Hello, you're listening to Let the Bible Speak. Let the Bible Speak is the radio ministry of the Free Presbyterian Church. Stephen Pollack is the pastor of Free Presbyterian Church of Malvern, Pennsylvania. The church is located at the junction of 401 and Mallon Road. Thank you for joining us today as Dr. Pollack opens the Word of God and lets the Bible speak. Let's take our Bibles up together and turn to the Psalm 9. Again, continuing our studies here in the first book of the Psalter, just taking one message at a time, one by one, working our way through this portion of God's Word. It's the Psalm 9, and it says here, to the chief magician, Paul Muth, the Ben, a Psalm of David. I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart. I will show forth all thy marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee. I will sing praise to thy name, O thy Most High. When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence. For thou hast maintained my right and my cause, and I sattest in the throne judging right. Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever. O thou enemy, destructions are come to your perpetual end, and thou hast destroyed cities, their memorial is perished with them. But the Lord shall endure forever. He hath prepared his throne for judgment, and he shall judge the world in righteousness. He shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee, for thy Lord has not forsaken them that seek thee. Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in Zion. Declare among the people his doings. When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them, he forgeteth not the cry of the humble. Have mercy upon me, O Lord. Consider my trouble, which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death, that I may show forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in thy salvation. The heathen are stunk down in the pit that they made, in the net which the head is their own foot taken. The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth. The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higeonsila. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten. The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever. Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail. Let the heathen be judged in thy sight. Put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Amen. May God again bless his word to your hearts tonight and for his name's sake. Of course, the Psalter constituted as the songbook for the people of God. Again, you see reference here in verse number two, I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most high. You think the language contained in Paul's letters to the Ephesians and the Colossians to sing to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. This book was a song book given for the people of God to sing and for the priests to sing in public worship also. The song that is essential, and again essential to true worship and to the welfare of every Christian singing. A vital aspect of our Christian experience, that song is put in our hearts. Again, it's interesting, isn't it? When the Bible refers to our salvation, it can take that language. A new song in our hearts, in the recognition that those who are born again in the Spirit of God, they delight to sing praises to their God. It's put in our hearts by the Spirit. And you see the spiritual nature of worship here in verse number one. I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart. Again, the heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked. And so for a sinner to praise God with the whole heart requires a miraculous work of the Spirit of God, turning the dead heart and making it live. And so by God's grace, that work of regeneration is described as putting a song in our hearts. And thus the reborn soul sings with the whole heart, spiritual worship. Again, verse number two expresses something of the spiritual nature of that. I will be glad and rejoice in thee. I will sing praise to thy name. And these are people who have come to know the Lord, and their gladness and their joy is found in the Lord, not in their circumstances, not in their experiences, but found in God himself. And in that joy and gladness, that bursts out, if you like, in songs of praise to the Lord. It's important to recognise these spiritual things, gladness and joy and God bringing forth praise, they are vital aspects of true Christian living. Again, sometimes when the child of God struggles to sing, sometimes it's the flesh fighting against the spirit. It's this idea of the carnal man, the fear of man, like a snare and shuts the mouth of someone. I'm off key here in this note, I'm not quite in tune in this note, and thus they find themselves through the fear of man, suppressing the song that God has put in their hearts. But if there is no song, there may well be no salvation. If there is no spiritual hunger to praise God in song, it's a very, very bad sign of a spiritual condition. Now a key feature when it comes to the singing, a key feature of all Samodic worship is that it is God-centred, not man-centred. Spiritual worship in terms of the Samadhi is very much centred upon the glory of God. Verse number two says, I will sing praise to thy name. And the name of God refers to all that whereby God makes himself known. And so therefore this praising the name of God is to praise all that God is. to exalt his attributes, to exalt all that he is as he revealed himself in the word of God. Verse number one also includes the concept of showing forth his marvelous works. Verse two, all that God is. Verse one, all that God does. His marvelous works, creation, providence, and redemption, we praise God for these things. And so the content of praise for the psalmist is