In this sermon, Pastor Chuck Smith begins by expressing a plea to God for relief from the adversary and the reproach of the enemy. He acknowledges God's power manifested in nature and asks God to remember the reproach and blasphemy against His name. The plea is made in respect to the covenant and the congregation of the poor. Pastor Chuck Smith also speaks about God's role as the judge, bringing down the wicked and exalting the righteous. The sermon concludes with a personal declaration to sing praises to the God of Jacob and the assurance that the power of the wicked will be cut off while the horns of the righteous will be exalted.

Oh, let the Son of God enfold you With His Spirit and His love Let Him fill your heart and satisfy your soul Oh, let Him have the things that mold you And His Spirit like a dove Will descend upon your life And make you whole Welcome to The Word for Today, a broadcast ministry of Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California. Pastor Chuck is currently leading us on a verse-by-verse venture through the entire Bible. And on today's edition of The Word for Today, we'll be continuing with A Plea for Relief. As we pick up in the 74th Psalm, beginning with verse 10. And now, with today's message, here's Pastor Chuck Smith. Oh God, how long shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name forever? God, is this the way it's going to end? Is this the end of the story? Why do you withdraw your hand, even your right hand? Lord, do something. Pluck it out of your bosom, Lord. Let's get some action. For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. And now he talks about how God did marvelous works in the past. God, I want to see you work. I know you can do marvelous things. You divided the sea by your strength. And that's reference to the dividing of the Red Sea, so that the children of Israel could pass through as they came out of Egypt. You broke the heads of the dragons in the waters. The Egyptian army was often called the dragons. And it is thought that this is a reference to the fact that God destroyed the army of Pharaoh in the Red Sea. You broke the heads of the Leviathans in pieces. The crocodiles. And you gave them to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness. And then you did cleave the fountain and the flood. You dried up the mighty rivers. The day is thine. The night also is thine. You've prepared the light and the sun. You have set all of the borders of the earth. You have established the summer and the winter. Remember this. So he talks about God's power manifested in nature. Well, remember this. That the enemy has reproached you, Lord. And so just remember that, Lord. They've reproached you. And the foolish people have blasphemed your name. So, Lord, your reputation is at stake. Oh, deliver not the soul of thy turtle dove unto the multitude of the wicked. And forget not the congregation of thy poor forever. And so the prayer and the plea unto God, have respect unto the covenant, for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. Do not let the oppressed return ashamed. Let the poor and the needy praise thy name. God, your people, don't forsake them completely. When they return, may they return in victory. Arise, O God, plead thine own cause. Remember how the foolish man reproaches thee daily. Forget not the voice of your enemies, the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually. And so he's calling upon God, Lord, we're gone, we're history, we're wiped out. But God, defend your own name. And bring down the enemy for the reproach that they have made against thee. The 75th Psalm begins with thanksgiving. Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks. Unto thee do we give thanks. For that thy name is near, thy wondrous works declare. God is manifested unto man through his works. The heavens declare the glory of God. The earth showeth his handiwork. Day unto day they utter their speech. Night unto night their voice goeth forth. And there is not a speech nor a language where their voice is not heard. God manifests himself through his works. That your name is near, your wondrous works declare. When I shall receive the congregation, I will judge uprightly. Now, this is a psalm, again, that is prophetic and messianic in nature. And it is as though the Lord is speaking here, even Jesus Christ, who declares, when I receive the congregation, I will judge uprightly. We hear someone cry, there ain't no justice. And as we look at many of the decisions that are being made in our courts, we are sometimes prone to agree with that cry. Now, something's wrong with the justice system that would force a little girl to go on unsupervised visits with a man who was sexually abusing her when she's just six years old. And she would come home from these visitations with her father sexually abused. And she took the daughter to the hospital and all where it was concluded that she had been sexually abused while with her father. And so she finally would not, she hid her daughter rather than allowing him to have these weekends and sexually abusing her while he had her. And so the judge threw her in jail for contempt of court for not revealing where her daughter is. And she said, hey, if I have to spend the next 12 years in jail until she's 18 years old, so be it. I'm going to protect her from that man and from his sexual molestation of her. And the court still ordered that he have unsupervised visitation rights. Talk about justice. You know, they have that goddess of justice or whatever. They need to put a blindfold over her when you look at some of the things that are being decided by our courts today. But there is a day when justice shall prevail. He shall judge the world in righteousness and in truth. No one will be able to complain, I got a bum rap when they are judged by the Lord. You know, it's going to be a righteous judgment. It