Arise, O Lord

Would you join me in prayer? Father, now as we open your word, speak to us. We are a people who need hope. We are a people who need to be enlightened. We are a people, your people, who without your word, without your spirit, would not know how we ought to approach life. So help us now, we pray.

For the glory of your name above all else and for our good. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. This last week we've heard almost nothing but the analysis of the mass shootings that took place in weeks past. Last week, a week ago, last Saturday, Patrick Crucius walked into the Walmart in El Paso, Texas and killed 22 people. He was looking for Hispanics.

Last Sunday, as most of us prepared for church, we heard that a few hours before, a gunman had walked into a restaurant in Dayton and had shot nine people, killed nine people and wounded a couple dozen others. All this happened while we're still thinking about the shooting two Sundays ago in Gilroy, California, where a gunman killed three people and wounded several more. And then we start thinking of the kind of people who would do such things.

Who would walk into a Walmart and kill people just randomly, it appeared? what kind of people could be so devoid of human emotion that they would do those things we started thinking of the people in that store and in that restaurant then about their families, their wives and their children their brothers and sisters and parents, their fiancés and sweethearts all of them left behind we thought about the terror that must have gripped those people while the shooter walked the aisles of Walmart We think of the kids at home waiting for mom to come back who had gone shopping and wasn't going to come back. We begin to think about those tragedies and weep over them. And if you're honest this morning, many of you probably began to think, why, O Lord, do you stand far off?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? How do we understand those tragedies? No, not tragedies. We shouldn't call them tragedies. These wicked deeds against innocent people executed by depraved men. Well, David had the same questions and he asked them in Psalm 10.

So I want you to turn there with me this morning, Psalm 10. Why don't you listen carefully to this psalm? This is a psalm that gives us understanding and help in times like this. In times when evil just seems to be overwhelming. And evil men and horrible things just seem to go on without any kind of obstacles. Where is God when wicked men succeed?

Psalm 10, verse 1. why oh Lord do you stand far away why do you hide yourself in times of trouble that's a good question that's a good question where are you God when such wicked things strike people down people just going about their week people going to the store to buy a pair of shoes people who are celebrating a birthday at a restaurant where are you couldn't you have thwarted their plans? Couldn't you have made that not happen? Couldn't you have kept them from accomplishing their deadly goals?

Couldn't you have caused them to break down on the highway or something before they got there? I mean, good night. The one guy traveled 10 hours to do it. Couldn't in those 10 hours, couldn't you have slowed a vehicle down and he crashed? Or couldn't you have broken that vehicle down? Couldn't you have done something?

Couldn't even stop for speeding and discovered before he ever got there? couldn't you have arranged it so that someone would have figured it out and said what's going on here and contacted the police couldn the murderer have caught some sort of bacterial infection through a month ago and died before he could ever you could have done all that God You could have accomplished all those things But God everything worked out according to their fiendish plans Why did you hide yourself in time of trouble? That's what David's asking. Now David's not some philosopher here, right?

He doesn't play the part of the philosopher here. He's not asking a hypothetical question like we do in our ivory tower academic settings where we sit there and say, where is God when bad things happen? No, no. Do you see what he does here? He's asking God about this. He's asking God.

He's not just proposing some hypothetical. He is actually asking God this question. And like you, he cares little for hypothetical situations, but he wants answers in the midst of the horrifying realities of life. That's what he wants. He's not posing this question so we can sit around the table and discuss the problem of evil in our universe. What he's doing is actually asking God this question.

This isn't hypothetical. He asks this question of God because as he looks at these horrific events, it appears that God hides himself. It appears that God is uncaring and far off. It does appear that way. If we're honest, that's what we would be asking. Now, the scriptures teach us that asking the question is not sinful.

It's not sinful to ask that question. The reality of life in this broken world often obscures our eyes to the reality of God. But you see, he asks God the question. he asks God the question, expecting his comfort and that his understanding will come from God. You can ask God such questions without blaspheming him. You notice he's not shaking his fist at God.

