this is part of how God protects the widows, is he protects them from wicked, evil people, not just providing for them, but protecting them. 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:16.720 So we read how God has beaten his enemies and he went out before his people, leading them. 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:23.039 And the ease at which he does this, and the images here in this psalm are just amazing, shows his supreme power. 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:28.000 His enemies shall be scattered, and those who hate him shall flee before him. 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:31.440 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away. 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:35.519 As wax melts before a fire, so the wicked shall perish before God. 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:41.200 You can just imagine uh blowing out a candle and watching the smoke just disappear. 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:42.720 It doesn't last very long. 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:48.159 You might there might be a scent in the room after birthday candles have been blown out, but even the scent doesn't last that long. 00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:49.919 It just fades away. 00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:56.480 And maybe you can picture wax on that same candle melting away over the course of an evening. 00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:58.799 But that's not really the picture we have here. 00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:02.799 Uh I don't know if you've ever lit a fire and accidentally left a candle close to it. 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:07.680 When the fire gets going, um, if the if the candle's right in front of it, it just melts away. 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:11.119 Just disappears. 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:16.000 And it's because the nature of the fire, it's because uh the fire is hot. 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:17.119 So it is with God. 00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:23.839 By his nature he is powerful, by his nature he is holy, and so he deals decisively with the wicked. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:29.440 Any evil or sin that comes near him, it melts away like wax melts before a fire. 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:36.160 The Psalm speaks of more rebellion in verse 6, how they dwell in a parched land. 00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:45.599 This is in contrast to God's people who are brought through the wilderness to a prosperous land where they're restored as God's shower, God showers his blessings on them. 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:51.440 We see how God uh restores, uh He restored your inheritance in verse 9. 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:56.400 Rain in abundance, you shed abroad, you restored your inheritance as it languished. 00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:59.200 This is in contrast to the wicked who perish. 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:09.680 And we see um how God, and I just want to point us back to remember, this is how David is saying why we should worship God. 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:21.279 So I I I pray that your hearts are being stirred uh to worship God for who he is, that he leads his people and that he does so with such power, he's uh wins this decisive victory. 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:31.519 We see that he not only has victory over his enemies while leading his people to the promised land, uh keep keeping them safe on the way, but he also protects them while they're there. 00:18:31.759 --> 00:18:33.759 If you look at verse 11. 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:44.000 Having found a dwelling in it, a dwelling place in it, God keeps his people, he keeps his flock safe. 00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:48.319 And again, he's the one who has the victory. 00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:56.079 It's not the people who win the war or are given the credit for it, it's completely God, and it's an utter victory. 00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:59.279 The kings of the armies they flee, they flee. 00:18:59.359 --> 00:19:03.759 The repetit repetition here emphasizes God's total triumph. 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:11.839 And then in verse 14, kings are scattered like snow on Zaman. 00:19:13.279 --> 00:19:35.599 But if you jump back, uh so we're in verses 11 to 14 there, the in the middle, um we see how what I'm what I'm saying in that God doesn't um the people don't deserve it, but uh they didn't win their own wars, but but God still uh gives them the spoil. 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:37.839 You see that there, sorry, in verse uh 12. 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:39.359 The women at home divide the spoil. 00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:46.079 The women are at home the men lie among the sheepfolds, they're still working at home, they've not gone out to war. 