in complete dependence upon the
Holy Spirit for all needed help this morning, wish to direct
your very prayerful attention to Psalm 70. Psalm 70. And the text is all of it. Psalm 70. The title reads, to
the chief musician, a Psalm of David to bring to remembrance. I'll just read the verses through
the once. Make haste, O God, to deliver me. Make haste to
help me, O Lord. Let them be ashamed and confounded
that seek after my soul. Let them be turned backward and
put to confusion that desire my hurt. Let them be turned back
for a reward of their shame that say, Ah! Ah! Let all those that seek thee
rejoice and be glad in thee. And let such as love thy salvation
say continually, Let God be magnified. But I am poor and needy. Make
haste unto me, O God. Thou art my help and my deliverer. O Lord, make no tarrying. It's often been said that we
learn 10 times more in adversity than we do in days of ease. And if we've known any adversity
at all, then spiritual adversity I'm speaking of, then we will
prove those things to be true. We should say at the outset here,
this morning, that at Osset Chapel we take a Christological view
of the Psalms and simply that is this. Very often men will
say all there are Messianic Psalms, Psalm 22, Psalm 69, etc. But we would set forth that indeed
every Psalm in some respect, is a messianic psalm. Every psalm
speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ, either in his life here upon
earth, upon his sufferings, or in upon his victory. And so,
this morning, in essence, this is no new view. Those of you
who are theologians Here, we'll perhaps have read the commentaries
of Samuel Iles-Peirce or Dr. Robert Hawker, which set forth
this way of seeing the Psalms very sweetly. And so, this morning, in essence,
I wish to divide our discourse into two. In essence, looking
at this as the prayer of Christ in respect of his sufferings,
and then once again in respect of his church I would encourage
you each upon meditating upon this psalm to read at home in
the afternoon as time allows our Lord's high priestly prayer
in John 17 and you know we can never separate Christ from his
church and this is the reason why. This is what the Lord says. Neither pray I for these alone
but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.
that they all may be one. This is the point. As thou, Father,
art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that
the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And in verse 23 it says, I in
them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect. Note this,
in one. And that the world may know that
thou hast sent me. and hast loved them as thou hast
loved me." We can't separate Christ from His Church. And indeed, all the Lord's sufferings
were not for Himself. Sin had no claim upon Him. But
for His Church, of whom He loved and gave Himself for. And so, we'll take each of these
verses in turn. Note here, the title says, to
the chief musician. This was set to music. And what
a sweet thing this must have been. Remember, the Old Testament
saints were there looking forward. They were looking forward for
the day of Him who would redeem their souls. We know many sought
a political leader. We know many sought one who would
reign over their enemies in victory, but there were those in those
days who sought a Redeemer, who sought a Messiah, who sought
one who would deliver them from their sins. And so I read very
deliberately here this morning from that portion in the second
book of Samuel chapter 15 as this is the most likely scenario
in which David penned this psalm. Once again I would exhort you
as time allows that through the year you read the scriptures
chronologically and this is very helpful to us this is very profitable
to us in that we can read the historical accounts and we can
read the exercises of David as they unfold remember David was
a man of like passions as we are he was a man of faults and
failings but we know he was a man exercised unto the truth And
so here, in writing these things before us, he says here, a psalm
of David to bring to remembrance. It was not a situation of him
fleeing from Saul there, but from Absalom and looking at that
treachery of Ahithophel. But it's David's greater son,
remember, that speaks here in the first place that we must
consider. We consider the ministry of the
Lord Jesus. Make haste, O God, to deliver
me. Make haste to help me, O Lord.