will be absolutely fair. Several years ago, when I was still in college, yes, in ancient history, they did have cars in those days. And I was driving my car down Riverside Drive next to the park out in the Glendale area. I was returning home from Bakersfield, and I saw this car coming the other way. It was a four-lane highway with just lines for the center divider, just a double line. And I saw this car just sort of weaving and coming across the double line, coming right towards me. I was overtaking a car and passing it, and this guy came across and was heading right towards me. I threw on my brakes, and the guy crossed in front of me and hit head-on the car in front of him that I was getting ready to pass. And somehow, I got around it and escaped. But, I mean, it just happened. It was right there, and then I saw it. As I was going by, it was just right there, and so I stopped. I ran back to the lady, and she had a little child in the car. I checked out to see if they were okay. And the fellow, after he hit her, went down over the embankment and threw the railing and ended up on the bridle path. So I ran down to check to see if he was all right, and he seemed to be a little staggered. But he was obviously okay. So I went up to my car and headed down for a phone booth to call the police because already traffic was piling up. It was a busy thoroughfare. And I called the police and told them of the accident, where it was, and they said, Well, was anyone seriously injured? I said, Well, no, I don't think so. They seemed to be all right. I checked them out. And, well, then, you know, they'll just have to, you know, work it out for themselves. I said, Wait a minute. Traffic is backing up for miles. And they said, Well, you know, we can't send out the units unless someone is injured or whatever. And I said, Well, I said, There was some city property damage. They said, Oh, where was that? You know, and they had broken the rail of the bridle trail. So I gave the woman my card with my phone number. And I said, Have the insurance company send me the forms. And I witnessed the whole thing. I was right there. I witnessed it. And I'll be glad to fill out a report for you. So a few weeks later I got this letter from Farmers Insurance, the forms. I filled them out and sent them in and figured that was the end of it. I went on and finished my senior year in college and was getting ready to go back to Missouri to start ministering back there in some churches as an evangelist. And I got this call from an attorney with Farmers Insurance. And he said, You remember the accident? And he gave the date about a year ago. And I said, Oh, yeah, I remember that one very clearly. And he said, Well, we need for you to come to court and witness on that accident. And I said, Oh, gracious, I wouldn't think that there would be any question on that one. And he said, Well, the man claims that he is a police officer that she crossed the double line and hit him. I said, What? And so he said, Yes. He said he has signed depositions that she crossed the double line and hit him on his side of the highway. And he said there were three witnesses and the others have gone and you're the only one left. And I said, Well, it just so happens I'm on my way. I said, I'm going back to Missouri. I've got some appointments back there to start ministering. He said, Oh. And he said, Could you put it off for a week or so and stay and be a witness? He said, We really need your testimony in this because he said if they just go into court, it will be his word against her word. And he said, How about if I paid for your cost of going back to Missouri? Well, in reality, I didn't know where I was going to get the money. And I've been just trusting the Lord to supply, you know. And I said, You've got a deal. So Farmer's Insurance paid for the beginning of my ministry. But we got all the way up to the court. 930 in the morning, our hearing was at 10 o'clock. And when the fellow saw me there, he started talking with his attorney and his attorney got together with the Farmer's Insurance attorney and they went into the other room and they settled out of court. But I mean, this guy was going to go in and swear before God that she had crossed the line to hit him. You think, Well, you know, how can you have true justice when you have a person who will stand right there, take the oath with his hand on the Bible and then just tell a blatant lie to the court? How can the court really discern what is true? The judge isn't omniscient. He wasn't there to see it. And there are many miscarriages of justice, but not when Jesus reigns and rules. When I shall receive the congregation, I will judge uprightly. And the earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved and I will bear up the pillars of it. I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly. And to the wicked, Lift not up your horn. Lift not up your horn on high and speak not with a stiff neck, which was always interpreted in those days as a proudness. Speak not in proudness. For promotion comes neither from the east or from the west nor from the south. But God is the judge who puts one down and sets up another. So don't exalt yourself. Don't be proud. Don't seek to promote yourself. If it's of the Lord, the Lord will promote it. For promotion doesn't come from the east, the west, or the south. North is assumed. But promotion comes from God. It's interesting how people are constantly trying to promote themselves or some idea or some program that they're involved with. Boasting of their powers, of their abilities. Don't lift up your own horn on high. Don't speak with prideness. The promotion comes from the Lord. For God is the judge. He puts down one and he sets up another. This is really, in its context, is a reference to the kingdoms of the world. God sets upon the throne those whom he will. Nebuchadnezzar didn't