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:47.680 God has won the victory. 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:49.599 It's amazing as you read through this. 00:19:49.680 --> 00:20:00.400 Um there's actually some quotes in this as well from Judges 5, from Deborah, and uh and there's other other places that you'll read of God, uh God wins the victory. 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:12.400 The Israelites, uh God's people maybe go and like chase down the army as they're fleeing, but it's God who wins the victory, and uh the Israelites just mop up afterwards and get the spoil. 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:17.279 And that's God's nature, he's an abundantly generous God. 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:22.960 He's decisively victorious, but he's abundantly generous towards his people. 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:33.440 So David calls us to worship God because he leads his people to the promised land, he leads them with tenderness as a father, as a loving father, and in such power. 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:43.440 And then our second point is looking at the culmination, actually, the culmination of this Psalm. 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:50.160 So God's victorious march uh through the wilderness culminates and it climaxes in verse 18 with his ascension. 00:20:50.319 --> 00:20:54.160 So our next point is that God ascended on high, and that's what we why we should worship him. 00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:55.440 That's where he is. 00:20:56.079 --> 00:21:07.359 Verse 18, you ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there. 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:10.720 Verse 18, it's the crescendo of this psalm. 00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:17.759 If it was being played by an orchestra, you'd have extra trumpets, extra French horns, extra trombones coming in here. 00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:24.000 You'd have a whole extra choir, just like walk onto the stage and everyone singing because this is the crescendo. 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:26.000 This is where it's all been leading to. 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:29.440 Verse 18, you ascended on high. 00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:32.079 This is the center of the Psalm. 00:21:33.519 --> 00:21:47.759 This is the event uh when when the Ark, remember we were talking about the Ark coming through the promised land, uh, coming coming to the promised land through the wilderness, when the Ark then came to Jerusalem and David brought it up to Jerusalem. 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:52.400 He apparently it it says that he danced with all his might. 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:57.039 It's what all that leading through the wilderness has been moving towards. 00:21:57.200 --> 00:21:59.519 It's what all the enemy scattering has been leading to. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:03.200 It's what the rescuing from Egypt has been all about. 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:07.519 Finally, the Lord has reached the place where He chose to dwell with His people. 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:13.680 The sound began, God shall arise, and now He has ascended on high. 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:19.519 And it's not a high place because Zion is a high place that we saw there when we were talking about Bashan. 00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:26.000 But it's a high place because God, who is holy, has chosen to make it his dwelling. 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:33.440 And in ascending, he leads all those he has defeated, all his captives that he powerfully overcame. 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:42.400 Men, even those who are rebellious, bring him gifts in worship because he is worthy, he is powerful, he is God. 00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:46.319 And that's where God will dwell among them. 00:22:55.440 --> 00:23:06.079 So I would uh if you have a Bible there, do uh keep your finger in Psalm 68, maybe put a marker in it, because we're gonna come back to Psalm 68, but we're gonna spend a little bit of time uh in Ephesians. 00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:12.960 In Ephesians 4 uh verse 8, um Paul quotes this. 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:23.839 And so you'll see that in verse uh Ephesians 4, 8. 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:30.160 Uh Paul says, Therefore it says, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men. 00:23:30.319 --> 00:23:34.160 Already there's a bit of a change there uh that Paul has, and we'll talk about that. 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:47.039 Um, but that's where we're we're gonna look in Ephesians there because Paul he was an he was uh he was trained in the Old Testament, he was steeped in uh the law, he knew all about it. 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:51.839 He when he was writing, when he was thinking, he was working through the lens of the Old Testament. 