Did not the Lord Jesus, in that importune prayer that he prayed
so often, did he not so much prove his Father's goodness unto
him? This is an insight into the mind
of the Savior. This is an insight into his heart's
expression. Indeed, he was the sinless one
who lived upon a sinful earth, surrounded by sin. What a staunch
into his nostrils that must have been. And so his father proved ever
to be his help. make haste to help me oh Lord
remember he went about full of the Spirit full of the Spirit
but he knew there was that time in which he would have to bear
the sins of his people what did he say if it be thy will let
not this cup pass let this cup pass from me and so we see him expressing himself
in this way. Verse 2, "...let them be ashamed
and confounded that seek after my soul. Let them be turned backward
and put to confusion that desire my hurt. Remember, he came unto
his own and his own received him not." Those who had received
the Scriptures, those who had all the advantages of identifying
the Messiah. They didn't recognize Him. They
didn't recognize Him. Indeed, more than that, though
He never did them any harm, He only did them good. Though He
instructed them in public, in the Scriptures, of which they
thought they knew, but they were ignorant, they despised Him. They despised His ministry. They
despised His instruction. And so the whole Jewish world,
together with the Roman political authorities, were those who conspired
against him. And he says, let them be ashamed
that confound and seek after my soul, and confounded that
seek after my soul. Thus, They thought, whilst they
were here on earth, they had one problem. The carpenter's
son. He was the problem. And their
main objective, of course, the religious leaders of the day
was to maintain control at all costs, and to ensure that their
administration continued unaffected. They were disturbed by this following
of Jesus of Nazareth. and they thought that if they
could put rid of themselves of him that all would be well and
it would all go back to being how it was before. But we see
our Lord's Prayer, let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul and surely
that prayer was answered. That prayer was answered when
they crucified him When he died that, as the hymn writer puts
it, ignominious death, that of which was a public display of
shame. Crucifixion was, of course, reserved
for what they considered to be the most heinous of criminals.
The tomb was empty. The tomb was empty. Their efforts were brought to
naught. They had nothing legitimate to
accuse him of. Of course, they accused him of
blasphemy when he said he was the eternal son of God. But they proved themselves to
be ashamed and confounded. They couldn't understand it. And he goes on, let them be turned
backward and put to confusion. Well, that's exactly what took
place. We have to remember that many
of the Psalms here, when they're speaking, they are prophetic.
They are prophetic of our Lord's first coming. And that's the
glory of it, the intention, of course, in the Psalms was to
set forth in that prophetic way the Lord Jesus Christ. and so
here he was he would prove to have the victory let them put
them to confusion that desire my hurt they said crucify him
crucify him and so we see even further it
goes on let them be turned back for a reward for their shame
that say aah aah A reward for their shame. And
surely it was. Remember Judas himself. 30 pieces
of silver. That's all. That's all. That was his reward. That was
his reward from the authorities. but they got what was the true
reward? Well, he went out, he saw he
sinned, didn't he? But he went out and hanged himself.
There's no repentance there. See, that's the difference between
spirit conviction and guilt. There is a difference. Perhaps
some find it difficult to discern between the two. The difference
is simply this. Holy Spirit conviction leads
to repentance. Guilt and dread will lead to
despair, and it may even well lead to suicide. We have several
cases, of course, of suicide within the Scriptures. And we
know, and we can see, Ahithophel was one of them. Just over the
page. You've no need to turn to it.
I'll read it. Ahithophel, when he conspired against David, we
know he was foiled. Hushai was raised up for David's
help. And when Ahithophel saw that
his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass and arose
and got him home to his house, to his city, and put his household
in order. and hanged himself and died and
was buried in the sepulcher of his father. What a solemn end
that was. No repentance. No repentance. Saul also. No repentance. That's the mark there. No repentance. And so, we see there is that
double-edged sword there were those authorities that opposed
our Lord and then the Lord speaks here, let all those that seek
thee rejoice and be glad in thee and let such as love thy salvation
say continually let God be magnified. We have to remember that the
disciples in their day they were those who were being instructed.
There were those that at times had many fears. There were those
of whom were very dependent of course in that physical sense
upon our Lord's presence. But what a change came about
upon Peter. What a change came about upon
the apostles after the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit
was poured upon all flesh. And so our Lord expresses this.
Remember, when he was crucified, they, it would appear, were the
ones who were put to confusion. They thought it was up. They
were in distress. We read in the Acts of the Apostles
there were, what, 120 of them gathered in the upper room. Things
appeared to be in a small way. But we see here again our Lord
expresses himself in that prophetic way. Let all those that seek
thee rejoice and be glad in thee. to rejoice in the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ and the covenant transactions of which are laid
down." The covenant that was made there with David, ordered
in all things and sure. Let God be magnified. This was
yet another expression of that of which Isaiah and Ezekiel and
the other prophets would set forth. Behold! Behold, they would say. The Lord
would raise up a people who were not a people. There shall come forth a rod
out of the stem of Jesse, the branch shall grow up out of his
root. And thus the prophets spoke of that person by whom they would
rejoice. And in that day, when this scripture
speaks of that day, it's speaking of the day of our Lord. In that
day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for
an ensign of the people. To it shall the Gentiles seek,
and his rest shall be glorious. Let God be magnified. Magnified! And so, there's this expression of it,
that redemption may be that which is made known, recorded here
as we have it in the Scriptures. The canon of Scripture would
be brought to a close, of course in those days they only had the
writings of Moses and perhaps Job and a few others. We see here our Lord expressing,
but I am poor and needy make haste to help me O God thou art
my helper my deliverer O Lord make no tarrying. Remember he
was the one who came to the earth in the humblest of circumstances. Very opposite, the very opposite
to what they expected. I know we living a day where nativity
scenes, so called and the like, are glorified and made into plays
and so on. Believe you me, no modern day
husband would want his wife to give birth in such circumstances.
