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 they are 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. While there are many gods and lords, there is only one true God and Lord. 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. For the unrighteous there is no hope in vs 8, but for the righteous, even those who are lost early there is hope, 1 Cor 7:14. Verse 10 is also a challenge, “The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked”. 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 and the desire to see His righteousness fill the earth.
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 he 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 David, the prophesied king who would replace Saul. 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. These things are easier said than done when enemies constantly speak and act against you. I have seen Satan’s plans come to nothing over the years and his instruments have become silent. The church continues to grow and the gates of hell will never prevail.
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 it didn’t mean everyone was behind him. Some were still loyal to Saul and Saul’s rule over the previous few years and was 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 in 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 statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. 6:30pm every Wednesday. 5:30pm prayer.
Prayer Points centre
1. Those getting baptised this Sunday
2. Pray for Glenys who still needs our encouragement and prayer for healing.
3. Pray for the work we have going on with site development and TMR and the development of a project team.
4. Keep praying for PlayPatch on Fridays, pray for more families to be reached.
5. Pray for Chaplaincy and Kids Hope at Karalee State School.
6. Pray for peace over the US elections
7. The ongoing conflicts in Israel and Ukraine.
8. Church finances to continue to grow and expenses to be more than met.
9. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups. Young Adults.
10. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Wednesday afternoons, 5:30pm at church. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
11. Pray about the possibility and planning of a Farmers Market at Chuwar Baptist Church once a month on Saturdays. Anastasia taking the lead on this. Pray for us as we plan
12. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
13. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Graham’s message on membership and baptism.
2. Praise God for our worship team. Well done Zac and Estefany
3. PlayPatch had a new mum join us this week.
4. Sally continues to amaze us with her interaction with everyone.
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Baptisms 15th September morning service. Let Pr Jay know if you want to be baptised.
2. Men’s event. Conquering the Mount. Men’s racing. Fri 11th Oct@Church from 5:30pm. 16+. $10 each. Dress in team colours Red – Holden, Blue – Ford, Gold – Chevrolet. See Tim Freeman for more details.
3. Prayer meeting 5:30pm and Life Group Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for September...
Q. 24. What was the sin of our first parents? A. Eating the forbidden fruit.
Bible References – Gen.2:16&17; Gen3:6.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