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:54.640 He was uh he was a Jew. 00:23:56.160 --> 00:23:57.839 That was his training. 00:23:58.160 --> 00:24:04.160 And um you'll see that he quotes Psalm 68 and then he expands upon it. 00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:12.319 And what what Paul helps us to see actually, which is amazing, is he helps us to see where Christ is in this psalm. 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:23.680 Maybe you've seen that already, maybe you've heard me say things about uh you've heard me say things, and you're like, that sounds like Jesus, that sounds like what he did in the gospel, that sounds like um what this verse says about him. 00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:26.720 But Paul makes that clear for us. 00:24:28.640 --> 00:24:33.680 So we'll need to look back at the first half of Psalm 68, and we'll we'll see where Christ is in it. 00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:41.920 We see that he's the one who leads his people in power, he defeats all his enemies, he deals gently and lovingly with his people, blessing them abundantly. 00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:49.039 He's the one, and this is the again the climax, he's the one who ascended on high, leading a host of captives in his train. 00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:54.319 He's the one who's worthy of all our praise, and he's chosen to dwell with his people forever. 00:24:55.119 --> 00:24:56.480 So Paul helps us to see that. 00:24:56.559 --> 00:25:04.799 Secondly, Paul says that the gifts he gave to men, uh sorry, Paul says that in in in Ephesians here he says that he gave gifts to men. 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:11.359 He said, Uh, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. 00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:20.000 That's in contrast to in Psalm 68, where it says, You ascended on high leading a host of captives in your train, and receiving gifts among men. 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:23.839 So that contrast there's actually it's it's flipped. 00:25:24.640 --> 00:25:29.839 We are given gifts, and that fits with uh what we've seen in the rest of the Psalm 2. 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:36.400 So why does Paul quote this here? 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:51.920 Like I said, it's he's steeped in the Psalms, he's steeped in the Old Testament as he's thinking, as he's writing about Christ to the churches, and like all biblical writers, he's inspired by the Holy Spirit. 00:25:52.799 --> 00:25:54.799 But why this psalm? 00:25:55.119 --> 00:26:03.599 And I think it's because in Ephesians, Paul is talking a lot about worship, and as we've seen, this psalm is about worship. 00:26:04.400 --> 00:26:12.240 Now, Paul spends a good bit of uh this letter explaining to us what it looks like to worship God, which the Psalm calls us to. 00:26:13.839 --> 00:26:28.720 But before that, and we're gonna we're gonna do like a quick uh a quick hop-on-hop-off tour of Ephesians, um Paul reminds the Ephesians and he tells us of our identity in Christ. 00:26:28.880 --> 00:26:39.599 In the first half of the letter, uh in chapters 1 to 3, Paul talks about what our identity in Christ is, how it came about, and the purpose of it, why we've been united to Christ. 00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:46.480 If you flick back to Ephesians 1, there's gonna be just a lot of flick, there's only like six pages of Ephesians in my Bible, so you can do it. 00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:50.160 Um so flick back to Ephesians 1 if you wouldn't mind. 00:26:50.720 --> 00:27:02.960 And in verses 3 to 5 of uh of chapter 1, we see that we've been immensely blessed in Christ, that we should be holy and blameless before him. 00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:08.880 In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Christ. 00:27:09.839 --> 00:27:12.240 That's verse 5 of Psalm 68, isn't it? 00:27:12.400 --> 00:27:15.119 Father the fatherless, he's adopted us. 00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:20.960 And did you see uh Psalm 68 verse 3 there? 00:27:22.799 --> 00:27:30.319 In what Paul is writing, Paul says that we were chosen in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. 00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:31.920 That's someone who's righteous. 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:35.279 Remember, in Psalm 68, verse 3, we didn't uh really talk about it. 00:27:35.359 --> 00:27:36.240 I don't need you to flick. 00:27:36.559 --> 00:27:41.440 I I've decided I decided when I was flicking here, I wouldn't get you to flick back to Psalm 68 if you don't want. 00:27:41.519 --> 00:27:43.200 Stick in Ephesians uh for now. 00:27:43.359 --> 00:27:45.359 But the righteous shall be glad. 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:58.480 We've been made righteous in Christ, and this the psalmist says that we should that the righteous shall be glad, they shall exalt before God, they shall be jubilant with joy. 00:27:58.720 --> 00:28:13.839 If you if you were wondering um up to this point how this psalmist for us, us, since, as far as I know, we're not of Jewish descent, then this is how God in Christ has made us righteous, he has made us to be his people. 