Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days (audio)

Hilary shares about the Person of the Holy Spirit, our Comforter and Counsellor, who lives in us (John 14:16-17), who enables us to receive God’s love, and to give our love to God: “the COMMUNION (fellowship) of the HOLY SPIRIT be with you all” (2Corinthians 13:14). He inspires and empowers our fellowship with God, and enables us to receive God's grace and to fulfil God's plan and purpose for our life.

We complete our study of Psalm 9, a Thanksgiving Psalm. v11 introduces the 2nd half of the Psalm with a parallel verse to v1, singing praises to the Lord, who dwells in and with His people (Zion), calling them to declare His deeds to all people.The basis for his praise, thanksgiving and declarations is God's justice that He performs on behalf of the oppressed and the humble, who call out to Him. In particular, He is the Avenger of innocent blood, who investigates every crime and hunts down the oppressor (v12, see also Numbers 35:33-34, Genesis 4:10, 2 Kings 9:26). God will remember and avenge the blood of His persecuted people. We discuss the avenger of blood and the cities of refuge in the Old Testament. All have sinned, and the Lord is the Avenger, who will hunt every man down until they pay in full for their sin, but God has also provided a City of Refuge for us - Jesus Christ, to whom we can flee for safety (Hebrews 6:18, Proverbs 18:10). Believers are those "who have fled for refuge to Christ" (Hebrews 6:18). In Christ we are saved from Divine Judgment. We discuss the danger of sitting on the fence as illustrated by the story of Joab killing Abner in the gates of Hebron (a city of refuge) in 2 Samuel 3. Next David asks God to deliver him from those who hate him, who were seeking to kill him (v13), and it is significant that his main motivation for asking for deliverance was that it would result in God getting the glory (v14), which is a great example for us. If our prayers were motivated by the glory of God, we would surely see more answers. He then describes one way God's judgment works in this life - the law of sowing and reaping. Evildoers get ensnared in the same trap they set for others (v15,16). Haman built a gallows for Mordecai, only to be executed on it himself. God can created this universe to operate in a moral way, according to His moral and physical laws, so when people violate His moral order, it will come back to bite them. Moreover, sin carries its own curse, bringing darkness, death and destruction on the sinner. This can be seen as a judgment of God on sin, for God created and ordained things to work this way. "There is nothing that a wicked man does that is not against his own interest. He is continually doing himself harm, and takes more pains to destroy his soul than the righteous man does to get his saved unto eternal life." This is a weighty truth, so the Psalmist adds at this point: "Higgaion; Selah", which means meditate on this; mark it well. Then David goes on to describe final end of the wicked at death and beyond: "The WICKED shall be turned into HELL (Sheol), and all the nations that FORGET God." The essence of sin is forgetting God, living as if there is no God, forgetting the claims of our Creator. Even nice people who forget God are wicked in His sight. Since they forget Him and push Him out of their thoughts, God will forget them – they will be separated from His loving Presence forever. This is their eternal judgment - God gives them up to their choice to be independent from God. Why does the sinner forget God? Because the thought of God (1) makes him afraid, (2) doesn't entertain him enough, and (3) makes it hard for him to carry on in sin. By contrast "the needy (those who know their need for God and depend on Him) shall not always be forgotten (He will remember them forever - they will eternally dwell in His Presence). The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever" (v18). Even if it seems like God has forgotten them, He has not, and soon He will manifest His grace to them, which will continue forever. David finishes with a prayer for God to move into action and judge the nations for their own sake: "Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail (prosper in their evil ways). Let the nations be judged in Your sight. Put them in fear, O Lord (Divine judgments produce the fear of the Lord in people), that the nations may know themselves to be but (weak, frail) men (who need salvation). Selah" (v19,20). David does not ask God to display His judgment upon the wicked from a spirit of hatred. His real hope was that the display of God’s judgment would teach them their proper place before God, so that they would humble themselves before God and be saved (see Psalm 9:12). It is better for them to experience the wake up call of a judgment in this life, than face an eternal judgment of condemnation in Hell.

