Tag: faith hope and love

Worship in Word:

VI. Contrast, Educate, v. 10

In verse 9, David uses parabolic language to instruct the believer on how not to act.

Grief and sorrows affect both the righteous and the wicked because of the Adamic curse. Some who fail to consider this and instead take this verse with temporal wooden literalness might use this verse to question the veracity and inspiration of Scripture and as an excuse for walking away from the faith. Others might use this verse or ones like it as a weapon to “prove” the Bible is not true. Causing some followers of Christ to stumble or feel pangs of doubt and waves of depression.

The question arises in the doubting and unbelieving that many of those the Bible identifies as wicked live at ease and seem happy. The author of Psalm 73 struggled in faith because he saw the wicked prospering and at ease.

¹ Surely God is good to Israel,

         to those who are pure in heart.

 ² But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;

         I had nearly lost my foothold.

 ³ For I envied the arrogant

         when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

 ⁴ They have no struggles;

         their bodies are healthy and strong.

 ⁵ They are free from common human burdens;

         they are not plagued by human ills.

The New International Version (Ps 73:1–5). (2011). Zondervan.

This led to him doubting and wondering if all his trust and faithfulness were pointless.

¹³ Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure

         and have washed my hands in innocence.

¹⁴ All day long I have been afflicted,

         and every morning brings new punishments.

¹⁵ If I had spoken out like that,

         I would have betrayed your children.

¹⁶ When I tried to understand all this,

         it troubled me deeply

The New International Version (Ps 73:13–16). (2011). Zondervan.

But then he took the long view when reminded of what God had said of the wicked’s ultimate destiny.²

¹⁷ till I entered the sanctuary of God;

         then I understood their final destiny.

¹⁸ Surely you place them on slippery ground;

         you cast them down to ruin.

¹⁹ How suddenly are they destroyed,

         completely swept away by terrors!

²⁰ They are like a dream when one awakes;

         when you arise, Lord,

         you will despise them as fantasies.

^{The New International Version (Ps 73:17–20). (2011). Zondervan.}

No, verse 10 must be taken in the context of this Psalm, the Covenant God made with Israel (the blessings and curses promised (see Deut. 27:1-28.68) and from the further light as revealed in the New Testament (Covenant).

In the context³of Psalm 32, we must view it in light of the life experiences David experienced in verses 1-5 and the exhortations, instructions, declarations, and promises found in verses 6-9. In the broader context, we must view it in light of the people of the Covenant; we must see it lived out in the experience of the nation of Israel found in the Old Testament. And ultimately, we can view it in light of the future judgment of the wicked and the eternal blessings of all of God’s people. In the course of eternity, this verse will be realized completely without any exceptions.

We must also remember that this is a proverb stating a general truth. One that may not always be apparent in the lives of the wicked or those trusting in God. The wicked may prosper for a season, but when faced with pains, sorrows, and woes, they will not repent, cry out to the Lord, and experience the Lord’s comfort, love, and mercy. Instead, they will resort to suppressing their guilt, resorting to drugs or alcohol, man-centered counseling or meditation, escapism, astrology, idolatry, etc, etc, ad nauseam. Those who trust in the Lord will face times of sorrow and troubles, but when they cry out to the Lord, they will experience God’s comfort, love, and mercy even in times of trouble and testing.

Worship in Witness:

I must confess I struggle sometimes when I come to verses like this. The enemy of my soul would have me wringing my hands and questioning God’s love for me. What did I do to deserve this? Is it the weakness of my faith? Perhaps I am not His child after all.

Many a saint of God has encountered these “fiery darts of the wicked one” (Eph. 6:16)—seeds of doubt sown by the world and even well-meaning believers who ask, “Where is your faith?” followed by a slew of Scriptures taken out of context and thrown at the struggling brother or sister in Christ.

Psalm 32:10 is a promise given to those who trust in the Lord. However, the trusting saint also realizes that seasons of trials, testing, and tribulations are experienced and even promised to all believers (John 16:33).

Instead of allowing the fiery darts through to defeat us, let us don the Armor of God.

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:10-17

NIV 1984. International Bible Society.

Let us pray as David did in Psalm 139:23-24

²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;

    test me and know my anxious thoughts.

²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,

    and lead me in the way everlasting.

NIV 1984. International Bible Society.

