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Let's turn to Psalm 76, and I
want to ask this question right at

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the beginning of the psalm.

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Is your God too small?

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Louis XIV of France came to
the throne in 1643 at the age of

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four, and he reigned for 72 years.

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During that time, he built
France up to be the leading nation

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in Europe.

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Everything was centered on him.

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The country, indeed the
continent, revolved around him like

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the planets around the sun.

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And just as the sun gives life
to the universe, so Louis felt that

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he was like the sun, giving
life and stability to his people

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and indeed to the whole continent.

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And so he came to be known as
the Sun King.

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The palace of Versailles,
maybe some of you have been there

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on holiday, was designed to
illustrate his power.

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And all the power resided in
the king.

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And it radiated outwards from
there, just like the rays of the

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sun.

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And he even had symbols of the
sun adorning the palace.

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When Louis died at the age of
77, he planned his funeral carefully.

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The service was held in Notre
Dame Cathedral in Paris.

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The king was led in state in a
golden coffin, and the whole church

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was in pitch darkness, save
for one light suspended above the

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coffin to illustrate that he
and he alone was the light.

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The congregation gathered.

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The crowned heads of Europe
sat in the pews.

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And as they contemplated the
sight of this one candle in the darkened

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church, they were meant to
think that all the power resided

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in Louis and radiated outward
like the light given by that candle.

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His court chaplain, Bishop
Jean Baptiste Massion, conducted

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the funeral service.

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And Massion's opening words
were startling.

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Remember, here is the Sun King.

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Here are the crowned heads of Europe.

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And Massion stood up and he
said these words, only God is great.

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A reminder to all of them that
in the face of God, great though

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they thought they were, they
were nothing.

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And that ultimately, before
God, even the Sun King was nothing.

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Psalm 76 concerns a king who
considered himself to be all powerful

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and who even mocked and
challenged God.

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Judah, the nation of Judah was
under threat, and who would they

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turn to?

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You remember that when Israel
split into two nations, Judah and

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the northern kingdom of
Israel, Israel and the nation of

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Aram ganged up and threatened
the smaller state of Judah.

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And so King Ahaz, the king of
Judah at the time, wondered what

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he could do.

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And so he turned to Assyria
for protection.

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And Assyria was the greatest
nation in the region at that time,

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greater than Egypt, greater
than all the other nations around.

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And they said, yes, we'll
protect you, Judah, but you must

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become our vassal state.

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That means you must pay
tribute to us.

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Give us all your money.

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You must adopt our Assyrian gods.

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You must give up your sovereignty.

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And in return for all of that,
you have our security.

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But then godly King Hezekiah
came to the throne in Judah and he

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began to build up Jerusalem in
order to rebel against Assyria.

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He strengthened the walls of
the city.

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He built the Siloam Tunnel to
ensure a steady water supply.

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He stockpiled food in storage jars.

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He smashed those from false idols.

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He reopened the temple and
restored the worship of God.

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Now you can imagine how
Assyria would react to that.

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They're losing the money that
they would receive from Judah.

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They're losing the land.

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That was a great benefit to
them as a frontier against these

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other nations.

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They were losing their power
and their control over the people

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of Judah.

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And when their king, the
mighty king Sennacherib, launched

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a military campaign to quell
this rebellion he sent an army of

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185,000 men to Judah.

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46 fortified cities were destroyed.

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Over 200,000 people were deported.

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Judah's territory was
redistributed among the Assyrians.

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And Hezekiah and the people
crowded into Jerusalem for safety

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and that army of 185,000
camped around them.

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What would Hezekiah do?

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Well, we're told that he tore
his clothes, that he went to the

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temple.

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He sent for Isaiah the
prophet, and he prayed.

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It was a prayer that was desperate.

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Hear, O Lord, our God, deliver
us from his hand so that all kingdoms

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of earth may know that you
alone, O Lord our God.

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You can read about that in 2
Kings, chapter 19.

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But would God hear his prayer?

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Would God answer?

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Would God deliver his people?

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60 years ago I learned a poem
in school.

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Maybe some of you learned it
as well.

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The Assyrian came down like a
wolf on the fold.

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His cohorts were gleaming in
purple and gold and the sheen of

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their spears was like stars on
the sea when the blue wave rolls

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nightly on deep Galilee.

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But the poem goes on.

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The angel of death spread his
wings on the blast and breathed in

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the face of the foe as he passed.

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And the eyes of the sleepers
waxed deadly and chill and their

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hearts but once heaved and
forever grew still.

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And the widows of Asher are
loud in their wheel and the idols

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are broken.

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The temple of baal.