Psalm 9 & 10 have a close relationship, so much so the Septuagint treats them as one. The acrostic structure that begins in Ps 9 continues into Ps 10, linking them together. They also have similar terminology & themes. But each stands by itself. Ps 9 is a Thanksgiving Psalm, whereas Ps 10 is more a lament. The title of both Psalms, giving the key to their fulfilment, is 'the Death of the Son' which points to the work of Messiah, the Son of God (Ps 2:7), who was prophesied to become a Man, the Seed of the Woman, to take our sin and suffer death to save us, and then crush the enemy underfoot in His resurrection (Gen 3:15). In this way, He lays the basis for the salvation of those who receive Him, and for establishing His Kingdom on earth. In this way, Ps 9 continues on from the messianic revelation of Ps 8, and this connection is confirmed by the mention of the NAME of the Lord (9:2), as in Ps 8:1,9. Thus the death of the Messiah, the Son of God is the basis for the ultimate fulfilment spoken of in these Psalms. Ps 9 is a Thanksgiving Psalm, but whereas thanksgiving is usually for the Lord's mercies, here it is mostly for His Righteous Judgments, that in a world full of wickedness and oppression, God will set things right, punish the wicked and restore the oppressed, and right all wrongs. David starts by praising God with all his heart, proclaiming all His wonderful works, rejoicing in His salvation and singing praise to His Name or revealed nature (v1,2). He then thanks God for how He'd fought for him in the past and will fight for him in his future battles, acknowledging God's Presence with him was the key to his victories, causing his enemies to retreat, fall and be defeated before him (v3). God had supported David in his cause; judging in his favour as the Judge of Righteousness, only because he had submitted to God and His cause (v4). Likewise, when we first submit to God, He gives us more of His grace (presence), so that when we resist the enemy, he will will flee from us (Jam 4:6-7). Then in v5-6 looks at the bigger picture and declares the future final judgments of the Day of the Lord, just before God’s Kingdom is established on earth. He uses the prophetic perfect tense to emphasise these prophecies are certain to come to pass. He announces the final destruction of the wicked, blotting out their name forever. Once God's Kingdom is established, the wicked and their earthly kingdoms will be forgotten, and the wicked will be blotted out of God's Book of Life. God's enemies, who'd destroyed many cities, will themselves be destroyed, so that they can no longer destroy others. Even their memory will perish. This will be fulfilled when all the kingdoms of this world will be destroyed at Christ's 2nd Coming, when He'll establish His Kingdom on the earth. By contrast with the reign of the wicked, the Lord & His Kingdom will endure forever; He'll judge the nations from His throne (v7). "He shall judge the world in righteousness" (v8) - in Acts 17:31, Paul quotes this verse, claiming it will be fulfilled by Jesus Christ: “He has appointed a Day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the MAN whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by RAISING Him from the DEAD.” This shows Paul understood the messianic nature of this Psalm, as revealed by its Title - that the Lord who will ultimately reign as King & Judge over the whole world, is Christ, the Son of God, who'll first become a man and die and rise again. Then, David offers thanksgiving for the salvation of God’s people, who trust in the Messiah, who is a refuge for the oppressed, who call upon Him in times of trouble (v9). 'Trouble' is a rare word describing being in despair, cut off from all hope. Christ is also our Refuge from the Divine Judgment that we deserve for our sins. In His death, He became our Atonement (Covering), taking God's righteous judgment upon Himself, so that those who trust (take refuge) in Him are saved (as in the picture of Noah's Ark). Then he describes how believers can enjoy a growing intimate personal relationship with the Lord: "Those who KNOW Your Name will put their TRUST in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who SEEK You" (v10). We should be those who continually SEEK Him, for those who SEEK Him will FIND Him (Matt 7:7-8), for He will reward us by revealing more and more of Himself to us (Heb 11:6), so that we will personally KNOW Him more, and KNOW His Name (His nature, love, faithfulness, salvation - Jesus is the ultimate revelation of His Name), and the more we KNOW Him, the more we'll be able to TRUST in Him and receive from Him. We determine how close we are to God and how much faith we have, because it is up to us to SEEK Him (Matt 6:33). "If we draw near to God, He will draw near to us" (Jam 4:8). You show how close you want to be to the Lord by how much you seek Him, and He will fulfil your heart's desire accordingly.

Matthew 13:45-46: “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one Pearl of Great Price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Peter looks at this Parable from 2 viewpoints (1): The Merchant represents those who are searching, and discover that Jesus Christ is the Pearl of Great Price, and are willing to surrender all they have to possess Christ. Only in Him is there PEACE in this world and HOPE in the next world. (2): The Merchant represents Jesus Christ, who loved us and came and gave His all (even His Blood) to purchase us for Himself, that we might be freed from sin and belong to Him forever.