Remember that even if God is chastising us, it’s because He loves us and does it for our good.

5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,

    and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,

6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

    and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

⁷Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.

Hebrews 12:6-10

NIV 1984. International Bible Society.

When we doubt, we will fail to sense the surrounding love of God and hear the songs of deliverance sung by those in His sheltering presence. We forget His protecting goodness and faithful guidance promised in this very Psalm.

⁶ Therefore let all the faithful pray to you

    while you may be found;

surely the rising of the mighty waters

    will not reach them.

⁷ You are my hiding place;

    you will protect me from trouble

    and surround me with songs of deliverance.

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

    I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Psalm 32:6-8

NIV 1984. International Bible Society.

Some will say that if the Lord wills, He will deliver us. But it is not so much if it is His will. It is always His will to deliver His people. Before you think that I am contradicting what I have said above, read the following thoughts. It is not a question of if He will, but when He will. It may be soon; it may be years; it may only come when we enter eternity. Those who trust in God trust in His timing.

That’s where faith, hope, and love enter the picture. Faith helps us persevere, hope keeps us patient, and love makes us endure faithfully for the one we live for.

Lord, Please Help

Lord,

Please help me to persevere,

When I am overcome by fear.

Trusting not in what I feel or see,

But to Your sheltering love, may I flee

Please help me to be patient,

Never giving up, nor complacent.

Hoping not in temporal schemes,

But in the One who eternally redeems

Please help me faithfully endure,

And from Your righteous path, never detour.

Loving not the things this world can give,

But ever for Your glory may I live.

~ Amen

Witness in Promise, Poem, Prayer, and Praise

Prepare for Battle

Don God’s armor

Prepare for battle

Make ready for war

And don’t get rattled

Our ancient foe

Seeks to unsettle

He delivers his blow

To test our mettle

Do not grow weary

And do not grow faint

Tho the battle grows dreary

And the devil seeks to attaint*

Stand firm and fight

With God’s Holy Sword

O warrior and knight

O saint of the Lord

*attaint /ə-tānt′/
transitive verb

1. To impart a stigma to; disgrace.
2. To pass a sentence of attainder against.
3. To infect or corrupt, as with illness or vice.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition • More at Wordnik

A Prayer When Facing Trials

Lord,

Please keep me in Your sheltering presence. 

            Then, when pestilence, persecution, or problems, 

                        both physical and intellectual, call me out to surrender. 

May I trust in You 

            as my impenetrable fortress.

                        My mighty saving hand.

And when tempted by the tempest, 

            may I keep my gaze on You 

                        and not the billowing waves. 

I pray this in the Name of the One 

            who has the words of eternal life 

                        – Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen

Glorious Unfolding by Steven Curtis Chapman

Lay your head down tonight
Take a rest from the fight
Don’t try to figure it out
Just listen to what I’m whispering to your heart
Cause I know this is not
Anything like you thought
The story of your life was gonna be
And it feels like the end has started closing in on you
But it’s just not true
There’s so much of the story that’s still yet to unfold

And this is going to be a glorious unfolding
Just you wait and see and you will be amazed
You’ve just got to believe the story is so far from over
So hold on to every promise God has made to us
And watch this glorious unfolding

God’s plan from the start
For this world and your heart
Has been to show His glory and His grace
Forever revealing the depth and the beauty ofHis unfailing Love
And the story has only begun

And this is going to be a glorious unfolding
Just you wait and see and you will be amazed
We’ve just got to believe the story is so far from over
So hold on to every promise God has made to us
And watch this glorious unfolding

We were made to run through fields of forever
Singing songs to our Savior and King
So let us remember this life we’re living

Is just the beginning of the beginning
Of this glorious unfolding
We will watch and see and we will, be amazed
If we just keep on believing the story is so far from over
And hold on to every promise God has made to us
We’ll see the glorious unfolding

Just watch and see (unfolding)
This is just the beginning of the beginning (unfolding)

Lyrics: https://wordtoworship.com/song/13789

Video: https://youtu.be/GKMjEvF2Fkw

Caution, this video might make you cry

Footnotes:

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^[1] Mounce, W. D. (2006). In Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words (p. 973). Zondervan.

