Save Me

Psalm 59--The Holiness of the Imprecatory Psalm

I. Times Can Be Rough

A. What should a believer do when the secret police wait to kill; here is David’s answer. “To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him. Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me.” (Psalm 59:1)

B. David passed the problem up the line; God can deal with bullies and murderers. “Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men.” (Psalm 59:2)

C. Evil behavior sometimes needs no motivation beyond the bad character of the perpetrators; sin is a common feature of life. “For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O LORD.” (Psalm 59:3)

D. David asked God to put a stop to the people who hurried to do evil. “They run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to help me, and behold. Thou therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah.” (Psalm 59:4-5)

II. God Laughs When Evil Howls

A. The howls of evildoers are as ineffective as dogs baying at the moon. “They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.” (Psalm 59:6)

B. Evildoers act as though no one big enough to stop them were listening. “Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear?” (Psalm 59:7)

C. The last laugh is the best laugh and that one belongs to God. “But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision.” (Psalm 59:8)

D. Believers can relax because they will laugh with God; He and His love are so much larger than the trials of life. “Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence. The God of my mercy shall prevent me: God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies.” (Psalm 59:9-10) “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

III. Take a Stand for Justice

A. David wanted justice but he did not want it to come so fast people would fail to understand that God was executing sentences. “Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O Lord our shield.” (Psalm 59:11)

B. It is in the common interest for people to see the just reward for cruel words and curses; sinful pride is a self-disabling and destructive fault. “For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak.” (Psalm 59:12)

C. When justice consumes evil, people know that God is ultimately in charge. “Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be: and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah.” (Psalm 59:13)

IV. Praise the Defender God

A. When the evildoers return and howl, remember that they are stressed because God will not let them have what they want; do not be fearful of their punishment. “And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied.” (Psalm 59:14-15)

B. The dark times will end and morning will return so the righteous can sing of God’s Providential mercy and protection. “But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.” (Psalm 59:16)

C. Sing so everyone understands that believers are safe in the care of the Lord. “Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy.” (Psalm 59:17) “David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.” (1 Samuel 17:37)

The Transfiguration

Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 9:1-13 / Psalm 104:1-35

I. The Coming Kingdom Appeared

A. Jesus told the crowd that some present would see His kingdom. “And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.” (Mark 9:1)

B. Peter, James, and John saw the ultimate kingdom. “And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.” (Mark 9:2)

C. The event dazzled beyond any possible human production. “And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.” (Mark 9:3)

D. Elijah and Moses appeared from Heaven to talk with Jesus. “And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.” (Mark 9:4)

II. Peter Caught the Excitement

A. Peter drew a connection with the Feast of Tabernacles and the approach of the end of the age. “And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.” (Mark 9:5)

B. What does one say when the windows of Heaven open? “For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.” (Mark 9:6)

C. God Himself confirmed Jesus and His call and ordered the witnesses to hear Jesus. “And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.” (Mark 9:7)

III. Something More Important Was Coming

A. The visitors returned to Heaven as the angels had at the nativity. Jesus remained to finish His ministry, die on the cross, rise from the grave, and only then ascend into Heaven. “And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.” (Mark 9:8)

B. A wonderful event had occurred, but it would not be appropriate to teach until the cross and the resurrection had been seen and understood. “And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.” (Mark 9:9)

C. On Emmaus Road Jesus would explain everything and the encounter would become part of the gospel. “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:27-32)

D. Peter explained what had occurred and why it had to be remembered. “Moreover I will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.” (2 Peter 1:15-18)

E. Then Peter concluded the story with what may be the most amazing of all statements in Scripture; the Bible is more powerful than human experience or the most reliable testimony of tradition. “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:” (2 Peter 1:19)

F. Scripture is not a matter of private experience or interpretation; the Bible must be understood in the context which it supplies. “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” (2 Peter 1:20) Consequently truth cannot be a matter of private opinion.

G. Scripture is God’s interpretation of the gospel story; the Holy Spirit produced the Bible and speaks in it as the final authority on all things in the church. “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter 1:21)

H. Here is what the Bible says. “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;” (Hebrews 1:1-3)

Eventually There Will Be Justice

Psalm 58

I. Justice May Be Denied

A. Sometimes societies collapse; justice becomes the opinion of power rather than law. “To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David. Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.” (Psalm 58:1-2)

B. Some people are born bad and get worse as their skills and abilities develop. “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.” (Psalm 58:3)

C. Some people are constitutionally incapable of hearing reality. “Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.” (Psalm 58:4-5) “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20)

II. Don’t Hold Back—Tell God All About It

A. God can disarm evil; ask Him to do so. “Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD.” (Psalm 58:6)

B. See evil for what it is; as it takes place, evil is running its inevitable course to oblivion. “Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.” (Psalm 58:7)

