THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: Living By Faith In God

LX. Handling Conflicting Views

(Psalm 60:1-12)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

Many people struggle over handling widely conflicting views that they face in today’s world:

(1) It occurs with the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot video: In a letter to the Republican-American, March 21, 2023, p. 8A, Patricia J. Lapidus of Bantam mentioned the contrasting way that the Democrat-led January 6 committee presented the video of the January 6 Capitol riot than what Tucker Carlson of Fox News did of the same video footage. She wrote, “The real issue behind these contrary stories of the supposed riot is deciding whom to trust . . .”

(2) It occurs with the Biden family’s business dealings: “Back on March 16, House Republicans revealed bank records on $1.3 million in 2017 payments to multiple Bidens from a Chinese energy firm. Yet, fumes The Hill’s Joe Concha, ‘When finally asked about the payments, President Biden said they never happened. Reporters asked no follow-up questions,’ then Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in turn ‘refused to answer.’ And the topic’s gone untouched on the ABC-NBC-CBS-CNN . . . weekend-talk shows.’” (“Conservative: Media Blackout on Biden China $” (New York Post, March 27, 2023, p. 27) So, were payments made to multiple Bidens by a Chinese firm or not? Whom should we trust – House Republicans with their bank records or the White House and the mainstream media?

(3) It occurs with differing views over how to end poverty: Chris Powell’s piece, “Rep. Hayes misdiagnoses ‘health crisis,’ Ibid., asserted, “While government has many programs supposedly meant to reduce poverty, poverty seems to be worsening . . . This month’s ‘community well-being’ reports from the Regional Data Cooperative for Greater New Haven . . . show serious income inequality along with the usual racial disparities. They also show that many whites are impoverished too . . . The failure of poverty policy should induce elected officials . . . to examine critically what hasn’t been working for decades,” namely, “a welfare system that deprives most” especially minority kids “of fathers and then advances them through school and gives them diplomas without ever requiring them to learn anything, whereupon so many of them enter adulthood uneducated, unskilled, and qualified only for menial work.”

(4) It occurs with the different views over how to handle bad student behavior in our public schools: Due to “a behavior crisis in the American public education system, more schools are attempting to use restorative justice . . . a remediation theory that suggests students respond better to affirmation-based conversations in which an adult de-escalates any problem situation by calmly discussing the student’s feelings about the problem until everyone agrees. Traditional methods of discipline are seen as utterly barbaric, with fans of restorative justice suggesting that punishing a student for violent or other bad actions sets them on an unshakable path toward prison and abuse.” (Tony Kinnett, “‘Restorative justice’ is destroying classrooms,” Ibid., March 20, 2023, p. 8A) However, critics of restorative justice argue that it “teaches students that they may do whatever they wish with no observable risk,” and that their resulting bad behavior also hinders “innocent students and teachers who are just trying to engage in the learning process,” Ibid.

(5) It occurs in academia: (a) “Attempted book bans and restrictions at school and public libraries continue to surge, setting a record in 2022 . . .” (“Book ban attempts hit record high in 2022, library org. says,” Ibid., March 24, 2023, p. 7B) (b) Congress has gotten involved, too: “House Republicans” recently “passed a bill that would mandate local school systems give parents greater oversight over education,” but House Minority Leader “Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said . . . ‘It has everything to do with jamming the extreme Republican MAGA ideology down the throats of the children and parents . . .’” (Daniela Altimari, “House passes parental rights measure,” Ibid., March 25, 2023, p. 9A)

Need: So we ask, “How does God direct that we handle widely conflicting views that we face in today’s world?!”

I. The introductory note to Psalm 60, part of the Hebrew text (Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, p. 1026), reports that David composed this psalm when he battled to the north of Israel and he then directed Joab to fight the Edomites who had invaded Israel from the south. (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Psalm 60)

II. The note adds that David wrote this psalm “to teach” (lelammed, Ibid., Kittel), and the text shows him teaching Hebrews who were defeated by Edom how to handle unnerving, conflicting views about God:

A. Psalm 60:1-5 exposes a disillusioning confusion about God that the defeated Hebrews in southern Israel faced:

1. To the Hebrews who had been defeated by Edom in southern Israel, God had seemingly angrily let them be defeated while He had conversely given David victory in the north, Psalm 60:1-3; 1 Chronicles 18:1-12.

2. In Psalm 60:4, David stated that since “God had given a banner to summon” Israel “to fight victoriously, their defeat” to Edom “seemed inexplicable” especially to the defeated Hebrews, Ibid., ftn. to Psalm 60:4.