theological, and it is scriptural. You know, true praise is really an echo. True praise comes as God speaks to us and says to us, this is true. And we repeat that back to God. We say, yes, it is true. And we say that hearty amen at the end of our praise and our prayers. Echoes, prayers, sorry, praise as an echo of the truth of God's revelation. At least that should be the case. When we examine our praise, we examine for its spirituality, we examine to see if it's scriptural. If it is not spiritual, if it is not scriptural, it is not praise. Not true God-honoring praise. You see the significance here when you see the breadth of the doctrine in the Psalms. One man puts it this way, singing praise should reflect the church's identity and the meaning of worship itself. The church is the assembly of God's people in a special presence through his Son by his Spirit. One of the church's essential works is the public worship of God, which is the church's open and affectionate work of honouring God. That's the key. What is the church's duty in terms of public praise? It is to honour God. There are other things. We teach and admonish one another as we sing praises, but here the church's foundational task in praise is to honour God. Therefore it continues, the purpose of the singing of God's people in praise is to honour the triune God. And so you see that here. Again, the introduction, verses one and two, is really a summary again of what it is to praise God. We draw those themes and lessons out of that introductory couple of verses, and then it continues. We see personal praise and public praise reflected upon the character of God and this psalm illustrates this as his praise is to the name of his God. And so when you look at the verses that follow, there's a couple of things I want to draw out to your attention. This praise, it really is a reflection upon the character of God. His faithfulness in His justice and His faithfulness in His mercy. And I think those two themes, you will see they're interwoven through the verses. It's not so much there's section A and section B, it's really these things that are interwoven through the entire psalm. God's faithfulness in his justice and God's faithfulness in his mercy. First, let's look at God's faithfulness in his justice. Verses three and following, particularly, He's resting upon the justice of God, having maintained his right and his cause. In other words, God saw his predicament and made the right decision, made the right assessment of the trouble that Dave was in, and then came to his rescue, rebuking the heathen, verse number five, destroying the wicked, thus put out their name forever and ever. Again, the enemy of God's people coming, as it says in verse number six, to a perpetual end, destroying cities. Again, we think of the psalmist reflecting back upon the scriptural narratives. You think of the language of Genesis, or you think of the descriptions in Judges and Joshua, and you think of the language there of God destroying cities. And we see the psalmist reflecting upon the justice of God, not making it up, but resting it upon scriptural truth. So verse number seven, but the Lord shall endure forever, reminds us that God's justice is an eternal attribute. God is essentially just. He does not become just when he creates the world. He is just essentially. And therefore the unchanging God, when he creates this world and sin comes into the world, that unchangeably just God cannot suddenly become unjust. He can't change. And so his essential justice determines, if you like, the outcome as creation rebels against him. That outcome is determined by the character of God. God's faithful. in his justice because he endures forever. He is the eternal God whose justice is essential to his nature and indeed will be demonstrated for all eternity. A God who is perfectly good and abhors evil. A God who is perfectly just. Verse four again, thou hast maintained my right. Verse number seven, he hath prepared his throne for judgment. Verse number eight, he shall judge the world in righteousness. he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. This God, who is eternally and perfectly just, is then the God who is perfectly and righteously vengeful. not flying off the handle, not irrational, not taking spite for spite's sake, but rather for his own name's sake and for his justice' sake. Verse number five again, thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name forever and ever. And on down later in verse number 17, the wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God. describing the fearful nature of God's perfect justice then being displayed in his wrath being poured out upon the wicked. Solemn. Things to be sang by the people of God. There's not many hymns with these themes. It's a real reflection of the poverty of our hymnody. And whether it's just the case that there are more hymns of that nature sang historically that have been lost to the church and we've just picked the ones that we are comfortable with, whatever the case may be, but it's not easy to find hymns that highlight that theme. We sang one tonight, but there's not many. And yet we must sing these truths. The people of God must be able to sing these truths. It's here in the Psalter, the songbook for the people of God, and the psalmist is singing the praise of the God who's faithful in his justice and in his vengeance against the wicked. Why should we sing these things? Well, when we sing these truths, first of all, it's a comfort to those under oppression. It's a real comfort to those who live under oppression. And we'll come back to this more, but verse number nine, the Lord also, note that word also. He's connecting it again with a sense of God's justice. And as reflecting upon this, as God