The Treasure is The Gospel, The Field is Scripture!
The span of our life is seventy years, or if we are strong, eighty; yet at best it is toil and sorrow, over in a moment, and then we are gone. Who grasps the power of your anger and wrath to the degree that the fear due you should inspire? So teach us to count our days, so that we will become wise. ~ Psalm 90:10-12
When these prayers were written and collected the revelation of God to His people was yet to reach the ultimate revelation of God: Jesus Christ! And with the revelation of Christ came clarity on ‘The End’. What we know is that the end comes when Jesus returns.
Beginning with the writing of Moses all the way trough the Book of Revelation we get pictures of the end. And consistent in all the Scripture about the end is one thing: At the end there is only two groups of people. There is a clear division of all humanity into two groups at the end of this world. Over and over again in Scripture we see that there is always only two groups: God’s People and His Enemies. There is no other group!
Jesus Christ only spoke of two groups:Sheep & Goats / Wheat & Tares / Those I know and those who never knew Me. Jesus repeatedly in his teaching and preaching spoke of how all humanity would be in one of two groups. Scripture is clear: You either belong to God or you are against Him. THERE IS NO 3rd Group!
Psalms as prayers: This Psalm will only be prayed by those who God has placed His Eternal Spirit into, only they can truly desire this day to come.
Psalm 9 (103 Cross References in 20 verses)
1 I will give thanks to You, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds. 2 I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing the praises of Your Name, O Most High.
- The beginnings of Psalms can serve as a call to worship & a declaration of faith
- Can you thank God with all of your heart?
- Do you see your life as what you have done or what HE has done?
- Do you rejoice in God or the things God has given you?
- ‘Sing The Praises’ & ‘Your Name’
- Does your life ‘Testify to what The Eternal God of Scripture stands for?
3 My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before You. 4 For You have upheld my right and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge. 5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name for ever and ever. 6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies, You have uprooted their cities; even the memory of them has perished.
- Why would God be taking on my enemies? Upholding my cause?
- The only way this is possible is if my cause is HIS cause!
- God calls and we surrender to the call
- Echoing throughout Scripture is the message that there are only two sides…
- The Wicked VS God & His People
- We get a view of the fate that is in store for those opposed to God
- With HIM or against HIM
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemies before you, saying, ‘Destroy!’ ~ Deuteronomy 33:27
7 The Lord reigns forever; He has established His throne for judgment. 8 He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity. 9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 10 Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You.
- This is a vision of eternity…this is not the fallen world we live in
- This is the beginning of revelation of what the end will be like
- Here we see the second of two groups mentioned in scripture at the end
- Here we see the refuge of those who know and trust in Christ…who seek GOD
This is part of the beginnings of what we learn about the end from Scripture… And now we know that at the end all humanity will we be judged, by God’s standard
I saw a large, white throne and the one who was sitting on it. The earth and the sky fled from his presence, but no place was found for them. I saw the dead, both important and unimportant people, standing in front of the throne. Books were opened, including the Book of Life. The dead were judged on the basis of what they had done, as recorded in the books. ~ Revelation 20:11-12
Psalm 9:11 Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what He has done. 12 For He who avenges blood remembers; He does not ignore the cries of the afflicted. 13 Lord, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death, 14 that I may declare Your praises in the gates of Daughter Zion, and there rejoice in Your salvation.
- This continues to describe the relationship between God & His chosen people
- Knowing God will decide your eternity, THE response to sing HIS praises
- The affliction we share as humans is the affliction of sin.
- Persecution by 3 enemies (God’s Enemies): My flesh, The World, The Devil
- Only God can save us from eternal death
- Daughter Zion is messianic imagery
- Salvation was won for us at the Gates of Daughter Zion by the Son of God
- How does the reality of what Christ did on the cross impact your day to day?
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden. 16 The Lord is known by his acts of justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. 17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God.
- People from every ethnic group are included in God’s enemies (Redeemed too)
- Absolute agreement with God’s justice
- Those who belong to God trust and believe in HIS judgment
- The evidence against the wicked is what they do, what they value
- The fate of all who ‘forget’ God
- In order to forget something you must be exposed to that thing
- All people have the chance to know God:
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. ~ Romans 1:20
Psalm 9:18 But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish. 19 Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence. 20 Strike them with terror, Lord; let the nations know they are only mortal.
- Needy here is compatible with those Jesus called the ‘poor in Spirit’ who are BLESSED!
- We each have to become needy of God: in our need we have hope
- Are you good to say: ‘Go ahead God you know where I stand, judge away!’
- Are you ready for the end of this life? Good to either die or have Jesus return?
“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. “Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. ~ Matthew 24:37-41
SUMMARY:
There is an end to this age / world coming. It could be today…
You are either in a redeemed relationship for eternity or you are in an enemy relationship for eternity With The Eternal God of all Creation.
For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’” So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. ~ Romans 14:10b-12