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As for Me: The Lord as Our Portion (Psalm 17) · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to reformed thinking. Glad to be here.
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In this deep dive, we're opening up Psalm 17.
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It's well it's known as the prayer of the righteous sufferer
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and it is an incredibly dramatic and personal appeal.
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It really is. Our focus today is on David's
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plea for God to clear his name, and then this this stunning
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contrast he draws between the wicked and the righteous.
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The portion of the wicked versus his own satisfaction.
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Right. And how the whole Psalm points
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forward to Jesus Christ. So our mission, if you will, is
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to get at the real meaning of this prayer by looking at, you
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know, the courtroom of God, the nature of his covenant love, and
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the big question it asks every single one of us.
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And that question is? What truly is your ultimate
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portion? What are you satisfied by?
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OK, so let's set the stage a bit.
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Psalm 17 doesn't exist in a vacuum.
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It sits in a really telling sequence in the Psalter just
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before it. In Psalm 16, David confesses
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that God himself is his chosen portion, his inheritance.
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Then right after, in Psalm 18, you get this glorious
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celebration of God's deliverance.
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And that sequence is just so key to the mood here.
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Psalm 17 is the bridge. The in between the.
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In between, it's this raw, honest prayer from a man who is
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actively going through it. I mean suffering, slander, real
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opposition. While he's waiting.
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While he's waiting for the deliverance, he knows God is
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going to send. It's not the prayer you pray
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after the victory, it's the prayer from the trenches.
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So it's spoken between that confession of God as his portion
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and the celebration of God's action.
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Yes, he's praying to the God who is his portion, but he's asking
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him to act now, to act openly while the enemies are still
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closing in. The atmosphere then, right from
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the start feels very high stakes.
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This isn't just a vague cry for help.
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It feels almost legally precise. It is, and before we get into
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the details of his appeal, the core tension, the thing that I
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think hooks you is right there in verse 15.
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Climax of the Psalm. The whole thing builds to this.
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It draws this sharp line between 2 completely different ways of
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defining a good life. David just refuses to envy the
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successful temporary rewards of the men of the world.
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His joy is rooted in a hope that goes beyond death itself, this
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promise that he will awaken and see God's face.
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So the core question is always there.
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Always. What are you truly satisfied
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with? Is it something temporary,
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something that ends when you die?
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Or is it in something eternal that starts with seeing the
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living God? That distinction drives the
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whole prayer. That sets the scene very well.
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So let's get into Section 1, this idea of the courtroom.
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First one is where the legal structure really starts.
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David comes not as someone just wanting comfort, but as a
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petitioner in a High Court. It's a carefully framed legal
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appeal. He asks God to hear a just
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'cause he wants a verdict and. What makes this opening feel so
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different from other pleas for help we see in the Psalms?
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The focus is on justice, not just on mercy.
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He's appealing to the judge's own standards, he says.
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Attend to my cry because the cause is just.
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He's claiming he's in the right here, that he's suffering for
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doing good, not for some sin or foolishness on his.
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Part exactly, and the specific thing he asks for right away
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narrows the focus. He wants his vindication, his
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formal declaration of righteousness, to come directly
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from your presence. That location is everything it
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is. He's not looking for his friends
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to agree with him. He's not running APR campaign to
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clear his name. He wants the declaration from
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the only judge whose opinion is final.
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Right. And all sources point out three,
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let's say, flawed places people look for justification today,
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all of which David just bypasses.
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OK, what are they? First, you've got earthly
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courts. They can be biased or
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corruptible or just way too slow.
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Second, there's public opinion. You know, getting enough likes
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on social media. That changes with the wind.
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Superficial. And 3rd, and this one is maybe
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the most sneaky, is the internal courtroom of self justification.
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Where you just convince yourself you were right.
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Yes, you spend all this energy arguing the case in your own
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head, often by just shutting down your own conscience.
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David ignores all three. Because none of them are final.
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None of them bring real peace. So why is David so insistent
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that the only courtroom that matters is before God's face?
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Because the only eyes that see the final objective truth are
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the eyes of the Lord. Human judgments are incomplete.
