Alright, we're here in Psalms chapter 9. We're going to cover two chapters here tonight.
This is the last Sunday of the month, and so we can go to Psalms as opposed to the book of John.
And I think the sermon is praising God in the midst of enemies. Praising God in the midst of enemies.
And the first verse of the Bible reads in Psalms 9. Psalms 9 verse 1,
I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart. I will show forth all thy marvelous works.
And so what it says in verse number 1 is, with my whole heart. Okay, so it's not half-hearted.
It's not just some interest in the things of God. It says, with my whole heart.
Now what's interesting here is that most people would say that they really love God.
Most people would say, man, I'm praising God with my whole heart. I give it all to God.
But notice what it says in the second half of this verse. I will show forth all thy marvelous works.
Okay, so if you're going to praise God, there's something associated with that.
Works. That's what the Bible says. Now how do you show forth all thy marvelous works?
One big way is by going so many ways. You say, why? Because you're explaining the marvelous work
that Jesus did on the cross. You're explaining what He did, dying and paying for our sins.
And so that is one way to show forth His marvelous works. But usually when you talk to people that
say they praise God and they love God, they usually listen to a lot of Christian rock.
They're just kind of hanging out their house. They never tell anybody about what the Lord
actually did for them, though. If you're actually going to praise God and show what He actually did,
you know, you should actually show forth His marvelous works. And the best way to do that
is by sowing. Verse number two, the Bible reads, I will be glad and rejoice in thee. I will sing
praise to thy name, O thou most high. And so what it says in verse number two is, I will sing praise
to thy name, O thou most high. And so it's actually somebody singing praise. They sing the praises of
God. Now turn to James 5. And one thing to keep in mind, and we're going to see this theme later
on as well, is that it's your turn to James 5, but when it talks about showing forth all that
marvelous works, and then it talks about praising God. And so since it's talking about praising God,
it makes sense that the songs we sing should be showing forth all of His marvelous works,
which means the songs we sing should actually have doctrine in them of what the Lord did. They
should not just be these touchy-feely songs, how our God is so awesome and everything, but actually
show forth His marvelous works. Talk about what He did in the songs we sing. We're preaching from
a songbook tonight. The book of Psalms was a songbook, and yet it teaches you a lot of doctrine.
Now notice in James 5, starting in verse 13, the Bible reads, Is any among you afflicted? Let him
pray. Is any merry? Let him sing songs. And so the Bible says that if you're someone who's merry,
you have a good heart, then you should be a happy heart. You should be singing songs,
singing the praises of God. Singing the songs of God will keep you in a good mood.
And honestly, when you look at the number one command in the Bible, it's actually praising the
Lord. It's the number one commandment. And quite honestly, most people honestly probably couldn't
say that they sing praise to God every single day. But the Bible says to praise God. We should
be praising God on a daily basis, not just three times a week as you're at church, not just every
once in a while, but all the time. You say, What do I sing? You sing songs that actually have real
meaning behind them. Obviously the book of Psalms has real meaning because it's directly from the
Word of God, but then other hymns as well that actually have meaning. Now turn back to Psalms 9.
Now I'm not saying that singing praise to God is going to fix all your problems because in the
verse we just read, it talked about if you're afflicted, you pray. If you're really afflicted
in your life and you're going through real problems, sometimes you just have to get down
on your knees and pray to God. Sometimes singing a song can put a band-aid over the problem but not
actually fix the problem. If you've got a real problem, then you might need to do something
besides just singing praises. But still singing praise should be part of your normal routine and
normal life. Verse number three the Bible reads, When my enemies are turned back, they shall fall
and perish at thy presence. For thou has maintained my right and my cause. Thou sat in the throne
judging right. Thou has rebuked the heathen. Thou has destroyed the wicked. Thou has put out their
name forever and ever. The Bible says in verse number five that their name is put out forever.
People that were praising this life, these wicked people that were put in positions of authority,
their name is going to be put out forever. Now turn to Exodus 17.
So a lot of people in this world are exalted. They're really famous. They're well respected and
then they get to the point where they end up dying and nobody really cares about it and they're
forgotten. Nobody. And so yeah, I get it. There's powerful people in this world. Look, there's going
to be a nobody somewhere. Yeah. Nobody's even going to remember them. Nobody's going to care
about them. Okay. Their name's going to be put out forever. Exodus 17 verse 14 the Bible reads,
And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the
ears of Joshua. For I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. Okay.
The Bible says write this for a memorial in a book. So that's something that's going to be
remembered. And what he says is that we're going to put out the remembrance of Amalek from under
heaven. But nobody knows who the Amalekites are unless you read the Bible. Nobody knows them.
They're forgotten. Nobody knows what. He's put out their name forever. Okay. They're wicked people
that nobody cares about. You could also think as you're turning back to Psalms nine, think of the
Assyrian Empire and we're going to talk about them on Sunday. So I don't want to go too much into
this. But look, the Assyrian Empire was the number one most powerful empire in the world. Nobody was
more powerful than them. And does anyone really know anything about Syria today? Unless you're a
historian that really studies it, or unless you're studying to preach sermons, unless you know what
the Bible says, you don't know anything about Syria. They're forgotten. Nobody knows about them.
Now I'm actually preaching on them a couple times here in the next few weeks. You know,
some certain things we can learn from them. So I've learned a lot about them. And the Bible talks
about them in the book of Jonah and the book of Nahum. But outside of that, nobody knows who they
are. Okay. In fact, more people probably know what Nineveh is than they do the Assyrian Empire.
They've heard of Nineveh because that's the story of Jonah. But it's like, yeah, that was the head
city of the empire from Syria. Nobody knows who Assyria is. Why? Because their name was put out
because they were the number one most wicked empire throughout the entire Bible, bar none.
There's no comparison. I'll show that to you here on Sunday, actually. But they've been put out.
They're forgotten. And look, wicked people, they might be powerful in this world,
and they might be exalted in this world. They will be put out forever, and nobody cares about them.