We see how Psalm 8 is fulfilled by Messiah & His people from Hebrews 1-2, an exposition of Ps 8. Heb 1 proves Christ is exalted above the angels, not just from the standpoint of His Deity, but also from His exalted human nature, as a resurrected, glorified Man, the first begotten from the dead, seated on God's Throne above all angels. Then in Heb 2:5-11, it expounds Ps 8, declaring how God is fulfilling it through Jesus. In 2:7, it follows the Septuagint in translating Ps 8:5 as: "You have made him a little lower than the angels", rather than: "a little lower than God." Whereas the latter correctly reflects God's original plan for man, the former correctly describes the situation resulting from the Fall, when the 1st Adam submitted himself & the human race to a fallen angel, so it came under the dominion of darkness (Luke 4:6). Thus both translations are valid in their own way. To rescue us from sin & satan and restore us to our ordained exalted state, Jesus, for a little while, was made a little lower than the angels, by taking a human nature on Himself, to identify with us for the suffering of death (Heb 2:9), to bear our sins & death in our place, so we might be redeemed. Then in His resurrection & ascension, as the 2nd Adam, He was crowned with glory & honour, so now God has exalted Him to the highest place and given Him the Name above every name (Phil 2:9-11), and has put all things under His feet (Eph 1:19-22, 1Cor 15:27), in fulfilment of Ps 8:6. Thus Heb 2:9 shows how Ps 8:4-6 has now been fulfilled in the 2nd Adam. As a glorified Man He is now exalted above the angels. Heb 2 also points out He did all this as the Pioneer of our Salvation, to bring many sons to glory with Him (v10). Those who receive Christ as Lord and Saviour are put in Him, and thru this union, they become born again sons of God, His brethren, from the same womb (v11-18), so He is the firstborn among many brethren (Rom 8:29), and their spirits are raised & exalted with Him (Eph 1:19-23, 2:5-6). So in Him, our representative Head, redeemed man is already positionally above the angels (also Heb 1:14). Thus He's already accomplished the 1st stage of the fulfilment of Ps 8. But the complete fulfilment requires all things in creation, including angels, to be put under the feet of redeemed man in Christ as Heb 2:5-8 points out, which concludes by saying: "But now we do not yet see all things put under him (man). But we see Jesus..." Thus although Jesus our Pioneer & Head has received the full manifestation of glory & honour, the whole creation still eagerly awaits the full manifestation of the sons of God at the 2nd Coming (Rom 8:18-19), when all saints of every age will be crowned with glory & honour in their new bodies, and will rule & reign with Christ forever. Then Christ, having brought many sons to a state of glory, with all redeemed men crowned with glory, with all things under our feet, will have brought Ps 8 to fulfilment. No wonder it ends as it starts: "O Lord, our Lord, How excellent (majestic) is Your Name in all the earth!" (v1,9). This expresses its main theme. God began by manifesting His majestic Name (His nature & glory) in the earth thru His Creation, and then by Christ's Coming to earth to redeem us, before being exalted above the heavens in glory, and then finally by returning to manifest His Name to the whole earth. His glory will also shine thru us, His brethren, the manifested sons of God, made in His image to glorify Him by reflecting His glory. So although the 1st Adam fell, bringing the initial Theocratic Kingdom to an end (God ruling the world thru man), through Christ, the 2nd Adam, at His 2nd Coming, God will again establish His Theocratic Kingdom on earth for 1000 years, fulfilling His original plan. The earth will be regenerated to what it was like before the Fall (Matt 19:28). At this time, the Kingdom will be restored to Israel, as chief nation (Acts 1:6), and her Land made like the original Eden, with the Mount of the Lord towering above all others, from which Christ will reign over all the earth. These are the Times of Restoration of all things - restoration to what it was like before the Fall (Acts 3:21). The animal kingdom will come into peace under man's dominion (Isa 11:6, 65:25), and curse (sickness) will be removed. He will reign over a Kingdom of righteousness, peace, joy and abundance. The knowledge of His glory will cover the earth (Hab 2:14), and God will be glorified among the nations. Thus Ps 8 does not just describe God's original plan in Genesis to establish His Kingdom on earth through man (spoilt by the Fall), but it also declares God will ultimately accomplish His plan for man to reign on earth, through Messiah, the 2nd Adam, in the Millennium (Rev 20). At this time, He will reign as King of kings, and under Him, redeemed & glorified humanity will reign with Him as His kings, ruling over the people of the earth, who will still be living in their natural bodies.