will judge the world, so the Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed. A recognition of God's justice brings comfort to those who find themselves in oppression for righteousness' sake. We often pray here for the persecuted church. Well, that church needs to praise God with language of God's justice to comfort them in all of their troubles. You think if we read 2 Thessalonians 1 on the Lord's Day past, and to you who are troubled, rest with us. when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. The truth of Christ's return and vengeance is given as a comfort to those who were oppressed in the church in Thessalonica. We've got to sing these things. It's also important to sing them because they're a warning to those in rebellion, to those in rebellion hearing our songs. If there is no note of warning in our singing in praise, then those who gather with us are missing the opportunity to hear the truth of God's justice and vengeance against the wicked. We need to sing these things. You say, well, these aren't going to be popular. We sing these in our Sunday services. Nobody's going to come to this church. I'm not saying sing only these songs, but they should be part of our praise. They're here in this altar. singing praise to God for his faithfulness and his justice. Comfort to those under oppression, warning to those in rebellion, assurance to those in apprehension, those who fear their state before God. You know, one of the ways in which assurance can be properly grasped is a proper understanding of God's justice. God cannot fail to be just, and God's wrath has been satisfied by his Son, And those who are in Christ are safe in Christ and God cannot payment twice demand. The sense of justice is the solid ground upon which we gain our assurance. In Christ we are justified. It is therefore unjust for God to punish those who are justified. And so we come before God's presence as those who are in Christ. And we recognize that we stand accepted in Christ, we're justified in Christ, and therefore we come before God in judgment in Christ. And God cannot pour his wrath upon us. That would deny his very character. We've got to sing these truths that they would permeate our being and they would solidify us in our walk with God. Comfort and warning and assurance. Faithful in his justice. But secondly, note how he praises God for his faithfulness in his mercy. I've mentioned already that verse nine is so closely connected to the previous truths. And verse nine through 14 really highlights truths regarding God's mercy. He will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee, for thy Lord has not forsaken them that seek thee. And then even on down as far as, you know, verse number 13. He's looking to the Lord for mercy. And he recognizes that God's faithfulness in mercy is as sure as God's faithfulness in his justice. These two doctrines are very closely connected in the scriptures. Justice implies God's faithfulness in punishing the wicked. And God's justice also implies God's faithfulness in preserving the righteous. The God who is faithful and justice will punish the wicked, but will also preserve the soul of the righteous. Not righteous in ourselves, but righteous in Christ Jesus. And so verse number nine, we see the expression of this confidence in God. the Lord also will be a refuge. It's not his present experience. It's his expectation of a future experience. Yeah, the Psalm goes back and forward. The Psalm draws upon the past and also the future, but verse number nine there is, the Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed. It's an expression of his confidence in God. You see, turn across to the Psalm 62, but this word refuge, again, It's a word that speaks particularly of the issue of defence. It's used sometimes of a place of safety, like a fort. It's actually translated that way in one place in the Old Testament. But in Psalm 62, you have the word used in verse 2 and verse number 6. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defence. Verse number six, he only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defence. I shall not be moved. A recognition of the safety we have in the Lord. And that safety, again, is not imagined. It's not that we want that to be the case. It's not fanciful. The safety the child of God has in future troubles is grounded upon the unchanging character of God, who is faithful in justice, but is also faithful in his expressions of mercy. Very simple terms. The Lord will never leave his child unprotected. in a spiritual sense. Or in Reformation month, the Reformers may burn at the stake, they may suffer the loss of their very lives, but their souls were safe and the refuge is Christ. In their troubles, Christ was their refuge. And so it is for all the children of God. It's also the case, not only the expression of this confidence, but the encountering of this confidence. Again, you see that in verse number 10. The encountering of this confidence is that they that know thy name will put their trust in thee, for thy Lord has not forsaken them that seek thee. They know thy name. It's a description of an experiential knowledge of God. The more we know God, the more we trust God. The more we understand the doctrine of God, not just intellectually, but experientially in our lives, the more we experience the truth of God, His justice, yes, but His mercy, His kindness, His love, and we take those attributes and apply them, we encounter this confidence. That's why I said earlier, this refuge is not a spurious forsaken hope, it's a refuge in the character of God. It's they that know thy name will put their trust in thee. So again, as we often are thinking about in our studies on the Sabbath mornings and Sunday school, the doctrine of God is