Psalm 103 verse 6, this is the word of the Lord. The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. Amen. May the Lord bless this short reading from his word.

I have learned over the years that there is a beautiful unity and continuity in the word of God, a steady enduring revelation of the goodness and mercy of God in Christ that extends from the Garden of Eden and the beginning of time right through to the New Jerusalem of the last day.

The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is that continuing revelation, and Christ himself is the revealed goodness of God to men. God's covenant of grace and peace is as unchangeable as is our Saviour, and it springs from eternal love, it is settled upon certain chosen individuals. It secures everything required for the everlasting joy of God's elect and for their happiness. The gospel of our God and of our Lord Jesus Christ is the purpose of God unto salvation. It is the purpose of God to sanctify a people for himself. It is his purpose to bestow on them his favor and reveal his glory in them by the unique sacrifice of his son, Jesus Christ.

And that gospel has been revealed and is being revealed throughout the pages of our scripture from beginning to end. Now, it is true that the full revelation of divine grace has been unfolded gradually over the centuries and the millennia, but it has also been revealed constantly. And age by age, details have emerged, prophecies have become clearer, and promises have been given and fulfilled. Types and ceremonies showed one age what actual experience revealed to another.

David here speaks about Moses. Moses learned from God's dealings with Adam and Abraham. And David, the author of this Psalm 103, learned from Moses. That's why he quotes Moses and the scriptures, the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses, which David would have been familiar with in his own day. So that Moses learned from God's dealings with Adam and Abraham and David learned from Moses.

And they all learned as the Holy Spirit gave faith to believe what Christ had spoken. The Lord Jesus Christ spoke to Adam. The Lord Jesus Christ spoke to Abraham. The Lord Jesus Christ spoke to Moses. And the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to David. And all of these men learned and built upon that which the Lord said to previous generations. They all learned as the Holy Spirit gave them faith to believe what Christ had spoken. And God's people of every age are saved and have these truths revealed to them upon no other ground than Christ's blood and righteousness, nor by any other method than personal faith in Christ and his redeeming work. This was true for Adam and for Abraham, for Moses and for David, and it has been true for every believer throughout the history of this world.

Our passage today, our short passage, just a few verses, delightfully exemplifies this principle. In the opening verses of Psalm 103, David has been worshipping the Lord. He has called his whole being, his soul, his heart, his mind, to engage together in blessing the Lord for all his benefits.

Now David knew many of the Lord's benefits from personal experience. He had known deliverance from his enemies, both natural and spiritual. Remember, David was the one who faced Goliath. David was the one who fled from Saul. David had fallen deep into shameful sin. but he found mercy in forgiveness.

David struggled all his life with his old nature, but he found peace in the covenant grace and promises of his savior. Because David was beloved of God, he could declare at the end of his troubled life, although my house be not so with God, Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure.

For this is all my salvation, all my desire, although he make it not to grow. Although I can't see the evidence of it right now in my life or in my family. Yet I believe that I have an everlasting covenant with God, ordered in all things and sure. That means it's settled. It's fixed. It's accomplished. It wasn't going to vary. It wasn't going to alter or change. And this was David's hope of salvation. That's 2 Samuel 23, verse 5. And that knowledge that David possessed We call it faith or trust in the word and in the promises of God. That faith, that knowledge that he possessed, it didn't spring out of nothing. It was God's gift to him.

It was divinely imparted and it was personally experienced. but it was also built on God's word. Yes, God had sent a prophet to David. Yes, God had dealt with David through the man that had been anointed and appointed to be God's messenger, Nathan, the prophet, and others also. But this was God's gift.

It was a divinely imparted and personally experienced gift to David, and it was built on God's word. the testimony of previous generations. And that's what David is referring to here when he draws upon the testimony of Moses. David believed what God had said to Moses. He believed what God had done for these older men of the Old Testament age. In his revelation to his forefathers, and for the personal experiences and for the historical foundations, David gave his thanks to God and blessed the Lord with his soul.

Now in doing this and in giving us this insight into his own heart and into his own thinking, the psalmist teaches the church, he teaches us, he teaches you and me to count our blessings and to remember to thank God for all the good things that he has done for us.

