Andy Nagahara

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❖ Audio

Trusting in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever (Psalm 52)

Preface: David, God’s beloved (0)

0 For the director of music. A <maskil> [1] of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”

A. The great evil in our world (1-4)

1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?
2 Your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor, you who practice deceit.
3 You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth. <Selah>
4 You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue!

B. The result of relying on oneself (5-7)

5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. <Selah>

6 The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at him, saying,
7 “Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!”

(Romans 3:9-12) 9 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better [1] ? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.
10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” [1]

(Luke 18:9-14)9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:
10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about [1] himself: `God, I thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, `God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” 

C. The new life does not go together with the old life (21-22, 2 Corinthians 5:17)

8 But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.
9 I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

Summary

In the world around us, we can see the rich and powerful oppressing the weak. Among those who oppress others, some manage to make it through life in their own strength, but many others find themselves facing the limits that come with relying on self. We have been offered a different, more powerful way to live. That is, to walk with God and to rely on him.

For Discussion

1) What has the power to Destry human beings?
2) What gives us the power to live in this world?