See, the Bible says about God's people that they're unknown and yet well-known. See,
what does that mean? Well, in this world, all of us are unknown. Nobody knows who we are. Nobody
really cares who we are. But does it really matter how well-known we are in this life?
Because you can be unknown in this life and well-known up in heaven. If you're a soul-runner,
you're really something for God. Or you can be really well-known in this life and well-respected
and everybody loves you, and then your name can be put out forever, and nobody cares. And we have
our choice in life. And I would rather be unknown in this life but well-known up in heaven as
opposed to well-known here and then just nobody cares. You want to see that? Now, in Psalms 9,
verse 6, the Bible reads, O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end,
and now hast destroyed cities. Their memorial is perished with them. A memorial is something that's
remembered, okay? What they put in place to be remembered is perished with them. They're
forgotten. You know, somebody puts up a memorial, like for example, you know, at a tomb or whatever.
There's a good example. You put a grave and everything like that. You put it to be remembered.
Basically, they put up their memorials, and they're completely gone. They're forgotten.
And so nobody knows who they are. They put in effort to put up a memorial, and nobody knows it,
because their name is put out forever. Now turn back to Exodus 12. Exodus 12.
And you look at all these false religions and everything. They all have their things that they
think of in the Bible, where, you know, they worship various women in the Bible,
and the temple of the great goddess Diana. Look, that was something that was actually major back
in the day, because I actually listened to a biography on Julius Caesar, okay? And they kind
of mentioned it in passing about how there's this temple of this great goddess Diana. Wow,
you know, because you read that in the Bible, and then all of a sudden they're like talking about
it. Like it was a big thing back then. How many people know about the temple of the great goddess
Diana in this world? Nobody knows. You never hear it ever talked about. The only time I've ever
heard that is in this book, and then also when I was listening to the biography on Julius Caesar,
who lived roughly, you know, less than 100 years before Christ came, okay? That was a huge temple
at the time. She was really well respected and loved. The Greeks absolutely loved her. Her
name's been put out forever. Nobody knows about her unless they're listening to a biography on
Julius Caesar, someone who died 2,000 years ago, or they're reading the Bible, okay? And so they
can put up the fanciest, nicest temple in the world. It's forgotten, okay? Exodus 12 verse 13
and 14. And the blood shall be you for a token upon the houses where ye are. And when I see the
blood I will pass over you and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the
land of Egypt. And this day shall be on you for a memorial, okay? Something to be remembered. And
you shall keep it a feast of the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it a feast by an
ordinance forever. Now obviously we understand that the Passover was replaced by communion,
but it's still something we do every single year, and it's something that's done in remembrance,
okay? So when the Lord puts up the memorial, it doesn't get destroyed, okay? But these wicked
false religions, they put up their memorials. They're completely forgotten. Nobody knows them,
okay? Now turn back to Exodus, or Psalms 9, I should say. Psalms 9.
And in Psalms chapter 9, the Bible reads in verse number 7. But the Lord shall endure forever. He
hath prepared his throne for judgment, and he shall judge the world in righteousness. He shall
minister judgment to the people in uprightness, okay? Now a lot of people are kind of confused,
obviously, about salvation, but just about the way God judges and how this works. Now for our
individual salvation, it's believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. It's as
simple as that. If you believe you go to heaven, if you don't believe you go to hell. It's that simple.
He that believeth on the sun hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the sun shall
not see light with the wrath of God divided from him. Now that is in terms of us going to heaven
or hell. But our personal, how we get judged by God is based on do we obey this book, okay?
Now this makes perfect sense because like with my son, if he's obedient, then obviously I hug him.
If he's disobedient, then he gets his faith. That's the way it works, okay? It's the same
thing in our lives if you believed on Jesus Christ and you received everlasting life,
you became a child of God. And if you're a child of God, God expects you to follow
his rule. You say, you know, all ten commandments? No, no, no, there's a lot more than ten, okay?
I don't know how many. There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds, okay? There's a lot of
commandments, a lot of things. He cares about everything we do. He cares about what we watch,
what we hear, what we think about, the way we dress, everything, okay? God cares about these
things. He has commandments for us. But not only does he judge us in this life based on what we do,
he also judges this world. And he judges nations based on whether or not they're righteous
or whether or not they're wicked, okay? Now look, the Assyrian Empire is a great example because
when you read the book of Nahum, it talks about how wicked they are. Woe to the bloody city,
okay? A bloody city, a wicked city, okay? What happened to Nineveh? They were destroyed.
They're gone. You say, why? Because he judges the world in righteousness, okay? And they were
more wicked than other empires that existed. Egypt didn't get destroyed. Egypt got lessened,
they got taken over, but they didn't get destroyed. You say, why is it that Assyria
got destroyed? Because they were more wicked. And he judges this world in righteousness. And
if a nation is a wicked nation, God will judge that nation, okay? Now it's really hard in today's
world to really see the difference between any nations because they all seem to be pretty wicked
in today's world. And this is just the way it's going to be. It's going to be a downward slide to
hell with every nation. Every nation has rejected God at this point. They're all wicked, okay? The
United States of America, who sheds more blood than the United States of America? Nobody. You say,
well, the Muslim nations. No, they don't. It's the United States of America. They're the ones
shedding blood all over the world. But that doesn't mean that our nation is righteous.
I mean, don't for a second think that we're righteous in this country. We're not, okay?
And so God, he judges the world in righteousness. And if a nation is wicked, they're going to be
judged by God. So it's not just the individual, but also God judges nations. Think of Sodom and
Gomorrah. You say, why were they destroyed? Oh, they were destroyed because of pride. No,
I think you need to go back and read Genesis 19 a little bit again. Yeah, you know,
pride was the start of it. Pride's always the start of everything, and then it became more
and more wicked. Why did God judge them and destroy them? I mean, where do you think we
get the term sodomite from? It's from what they were doing in Sodom. That is why they were
destroyed. You say, why? Because God judges the world in righteousness. And he actually cares
about what we do in our lives. Yes, he does. He cares about those things. Psalms chapter 9,
verse 9, the Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And so
in our lives, if you're doing what's right, you're living a godly life, you are going to go through
some times of trouble. You're going to go through some times of persecution. You know, being a part
of this church, you know, it is possible one day we could be persecuted for what we believe and
what we stand for, because we stand up for the word of God who preached the truth. We go so
in it. But you know, the Lord is a refuge during those times. Verse number 10, and they that know
thy name will put their trust in me, for that Lord has not forsaken them that seek me. Now,
I want you to notice in verse number 10, it says, they that know thy name will put their trust in
me. Now, I want you to go to John 10 for a second. John 10.
