Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

II. DAVID’S SERMON- (11-22)

This section is divided into four parts:

1.) The Fear of the Lord 2.) The Face of the Lord 3.) The Faithfulness of the Lord 4.) The Freedom of the Lord

1.The Fear of the Lord- (11-14) “ Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the Lord. Do any of you want to live a life that is long and good? Then watch your tongue! Keep from telling lies! Turn away from evil and do good. Work hard at living in peace with others. ” The ‘fear’ mentioned here is ‘respect and reverence for God and his ways’. The person who fulfills the three requirements of the fear of the Lord is promised a ‘long’ and ‘good’ life full of purpose and blessing. 1. Control the Tongue - As James tells us in the New Testament, the tongue is the key to life. “ …those who control their tongues can also control themselves in every other way.”(James 2:2) 2. Choose Good - The basic teaching of the psalms is re-emphasized here. Choosing to do good is the very core action of ‘fearing the Lord.’ 3. Pursue Peace - Jesus presented the pursuit of peace as a foundation of his kingdom. “ God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.” (Mt. 5:9) 2. The Face of the Lord - (15,16) “ The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth.”(15,16)

1. His Eyes - It is a joy to know we are under the watchful care of God. 2. His Ears - We have an instant audience with the highest authority in the universe!

3. His Face - To be ignored by God is the worst situation in which we can find ourselves. It is possi- ble to live ‘facing him’. “ There has never been another prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.”(Deut. 34:10)

3. The Faithfulness of the Lord - (17-20) God is faithful to ‘rescue’ those who have chosen the fear of the Lord.

1. He rescues those who call upon him .- “ The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.” (17)

2. He rescues the crushed in spirit.- “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit.”(18) The ‘egotistical, self-loving life…is broken at the root’ and Yahweh ‘preserves from despair...’ to ‘raise them up in a new life on the ruins of the old 1 .’ Our life changes most dramati- cally when we are at the lowest point and we discover the humility of God. “ The high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, the Holy One, says this; ‘I live in that high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I refresh the humble and give new courage to those with repentant hearts.’”(Isa. 57:15)

3. He rescues the righteous. “The righteous face many troubles, but the Lord rescues them from each and every one.”(19)

4. He rescued his Son’s body on the cross. “For the Lord protects them from harm- not one of his bones will be broken.”(20) This psalm is not only about David’s life but foreshadows the life of Christ as he faced the agony of the cross: “ So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was dead already, so they didn’t break his legs….These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say, ‘not one of his bones will be bro- ken.’”(Jn. 19:33,36)

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