believe this. Nebuchadnezzar exalted himself and his position as king over Babylon. He had had a dream. In his dream he saw this huge image. Head of gold, chest of silver, stomach of brass, legs of iron, feet of iron and clay. Daniel interpreted the dream for him. You, Nebuchadnezzar, are the head of gold. God has shown you the kingdoms that will rule over the earth. Yours is the first, the most powerful, the head of gold. But your kingdom will be replaced by an inferior kingdom. The Medes and the Persians, the chest of silver. Which kingdom will be replaced by the Grecian Empire, the stomach of brass? Which kingdom will be replaced by the Roman Empire, who will crush the other kingdoms, the legs of iron? But the final ruling kingdom will be a federation of the ten nations from the Roman Empire. And during the days of their reign shall the Lord of heaven come and establish a kingdom that shall never end. Nebuchadnezzar was amazed at the interpretation and the ability of Daniel to interpret the dream that he had even forgotten. And he said there is no God in all the earth like the God of Daniel who is able to interpret dreams and make known the things that were dark and mysterious. But then he went right out and defied the interpretation. He built a huge image and set it up in the plains of Dura of gold, all gold, top to bottom, head to toe. And in that he was defying the interpretation for he was saying the Babylonian kingdom, my kingdom, will last forever. It's not going to be replaced by the Medo-Persians. They're not going to be a succession. The Babylonian kingdom will last forever. And he had the people bow down to this concept. At the sound of music everybody has to bow to consent to this. The Babylonian kingdom will last forever. And so God allowed Nebuchadnezzar to go insane and for seven seasons live like an animal out in the fields eating the grass like the ox. Until he recognized that it is God who rules over the kingdoms of man and sets up those whom he will and brings down those whom he will. So the psalmist is declaring that. It is God who puts one down and sets another up. God rules. God is the judge to put one down, to bring another up. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup and the wine is red. It is full of mixture and he pours out the same. But the dregs thereof all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out and drink them. Revelation chapter 14, it speaks of the cup of the wrath of God's indignation that he is going to pour out upon this wicked world as he judges the world in righteousness. But I will declare forever and I will sing the praises to the God of Jacob. All of the horns of the wicked, the power of the wicked, will I cut off. But the horns of the righteous shall be exalted. So, glorious song. We'll return with more of our verse-by-verse venture through the Bible in our next lesson. As Pastor Chuck Smith continues with The Majesty of God in Judgment. And we do hope you'll make plans to join us. But right now, I'd like to remind you that if you missed any part of today's message or perhaps you'd like to order a copy for that special friend or loved one, you can do so by simply contacting one of our customer service representatives and they'd be more than happy to assist you with the ordering details. Simply call 1-800-272-WORD and phone orders can be taken Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time. Once again, our toll-free number is 1-800-272-9673. And for your added convenience, you can order online anytime when you go to TheWordForToday.org. And while you're there, be sure to browse through the additional resources that include Bible studies, commentaries, CDs, DVDs, and so much more. Once again, that's The Word for Today online at TheWordForToday.org. And for those of you who still prefer to write, you can use our mailing address, which is The Word for Today, P.O. Box 8000, Costa Mesa, California, 92628. And be sure to include the call letters of this station with your correspondence. And now, on behalf of The Word for Today, we'd like to thank all of you who share in supporting this ministry with your prayers and financial support. And be sure to join us again next time as Pastor Chuck Smith continues his verse-by-verse venture through the Psalms. That's right here on the next edition of The Word for Today. And now, once again, here's Pastor Chuck Smith with today's closing prayer. Lord, we realize how marvelous is Your wisdom, Your creative genius, watching over, keeping, guiding, guarding, protecting. We thank You, Lord, for Your ever-constant care over Your creation, Your ever-constant care and concern over our lives. We thank You, Lord, that You are conscious of our frailties, of our needs, of our limitations, and that You are there to help us when we are weak, that we might be strong in Your strength. Teach us, Lord, to trust You more and to rely more and more upon You. And help us, Lord, that we might have the insight into the things of nature, that as we observe them we might become conscious of You and live, Lord, in the consciousness of Thy glory. Thank You, Lord, for loving us, caring about us, redeeming us, through Jesus our Lord. Amen. And of course, the always-asked questions, Why does God allow suffering? Or what is the rapture? And when is Jesus coming again? It's time these questions are put to rest and we help our loved ones come to a simple understanding of the Bible and how to have a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. To order the Answers for Today booklets individually or collectively as a set, you can call The Word for Today at 1-800-272-9673 or you can order them online at thewordfortoday.org I want to encourage you, order these to keep on hand because you never know when you're going to get asked that question. This program has been sponsored by The Word for Today in Costa Mesa, California.