THE PLEA FOR JUSTICE

October 12, 2021

  1. Starting point: 1 Tim. 2:1-6

 

  1. Praying from: PSALM 5

 

A Psalm of David: God favors not the wicked

CRY TO GOD

“Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.

2     Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.

3     My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

SIIN HATEFUL

4     For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

5     The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

FALSEHOOD

        6     Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

LOVE FOR GOD’S HOUSE

7     But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

GUIDANCE SOUGHT

        8     Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.

9     For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

10     Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.

11     But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

PROMISES TO SAINTS

      12     For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.”

 

 

 

  1. THE PRAYING—VV. 1–3

CRY TO GOD

  1. Approach—v. 1. Approaching God in prayer. Compare Jer. 33:3. We can call upon His name at any time.
  2. Attention—v. 2. Listen to my prayer—I will pray only unto my true God. Note the steps to prayer—Matt. 7:7–9.
  3. Attitude—v. 3. God’s attitude—willingness to hear. Our attitude—faith!
  4. THE PUNISHMENT—VV. 4–6

SIIN HATEFUL

  1. Purity—v. 4. God is holy and sinless—1 Peter 1:16. He wants us to be pure.
  2. People—v. 5. The proud cannot escape God’s eye. God will punish all sinners—Rom. 6:23.

FALSEHOOD

  1. Punishment—v. 6. God’s judgment falls on the deceitful. See the list of sinners—Rev. 21:8.

    III.   THE PRAISE—VV. 7, 8

LOVE FOR GOD’S HOUSE

  1. Praise—v. 7. Coming into the Temple to worship God. Note Ps. 122:1.

GUIDANCE SOUGHT

  1. Plea—v. 8. Desire to be led by the Lord. This pleases God. See Prov. 3:5, 6; Matt. 6:33.
  2. THE PERSONALITY—VV. 9, 10
  3. Character—v. 9. Their character is far from God’s, and this does not please God. They follow sin and Satan.
  4. Consumption—v. 10. All sinners will be destroyed by God in His judgment. Compare Rev. 20:11–15. God is merciful, but He must condemn those who do not repent.
  5. THE PLEASURE—VV. 11, 12
  6. Rejoicing—v. 11. Those who trust in the Lord will rejoice. Compare Ps. 16:11.

The grace of God can make us sing when suffering (Acts 16:25), rejoice when persecuted (Acts 5:41), bless when cursed (Matt. 5:44), content when buffeted (2 Cor. 12:7–9), merry when saved (Luke 15:24), joyful when tried (2 Cor. 7:4), and lifted up when cast down (2 Cor. 4:9–11).

Payson, in his last days, said: “Christians might avoid much trouble and inconvenience if they would only believe what they profess, that God is able to make them happy without anything else. They imagine that if such a dear friend were to die, or such-and-such blessings were to be removed, they would be miserable. Whereas God can make them a thousand times happier without them. To mention my own case: God has been depriving me of one blessing after another, but as every one was removed He has come in and filled up its place. Now when I am a cripple and not able to move, I am happier than I ever was in my life before, or ever expected to be. If I had believed this twenty years ago, I might have been spared much anxiety.”

Determination in exultation is a sign of grace. If we practice well, we shall sing harmoniously.

  1.            The One We Praise—“I will praise thee, O [Jehovah]” (Ps. 9:1). He is the faithful and unchanging One. We can rest in the solidarity of His love and rely on the sovereignty of His grace.
  2.            The Reason of Our Song—“I will sing unto [Jehovah], because he hath dealt bountifully with me” (Ps. 13:6). His bounties are lasting love, living grace, and lifting power. We have something about which we can sing.
  3.            The Power of Which We Chant—“I will sing of thy power” (Ps. 59:16). He gives power to be, to do, to suffer, to witness, to fight, and to rest in Himself. He never calls us to do anything without qualifying us for it.
  4.            The Mercies Which Come—“I will sing of the mercies of the Lord” (Ps. 89:1). His mercies are continuous in their blessing, faithful in their service, loving in their kindness, holy in their ministry, and suitable in their application.
  5.            The Heart Which Sings—“O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise” (Ps. 108:1). The heart which is tuned to praise is the heart that is fixed on the Lord and is content with the Lord.
  6.            The Instrument with Which We Sing—“I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee” (Ps. 144:9). The ten strings of our body should praise Him—our eyes by looking to Him, our ears by their attention, our hands by our work, our feet by our walk, our tongue by our speech, and our heart by our love.
  7.            Where We Sing—“I will sing unto thee among the nations” (Ps. 57:9). We praise Him truthfully and triumphantly when we live for Him wholly.
  8. E. Marsh

“The Lord … is my song,” says Isaiah (12:2). That is to say, the Lord is the giver of our songs. He breathes the music into the hearts of His people; He is the Creator of their joy

—Spurgeon

 

PROMISES TO SAINTS

  1. Reward—v. 12. God will bless and reward those who trust in Him. Compare Rev. 2:10.
  2.   THE A-MEN OF ROMANS 16:20, 24, 27

16:20   “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. A-men.”

16:24   “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. A-men.”

16:27   “To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. A-men.”