No-one likes it when enemies win the battle. David had a lot of enemies, and he prays through these 3 Psalms to be delivered from their attacks. He concludes “with God we shall do valiantly”. Amen.
Psalms 58: God Who Judges the Earth To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David.
1 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter.
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD!
7 Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!
10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Mankind will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth."
Psalms 59: Deliver Me from My Enemies To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.
1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me;
2 deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men.
3 For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O LORD,
4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready. Awake, come to meet me, and see!
5 You, LORD God of hosts, are God of Israel. Rouse yourself to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah
6 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.
7 There they are, bellowing with their mouths with swords in their lips--- for "Who," they think, "will hear us?"
8 But you, O LORD, laugh at them; you hold all the nations in derision.
9 O my Strength, I will watch for you, for you, O God, are my fortress.
10 My God in his steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
11 Kill them not, lest my people forget; make them totter by your power and bring them down, O Lord, our shield!
12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13 consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more, that they may know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth. Selah
14 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.
15 They wander about for food and growl if they do not get their fill.
16 But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.
17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.
Psalms 60: He Will Tread Down Our Foes To the choirmaster: according to Shushan Eduth. A Miktam of David; for instruction; when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
1 O God, you have rejected us, broken our defences; you have been angry; oh, restore us.
2 You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open; repair its breaches, for it totters.
3 You have made your people see hard things; you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger.
4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you, that they may flee to it from the bow. Selah
5 That your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by your right hand and answer us!
6 God has spoken in his holiness: "With exultation I will divide up Shechem and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet; Judah is my sceptre.
8 Moab is my washbasin; upon Edom I cast my shoe; over Philistia I shout in triumph."
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Have you not rejected us, O God? You do not go forth, O God, with our armies.
11 Oh, grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man!
12 With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.
Things to think about…
1. David reveals God’s heart on the wickedness that is bound up in demonic forces, here called ‘god’s’ Ps 58:1. This could also refer to ‘lords’ who rule over the earth. David says the wicked go astray from birth, vs 3. Who could this be referring to? The sad reality is that this refers to all of us as a result of sin. We were all born in sin. Praise God for His grace. Even though we were yet sinners, He loved us before the foundation of the world, 1Jn4:19.
2. There is a zeal in David for justice against the ungodly in Ps 58. It is hard for our modern ears to hear, Eg “The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked”, vs 10. I don’t think I would enjoy bathing my feet in the blood of the wicked. But that is not the point here. The point is that the righteous love justice and should desire the earth to be filled with God’s glory. Remember Jesus had a zeal that consumed Him and yet was still sinless. We should reflect this in some measure because our Lord Jesus wants us to conform to His image. As such we should begin with a hatred for the sin within our own hearts.
3. It’s interesting to read Psalm 59 and know that David is writing against the one who he referred to as ‘God’s anointed’. Saul was ‘God’s anointed’, but had turned his back on the anointing of the Holy Spirit by doing things in his own flesh. One of those things he had determined to do was to secure his crown by killing off the prophesied next king – David. David refers to Saul’s actions and the men that carry them out as “howling like dogs and prowling about the city”, Ps 59:6, 14. David trusted in the Lord, His fortress and refuge, vss16, 17.
4. The events referred to in the title of Ps 60 are recorded in 2Sam 8. We will read these next week. David had ascended the throne and was now king over all Israel, but not all was well. Just because he was king did not mean everyone was behind him. Some were still loyal to Saul and Saul’s rule over the previous few years and were very disorganised and confused. What do you expect with a man afflicted by a demon?! The fruit of Saul’s rule was a divided nation as David records in Ps 60:1-3. David had a lot of restoration work to do. His trust was in the Lord and he speaks about the Lord’s land Ps 60:7 as opposed to the land where enemies dwell, vs 8. What a blessing it is when God’s people dwell together in unity. Pray for this peace to affect our city. May other churches in our city who name the name of Christ also bless the city…‘with God we shall do valiantly’, Ps 60:12.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
The reading this week was from James 5:7-20
James the brother of Jesus is writing to Jews about patience and endurance through suffering. James certainly knew what he was talking about as he remained in Jerusalem after the stoning of Stephen and the persecution that followed for the Christians who remained. James would himself be stoned to death in AD63 for under the charge of “not following the law of Moses”.
1. Would you consider yourself a patient person? It of course depends on what you are called to be patient in. What are you least patient in?
2. James, like Jesus urges people to be true to their word in James 5:12. Let your Yes be Yes and your no, no. It seems Australians struggle with keeping their word. This is often the case within Christianity as well. Do you agree? Can you give some examples. What can be done to not allow Satan a foothold here.
3. James speaks about the imminent return of Christ. For him it was not long after writing this letter in AD63. It was also true of those living in Jerusalem a few years later in AD70. Do you spend much time thinking about the Lord’s return, especially when you will meet Him. This is not so far away for any of us in reality. Discuss your thoughts on this.
4. James’ last words recorded on this earth were “whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins”, James 5:20. Have you led anyone to Christ? If so, when? If not, do you speak to others about what your salvation/faith means to you?
Prayer Points
1. Covid stats in Sydney are frightful, 141 people are currently in hospital. Of those, 60 are under the age of 55 and 28 under the age of 35. 43 are in intensive care, 1 is in their teens, 7 in their 20’s, 3 in their 30’s, 14 in their 50’s, 12 in their 60’s and 6 in their 70’s. One 30yo woman has died who had no prior conditions. This virus is no joke. Please keep praying and be wise about your response to it.
2. Pray for the turmoil presently going on in South Africa. Pray for peace, calm and order to be restored. On top of this Covid has been at 40, 000 cases per day. Pray for healing and wisdom w.r.t this disease.
3. Pray for testimonies that people will be doing every second week. Please consider when you would like to do yours when the pastor asks you to share yours 😉
4. Pray for ministries as they start up this week – especially Sunday School, PlayPatch and Recharge. Pray for Maddison and Melinda as they lead these ministries.
5. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof and solar.
6. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points.
1. New folks on Sunday.
2. John healing well. Good to see him back on Sunday.
3. Communion time on Sunday.
4. Riots in South Africa are settling down.
5. Praise and worship – thanks ZAC, Rod, Molly, Riley, Tim, Rin and Melissa.
6. The freedom to gather, albeit with masks on Sunday. Next Sunday no masks.
Announcements
1. No masks next Sunday.
2. PlayPatch for toddlers at church, Fridays 9:30-11am. Please get the word out. See Maddison for details.
3. Recharge Youth – 6:30-8:30pm – Band night this Friday.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
