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At Sandals Church, our vision is to be real with ourselves, God and others. This channel features sermons and teaching from Pastor Matt Brown and other members of the Sandals Church preaching team. You can find sermon notes, videos and more content at http://sandalschurch.com/watch
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. Today we'll be reading out of Psalms 94 as we continue our practice of daily Psalm readings. The Psalm says, O Lord, the God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, let your glorious justice shine forth. Arise, oh judge of the earth, give the proud what they deserve. How long, oh Lord, how long will the wicked be allowed to gloat?
McKay Vandenberg:How long will they speak with arrogance? How long will these evil people boast? They crush your people, oh Lord, hurting those you claim as your own. They kill widows and foreigners and murder orphans. The lord isn't looking they say, and besides, the god of Israel doesn't care.
McKay Vandenberg:Think again, you fools. When will you finally catch on? Is he deaf, the one who made your ears? Is he blind, the one who formed your eyes? He punishes the nations.
McKay Vandenberg:Won't he also punish you? He knows everything. Doesn't he also know what you are doing? The Lord knows people's thoughts. He knows they are worthless.
McKay Vandenberg:Joyful are those you discipline, Lord. Joyful are those you discipline, Lord. Those you teach with your instructions. You give them relief from troubled times until a pit is dug to capture the wicked. The Lord will not reject his people.
McKay Vandenberg:He will not abandon his special possession. Judgment will again be founded on justice, and those with virtuous hearts will pursue it. Who will protect me from the wicked? Who will stand up for me against evildoers? Unless the Lord has helped me, I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave.
McKay Vandenberg:I cried out, I am slipping, but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side? Leaders whose decrees permit injustice. They gang up against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death, but the Lord is my fortress.
McKay Vandenberg:My God is the mighty rock where I hide. God will turn the sins of evil people back on them. He will destroy them for their sins. The Lord our God will destroy them. On first read, that's a pretty dense Psalm.
McKay Vandenberg:A lot of bold statements here. A lot of can you say that in the bible kind of moments. But as I reflected on Psalms 94, I really resonated on verses eighteen and nineteen where it says, I cried out, I am slipping, but your unfailing love, oh Lord, supports me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. The author of this Psalm really is doubting.
McKay Vandenberg:He's looking at the world around him and seeing a lot of negative, seeing a lot of injustice. We can kind of see that theme through the last several Psalms. But I find hope and rest in knowing that this Psalmist, the one who wrote something we're reading out of the Bible, God's word, also doubted, also had stress and fear of the things going on. If you're in an American context, you only got to be outside for about five minutes to feel come some kind of stress and fear about what's going on around us. And in this, we get some, you know, a little harshness.
McKay Vandenberg:Verse eight says, think again, you fools. When will you finally catch on? There's some tough love in the Bible. But as we approach the end of this, Psalm verse 23 says, we will turn the sins of evil people back on them. He will destroy them for the sins.
McKay Vandenberg:The Lord our God will destroy them. That sounds harsh. I trust that God is going to destroy the enemies the way he sees fit. But we can also rest and know that in our doubts, in our fears, God is still there to encourage you and say, hey, I got this. Some of these things you don't have to worry about.
McKay Vandenberg:God made your ears. God made your eyes. He sees the things that we are seeing and in his true and good timing, he'll respond to the evil of this world. For us, that means we remain faithful. We trust in the good father and hope for the resurrection that is to come.
McKay Vandenberg:Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as our culture and our world seems to get even crazier by the day, Lord, remind us that we can trust in your plan and your will for our lives and for the world around us. Help us to be reminded that you have a good plan, that you are working out in your time. Lord, if we are struggling with doubts or fear or insecurity today, remind us that you are king over those doubts, king over those fears, and we can bring those to you and find comfort in you, find comfort in your love and grace for our lives. Father, I pray a special prayer for protection and peace over everyone that is watching this video today.
McKay Vandenberg:Help them be renewed in your spirit and find comfort in you today. In Jesus name we pray, amen.