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The might of the Gentile,
unsmote by the sword hath melted

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like snow in the glance of the Lord.

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Lord Byron was no Christian man.

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But there he captured the
essence of God's delivery in those

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famous words.

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And that final line answers
the question, would God hear the

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Prayer of Hezekiah the gentile
enemy hath melted like snow in the

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glance of the Lord.

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God heard Hezekiah's prayer,
and the prophet Isaiah gave this

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message.

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And you can read about this in
Isaiah chapter 19, which also tells

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the story.

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Isaiah said, he that is
sennacherib will not enter this city

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or shoot an arrow here.

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He will not come before it
with shield, or build a siege ramp

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against it.

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By the way that he came, he
will return.

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He will not enter this city,
declares the Lord.

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And so it's in the light of
this great deliverance that Psalm

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76 is written.

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It's split up into three
simple parts, three verses in each

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one.

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The first part, verses 1 to 3
1, reminds us that God knows, or

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his people know God.

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And what does it mean to know God?

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Well, it's not just to know
about him.

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It means to have an intimate
relationship with God.

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To know God in this way is to
have a saving relationship with him.

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And it's wonderful to know God
in that way, not just to know about

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him.

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Maybe you learned about God in
school, as we were talking to the

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children in Sunday school, as
we were saying to the children, you

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heard stories about him, you
learned about his character and about

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the great things that he did,
or hearing sermons from this pulpit

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over the years.

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But the word know in the Bible
means more than simply to have head

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knowledge about somebody.

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It means more than to be able
to say, well, I know him.

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In the Book of Amos, God says,
you only have I known of all the

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families of the earth.

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Now, that doesn't mean that
God isn't aware of other families,

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but that he has entered into
this special covenant relationship

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with the people of Israel.

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And that's exactly what Psalm
76 means when it says that God is

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known, the people have an
intimate covenant relationship with

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him.

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I know King Charles iii.

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If he were to walk in the
door, I would say, you, Majesty,

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I know you.

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You're very welcome.

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Take a.

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And he would sit down and
somebody would turn to him and say,

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do you know Michael Barry?

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He said, who?

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Never heard of him.

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And there are people who say
they know God because they know about

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God.

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But does God know them?

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One of the saddest passages in
the Bible, one of the saddest things

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that Jesus ever said, was
there a time when he was talking

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about that great day of
judgment when people will be divided

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into two.

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There will be the sheep and
the goats, there will be the saved

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and the unsaved, there will be
the righteous and there will be the

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sinful.

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And there will be people that
day who will say, lord, Lord, did

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we not prophesy in your name?

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Did we not preach in your name?

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Did we not serve in your name?

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Did we not hold the church
together in your name?

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Is that you today will you
plead that on that great day when

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you stand before the judge,
and then we hear the words of Jesus

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depart from me?

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For I never knew you.

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Oh, I know who you are.

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I know your name.

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I know your life.

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I know everything.

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I know you better than you
know yourself.

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But I never knew you in that
saving, covenantal, intimate relationship

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that the Bible is talking about.

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The psalm goes on to point out
that God's tent is in Salem.

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Salem is the oldest name for Jerusalem.

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And in Genesis, chapter 14, we
read that Melchizedek, king of Salem,

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met Abraham.

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And by using Salem as the name
here in Psalm 76, we are reminded

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that the people of this city,
just where they are, are in the place

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of peace.

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Because Salem comes from the
word shalom, Peace.

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And it's even more telling
that the psalm says, his tent is

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in Salem.

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The word is actually the word tabernacle.

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Now, if you know your Old
Testament story, you'll remember

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that when the people of Israel
came from Egypt and were going to

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the promised land, they made a
tabernacle, a tent, on the instructions

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of God.

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And this was to be the place
of sacrifice.

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It was to be the place of
meeting with God.

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And it was always in the very
center of the camp.

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And from the people's point of
view, this is where God lived.

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God dwelt there in our midst.

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And so whenever the psalmist
is reminding them that God's tent

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is in Salem, it's in Jerusalem.

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God is dwelling in our midst.

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I don't remember much about
the Greek that I learned at Union

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College, but one thing always
stuck with me.

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We were studying John's
Gospel, and we had to learn to translate

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it from the Greek into the English.

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And you know that John 1:14
says, the word became flesh, talking

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about Jesus, the Word became
flesh and made his dwelling among

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us.

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Well, it literally says the
word became flesh and tabernacled

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among us.

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Or as our teacher used to say,
the word became flesh and pitched

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his tent among us.

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Isn't that lovely?

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That has always stuck with me
that Jesus came and he pitched his

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tent, our midst.

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He came to be with us.