He's not accusing God. He's not sticking his finger out and saying, where were you? Why didn't you do anything? What kind of a God are you? He's gone to God with his questions. remember a couple weeks ago we talked about this you bring your doubts about God to God and that question is an act of faith It an act of faith For by addressing God in this manner, you expect God to provide the comfort and understanding that you're seeking.

Even when God appears uncaring and hidden, our only recourse is God. Have you seen that? When it seems that God is uncaring, when it seems he's far off, when it seems he's hiding in times of trouble, we know that the answer to our questions can only come from God. Our only recourse is God. So we ask the question. and then he tells us to look to god in order to understand these wicked people and what he does now as he asks this question then he says here is what these wicked people are like verses 2 through 11 in arrogance the wicked holy hotly pursue the poor let them be caught in the schemes that they of devise for the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord in the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him all his thoughts are there is no God his ways prosper at all times your judgments are on high out of his sight as for all his foes he puffs at them he says in his heart I shall not be moved throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity his mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

He sits in ambush in the villages, in hiding places. He murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless. He lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket. He lurks that he may seize the poor. He seizes the poor when he draws them into his net.

The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might. He says in his heart, God has forgotten. He has hidden his face. He will never see it. As you read this psalm, you see the very picture of these killers, of terrorists in the world today, of these kinds of people. What do they do?

Verse 2, they hunt down the weak. They hunt down the weak. They hunt the weak down with their... schemes, verse 2. They are consumed with and by the things they do to others. Isn't that what we've seen? These people are consumed with this.

They're obsessed, consumed, and driven. They lie in wait, verses 8 and 9, like a lion in ambush. They lurk. they're ready to ambush their victims they catch helpless people verse eight he murders the innocent he stealthily stealthily watches for the helpless have we not seen this we're not seeing this over and over and over again from children being killed in an elementary school to people who are just shopping to people in a restaurant to whatever they're just helpless victims there's no recourse for them.

They don't go and assault the military base, do they? They go after the helpless and they crush their victims. This describes these kind of people who accomplish that kind of depravity. They're arrogant, he says in verse 2. They boast about their wicked deeds, It's verse 3. They boast of the desires of his soul.

How many times have we seen on Facebook of these killers? The manifestos of their hatred, right? They boast about it. They revel in what they're attempting to do and what they want to do. They're proud of it. And look at verse 4.

There is no God. Imagine living inside the head in which there are no thoughts about God, except God doesn't matter. Get inside that kind of a head where plans and memories and assessments, attitudes and reactions are devoid of God's will or God's judgment or God's lordship. the mind has nothing to do with this God in their arrogance they're haughty and they sneer at their enemies verse 5 they sneer at them they very haughty they look down on them Verse 7 they continue to threaten to intimidate to mislead to overwhelm This is the heart.

This is the mind of people who do these things. This is the mind of shooters and suicide bombers and all the wicked things we see today. And lastly, note this. they do not believe they're accountable for their actions. He says that a number of times. Verse 4, there is no God. Verse 5, your laws, your judgments are far above them.

That is to say, they're not even in their consciousness. Your judgments are on high, out of His sight. Out of His sight. It doesn't even, the judgments of God are not part of their thinking. verse 11 it says that God has forgotten that is I'll never be called to account for this there's no ultimate judgment here oh I may be I may be arrested I may spend time in jail but ultimately there's no ultimate judgment here there is no God now why why did these murderers do what they did well we have all kinds of answers now don't we here's the answers that you're going to hear on one side you're going to see on one side you're going to hear hey that's what our restrictive gun law gun laws do we need to have more conceal and carry people i mean if there were people that had guns there that wouldn't have happened we'll hear that.

We'll also hear this. No, no, no, no. Our gun laws are way too lax. We need to have more restrictive, more powerful gun laws. If we had that, these things would not happen. We'll hear that, right?

And you know what? People are going to get really exercised about that. People are going to get really exercised about that. And they're going to start shouting and foaming at the mouth about the Second Amendment or the gun laws or whatever. But that's not the bottom line. That isn't the bottom line.

