Would you turn to the 74th Psalm? Where'd this come from? Okay. I like it. Psalm 74, and before I read this
psalm, you'll notice it says it's by Asaph, a mascal, an instructive
psalm by Asaph. And this is not the Asaph that
lived during David's time. This is some 400 years later.
He was either a descendant of Asaph or this is a title given
to those who wrote the Psalms. And he witnessed the destruction
of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Look in verse seven. They have
cast fire into thy sanctuary. Speaking of the Holy of Holies,
they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy
name to the ground. Now can you imagine how grievous
that must have been? And when I read this psalm, I
could not help but think this is the way a believer feels about
sin in his own heart and in his own life. Now let's read this
psalm together, Psalm 74. Oh God, Why hast thou cast us off forever? Why doth thine anger smoke against
the sheep of thy pasture? Remember thy congregation which
thou hast purchased of old, the rod of thine inheritance which
thou hast redeemed, this Mount Zion wherein thou hast dwelt. Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual
desolations. even all that the enemy hath
done wickedly in the sanctuary. Thine enemies roar in the midst
of thy congregations. They set up their ensigns for
signs. A man was famous according as
he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees, but now they break
down the carved work. Thereof, at once with axes and
hammers, these famous men, speaking of the destruction of the temple,
They have cast fire into thy sanctuary. They've defiled by
casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground. They
said in their hearts, let us destroy them together. They have
burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. We see not
our signs. There's no more any prophet.
Neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. Oh God,
how long shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme
thy name forever? Why withdrawest thou thy hand,
even thy right hand? Pluck it out of thy bosom. For God is my King of old, working
salvation in the midst of the earth. Isn't that unusual how
he speaks almost with such despair in these first 11 verses of what
was taking place? And then he says, God is my king
of old, eternally, working salvation in the midst of the earth. Thou
didst divide the sea by thy strength. Thou breakest the heads of the
dragons in the waters. Thou breakest the heads of Leviathan
in pieces. and gavest him to be meat to
the people inhabiting the wilderness. Thou didst cleave the fountain
and the flood. Thou dryest up mighty rivers. The day is thine. The night also is thine. Thou hast prepared the light
and the sun. Thou hast set all the borders
of the boundaries of the earth. Thou hast made summer and winter.
Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord, that
the foolish people have blasphemed thy name. Oh, deliver not the
soul of thy turtle dove. And the church has called his
turtle dove in the Song of Solomon. It's talking about his people.
Oh, deliver not the soul of thy turtle dove unto the multitude
of the wicked. Forget not the congregation of
thy poor forever. Have respect unto the covenant. For the dark places of the earth
are all full of the habitations of cruelty. Oh, let not the oppressed
return ashamed. Let the poor and needy praise
thy name. Arise, oh God, plead thine own
cause. Remember how the foolish man
reproacheth thee daily. Forget not the voice of thine
enemies, the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth
continually. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name
that we might have your presence and your blessing and that you
would speak to our hearts from your word, both here and when
we meet once again. Lord, all we ask is that you
would not leave us to ourselves, but that you would speak, that
your gospel would be preached and that we might be given ears
to hear. Forgive us of our sins for Christ's
sake. Bless us by your grace for Christ's
sake. Unite our hearts together to
fear thy name. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. The psalmist does not say how
come this has happened. How do these people have the
power to do what they have done? Look what the psalmist says.
Oh God, why hast thou cast us off forever? Why doth thine anger
smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? Now he recognized when
Nebuchadnezzar came in and destroyed the temple, He realized Nebuchadnezzar
was nothing more than God's pawn doing God's will. That's true of everything. And
he recognized God in them being cast off. And he says, oh God,
why hast thou cast us off forever? Why doth thine anger smoke against
the sheep of thy pasture? Now, what Asaph says would seem
to be contrary to eternal security, doesn't it? Why have you cast
us off? Why have you cast us off eternally?
