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Psalm 22 describes Jesus' suffering during crucifixion after Jesus has been hanging on the cross for some time and is nearing death. Darkness overcame Jesus near the end when He took on our sin and God turned His face away. When we have sin, God does not hear our prayers. What Jesus experienced is the condition of men who cling to their sin. Your sin has separated you from the Father completely. No one can come to the Father except... When you cling to your sin, God does not hear you, won't look upon you, does not consider you, for He has forsaken you. Vs 3 But God is holy and we have to come to Him on His terms. If He is not your king, He is nothing to you. He cannot be a side king. Vs 5 Trust in the Lord removes shame. Those who feel no shame over their sin are far from God and are forsaken. Man already are inhumane toward other men. Vs 6 I am a worm (less than a man) in their eyes. Despised. We start forsaken. But as we humble ourselves, repent, and trust, He answers us. Vs 21 Not only does God now hear you, but He answers you.

Psalm 20 theme was destroy Your enemies and build Your kingdom. Psalm 21 is the reverse of build Your kingdom and destroy Your enemies. David's heart's desire was inline with Jesus' heart's desire. It was Jesus' desire to take on death for you even though He did not look forward to the darkness and pain. Vs 3 The king's blessing will come upon you. We are joint hears. Everything the king inherits, we share. Vs 4 Jesus gave His life into God's hands. He was gien resurrection. Jesus' glory, honor, majesty in salvation is shared with use even though we do not deserve it. Not only do we benefit from having a good king and not only being court members, but we get to stay in His presence and go wherever the king goes. Our own belief gets in the way so that we don't believe we will get to be in His presence. I don't know a better enticement of salvation than being with the king without pain or death. The second half of the psalm portrays the alternative if you refuse God's judgments. In their arrogance and pride, they think they can hide from God's judgments. You will choose one of these two options for your life. You are either part of His kingdom or you choose death under the pentaly of His wrath. We will sing and praise God's power. Either we will sing a song of joy or a song of sorrow and lament.

Psalm 20 is a royal psalm about the king. If the king goes into idolatry, the people go into idolatry. The people become like the their king. Every king is a picture of the coming king, Jesus Christ. May God be attentive to you (king) for you will have many enemies. David was the defender of Israel who established the military. When you seek to be freinds with the enemies of God, you are a traitor. We want to stand fast against the enemies of our king, because our king (Jesus) has such a strong relationship with God to defend us. Vs 4 May God grant success to all of your plans and ambitions. He wants you to have success spiritually. He wants you to be proactive in building up your church and spiritual life. You have someone with the sword and with the hammer: defenders and builders. Vs 5 As the king prays for us, we will carry his name/banner. Vs 6 The king has confidence (I know) the Lord saves. Keep His banner over your life as the definition of who you are. Vs 7 Chariots were the most advanced weapons of men, yet trust in God. Call to God for help rather than trusting in your phone for help. The more you trust in technology, the more it will trip up your faith. You chat a lot more online than you chat with God. You fill your free time with technology rather than filling it with the Lord.

We have a source to abandon sin and to walk in righteousness. David was a shepherd boy who knew the courses of the sun. The firmament is firm and has the sun, moon, and stars residing there. Rain is post-flood. Plants used to havea ground mist. Firmament is a barrier which holds back water. The Chaldean wisemen showed up in Jerusalem because they studied the heavens. We all have access to who God is and what He has done. A bridegroom goes in splender to get his bride and bring her home. Just as from sunrise to sunset, the sun is splended all day. As a believer there should be a tenderness to the law. The law is weighty and exposes us. Where there is no knowledge, there is no fear of the Lord. If we are ignorant of the law, there is no chance of salvation. If you persist in sin, you live your life without God's favor. God will hold you accountable for taking His name in vain. If you hate, you murder. If you lust, you commit adultry. The world wants to hide that the Lord has a higher level of righteousness than we can attain. They want to keep you from being restored and from having joy. If you know you are a sinner undeserving of God and you are humbled, now you have hope. Oh that we would see God's word as sweet honey which we beg for more of rather than sore. If your car is broken and someone tells you and takes it away to fix it, you can get mad and not want to hear bad news or you can see it is for your best. Ignorance is costly. You will pay for sin you don't even know you've done. 5 minutes of this sermon was cut short due to the mic battery dying.

Psalms 15-18 are the passion week of Christ. We are His kingdom -those who trust in Him. Jesus was obedient to the point of the cross/death. You should not desire comfort and wealth, but the desires of your heart should be after Christ. Enemies of Christ: sin, death, the Evil One who tempted Him, those who mocked Him. This is what I have done/accomplished, but I do not forget it is don through Christ's strength in me. The work of Christ is cooperative rather than passive. Psalm 18 begins "I..I..I" and became "You..You..You" and then "They..They..They.." Vs 41 They cried out even to the Lord, but He did not answer. Some of the enemies of Jesus claim the same name He serves. They are spots in our love feast. Do not tolerate them. Separate from them. Vs 43 You made me the head of the Gentiles. We should be thankful we hae salvation. The extent of this victory is not just for me and mine. There is no boundary of nationality. The only boundary is your heart. Would you rather be the citizen or the slave? Am I really pursuing Christ as part of His kingdom? There is no neutral ground inbetwee.

Last week, the beginning of psalm 18 was God's wrath. The middle section of psalm 18 is the saticfying of God's wrath. Jesus' enemies overcame Him and He is crucified. David was not perfect and had lots of sin, but the desire of his heart was after the Lord. God wants a man who's heart is for Him even if he fails. Every believer's heart should be surrendered to God every day. A dad can love his child and be angry at them at the same time. Vs 20 Your hands represent what you are doing. Are you doing the work of your Father? Jesus delivers us from God's wrath/danger. You can't be good enough to claim heaven and God's best. If you do right in your own strength, you will fail. You are children of light. Vs 28 You don't light your own lamp. Our own darkness prevents us from being lit and walking in light. Vs 29 God will strengthen you to get over your barriers to living godly if you trust Him -like a hurdler who runs of obsticles. Vs 33 The world should look at you living like a gaot on a cliff jumping ledges and not sliding while trusting God.