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Our own self justification is, well, it's tainted by self love.
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Of course, when David brings his case to God's presence, he is
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handing over his entire reputation, his 'cause his
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future to the one who judges justly and sees everything.
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The verdict is based only on what God sees and says, not on
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what people think. The sources gave a great analogy
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for this. They compared it to the instant
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replay booth in a pro sports game.
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It's a perfect modern picture. On the field, you have chaos.
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The crowd is arguing, the players are yelling at the ref.
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The commentators are debating. Everyone has an opinion.
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Everyone but the final judgement.
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The only call that actually changes the score comes from the
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official in the booth with the perfect angle.
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And that call is final. It's final, and the believer
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who's waiting for that call is freed.
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Freed from needing to take revenge or desperately defend
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their name or play politics. David won't argue with the
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crowd. He's just waiting for the call
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from the booth. And that trust in the process
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sets up this really audacious claim he makes in verses 3
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through 5. It is audacious.
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He appeals to God's own examination of his heart, saying
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God has already tested him and found him clean.
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Tell us about this claim of covenantal integrity.
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This is a really key moment in the Psalm and you have to read
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it carefully. He says God has visited him by
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night, tested his heart, and found no deceit or malice in
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this specific conflict. That's the key part.
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Yes, the commentators are very careful here.
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This is not a claim to being a completely sinless.
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David, who wrote Psalm 51, knows he's a Sinner who needs grace.
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That's the clarification we need.
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If he knows he's a Sinner, why does he sound like he's bragging
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about his integrity? He's claiming what we call
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covenantal integrity in the face of the specific things his
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enemies are accusing him of. OK, they're accusing him of some
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deep, specific evil, maybe plotting a violent coup or
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acting with cruelty. And David is saying, search me,
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God, in this specific trial regarding how I've treated these
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accusers, my heart isn't filled with the evil they say it is.
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I haven't been plotting revenge or trying to destroy them with
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lies. Precisely.
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He's saying I haven't acted toward them with the same malice
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they've shown me. He's claiming that he has
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remained faithful in this specific situation.
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His actions and his motives toward his persecutors have been
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shaped by the standards of the Covenant.
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He says his steps were protected and he avoided the ways of the
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violence. Right.
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And that's evidence of a real moral choice that's been tested
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by God himself. That phrase visited him by night
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is critical. Why so?
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He's appealing to the fact that God has already probed his inner
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life in the dark. You know, when the masks are off
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and there are no human witnesses?
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He's saying I'm clear of what they accused me of because you,
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God, know my real motives. So that brings up a practical
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question. How did David maintain this
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purity, this restraint? I mean, if he's being hunted by
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violent people, the natural response is to fight back with
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the same tools. The sources are clear.
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This integrity comes from submitting to an outside
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standard. David says he used the word of
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God's lips to guide his steps, not his own gut feelings or his
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desire for revenge. Not his own tactical
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calculations. Right.
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The works of man he talks about are the usual patterns of a
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fallen world. Slander, deception, violence.
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David says. He turned away from those things
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because he was governed by God's revealed will, which commands
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justice, not personal vengeance. That is a huge point for anyone
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facing conflict today. It means you don't have to
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defend your name using the world's aggressive tactics.
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Submitting to God's Word is what protects your integrity in the
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middle of the fight. It's the great restraint of the
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righteous. David gets that the final
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verdict belongs to God, who holds the right to act in
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justice. David's job is to be faithful
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and submit and to hand his case and his reputation over to the
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judge. And this refusal to grab justice
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for himself sets the stage for the next section right.
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After the legal appeal, he shifts to a relational plea in
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verse 6. And he shows this incredible
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confidence. He says, I call upon you, for
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you will answer me not. I hope you might answer.
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That confidence, that assurance, it's rooted in God's character
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and his past actions, and that leads him right into the key
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relational idea in verse 7, which is he appeals to God's
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EST. This is a central Hebrew term
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that defines God's relationship with his people.
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We often translate it as steadfast love, but you know
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that really doesn't do it justice.