not just intellectual and abstract, it is very experiential. It's being able to take the doctrine of God on the Lord's day and apply that in your life on the Monday and the Tuesday. If God is merciful and faithful in his mercy, what does that mean when my life crashes around me on Wednesday? It means that God has not stopped being merciful on Wednesday. His faithfulness, mercy, that doesn't stop on Wednesday. You may have sung about it on Sunday, but it's still true on Wednesday. It's just that deep appreciation of our confidence in the unchanging character of our God. It leads thirdly to the thought of the enjoyment of this confidence. Again, still in verse number 10, they that know thy name will put their trust in thee, for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. There's a couple of things in this that really struck me. I think perhaps yesterday, verse number 10, perhaps the first time. Listen to the words carefully. They that know thy name will put their trust in thee, for thy Lord has not forsaken them that seek thee. They will trust because you have not forsaken them. In other words, an aspect of God's grace and his faithful mercy is the gift of faith in our trials. It's not that we trust in him and then he will not forsake us. It is that he will not forsake us, therefore we will trust in him. different order isn't it? And so often we have in our minds this idea that God will only forsake or God will only preserve me and not forsake me as long as I trust in him. But the psalmist here telling us no! Because God won't forsake you, you will trust in Him. He will ensure that you will trust in Him. You're kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. His power works in your life to grant you enduring faith. Not just the faith to believe at the start, but the faith to endure in all of your troubles. He enables trust so that they will trust in Him. They will rest in Him because He has not forsaken them and will never forsake those who seek Him. It's a sign that He hasn't forsaken us. I don't know about you, but sometimes do you not fear? You look at a future, you don't know what's going to come around the corner and you think, well, will I trust in the Lord when I lose everything? If I lose everything, if I lose my health and my family, will I be like Job or will I lose all confidence in God? As a child of God, you won't. As a child of God, he'll preserve you, not in your own strength, but Christ's grace will be sufficient as it was for Paul. And you will say with Job, though he slay me yet will I trust in him. So they will trust. The second thing under this enjoyment is they will praise. I have a book, again about the experience of some in the Reformation and other times of persecution, Singing in the Fire. What a description that is for, again, the child of God in their troubles. And so you see it here, the psalmist again in troubles, but will then come to the point, sing praises to the Lord, verse number 11. And the desire for mercy is in verse number 14, that I may show forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in thy salvation, singing in the fire. Those who have this confidence in God's unfailing mercy will sing no matter what their circumstances. You see, before I leave this, Sam, just note that in conclusion, he looks to the Lord's actions and others in light of God's justice. He refers to that, verse 16 and 17. The Lord is known by his judgment and the wicked shall be turned into hell. But he also refers to God's grace. The needy shall not always be forgotten. Again, I'm saying these themes are interwoven. He recognises God's justice, he also recognises God's mercy, and then he prays those two things. Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail, let the heathen be judged in thy sight. He prays to God for justice to be shown upon the wicked. What an important prayer that is. And yet verse 20 concludes, put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. I think verse 19 is a prayer for justice and verse 20 a prayer for mercy. Can you think of the concept of fear in the Old Testament? Those who proselytized to Judah or to the Judaistic religion, they were those who came to fear God. I think it's a prayer for conversion. And so as we consider God's justice and God's mercy, we can hold these two prayers together and we can pray for our nation and our time at the very point that we find ourselves now, we're praying for God to do justly, at the same time as praying for God to show mercy, putting the heathen in fear that they may know themselves to be but men, so that those who know themselves to be but men will therefore seek refuge in God. You see, those who know themselves to be but men are those who go to God as a refuge for the oppressed. Those who think they are God, they trust themselves for their refuge. And so keep these things in mind as we pray tonight. Calling upon the Lord to act in justice, yes, upon the ungodly and upon the wicked, but particularly to act in mercy, putting those who ignore God to put them in fear that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Thank you for taking the time to listen to this episode of Let the Bible Speak from Malvern Free Presbyterian Church. If you'd like more information about the gospel or the church, please call 610-993-3170 or email malvernfpc at yahoo.com. We extend an invitation to all to join us as we worship the Lord each week. You will be made very welcome. The church is situated at 80 Mallon Road, Malvern, Pennsylvania, at the junction of 401 and Mallon Road. We meet for worship on the Lord's Day at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. A Bible study and prayer meeting is also held on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. We preach Christ Crucified.