00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:15.920 And we were those wicked people. 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:18.880 That's how the Psalm was for us, if it weren't for Christ. 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:26.640 We were the wicked people, we were the enemies of God, we were to be scattered, driven away as smoke is driven away, perishing before a holy God. 00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:36.559 But God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. 00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:42.559 By grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:46.160 Oh, how wonderful are the ways of God. 00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:50.400 And what's all this for? 00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:55.759 Why is God saved a people for himself? 00:28:56.400 --> 00:28:59.839 Well, it's because of its his nature again, it's because of who he is. 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.480 He's merciful and loving and kind and good, and he's a father. 00:29:05.519 --> 00:29:11.039 How richly we benefit because God because of God's nature and because of what he's done. 00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:20.640 But Paul litters the purpose throughout the letter, starting off in chapter 1, verse 3, saying, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:29:22.880 --> 00:29:26.079 That's the purpose that God will be blessed and praised. 00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:35.599 In verse 6, he says, This is still in chapter 1, in verse 6, he says, to the praise of his glorious grace. 00:29:36.400 --> 00:29:40.720 In verse 12, to the praise of his glory, verse 14, to the praise of his glory. 00:29:42.720 --> 00:29:48.160 All this is for God to be praised and glorified because he is worthy, he is to be worshipped. 00:29:48.480 --> 00:29:51.359 And isn't that what David is saying in Psalm 68 too? 00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:54.960 He's praising and worshipping God for who he is and what he's done. 00:29:55.200 --> 00:30:07.200 It's clear that David in Psalm 68 says that we who have been made righteous should worship God by singing to him, remembering what he's done in saving us and how immeasurably he has blessed us. 00:30:08.559 --> 00:30:41.680 We'll jump to Ephesians chapter 3, and halfway down, um, oh actually at the end of it there, sorry, in verses uh 14 to 20, there's a wonderful benediction uh which we often say at the end of the service where Paul prays uh in verse uh 14 um that word is yeah um Paul prays that we would know more and more of our identity in Christ and to grow in it. 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:51.759 And then in 21, if you look down, so in verses 14 to 20, he prays that we would know more and more of our identity in Christ and to grow in it. 00:30:51.920 --> 00:30:58.240 And then in verse 21, again the purpose he says, This is for the glory of God. 00:30:59.920 --> 00:31:05.200 To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. 00:31:05.599 --> 00:31:06.240 Amen. 00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:13.200 Then if we keep going through in chapter four, you'll see he says, Therefore, so he's bringing that idea through. 00:31:13.279 --> 00:31:19.200 He did say Amen at the end of uh chapter three, but therefore he's still following through with this idea. 00:31:19.359 --> 00:31:23.119 Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called. 00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:34.799 So, therefore, because of your identity in Christ, and because you're to uh that's for the glory of God, it's to the praise of his glory, that's worship. 00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:39.359 Therefore, walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called. 00:31:39.519 --> 00:31:50.480 Paul urges us to live a certain way, to live out of our identity in Christ, that is growing in Christ-likeness, so that God will be glorified. 00:31:50.960 --> 00:31:59.759 Paul spells out in some detail in the rest of the sentence in verses 2 to 3, and pretty much to the end of the letter, to the end of chapter 6, what that looks like. 00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:04.480 He spells out what it means to worship God. 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:10.000 And we know lots of this, don't we? 00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:21.519 All lots of these things, um, I don't know if you're yeah, lots of things that you might be familiar with from the second half of Ephesians and tons of the Bible, of how we ought to live. 00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:25.200 But it's so important that we don't put the cart before the horse. 00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:43.519 Growing in Christ-likeness only comes from knowing more and more of Christ in our hearts, growing more and more of our identity in Him, seeing more and more what He's done for us, growing more and more in gratitude and a desire to live for His praise and glory, to live lives of worship to Him. 00:32:44.160 --> 00:32:51.119 That's why Paul spends the first half talking about our identity and saying that this is for the praise and glory of Jesus. 