Will the Lord helping me this
evening I will preach from Psalm 94 and the concluding part of
that Psalm from verse 20. Psalm 94 and verses 20 to 23. Shall the throne of iniquity
have fellowship with thee? which frameth mischief by a law,
they gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous,
and condemn the innocent blood. But the Lord is my defence, and
my God is the rock of my refuge. And he shall bring upon them
their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness. Yea, the Lord our God shall cut
them off. Well, this 94th Psalm begins
with prayer and ends with prophecy. It begins with prayer, as you
see, from the opening two verses, O Lord God, to whom vengeance
belongeth, O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, show thyself, lift
up thyself, thou judge of the earth, render a reward to the
proud. Now, God is addressed as the
God of revenges. As you see from the margin, O
Lord God of revenge, O God to whom vengeance belongeth, shine
forth, lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth, render a
reward to the proud. The psalm begins with prayer,
but it ends with prophecy. And he shall bring upon them
their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness. Yea, the Lord our God, shall
cut them off. It begins with complaint and
ends in comfort. Verse 3 to 7 we see the complaint,
Lord how long shall the wicked triumph? How long shall they utter and
speak hard things, and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? They break in pieces thy people,
O LORD, and afflict thine heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger,
and murder the fatherless. Yet they say, The LORD shall
not see it, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it. There is the complaint, and here
is the comfort, from verse 19. in the multitude of my thoughts
within me, thy comforts delight my soul. Shall the throne of
iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief
by a law? They gather themselves together
against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood,
but the Lord is my defence, and my God is the rock of my refuge,
and he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall
cut them off in their own wickedness. Yea, the Lord our God shall cut
them off, There is the comfort. Now, we do not know who under
God the author of this psalm is and neither do we know the
time or the occasion when these words were penned. But it appears
to be a time when the wicked seemed to have the upper hand. How long, Lord, how long shall
the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph How long shall
they utter and speak hard things, and all the workers of iniquity
boast themselves? The wicked seem to have the upper
hand. It appears to be a time of practical
atheism. Yet they say, the Lord shall
not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it. And the psalmist goes on to remonstrate
with these atheists. understand ye brutish among the
people and ye fools remember it's the fool who has said in
his heart there is no God when will ye be wise? he that
planted the ear shall he not hear? he that formed the eye
shall he not see? he that chastised the heathen
shall he not correct? He that teacheth man knowledge
shall he not know? The Lord knoweth the thoughts
of man, but they are vanity. And the psalmist acknowledges
the Lord's sovereign hand in chastening his people for a season
and he expresses his assurance that the God of revenges will
deal with the wicked. Blessed is the man whom thou
chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law that thou
mayest give him rest from the days of adversity until the pit
be digged for the wicked for the Lord will not cast off his
people neither will he forsake his inheritance but judgment
shall return unto righteousness and all the upright in heart
shall follow it there is a pit dug for the wicked
it's called hell as it is said in another psalm the wicked shall
be turned into hell at all the nations that forget God there
is coming a day when all that is wrong will be put right but judgement shall return unto
righteousness and all the upright in heart shall follow it. The margin says there at verse
15, and all the upright in heart shall be after it. John Trapp
in his commentary says that they are carried out after it, earnestly
desiring that dear day when God will unriddle his providences
and clear up his proceedings with the sons of men. In verse 16, the psalmist affirms
his confidence in Jehovah, God of Revenges, the Judge of the
Earth. Who will rise up for me against
the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against
the workers of iniquity? His confidence is in God. He is able to testify, verse
17, unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt
in silence In other words, he would have gone to the grave,
he would have died. When I said my foot slipping,
thy mercy, O Lord, held me up. He is one who is dependent upon
God and upon his mercy. Although it was an evil day and the wicked
were in great power and spreading himself like a green bay tree
as it says in another psalm the psalmist here delights in God
and he is comforted through his word verse 19 in the multitude
of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul and
what a comfort this is in verse 20 shall the prone of iniquity
have fellowship with thee which frameth mischief by a law. And we see in this verse that
the proud and the wicked of whom the psalmist is speaking are
not the common generality of men, but they are those who are
in power and in authority. They are those who hold the reins
of governments, being seated on a throne, they are the lawmakers
and the administrators of the law and of justice the throne
and by implication the government and the courts are to rule as
the vicegerents of God that is that they are to rule, they are
appointed to rule as it were on God's behalf so Paul says
in Romans 13 let every soul be subject unto
the higher powers For there is no power but of God. The powers
that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth
the power, resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist
shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to
good works, but to the evil. Will thou then not be afraid
of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise
of the same. For he is the minister of God
to thee for good. But if thou do that which is
evil, be afraid, for he beareth not the sword in vain, for he
is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that
doeth evil. Wherefore ye must need to be
subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
For for this cause pay ye tribute also, for they are God's ministers,
attending continually upon this very thing, God has ordained
the powers that be. The magistrate is the minister
of God, Paul says. They are God's ministers. In
this sense then, they are said to have fellowship with God,
they are his vicegerents. governing, as it were, on his
behalf. In Psalm 82 it is written of the magistrate, of the powers
that be, it is written of them, of the judges and so on, I have
said, ye are gods and all of you are children of the Most
High. Their duty is to be, as Paul says, not a terror to good
works, but to the evil. that's why they are appointed
the throne is meant to be a revenger to execute wrath upon him that
doeth evil and when it does so it can be
said to have fellowship with God remember Moses charged the
judges of Israel saying Hear the causes between your brethren,
and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and
the stranger that is with him. You shall not accept persons
in judgment, but ye shall hear the small as well as the great.