Why are you smoking against us in anger? Now, someone could
read that and say, well, can a true believer be cast away
eternally? Well, we know from the light
of the scriptures that's not the case, but he's speaking of
how he felt. He's speaking of how he felt. And he felt like God's anger
was smoking against him, against all the people of Israel because
of what had taken place. And he felt as though he was
being cast off. But he reminds God that we're
the sheep of your pasture. Look what he says in verse two.
Remember thy congregation, which thou has purchased of old. Now
look at the argument he makes. He says, we're your congregation.
You purchased us. He understood salvation in the
blood, didn't he? He understood that Christ was
the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Somebody says,
did Old Testament saints believe stuff like that? Sure they did.
They believed what we did. Believers have always believed
the same thing. And this is the way he argues
for the Lord to have mercy on him. You purchased us of old. Thou hast the rod of thine inheritance
which thou hast redeemed, this Mount Zion wherein thou hast
dwelt. He's talking about the church that God has redeemed. He says, why would you cast us
off? He says in verse three, lift
up your feet, direct your steps under the perpetual desolations,
even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in your sanctuary,
your dwelling place. How must that have grieved them?
And the psalmist here, when he saw the enemy come into the temple
of God and break it down, the Holy of Holies where God's name
dwelt, they were witnessing this being torn down by Nebuchadnezzar
and his armies. Look in verse four. Thine enemies,
God has enemies. That's a solemn thought, isn't
it? God has enemies. Thine enemies roar in the midst
of thy congregations." They set up their end signs for signs.
They're saying, this place is ours. A man was famous, verse
5, according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees,
his strength to do that. And these same people who lifted
up axes upon thick trees, now they break down the carved work.
thereof at once with axes and hammers." And he's talking about
the destruction of the temple. They come in with their axes
and their hammers and they destroy everything we know. Verse seven,
they cast fire into thy sanctuary. They have defiled by casting
down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground. They said in their hearts, let
us destroy them together. They burned up all the synagogues
of God in the land. Now look at this lament. We see
not our signs. We don't see any indication of
your blessing upon us. We feel isolated, alone, forsaken. There's no more any prophet.
We don't have any word from God. This is that famine to be dreaded,
a famine of the words of God. He's once again speaking of how
he felt. Neither is there any among us that knoweth how long,
none of us, we don't know what's going on. Have you ever felt
that way? You don't know what's going on.
And that is how the psalmist felt at this time, when he saw
what the Lord allowed to happen. And like I said, you can see
where a believer, a real believer, can feel like this is what sin
feels like in himself. Verse 10, oh God, how long shall
the adversary reproach? How long are you gonna let them
get by with this? Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name forever? Now,
remember the name of the Lord, who he is. It's his glorious
person. And the psalmist is watching
the enemies of Christ blaspheme his name. And he loved his name. It grieved him in his heart.
He says, how long are you going to let this take place? Now,
you know, we see that the psalmist knew that whatever took place,
the Lord was in control of. he was in control of. And he
says, how long are you going to let this go on? Verse 11,
why withdrawest thou thy hand? Why aren't you doing something
about this? This is his question. Even thy right hand, pluck it
out of thy bosom. Do something, is what he's saying.