^[2]In terms of the wicked, they may look prosperous now, but they are on slippery ground (again evoking the metaphor of the path as the journey of life) and on their way to ultimate destruction. Their life right now has as much reality as a dream, but when they awake from the dream, then they will understand that God will arise to judge them.
This is their final destiny, but what exactly is meant by this phrase is a matter of great debate. The phrase in Hebrew (lĕ’aḥărîtām) could be understood to point not to the afterlife, but to the future in this life (see the similar issue in v. 25). We must remember that there is not a clear, robust teaching on the afterlife in the Old Testament (but see Dan. 12:1–3). That said, it would seem a banal point undermined by observation and experience to believe that every wicked person who prospers would fall from their heights before their death. It seems more likely that this passage is talking about one’s ultimate fate. As time goes on and God reveals more and more about the afterlife, the psalm’s language was, and should be, read as indicating the afterlife.

Longman, T., III. (2014). Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary (D. G. Firth, Ed.; Vols. 15–16, p. 276). Inter-Varsity Press.

^[3] Many sorrows shall be to the wicked] The meaning here is, probably, that those who will NOT submit themselves to God in the manner which the psalmist recommends; who ARE like the horse and the mule, needing to be restrained, and who are to be restrained only by force, will experience bitter sorrows. The psalmist may refer here, in part, to sorrows such as he says he himself experienced when he attempted to suppress the convictions of guilt (Ps 32:3-4); and partly to the punishment that will come upon the impenitent sinner for his sins. The sorrows referred to are probably both internal and external; those arising from remorse, and those which will be brought upon the guilty as a direct punishment.

[But he that trusteth in the LORD] He that has faith in God; he that so confides in him that he goes to him with the language of sincere confession.

[mercy shall compass him about] Shall surround him; shall attend him; shall be on every side of him. It shall not be only in one respect, but in all respects. He shall be “surrounded” with mercy—as one is surrounded by the air, or by the sunlight. He shall find mercy and favor everywhere, at home, abroad; by day, by night; in society, in solitude; in sickness, in health; in life, in death; in time, in eternity. He shall walk amidst mercies; he shall die amidst mercies; he shall live in a better world in the midst of eternal mercies.
(from Barnes’ Notes, Electronic Database Copyright © 1997-2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

QUOTES:

Psalms 32:10

[Many sorrows [shall be] to the wicked] Who will not be instructed and reformed, but are like the horse and mule, without understanding; many outward sorrows or afflictions attend them; loathsome and consuming diseases come upon their bodies by intemperance and debauchery; and they and their families are brought to a piece of bread, through their vicious courses; and inward sorrows, horror and terror of mind, seize them when their consciences are at any time awakened, and are open to conviction; when a load of guilt lies on them, what remorse of conscience they feel! and what severe reflections do they make! and how are they pierced through with many sorrows! And though indeed, for the most part, wicked men have their good things in this life, and are in prosperous circumstances, and are not in trouble, as other men; yet what they have is with a curse; and they have no true peace, pleasure, and satisfaction in what they enjoy; and the curses of a righteous law; and everlasting destruction is prepared for them in the other world, when they will have many sorrows indeed; their worm will not die, and the fire of divine fury will not be quenched; there will be for ever indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that does evil;

[but he that trusteth in the Lord] not in his wealth and riches, in his wisdom and strength, in himself, and his own righteousness; for such are wicked persons; but in the Lord; in his righteousness to justify him, in his blood to pardon him, in his strength to support him, and in his grace to supply him with everything necessary for him;

[mercy shall compass him about] not only follow him and overtake him, but surround him; he shall be crowned with lovingkindness and tender mercies: the phrase denotes the abundance of mercies that shall be bestowed upon him here and hereafter, as both grace and glory.

(from John Gill’s Exposition of the Old and New Testaments, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2011 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

The reason for this caution is because the way of sin which we would persuade you to forsake will certainly end in sorrow (v. 10): Many sorrows shall be to the wicked, which will not only spoil their vain and carnal mirth, and put an end to it, but will make them pay dearly for it. Sin will have sorrow, if not repented of, everlasting sorrow. It was part of the sentence, I will greatly multiply thy sorrows. “Be wise for yourselves therefore, and turn from your wickedness, that you may prevent those sorrows, those many sorrows.”

2. Here is a word of comfort to saints, and a good reason is given for that too. (1.) They are assured that if they will but trust in the Lord, and keep closely to him, mercy shall compass them about on every side

Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 786). Hendrickson.