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SCRIPTURE REFERENCES FOR THIS SERMON:
Psalm 6:1-13:6
6:1 For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments, according to the sheminith style; a psalm of David.
Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger.
Do not discipline me in your raging fury.
2 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am frail.
Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking.
3 I am absolutely terrified,
and you, Lord—how long will this continue?
4 Relent, Lord, rescue me!
Deliver me because of your faithfulness.
5 For no one remembers you in the realm of death.
In Sheol who gives you thanks?
6 I am exhausted as I groan.
All night long I drench my bed in tears;
my tears saturate the cushion beneath me.
7 My eyes grow dim from suffering;
they grow weak because of all my enemies.
8 Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy;
the Lord has accepted my prayer.
10 They will be humiliated and absolutely terrified.
All my enemies will turn back and be suddenly humiliated.
7:1 A musical composition by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning a Benjaminite named Cush.
O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter.
Deliver me from all who chase me. Rescue me!
2 Otherwise they will rip me to shreds like a lion;
they will tear me to bits and no one will be able to rescue me.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done what they say,
or am guilty of unjust actions,
4 or have wronged my ally,
or helped his lawless enemy,
5 may an enemy relentlessly chase me and catch me;
may he trample me to death
and leave me lying dishonored in the dust. (Selah)
6 Stand up angrily, Lord.
Rise up with raging fury against my enemies.
Wake up for my sake, and execute the judgment you have decreed for them.
7 The countries are assembled all around you;
take once more your rightful place over them.
8 The Lord judges the nations.
Vindicate me, Lord, because I am innocent,
because I am blameless, O Exalted One.
9 May the evil deeds of the wicked come to an end.
But make the innocent secure,
O righteous God,
you who examine inner thoughts and motives.
10 The Exalted God is my shield,
the one who delivers the morally upright.
11 God is a just judge;
he is angry throughout the day.
12 If a person does not repent, God will wield his sword.
He has prepared to shoot his bow.
13 He has prepared deadly weapons to use against him;
he gets ready to shoot flaming arrows.
14 See the one who is pregnant with wickedness,
who conceives destructive plans,
and gives birth to harmful lies—
15 he digs a pit
and then falls into the hole he has made.
16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans—
and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head.
17 I will thank the Lord for his justice;
I will sing praises to the Lord Most High!
8:1 For the music director, according to the gittith style; a psalm of David.
O Lord, our Lord,
how magnificent is your reputation throughout the earth!
You reveal your majesty in the heavens above.
2 From the mouths of children and nursing babies
you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries,
so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy.
3 When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made,
and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place,
4 Of what importance is the human race, that you should notice them?
Of what importance is mankind, that you should pay attention to them?
5 You made them a little less than the heavenly beings.
You crowned mankind with honor and majesty.
6 you appoint them to rule over your creation;
you have placed everything under their authority,
7 including all the sheep and cattle,
as well as the wild animals,
8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that moves through the currents of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,
how magnificent is your reputation throughout the earth!
9:1 For the music director, according to the alumoth-labben style; a psalm of David.
I will thank the Lord with all my heart!
I will tell about all your amazing deeds.
2 I will be happy and rejoice in you.
I will sing praises to you, O Most High.
3 When my enemies turn back,
they trip and are defeated before you.
4 For you defended my just cause;
from your throne you pronounced a just decision.
5 You terrified the nations with your battle cry.
You destroyed the wicked;
you permanently wiped out all memory of them.
6 The enemy’s cities have been reduced to permanent ruins.
You destroyed their cities;
all memory of the enemies has perished.
7 But the Lord rules forever;
he reigns in a just manner.
8 He judges the world fairly;
he makes just legal decisions for the nations.
9 Consequently the Lord provides safety for the oppressed;
he provides safety in times of trouble.
10 Your loyal followers trust in you,
for you, Lord, do not abandon those who seek your help.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who rules in Zion.
Tell the nations what he has done.
12 For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed;
he did not overlook their cry for help
13 when they prayed:
“Have mercy on me, Lord!