What we need to understand is there's a difference between being known by God and by us
knowing God. Those are different things in the Bible. And so in Psalms 9, as you're turning to
John 10, it says, they that know thy name. Now, I don't believe that you can really know the name
unless you're actually saved, but for us to know the Lord and to know God, it's more than just
being saved, okay? It's actually knowing who God is and reading the Bible and things like that and
living for God. Notice how it says in John 10, verse 27, a very famous verse, my sheep hear my
voice and I know them, and they call them. See, if you're saved, if you're a sheep, if you're a child
of God, then guess what? God knows you. That does not mean that you know God though. And don't tell
me that, well, you know, I'm saved, so I know God, but you never read the Bible, cover it, cover it.
I mean, how do you know God then? You don't know the books of the Bible, you've never read them,
you don't know what's in the Bible. How can you really say you know God? Now, the terminology
given in the Bible is that, yes, he knows us if we believe on Jesus Christ. That does not mean we
know him. But when I first got saved, I was in all kinds of different problems in my life. The type
of music I listened to, the movies I watched, I didn't even realize what's wrong. You don't realize
he saves us. The world brainwashes you. I didn't know God. I didn't know what he wanted. I didn't
know what he desired. I didn't know the importance of reading the Bible and going soul-winding and
the importance of church. I didn't know these things. I didn't know that the way I dressed
me needed to be changed. I didn't know everything I didn't need to be changed. And you know what? You
can't say you know God unless you know what this book says. And so when the Bible says
knowing him, that's actually more than just being saved. Being saved is only a small part of the
Christian life. It's a very small part. Actually getting to know God, that's something that takes
a lifetime. The more you read the Bible, the more you know God. What is the thing that everybody
says when they read the Bible cover to cover for the first time? They're always blown away and say
wow, I didn't realize that God was a part of me. It's what everybody says. And honestly, you know,
I preach sermons and some people I'm sure think it's too extreme. But then it's like, well,
I always suggest to people go home and read the Bible for yourself and then see how extreme you
think I am. You're going to think man, I'm water now. Okay, because you read the Bible and guess
what? It's a pretty extreme God when we serve. Turn back to Psalms 9. Turn back to Psalms 9.
I mean, we already talked about Sodom being destroyed, Assyria being destroyed.
That's a pretty extreme God that would destroy an entire area. Okay. And so in Psalms 9,
verse number 11, the Bible reads, Sing praises to the Lord, which dwells in Zion,
declare among the people his doing. So once again in verse number 11, it talks about praising God,
but then it says declare among the people his doings. Okay. So very clearly in verse number 11,
you can see that the songs that we should sing should talk about who the Lord is and what he
does. Okay. You're supposed to declare among the people his doings and you do that by singing
praises to the Lord. So the songs we sing should have real meaning. Okay. Now I was never into the
CCM, Christian contemporary music, Christian rock scene because when I got saved in college,
you know, the music I listened to was like the hard rock music and stuff like that. Really bad
music. Okay. Stuff that nobody should be listening to. Okay. But I remember when I was a freshman and
I'm going to all these, you know, campus Bible studies and all this stuff from all kinds of
different people and everything. And someone invited me to a Christian rock concert that was on
the campus at WVU and it didn't cost any money. So I kind of went because I felt guilty. I said,
you know, man, I need to clean up my music. I was like, I need to make some changes.
And I was like, man, all these other people, they're just listening to Christian rock. And
I was naive. I thought it was good music. I thought, wow, you're singing praises to God.
And I remember I showed up and then the band that was playing, all the men had long hair
and then it was like heavy metal and they're just like banging their heads like this. And I'm like,
whoa. I was like, this doesn't really feel too much different than the rock music I listen to.
So I was expecting, you know, I go there and think, wow, you know, this is really godly and
everything. And I win. And it's like, that's the same music that I actually, I didn't even listen
to music that bad. I listened to hard rock, but not the heavy metal. Heavy metal is like the
really extreme hard rock that has no sound. And it's just loud noise. And it just talks about
killing people and stuff like that. And I was just like, man, the music I listened to wasn't even
that bad. But look, you know, that's not much different than the rock music at all.
And you know, the songs that they were singing, when you listen to the lyrics,
they're really stupid generic lyrics usually. Like one of the songs that I talked about in
a sermon before I remember hearing was really popular back when I was in college was from the
news voice called they don't serve breakfast in heaven. And it says captain crunch is saying amen
during the song. That is ridiculous. What does that have to do with the words of God,
who guidance and that was what they were singing. It's just like, you know, I'm sorry, but
I don't think that's, I mean, the songs we sang before he started, they're good songs
to God be the glory, right? The, the violence defender who truly believes,
doesn't that teach you what we believe? Yeah. It's like, yeah, you know, after a pen of your
sin, we're telling you exactly what we're not hiding. Okay. And the songs that we sing should
talk about who that is. And you know, outside of the book of songs, you'll notice every once
in a while, we'll talk about song that's written. Okay. And usually what those songs are about is
like, God just destroyed some area and some of the judgment that God's pouring out. It's like, wow,
it's just so much different than the songs that we sing today. It's hard to really comprehend,
but that's what they sing songs about. Okay. It actually talks about he's doing verse number 12.
When he made an inquisition for blood, he remembered them. He forget it, not the cry
of the humble. Have mercy upon me, O Lord. Consider my trouble, which I suffer of them that hate
thou that liftest me up from the gates of death. And verse number 12 is kind of encouraging to us
where it says he forget it, not the cry of the humble. He doesn't forget those that are humble.