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So for someone hearing this term for the first time, how do we
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get at the depth of visit? It's more than just love.
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Much more estate is loyal love, or maybe better covenant
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faithfulness. It's not just a feeling, it's
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action that is driven by an obligation.
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An obligation. Yes.
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Think of it less like a warm emotion and more like the
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powerful bond where God ties himself to his people by promise
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and by oath. It's a love that has to act to
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preserve the relationship and keep the covenant promises.
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So when David asked God to wondrously show his este, he's
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asking for something that's grounded in God's own commitment
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but is also an astonishing act of mercy.
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That's it. He's appealing for a mercy that
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goes way beyond a cold contract of rules and penalties.
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If God were only governed by strict justice, David would be
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toast. But because God has bound
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himself to David in this loyal love, this affiracid, David can
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ask God to act based on his own promises.
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He's basically saying I'm your covenant partner, so your own
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honor requires you to deliver me.
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So he moves from standing formally before the judge to
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appealing to the loyalty of a father, and he knows that
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relationship secures his request.
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Yes, and you can see that intimacy in the images he uses.
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Next, let's look at that famous metaphor in verse 8.
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Keep me as the apple of your eye.
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It's one of the most striking images in the whole testament.
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It is, and it illustrates ease perfectly.
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The apple of the eye is the pupil, the black center.
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It's incredibly precious because our sight depends on it and it's
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exquisitely sensitive. So David is praying for what you
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call instinctive protection. Instinctive protection.
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That's a great way to put it. Think about it.
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You don't have to tell your eyelids to close when dust flies
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at your face. The reflex is instant.
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It's unthinking. It's designed to protect the
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most vital sensory organ you have.
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So he's asking God to treat his safety as a matter of deepest
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personal concern. Yes, with that immediate
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unhesitating reflex of a parent catching a falling child, he's
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asking God to treat him as vital to his own operation.
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He's actually referencing Deuteronomy 32 where Israel is
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described this. Way.
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But I have to ask the question that comes up here.
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Yeah. If David is asking for
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instinctive protection, how do we square that with the very
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real suffering he's obviously going through?
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It sounds like a contradiction. That's a critical question for
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any believer who is suffering. The sources are careful to
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clarify that this plea for protection is not a guarantee of
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an easy life right now. David isn't saying stop every
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single bad thing from happening to me this instant.
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He's asking for ultimate sovereign, covering protection
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spiritually and eternally. So he knows he might get hurt
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physically. He might, but he's asking that
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God's East ensures his final safety and his final
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vindication. The dust might hit your face,
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but it won't destroy the eye. The suffering is temporary.
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God's protection is the final word.
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And that idea of total safety is back up by the 2nd metaphor in
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that same verse, hiding in the shadow of your wings.
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Yes, the shadow of your wings reinforces that idea of complete
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covering safety. It's the image of a great bird,
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maybe even the wings of the cherubim, which were symbols of
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God's own protective presence sheltering its young.
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Danger can be all around. The lion can be lurking, but the
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chick is hidden in a place of safety and warmth that could
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never create for itself. It's a complete refuge provided
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by God. And he sets this refuge right up
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against the deadly enemies who surround me.
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He's contrasting the circle of God's care with the circle of
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his enemy's hostility. That's the relational pivot.
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He knows their hostilities lethal.
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They're circling him like predators.
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But he places the reality of God's a this loyal, protective
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covenant love over against their malice.
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God's love is stronger. Infinitely stronger.
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David's prayer is like a child asking his father, who also
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happens to be the supreme judge, for a verdict and then
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immediately climbing into his lap for safety.
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He's saying I know you're the just judge and because you are
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also my father in covenant, your judgement will be my protection.
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So after establishing his own integrity and God's protective
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love, David turns his focus to his accusers.
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He draws this sharp moral and theological line.
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He does. In verses 10 through 12, he
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details the character of the wicked, and he starts with their
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inner condition. What defines them?
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Two things really, inner hardness and outward arrogance,
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David says. They close their hearts to pity.