Ye shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment
is God's. When the judge gives sentence,
there is a fellowship with God. It is God's judgment. and so
it is written in the Proverbs a divine sentence is in the lips
of the king his mouth transgresseth not in judgment the throne is
a judgment seat and there is a fellowship with God in this
but what if the judgment be evil? well that's what we have here
in verse 20 shall the throne of iniquity
have fellowship with thee which frameth mischief by a law when
mischief is framed by a law the throne becomes a throne of iniquity
and that throne of iniquity can have no fellowship with God the question put here is a rhetorical
one shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee which
frameth mischief by a law The answer is clearly no! Solomon
in the Proverbs says, it is an abomination to kings to commit
wickedness, for the throne is established by righteousness. That throne, which frames mischief
by law, is not serving its God-ordained purpose, which is to restrain
evil. and therefore it can have no
fellowship with God and it will not be established in the long
run. This is what the psalmist is
saying in these verses. And he shall bring upon them
their own iniquity and shall cut them off in their own wickedness.
Yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off. Now what is it to frame mischief
by a law? Well the Hebrew word here translated
mischief is also variously translated in the Old Testament as labour,
toil, trouble, grievance, grievousness, sorrow, pain, wickedness, iniquity
and perverseness. The word is used in Isaiah chapter
10 verse 1 and here we see exactly what it is to frame mischief
by a law. Isaiah 10 verse 1, Woe unto them
that decree unrighteous decrees, that write grievousness which
they have prescribed. The word grievousness in that
verse is the same word in Hebrew that we have here translated
mischief. To frame mischief by a law is
to decree unrighteous decrees. woe unto them that decree unrighteous
decrees and that write greedlessness or mischief which they have prescribed. The word frame is more often
translated form. It's the word which is often
used to speak of the potter forming or fashioning or constructing
a vessel out of clay. Indeed it's the same word previously
used in this psalm to speak of God forming the eye
of man. He that formed the eye shall
he not see. The same word is here used in
verse 20, which frameth, mischief, by a law, just as God formed
and fashioned the eye of man. So these proud practical atheists
who think that God does not see what they're doing, they craft
and they construct legislation that is unrighteous, perverse,
and wicked. The framing or forming of mischief
may also be done by the use or rather the misuse of an existing
law. This is done when the law is
misapplied for evil ends or it may be done by the changing of
law. Well, this then is the meaning
of the words of verse 20. Solomon saw the throne of iniquity
in his day, Ecclesiastes 3 verse 16, and moreover I saw under
the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there, and the place of righteousness,
that iniquity was there. Well, as we come to consider
these words at the end of Psalm 94 We shall consider them firstly
as they appertain to our Lord Jesus Christ and then secondly
as they appertain to the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in all
ages. And then thirdly, we shall consider these words as they
appertain to the present time. There are those who say that
we shouldn't sing Psalms today. Well, you know the Book of Psalms,
the great theme of the Book of Psalms is Christ and His Church. the Psalms are full of Christ
they speak of his person, they speak of his offices as our prophet,
priest and king they speak of his finished work and of the
redemption that he has accomplished for his people they speak of
his resurrection and of his ascension they speak of the calling of
the Gentiles, they speak of the Gospel Church they speak of the
Lord's second appearing in power and great glory They speak of
the judgment to come, of heaven and of hell. They speak of the
believer's experience. The Psalms contain warnings and
promises and precepts. I see no reason why the singing
of Psalms, together with hymns and spiritual songs, should be
neglected in the Gospel Church. Well, let us consider then the
concluding words of this psalm from verse 21st as they appertain
to our Lord Jesus Christ and that Christ is to be found in
the book of Psalms is clear from the words of the Lord Jesus Christ
to his disciples after he had risen from the dead and he said
unto them these are the words which I spake unto you while
I was yet with you that all things must be fulfilled which were
written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms
concerning me and Christ is to be clearly discerned
in the words of this Psalm shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship
with thee which frameth mischief by a law they gather themselves
together against the soul of the righteous the innocent blood remember how the Jews their chief
priests and officers framed mischief by a law the Jews answered him,
that is Pontius Pilate, we have a law and by our law he ought
to die because he made himself the son of God Oh, see how precisely
the scripture is fulfilled. The judges of the Jewish nation
framed mischief by a law. We have a law, they said. And
by our law, he ought to die. Three times Pontius Pilate declared
the Lord Jesus to be innocent. Nevertheless, he delivers the
Lord Jesus up to be crucified. They gather themselves together
against the soul of the righteous and condemn the innocent blood.