In Psalm 8:3-4, David declares that even though man seems small compared to the vastness of the universe, man is important to God. In the remaining verses, he expounds this further by declaring God's purpose for man, to be the crown of His creation, as revealed in Genesis 1-2, especially Genesis 1:26-28, where man is (1) created in God's image and (2) given dominion over the whole earth and all its creatures. In v5, he even says: "For You have made him a little lower than ELOHIM." The primary translation of Elohim is God, although it sometimes can be translated 'angels' or 'heavenly beings.' The fact David is declaring the truth of Genesis 1 strongly supports the translation of 'God.' But since this is such a strong statement, the Septuagint and any translations translate it as 'angels'. Previously in the Psalm, David had established the infinite gap between God above and man below, so in v5 he was emphasising the balancing truth that God has created man to be the highest of His creatures, who, being in His image was made to be as close to God as it is possible for a creature to be to His infinite Creator. Moreover, God crowned man with glory and gave him the honour (authority) of ruling under God over all his creation (v6). Psalm 8 was written 3,000 years after the Fall of Man, when man submitted himself to God's enemy, and lost much of his glory and honour. Yet amazingly Psalm 8 speaks as if the Fall never happened! This can only mean that God still intends to fulfil His original plan and purpose for man, to crown him with glory and honour and give him dominion over all His Creation. This requires the Coming of the God-man Messiah to save man from sin and the kingdom of darkness, and restore him to his high position as ruler in His Kingdom over His Creation - crowning him with glory and honour (v4, Genesis 3:15). Thus David is declaring that God's ultimate purpose for man will be fulfilled through the Messiah. We see that the New Testament confirms this Messianic interpretation in Hebrews 2:5-11, which quotes Psalm 8, and declares that it has been initially fulfilled in the 2nd Adam, Jesus Christ, who was crowned with glory and honour in His resurrection and ascension, and who will also bring Psalm 8 into complete fulfilment by bringing many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10) - even God's New Creation of redeemed humanity in Christ.

Psalm 8 is a majestic Praise Psalm of David declaring the Glory of God in the heavens and earth, and even above the heavens in God's Heaven (v1), as well as God's purpose for mankind (v5-9). Praise is declaring and demonstrating the excellency of His Name (His manifested nature). God created man to be His image-bearers to rule on earth under His Lordship, for His glory, which means we are called to praise Him with our life and lips. God has ordained that when we praise Him, we release the Glory and Presence of God through the Holy Spirit, who then becomes our strength within and our fortress without, protecting us from the enemy. Praise also has the power to silence our enemies (v2). To praise the Name of the Lord is a vital weapon in our spiritual warfare, which even the youngest and weakest of believers can use effectively. Indeed, "God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty" (1Corinthians 1:27). To draw upon God's grace, we must become like little children, humbly trusting in God, rather than in our own strength and wisdom (Matthew 18:3, 15:25-26), and then through our mouth we can release God's power and strength, which overcomes the enemy. Jesus quoted Psalm 8:2 in Matthew 21:15-16, to endorse the praises of the children, and in doing so He affirmed His claim to be God. The New Testament follows the Septuagint in translating 'strength' as 'praise' (v2) confirming that "the joy of the Lord is our strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). In Psalm 8:3-4, we imagine David, the shepherd, spending a summer night with the sheep staring at the moon and stars, and meditating on how great God must be that He created this universe with His fingers (v3). Compared to the vastness of Creation, man is seemingly insignificant, but David knew from the Scripture that man, created in God's image, was the crown of God's creation (Genesis 1-2), and that God was deeply interested in him and has a great plan and purpose for him, and even planned to visit him in the Person of the Coming Messiah (Genesis 3:15). Indeed, the Messiah would be descended from him. David is amazed at this truth, that God should care for us and be so involved with us.

