Confidence in God
Notes
Transcript
Intro: Self reliance is an idol.
Confidence in God’s Attention v. 1-3
Confidence in God’s Attention v. 1-3
David’s Plea v. 1, 2
We should be careful in the Psalms not to misread David’s tone. Which is one of the tricky things about translating poetry.
In this Psalm David is not so much demanding that God listens to him as he is pleading or begging God to answer his request.
What we should read into v. 1-3 is a tone of desperation.
Have you ever prayed a truly desperate prayer?
Another thing to notice in v. 2 is the personal nature of David’s prayer. He is praying to “my King and my God”.
On one hand we are praying to the God of the universe so we pray with reverence and fear.
On the other hand we are also praying to our Father and friend, our comforter and keeper.
It is appropriate to pray with the intimacy that David uses here.
Davids’s Discipline
v. 3 seems to imply that David has a habit of prayer in the morning.
While this is not the primary purpose of this passage it does serve as a small reminder that prayer is not a supposed to be a SOS distress signal but a daily appointment.
David’s Expectation
There are three things in these verses that tell us that David is confident in having God’s attention in prayer.
He wouldn’t plead with someone who wasn’t listening
His discipline prayer speaks to his confidence in having God’s attention.
Finally, his earnest expectation of a response from God speaks volumes of his confidence in God.
Verse three is essentially David saying, “God, I am going to pray to You every morning and wait for your answer.”
How often do we pray but fail to wait for God’s response?
Confidence in God’s Character v. 4-6
Confidence in God’s Character v. 4-6
Who God is not
“You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness”
“Evil cannot dwell with you”
“The boastful cannot stand before you”
“You hate all evildoers”
“You destroy liars”
“You abhor the violent and deceitful”
Who the world is
Wicked
Evil
Boastful
Liars and deceitful
Violent
David is confident in God because of God’s clear cut relationship to sin. At the end of the day God has a zero tolerance policy of sin. A positive way to say what David is imply is that God is perfectly holy. Simply put we do not have worry that God will tolerate a sin today punish it tomorrow.
It can really be amazing how in consistent we are in what we want from God regarding sin.
One minute we are asking how a loving God can allow so much evil.
The next minute we denying the very real doctrines of God’s wrath and judgment.
More on this in a moment.
Confidence in God’s Deliverance
Confidence in God’s Deliverance
Contrast v. 7a
The phrase “but as for me” shows that David is intending to contrast himself with those described in v. 4-6
Their ultimate end is destruction, but I will come into your house in the multitude of your mercy.
Once again we have the use of the Hebrew word hesed. Which as I have said before is almost impossible to translate into English. To sum up it really means God’s loyal, faithful, merciful and grace filled loving kindness.
David’s response toward God is the only appropriate response that we can give, in reverential awe he worships.
Goodness v. 7b
Being in God’s house will certainly make us think of God’s goodness.
There is certainly one question we will not be asking in heaven. “How did we get here?” - we will know then as we know now the answer.
We did not earn our passage to heaven. Whose mercy was extended in v. 7? God’s!
Who is the source of righteousness in v. 8? God
Whose path is David following? - God’s
It is the goodness of God that instills confidence in His deliverance
Guidance v. 8
It is also because of God’s guidance that we can have confidence in His deliverance.
David is pleading again, “lead me, O Lord”. Just those four words a sufficient prayer in and of themselves.
We will never make into the house of the Lord without the guidance of the Lord.
Confidence in God’s Judgment v. 9-10
Confidence in God’s Judgment v. 9-10
Why must God judge?
Because He is holy.
We would not want a God who is not just.
Lets be honest for a moment. Most of us if not all of us are uncomfortable with the idea of God hating someone.
The reality is however, that the Bible over and over again tells us that God hates the unrighteous and evildoers.
We like to say that God loves the sinner but hates the sin. However, is that bionically accurate?
Psalm 5:5 “The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity.”
Psalm 11:5 “The Lord tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.”
Saying that God loves the sinner but hates the sin is really just a way we have manipulated our doctrine to make it more palatable to our human sensibilities.
The truth is that God simultaneously loves and hates the unbeliever. Because while the Scriptures are clear that God hates the wicked they are also clear that God loves them. Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
The question then becomes, what happens to someone who spurns God’s love, refuses to repent, and stubbornly clings to his sin? Answer: God will judge him, because God must judge sin, and that means judging the sinner. These are the “wicked” whom God hates—those who persist in their sin and rebellion, even in the face of the grace and mercy of God in Christ.
We cannot love with a perfect love, nor can we hate with a perfect hatred. But God can both love and hate perfectly, because He is God. God can hate without sinful intent. He can hate the sinner in a perfectly holy way and still lovingly forgive the sinner at the moment of repentance and faith
Why does the judgment of God comfort the righteous?
We should long for the day that sin is eliminated.
We should exalt the holiness of God
We should anticipate the justice of God demonstrated. Don’t let the world cloud your thinking, justice is a good thing.
Confidence in God’s Blessings
Confidence in God’s Blessings
Protection v. 11a
How far would you make it spiritually without the protection of God?
Would our salvation be eternally secure if not for God sustaining it?
Those who take refuge in God will rejoice.
v. 12 God surrounds them as a shield.
Joy v. 11b
Eternal joy
The joy of the Lord
Blessing v. 12a
In Christ we are blessed with every spiritual blessing
In Christ you have everything you need for a rich and intimate relationship with God.
Favor v. 12b
Everyone want’s God’s favor.
The world and false religions believe it must be earned.