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It's not just an accident. No, it suggests an inner life
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that is sealed shut against mercy or empathy.
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They've trained themselves to feel nothing for the suffering
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of others. And that inner hardness then
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expresses itself outwardly. Absolutely.
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Their speech is proud and boastful.
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They have No Fear of God. They think they're a law unto
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themselves, and this fuels their actions.
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David uses this chilling, predatory imagery.
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They're like a lion eager to tear, and they're lurking in
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ambush. This is a picture of calculated,
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focused evil. Their hostility isn't just minor
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criticism. They are actively tracking
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David's steps, waiting for the one moment of opportunity to
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take him down. This is a fight for survival,
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but the theological pivot, the really devastating analysis,
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comes in verse 14. He dissects the reward.
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They are men of the world whose portion is in this life.
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That phrase is a huge theological concept in the
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Psalms. It is.
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It's a definitive critique. He's defining them by their
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worldview, which is purely temporal.
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Their entire horizon is bounded by this age.
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They live as if there's no. Eternity.
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No resurrection, no God to stand before their earthly success.
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Wealth. Full bellies, kids who survive
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them, A visible legacy. That is their treasure.
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That is their functional God. They're totally invested in
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this. World and totally blind to the
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giver of all those those things. But this is where we have to
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clarify something. David says that God is the one
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providing this prosperity. He says you fill their womb with
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what you treasure. Why would God give them these
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gifts, Wealth, children, if they're wicked?
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And that's the tragedy. This is a subtle but very deep
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theological judgement, right in line with Reformed thought.
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God in His Providence gives them this abundance, but because they
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are satisfied with the gifts and not the giver, the prosperity
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itself becomes a judgement. It blinds them it.
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Successfully blinds them to spiritual reality and makes them
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content with what's temporary. They never look up because their
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bellies are too full right here on earth.
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Their portion doesn't, cannot, and will not extend beyond the
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grave. That's a staggering point.
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It really dismantles the assumption that health and
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wealth are always signs of God's favor.
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It does, David argues. The opposite can be true.
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The wicked trade eternal joy for temporary comfort.
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So this is a radical critique of well, of materialism, of any
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view that says this life is all there is.
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Or even a religious view that says wealth is the main sign of
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God's blessing. David forces you to ask, do you
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really want a portion that is only in this life?
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One that just dissolves when you die.
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The sources gave an analogy for this, comparing the Wicked's
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portion to winning a massive jackpot in a currency that's
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about to become worthless. That analogy captures the short
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sighted tragedy perfectly. They feel incredibly rich right
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now. They're standing freely,
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building huge houses, enjoying all the envy.
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The wealth is real. It's visible.
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But they're ignoring a warning. They're completely unaware or
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just ignoring that the currency they hold, money, status, power,
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it's not legal tender in the eternal Kingdom they're speeding
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toward. So their fortune becomes
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worthless. Instantly the second they cross
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the border of death. Their wealth is real now, but
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it's a phantom wealth. It provides 0 satisfaction when
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they awaken into eternity. And that stark comparison sets
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up the sharpest pivot in the whole Psalm.
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After describing the darkness of the wicked portion, David turns
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in verse 15 with this singular phrase.
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As for me? It's a conscious, deliberate
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rejection of the world's outlook.
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He is placing his hope on a reality the wicked cannot see
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and do not seek. And this verse is really the
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theological high point. It answers that big question.
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What is the believers true portion?
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And the answer is just terrifyingly good.
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It's God himself personally known, seen and enjoyed forever,
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and David defines the satisfaction in three
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interlocking ways. OK, let's start with the first
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one, a relational vision, he says.
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I shall behold your face in righteousness.
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What does seeing God's face mean here, especially in this
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courtroom context? In that ancient context, to
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behold God's face meant to enter his immediate, unclouded favor
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and presence, it's the final personal, relational
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vindication. So after standing under the
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judge's scrutiny. He's saying he will stand before
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that divine judge not as a criminal, but as one who is
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accepted. He's saying I won't be consumed
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by your gaze, I will be welcomed by it.
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So the core satisfaction isn't in any material rewards you
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might get. Not at all.