“The (1) WILLING (heart) and (2) OBEDIENT will eat the good of the Land (have good success)” (Isa 1:19). This reveals 2 KEYS to VICTORY: (1) a willing, submitted heart to God - the key to connecting with His grace. We access His grace thru a humble heart of faith. (2) Obedience from a willing heart. When we hear His voice so we know His will, and receive His grace to do it, then we must obey with all our heart, refusing to quit, however hard or impossible it seems, until it's done. That’s the winner’s attitude. *KEY 1: If something doesn't start from God, then we're not operating under His grace; it’s not His work, for His glory, but our work, for our glory. If it’s from God, His grace is with us and it will be for His glory. There's a difference between good & God, between what seems good to man, and what is from God. If you seek and connect with God, by coming to Him and submitting to His authority, then you'll hear His voice, know His will and receive His grace to do it. We can only access His grace by bowing to His authority. If we don't come to God with a willing heart (to hear & do what He wants us to do), we'll end up doing un-commanded works, that have less value in His sight (1Sam 15:22). We must SEEK God for HIMSELF, out of love. Seek to know Him and be filled with His grace and be satisfied by Him. If you SEEK God, just to get something from Him, then you're using Him as a means to an end, and what you want is more important than God - idolatry (John 6:26,27). “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (His righteous life within us thru His Spirit, causing us to live to His glory), for they shall be filled” (Matt 5:6). When we trust in His love for us, that He wants our best, we can come to Him in faith and submit to Him (letting go of our idols, committing our plans to Him and giving up our control), knowing He'll pour out His grace on us and give us all things we need. We don't need to worry about the future outcome, if we surrender to Him, as we can be sure His grace will flow into us and uphold us. Our confident faith in His love enables us to let go of all idols & agendas (natural things we trust in for our security, satisfaction & meaning) and submit to Him. When we (1) HONOUR (reverence) Him and surrender to Him (as One far above us) we ACTIVATE His GRACE, for it flows from the throne of grace (Heb 4:16), and He gives it to a submitted heart (Prov 3:34, Jas 4:6, 1Pet 5:5). Then (2) we can then lay hold of His grace by faith. So, we access grace thru a humble heart of faith. Our love activates His grace, and our faith receives it (Gal 5:6). When we surrender our HEART into His HAND, His SPIRIT manifests in our heart as Rivers of Grace: “The kings heart is in the Hand of the Lord (His Holy Spirit) - Rivers of Water. He turns it (our heart) wherever He wishes” (Prov 21:1). We must yield control for His grace to flow. Esther found favour in the king's sight and activated his grace by honouring him, so that he held out to her His GOLDEN SCEPTRE, representing His grace flowing to her from his authority. Then she went near to the king on his throne and touched the top of the Sceptre, and received his grace by faith (5:1-3). *2 KEYS to VICTORY and SUCCESS in God: (1) Connect with God & receive His grace, by coming to Him with a humble, willing, believing heart. (2) Once you know His will, do it with all your heart – refuse to quit, however hard or impossible it seems. Key 2 is illustrated in the story of Elisha & King Joash (2Kings 13:14-25). Elisha told him to take a BOW and ARROWS and put his hand on the bow, and Elisha (representing God) put his hands on the king’s hands (v15-16). God’s anointing was now on the king. Then he told him to open the window facing Syria and SHOOT; and he SHOT. Elisha said: “The ARROW of the Lord’s DELIVERANCE from Syria, for you MUST STRIKE the Syrians at Aphek (and keep striking them) UNTIL you've DESTROYED them (until the job is done)” (v17). This is the WINNER’S ATTITUDE. Then he told the king: “Take the arrows and STRIKE the ground”; so, he STRUCK 3 TIMES and STOPPED. Elisha (representing God) was ANGRY with him, saying: “You should have STRUCK 5 or 6 TIMES; then you'd have STRUCK Syria until you DESTROYED it! But now you'll STRIKE Syria only 3 TIMES” (v18-19). His attitude should have been dictated by God’s command in v17. God was angry, as he was HALF-HEARTED, stopping after only 3 STRIKES, when he should have continued until he knew the job was done. The WINNER’S ATTITUDE is to keep striking (attacking) until you've won. As a result of this partial obedience he only got a partial victory (v25). Heb 10:38. Jesus our greatest example of the WINNER’S ATTITUDE was wholehearted in fulfilling His mission to defeat all our enemies and save us. He kept doing God’s will every day, until He accomplished our full salvation. He didn't quit, but went to the Cross, and then rose victorious from the dead!

