Dr. Ed Young - Good Morning Lord

We’ve been studying the book of Psalms. We’ve already looked at Psalm 1 and Psalm 2; they are the introductory Psalms. Originally, they were just one Psalm. Then you move on to Psalm 3, which we have looked at, and we’ve also examined Psalm 4. Now we’re going to study Psalm 5. We put these three Psalms in context: Absalom revolted against his father and turned half of the people of Israel against David’s righteous reign.

Now, David ran in the middle of the night with his small group. They went down across the Kidron Valley and spent the night until they finally crossed the Jordan. They marched and ran all the way up and crossed the Jabbok River, which is a tributary of the Jordan, about 25 miles from the Dead Sea. You have these three Psalms that were evidently written by David as he was fleeing.

Psalm 3 is called a morning Psalm. Remember, he awakened -most probably- and began to write in his devotional state this fabulous hymn that’s a morning Psalm. Then chapter 4 is an evening Psalm, the one he would have prayed and written in the evening. Chapter 5, which we’re going to look at today, is another morning song, and it was written in the morning during the most difficult period of David’s life, surrounded by thousands in rebellion led by his own favorite son, Absalom. He was trying to gather people to become part of his defensive army, and he writes this magnificent Psalm.

In Psalm 5, you have God’s name given in two different forms five times. In the Psalm, you see the word «Yahweh.» When you see a name for God in the Bible, that name always describes something about God. Yahweh is the Covenant God. When he uses that word right up front for God in Hebrew, it means that David understood he was in the Covenant. That name goes all the way back to Moses, who, at the burning bush, recognized that God was there-a bush was burning and not being consumed. He said, «What is your name, God? You’re here. Which God are you?» The answer came: «I am that I am.» Literally, the answer was, «I am,» «I am,» «I am,» meaning, «I am life.» That’s the Covenant name for God, and it is used five times in this one chapter. There’s also the name «Yahweh,» and you see it as my God. «God"-Elohim-denotes a personal relationship. He’s not praying to «whomever it may concern.» No, he’s praying to a God he is in Covenant with; he is praying to a personal God.

Then I did something simple-I’m almost ashamed to tell you. I looked at the book of Psalms and thumbed through it, and I bumped into something that everyone knows. I knew it, but I had never really thought about it. All of these Psalms, with few exceptions, begin with God, with «Lord.» Psalm 1, Psalm 150-God, God, God; Lord, Lord, Lord- over and over. If someone picked up the Psalms and they were agnostic-saying, «I don’t know if there’s a God or not. I’m wise; I’m going to wait and gather all the evidence» — or if they were atheistic-saying, «Oh, there’s no God. This whole God business is unproven; it’s a myth» — they wouldn’t be thrilled by the music, the majesty, and the praise and prophecy found in the Psalms because God is a great big question mark.

At the same time, I was reading Eric Metaxas’s book, «Is Atheism Dead?» By the way, whatever book you might read, take the time to order it. *Is Atheism Dead? * by Eric Metaxas will change your view of science. If you have any doubt about God, or if you’re supposedly some kind of pseudo-intellectual-an agnostic saying, «I don’t know if there’s a God or not; I’m going to wait for more evidence " — read this book and get back to me because it counteracts what was on the front page of * Time* magazine in 1966. The front page asked, «Is God Dead?» I remember clearly when a reporter asked Billy Graham about this article, which primarily conveyed an atheistic position-that there is no God. They asked Billy Graham about it, and he said, «God has not died.» He added, «You know, that’s strange to me. I talked to Him this morning.»

When discussing whether or not there is a God, you have two extreme views. One view, held by many scholars, is that they do not want there to be a God. Frederick Nietzsche said this, and he was quite honest: «I don’t believe there’s a God; I don’t want there to be a God because it will mess up my sex life.» Many people don’t want there to be a God because of the hedonistic lifestyle that so many live-"I, me, my, mine, pleasure.» They’ve worked out their own deal, and they' re satisfied with it. They can handle this, and they prefer God to be way up there. If they need Him, they’ll call. A lot of people do not want there to be a true and living God.

