Trusting God's Justice Amidst Deceit and Betrayal
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Sermon Clips
"We return now to book two of the Psalter. And it's interesting that the psalms in the fifties in the Psalter are closely tied to David's own life and experience. Several of them have historical titles. And I want us to take a look at one of them; one I think that is often overlooked and yet actually is a very, I think, powerful and thought-provoking psalm." [00:00:02]
"As I'm sure you all remember, this is really a reference to what is told to us in 1 Samuel chapters 20, 21 and 22. David is fleeing from Saul. David has been anointed king by Samuel, but Saul is still alive, and Saul is now determined to kill David. And so David is fleeing from one place to another to try to preserve his life, and in his desperation, you remember, he comes to the tabernacle of God which is resting in the town of Nob." [00:00:58]
"And Doeg is the chief herdsman, we're told, of Saul. So he's not a soldier, but he thinks he can curry the favor of the king by going to report to Saul what has just happened. And the text tells us that Saul was at Gibeah. Now, for any careful student of Old Testament history, that location would send shivers up the spine." [00:02:42]
"And so, Saul becomes livid with Ahimelech and the priests for supporting David, and he orders his soldiers to kill the high priest and the other priests. And the soldiers refuse. They'll not lift their swords against the Lord's anointed. And Doeg says, 'I'll do it.' And so Doeg kills the high priest and the priest of God." [00:04:52]
"And notice how the psalm begins: 'Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?' So there's the scene set for us. It's a scene of evil; evil done, evil boasted about. That's what's happening here. And then, when we think of Doeg, I think, probably, there's something ironic, derisive -- 'O mighty man.'" [00:07:16]
"Then, returning to the mighty man, 'Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.' You see how, how intimately this ties into the history; how we have to know the history to see -- not to appreciate the psalm at all, but to really grasp how pointed this is as a memory of David." [00:10:09]
"It's interesting how frequently the Psalms turn to the subject of truth and lying, and how destructive the tongue is, how destructive lies are, how important the truth is. And that's what's being talked about here -- that the lie has seriously, seriously led to death and to destruction. Lies are not innocent things." [00:10:49]
"And then, really, coming to the center of the psalm, 'But God will break you down forever.' David, in the midst of this carnage, turns to the theme of God's justice, of God's judgment, of God bringing right into the world. 'He will snatch and tear you from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living.'" [00:12:31]
"Justice has become a problematic concept; that justice is good, and right, and proper. And that's what the psalmist is saying here -- that these things are right. And that leads us on, then, to consider, perhaps, the whole question of the imprecations in the psalm -- the calling-down of judgment in the Psalms." [00:15:05]
"Had Doeg repented at any point, God would have forgiven him. The point is, Doeg refuses to repent. Doeg rejoices in his wickedness. Doeg embraces his ill-gotten gain. And the Psalter says, the psalm says, the Scripture says there will be judgment for him for that. He doesn't have to be judged if he turns and repents, but, if he doesn't turn and repent, there will be judgment." [00:19:20]
"See the man who would not make God his refuge.' 'Would not make God his refuge.' He could have made God his refuge, but he would not make God his refuge. I'm -- when I say he could have, I'm not talking about the counsels of eternity now. I'm talking about the well-meant offer of the gospel." [00:20:37]
"And then David responds to this in terms of his life and who he is, and says, 'I am like a green olive tree in the house of the Lord.' It's an image that will be taken up again in Psalm 92, psalm for the Sabbath. But this beautiful picture that he's a living green thing, living before God in God's house." [00:21:37]
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"As I'm sure you all remember, this is really a reference to what is told to us in 1 Samuel chapters 20, 21 and 22. David is fleeing from Saul. David has been anointed king by Samuel, but Saul is still alive, and Saul is now determined to kill David. And so David is fleeing from one place to another to try to preserve his life, and in his desperation, you remember, he comes to the tabernacle of God which is resting in the town of Nob." [00:00:58]
"And Doeg is the chief herdsman, we're told, of Saul. So he's not a soldier, but he thinks he can curry the favor of the king by going to report to Saul what has just happened. And the text tells us that Saul was at Gibeah. Now, for any careful student of Old Testament history, that location would send shivers up the spine." [00:02:42]
"And so, Saul becomes livid with Ahimelech and the priests for supporting David, and he orders his soldiers to kill the high priest and the other priests. And the soldiers refuse. They'll not lift their swords against the Lord's anointed. And Doeg says, 'I'll do it.' And so Doeg kills the high priest and the priest of God." [00:04:52]
"And notice how the psalm begins: 'Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?' So there's the scene set for us. It's a scene of evil; evil done, evil boasted about. That's what's happening here. And then, when we think of Doeg, I think, probably, there's something ironic, derisive -- 'O mighty man.'" [00:07:16]
"Then, returning to the mighty man, 'Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.' You see how, how intimately this ties into the history; how we have to know the history to see -- not to appreciate the psalm at all, but to really grasp how pointed this is as a memory of David." [00:10:09]
"It's interesting how frequently the Psalms turn to the subject of truth and lying, and how destructive the tongue is, how destructive lies are, how important the truth is. And that's what's being talked about here -- that the lie has seriously, seriously led to death and to destruction. Lies are not innocent things." [00:10:49]
"And then, really, coming to the center of the psalm, 'But God will break you down forever.' David, in the midst of this carnage, turns to the theme of God's justice, of God's judgment, of God bringing right into the world. 'He will snatch and tear you from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living.'" [00:12:31]
"Justice has become a problematic concept; that justice is good, and right, and proper. And that's what the psalmist is saying here -- that these things are right. And that leads us on, then, to consider, perhaps, the whole question of the imprecations in the psalm -- the calling-down of judgment in the Psalms." [00:15:05]
"Had Doeg repented at any point, God would have forgiven him. The point is, Doeg refuses to repent. Doeg rejoices in his wickedness. Doeg embraces his ill-gotten gain. And the Psalter says, the psalm says, the Scripture says there will be judgment for him for that. He doesn't have to be judged if he turns and repents, but, if he doesn't turn and repent, there will be judgment." [00:19:20]
"See the man who would not make God his refuge.' 'Would not make God his refuge.' He could have made God his refuge, but he would not make God his refuge. I'm -- when I say he could have, I'm not talking about the counsels of eternity now. I'm talking about the well-meant offer of the gospel." [00:20:37]
"And then David responds to this in terms of his life and who he is, and says, 'I am like a green olive tree in the house of the Lord.' It's an image that will be taken up again in Psalm 92, psalm for the Sabbath. But this beautiful picture that he's a living green thing, living before God in God's house." [00:21:37]
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