But one of the big things God hates is crying. Yeah. That's like the biggest problem you see,
because it's always the start of everything. Pride. And look, you know, I preached a sermon,
you know, a year and a half ago or so. It's one of my favorite sermons. I've preached at FWCLA,
where I talk about the pride of Eden. And what you see in the Bible is as far as you exalt yourself
is as far as you're going to fall down and get destroyed. Right. That's the way it works. You
think of the person who exalt himself more than anyone in the Bible is the devil. So I will ascend
above the heights of the clouds. He said, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. If thou
shall be brought down to hell, the size of the pit. That's what the Bible says. Nobody exalts
himself more. Guess what? If you're really high in the air and you start to free fall,
you're going to increase speed pretty quickly. 9.8 meters per second. It's been a while since
I've done these sorts of math problems, but you're going to gain some speed pretty quickly
before you hit terminal velocity and smash it into the ground. That's the way it works.
Us in our lives, we should be careful not to exalt ourselves. Where it gets dangerous is that every
single person in this room, you have certain things that you're good at. We're all different,
but every single one of us has certain talents that we're good at. Be careful not to make it
a point to let people know how good you are at that. We all have things that we're good at,
but guess what? We all have things we're bad at too. Why don't you talk to people about how bad
you are at certain things? Everyone wants to talk about how great they are at certain things,
but you have to understand that God says he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
What you learn in life is that the way up is down. The way up is to humble yourself.
That is how you get exalted. That's what it says in Luke 18. That's what it says throughout the
entire Bible. If you want to be exalted, you want to be successful in life at your job or whatever,
secret is humbling for someone. Now a lot of people will exalt themselves, especially in terms
of religion. You see a lot of pastors that just talk about how great they are and they exalt
themselves. Yeah, you know people love them, they respect them, they run for office and stuff like
that. They're going down. It's way worse. And their names will be put out and nobody can know who
they are. That's the way it works. In Psalms 9, let's look at verse 14. That I may show forth all
that praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in thy salvation. And so in life,
things don't always go our way. And it talks about praising God here. It says I will rejoice in thy
salvation. One thing we can always rejoice on for us that are in this room is the fact that we are
saved. Look, life is going to have some ups and some downs. Every single person goes through them.
It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter how much money you have. It doesn't matter how
famous you are. It doesn't matter who you are. You have ups in life and you have downs in life.
But one thing that we can always do is rejoice in the salvation of the Lord. You say why? Because
of the fact no matter how bad this life is, eternity is forever. And I would rather live
a miserable life here on earth and be in heaven than have everything and be the greatest king,
be the most powerful king in hell. What good does that do? Because this time on earth is
not very long. Guess what? It does not feel good to be burned. Psalms 9 verse 15,
the heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made and the net which they hid is their own
foot taken. So if I was touched by the heathen, the wicked people, they dig a pit basically and
they get caught by that on the pit. Now I don't have it in my notes for the sake of time but
if you remember the story of Esther, that's exactly what happens with Haman. He wants to
destroy the Jews. He wants to kill Mordecai and what ends up happening, guess what? You get killed
by the same method that you wanted to kill him. But even outside of just actually trying to kill
someone, the Bible talks about people that await. Basically the way people exalt themselves is the
same way they look. An example of that is that the most prideful people in their intelligence in
the world are probably evolutionists, right? And they think that what they believe is so smart.
It's like I can't think of anything more stupid than evolution and the big bang here. And it
doesn't matter if 99% of the world believed it. There's literally nothing more stupid than that.
I mean you honestly, I mean four and a half billion years old, do you realize how long
that is? Four and a half billion years old. Yes, it's only a few more zeros on the end,
that's a lot of time. Four and a half billion years old. And to suggest that this world was
able to sustain itself for that long, he's like do you know anything about the way things work?
The distance that the moon is from the planet greatly affects the tidal waves and the wind
and things like that. If it was moved just a little bit, if the earth was one million years
old, this earth would be destroyed. Things are exactly aligned the way they need to be.
The temperature here on earth is perfect for us to live. Go try to live on another planet.
It's not going to work. And you honestly suggest to me that in four and a half billion years,
the temperature has just been, because they're so scared about global warming,
something that just started over the last couple decades, which is honestly a big hoax,
but it's like you're honestly so scared about global warming and yet this planet lasted four
and a half billion years without destroying itself? I mean that is pretty foolish, right?
That's pretty stupid. To suggest that the center of the earth for four and a half billion years
old is still hot? Look, when you heat something in a microwave, it cools off eventually. Usually
after 10 minutes it starts to cool off. And yet the center of the earth, according to you with
no God, is still hot after four and a half billion years old? Explain that. And I've read there are
supposed expectations. They have no idea. They're just guessing because it doesn't make a lot of
sense to suggest that it's still hot after four and a half billion years. And yet it hasn't burned
through the earth. Okay. Even though hell is enlarging itself, which I assume they would agree
on as well. And yet it hasn't burned through to the surface of the earth. It doesn't make any
sense. There's so many problems with it. And yet these people, they exalt themselves in their
intelligence, but they look so stupid. Yeah. That's the way it works. When you exalt yourself
away, God allows it with your own foolishness. Doesn't the Bible say the wisdom of the school
is foolishness with God? And us as believers that believe the Bible, it's foolish to us as well.
Yeah. It's stupid. It makes no sense whatsoever. It says in verse number, and let me just say this
on a side point because when I was in college, getting saved in college, you know, I got a
math degree. And I would tell you that at least in my college, because they act like evolution is
so scientific and so mathematical, it just makes perfect sense. Most of the people that I knew that
got math degrees did not believe in evolution. They did not believe the earth was old. You say,
why is that? And this could have just been in my college, but the way I looked at it is because as
a math person, two plus two equals four makes sense. I understand how two times three equals
six. It logically makes sense to me. It's simple. It makes sense. Okay. Evolution doesn't make any
sense whatsoever. It's all theoretical and everything. They have no proof. They have no
real solid proof. And as someone who gets a math degree, I want to see something that's actually
just simple to understand. Something I understand. Evolution doesn't make any sense. It doesn't make
any sense whatsoever. And I would love to have them tell me how did this world even begin? Because
that's something they don't even want to answer. Verse 16, the Lord is known by the judgment,
which he executed. The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands, the Gihon Selah.