Do something. Now, are we allowed to pray like
that? Sure we are. Sure we are. We realize he is in absolute
control of everything, but we're still allowed to pray, Lord,
do something. Do something for me. You know,
salvation is what God does for me. Not what I do for God. It's what God does for me. Do
something. Don't let things continue as
they are. Now he almost switches gears
in verse 12. It's almost like he's speaking
like everything is great, which everything is great, even though
it doesn't appear to be great. Everything is great. I love what
Scott Richardson said many years ago, and it's one of my favorite
statements that I've ever heard a man make. Ever since I heard
the good news, I've never heard bad news. Verse 12, for God is my king
of old, eternally. working salvation in the midst
of the earth. Now, while I've been lamenting
about all these horrible things that are taking place, God's
working. He's my king. He's my eternal
king. And he's working his salvation
in the midst of the earth, even though everything seems so terrible,
he's working. And that is what we rest in,
who he is. He says in verse 13, thou didst
divide the sea by thy strength. That's talking about the parting
of the Red Sea. Think about that actually literally
taking place, because it did. The sea is divided, they walk
through on dry land, God delivering them. That's the gospel. And he reminds himself, says
to God, thou didst divide the sea by thy strength. Thou breakest
the heads of the dragons in the waters. Who are these dragons? I really don't know. I've heard
or read where some say they were dinosaurs. I don't know. I don't
know what these dragons are, but I know this. God broke their
heads. And whatever opposition they
gave to the people of God, God broke their heads. Verse 14,
thou breakest the heads of Leviathan in pieces. And everybody that
I've read, well, not everybody, but most of the people that I
read say this is metaphorical language with regard to Pharaoh,
the great Leviathan, the great enemy of Israel. God broke his
head at this time and gave his tomb to be me to the people inhabiting
the wilderness while they were in the wilderness. God provided
for them. Thou did cleave the fountain and the flood and dries
up mighty rivers. Remember what the way the Jordan
was parted. Now, listen to this statement. I love this. Now, he'd been speaking
and in such grief over what he saw. Look what he says here. Verse 16, the day. Is dying. The day is when we
can see. It's not. You know what? The night also is done. That's
everything, isn't it? Things we see things we cannot
see. Things were aware of. Things
were not aware of. Isn't that comforting to know
that everything is his? Thou has prepared the light and
the sun. Thou has set all the borders
of the earth. Now the borders are the boundaries,
whether a national boundary, a physical boundary. And I like
this, the boundary God makes when he says, here you will go
no further. He sets the boundaries. He's determined when you're going
to die. He determined when you would
be born. He sets the boundaries. I love the way this Psalm has
just changed him. He's speaking in such laments
and now he speaks in such confidence of the God of glory working salvation
in the midst of the earth. You've set all the boundaries. You have made summer and winter. Physically, we love summertime. Wintertime, it's of the Lord.
But I think what this is talking about more than anything else
is even the summer in our experience and the winter in our experience.
You look at trees right now in the winter. Do they look alive? No. Is there life? Yes. What about
the summertime? The leaves, the comfort? Well,
he made them both. And he's in control of them both. Verse 18. Remember this. That the enemy hath reproached,
oh Lord, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
Now here is what he's upset. He's not he look what the enemy
are saying with regard to your person, your name. They're blaspheming
your name. They're reproaching your name.
Now, what would make someone feel this way? Because they love
his name. They love who he is. And if I
can hear him blasphemed, his gospel blasphemed, and say, well,
you know, okay, I don't love his name, do I? If I love his
name, I'm gonna feel like the psalmist did at this time. They're
blaspheming thy name. Verse 19, oh, deliver not the
soul of thy turtle dove. Now, In the Song of Solomon,
Christ calls his bride, his church, his turtle dove, a name of endearment
and love. And the psalmist says, oh, deliver
not the soul of thy turtle dove and the multitudes of the wicked.
Forget not the congregation of thy poor forever. Now he realizes,
and I realize, and you realize if you're a believer, we're the
poor. Blessed are the poor in spirit. That's every believer,
the poor. Now, here's the verse I really
wanted to get to. I wonder if you've ever noticed
this. I wonder if I've ever really
entered into this. Have respect unto the covenant. Here's what I'm asking you. Have
respect unto the covenant. He doesn't say have respect to
me. He says have respect unto the covenant. This is the only
real plea that I have. This is why I'm asking you to
hear me. This is why I'm asking you to do these things. Have
respect, have regard to the covenant that you made. Now I hope every one of us can
pray this prayer from the depths of our hearts. Have respect unto
the covenant. I turn with me to second Samuel
chapter 23. Let's see what covenant he's
speaking of. I'm sure this is a familiar passage
of scripture with both of most of us, but I sure love this passage
of scripture. Have respect unto the covenant.
Now, this is David speaking on his dying bed. You know, if you
knew you were going to die today or very soon, it would probably
change your attitude about things, wouldn't it? You'd see things
in a different light. Well, verse one says these be
the last words of David. David's dying and he knows it. He doesn't have much longer.
