Near Mt Rushmore, SD, Fall 2014

Psalm 21. Past, Present, and Future. Pastor Kyle

Intro: As goes the heart of God’s king in the Old Testament, so goes the welfare of the people. That is why the psalmist starts as he does in the opening verses.

The big idea: God’s steadfast love (Hebrew word ‘hesed’) has delivered us in the past, gives stability in the present, and secures our future.

I. Give God particular praise for past deliverance. Vs1-6

It is not nostalgia. It is seeing the reality of the way God delivered us and guided us which guarantees how he will fulfill his promises to us going forward. That is what this psalmist does with the people of God.

II. Enjoy the indestructible stability of ‘hesed’.

Steadfast love is from the old Hebrew word ‘hesed’.

How is it that the king is stable today in the present? It is THROUGH the steadfast, unfailing love of God. It is his covenant love for us that won’t let us go. Hesed is ONE-WAY LOVE WITH NO EXIT STRATEGY – based on a Paul Miller quote.

It is not my doing – it is God’s doing.

We hear echoes of Psalm 21 in Romans 8:31-38. This is hesed love for God’s people. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? I am sure that nothing will separate us – neither death nor life, etc.

Love in our culture is a bad word often times. God does not try out his love with us by living together before he commits to us. He commits while we hate him then pulls us to himself with this no exit strategy love.

III. A secure future in God’s kingdom. Vs8-13

In this section it is total annihilation language where God judges his enemies.

Is this really in the Bible? I thought God was a God of Love?

Do we know what will happen in the Lord’s Prayer when Thy Kingdom comes? There will only be one kingdom.

2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 says that there will always be those who oppose the gospel and the seed of God’s people. The church will be persecuted. There will always be people who disobey God’s words and will.

So, stay faithful and be encouraged: God will make sure that perfect justice will in fact take place.

This ought also to humble us: God is not going to just wipe out our enemies, he should wipe us out too. However, because he saved sinners like us, we are safe. As the old hymn goes: O, how I love Jesus, because he first loved me.

Conclusion – the Lord’s Supper

This morning we have a tangible reminder of God’s hesed at the table. He loved us to the point of death on the cross. It is not our obedience in coming to the table that earns Gods favor over us. He is reminding us again how much he loves us to pour out his son’s blood for us.

Be humbled and be encouraged. Live in bold-humility.

The passage:

1 O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults!
2 You have given him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.
4 He asked life of you; you gave it to him, length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great through your salvation; splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
8 Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them as a blazing oven when you appear. The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from among the children of man.
11 Though they plan evil against you, though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows.
13 Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.
Psalms 21:1-13