Now it's interesting to note that Matthew uses that same phrase,
gathered together, in his account of the trial of the Lord Jesus. Matthew 27 and verse 17. Therefore when they were gathered
together Pilate said unto them, who will ye that I release unto
you, Barabbas or Jesus, which is called Christ? For he knew
that for envy they had delivered him. And then we read in the
next verse of how even Pilate's wife was constrained to declare
Christ's righteousness. When he was set down on the judgment
seat, his wife sent unto him saying, have thou nothing to
do with that just man? For I have suffered many things
this day in a dream because of him. All they are gathered together
against the soul of the righteous. This is the assembly of the wicked,
spoken of in Psalm 22, the crucifixion psalm. For dogs have compassed
me, the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me, they pierced
my hands and my feet. the disciples in their prayer
to God in the book of Acts said for of a truth against thy
holy child Jesus whom thou hast anointed both Herod and Pontius
Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered
together for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined
before to be done And the Old Testament scripture
set before us this evening is perfectly fulfilled. In all that
befell our Lord Jesus Christ they gather themselves together
against the soul of the righteous and condemn the innocent blood. Now the phrase the innocent blood
was even used by Judas Iscariot after he betrayed Christ. Then Judas, which had betrayed
him when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself and brought
again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent
blood." The innocent blood! His was the innocent blood! It had to be innocent blood to
make atonement for guilty now what was Christ's confidence
in all his sufferings? but the Lord is my defense and my God is the rock of my
refuge and his enemies knew this and they acknowledged it again
in Matthew's Gospel he trusted in God let him deliver
him now if he will have him for he said I am the son of God well God did deliver him he raised
him from the dead and set him down at his own right hand in
the heavenly places far above all principality and power and
might and dominion and every name that is named not only in
this world but also in that which is to come and have put all things
under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to
the church which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth
all in all. And what became of the Jews?
The Jews who took and by wicked hands crucified and slew the
Messiah. Remember how they said to Pilate,
His blood be on us and on our children. Well, so it fell out
to them. And it was according to this
prophecy that we have at the end of this psalm, Psalm 94. And he shall bring upon them
their own iniquity and shall cut them off in their own wickedness. Yea, the Lord our God shall cut
them off. They were cut off from being
a nation. They were cut off from all the privileges of the Kingdom
of God. He miserably destroyed those wicked men and let out
his vineyard to other husbandmen, even Gentiles. The Kingdom of
God was taken from him and given to a nation, bringing forth the
fruits thereof. Now mark God's dealings with
the Jewish nation. Is there not here a warning to
the Gentile nations, especially to the Gentile nation which has
known the privileges and benefits of the Gospel? For if God spared not the natural
branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore
the goodness and severity of God, on them which fell severity,
but to all thee goodness, if thou continue in his goodness,
otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. That is exactly what happened
to the Jewish nation in A.D. 70. Yea, the Lord our God shall cut
them off. Let us consider in the second
place these words as they apply to the Church of the Lord Jesus
Christ in all ages. Such is the union between Christ
and his elect that many of the things written in the Psalms
can be applied to both Christ and his Church. And that is the
case here. These words are to be applied
primarily to Christ but they can also be applied to the sheep
of Christ. to those whose souls are bound
in the bundle of life with Him, to those who are given to Him
in the eternal covenant. The elect of God are predestinated
to be conformed to the image of His Son, for whom He did foreknow
He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His
Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. And through the Centuries there
have been many thrones of iniquity which have framed mischief by
a law. You can think of Pharaoh, king
of Egypt, and how he afflicted the children of Israel. And the
Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor and
they made their lives bitter with hard bondage in mortar and
in brick and in all manner of service in the field. All their
service wherein they made them serve was with rigor. They framed
mischief or labour, toil, by a law and how they condemned
the innocent blood. The infant sons of the Israelites
were to be cast into the river. But God delivered the children
of Israel and he brought upon the Egyptians their own iniquity.