00:32:51.440 --> 00:32:57.039 This is why in Psalm 68, David points back to what God has done. 00:32:57.359 --> 00:33:01.759 He's pointed back not only to what he's done, but how that points to who he is. 00:33:03.680 --> 00:33:06.319 And then we're called to worship him. 00:33:07.279 --> 00:33:12.640 So we work out of that, living lives worthy of the calling to which we've been called. 00:33:12.880 --> 00:33:18.880 Please don't hear me, don't hear Paul saying, in order to please God, you must do this and do that. 00:33:19.200 --> 00:33:32.000 No, we live like this because God has saved us, He's transformed our hearts, and He's continuing to transform our hearts, blessing us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. 00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:41.359 So Paul goes on from the start of chapter four to the end of the book to tell us what it looks like to live lives of worship to God, out of our union with Christ. 00:33:41.839 --> 00:33:44.240 Again, it's a lot of the stuff we know, don't we? 00:33:44.480 --> 00:33:54.079 To walk with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 00:33:54.240 --> 00:33:57.200 That's uh chapter four, verse two and three. 00:33:58.319 --> 00:34:07.440 In chapter five, verse two, Paul tells us to walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:17.039 There, Paul's telling us that imitating Christ in his love, imitating his love for us, that's worship to God. 00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:22.239 As we love each other, as we love outside of ourselves, that's worship to God. 00:34:24.239 --> 00:34:32.800 And he goes on to say as well, uh, some of the ways we shouldn't walk, from chapter 5, verse 3, he outlines the ways in which we used to walk. 00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:35.679 Again, as the wicked did in Psalm 68. 00:34:36.239 --> 00:34:41.599 Worshiping God looks like living a certain way, yes, but not living another way. 00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:47.199 I cannot stress this enough that this is us living out of our identity in Christ. 00:34:47.440 --> 00:34:49.119 It's not our own strength. 00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:53.519 But Paul outlines that we shouldn't live in sexual immorality, we shouldn't covet. 00:34:53.840 --> 00:34:58.639 He says, Let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude joking. 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.800 Then in verse 18, he says, Not to be drunk with wine. 00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:09.039 And this comes to the kind of end of where he's saying things that we shouldn't do. 00:35:09.280 --> 00:35:19.760 And that springboards him on to these wonderful uh verses where he says in in verse 18, not to be drunk with wine, for that's debauchery. 00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:37.920 And he springboards on, but be filled with the spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:35:39.840 --> 00:35:43.840 We should be filled with the Spirit, especially in our interactions with each other. 00:35:45.440 --> 00:35:53.760 Addressing, as he says there, one another in Psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, sing, making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always. 00:35:54.239 --> 00:35:58.159 This is corporate worship, this is what we do together on a Sunday morning, isn't it? 00:35:58.320 --> 00:36:06.480 We encourage each other in song, and we do so to the praise and glory of Jesus. 00:36:07.360 --> 00:36:18.639 But I I absolutely I love these verses, and there's uh similar verses in in Colossians where Paul speaks about how we should uh what Sunday mornings look like a little bit. 00:36:18.800 --> 00:36:30.079 There's not a huge amount of prescription, but he he gives some principles here, and again it's it's worship out of uh hearts that have been changed and transformed by Christ to his praise. 00:36:30.480 --> 00:36:36.400 But this is just nestled among a huge amount of what Paul's explaining about what worship is. 00:36:36.639 --> 00:36:51.840 We spent the last little while looking at it, and then what Paul goes on to describe uh and outline to the end of the book, to the end of the letter, how worship is living out of our union with Christ and with each other growing in godliness. 00:36:53.119 --> 00:36:57.920 So look at verse 21 there, the next that's that's the next verse, but it's the end of the sentence. 00:36:58.079 --> 00:37:04.559 He says that we as we do these things together, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. 00:37:05.199 --> 00:37:13.760 That's the end of the sentence that we started back in, verse 18 about what corporate worship uh should look like. 00:37:15.599 --> 00:37:25.920 And we we do all of this, we are filled with the Spirit, encouraging each other, and in all this, we're to submit to one another out of reverence to Christ. 