Every born again soul should bless the Lord for his past mercies to us personally and for grace received and for the promise of glory that is laid up for us in heaven. We ought also to bless him for all his works in ages past, just as David was doing here, blessing the Lord for what he had done for Moses. And we should bless the Lord for what he'd done for David and for all of the Lord's people whose testimony we have in the scriptures before us. We should thank the Lord for creation. We should thank the Lord for his providence.

We should thank the Lord for revelation and for giving us the law and for sending us the prophets and for coming into the world. We bless him for the way of salvation opened up. We bless him for the apostolic testimony by which the ministry of the gospel is so clearly set forth in the epistles and gospels and writings of the Lord's disciples. The accomplishments of Christ are still today conveyed and applied to our hearts in the preaching of the gospel. And we should thank the Lord for that.

You and I, who are God's people, have cause to say with David, bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. And now in verses six to eight, David moves on from the personal praise to note the revealed nature of God in executing righteousness and judgment in all the world. And I think that this is an interesting little glimpse of David's understanding of God's righteous governance over his world. David recognizes that throughout history, the Lord executes judgment and righteousness on those who are oppressed.

In the scripture, the Lord takes notice of the downcast and the downtrodden in this world. And he calls his people regularly, frequently to manifest their love towards him, their faith in him, their gratitude for his goodness by exercising ourselves for the care and attention to the poor. and the widows and the orphans, the fatherless. So that those who are downcast are always in God's sight. It is these, the poor, the oppressed, who are often maltreated, mistreated by the rich and powerful in this world. What David is telling us here is that the Lord sees it all and he marks all sin and he accounts for all injustice. And while retribution for that sin and injustice may not appear at once, David is telling us that the Lord is merciful to the poor, even in their oppression. And he will not forget to judge those who oppress them.

I don't know if you're like me, but I sometimes think, you know, how is it that men can do the things that they do and yet seem to get away with it in this world? Never be held to account. Never be held to answer for the terrible things that they have done. Well, David is telling us here, don't look at it with that short-sighted view. They may not answer for their crimes in this world, but God's rule, his righteous rule, and his government of his created order is absolute. And again, justice may not always be seen to be done to our timescale.

But the judge of all the earth will do right and eternity will demonstrate his divine justice and holiness. As a man sows, so shall he reap. And the means and the methods by which God imposes punishment for sin are vast and varied in this world and the next. and they are meticulous and they are just. Accountability will stretch from time to eternity.

God is not mocked. Vengeance is his prerogative. Wrath does not end with life in this world. It begins in hell. And every sin, every crime will be repaid, measure for measure. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 31 tells us, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. And I would warn everyone, flee from the wrath to come.

For the Lord will not hold men guiltless for the oppression that they have perpetrated in their sin, in their life, in this world. But equally, I feel sure that David has in mind the divine protection and care of God's elect in the first instance. David. You remember from the studies that we've had of the young man's early life, or David's early life, when he was pursued by Saul, he proved God's providential care in his own experience. And every child of God is likewise shielded from enemies, natural and spiritual. Some of these enemies we know, many of them we don't.

Here's a little personal story. I don't do personal stories very often, but here's one. A few weeks ago, I rather foolishly filled my car with the wrong fuel while I was on a long journey. and it meant my car would not go. I put unleaded petrol on top of diesel and that didn't work well. So it meant I had to stay overnight with an old minister friend when my plan was to be at home. And this man noted my frustration And he said to me, who knows what troubles the Lord preserved you from last night by keeping you off the road.

And he was right. That's the right way for us to consider our inconveniences. That is the right way for us to think. The Lord preserves us from enemies known and from enemies unknown. And all of our life is under the providential care of God, so that we with David might say, bless the Lord, O my soul, even for those things that are unknown to us.

But I'm going to take the rest of our time today, and the time that we have, I'm going to spend the rest of our time today thinking about the psalmist's words in verse seven. Because I think that they ought to be noted carefully and to be understood carefully. comprehensively.

I think that David in this little verse, the seventh verse of Psalm 103, where he says, he made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel, is a key to understanding the scriptures. David is speaking about the gospel that had been delivered to him, had been delivered to David in the Old Testament scriptures of his day.

