Join me in prayer before I read now from Psalm 52, the last Lord’s blessing upon the reading and the preaching and the reception of that this morning. Let’s pray together, would you?

Gracious Father, we come to you this morning once more. We are humbled to sit and to hear from you through your word. Lord, we ask that in this time that the meditations of all of our hearts would be pleasing in your side. And Lord, we confess that we do not live by bread alone, but indeed by every word that comes from your mouth. And so we ask, dear Father, give us great appetite for this, your word, that it indeed might nourish our souls this morning and at all times in the ways of eternal life and all to your glory. We ask this through the bread of heaven, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and we all as Your people say together, amen. Amen. Psalm 52. Psalm 52. Please give your full attention. This is the word of our God.

Psalm 52. Reading all nine verses. The title begins, to the choir master, a Maskeel of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, David has come to the house of I’m Alec. Verse one, why do you boast of evil Almighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day. Your tongue plots destruction like a sharp razor. You worker of deceit. You love evil more than good and lying more than speaking what is right. You love all words that devour of deceitful tongue. but God will break you down forever. He will snatch and tear you from your tent. He will uproot you from the land of the living. The righteous shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying, see the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction. but I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. I will thank you forever because you have done it. I will wait for your name for it is good in the presence of the godly. The word of the Lord. Amen, you may be seated.

Safety and security are Things that are very much on people’s minds and always have been. Millions and millions of dollars are spent every year on security and safety. They’re big moneymakers. Much of what is sold is a fiction. It’s perceived safety just to make us feel better or safer. But that very issue is what Psalm 52 is about. It’s a psalm of security. And we see this in the title or the inscription, and it gives us the context of the psalm, Psalm 52, which again says, to the choir master at Meskil of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, David has come to the house of Ahimelech. And so this story, this incident, is grounded in the historical books of the Old Testament. 1 Samuel 21 talks about this, and it’s about David’s meeting with this man, the high priest. When his men were on the run and they were hungry, you may recall from your reading of Scripture, and David asks for bread, and he received the holy bread from the tabernacle. And the narrative is interrupted, so to speak, in verse seven of 1 Samuel 21. And it tells us in that verse, now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s herdsmen. And so the narrative goes on with David asking for weapons and he, you remember, he gets Goliath’s spear, right? And then in chapter 22, the next chapter, this man, Doeg, explains to Saul what happened. Saul summons the priests of Nob, and he questions them, and he told his guard to kill them all, but they wouldn’t kill the priests. And then when Saul commanded this individual, Doeg, to do it, he did so willingly. In 1 Samuel 22, 18 and 19 say this, it tells us what happened. Then the king said to Doeg, you turn and strike the priest. And Doeg the Edomite turned and he struck down the priest and he killed on that day 85 persons who wore the linen ephod. And Nob, the city of the priest, he put to the sword, both man and woman, child and infant, ox and donkey and sheep, he put to the sword. And so in response to this historical episode, this event from history, in Psalm 52, David meditates on this and the source of his security. And we find here in this Psalm that there are only two options to where we find our security, only two. And the first option, of course, is in the self, right, the self. Verse one starts, why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? And that word mighty man or mighty man is a word that’s usually used of the Lord. It’s one of those words that if you just know a couple, a handful of words in Hebrew, that’s one of them, right? People know shalom. They might know a couple other words, a cherubim, right? But this word for mighty man is the word gibbor. And again, it means mighty, the mighty one. It’s usually referred to the Lord God, but David is reflecting on what this individual did, Doeg. He did not hesitate, but he murdered when it commanded. in the sense is one of boastfulness, of being puffed up. He thinks he’s the man, right? He got the job done. And his security was in himself. And this sentiment is common throughout the ages, historically, in literature, in song. And a very common poem says this. I don’t know the date of this poem. But it’s indeed, these couple of lines are, a shaking fist in the hand of God. in the foolish reliance on the self. And you’ll be familiar with it, it’s William Henley. And the poem ends like this, it says, it matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishment the scroll, right, a reference to scripture, doesn’t matter. It goes on, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. And so this brings to mind when we encounter this, where is our security, where is your security? Is it in yourself? I pray that it is not. But David goes on and he gives the other of the two options. In that second option, the second half of verse one, is in God’s covenant faithfulness. Notice again, he says, And here’s that word again that we’ve encountered again and again and time and again. In scripture, it’s that steadfast love. The word is hesed, another one of those Hebrew words that we all should know and be familiar with. It means the