He turned their river to blood and gave them blood to drink.
And he drowned Pharaoh and all his army in the Red Sea even
as they were pursuing the children of Israel. the Lord our God is
a God of revenge he is the judge of the earth and his justice
is most perfect he will render a reward to the proud think of
Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin how did he
make Israel to sin? he framed mischief by a law when
he made the golden calves of course eventually the whole of
the Northern Kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians we can think
of Jezebel who slew the prophets of the Lord and who procured
Naboth's vineyard for her husband by a false accusation in a court
of law and she was eventually thrown out of the window and
trampled under foot of horses we can think of King Nebuchadnezzar
and his unrighteous decree to worship an image of gold the
fire did not hurt the three Hebrew children whereas the flame of the fire
slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego we can think of those who framed
mischief by a law against Daniel. Daniel 6.23 Daniel was taken
up out of the den, that's the lion's den. Remember how they
had caused him to be put into that den? And no manner of hurt was held
upon him because he believed in his God. But those who framed mischief
against him, what became of them? They were devoured by the lions. Their iniquity fell upon their
own head. We can think of wicked Haman
who framed mischief by law and was hanged on the gallows he
built for Mordecai. So we could go on, many examples
in the scriptures, but we could also think of the Pope of Rome.
Does he not sit on the throne of iniquity? Does he not frame
mischief by law? Daniel prophesied of the Roman
papal antichrist and he shall speak great words against the
Most High and shall wear out the saints of the Most High and
think to change times and laws. He sets aside the law of God
and institutes idolatry. He sets aside the law of God
and puts in its place his own laws, forbidding to marry and
commanding to abstain from meat which God hath created to be
received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the
truth. He thinks to change the very
gospel which is the law of the Lamb and pronounces a curse on
all those who do not hold to the biblical doctrine of justification
by faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone. Oh, and
how he has persecuted the saints of the Most High! They gather
themselves together against the soul of the righteous and condemn
the innocent blood. The Wardensians, for example,
thy slaughtered saints, whose bones lie scattered on the alpine
mountains cold, even them who kept thy truth so pure of old,
when all our fathers worshipped stocks and stones. Oh, but the Lord has delivered
his church from its Babylonish captivity, and God himself has
pronounced an anathema on the papacy. if any man preach any
other gospel unto you the mercy you have received let him be
accursed Daniel says but the judgment shall sit and they shall
take away his dominion to consume it and to destroy it unto the
end and so he's written here and he shall bring upon them
their own iniquity and he shall cut them off in their own wickedness
yea the Lord our God shall cut them off Let us proceed to consider finally
these words as they appertain to the present time. Many of the Lord's people are
suffering terrible persecutions at the present time under the
throne of iniquity known as Islam. Mischief is framed against the
Lord's people by a law. It's called Sharia law. Under
that law, Christians suffer many restrictions. For example, they
are made to pay a tax for their privilege of living under Sharia
law. If anyone converts from Islam,
he is liable to be beheaded. If a Christian is instrumental
in the conversion of another, he can be sentenced to death. The blasphemy law is often invoked
against Christians who, if found guilty, can be killed. shall the throne of iniquity
have fellowship with thee which frameth mischief by a law they
gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous and
condemn the innocent blood how applicable these words are to
the false prophet, Islam but the end of the false prophet
is the same as that of the beast these both were cast alive into
a lake of fire burning with brimstone. Talking of the Beast, a report
by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians
in Europe, just published last month, gives 41 examples of national
laws which adversely affect Christians in more than 15 European countries. It gives 169 examples and are only examples of intolerance
against Christians in the European Union throughout the year 2012.
Now these things are happening now. In our own country, over
recent months and years, Christians have been arrested, brought before
the courts, fined, lost their jobs, been demoted, and have
effectively had their businesses closed down. One church has been
banned from using council premises, another has lost its charity
status, and it is the law of the land which is being used
against the soul of the righteous to condemn the innocent blood. Section 5 of the Public Order
Act has been used against preachers and against those handing out
tracts. It was Section 5 of the Public
Order Act that was used against Harry Hammond when he was preaching
on the streets of Bournemouth. in 2001. Some of you may remember
the case. It did make the national papers.
Harry Hammond had a placard which read, Jesus gives peace. Jesus
is alive. Stop immorality. Stop homosexuality. Stop lesbianism. Jesus is Lord. Well, he was violently set upon
by a group of 30 to 40 young people. Now, bearing in mind
he was 69 years of age. He was knocked to the ground,
he had soil and water thrown at him. And who do you think
was arrested and brought before the magistrates? His attackers?