See how I am oppressed by those who hate me,
O one who can snatch me away from the gates of death!
14 Then I will tell about all your praiseworthy acts;
in the gates of Daughter Zion I will rejoice because of your deliverance.”
15 The nations fell into the pit they had made;
their feet were caught in the net they had hidden.
16 The Lord revealed himself;
he accomplished justice.
The wicked were ensnared by their own actions. (Higgaion. Selah)
17 The wicked are turned back and sent to Sheol;
this is the destiny of all the nations that ignore God,
18 for the needy are not permanently ignored,
the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed.
19 Rise up, Lord!
Don’t let men be defiant.
May the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Terrify them, Lord.
Let the nations know they are mere mortals. (Selah)
10:1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you pay no attention during times of trouble?
2 The wicked arrogantly chase the oppressed;
the oppressed are trapped by the schemes the wicked have dreamed up.
3 Yes, the wicked man boasts because he gets what he wants;
the one who robs others curses and rejects the Lord.
4 The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks,
“God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.”
5 He is secure at all times.
He has no regard for your commands;
he disdains all his enemies.
6 He says to himself,
“I will never be shaken,
because I experience no calamity.”
7 His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words;
his tongue injures and destroys.
8 He waits in ambush near the villages;
in hidden places he kills the innocent.
His eyes look for some unfortunate victim.
9 He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket.
He lies in ambush, waiting to catch the oppressed;
he catches the oppressed by pulling in his net.
10 His victims are crushed and beaten down;
they are trapped in his sturdy nets.
11 He says to himself,
“God overlooks it;
he does not pay attention;
he never notices.”
12 Rise up, Lord!
O God, strike him down.
Do not forget the oppressed.
13 Why does the wicked man reject God?
He says to himself, “You will not hold me accountable.”
14 You have taken notice,
for you always see one who inflicts pain and suffering.
The unfortunate victim entrusts his cause to you;
you deliver the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man.
Hold him accountable for his wicked deeds,
which he thought you would not discover.
16 The Lord rules forever!
The nations are driven out of his land.
17 Lord, you have heard the request of the oppressed;
you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer.
18 You defend the fatherless and oppressed,
so that mere mortals may no longer terrorize them.
11:1 For the music director, by David.
In the Lord I have taken shelter.
How can you say to me,
“Flee to a mountain like a bird.
2 For look, the wicked prepare their bows,
they put their arrows on the strings,
to shoot in the darkness at the morally upright.
3 When the foundations are destroyed,
what can the godly accomplish?”
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
His eyes watch;
his eyes examine all people.
5 The Lord approves of the godly,
but he hates the wicked and those who love to do violence.
6 May he rain down burning coals and brimstone on the wicked!
A whirlwind is what they deserve.
7 Certainly the Lord is just;
he rewards godly deeds.
The upright will experience his favor.
12:1 For the music director, according to the sheminith style; a psalm of David.
Deliver, Lord!
For the godly have disappeared;
people of integrity have vanished.
2 People lie to one another;
they flatter and deceive.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
and the tongue that boasts!
4 They say, “We speak persuasively;
we know how to flatter and boast.
Who is our master?”
5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed,
because of the painful cries of the needy,
I will spring into action,” says the Lord.
“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”
6 The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable.
They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground,
where it is thoroughly refined.
7 You, Lord, will protect the oppressed;
you will continually shelter each one from these evil people,
8 for the wicked seem to be everywhere,
when people promote evil.
13:1 For the music director, a psalm of David.
How long, Lord, will you continue to ignore me?
How long will you pay no attention to me?
2 How long must I worry,
and suffer in broad daylight?
How long will my enemy gloat over me?
3 Look at me! Answer me, O Lord my God!
Revive me, or else I will die.
4 Then my enemy will say, “I have defeated him.”
Then my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I trust in your faithfulness.
May I rejoice because of your deliverance.
6 I will sing praises to the Lord
when he vindicates me.