These be the last words of David. And look what he says in verse
five. And this is the covenant he's saying, have respect for.
Although. My house. Be not so. With God. That's a grim realization. David could look at his family
and it was a mess. He had terrible sins going on
with his family members. And he had the grief of knowing deep down, it's
my fault. God said, because of my sin,
the sword is never gonna depart from your house. And he said,
this is my fault, although my house be not so with God. Now,
there were some who were so with God in his house. There were
people who were believers. What about Abigail? What about
Solomon? I could name a lot of people
in his house that were believers. So I think what he's saying as
much as talking about his house, he's talking about this house.
This house. Although my house be not so with
God. Sin. Sin in my house. Although my house be not so with
God. Don't you know that so? Though
my house Be not so with God. Yet. Yet. Yet. In spite of that. Yet. He hath made with me. And notice the language. He doesn't
say we made this together. He said, He hath made with me
an everlasting covenant, an eternal covenant. A covenant that was
made with me before the foundation of the world when I was given
to Christ and Christ took full responsibility for my salvation
as my surety and my salvation was secure before I was ever
born. Although my house be not so with
God yet. He hath made with me an everlasting
covenant. Now that is what the psalmist
is saying, have respect to that covenant. Have respect to the
covenant. Remember me in the covenant.
It's the same thing as Paul saying, oh, that I may win Christ and
be found in him. That's all I want is to be found
in him in that everlasting covenant. Have respect to the covenant
and let's go on reading in verse 5. This everlasting covenant
is ordered. In all things. Anybody know whose car that is? Thanks, Chuck. It obeyed you. Ordered in all things. There's nothing unsure about
this. It's already been ordered in all things and sure. You know what? If I'm in that
covenant, my salvation for sure, isn't it? It's for sure. If Christ died for my sins, my
salvation for sure. If God has given grace to me,
my salvation is for sure. Ordered in all things and sure. And I love what David says after
this. He says for this, this everlasting covenant ordered
in all things and sure that God made with me is all my salvation. Not 99% of it. That's all my salvation. And
not only is it all my salvation, this is what I desire. This is
what I want, to simply be included in this glorious covenant that
he made. And David said, he made it with
me. This is ordered in all things and sure. And then he ends up
this statement with this unusual unusual statement, although he
make it not to grow. And those are David's words,
although he make it not to grow. Now, the only way I can understand
that passage of scripture is, yes, we believe in growth and
grace. Scripture says grow in grace and the knowledge of our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We believe in growth and grace,
but you know what? My salvation does not grow. How is that? It's already complete. It's already
complete. I am complete in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And that a great place to be.
Now, do you understand what the psalmist meant back in our text
in Psalm 74, verse 20, where he says, have respect unto The
covenant. For. The dark places of the earth. Are full. Of the habitations. Of cruelty. Isn't that an apt
description of the world that we're living in? The dark places
of the earth. Full of the habitations of cruelty. Oh, let not the oppressed return
ashamed. That's talking about God's people.
We are oppressed. We're oppressed with ourselves,
with our sin, by the world. Oh, let not the oppressed return
ashamed. You know, if Christ saved me,
I don't have anything to be ashamed of. It's called justification. I've got nothing to be ashamed
of. I got no skeletons in my closet. It's all good. If Christ
died for me, I've got nothing to be ashamed of. Oh, let not
the oppressed return to shame. Let the poor and needy. How often does that come, that
phrase come up in the Psalms? Poor? I do not have anything
to recommend myself. It comes from me and I have great
needs. The poor and the needy. Let the poor and needy praise
thy name, the name of salvation, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Arise, O God. Now, I don't know whether he
is referring to the resurrection. But isn't that the answer to
our salvation, his resurrection? Arise, arise. Oh God, plead thine own cause. Remember how the foolish man
reproacheth thee daily. Forget not the voice of thine
enemies. The tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth
continually. He's asking the Lord to do something. This continual rising up against
thee, but you know what? It's not going to be forever
because the Lord is going to return. Behold, I come quickly. Even
so, come, Lord Jesus.