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He came to live with us, not
in a house, not in an apartment,

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but in the tabernacle, the
place of sacrifice, the place of

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worship, the place of meeting
with God.

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And as the people of Jerusalem
were encouraged by the thought that

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God is dwelling with them, we
ought to be encouraged by the thought

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that Jesus is with us even today.

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Hebrews 13.

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God has said, never will I
leave you, never will I forsake you.

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So I say with confidence, the
Lord is my helper.

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I will not be afraid.

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What can man do to me?

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And we know that God is able
to help us.

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Look at the scene on the hills
around Jerusalem.

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He broke the flashing arrows,
the shields and the swords and the

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weapons of war.

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And then we have that strange
word, selah, that appears in the

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Psalms.

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It's hard to know just what it
means, but it's generally felt that

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it's a musical term which
means pause.

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So if you were singing those
first three verses, or if you're

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reading those first three
verses, pause, think about what they're

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saying.

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Meditate on them.

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Give them proper thought.

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Don't just read and rush on.

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Those verses are significant.

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And then verses 4 to 6 remind
us that in view of all that God has

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done on behalf of the people,
God is resplendent, he is majestic.

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He is glorious.

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00:20:07,350 --> 00:20:12,390
As you pause after those three
verses, you come to this conclusion.

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How great is our God?

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00:20:17,270 --> 00:20:20,470
The greatest army in the world
cannot stand against him.

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00:20:21,740 --> 00:20:25,380
And perhaps more importantly
for you and for me, our greatest

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00:20:25,380 --> 00:20:29,020
enemy, Satan, cannot stand
against him.

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00:20:30,780 --> 00:20:33,980
Of course, there'll be times
when we'll be wounded by enemies.

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There'll be times when the
trials of life will almost overwhelm

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us.

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But here's the truth of the matter.

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Our God is glorious.

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Our God is great.

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Our God is majestic, and he
will never be defeated.

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I remember many years ago
reading a little book, your God Is

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Too small, written by J.B. phillips.

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Hence my question at the very beginning.

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Is your God too small?

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00:21:08,130 --> 00:21:11,730
And in that book, J.B.
phillips takes the first half of

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00:21:11,730 --> 00:21:17,240
the book to explain how people
have different ideas about God.

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And all of them are inadequate.

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00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:22,760
All of them are far too small.

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And then in the second half of
the book, he points out who God really

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is.

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00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:34,600
He's the one who came to dwell
among us in His Son, the Lord Jesus

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Christ.

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00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:39,760
I wonder if your view of God
is too small.

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00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:41,400
Do you think God's inadequate?

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00:21:42,300 --> 00:21:44,540
Do you think you need to help
him in some way?

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00:21:44,860 --> 00:21:47,940
Do you think there are parts
of your life that he is not able

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00:21:47,940 --> 00:21:51,780
to help with, that there are
parts of your life that he has got

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00:21:51,780 --> 00:21:52,780
to stay out of?

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00:21:53,740 --> 00:21:56,940
Do you think that there are
things that only you can do?

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00:21:57,900 --> 00:22:02,140
And as a last resort, perhaps
you'll Go and ask God about it.

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00:22:02,620 --> 00:22:06,380
If that's the case, your God
is too small.

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00:22:07,980 --> 00:22:12,860
Because this psalm reminds us
that this is a great God who can

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00:22:12,860 --> 00:22:13,900
do all things.

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00:22:15,340 --> 00:22:19,900
And we see in the next verses,
in verses 7 to 9, that God will judge

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00:22:19,900 --> 00:22:24,300
the wicked and therefore
should be feared.

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00:22:25,100 --> 00:22:28,060
The Bible has much to say
about the judgment of God.

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The words here are emphatic.

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It literally says, you are
terrible, you are.

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00:22:39,260 --> 00:22:42,420
You may have heard people
saying something like, it's going

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00:22:42,420 --> 00:22:44,380
to rain tomorrow, so it is.

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00:22:45,820 --> 00:22:49,900
Or, I went to Newcastle
yesterday, so it did.

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00:22:51,900 --> 00:22:56,380
Those are very often just
words that are said without any thought.

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But here God is repeating that
for are terrible, you are.

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Or as it's translated in the
modern versions, you yourself are

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00:23:16,410 --> 00:23:17,210
to be feared.

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00:23:21,050 --> 00:23:23,890
But there's something else
about judgment that we often overlook

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00:23:23,890 --> 00:23:24,890
when we think of it.

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00:23:26,100 --> 00:23:29,660
It's not just about the
condemnation of the wicked, but it's

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00:23:29,660 --> 00:23:32,500
also about his defense of his people.