This was a dirty stable. It was humble circumstances.
The carpenter's son And so all his life he was despised
of men. That's what's been expressed
here. Those sinless, despised. And so he lived in constant communion
with his Father. Make haste unto me, O God. Thou art my helper and my deliverer. He proved to be. Once again,
he rose from the grave. He was the one who was possessed
of the Spirit without measure. And really, we see there was
that continue looking, oh Lord make no tarrying, though but
a matter of hours, he had to bear the sins of his people. And so here we have this psalm
expressed in these prophetic terms, in respect of the Lord
Jesus. But also, of course, again we
must revisit these verses in respect of us. In respect of
us. The difference being, the importune
prayer that is expressed by our Lord is that which is a perfect
prayer, and that which is the absolute fulfillment. In respect of David and in respect
of us, our faith is that which is imperfect, though it never
fails. And so we have to pray as sinners. Make haste, O God, to
deliver me. Make haste to help me, O Lord.
We don't presume upon his name, but we plead the promise here.
And that's the favor. That's the blessing. And there is that desire that
we have communion with Christ. You know, we don't want and we
don't preach a religion of feelings. But we do want a feeling religion.
And so there's only one union, there's only one communion, there's
only one feeling which is legitimate. That is the living possession
of a risen Savior in our souls. That's what we have. That's what
we're desirous of. The hymn writer says, more frequent
may thy visits be and may they longer last. There's nothing
mystical. There's nothing strange. There's
nothing extra biblical about that. This is what we are in
need of constantly. It's the Lord to make himself
known. We're not simply reformed deists
whereby everything's just running its course until the end. There
is here a living exercise of faith. And that's what David
is here expressing. He says, let them be ashamed
and confounded that seek after my soul. Let them be turned backward
and put to confusion that desire my hurt. Well, we read the narrative,
didn't we? We read the narrative. David
was in desperate states. Desperate states. You think the
states he was in were such that even in his own household. You
know, Absalom, a sort of peace was made that Absalom never really
forgave his father for previous sins. And so here we can see David
expressing himself in this way that the Lord would prove to
be his helper and truly The weapons of our warfare are not carnal,
but they are mighty. Let them be turned backward and
put to confusion that desire my hurt." And what took place?
Well, the Lord raised up Hushai for his help and for his deliverance. Very often that's the case. Though
there does not appear to be before us as we look on anything in
our favor, the Lord will raise up one and He'll raise up another
completely outside of us, we haven't a hand in the matter. And there, He gave that good
counsel, He gave that good instruction. The efforts of David's enemies
were foiled, they were brought to nothing. Because we prove
this, If God be for us, who can be against us? And we have to
say that in the midst of all that goes on in this world. If
God be for us, who can be against us? Remember the opposite is
true. If the Lord's hand is going against us, who can possibly
be for us? Though our circumstances may
be or may look favourable. As the hymn writer says in that
famous hymn of providence, "...judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
but trust Him for His grace. Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face." And this proved to be the case here
for David. Let them be turned back for a
reward of their shame that say, ah, ah, and we've already considered
that case there of Ahithophel. He was turned back. He was turned
back, foiled in every respect. But David, he's not simply speaking
of the outward circumstances. He's also speaking here of inward
peace. Inward peace. He says, let all
those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee. And let
such as love thy salvation say continually, let God be magnified. And so there we see that there
is a right desire for the Lord's people to have
that mark and evidence of living faith in the soul that seek thee rejoice and be
glad in thee to rest in the Lord to see the Lord go before them
to have those evidences of faith and evidences of his presence. He wasn't speaking to unbelieving
people here. We know that the vast majority
of the nation of which he led, it was always the case that the
majority, they may have attended public worship, they may have
paid lip service to the sacrifices and so on, but it was somewhat
empty. We see here that there was Also,
those of whom really did seek the Messiah, that really did
know His communion, the eternal Son of God. And we have those
many theophanies, those very many pre-incarnate manifestations
of the Lord Jesus that we read throughout the Old Testament.