C. There is little to fear from evil and nothing much can be done to keep evil from destroying itself. “As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.” (Psalm 58:8)

D. Righteous people can get hurt when they try to cozy up to what is about to be blown away by God. “Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.” (Psalm 58:9)

E. Evil forces laugh at the righteous, but their laughter is itself evidence of their swift destruction; don’t stand too close to the fuel. “For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 7:6)

III. Start Praising God—The Court of Heaven Is Open

A. Mouse traps work because mice see the cheese, not the loaded spring; selfishness converts vermin of all kinds into their own executioners. “Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.” (Psalm 73:18-20) “Mouse” is a Sanskrit word for thief.

B. Nobody misses the great tyrants of yesterday; why worry about the tiny tots of terror. “The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.” (Psalm 58:10) “To the chief Musician, A Psalm or Song of David. Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.” (Psalm 68:1-3)

C. When honest people look back over history, they must always acknowledge that the Judge of Heaven does right. “So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.” (Psalm 58:11)

D. Take the long view as Moses did; when all is said and done, God will do what is best. “That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25)

E. Relax the clouds will pass; the Holy One comes to set all things right. “John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:4-8)

Follow Me

1 Samuel 8:1-22; Mark 8:31-38 / Isaiah 53:1-12

I. Jesus Explained the Cost of Redemption

A. Jesus began to explain His mission and the implications of His passive and active obedience to God; peace with God would be expensive beyond the dreams of His disciples. “And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” (Mark 8:31)

B. Jesus is the Suffering Servant of prophecy; since the Eden event, God’s people have known a terrible price must be paid for redemption and restoration. “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:1-12)

C. When Jesus removed the ambiguity about His mission, even the boldest of His followers could not cope with the implications. “And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.” (Mark 8:32)

D. On its own, the human mind does not think the way God thinks. “But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.” (Mark 8:33) “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:8) “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14) Compare Adam and Eve in the Garden with Jesus in the Wilderness.

II. Then Jesus Explained the Cost of Discipleship

A. The way of the Redeemed is in the path of the Redeemer; discipleship is expensive. “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mark 8:34) “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

B. The faithful way is totally counterintuitive. “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” (Mark 8:35)

C. Success is only genuine when it lasts; in war, only the last battle counts. “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)

D. Jesus faced the same temptation which carries people away into destruction. “Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (Matthew 4:8-10)

III. What Value Do You Place on Your Soul?

A. Each person must count the personal cost of faithfulness to Jesus. “Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:37)

B. Jesus is returning to set all things right; what will He see when He calls you to stand before Him at God’s throne on Judgment Day? “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)

C. What will be on your mind as you stand before the Great White Throne? “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” (Galatians 6:14)

Whom Do You Say I Am?

Psalm 141:1-10; Mark 8:27-30 / 1 Peter 2:1-10

I. Who Is Jesus?

A. Jesus raised the question; what did the public think? “And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?” (Mark 8:27)

B. The Apostles knew the common opinions. “And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.” (Mark 8:28)

C. Some people were looking for the prophet promised through Moses; perhaps the age of Moses would return. “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.” (Deuteronomy 18:18-20)

D. It could be that Jesus is a restoration or even a reincarnation of Elijah. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:” (Malachi 4:5)

E. Perhaps Jesus is actually a risen John the Baptist. “But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.” (Mark 6:16)

F. Mark answered the question in the first sentence of the gospel and then kept proposing the question in various ways; Christianity rises or falls with the answer. “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;” (Mark 1:1) “And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41)

II. Jesus Made the Question Personal

A. Jesus moved from the general to the specific, getting personal. “And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? “ (Mark 8:29a)

B. Peter made a profession of faith. And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. (Mark 8:29b)

C. The personal answer must be settled before taking the question to the public. “And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.” (Mark 8:30)

III. The Answer Matters

A. The intermediate answers are not options; Jesus is all or nothing. “Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,” (1 Peter 2:7)

B. Will Jesus be your stone of stumbling? “And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.” (1 Peter 2:8)

C. Or will you profess that Jesus is more important than any other thing in life? “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;” (Philippians 3:8-10)

D. Say what is on your heart; make your profession so that everyone can hear it. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

E. Courts have little interest in testimony given after the judge passes sentence. “Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.” (Luke 12:8-9)

F. Paul explained what Peter was answering and called people to invest in Jesus as he and Peter invested with all they had. “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10) “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12)

G. Who would risk eternity for what cannot be? The psalmist Asaph put it this way, “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.” (Psalm 73:25)

“For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” (Romans 10:11)