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00:23:33,140 --> 00:23:35,980
Because there's another
significant phrase at the end of

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00:23:35,980 --> 00:23:43,340
verse nine, when you, O God,
rose up to judge, to save all the

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00:23:43,340 --> 00:23:45,700
afflicted of the land.

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00:23:47,460 --> 00:23:53,410
God uses his might to judge
the ungodly, but in doing so, he

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delivers the oppressed.

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00:23:56,170 --> 00:23:59,690
He cares about the poor and
the needy.

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00:24:00,170 --> 00:24:06,690
And every wrong will be set
right or recompensed when God stands

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in judgment.

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00:24:10,650 --> 00:24:14,970
This section of the psalm
celebrates both aspects of God's

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00:24:14,970 --> 00:24:21,620
judgment, His judgment against
the world and his vindication of

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00:24:21,620 --> 00:24:22,260
his people.

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00:24:23,060 --> 00:24:28,380
And then finally, we come to
that last part, and verse 10 is actually

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00:24:28,380 --> 00:24:29,940
difficult to translate.

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00:24:32,420 --> 00:24:36,540
And I want to take issue with
the NIV here, because I think it's

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00:24:36,540 --> 00:24:37,380
got it wrong.

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00:24:38,180 --> 00:24:45,220
What we read in the NIV is,
surely your wrath against men brings

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00:24:45,220 --> 00:24:45,780
you praise.

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00:24:46,870 --> 00:24:49,990
God's wrath brings him praise.

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00:24:50,070 --> 00:24:51,670
But that's not what it says.

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00:24:52,310 --> 00:24:59,030
It says, surely the wrath of
man shall praise you.

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00:24:59,590 --> 00:25:02,710
Now, how does the wrath of man
praise God?

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00:25:03,750 --> 00:25:07,830
Well, he's sovereign, and he
allows certain things to happen,

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00:25:08,550 --> 00:25:18,620
including people being angry,
filled with wrath against him, because

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00:25:18,700 --> 00:25:21,660
human wrath ends up praising God.

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00:25:26,460 --> 00:25:32,580
In the story of Sennacherib,
his wrath against God was turned

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00:25:32,580 --> 00:25:36,620
around and it brought praise
to God.

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00:25:37,670 --> 00:25:43,310
Or think of the story of
Joseph and his amazing coat of many

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00:25:43,310 --> 00:25:43,830
colors.

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00:25:43,830 --> 00:25:47,990
And his brothers were so
jealous, were so filled with wrath

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00:25:48,230 --> 00:25:52,110
that they sold him as a slave
to Egypt and went home and told their

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00:25:52,110 --> 00:25:53,830
father that he was dead.

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00:25:54,310 --> 00:25:56,390
Can you imagine anything worse?

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00:25:58,870 --> 00:26:04,110
But God was with Joseph, and
he rose in Egypt to become second

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00:26:04,750 --> 00:26:06,350
only to Pharaoh.

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00:26:07,070 --> 00:26:10,590
And years later, when his
brothers went down to Egypt during

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00:26:10,590 --> 00:26:13,550
the famine to look for food,
and they met the prime minister.

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00:26:13,790 --> 00:26:21,110
They didn't know who he was
until Joseph revealed himself to

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00:26:21,110 --> 00:26:21,470
them.

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00:26:22,910 --> 00:26:32,690
And then he said, those famous
you, what you did to me, you meant

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00:26:32,690 --> 00:26:39,330
it for evil, but God meant it
for good.

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00:26:40,690 --> 00:26:44,930
And even the very wrath of
those brothers brought praise to

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00:26:44,930 --> 00:26:45,330
God.

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00:26:49,410 --> 00:26:53,170
But there's one more supreme
example of how man's wrath ends up

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00:26:53,170 --> 00:26:54,130
praising God.

349
00:26:54,530 --> 00:26:57,730
Salem, as we have seen, was
the old name for Jerusalem.

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00:26:58,000 --> 00:26:58,880
It means peace.

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00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:03,600
Where Melchizedek met with
Abraham and blessed him.

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00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:07,200
It's the city where God chose
to dwell.

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00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:08,560
The city of peace.

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00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:16,320
But Salem's deepest promise of
peace was not met for 300 years.

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00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:22,000
One day, a man rode into
Jerusalem on a donkey.

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00:27:23,850 --> 00:27:28,930
And when they looked down on
the city, he wept because he knew

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00:27:28,930 --> 00:27:34,170
that the people were not
pursuing the peace that God offered.

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00:27:36,970 --> 00:27:40,250
Jesus had pleaded with them,
but the people rejected him.