He was speaking about the divine revelation given to Moses in his day for the faith and comfort of God's elect people for all the time before the coming of Christ and indeed for times thereafter. David is telling us what he believed from the Word of God. David is giving us, as it were, his personal faith, his personal testimony. He is recounting what he had learned from the Scriptures that had been read in his presence and that he had read of Moses' experiences. And he is telling us that he believed those Scriptures. He believed what Moses had written. And he says, he, that is the Lord Jesus, made himself or made known his ways unto Moses. So here is David telling us that the Lord in whom he trusted had also revealed himself and made known his ways unto Moses.

And I think that that statement is of great significance. And again, I sometimes say this, but I just encourage you to meditate on this verse 7 in the days to come, and especially these few words here, that he made known his ways unto Moses. And just try to stretch the comprehensiveness of what David is telling us here in this psalm that was written hundreds of years after Moses had written these testimonies. It is a statement of significance.

And what David is telling us is that Moses knew Christ because Moses met Christ and Christ made known his ways unto Moses. Moses knew the gospel of covenant grace. Now we think about the gospel and we think about the Lord Jesus Christ and we read about him in the gospels. And we read about the teaching of Christ in the epistles and the apostolic writings. But Moses knew the gospel too. And Moses knew about the covenant of grace. As David knew about the everlasting covenant, so did Moses. Moses knew about substitutionary atonement. And Moses knew about the forgiveness of sin.

These are not New Testament revelations. These were revealed from the beginning of time. And it suggests to us, I believe, the wide breadth of knowledge revealed to God's Old Testament people concerning the Messiah and his work. Now, I don't want us to miss the implications here. Do you recall? Well, it's actually in all the synoptic gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all speak about it. But we're going to refer to Luke's account.

Do you recall at the transfiguration, transfiguration of the Lord Jesus Christ on top of the mountain, Moses and Elijah appeared to the Lord. And Peter, James, and John were there as well. But the Lord was there, and he was transfigured. And Moses and Elijah appeared with the Lord and spoke with the Lord. And Luke tells us in Luke chapter nine, verse 30 and 31, he says this, and behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and speak of his decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. so that the thoughts of Moses and Elijah were to do with the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, which they knew was about, had not yet happened, but was about to happen at Jerusalem, and what all would be accomplished by that death. Moses and Elijah were there talking to Christ about that. The thoughts of these men were fixed on Christ's death. Nor, shall we say, nor was this the first time that either of these two men had spoken to the Lord on the top of a mountain. So here they are on the Mount of Transfiguration, but both of them had spoken.

You remember how that Moses spoke to the Lord. That's what we're going to go on and think about. Moses spoke to the Lord on Mount Sinai. Elijah spoke to the Lord on the mountain when he was in the cave, and the Lord spoke to him in a still small voice. So both of these men had spoken to the Lord on a mountaintop experience prior to the transfiguration. And here they come to the Lord to speak about his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.

Christ accomplished his death. That's an amazing thought. Christ didn't die on the cross. He accomplished his death on the cross. and these events were known about long before. We ought not to be surprised at this. The gospel of substitutionary atonement was never completely hidden.

Adam knew of one who would come to crush the serpent's head, though his heel would be bruised in the process. Eve knew that sin had separated her from God, yet she understood how God had provided a covering for her nakedness. And Moses too understood the significance of all these things when he wrote the book of Genesis in these early chapters in his history of the accounts of the Lord with his people. Moses understood these things. And they understood these things because Christ made known his ways unto Moses.

And then, in addition, by type and by ceremony, in the tabernacle and in the sacrifices, by the suppression of their enemies, by the gift of a promised land, Christ made known his acts unto the children of Israel. The gospel was there, the gospel of God's free grace, the covenant of grace and mercy, the covenant of peace, limited atonement, particular redemption. These truths were understood by these Old Testament men and women.

And David leaves the church in no doubt as to the gospel nature of these revelations. He not only recounts the fact of the meeting with Moses, the Lord and Moses, but David also reveals that he knows, he reveals in these verses in Psalm 103, that he knows the content of their conversation, the meat of the discussion that took place David is quoting Exodus chapter 33 and 34.