The bottom line is people are wicked. That's why they do these things. That's why they do these things. It's because their hearts are wicked. Listen the ultimate answer to all these things are not And you can argue about this if you do it civilly you can argue about whether we need more restrictive gun laws or whether those are the problem. We'll argue about that.

But let's get one thing straight. That's not going to solve the problem. You know what's going to solve the problem? It's people of different hearts who don't want to kill. That's the answer. That's the only answer.

It's the gospel answer. it's the gospel answer. But we also need to ask this question. Am I more like these murderers than I'm willing to admit? Now listen, we're all sitting here comfortable. We're all churchgoers here. We're all sitting here, right?

All those terrible people. But ask the question, am I more like these murderers than I want to admit? Is there any falsehood or arrogance or bitterness in me? Are there ways that I act as if God does not exist? Patrick Crucius went into that Walmart looking for Mexicans. because in his view, they're invading our country. Let me ask you a question.

Do you have the same attitude towards Mexicans that he does? I'm not talking about laws. We can debate all we want about that. What about the people? Is your heart any different than his was? You know, it's interesting about this verse, particularly verse 7.

Look at verse 7. His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression. Under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. You know, it's interesting about that. We find that verse in the New Testament. You want to see it?

Turn to Romans 3. Turn to Romans 3. Romans 3 beginning in verse 10 as it is written none is righteous no not one no one understands no one seeks for God all have turned aside together they have become worthless No one does good Not even one That pretty strong He saying there nobody guiltless Their throat is an open grave. They use their tongues to deceive.

The venom of asps is under their lips. And here's our verse. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Quoting Psalm 10, verse 7. Their feet are swift to shed blood. In their paths are ruin and misery.

And the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Paul is writing this as an indictment against every human being that ever lived. You and me. So before we look at those people and say, look at those awful people, note this, that Paul actually quotes Psalm 10 as an indictment of everyone sitting in this place today. He says, you are more like that murderer than you want to admit. and you all need the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

And the only escape from that condemnation is through what Jesus has done for you. When you stand before the judgment seat of Christ and Patrick Crucius is standing right next to you, you're not going to be able to say, okay, God, look, he's worse than me. God's going to say you have also had the same murderous intents in your hearts many many many many times in your life the only difference between him and you is he had the means and you didn't you're guilty and your only hope your only hope is not getting your act together it's not comparing yourself to somebody else your only hope is in the fact that Jesus died to satisfy the justice of God that's your only hope but also note this in the last part of this song you need to look to God for deliverance and comfort.

We need to look to God when wicked men succeed in their plans. We need to look to God for understanding what that's all about. But we also need to look to God for deliverance and comfort. And here, the same man who wrote, why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? Now he looks at him and he says this, arise, O Lord, O God, lift up your hand, forget not the afflicted.

Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, you will not call to account, but you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands. to you the helpless commits himself you have been the helper of the fatherless break the arm of the wicked and evildoer call his wickedness to account till you find none the Lord is king forever and ever the nations perish from his land O Lord you hear the desire of the afflicted you will strengthen their heart you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. David teaches us to pray for justice. I don't think we say this enough, do we?

But God says, pray for justice then. How should you respond to the terrorism and the wickedness that we saw in these last weeks. Pray for justice. Pray, God, lift up your hand. Don't forget the helpless. Break the arm of the wicked and evil man.

Call him to account for his wickedness. Does that surprise you? Sometimes I think it does. We ought to call for justice. Break his arm. Keep him.

Give him what he deserves. Now, given our theology here, we look at that and understand that all of it took place according to the sovereign outworking of God's plan. We need to remember that God's not only sovereign, God is just. And whatever wickedness we commit, He will not overlook He will not overlook We ought to pray for justice So we can pray We can ask God to be successful in breaking the arm of the wicked and evil man and calling him to account for his wickedness.