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It's entirely in the giver. It's standing before the only
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eyes that matter and seeing those eyes look on you with
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grace. The fattest faction is
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relational, which leads to the second dimension and eternal
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timing. This is in that simple phrase
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when I awake. Such a revolutionary phrase.
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How does that phrase when I awake, set his hope apart from
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the men of the world whose portion ends at the grave?
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It creates what we'd call the Longview.
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Now, on one level, it could mean waking up from a season of
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suffering, like waking from a bad dream.
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But there's more to it. Oh yes, the weight of the
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contrast with the mortal fate of the wicked means many
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interpreters here in this a clear whisper of resurrection
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hope, the awakening from the sleep of death.
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It confirms the believers portion can't be taken away by
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mortality, right? Death is just the long night
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before the final dawn. So David is cultivating this
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Longview. He can endure suffering now
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because he knows his ultimate contentment is secure in a
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future reality. It gives incredible spiritual
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resilience and that awakening leads right to the third
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dimension, A transformational outcome.
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He says. He will be satisfied with your
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likeness. Explain that why is being made
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like God the definition of satisfaction?
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The source is all stressed this point to see God truly is not to
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remain unchanged. When we see the divine light, we
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are changed by it. The ultimate portion isn't place
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like heaven or a condition like relief from pain.
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It's a personal transformation. It's being conformed to God's
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presence and glory, reflecting His image.
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We're satisfied not when we have more, but when we are more like
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the One who gives us everything. That's so countercultural.
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It says human fulfillment is found not in self-expression,
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but in reflecting a perfect external reality.
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It's the total reversal of human pride, and the mirror analogy is
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helpful here. Imagine a silver mirror
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surrounded by gold and jewels. That's the wicked content with
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the clutter of their temporary gifts.
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But David is like a mirror that knows its only purpose is to
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reflect light, and that mirror is only truly satisfied when the
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sun rises. The awakening, and it is filled
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completely with the reflection of that light, the likeness of
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God's glory. The mirror is just waiting for
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the dawn. He'll be satisfied when he
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awakes, and because he sees God and is made like him, it's a
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complete eternal contentment. And that final outcome confirms
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the integrity he claimed at the start.
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His desire to be cleared wasn't selfish.
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It was a desire to be proven righteous so he could stand
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safely in the presence of a holy God.
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This vision is so compelling, but as we move toward
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application, our sources keep drawing us away from David, the
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partial type to Jesus Christ, the perfect fulfillment.
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Why do we have to make that shift?
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Because while David's claim to covenantal integrity is genuine
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in this conflict, he can't claim it in an absolute sense.
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He's still a Sinner. He still has to confess sin
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elsewhere. He relies on God's mercy when he
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prays. Search me, O God.
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He knows he's imperfect. So who is the one person who
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embodies this Psalm without any qualification, whose claim to
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integrity could stand up to God's inspection in every
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possible way? Jesus Christ, He alone is the
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true, perfect, righteous sufferer.
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He alone could go to the Father and claim a heart that was
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wholly pure and steps that never left the path of divine
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righteousness. So Jesus takes the Psalm from a
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typological hope to a fulfilled reality.
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He does. He's the one who faced enemies
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who haunted him like a lion, and he maintained absolute purity of
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heart through it all. And this connects the courtroom
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language of the Psalm right into the Gospels.
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Jesus was the one human whose cause was entirely just, but he
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was condemned by corrupt earthly courts.
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A perfect fulfillment. And that courtroom scene of
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Psalm 17 plays out at the cross. On the cross, the men of the
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world, the Romans, the Sanhedrin, they appeared to win.
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They got rid of the righteous sufferer.
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And Jesus entrusted himself completely to the one who judges
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justly. But the climax of the Psalm,
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that awakening that brings satisfaction, that's found in
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Christ's resurrection. The resurrection wasn't just a
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miracle then, it was a a cosmic legal declaration.
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It was God's thunderous response to the prayer of the perfect
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sufferer. The resurrection publicly and
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definitively cleared Christ's name.