00:37:27.679 --> 00:37:41.519 And he goes on uh in in verse 22 to the end of chapter five, and then through chapter six, uh taking this submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ, and he applies it through the week. 00:37:41.840 --> 00:37:46.400 Sunday morning corporate worship is so important, and it's such a gift. 00:37:46.559 --> 00:37:52.400 But we worship God through the week in our interactions with each other, submitting to one another. 00:37:52.800 --> 00:38:04.079 The rest of chapter 5 and 6, as I said, they describe how we worship in our homes, as wives, as husbands, as parents and children, how we worship God, even as employees and employers. 00:38:06.559 --> 00:38:11.840 Worship does not end when our formal time ends here or even when we leave this place. 00:38:12.000 --> 00:38:14.800 We continue work, we continue worshiping God this afternoon. 00:38:15.039 --> 00:38:17.760 We worship Him in work tomorrow morning. 00:38:19.519 --> 00:38:25.280 We're to work as if we're working for the Lord, not to please our boss's eyes. 00:38:26.320 --> 00:38:40.159 We worship him when we meet during the week because worship is how we live at it, and it increases as we grow more and more to be like Christ, who we're united to remember by his grace. 00:38:40.639 --> 00:38:42.639 It's not what we've done. 00:38:43.440 --> 00:38:45.840 We do need to return to Psalm 68, though. 00:38:45.920 --> 00:38:47.119 Uh, we'll do that in a sec. 00:38:47.199 --> 00:38:53.360 We'll we'll go back to Ephesians 4 8, where we began and following. 00:38:53.679 --> 00:39:01.199 Paul saw Christ in Psalm 68, ascending far above the heavens, having descended to earth and even dying for us. 00:39:01.360 --> 00:39:10.320 And in his ascension, we've noted already, Paul says that he gave gifts to men rather than what Psalmist says, which is that he received gifts among men. 00:39:11.199 --> 00:39:18.559 Christ deserves every gift, every praise, all glory and honor, yet by his grace he gives gifts to all of us. 00:39:19.039 --> 00:39:24.880 So just before we get back to uh Psalm 68, what are these gifts and what are they for? 00:39:25.280 --> 00:39:31.280 They're outlined um after after Paul quotes Psalm 68 in verse 11. 00:39:31.599 --> 00:40:03.519 He gave the apostles, the prophets, that's those who wrote uh the scriptures, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of Christ, sorry, for the building up of the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness, in deceitful schemes. 00:40:03.920 --> 00:40:22.239 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. 00:40:22.800 --> 00:40:31.519 These are gifts given to us for the building up of the church, gifts that serve to equip us for the work of ministry and to love one another. 00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:35.119 That's to live lives worthy of the calling, isn't it? 00:40:36.000 --> 00:40:37.760 And that's as one body. 00:40:39.199 --> 00:40:40.960 That's what worship is. 00:40:41.599 --> 00:40:48.880 So Christ enables us by giving these gifts, he gives us these gifts to enable us to live lives of worship, to worship him. 00:40:49.280 --> 00:40:52.239 So we will jump back to Psalm 68. 00:40:54.880 --> 00:40:57.840 And uh you can jump back there. 00:41:00.239 --> 00:41:08.639 And we've said how with Paul seeing Christ in this Psalm, we've seen that the first half of the Psalm uh we also see Christ here. 00:41:09.039 --> 00:41:16.719 He's powerful, he saves his people, he's loving and tender with them, and he dwells among them. 00:41:17.440 --> 00:41:24.079 So the second half of the Psalm is obviously in light of verse 18, God's ascension to Zion. 00:41:24.639 --> 00:41:36.000 So we see uh so we're gonna see a lot of the same things actually in the first half of the Psalm because God is unchanging, his nature is the same, he continues to bless his people, and so we worship him. 00:41:37.440 --> 00:41:40.960 God continues to bless his people and he does so daily. 00:41:42.239 --> 00:41:54.400 David encourages us to encourages us to worship God and bless the Lord because he continues to care for us and provide for us, bearing us up daily in verse 19, saving us from our enemies. 00:41:54.639 --> 00:41:59.360 Like before, God is still the one to whom the victory belongs. 00:41:59.599 --> 00:42:03.599 He's still the one who wins the battle, but we're the ones who benefit. 00:42:03.920 --> 00:42:05.280 It's by grace. 00:42:06.239 --> 00:42:18.000 As he provided for and protected his people, even the most vulnerable, remember, on the journey to the promised land, so he continues to do so as his blessings flow out from his dwelling place, providing for them. 00:42:18.159 --> 00:42:25.840 And we see we saw um we saw how Paul says that God provides for his people, he provides for the building up of his church. 00:42:27.679 --> 00:42:33.280 Salvation belongs to God, he's the one who delivers us from death. 00:42:33.599 --> 00:42:36.159 You see that in verse 20. 00:42:36.800 --> 00:42:39.039 Of course, we see this supremely in Christ. 00:42:39.119 --> 00:42:46.239 It's not only because of Christ that we're saved and uh delivered from death. 00:42:46.320 --> 00:42:51.679 Sorry, it's it's Christ's work on the cross and God's power in the resurrection that means we're saved. 00:42:51.840 --> 00:42:53.840 It's nothing that we do. 00:42:56.159 --> 00:42:59.840 We see uh a prom uh sorry a trust in God's promise. 00:42:59.920 --> 00:43:03.360 We see David trust in God's promise in verse 21. 00:43:03.840 --> 00:43:08.239