In Psalm 7, David is innocent, falsely slandered and pursued to death - a song of a slandered saint on the run from Saul. When he rebelled Samuel told him God would replace him (1Sam 13:13-14, 15:22-29). From then on he watched for his replacement. Samuel anointed David (1Sam 16), who came into favour after slaying Goliath (1Sam 17), but when he was praised him more than Saul, he eyed David with jealousy, believing he would usurp him (1Sam 18:5-9). He then tried to kill David (1Sam 18), who had to flee (1Sam 19–31). The title says David sang it to God concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite. Cush was from Saul's tribe, a close advisor, feeding his paranoia by making accusations David was conspiring to overthrow him. He knew about these false accusers and protested his innocence to Saul (1Sam 22:6, 24:8). So he faced a double trial of (1) false accusations, resulting in (2) being hunted to death. He shows us how to respond to false accusation and persecution, by not taking revenge but turning to God for refuge, committing our situation to Him, pleading our case, and asking Him in faith for vindication & deliverance. He starts with a plea for deliverance (v1-2), and declaration of innocence, making an oath: "if I'm guilty, then let my enemies pursue and kill me" (v3-5). He didn't claim to be sinless, but that in this case he was innocent. Next David, believing the Lord was angry on his behalf, urged Him to move into action, due to the hostility of his enemies, ascend to His judge's seat and initiate a court case to decide the issue, and command justice be done (v6). He wants all to witness the outcome and his public vindication. He says this is 'for their sakes' as it is good for people to see justice done, for it helps them trust in God (when evil-doers seem to get away with it, they cast off restraint). Also he had a special role in God's plan of salvation thru Christ, so it was for their sakes for God to judge in his favour and spare his life (v7). Clearly God answered him, for in the Bible, God declared His verdict of his vindication. He turned the matter over to God, rather than taking it into his own hands and taking revenge (Ro 12:19). In v8-9, he declares God will render justice, and renews his plea for vindication. He's not referring to his final eternal judgment (in which he wouldn't dare stand on his own merits), but that God would judge in his favour in this situation. In v9, he says God is qualified to judge for He is righteous and sees every heart. He expands his prayer beyond his situation (an example of other cases of injustice), praying for universal justice, when God brings the evil of the wicked to an end, and establishes the just forever. In v10, he declares his confidence God has heard him and judged his case, so justice will be done, and God will defend him from those who seek to destroy him. In v11, he says God is the just Judge, who continually resists all evil, and is angry with the wicked all day. Sinners never imagine they will stand before a perfectly just God, who can't ignore sin. So, if they do not turn back, He will suddenly release His arrows of fiery judgment on them (v12,13). He sees God as ever ready to judge the sinner, like an archer with his bow bent back, ready to release his arrow at any time. The only reason He delays is His mercy, giving men a chance to repent, not cos He is weak, slack or unconcerned with justice. Men should not presume on His mercy, as if it will last for ever, for judgment will surely come, and suddenly. This poetic imagery reveals the severity & imminence of judgment, a strong incentive to repent. In v14, he describes the nature of sin -a monstrous child conceived in the womb (heart), growing until it comes into manifestation, and ultimately kills them (Jas 1:13-15). Then he describes God's moral government of the universe, as seen in the law of sowing & reaping (Gal 6:7). Like a hunter who lays a trap and falls into it (v15, Prov 26:27), what you do to others will be done to you (Newton's 3rd Law). It will return on your own head as sure as gravitation (v16) - a common way God’s justice works in this life, often bringing the same calamity on the wicked they planned for the just: (1) Saul's violent death after trying to kill David, (2) Pharoh's drowning in Red Sea, after drowning many Jewish babies, (3) Haman hanged on the gallows he made for Mordecai (Est 7:7-10), (4) Daniel's enemies in the lion’s den (6:24), (5) Abab & Jezebel’s judgment for Naboth's murder. God's righteous government means the way of evil can't prosper, as it creates its own destruction. Psalm 7 began with David facing many troubles, but ends with praise for God's justice. Having taken his cause to the righteous God, he is confident in his vindication. He concludes: "I will sing praise to the Name (righteous nature) of the Lord Most High" (v17). We should praise God for all His righteous judgments.

An exposition of 2Corinthians 10:3-6 revealing its historical background and God's strategy and mighty weapons for pulling down strongholds.Spiritual warfare is being waged over the battlefield of men's hearts and minds. Join Derek as He shares about the war between the Romans and Pirates in 63 BC, which gives the historical background, which talks about the weapons of our warfare being mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Paul used this war, where the Romans defeated the Pirates, as a picture of how we can be victorious, by using (1) God's mighty weapons (words), and (2) His strategy for deploying them, which is to first locate and pull down the enemy strongholds (false beliefs erected against God's truth), and then take every pirate-thought captive to the obedience of Christ, just as the pirates were made to surrender to Rome.