You are my King, O God

Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. It's where every day you and I, we get together, we get into God's Word, and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2021, we'll make it through all the wisdom literature. Well, this morning, or this evening, we're at Psalm 44. Again, I'm going to have to apologize for an irregular schedule. We are in Ohio for my father-in-law's funeral tomorrow, so please be praying for us with that. So I'm going to try to get on here each day still with you, but I can't guarantee what time it's going to be.
Why don't we go ahead and pray, and we'll get into God's Word. Lord, we thank you for this day and we thank you for your word. We pray now that as we read your word that you would apply it to our hearts, that we might cry out to you, our King, in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, here we go. Psalm 44. To the chief musician, a contemplation of the sons of Korah. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us the deeds you did in their days, in the days of old.
You drove out the nations with your hand, but them you planted. You afflicted the peoples and cast them out, for they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, nor did their own arm save them. But it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your countenance, because you favored them." Do you hear what the psalmist is saying here? God, you saved them. You did it by your strength, by your mighty right arm. Not by their strength, but just because you shined your grace upon them. You saved them. You are my king, O God. Command victories for Jacob.
Though you will push down our enemies, through your name we will trample those who rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, nor Nor shall my sword save me, but you have saved us from our enemies and have put to shame those who hated us. In God we boast all day long and praise your name forever."
Do you get the God-entranced view of what's going on here? I'm not going to trust in my bow. I'm not going to trust in my sword. It's your name and your strength. It's God's victory. Get ready, though. There's a turn in the psalm. But you have cast us off and have put us to shame. And you do not go out with our armies. You make us turn back from the enemy. And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves. You have given us up like sheep, indeed intended for food, and have scattered us among the nations. You sell your people for the next to nothing and are not enriched by selling them. You make us a reproach to our neighbors, and a scorn and a derision to those all around us. You make us a byword among the nations, a shaking of the head among the peoples.
My dishonor is continually before me, and the shame of my face has covered me, because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, because of the enemy of the avenger." Do you hear what the psalmist is saying here? They're crying out, God you delivered, you rescued your people, you by your mighty right hand brought them up out of Egypt. And now where's the victory? Now our enemies mock us.
All this has come upon us, but we have not forgotten you. Nor have we dealt falsely with your covenant. Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from your ways. But you have severely broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death. If we had forgotten the name of our God or stretched out our hands to a foreign god, would not God search this out?
For he knows the secret of the heart. Yet for your sake we are killed all day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Awake! Why do you sleep, O Lord? Arise! Do not cast us off forever. Why do you hide your face and forget your affliction and your oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust, our body clings to the ground. Arise for our help and redeem us for your mercy's sake.
Now, this is an amazing act of providence. I don't believe in chance. God does all things by his sovereign plan, and it just so happens that tomorrow, this comes up in the funeral sermon I'll be preaching. I didn't know that until just now. But in Romans chapter eight, God talks about our redemption in Jesus Christ, and he quotes this psalm. I'm gonna turn there. I know this isn't what we normally do, But I want to share that with you. Romans chapter eight, this is what God says there as he's crying out.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written, and here's Psalm 44, for your sake we are killed all day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
But God has not forgotten his people. God has not forgotten his people. What does he say? Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. God has not forgotten His covenant. God has not forgotten His people. And by His mighty right hand and His outstretched arm, He redeemed us by the blood of Jesus Christ. He bought us for His own. He made us His. He has remembered His covenant. He has kept His covenant love.
So when you're in the depths of despair, look to Christ. Go to the rock of your salvation. Remember Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your covenant love. We thank you that you will redeem your people. You have redeemed us. Lord, we pray that we would trust in you and love you with all of our hearts. Thank you for what great love you have lavished upon us. In Jesus' name, amen. My Lord bless you today. May he fill your heart with joy and peace as you rest in Jesus Christ. And I'll see you tomorrow.