steadfast, loyal, covenant faithfulness and covenant love of God. And it speaks to the fact that the Lord God is the promise maker and the promise keeper. He’s the one that makes the promises and the ones that keeps those promises. And so we see the contrast there, right? Why do you boast of evil? A mighty man is contrasted with the steadfast love of God endures all the day. And the mighty man’s evil that looks so impressive is only temporary, it’s finite, it’s only for a moment. But God’s love endures all the day, it lasts forever. And so where is your security, right? Which one of these options are you placing your trust in, your security, your confidence, your safety? It’s a question we have to challenge and ask ourself continually. There’s only two options, it’s God or it’s in yourself. And then verses two to five go on and flesh this out. We talked about this morning in the teaching time, very common Hebrew way of making a statement up front, a summary statement, and then unfolding that in what follows. And we have that here. Verses two to five show us what it looks like to find security in yourself. And so why is this man, Doeg, so self-confident? What are his weapons of power? Well, we read in verse two that they are his tongue, right, his words. It says, your tongue plod destruction like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit. And so this is something that’s very valued in our day, indeed throughout history, is the ability to speak, to have a way with words, Even that is not something to put our trust in, our security in. We know from the Gospels, and the rest of Scripture speaks very much about the tongue, right, and the potential evil of the tongue. And it says that the tongue is just a manifestation of what’s in the heart. Why is he so self-secure? It goes on to say in verse three and four, you love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking what is right. You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue. And so in David’s meditation, he closes with the outcome of the self-confident, self-secure, self-reliant individual. He says that such people will not acknowledge their sin, nor their need for a savior. And he says in verse five, but God will break you down forever. He will snatch, he will tear you from the tent, he will uproot you from the land of the living. And this is harsh language, this is violent imagery. It’s being said here, God will break, he will snatch, he will tear, he will uproot. And there’s an ultimate-ness about this description. It’s an image of ultimate destiny. God will do all these things forever, he says. And so where we put our confidence and our security and our safety has eternal consequences. These aren’t trivial matters. We all need to think hard and consider the place of our security. We don’t want to be self-secure or self-reliant. Our security must not be in ourselves, but in the Lord God Almighty. And how is that described here in this psalm? Verse six says that, whether in this life or the next, it says, the righteous shall see and fear and shall laugh at the wicked. And I want to remind you of the structure of the Psalter. The way that it’s laid out, the beginning, the prologue, if you will, of the book of Psalms in Psalm 1. It lays out, you remember, the way of the wicked. These two ways, in the way of the righteous, the blessed man and the wicked man. And then Psalm 2 unfolds and develops this, and it describes what? The raging nations, shaking their fist again, conspiring against the creator of all things. And it tells us of the one who sits in heaven, God himself, he laughs at the raging nations, and he holds them in derision. And these Psalms 2 and 52 have very much in common, there’s very many overlapping similarities. In Psalm 52 it says that we’ll laugh also when we see God break and snatch and tear and uproot the wicked. And we’ll do so either in this life or the next. And when this happens we’ll say, in verse seven it says, see the man who would not make God his refuge but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction. What a terrible reality. This is for all those who love this world so much that they lose their souls and perish forever. And again, echoing Psalm 1, David describes those who trust in the Lord compared to the wicked. And in verse eight, he says, but I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. Like a green olive tree in the house of God, right? We are not broken or snatched or torn or uprooted. We’re like green olive trees, healthy and flourishing. We’re not snatched from our tent, but we what? We dwell in the house of the Lord. And we can say, I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever, as he does in verse eight. In like Psalm one, the righteous one is alive and fruitful. just like our Lord who was boasted over by the wicked in his death, but behind it all, God had already promised to raise his son. And Jesus, in his resurrection and his ascension, is reigning and ruling over everything. Already, but not yet consummated. And so, David concludes this psalm, describing the extent of the confidence that we can have from our security being in the Lord, not in ourselves. In verse nine, he says, I will thank you forever, Because you have done it, I will wait for your name for it is good in the presence of the godly. So David is vowing his eternal thanks to thank God forever when he’s done all of this and he speaks as if it’s already been done because it is a matter of fact will be because it’s the Lord God who promises and fulfills those promises. Even as we brothers and sisters, are to give our eternal thanks for all that God has done and promised and accomplished in Jesus Christ to secure our salvation, right? A new heart and a home in glory. All that was needed has been done. And if you find security in this life and in the next, in the Lord, you have nothing left to do. You have nothing. It’s already been paid and you’re secure. And it’s important as we look at this psalm, and