There's nothing wrong with that prayer. And you know what? God teaches us to have confidence in the justice of God. The Lord is king forever and ever. the nations perish from his land. Isn't that interesting? He starts out by saying, why, O Lord, do you stand far off?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? And now he says, he affirms in verse 16, this thing, the Lord is king. What does that mean? It means the Lord is king and he is powerful and he is a king who is just and he will see that justice is done. God or David says to us you can have confidence in the justice of God the Lord is king and when we think he's far off we need to recall that he is the king and that he will see that justice is done he will see that justice is accomplished now you say but I know plenty of people like this who've walked free I know plenty of people who escape justice Levi and I were talking yesterday about one particular guy that's been in the news a lot and and you just wonder how did he get off with the conviction he got you know why he's a very rich he's a very powerful man with a lot of connections a lot of connections and we look and say see that where's the justice there it's not there yet but we need to be convinced of this that God will see that justice is done when you see and we see it over and over you know that I was very young and idealistic as a kid and I thought, and I love my country.

Please don't misunderstand what I'm going to say right now. I love this country. I love what it stands for. But I also know this, that even the United States of America is not beyond corruption and that justice is not served many times because of money and power. I understand that. The older I get, the more I see it.

And there's a tendency to lose hope then isn there But we have something that no one else does and that is there is a justice that transcends all justice in this world All the justice that is meted out is the justice of God but sometimes it corrupt and we see innocent people persecuted while wicked people are set free We have this one hope We can have confidence as David does because justice will have its final say It's fascinating to me that the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 17, he's standing there arguing for Jesus before all these learned men. And one of the things that he says is this. he's talked about the resurrection. He's going to talk about the resurrection.

Here's the light that he puts on the resurrection. God has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead. You see what he's saying? One of the reasons why Jesus has been raised from the dead is that you can be assured that justice will be accomplished.

He raised Jesus from the dead for the purpose of seeing that all justice will be done. So all the injustices that we see will one day be dealt with. Do you realize that no one is going to get away with anything? Look over at Revelation chapter 19. Revelation 19 Here is our hope. Verse 11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse.

The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True. And in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems. and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood and the name by which he is called is the Word of God. And the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.

From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written king of kings and lord of lords he's going to appear like that when you are starting to lose hope you need to remember jesus is going to appear faithful and true and he will judge with righteousness He got eyes that flame like fire There nothing that going to escape his notice All right. And then we read it again today already in Revelation 20.

Then it's verse 11. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it from his presence. Earth and sky fled away and no place was found for them. What is he saying there? you can flee all you want on that day on that day you will not escape you may be escaping now you may think you're getting away with it now but on that day everything will fly away but you're still going to be standing there there's no escape and I saw the dead great and small the powerful and the nobodies standing before the throne and books were opened.

Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.

This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, He was thrown into the lake of fire. What a horrible, horrible picture. And yet it's a picture intended to give us hope that justice will arrive and there will be no escape from the unerring justice and righteousness of the King of Kings, the Word of God, Jesus Christ.

When we look around and we start losing hope, We need to remember a day of ultimate justice will come by the perfect, unerring, righteous judge. You see? Now listen. Notice this as well, that you have deliverance and comfort in these tragic times because of the character of God. Because of the character of God. Do you see how God is described?

Look at verse 10. Forget not the afflicted. Right? You do see. Verse 14. But you do see.

For you know. mischief and vexation and you take it into your hands to you the helpless commits himself you have been the helper of the fatherless he hears the prayers he hears the cry of the victims he will not forget the helpless he will not forget those who have been bereft of love and companionship he sees the trouble and the grief of those weeping because of that lost husband and wife and father He is the helper of the fatherless. He listens to their cry and hears the desire of the afflicted for life to be good again. He hears that.

God is not far off. He hears it all. But you say many of those people who died did not know Christ. And many of the people they left behind are unsaved. God hears them. And I say to you, yes, he does.

Yes, he does. The love of God is not limited only to his family. is not our God slow to anger and abounding in love? Did not Jesus himself show compassion on the multitudes who eventually turned against him? Did he not show compassion to them? He fed them, for goodness sake. One of the things that stands in my mind is Matthew chapter 9, where all these people are coming to Jesus.

