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October 2, 2021 8:00 am
Welcome to through the song a week of ministry of the truthful overtime will study all 150 songs with pastor Don Greene from Cruz Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio were glad you're with us is over the Psalms that as we join our teacher in the truthful story of Job is one of the more familiar stories in the Bible, even those who have no acquaintance with biblical truth, biblical Christianity would know something about the phrase the patience of Job and the sense that he was a man who suffered greatly under the trials of that God brought into his life. Job was a blameless man who nevertheless suffered under the hand of God. God himself testified to the blamelessness of Job's character at the as the story of Job open and so we have a divine attestation that Job was suffering apart from sin that was in his life, and Job, however, did not know this Job did not know the background to his suffering and so he was left in a position of great perplexity of uncertainty. Why is God dealing with me in this manner when there is no guilt on my hands and as he struggled through that is the narrative of Job unfolds. He said this in Job chapter 13 verse 15 speaking of his unending confidence in God, he said, though he slay me.
I will hope in him. Despite the loss of my 10 children.
The loss of my fortune, and the loss of my health.
I will trust in God.
I will trust him even if he kills me.
I will not stop trusting him in the midst of these setbacks were friends there something important for us to see in that the Bible says that there will be times, often of unexpected setback for the people of God, and it is not an indication that God is angry is not an indication that that a man is necessarily being punished for sin or anything of the sort. It's simply a matter of the fact that there may not be any visible explanation whatsoever for the reversal of the prior sense of outward external blessing that you experienced in life. This is a common theme of Scripture. The question is are the thing that we do is that when that happens when that comes we still maintain our trust and we don't need or demand explanations for the trials we don't have to know why.
In order to maintain and continue and walk in the trust that we have in God because he's made his character known supremely at the cross of Calvary. Now in two weeks we are going to launch a critical study of the sermon on the Mount in Matthew five through seven. I know everybody likes to know what you gonna preach on next.
We just finished Philemon and I what's coming next. What's coming next. In two weeks, starting in two weeks on September 11 is a sustained study of the sermon on the mount found in Matthew chapter 5, six and seven blood all tell you now without fear of contradiction of being stone for being a false prophet, not that I'm making a prophecy here that study over several months will change our church.
It will change our lives. There is no doubt about that, and it's so critical that I wanted to delay it into postpone it just long enough to let everybody get back from summer travels and to get through the Labor Day weekend and so we can all start and be on the same page. When we start this very critical study in two weeks. What that does is it left me with a two week window on Sundays. What are you going to do with those two Sundays in order to set up the study of the sermon on the Mount. What I want to do which will be familiar territory for those of you that have been with us on Tuesdays. Perhaps introducing the rest of you to another aspect of the Ministry of truth. Community Church want to take the opportunity to do a couple of the songs that we are studying through systematically going to do a couple of songs today and next week and just continue in our systematic study of the Psalms. What I'm hoping is is Adobe a handful of you that will say wow. This is what I've been missing on Tuesdays.
I want to be there for bad and that you will join us as we continue on Tuesdays. As we study through the songs the way it works out and the timing of everything is that we've come to Psalm 44. We've done Psalms 1 through 43 were now in Psalm 44 and Psalm 44 is going to be our text for today. It has that same kind of theme that Job expressed, though he slay us. We will trust him and that's what were going to look at Psalm 44. I invite you to turn in your Bible and actually I'm going to ask you to stand as we read the saw and I realize that this is not a familiar song I have never heard a sermon on Psalm 44. And I'm guessing that not many of you have either, so I want to read the text even though it's a little bit extended so that we can have it fresh in our minds and then will study it together here this morning, so please stand with me as we read Psalm 44 together to set the stage for what lies ahead. Psalm 44 for the choir director, a masculine of the sons of Cora O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us the work that you did in their days in the days of old, you with your own hand drove out the nations then you planted them. You afflicted the peoples then you spread them abroad for by their own sword. They did not possess the land and their own arm did not save them but your right hand and your arm in the light of your presence for you favored them.
You are my King, oh God, command victories for Jacob through you. We will push back our adversaries through your name. We will trample down those who rise up against us. For I will not trust in my boat, nor will my sword save me but you have saved us from our adversaries and you have put to shame. Those who hate us, in God we have boasted all day long and we will give thanks to your name forever say law you have rejected us and brought us to dishonor and do not go out with our armies.
You cause us to turn back from the adversary, and those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves. You give us a sheep to be eaten in a scattered us among the nations you sell your people cheaply and have not profited by their sale you make is a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and a derision to those around us. You make as a byword among the nations. A laughingstock among the peoples all day long. My dishonor is before me and my humiliation has overwhelmed me because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger. All this has come upon us, but we have not forgotten you, and we have not dealt falsely with your covenant. Our heart has not turned back in our steps have not deviated from your way yet you've crushed us in a place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death. If we had forgotten the name of our God, or extended our hands to a strange God would not God find this out, for he knows the secrets of the heart, but for your sake we are killed all day long we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered, arouse yourself, why do you sleep the Lord away. Do not reject us forever.