You'd have thought so, wouldn't you? But no. It was Mr Hammond,
who was the criminal, apparently. He was fined £300 and made to
pay £395 costs and there was a destruction order issued against
his placard. shall the throne of iniquity
have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief. By a law, they
gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and
condemn the innocent blood. What are we to do? What are we
to do? Well, it is to be a time of prayer,
of course. We are to trust in the Lord our
God. You see, I think things are only beginning to hot up,
as it were. The Equality Act of 2010 has
been used against those who refuse to condone the practice of sodomy.
And there are so many cases that we could mention, we could be
here a long time, so I won't mention them, but I'm sure you're
aware of some of them. But this is, I believe, just
the beginning. If Christians are now being persecuted for
their biblical beliefs regarding sexual ethics what will happen
if or when the marriage same-sex couples bill becomes law? It's
not even law yet! What Parliament is doing at the
present time is framing mischief by a law And as has been happening
increasingly in recent years, the law is being used against
God's people. And it will be increasingly used
against God's people, I have no doubt about that. Shall the
throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee which frameth mischief
by a law? They gather themselves together
against the soul of the righteous. That's what it's about. They
gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous and
condemn the innocent blood. Well, as I say, we are to trust
in the Lord, just as the psalmists did. But the Lord is my defence, and
my God is the rock of my refuge. He is the covenant-keeping God.
We have the name of Jehovah here, the covenant name of our God.
He will never leave nor forsake his people. He will never abdicate
his throne. And there is no success at his
throne. because he is eternal he is the ever-living God from
everlasting to everlasting thou art God Saul's throne was a throne of
iniquity was it not? how he persecuted David we read
the words of David in Psalm 57 when he fled from Saul in the
cave Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me, for my soul
trusteth in thee. Yea, in the shadow of thy wings
will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpassed. That's where our refuge is. David
trusted in the Lord his God, and we are to do the same. mark the word my, can you say
that? The Lord is my defence. And my God is the rock of my
refuge. That's what all the Lord's people
can say. And they are safe in their Redeemer's hands. None
can pluck them from His hands. Not even the devil himself. sword-persecuting reign was brought
to an end and so shall every throne of iniquity. Shall the
throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee which frame it mischief
by a law? No, of course not. In framing
and forming and fashioning this mischievous legislation the throne
of iniquity is forging a sword which is to be used against us. We should be under no illusions
about that. but the Lord our God has promised us no weapon
that is formed against thee shall prosper and every tongue that
shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn this is the
heritage of the servants of the Lord and their righteousness
is of me, saith the Lord what our legislators fail to realize
is that in framing mischief by law, they are actually framing
their own destruction and the destruction of their throne. And he shall bring upon them
their own iniquity and shall cut them off in their own wickedness.
Yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off. William Greenhill says
I found this in Spurgeon's commentary on this psalm. He says, It is
an ill work wicked ones are about. They make fetters for their own
feet and build houses for to fall upon their own heads. So
mischievous is the nature of sin that it damnifies and destroys
the parents of it. Oh, what a solemn thing that
is. What a solemn thought that is. The architects of this new
law, this new legislation, are the architects of their own damnation. I found an inspired commentary.
Yes, there is an inspired commentary. I found an inspired commentary
on the words of this text. The inspired commentary is, of
course, the Holy Scripture itself. It's good to compare Scripture
with Scripture and often you'll find the meaning by comparing
scripture with scripture. Here is an inspired comment on
the words of our text in Psalm 7 verses 14-17. Behold, he travaileth with iniquity,
and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.
He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch
which he made. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and
his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate. I will
praise the Lord according to his righteousness, and will sing
praise to the name of the Lord Most High." As we draw to a conclusion, are
we those who are longing for that day when judgment shall
return unto righteousness? Are we carried out after it,
earnestly desiring that dear day when God will unriddle his
providences and clear up his proceedings with the sons of
men? Do you pray like David in Psalm 7? Oh, let the wickedness
of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just. Are you
praying for the establishment of Christ's Kingdom? Do you pray
as the disciples were taught to pray, Thy Kingdom come! Oh, let Thy Kingdom be established
in my heart! Are we looking to the Lord to
subdue our iniquities? That iniquity might be enthroned
in our hearts? We want that fellowship with
a crucified Saviour. Him will we follow and He will
bring us at last to heaven itself, to that glory which shall be
revealed in us. But the Lord is my defence and
my God is the Rock. of my refuge. Amen.