as we look at the whole of the scriptures, that we recognize the big picture, this macrospective themes that we see. And again, Psalm 2 has so many parallels to our psalm this morning. And it’s critical that we get some of these themes, some of these points, and grasp them and have them fixed in our minds. There’s so much there that describes and anticipates and forecasts the work of the Christ, of the Messiah, the anointed one. And the New Testament shows, particularly Psalm 2, it gives us a summary of Christ, from his humiliation to his exaltation. And that’s what we find in the New Testament, in that the security of man is not in man, it is in God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And that security is in God because of the work of Jesus Christ. And the two options that we see that we place our security in couldn’t be more stark. And so, brothers and sisters, we need to be mindful of how these things press into our lives, press upon our lives. This isn’t simply grand high theology. It’s not just a lofty description and conceptualizing or contemplating these things for the sake of contemplating them. These are matters of truth of which there is no greater importance or significance in our lives. So as we continue on, I wanted to take away a couple of things that we see in this regard. And the first is that it’s so critically obvious in the description of Psalm 52, those who place their security in man, and in Psalm 2, really, the raging nations, right, and that is this. Do not resist the Lord. Do not resist the Lord. Do not try to break the chains of his almighty sovereignty. Do not try to throw them off or throw off his ways. Psalm 2, again, is declaring to you that this is senseless and futile and vain. It is vain to resist this king, his power, his glory, his wisdom, and his truth. It is a fool’s errand. But sadly we know in rebellion, many, many resist and resent God’s commandments and their call upon their lives. They see them as merely burdens upon them. And we know people like this, all of us do. We have loved ones that view the Lord this way, and it’s a sad thing. And they hear about scripture, and they hear about, in scripture, what it tells us, that we are to worship only this one true and living God. It tells us that we are to honor and obey our parents. It tells us that we are to be sexually pure, not to lie or steal or covet, and that we are to put others above ourselves. And they hear these things, and how do they respond? Again, they see them as burdens. They think, how intolerable, how ridiculous, how oppressive. And Scripture teaches us why this is so. In John 3, it says that the reason people hate the light of God’s truth is because they love darkness. They love darkness. They love the deeds of darkness, and so they don’t want to be exposed by the light, and so they hate it. Scripture tells us about the way to the Father, the way to salvation. And it tells us that people want it my way. And they want to boast and want to resist being saved by grace. They want to say, I did it. People defy God and they think little of God and they rebel against him and against his law and against his anointed one. And they simply want him to go away. And to us, this is horrifying because we know the truth. And though they want him to go away, he’s not going away. In fact, he’s coming again. And that’s part of the Psalm’s message. Don’t resist him, don’t resist this one. It’s not a game, it’s not a joke. It’s not of little consequence. And if you’ve not pled his mercy and answered his call on your life, today’s the day. It’s not a joke, it’s not a game. It is a life or death reality. It’s a blessing or judgment. The command is to kiss the sun, flee to Christ for life. for forgiveness of your sins, for your guilt, for your failings and your weakness and your brokenness. Come to him and taste the refreshing waters of the gospel of life, the waters of life, the very water of life. And if you have submitted and fled to this anointed king, to Jesus, you flee to him as well in your brokenness and in your failings and in your sin. He is your life, he is your peace, he is the light in the world. flee to him and grow in him as he feeds us in his word and in the supper. And praise him, brothers and sisters. Praise befits this king, this great king in whom alone life is found. Don’t resist him, but come to him. Don’t resist him. And then the second thing we ought to see from the Psalms, in Psalm 2 especially, and even Psalm 52, is that it’s a summons, right? Don’t resist him and it’s a call, it’s a summons. It’s a summons to come again and kiss the king, to adore this anointed one of God. And God looks and he says, this is my son, this is my anointed one. This is my king, who is the king of all kings. He is the Lord of all lords. He’s not like any other king. Scripture makes it clear. the personal offense that God takes when people reject and scoff at this most wonderful gift. It’s not a game. And tells us that this king is the stone that the builders rejected. But this stone is God’s precious cornerstone. And you don’t disregard it without grave consequence. And yet the world pretends And it’s full of pretended but false in the brilliance. And they smugly and crassly say what in regard to this? That’s weak, how pathetic. That’s foolishness. When in fact God has made it clear, right? What is his declaration? What does he say? That the cross is the wisdom and the power of God. And it’s amazing that people will reject such a generous gift. But you know, we would be among those who rejected Him without the grace of God given to us the gift of faith, right? It’s astounding that this summons is still one of invitation rather than simply an ultimatum, right? For the sake of the lost, praise God that it continues to be an invitation and not an ultimatum alone. And if you love Jesus and you’re committed your life to Him, you still have loved ones, we all do, who are not committed to Him and who do not love