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00:27:40,570 --> 00:27:44,650
And now he's to face not only
their rejection, he's to face their

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00:27:44,650 --> 00:27:45,530
very wrath.

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00:27:47,450 --> 00:27:52,080
And in that wrath, the chief
priests led the campaign to have

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00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:53,000
him put to death.

363
00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:58,600
The Romans cooperated and the
people cried out, crucify him.

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00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:09,240
He's about to face the white
hot wrath of the people.

365
00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:16,600
And as Jesus is put to death
and as his lifeblood drains from

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00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:21,140
his body, all hell rejoiced.

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00:28:22,980 --> 00:28:26,420
And Satan rejoiced because the
Son of God is dead.

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00:28:27,380 --> 00:28:29,780
God is disgraced and defeated.

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00:28:31,540 --> 00:28:35,620
But at that very moment, as
Jesus cried out, it is finished.

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00:28:35,780 --> 00:28:42,100
God was glorified in ways that
he has never been glorified.

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00:28:44,830 --> 00:28:48,110
To prove that he had won, God
raised Jesus from the dead.

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00:28:48,750 --> 00:28:50,110
Satan was defeated.

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00:28:50,670 --> 00:28:55,790
And death, Satan's greatest
weapon of fear against you and me,

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00:28:56,030 --> 00:28:57,790
was defeated too.

375
00:28:57,790 --> 00:29:01,070
And the apostle Paul cried, o
death, where is your victory?

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00:29:01,070 --> 00:29:02,830
O death, where is your sting?

377
00:29:02,910 --> 00:29:07,150
Thanks be to God who gives us
the victory through our Lord Jesus

378
00:29:07,230 --> 00:29:07,630
Christ.

379
00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:13,680
The cross, the very thing the
world despises, becomes the very

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00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:16,520
thing that displays God's glory.

381
00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:23,320
And at the end, we're told
that we must commit ourselves to

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00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:23,720
God.

383
00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:27,720
Make your vows to the Lord and
fulfill them.

384
00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:33,720
We're to enter into that
intimate relationship with God.

385
00:29:37,810 --> 00:29:44,770
We're to bind ourselves to him
so that we can say, I know God.

386
00:29:46,370 --> 00:29:47,570
He's my Father.

387
00:29:48,370 --> 00:29:51,810
He's my friend, he's my Savior.

388
00:29:55,410 --> 00:29:59,010
And we've got to devote
ourselves because only then does

389
00:29:59,010 --> 00:30:00,450
life have any true meaning.

390
00:30:02,580 --> 00:30:04,900
And the invitation today is
simple and clear.

391
00:30:06,180 --> 00:30:10,660
We need to come to the Lord
Jesus in humility to confess our

392
00:30:10,660 --> 00:30:11,060
sins.

393
00:30:11,780 --> 00:30:15,540
We need to commit ourselves to
him in repentance and in faith.

394
00:30:16,739 --> 00:30:19,060
We need to give him an
undivided heart.

395
00:30:19,700 --> 00:30:23,860
We need to make our vow to
follow him and then to fulfill the

396
00:30:23,860 --> 00:30:26,500
vows that we have made in the past.

397
00:30:28,530 --> 00:30:30,050
And this is our great God?

398
00:30:32,450 --> 00:30:35,090
Or let me ask you the question
one last time.

399
00:30:37,090 --> 00:30:40,530
Is your God too small?

400
00:30:44,450 --> 00:30:45,330
Let us pray.

401
00:30:46,610 --> 00:30:52,090
Our great and mighty God, you
are the one whose name is great in

402
00:30:52,090 --> 00:30:52,930
all the earth.

403
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:58,640
And yet you draw near to us
with mercy and with steadfast love.

404
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:04,400
As we go from this place, help
us to remember your greatness.

405
00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:08,880
May we not worship a small God.

406
00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:15,000
Make us people who walk in
reverent confidence knowing that

407
00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:19,410
you alone are to be feared and
that you alone are our refuge and

408
00:31:19,410 --> 00:31:22,850
that you alone will rescue us.

409
00:31:25,010 --> 00:31:32,210
And so as we lift our voices
in our closing hymn shape our longing

410
00:31:32,770 --> 00:31:34,370
to match these words.

411
00:31:35,650 --> 00:31:42,290
High King of Heaven, be our
vision when our way is dim Be our

412
00:31:42,290 --> 00:31:45,570
wisdom when there are choices
to be made.

413
00:31:47,030 --> 00:31:55,190
Set our minds on Christ, our
path and our prize that in all things

414
00:31:55,270 --> 00:31:59,990
he would be first for it's in
his name we pray.

415
00:32:01,030 --> 00:32:01,670
Amen.