THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: Living By Faith In God

LXXIX. Man’s Great Sin And God’s Greater Hope

(Psalm 79:1-13)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

We need hope for handling the great amount of sin that swamps our society today:

(1) Sin engulfs many leaders in our institutions: (a) In an August 24^th “podcast hosted by Noam Dworman, owner of New York’s Comedy Cellar, longtime Washington Post national columnist Philip Bump” was “asked about the Hunter Biden laptop story,” and Mr. Bump replied, “‘You have no evidence . . . that Joe Biden took money’ . . . Mr. Dworman” then “asked Mr. Bump how he interpreted Hunter Biden’s text message in 2019 to his adult daughter, Naomi Biden, in which he stated, ‘(D)on’t worry, unlike pop, I won’t make you give me half your salary.’ Hunter Biden’s salary, as the country now knows, came from foreign companies to which he could provide no material value outside of access to the most powerful people in the American government. Mr. Bump’s reply: ‘I have no idea what (the text message) means. I don’t. I have no idea what that means.’ When Mr. Dworman asked Mr. Bump if anyone has asked Naomi Biden what it means, Mr. Bump” said, “‘I don’t know. I don’t know’ . . . ‘Don’t you think somebody should’” have “‘asked her?’ Mr. Dworman asked. ‘OK. I just said I don’t know and I don’t know what to make of it, so I have nothing else to say about it,’ Mr. Bump replied. Within about a minute of that exchange, Mr. Bump left the interview.” (“The incuriosity of a journalist,” Republican-American, September 9, 2023, p. 6A) The Republican-American editorial added, “Americans are living in two different realities: One that reflects the world as it is, and one that reflects the world as the media wants them to see it,” Ibid. (b) On October 6, 2012, the New York Times ran a cover story by Adam Liptak titled, “Error and Fraud at Issue as Absentee Voting Rises,” and it claimed, “‘Voting by mail is now common enough and problematic enough that election experts say there have been multiple elections in which no one can say with confidence which candidate was the deserved winner.’” (“In 2012, Even the New York Times warned of errors and fraud with absentee ballots,” November 16, 2022; crimeresearch.org/) However, today, the New York Times claims that such a statement is a false narrative! (Brian Flood, “New York Times warned readers about vote by mail concerns in 2012 now claims that’s a false narrative,” September 17, 2020; fox news.com) (c) Subsequently, “people have come to the realization that they have been misled, lied to,” and “sold a bill of goods,” so “(i)n the last 30 years, we have witnessed . . . a collapse in public trust in the nation’s leaders and institutions.” (Gerard Baker, “America Doesn’t Trust Itself,” New York Post, September 11, 2023, p. 18-19)

(2) Sin trickles on down from our leaders to influence all society: (a) Prosecutors, “many financed by the left-wing billionaire George Soros . . . have effectively decriminalized shoplifting . . . (to where it) has become a mass, and scary phenomenon, encouraged by organized criminals who resell stolen merchandise . . . at low prices with no sales tax.” Some “stores just close, such as Nordstrom on San Francisco’s Market Street and CVS branches in Midtown Manhattan.” (Michael Barone, “Legalized shoplifting becomes a racket,” Ibid., September 11, 2023, p. 8A) (b) In addition, “(l)ast year, abortion was the leading cause of death globally for the fourth year in a row, according to the database Worldometer.” (“Where Have All the Girls Gone?” Answers magazine, July-September 2023, p. 31)

(3) Sin is so entrenched now that some call “evil good, and good evil,” what God condemned in Isaiah 5:20: “Florida recently passed legislation restricting minors from receiving puberty blockers and transgender patients from using Medicaid to pay for trans-related healthcare,” but “President Biden condemned the measures as ‘cruel’ and ‘close to sinful.’” (“The Truth About Transgender Legislation,” Answers magazine, July-September 2023, p. 31)

Need: So, we ask, “What hope does God offer for handling the great amount of sin that floods humanity today?!”

I. Psalm 79:1-5, 8a describes Babylon’s destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B. C. due to the great sins of God’s people against the Lord. (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Psalm 79):

A. In Psalm 79:1-4, the author told how Gentiles had invaded Israel, defiled the temple, plundered Jerusalem and slain many of God’s servants, leaving them unburied for predators to devour, Bib. Know. Com., O. T., p. 852.

B. These atrocities were predicted by Moses to occur in Deuteronomy 28:15, 25-26, 52 et al. when God punished Israel if she greatly sinned, and the Psalmist admitted in Psalm 79:5, 8a that Israel had indeed greatly sinned.