And He's saying this, Let those as such as love thy salvation. We can't love his salvation and
walk in darkness, can we? Love thy salvation, say continually,
let God be magnified. This is our continual desire. that the name of the Lord may
be glorified. Once again, we're here on the
Lord's Day morning, here at Salem Chapel. And what's our chief
concern? Our chief concern more than anything
is that the Lord may be glorified in our midst. That we may acknowledge,
that we may exalt, that we may make known a risen Saviour. Let God be magnified, that His name may be glorified,
that His name may have freedom. And what's the biggest, what's
the single biggest glory of the Lord? Well, we know that when
it comes to that great day, every mouth should be stopped and all
the world should become guilty before God. And so the Lord will
be magnified in judgment, in the judging the sins of the reprobate. But the highest glory is the
salvation of sinners. To such a degree that the angels
don't really comprehend these things. We read that there is
joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. Now, that is
not simply nice sounding literature. That word is expressed because
it's the highest magnification, if we like, of the Lord's name.
The Lord was magnified, was it not, that on the day of Pentecost, when there was the pouring of
the Spirit upon all flesh. And so, The gospel has gone to
the four corners of the earth. The Lord has been magnified.
This is the expression. It's made known in a prophetic
sense here. But this is the desire. There
were many heathen nations that worshipped many gods with a small
g. Worthless. Tin gods, we'd call
them. But here we see, let God be magnified,
the one true Lord God, Jehovah. And in this final expression,
in this verse, we read an expression. Again, this is very different
from our Lord. Our Lord expresses it simply
in the sense of His circumstances here upon Earth. and in that continual union and
strengthening of his father, but David has to write here,
and we have to speak here, as sinners, and this is a different
matter. Now, the language expressed is not something you'll hear,
and I say this very deliberately, you won't hear this anywhere
else around here, I don't believe. He says, I am poor and needy. We don't hear very much preaching
about men being poor and needy today. That's not the way that
even the modern reform world would express itself. Indeed,
men would say, well, we're gaining the victory over sin, and we're
going on, and we're witnessing for the Lord, and he's blessing
us, and favoring us, and so on and so forth. This is the language
of real Christianity. I am poor and needy." Do we identify with what the
Psalmist is saying here? You see, if the Lord, He has
brought us into a true realization of ourselves. Consider Job for
a moment. This was a perfect man, that's
a mature man. A man who eschewed evil. A man who It could speak
of the Lord. What did He say? He said, Behold, I am vile, whereby I abhor myself and repent
in dust and ashes. He says, I have heard of thee
by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. And
this is us as we are, poor and needy. But we see here that this
expression is not that of the reprobate. It's not that of the
religious formalist. It's not that of the scribe and
Pharisee. This is the expression of the
Christian. You've already said, well, isn't
there a contradiction here? You said, let all those that
seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee, but yet you're saying
here, I'm poor and needy. Well, Both is always true. Always true. Even the Apostle
Paul said, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from
the body of this death? Do we suppose we're any better?
Can we say better than Paul? No. No. But he did say, to live
is Christ and to die is gain. And so he says, I am poor and
needy, and this is his expression, make haste to help me, O God.
When in straits of whatever kind, there is no folding of the arms
and laying back, as it were, there is again that impotent
petition. Very often the Lord does appear.
And that quickly, not in every case, but very often. He says,
Thou art my help and my deliverer. And this is how we must be found, isn't it? We can't rely
on an arm of flesh. We can't rely upon ourselves. We can't rely upon our feelings. We can't rely upon anything short
of the finished work of Christ. And this is therefore our expression. Thou art my help and my deliverer.
Surely we can say that. Surely we can say that. He has
done more for us than we can ask or even think. And so as we venture on this
will be our petition not just today on the 27th of July 2025. This will be our petition as
we venture through this life. What else does the Psalmist say?
He says, I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. There's an acknowledgement here
that we see but through a glass darkly. But then, face to face. Well, I'll leave the remarks
there. May the Lord add His blessing. Amen.