B. David then asked God to deliver them from defeat that Israel whom He loved might be rescued (v. 5), and he based his conviction that God would actually grant this petition on God’s verbal promise to that effect, v. 6-8:

1. In Psalm 60:6-7, David cited God’s promise that He who had allotted Canaan for Israel’s possession still controlled that land. Thus, Edom’s invasion of Israel’s property violated God’s will so that if Israel trusted God’s promise to give them the land, they would be able to drive Edom out, Ibid., ftn. to Psalm 60:6-7.

2. Consequently, in Psalm 60:8, God put other nations in subjection to Him: Moab was to be the servant who would bathe God’s feet, Edom would be the servant to whom the sandals God’s feet were thrown for His feet to be bathed and Philistia would “provide the topic for a victory song” for God, Ibid., ftn. to Psa. 60:8.

C. Having directed Israel to trust God’s Word when they went to battle against Edom, David then asked the Lord to give Israel the victory they desired over the Edomites, Psalm 60:9-12; Ibid., ftn. to Psalm 60.

III. In the historical record at 1 Chronicles 18:12, Israel under Joab and Abishai applied David’s teaching to believe God’s Word so that God gave Israel a great victory over the Edomites.

Lesson: Though the Hebrews in southern Israel faced what to them was a disillusioning defeat to Edom while God gave David victory in the north, David taught his defeated countrymen to trust God’s Word that promised them victory over Edom that they might defeat Edom by faith. By then believing God’s Word, Israel defeated Edom.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) To handle widely conflicting views that we face, may we trust God’s Word on how to think and act with each issue of concern to enjoy God’s blessing with each issue.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and provide additional guidance . . .)

In line with the sermon, we can believe and apply Scripture to handle the issues of concern in our introduction:

(1) On evaluating the video tape of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, Proverbs 20:12 ESV says, “The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both.” Thus, God’s best means for us to discern what is true with regard to the January 6, 2021, event is to trust what we see with our own eyes and hear with our own ears of the video footage of the event! Doing so shows us that some people rioted but that many of them acted like orderly sightseers.

(2) On the claim by House Republicans that bank records show $1.3 million in payments to multiple Biden family members from a Chinese firm while President Biden denies that these payments occurred, and the mainstream media avoids covering the story, Proverbs 14:5 NIV states, “A faithful witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies.” The White House’s and mainstream media’s cover-up of the Hunter Biden laptop story is well-documented, so we can expect the President and mainstream media to be dishonest about the $1.3 million payments!

(3) On the differing views of opposing poverty, (a) Matthew 26:11 claims that we will always have the poor with us, and Proverbs 6:9-11 reveals that people often bring poverty upon themselves. (b) However, we must ease the pain of the poor by making some donations (Galatians 2:10) (c) while earning our own living, 2 Thessalonians 3:10.

(4) On the differing views of handling bad student behavior in our public schools, (a) the “restorative justice theory” reflects the progressives’ [and Liberal Theology’s] belief that “‘humans’” are “‘essentially good, provided they are released from social arrangements that prevent people from living happily, productively and equally – for example, racism, inequality and lack of educational opportunity. In this view . . . individuals . . . are shaped in profound ways by social structures and institutions.’” (Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith, Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America, 2000, p. 76, cited in Brannon S. Howse, Marxianity, 2018, p. 192) (b) However, Romans 3:23 claims that all have sinned, and Jeremiah 17:9a adds, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" so that everyone apart from Christ is guilty of sin, Romans 3:9-20. (c) Thus, bad behavior in school is sin that must be punished by authorities set up by God to do so (Romans 13:1-4). (d) The only true “restorative” measure for a sinful, disruptive student is for him to trust in Christ as his Savior from sin to be justified by God, Romans 3:21-28. (e) If a student then trusts in Christ as his Savior and relies on the Holy Spirit Whom God permanently gave him when he trusted in Christ (Romans 8:9b; Ephesians 4:30), he will exhibit the Holy Spirit’s qualities as described in Galatians 5:26, 22-23. The once troubling student will become a blessing in school.

(5) On contrasting ideologies and the banning of books in academia, (a) as noted in “(4)” just above, personal justification – not the reformation of society – is God’s answer (Romans 3:10-28; 8:3-4 with John 18:36) followed by (b) the believer’s personally thinking on upright things (Philippians 4:8-9) by relying by faith on the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 22-23). (c) Bad books will exist in the world until Christ returns to judge it, Matthew 24:32-44.

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. May we then evaluate conflicting views we face by applying God’s Word in thought and deed.