II. However, the psalmist relied on God’s character as his sole hope for his nation’s deliverance, v. 6-13:

A. The psalmist asked God to deliver His people based on His “tender mercies” (Psalm 79:8 KJV):

1. The Hebrew noun rendered “tender mercies” (KJV) is the absolute intensive plural rahamim, “tender mercy, compassion” that is rooted in God’s love and unmerited favor. (B. D. B., A Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 933; H. A. W., Theo. Wrdbk. of the O. T., 1980, vol. II, p. 842-843) This word “shows the link between raham, ‘to have compassion’ (Piel [stem]) and rehem/raham, ‘womb,’” Ibid.

2. Thus, the psalmist yearned for God to show as it were His motherly affection in delivering His people!

B. The psalmist also asked God to deliver His people to defend God’s own honor (Psalm 79:9b-10 KJV):

1. He asked God to purge away His people’s sins for His “name’s sake” (v. 9b KJV), and since God’s name here refers to His “reputation” (Zon. Pict. Ency. Bib., vol. Four, p. 364), the psalmist asked God to preserve His reputation as a gracious, pardoning God by forgiving and delivering His people.

2. Also, the psalmist asserted that were God not to deliver His people from their enemies, the pagan Gentiles could question God’s care of His people to the harm of God’s reputation with these Gentiles, Psalm 79:10.

C. Consequently, the psalmist asked God to deliver His suffering people and to punish their destructive foes that His people might praise Him in all future generations, Psalm 79:6-7, 8b, 11-13.

Lesson: When Israel’s people had greatly sinned so that God let pagan Babylonians invade their land and commit atrocities against them, the psalmist relied on God’s great character as his sole hope for his people’s deliverance.

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 the great amount of sin that permeates the world, may we appeal ONLY to the goodness and grace of the God of Scripture for deliverance and blessing.

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

Scripture provides additional guidance regarding the issues of concern in our sermon introduction (as follows):

(1) Regarding the misinformation by Washington Post journalist Philip Bump on the evidence of President Joe Biden’s profiting from bribery money his son took from foreign companies and the self-contradictory statements by the New York Times on whether abuses with absentee ballots distort elections, Scripture reveals God’s sovereignty over these issues: (a) Romans 13:1 claims God sets up rulers to achieve His purposes, and the book of Acts gives examples of this: (+) In Acts 5:29-42, when Israel’s Sanhedrin took counsel to kill the apostles, influential scholar Gamaliel cautioned the religious leaders against harming the apostles lest they oppose God. Gamaliel argued that if Jesus’ followers were not of God, their efforts would fail as had occurred with past false cult leaders. The Sanhedrin heeded Gamaliel’s advice, what not only saved the apostles’ lives at the time but gave time for the infant Church to be firmly established. (+) In Acts 18:12-17, Gallio, a brother of influential philosopher Seneca in Rome, was proconsul in Achaia only in A. D. 51-52 (or in A. D. 52-53) when Paul was brought before him charged with teaching people to worship God contrary to the Mosaic Law. Before Paul could open his mouth, Gallio ruled that the charge involved interpretations of the Law in Judaism, a religion that was protected by Roman law, and since Gallio held Christianity to be part of Judaism, he would not hear the case. Gallio’s decision set the precedent of allowing the Christian Gospel to spread for some time in the area with Roman protection! (Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to Acts 18:14-16; Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 407; Zon. Pic. Ency. Bib., vol. Two, p. 648-649) (b) So, whether or not the president will be charged for profiting from the bribery of foreign company leaders or whether or not future elections have credible or questionable outcomes, God decides who comes to power, how long they are in power, and what they do when they are in power!

(2) Regarding the deception of the mainstream media like we noted in the Washington Post and the New York Times and President Biden’s calling “evil good, and good evil,” 2 Timothy 3:13 predicted that people would go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. The solution, given in 2 Timothy 3:14-4:1a, is that (a) we believers in Christ keep holding to the truths that God led us to learn (v. 14a) (b) and be convinced were true (v. 14b), (c) knowing the good character of the people who taught them to us (v. 14c), (d) and ultimately that we rely on Scripture, God’s inspired, authoritative Word for all matters of faith and practice until the rapture of the Church (2 Timothy 3:15-4:1a).

(3) Regarding the lawless actions of prosecutors that results in an explosion in shoplifting and its resulting business losses, (a) Proverbs 20:13 ESV states: “Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.” When lawlessness harms businesses, that harm leads to financial imbalances in the money supply that intensify the financial needs of the poor while greatly enriching others. If we stay alert at all times, we can spot the financial shifts that occur in crises and adjust to them to protect ourselves from needless losses while also making a profit. (b) Also, diversifying our assets as Ecclesiastes 11:2 directs also helps us ride out economic crises.

(4) Regarding the fact that abortion is the leading cause of human deaths globally, may we rely on the Holy Spirit to avoid immorality that leads to many abortions and deeply value all human beings. (Galatians 5:16, 22-23)

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. In handling the great sin that affects this world, may we cleave to the God of Scripture for help.