You see he drew on these Old Testament Pentateuch, these early books of the Bible. David is quoting these chapters and in the final verse of our study we're told The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. This is what the Lord had explained to Moses when the Lord was teaching him, making known to him his ways. The ways that he taught him was ways of mercy, ways of grace, patience, plenty of mercy. And David quotes this verse. And I think the fact that he quotes it in this context is very telling. The psalmist is taking us back to Moses meeting with the Lord Jesus on Mount Sinai, where Moses asked a question.

He made a request of the Lord that he might see God's glory. And the Lord agreed to that request. And the Lord said to Moses, I will make all my goodness pass before thee. And then in fulfilment of that promise that the Lord made, that I will make all my goodness pass before thee, then the Lord Jesus, who is the fullest expression of God's goodness and his glory, we learn that from Hebrews, came to Moses on the mountain in what we call a pre-incarnation appearance and spoke to him. This is what David is drawing upon. He is drawing our attention to the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ came to Moses on the mountain and showed him all his ways.

And David's phrase, merciful and gracious, describing the Savior, That's not original. Those were the very words spoken by the Lord to Moses. So David is quoting these Old Testament scriptures and quoting the Lord in his discussion with Moses. Quoting these very words from Exodus chapter 34 verse 6, to which was added, I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

That is sovereign grace being explained right there. And by this we see, as David saw, God's sovereign purpose in salvation. His election of grace being revealed to these Old Testament men, to Moses in his day, and the children of Israel having come up out of Egypt, having these truths revealed to them. The election of grace and the everlasting covenant of peace revealed to Moses by Christ and understood by him.

You know, Mosey's name is often used as a synonym. I think the word is eponym when you use a man's name to describe a subject. And Mosey's name is often used in that way for the law. And that's understandable. In the New Testament, he's referred to as the representative of the law.

For example, John tells us in chapter 1, verse 17, for the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. But Moses was also a type of Christ. Don't imagine that Moses was ignorant of grace and truth. He knew all about grace and truth because the Lord Jesus Christ told him all about God's love and mercy and the way in which it would be bestowed on his people for the salvation of their souls. Moses learned how the Lord was slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. And he used that knowledge, he used his understanding of the nature of God repeatedly in his dealings with God to mediate and intercede for the children of Israel when the Lord indicated he would judge them for their disobedience. And that's a beautiful type of the Lord Jesus Christ right there. Indeed, the Lord Jesus even likens himself to Moses, telling the Jews in John 5, verse 46, And certainly there was law in Moses. but there was also mercy and grace as well, because the Lord Jesus Christ met his friend on the mountaintop and made known his ways unto Moses. Moses knew the way of life. He knew the way of salvation. He knew the way of righteousness. He knew the way of peace. He knew the ways of the Lord, and he knew the Lord who is the way, the truth, and the life.

And without doubt, in Psalm 103, in these verses, David is rejoicing in God's gospel mercy and God's sovereign grace. As he writes these lines, he's blessing the Lord in his soul for what he had learned of Moses' experience of Christ. He's blessing the Lord for his merciful and gracious purpose of salvation. He's reveling in God's goodness. His goodness in Christ. For Christ is the highest benefit of God that is given to man.

Adam knew Christ. Abraham knew Christ. Moses knew Christ. And David knew Christ. Do you know Christ? All of these men knew the gospel of Jesus Christ and trusted in him as their personal saviour. Notwithstanding, there were yet hundreds, thousands of years to pass until Christ's incarnation. or as Paul puts it in Romans chapter 3 verse 21, until the righteousness of God without the law was manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. These men knew and believed the gospel, that God's sovereign purpose was to be gracious to whom I will be gracious and to show mercy on whom I will show mercy. and they had faith in the God who covenanted together to perform this. They had faith in the Saviour who would come and accomplish this end. Their hope was built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Are you weary of your sin? Are you oppressed by guilt and temptation?

Then hear the gospel of David in Psalm 103. The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. Is he not a worthy saviour in whom to trust? May the Lord give us grace to do so today. Amen.