Now I want you to notice in verse 16 that it says the Lord is known by the judgment,
which he executed. Turn to Joshua 2.
And honestly, this is the part of the sermon where I'm going to lose most Baptists.
God says that he's known by the judgment that he executed. Okay. See, they have this idea that
we can't really preach hard because we've just turned people away from the gospel.
We need to just talk to them about the love of Christ and, you know, all the good. Don't
talk to them about anything bad. And yet the Bible says the Lord is known by the judgment,
which he executed. Joshua 2, verse nine. And she said unto the men, this is Rehab,
I know that the Lord hath given you the land and your terror has fallen upon us,
and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. So she knows about who the Lord
is. Well, how does she know this? Verse 10. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of
the Red Sea for you when he came out of Egypt, and what he did under the two kings of the Amorites
that were on the other side, Jordan, Sihon, and Og, whom he utterly destroyed. And as soon as we
heard these things, our hearts did melt. Neither did there remain any more courage in any man
because of you. For the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above and in earth beneath. Okay.
Because of the judgment, which the Lord executed, she knew he was a true God. You say, well, how is
that possible? Well, look, when it came to the Lord drying up the water of the Red Sea, when it
came to Egypt, which she's mentioning coming after them, look, Egypt at that time was the most
powerful nation. Nobody could have mentioned Egypt. It would have been impossible. Why? I mean,
if you go back to the book of Nahum, when it talks about Egypt, it says their power was infinite.
It doesn't get more powerful than infinite. Nobody was more powerful than Egypt. And yet,
like that, they're destroyed. Like that, Pharaoh's gone. Like that, all of them drowned. You say,
what does that teach you? Well, it shows you that, you know, maybe your gods aren't as powerful as
you think they are. And maybe our God is actually true. Because when you see something like that
happen, it makes you realize, wow, it's pretty clear who the true God is. Okay. And so the judgment,
which the Lord executed, that is not something that turns away people from the Lord. You say,
well, you know, if we talk to them about all the tough stuff that happens in the Bible,
people being killed, that it's going to turn people away from Christianity. No, it's going
to turn people away that would have never come to Christianity. Right. It doesn't turn people away
that want to know the truth. Okay. Because if you accept the Lord Jesus Christ, you believe on him,
you would believe on the true God of the Old Testament as well. Don't tell me that you say,
well, I believe on Jesus Christ, but I don't believe in anything in the Old Testament.
That he killed anyone or anything like that. I don't believe that. Well, you know, you would
never believe on Jesus Christ either. It's all or none. It's the same true God that we have. It's
the same living God. You either believe or you don't. Okay. And the judgment of the Lord does
not turn people away. I will not be afraid. And look, our common logic would suggest to us that,
yes, it would turn people away. We got to be careful about what we say. But you know,
one thing I've learned through the years is that's not true. And honestly, you know,
when you preach the truth, a lot of people like it. And a lot of people like it because they go
to every other church that teaches nothing. They learn nothing at church. And the pastor is afraid
to just say what the Bible says. And then they like it when they hear somebody actually say,
hey, this is what the truth is. But yes, sometimes it steps on our toes. But look,
if you're a smart person, if you're wise, you're happy to know that you're destroying your life
at something. Look, if somebody was destroying their life by, let's say, you know, drinking
alcohol and they didn't realize it was wrong, if they were wise, they'd like to hear, hey,
this is how it would destroy your life according to the Bible. Okay. And so the bottom line is,
tough preaching does not turn people away from Christianity at all. It's something we need to
do. And look, it's going to bring people here that actually want to know what the truth is.
Turn back to Psalms 9. And so in Psalms 9, and you say, brother, sorry, I don't know,
some of the things that you say are pretty tough. Well, I encourage you to read the Bible for
yourself. And if you read the Bible for yourself, then you decide what you want. You know, read
Psalms 9 and 10 in your free time. Okay. I'm expounding it. I'm telling you what I think the
Bible means here. Go back to Joshua 2, which I just read, and you decide for yourself what you
believe. Because you, as a person who's saved, should be able to read the word of God, having
the spirit of truth inside you, and figure out for yourself. This is not a church where we're
afraid of people reading the word of God. We encourage it because I want you to know what
the Bible believes. And if I say something that's wrong, then believe what the Bible teaches. You
make that decision for yourself. Psalms 9, verse 17, the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all
the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten. In expectation, the poor
shall not perish forever. Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail. Let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
Put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. I like verse 20
where it says, put them in fear that they know that they're just men. To be but men. Okay. And
see, no matter how powerful you are, once you're afraid, you're going to realize, again, maybe I'm
not that powerful. Turn to Malachi 1. As we went back and talked about Pharaoh from Egypt, I mean,
he was a pretty powerful guy. In fact, the most powerful guy in the world at the time.
But I'm pretty sure that when he was in the midst of the Red Sea, it's like, wow,
I guess I'm not all that powerful anymore. I mean, you'd think he would have figured it out
when the whole country was covered with frogs, and there was darkness upon the land,
and then the river was blood, but he didn't seem to get it. But, you know, eventually you realize,
wow, you know what, maybe I'm not that powerful. I mean, even all those people told me, don't you
realize? Knowest thou not that Egypt is destroyed? And they're basically saying, what is wrong with
you? It's like, why are you allowing this to happen? Just admit that they've got the right guy.
Just give in, and then, yeah, he didn't do that. Malachi 1, verse 14. But cursed be the deceiver,
which hath in his flock a male, and a male, and a sacrifice unto the Lord a corrupt thing.
For I am a great king, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathens.