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It overturned the earthly verdict.
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It installed Him as the one who now beholds the Father's face in
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resurrected glory. The resurrection is the full
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satisfaction of Psalm 17.5. Christ awoke, saw the Father's
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face, and was satisfied. So this is the pivot for the
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Christian today. If we're still sinners, how can
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we possibly pray this Psalm? We can't base it on our own
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performance. We can't.
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We can only pray it through our union with Christ.
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Imputed righteousness. That's the doctrine applied to
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the prayer life. We confess our sin, but we also
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rejoice that God takes the perfect righteousness of the
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true David, Jesus, and he counts it legally as ours.
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So when we stand before the divine judge, we are standing
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hidden in the righteous 1. Our confidence that God will
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answer our plea that we will see His face isn't based on how well
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we walked the path yesterday. No, it's based on the fact that
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we are clothed in the perfect obedience of Christ.
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It's a borrowed integrity. It is.
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Think of the Psalm as a complex piece of music.
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David could play it, but only partially, with lots of drop
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notes. OK, Jesus is the master virtuoso
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who played it Florida State. And because we're united to him,
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his perfect performance is credited to us, and we get to
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share in the standing ovation, the eternal vindication that
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follows. So let's shift now to practical
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application. If our hope is anchored in
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Christ's righteousness and this vision of His face, how should
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that reorder our lives right now?
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Well, it has to change our definition of success.
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It forces us to reject the chase for that temporary portion in
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this. Life, the Psalm, becomes a
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critique of our modern assumptions.
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A constant critique of the idea that financial health or social
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status are the main signs of God's favor.
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If we really get verse 15, we have to fight that subtle
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corrosive envy of those who seem to have it all in this life.
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It also challenges our focus on reputation and being seen.
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Absolutely. We have to prioritize living,
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living under God's view, being visited by night by his
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scrutiny. Rather than seeking a public
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image or the admiration of men in an age obsessed with
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visibility, David focuses on the evaluation that happens when no
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one else is watching. If the real courtroom is before
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God's face, then His are the only eyes that matter.
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Right. And finally that hope that when
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I awake it has to create a patient endurance in US.
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It helps us cultivate the Longview.
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We have to learn to hold earthly goods loosely, to endure
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suffering and slander without demanding that God fix it right
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now in this life. We can do that because our real
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ultimate satisfaction is secured in a future resurrection.
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Our final portion can't be contained by this age.
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No, and that brings us to the final analogy from the sources,
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the one about the hotel traveler.
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I like this one. It captures the tension
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perfectly. The Christian must be the second
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traveler in the hotel. The first traveler arrives and
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immediately spends all their energy decorating the temporary
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room. Hoarding the amenities, trying
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to buy the furniture. Forgetting their stay ends in
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the morning, that's the wicked seeking their portion in this
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life, mistaking temporary comfort for reality.
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But the second traveler understands their status.
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They enjoy the accommodation, they're thankful for the gifts,
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the bed, the food, but they keep their spiritual bags packed,
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their possessions light, and their heart fixed on the
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permanent reunion waiting for them at their final destination.
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Psalm 17 calls us to be that second traveler.
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To treat the world's gifts as temporary provisions while
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finding our true satisfaction in the homecoming of seeing God's
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face. That contrast is so necessary,
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David's vision of eternal personal joy versus the wicked's
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limitation to temporary comfort. The Psalm puts the question to
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all of us, what are you truly satisfied with?
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What is your final portion? And if our true portion is to be
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satisfied with your likeness, then the most pressing,
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provocative question for us today is not what earthly
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blessing we're looking for, but what, but how closely we desire
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to reflect the character of the judge right now, and our
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humility, and our restraint and our love for justice before we
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behold his face. That reflection should be the
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goal of every day we spend waiting to awaken.
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That's a powerful thought to end on.
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Thank you for guiding us through this deep dive into Psalm 17.
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It was my pleasure. We hope this has equipped you
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with a clearer understanding of the righteous sufferers, true
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hope and the eternal portion secured in Christ.
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We'll see you next time on the Deep Dive.