Him. And every time we experience the loss of a loved one, which all of us have. We’re stricken again, we’re reminded again, and we grieve again the fact that death is a reality. It is coming for all of us. But praise God, it’s been conquered in Christ. But it’s a reality, and those whom we love may not love the Lord whom we serve. And we praise God that he is long-suffering and that he holds out life for all that would come to him. We don’t know the secret plans of God. We don’t know his sovereign will or his decree. But I plead with you, brothers and sisters, to be in prayer for your lost loved ones. Pray for them, make it a point to regularly be in prayer for them. Pray for them and pray that God would work in you to witness with your life and your lips of the love you’ve been shown in Christ. And in all of it, trust him, brothers and sisters, trust him. We don’t know his secret plans, but we do know that he is good and merciful and holy and just. And if you’ve not come to him this morning, come and find refuge in this one, this holy one of God, chosen by God. The day of judgment has still not yet arrived. This is still the day, therefore, of salvation. There’s nowhere else to go. There is no one else in whom we can find shelter or safety or security, certainly not in ourselves. He is our protector, brothers and sisters. He’s our shield, he’s our mighty fortress, he’s our sanctuary for safety and security. And we who have trust in Christ, of all people, understand full well that we deserve God’s wrath. We refer to it as his just wrath, because he is just. And then in Christ, we find our refuge. Christ does this, he does it at Calvary where he shelters us from the consuming fire of God’s wrath as he bore the guilt and shame of our sins and all that it deserves. And why? Why would he do so? That we would be the very righteousness of God and live with him in glory forever. And when that day of the Lord comes, he will come and deliver us from that wrath to come. Why? Because he’s already taken that wrath in Christ. And so we think about this in all of our lives, in all of our lives, we are constantly besieged and attacked by Satan. And as we are, we need to remember that Christ is our great king who defends us and defeats all of his and our enemies. And we undergo many temptations in this life, but we know that he is faithful and that he protects us from temptation that is too great for us. And you and I know ourselves, that we are weak and that we are sick and we grieve and we ache, but Scripture tells us what? Even in the midst of all those things in the darkest times physically, temporally on this earth, Scripture tells us what? That His grace is sufficient for you and that His power is made perfect in such weakness. So let us free to Christ, flee to Christ for the first time or for a fresh and a new and again and again let us go to this Savior, the Lord of all lords, the King of all kings. When you’re mocked, when you’re scorned, when you’re weak and suffering and even in your own disbelief and doubt, when the world is turning in on you and against you, you continue to find shelter in this one, in the shadow of these wings of his unfailing love. So let us trust in his faithfulness and his promise to guard us again and again and again. He’s the only one that can do so. The psalm tells us without equivocation that it is vain to reject and to defy God. It is foolish to mock Him. So let us, brothers and sisters, praise Him, that He’s given you to answer that song and to indeed to kiss the sun, His glorious sun, for your lives. It’s foolish to mock Him, but oh how wise it is to trust Him. And we praise Him that He’s given us to do so. Our trust is in Him, and we eagerly await for Him. And this is never in vain. Our faith is not in vain. Because the great day of the Lord, in that day there will be no refuge from Him, but only refuge in Him. And so let us continue to trust and live our lives in adoration and security of this Son. our King and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and let us delight with fear and trembling that this anointed one in whom we have life is ours and we are his, and the gift that we will dwell with him forever in glory. Amen, let us pray.

Our loving God, we come to again, we confess that you are almighty, that you are sovereign, and that you are good. Lord, we thank you that you are not capricious, impersonal that you were not unloving but that indeed you were ordered and you care and that you plan they should given us have relation with you Lord so we thank you for your providence in our lives and for our beloved Savior who gave his life for our sins and rose again for our justification we’re accomplishing our redemption we praise you Lord we pray that that you would continue to strengthen us and protect us, Lord, as a church, individually and as a body. Lord, we praise you that you give us health and strength in the spirit. Lord, we pray that you would continue to establish us. Lord, we pray that you would help us to know and believe and trust in you. Help us to know that you are our sure refuge and protection. that you are working in us your perfect will, and that you are, by the gospel, conforming us to the image of our son, Lord. We pray that you would increase our faith, Lord, help us in our unbelief. Lord, we are so weak at times. Lord, help us to flee to you and plead your mercy once again, Lord, and as we do, we know and we have confidence that you’ll work through the Spirit working in us, residing in our hearts, to indeed grow us and to make us increasingly aware of these things and increasingly to reflect our glorious Savior. We do ask that you would continue to bless this church and help us to be thoughtful and faithful as we pursue your guidance for our future and for your glory. Lord, give us hearts that long for your glory, Lord, and your praise. Lord, we pray that you would be with each one of us, and we ask all of this in the name of our mighty Savior, Jesus. Amen.