See, the Bible says that our Lord is a great king. Now, there's a lot of people that the world will
label as being a great king, but there's none like the Lord, and oftentimes that's a name for
powerful kings, like King Cyrus the Great, Alexander the Great. Nothing compares to the Lord,
and the only reason why they're in those positions of authority is because God allowed it,
okay? What the Bible says about the Lord, that his name is dreadful among the heathen, and so
the heathen world, the people that reject the Lord, they should be turned off by the God of
the Bible. People that choose to reject the Bible, they should be turned off. Now, look,
we try to reach them by going so many and showing them what the Bible says, but people that choose
to reject and want to live a wicked life, look, they should be turned off. His name is dreadful
among the heathen. They hate the God that we worship, and isn't it true that a lot of wicked
people hate the God of the Bible? They hate the God we worship. They hate the words that I preach,
and they don't like what we're saying, okay? His name is dreadful among the heathen. It makes
sense. I mean, it shows that the Bible's right, that, look, when you preach the truth, that a lot
of people will be turned away. Now, look, I don't intentionally turn people away. I wish that more
people would come here and, you know, hear the preaching of the Word of God, and more people
would grow and things like that. We don't intentionally turn people away. What we don't do
is water down the message and the fear we might turn someone away. I will never water down the
message. Now, it doesn't matter whether our attendance never grows over the next 20 years,
because we're still going to get tons of people saved. So even if we never have a huge, and we're
not going to be a mega church, I can promise you that. The only way we're going to be a mega church
is if I die and somebody takes over, or if I get super watered down. That's the only way it would
ever happen. We're not going to be a mega church. I do think we're going to grow as a church, but
whether we grow or not doesn't mean that, because I'd rather have a church family that
people that love the Lord. I mean, you know, you have one of these families, you have a family
reunion, there's always those people that you don't like in the family. You know, it's like,
not here though, because people here love the Lord. And so all of us love the Lord, and so
we're encouraged with one another, we care about one another. I don't want to fill this place with
a bunch of people that just believe completely different things than us, that just reject
everything. Yeah, look, it's great if people are new to church, and they come, and then they're
hearing the preaching of the Word of God, and then they learn, they grow, and things like that,
but we don't want people in here that are just like, well, you know, I know that you take
communion once a year, but I think you should take it every week in, I believe, the Eucharist,
and then it actually turns into the body of Jesus when you put it in your mouth. And then once you
take it out, it's not the body of Jesus. You put it back in, it is the body of Jesus. Look,
that's not what we believe around here. Right. We tell people what we believe, okay, and people
can change their minds and grow and things like that, but the bottom line is that, you know what,
we're not going to water down the message here. It does not turn people away from Christianity,
okay. I remember an example one time where I invited somebody to church, and the person I
invited to church was a United Methodist, okay. I grew up United Methodist, and then, you know,
the pastor never really preached on, you know, the United Methodist, not against a huge denomination
or whatever, and specifically in that sermon, he just went on a rabbit trip for 20 minutes and just
ripped the United Methodist, and I'm thinking, oh my goodness, this is the worst week ever
to invite them. But, you know, that's exactly what that person needed to hear, and they ended
up getting saved that day and got baptized that night. Man. Somebody tried to get saved from
years. Sometimes what hurts is actually what people need to hear. Amen. And I've learned that
even being here, like I preach, and you guys don't notice it because you're just looking up at me
preaching, but I can tell sometimes when I'm preaching and people just disagree with what
I'm saying. If I was to be not afraid of their faces, you know, sometimes you're preaching
something. You know, I've seen people cry. I've seen people get mad. It's just like, well, you know,
you got to just like not think about it, but quite honestly, I've had those same people that were
upset then say, you know what, thank you. I agree with everyone who said you're right.
So, yeah, sometimes it's stepped on your toes, but then you sit back and say, you know what,
what was said was actually right, okay. Let's go on to Psalms chapter 10. Psalms 10. We'll finish
Psalms 9 and 10 tonight. Psalms 10, starting in verse number one, the Bible reads, why standest
thou far off of the word? Why hideest thou thyself in times of trouble? Now, this first verse is not
really true, but it's kind of the way he feels. You know, it's not that God hides from us when
we're going through trouble. Sometimes we feel that way. Quite honestly, usually we feel that way
when we're going through trouble, okay. Usually we feel like God's kind of forsaking us, but quite
honestly, sometimes he allows us to go through persecutions and tribulations because they help
us grow. They help us develop patience. They help us become better people. Now, we feel like we're
being rejected when that happens, and sometimes he can have this attitude. Man, I go to church, you know,
three times a week. I go soloing. I read the Bible, and, you know, very few people are doing that, and
yet God's allowing me to go through all this trouble, and what we have to understand is God's
never rejected us. He is there for us, especially when we're living for him, but when we're going
through trouble, the truth is that's the way we feel, okay. That's, that's an importance of
church that we can help encourage one another when people are going through trials. Verse number two,
the wicked in his pride doth, doth persecute the poor. Let them be taken in the devices that they
have imagined, and so it talks once again about the wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor.
That's the word you're going to see that is usually the start of all problems is pride,
okay. That is what you're seeing throughout the Bible, and it says persecute the poor. Let them be
taken in the devices that they have imagined. As wicked people, basically, you know, wicked people,
they do want to kill the innocent oftentimes. That's the way it is. Now what happens though is
if somebody committed cold-blooded murder, they would just go to jail, right, if they got caught.
They'd go to jail. What happens with a lot of wicked people is oftentimes they're pretty smart
people, and oftentimes they have positions of authority. Look at most politicians. A lot of
those politicians, they murder the innocent, but the way they do it is nice and looks like they
didn't really do anything, so they don't go to jail. They don't just with cold blood just kill
someone, but they do it because they care about money and what they want. But look, that is often
the way that wicked people work, and if you're in a position of power, you can basically do what you
want and never get caught. That happens all the time. Verse number three, for the wicked
boasted of his heart's desire and blessed the covetous, the lord of worth. Okay, so it says
the wicked boast of his heart's desire. Now what would you call a person that boasts of his heart's
desire? What is the word you'd say that person is? When you're talking about your heart's desire,
what you want, basically, this is a prideful person that's covetous. His heart's desire,
you say, I want that car. I want that house. I want that job. I want this. I want that. That's
a covetous person according to the Bible. As the Bible says, thou shalt not covet. That would be a
covetous person, a prideful covetous person. And so the same person that is covetous blesseth
the covetous according to that. That should not be a shock to us. If you're a covetous person,
then you're going to talk to all the other covetous people. You won't think there's anything wrong
with that. I mean, if you're a prideful person, then you'll basically praise other people out of
pride and say there's nothing wrong with it. The person who's covetous, he's also going to bless
the people that are covetous. Now, the truth is most people are covetous. That's the way it works.