There’s another group that hopes there is a God, thinks there might be a God, and kind of believes there is a God. But, folks, something amazing has happened since 1966-the high watermark of accepted atheism and agnosticism. If you have not stayed up to date, I have a surprise for you: science has now conclusively proven-be careful; this is not an overstatement-that there is indeed a God. Stay with me; a lot of people in the intellectual community are still stuck back in 1966. They think that science has continually disproven the presence of a Creator or an ultimate personality. The truth is that the opposite has taken place.

As we look at praise to God, prayer to God, singing to God, and insights about God in the Psalms, we’re going to encounter this theme continually. I' ll begin with one simple statement: science has proven there is a God.

Now, going back to a relatively recent affirmation — the Big Bang. You say, «The Big Bang Theory?» The Big Bang is no longer a theory; it is established science. What is the Big Bang? It simply says that there was a moment in which, out of nothing, came creation. Theologians call it * creation ex nihilo.* Before the Big Bang was affirmed by scientists, the argument was that as you move through infinite time, anything can happen through evolution. That’s the evolutionist argument: «If you give it enough time, you can take some scum out of a primeval swamp and that scum will develop into a cell, and then into life, and life of all forms, by chance, through random observational events, because time is infinite.» That’s the argument you encounter all the time when discussing design and evidence of God.

But once the Big Bang was established-starting with Einstein and others before him, and then the Hubble Telescope, and now we have a telescope infinitely more powerful than Hubble — science moved toward the Big Bang. You have an effect; there is always a cause. If you want to debate that, slap my hands together. What’s the cause? I took my muscles and slapped them together-the effect is that noise when I clap my hands. There’s a cause and effect behind everything. But scientists often work in the opposite way; they look at an effect and ask, «What is the cause?»

So, through this process of looking at the effect and tracing it back to the cause, many scientists came to the position that there was a moment in which there was a Big Bang. This Big Bang exploded the cosmos, and therefore, through observations, scientists have empirically proven that that explosion is still occurring; the universe is not contracting but continually expanding.

Therefore, a wall has been built. On one side, there are scientists, astrophysicists, and all those who use the scientific method -evidence revealed by experiment. That’s the basic definition of science. You experiment with something; it is proven. But you can’t do this with creation because it is a singularity; it occurs once and cannot be repeated.

Therefore, proof revealed by experiment cannot apply to creation. Yet, scientists have looked at the universe and confirmed there was a moment of explosion when everything came into being. On the other side of the wall-the wall separating our observable universe from what came before and beyond it- there is nothing; science cannot say a thing. The Big Bang established a point in time when the universe came into being, around 13.8 billion years ago.

On this side of the wall, we have time, space, and matter, but on the other side, there is nothing. That means science has nothing to say about what lies beyond the Big Bang. The only explanation on the other side of this wall is the first chapter of Genesis: «In the beginning, God created.» This is significant, folks. Science has proven there is a God-the force, the Creator, who is independent of the scientific disciplines.

Most honest scientists who genuinely value logic and intelligence cannot escape this. There’s no dodging room. If you’re still stuck back in 1966, as many of our pseudo-scholars in universities and schools are, they are not up to date because their own discipline has proven the reality of Almighty God.

We are going to deal with this. The discussion leads to the Big Bang and also to evidence about how life came into being. The fine-tuned universe- the anthropic principle-will come into play. As we study the book of Psalms, we will talk about God and different aspects of God. We’re discussing eternity, a supernatural entity that has absolutely been verified and proven by science, while most people still assume science disproves God.

No- science asserts that there is absolutely a Creator God. So, we go to Psalm chapter 5 and will continue to explore this. Let me tell you again, if you want to read something exceptional, now, Eric Metaxas has been here many times, and he has written a solid book on this matter. Bill Dembski and many others have also written extensively in this area, but it’s settled; there’s no argument anymore. There’s no space left for a genuine scientist to argue.