They don't want him. They want what he can do for them. They want to be fed. They want to be healed. They don't want Jesus. They just want what he can do.

And what does it say about him? At that point, you can see Jesus as he looks at them and he says, and he had compassion on them as sheep without a shepherd. They're users. And he has compassion on all of them. God has compassion on these people even if they do not belong to them. He hears the cry of these people.

He does hear that. And he responds. He may respond in common grace. Common grace, what I mean by that term is not the special grace he shows his people, but the common grace, the common unmerited favor he shows everybody, whether they love him or not. The common grace is as people in those communities come to help. Again, maybe many of them not Christians, but out of his common grace, they come to help these people. their neighbors, their friends.

Not only that but then he mobilizes his own people to show the love of Jesus in practical ways He hears them He steps in But listen he also responds by showing them Jesus again as the only rock upon which they can build their hope You can understand the love of a heavenly father in Jesus. Listen. the heavenly father our father loved his son beyond measure and yet there's jesus on that cross crying out what my god my god why have you forsaken me you think jesus knows what it's like and yet his heavenly father did what vindicated him by raising him from the dead my heavenly father loves me but there are going to be times where it looks like he doesn't care but he does just ask jesus i know the love of a heavenly father in christ and you can find rest for your souls in the most tragic times in trusting jesus and finding forgiveness and love from god many people today many of these folks many of these people who are alive can experience the love of God in a cup of water in just someone coming alongside and helping even in bringing the evildoers to justice a phone call listen last Saturday night my daughter Emma was going to go to a birthday party at that very place her mom convinced her honey I know you're tired you don't need to do everything that everybody asks so she called her friend and said I'm not going to be able to make it at night we heard of the shooting you know what she did she got on the phone and called her friends who were there that night God hears the cry of the afflicted when someone just comes along and says I care but there's permanent rest only in Jesus because in Jesus we can see there a much bigger picture I have confidence that he will judge I have confidence that he will bring justice But only those who are his have that confidence and there is rest because the unerring eye of God's justice will now not look at me and my sin, but will look at the sin bearer and say, my justice has been served. He has borne the wrath that you deserve.

You see, there's the only permanent hope is in Jesus. what are we to do? What are we to do when this happens again? Does anybody here think this isn't going to happen again? Wickedness just mounts every day. What happens? Just this.

God is not far away. And God is not uncaring. And He alone can give you understanding of these events if you would, but listen. he has yet shown his mercy by hearing the cry of the helpless by promising justice for those whom the wicked have crushed in their schemes he says justice will be served but he's also given us another chance listen, in our pleasure saturated society it often takes a tragedy of immense proportions to wake us up to the reality and what really counts in life.

In a society that's fueled by love of money, that just seems to live for nothing but pleasure, it's good to have our attention arrested and to be reminded that life is short and we must face God and that death can arrive at any moment. Death arrived for people who were looking for shoes that day. Right? Death arrived to people who were celebrating a birthday that night.

Death can arrive at any moment and these things ought to raise to get our attention and say life is short I going to stand before God What is my hope Has God gotten your attention God help us not to get so numb to these things that we care nothing for the people who go through it and we forget the lessons that we can learn. Finally, God reminds us that our hope for justice rests entirely in His hands. and it's to him that we go in times like that Father thank you for your word it is so rich and deep that it explains life to us and how we respond to it so God help us first of all not to be a people who get numb to the wickedness of this world. Lord, if anything like this should happen, if anything like this should happen close to us, help us to be the very hands of God who hear the cry, the ears of God who hear the cry of the helpless and the victims and the hands of God who reach out to love them.

God, help us also to remember that life is a vapor. It is momentary. Death can arrive at any moment. Remind us of that. And then help us to live our lives in light of it, realizing that what we do in this life will not last unless it's done for your glory. And that we only have a very short time to live for that glory.

Remind us of that, we pray. Finally, remind us of the beauty of a Savior who saves us from the punishment that is our due because you are righteous and unerring in all your judgments. But that he is the one who has served your justice on our behalf. Keep us mindful of these things. we ask. In Jesus' name, Amen.