You see rich people that are on TV and these people that are like these multi-millionaires,
they have tons of money and they donate like a hundred thousand dollars to a charity.
And all of a sudden they're like front page of the USA Today or whatever big newspaper,
DMA news or whatever. They're like, man, this person gave so much money. It's like,
that's so little to them. And the only reason why they did that is they can be on the front
page of the news. And then people just praise them and say, man, you're so quiet because they're just
like them. And they praise that person who's just a prideful person. Why? Because most people are
prideful too. Verse number four, the wicked through the pride of his countenance will not
seek after God. God is not in all his thoughts. And the Bible talks about the pride of his
countenance. And this is basically the way you look. So the Bible talks about people that have
a proud look. There are people that you can tell are just arrogant, arrogant people. And maybe
they're trying to hide it, but you know, not very good at hiding it. You know, I think of, you know,
for people that know the name that comes to mind in terms of, you know, religious people to me,
it's like R.C. Sproul. R.C. Sproul, if you ever listen to him talk, whenever he had a question,
he'd just kind of lean back, have a smirk on his face and just, and you know, you just answer
the question and act like he was really, oh, he talked about it now and he was. And it's like,
no, you're not doing a very good job fooling me. Maybe other people get fooled. You're not
fooling me. Oftentimes, you know, religious leaders from famous religions, famous cults,
usually when you look at that person, they have that smug look on their face. They're super
arrogant, of course. And you can tell just by the way they look. The Bible talks about the pride of
his countenance will not seek after God. God is not in all his thoughts. Now, what you have to
understand, it says when they won't seek after God, some people are concerned so much with the
way they look that they will refuse to seek after God just because they don't want to look back in
front of other people. Isn't it true that when we give the gospel that sometimes you'll have a group
of three people, let's say, and you can tell that two of them want to hear the gospel? But they
don't listen because of that other person. That is always very frustrating. When you know that
somebody wants to hear the gospel because of the fact that two worries are what other people think
due to the peer pressure, they're worried about their countenance or the way they look,
then they don't listen. Or you're giving the gospel to people and then, you know, other people
are walking by and they start getting distracted. It's kind of funny because you're holding the
Bible and talking to them. It's obvious you're talking to them and then all of a sudden they
kind of make it look like they're not really talking to you. And it's like, it's obvious to
everybody that you're listening. You're not fooling anybody, but they're just so worried
about what someone else thinks and then they just kind of want to make it look like they don't care
because, oh, it's foolish to think about the Bible. And so, so many people are like that and
that's a foolish thing to do. Be very foolish to reject hearing the word of God just because you're
worried about how people look, but a lot of people do that. Verse number five, his ways are always
grievous. Thy judgments are far above out of his sight. As for all his enemies, he puffed them.
He had said in his heart, I shall not be moved, for I shall never be in adversity. This is the
very foolish thing to say, to say I shall never be in adversity because all of us will be in
adversity at times. Every single one of us. At this church, we prepare you for the adversity by
letting you know it's going to come. It doesn't matter how great your life is, you're going to
have problems in this life. People that are prideful, they literally think that they're
never going to have adversity. Everything in their life is going to be so great. Those people
are going to deal with adversity as well. Verse number seven, his mouth is full of cursing and
deceit and fraud. Under his tongue is mischief and vanity. And so, it says his mouth is full
of cursing and deceit and fraud. That's how it says fraud. It's basically with their mouth,
they're just alive. They're just full of fraud and trying to deceive people in order to get
money from them. These people don't care about them. Look, be careful about believing everything
you hear people saying. A lot of people are just lying to you. We just naturally assume
people are telling the truth. I'm not saying you should not believe people when they talk, but
oftentimes, people will act like they're one thing. They're just lying in their mouth.
They're full of deceit. They're full of fraud. They're a phony. Now, one thing I think we can do
is, if you notice that someone's full of cursing, there's a big chance they're going to be full of
deceit as well. A good chance they're going to be full of fraud as well. If they're guilty of one
thing, if they're guilty of mischief with autonomy, guilty of vanity, there's a good
chance they're going to be guilty of the other things as well. So, if you see somebody do one
thing, then you know what? You should realize maybe this is not the most trustworthy person
I should listen to. Verse number eight, he sits in the lurking places of the villages,
in the secret places that he murdered the innocent. His eyes are privately set against the poor. Now,
this is hard for people to understand, and you say, why would somebody want to just kill innocent
people? The reason why this is hard for you to understand and it's hard for me to understand
is because you're not a wicked person. It's hard, if you're not a wicked person, to understand
what some wicked person is thinking. It's hard for me to imagine some abortion doctor that is
willing to just kill children every single day and not care about them. I don't get it. How could
you do that? But I'm not a wicked person. That's why it doesn't make sense to me. It's hard to
understand the mind of a reprobate, someone that would want to just kill innocent people,
someone who just wants to harm other people. The reason why it doesn't make sense to us
is because we're normal people. It's hard for us to understand how someone's mind and conscience
can be filed. We don't think that way, okay? No, if we're not perfect, we make mistakes,
but I certainly don't want to just go around murdering innocent people. And yet the Bible
speaks of some people are like that. Oftentimes, these are people in positions of power that
actually have the ability to do that, okay? Verse 9, he lieth and wait secretly as a lion in his den.
He lieth and wait to catch the poor. He doth catch the poor when he draw him into his net.
Now, I should turn to 1 Peter 5, verse 8. Let me turn to myself. I don't have these in my notes.