I spoke to Jim Tour yesterday. He is among the top scientists in the world and teaches at Rice, and he said there’s no wiggle room anymore. There’s no way to dismiss this: there is an Almighty God.

Therefore, when we study the Psalms, David wasn’t just saying, «Well, I’m praying to somebody I hope is there.» No- he’s praying to God. Today, we can pray to a Creator, not just of this universe, but the Creator of life. We read Psalm chapter 5 in a little bit different light, I think:

«Give ear to my words, O Lord.» There is that covenant relationship. «Consider my meditation.» That word in Hebrew means «perk up your ears.» It’s like a dog when they hear something-they perk up their ears. So he’s saying to the Lord, «I want you to hear. I want you to pay attention to where I am.»

«Give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God.» The word «Elohim» expresses a personal relationship. He’s not praying to a vague deity; no — he’s praying to a God with whom he is in Covenant. «For to You, I will pray. My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord.» He starts the most challenging day of his life like this: «In the morning, I will direct my prayers to You, and I will look up.» That’s the way to start a day, ladies and gentlemen!

On the toughest, most challenging day in the life of this King, he starts off with this morning song. Then he says, «For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You. The boastful shall not stand in Your sight. You hate all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy those who speak lies.»

Did you know David was a liar? He lied to two kings. Because of one of his lies while he was running from Saul, Saul killed 58 priests. David lied about Bathsheba, David lied about Uriah. David was a liar! But what happened? David went to God, seeking complete forgiveness, and he was changed again. God eliminated his sin.

Let me tell you something: years ago in Cambridge, a group of scholars gathered and discussed the uniqueness of Christianity. They talked about all the world religions. They discussed similarities and differences when C.S. Lewis walked in. As they debated what set Christianity apart, they asked him, «Dr. Lewis, what do you think is the uniqueness of Christianity?» He said one thing. They asked, «What is it?» He replied, «Forgiveness.»

David had been forgiven. He wakes up in the Lord, and he simply says, «Lord, listen to me.» The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. As for me, he says, «I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy.» David had been forgiven. «In the fear of You, I will worship toward Your holy temple.» David was in covenant with God-God was personal to him.

He said, «Lord, listen to me in this moment of extremity.» The next thing he says is, «Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies. Make Your way straight before my face.» Isn’t that it? You see where he is. You see where we are.

He wakes in the morning and says, «Lord, I’m in covenant with You. I have a relationship with You. Lord, I want You to listen. I know You won’t listen to those who are out of fellowship with You. You can’t hear them, their wickedness, their lying. But I’ve been forgiven, and therefore, I say, lead me. O Lead Me, direct me!»

He had enemies all around. He had troops being marshaled, and he needed God to lead him. He said, «I want You to lead me so that I will make the right decisions in life.» Isn’t that what all of us want every day? «Lord, lead us. Help us make wise, godly decisions. Help us to be accurate in knowing where we’re going, what we’re saying, and what we’re doing.» He’s saying, «Lead me.»

Then look at what he says: «Legislate against those who are in relationship with You, for there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their inward part is destruction; their throat is an open tomb; they flatter with their tongue.» He says, «Pronounce them guilty, O God. Let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against You.»

«But let all who rejoice, who put their trust in You, let them ever shout for joy because You defend them. For those who love Your name, be joyful in You, for You, O Lord, will bless the righteous. With favor, You will surround him with a shield.»

What’s David saying? He’s saying, «Lord, listen. Lord, lead. Lord, legislate against evil,» which is what we’re saying, are we not? Then he says how we should respond is to trust and to love, and he asserts that God will shield us. That’s what God does for His people, folks.

We’re to be a part of the shielding and protecting in the culture in which we live, and therefore we have to speak out in love. The bottom line is, as we understand more and more of God, as we throw away any possible ground for doubt, ladies and gentlemen, all the evidence has come in from every scientific discipline: there is a Creator God. We know Him as He revealed Himself totally in Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, He forgives us, replenishes us, and when we love Him in response, He puts a shield around us.