1 Peter 5, verse 8. We're talking about a lion secretly waiting,
and this reminds me of 1 Peter 5, able to talk about the devil, okay? 1 Peter 5, verse 8.
And the Bible reads in 1 Peter 5, verse 8, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary,
the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking who he may devour. And what you have
to understand about a lion, which this is depicting the devil here in 1 Peter 5a,
is the way that they actually kill the prey, okay? They basically try to do it secretly.
They don't make it obvious that they're planning to have you for their meal for lunch, okay?
They do it secretly. They hide. They do it, and what I've heard before, and I don't necessarily
know if this is true, but basically they have an ability to kind of let out a war. People don't
really know, animals don't know what direction it's coming from, and so they basically just kind of
loathe the animal. They don't know where it's coming. They come in an area that's not expected.
They basically surprise them. They basically trick them, but, you know, it shouldn't be
shocking to us in 1 Peter 5a when you see the devil as a roaring lion. If you go back to Psalms
chapter 10, you're seeing a wicked reprobate that acts the same way as the devil, right? They're
acting like they're fathering the devil. They do the same things that their fathering the devil
does. Now turn back to Psalms, back to Psalms. And in verse number 10, Psalms 10 verse 10,
he crouches and humbleth himself with a form made fall by his strong ones. Now Psalms 10 is
interesting. Verse 10, when it says he humbleth himself. Now obviously this person's not humble,
but what they're doing is pretending to be humble in order to destroy the innocent, okay?
Just because somebody is acting humble doesn't mean that they are humble, okay? Sometimes it's
just an act. He crouches and humbleth himself. The same one that is as a lion humbleth himself. He
said why? That the poor may fall by his strong ones. He's pretending to do it in order to have
an advantage to destroy them. Look, a lot of people in this world, they act humble, okay?
Actually be careful about the person that makes it a point to let you know how humble they are,
okay? Be careful about that person because if it's very obvious that they're humble,
there's a good chance they're actually a really arrogant person. A lot of people,
they like to act like they're humble. Why? Because it's actually a way of lifting themselves up,
okay? And that's what we're seeing here in Psalms 10 verse 10, that there are people like this.
Verse number 11, he has said in his heart, God hath forgotten. He hideth his face, he will never
see it. Arise, oh Lord, oh God, lift up thine hand, forget not the humble. And so these wicked
people say, you know, God's never going to see it. I can do what I want, I can get away with it,
and a lot of the world thinks that way. They think they can just do whatever they want in life,
and there's going to be no problems, they can be prideful, they can be wicked, they can do whatever,
God's not going to see it. No, God's going to see every single thing that you do. Every choice you
make, every decision you make, he's going to see that. Verse number 13, wherefore,
doth the wicked contend God? He hath said in his heart, thou wilt not require it. Thou hast seen it,
for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand. The poor committed themselves
unto thee, thou art the helper of the fathers. Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man,
seek out his wickedness till thou find none. So in verse number 15, I love the word of God.
Isn't every word of God in the Bible pure? Isn't every word of God pure, perfect? Isn't every word
a pleasant word? This Bible says it's pure, it's perfectly pleasant. Notice in verse number 15,
break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man. Seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
It says break the arm of the wicked. Now you say, why would somebody have such an evil attitude
like this? Well, I want you to understand that this is the word of God, and the Bible chose to
put these words in. These are God's words, and what he's saying is, break down the arm of the
wicked. Now this should not be shocking to us. You say, why? Hasn't this whole chapter talked
about how the wicked want to kill the innocent? Right. Look, it's either going to be a wicked
person or the innocent that gets destroyed. Look, I'll be honest with you, it doesn't really break
my heart if some wicked person dies and goes to hell. Now it breaks my heart if some unsafe person
dies and goes to hell, the average person. But if we're talking about someone who's truly a wicked
person, some evil wicked reprobate, it doesn't break my heart when they die. Right. And look,
you know, you think of famous politicians or false prophets, it shouldn't really break our
heart that they die. Look, Muhammad married a five-year-old and according to them consummated
their marriage at nine. That's pretty pervert. That's pretty safe. Do I feel bad when Muhammad
died? No. Do I feel bad that Joseph Smith died at a young age? I don't feel bad about that. A
false prophet. Do I feel bad that Alexander the Great died in his early 30s from, you know,
some people say he drank himself to death, some people said whatever. No, he's a vengeful wicked
person. I don't feel bad about that. Look, why would we feel bad if some wicked person dies?
Now I feel bad if some other person died, but not some wicked person. Now look, most people aren't
wicked people. We're talking about someone who in his mind he says, I want to lurk and hide and kill
an innocent person, just a normal innocent person. I don't feel bad about that person dying. Those
aren't very common for people like that. But the Bible talks about it because there are people like
this. And you think of someone who's a reprobate, a sociopath, a psychopath, these crazy people.
Look, you look at some of these serial killers that kill 50 people. Would you rather another
50 people die, other people die, or that person die? Would you rather 50 innocent people die or
that person like Jeffrey Dahmer die, Ted Bundy die? I mean, just common sense, let the serial
killer die. And so the Bible says, break thou the arm of the wicked. And remember what the Bible
said, that his name is dreadful among the heathen. He's known by the judgment he pourth out.
And so the Bible says, break thou the arm of the wicked, amen. Verse 16, the Lord is king
forever and ever. The heathen are perished out of his land. Lord, thou heard the desire of the
humble, thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear, to judge the fatherless
and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may know more oppressed. And so these are great
chapters in the word of God. And quite honestly, this is not really that much different than a lot
of chapters in the book of Psalms. I want you to keep in mind as we're talking about praising the
Lord in the midst of enemies that what we just preached from tonight is a song book. This was
written a song about breaking the arm of the wicked person. That's a little bit different
than the CCN music list, right? Break thou the arm of the wicked. These are God's words though.
This is in the book of Psalms. These are his words and it's the word of God. You will never
be embarrassed to praise the word of God. This is what the Bible says. Let's go to the Lord in prayer.