Why do you hide your face and forget our affliction and our oppression for our soul has sunk down into the dust. Our body cleaves to the earth rise up be our help and redeem us for the sake of your loving kindness you may be seated. Psalm 44 is a national lament by the nation of Israel following an unexpected and seemingly unexplainable military defeat. We don't know the exact setting were confident that it was not something that occurred in the as a song that was written in the exile because the exile was a clear stated punishment for the sin of the people.
It seems like it was probably something that preceded that a time not recorded in Scripture where they had suffered at the hands of a foreign army that had defeated them on the battlefield losses were great and there was no seeming explanation for it because God had promised to be a God who would go before them in their battles if they were faithful and here they are facing loss, suffering defeat in the midst of a fidelity to God in the midst of loyalty to their covenant responsibilities and yet they were defeated on the battlefield and Psalm 44 is a cry that says God why you are our help. We need your help. There's nothing to keep you from helping us, and yet you've not helped us so help us is kind of the theme of this song we don't know as I said the exact setting, but we can understand enough to see as we go through the Psalm. What is going on and we can trace the response of the people of God to this calamity and fine food for our own soul, even though it was written as a national lament the spiritual principles that are at stake, and that are at play in this Psalm are the same principles that can sustain you in the midst of your trials and in that sense I know that it's a very timely Psalm for our church both corporately and individually, and so I thank God once again for the marvels of his providence. The way that he bring Scripture to us the right Scripture at the right time to meet the right need of our soul. I trust that as you listen.
Today it will be with the sense of of expectation that God will minister to your own heart and what is said here today. Now the song breaks down roughly in three sections you could negotiate where the exact breaks are but the basically let me just give you little overview knowing that the Psalm is not familiar in the first eight verses what you see is the psalmist talking about the past success of the nation of Israel under the hand of God that God had blessed them and given them the land and now the people of God are still maintaining the faith that carried those people into victory in the promised land.
There was success in the past and the people were self-consciously identifying with that lineage. But now, second section here now in the present. There is suffering that they cannot understand there are losses that have been painful and and have made them a laughingstock to the nations around them that defeated them that goes from verses nine through 22. Then in verse 23 they look to the future and they renew their trust in God. Even though there is nothing circumstantial to support them in that turn of trust once again to their God. So the past, the present and the future is really the way the Psalm breaks down. Let's look first of all at that the success in the past. The success in the past. One of the one of the great challenges for Christians as they move into their deeper into their Christian life.
Many Christians not everyone, but most Christians have a have a time of of spiritual let's say euphoria where everything is well there is a time of blessing the newness of conversion is a great joy, and it is exciting and there is just blessing all around, and then something happens. A trial strikes of unexpected severity that seems to have no explanation of family relationship goes south death or injury or physical affliction intervenes. There's a financial reversal of fraud committed that no one saw coming and all of a sudden the world is turned upside down in the very issues of life are at stake in the natural question is why is this happening to me what happened to the place of blessing that I had been in people start to ask advice and does something wrong, will Scripture understands all of that.
One of the things that you're going to see from Psalm 44 and that you see from the book of Job, and from the life of Christ from the life of the apostle Paul, is that sometimes in direct contradiction of the false theology of the health and wealth and prosperity movement.
Sometimes God brings trials of great difficulty in the to the lives of faithful believers were not able to discern any purpose, for whatsoever.
This is God's sovereign prerogative is his sovereign pleasure to do that and we are to trust him anyway and so let's look first as we go into the Psalm now Psalm 44.
Let's look at the success in the past and just kind of follow what's going on in this song the psalmist as he writes this is recalling past times of God's favor to the nation when verses one and two and believe it or not those of you that have been with us on Tuesdays. I'm actually going to get through all 26 verses of this Psalm today. I know that you're used to seeing me go through two verses on a Sunday. This is something completely different. As part of the reason why wanted to do it. Also, the show that I am actually capable of doing that. Sometimes you need proof, not just assertions in the opening two verses the psalmist is recalling the national history of Israel and how God bless them in the past.
He says in verse one, oh God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us the work that you did in their days in the days of old, you with your own hand drove out the nations then you planted them. You afflicted the peoples then you spread them abroad.
What we see from this opening to verses this is being written by someone who is a member of the nation of Israel. They they belong to the covenant nation that the nation that God had favored with his revelation the nation that God had made his own people, and is recalling he is rehearsing how in times long ago. God had delivered his people from slavery in Egypt and how God had delivered them from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh with miraculous deeds at the hands of Moses, God led them out from a great nation. Though they were slaves led them out powerfully and delivered them from slavery after 400 years of affliction the course of their deliverance, God leads them through the Red Sea, they go through with walls of water on either side safely into the land God promised them to get into the land. Nations are there with armies with fortifications as in the fall of Jericho and God systematically dispossessed those nations of their land and brought his own people into the land and settled them and planted a nation there by his great power what the psalmist is doing is the Psalm opens is he is remembering. In summary fashion that miraculous deliverance that gave birth to a nation studied this on Tuesday nights, two or three years ago and is remembering that he says God it was by your power that that happen God. It was by your strength, not by the strength of our fathers that they were established that they were delivered and that you brought them into their own land and you planted them and they grew God.
This was an act of you, not an active man.
Our fathers have told us we have heard with our ears. We believe it with our hearts. We identify with that spiritual lineage that we come from.
That's is what he saying is you go on in verse three you see them giving a brief recitation of the fact that that God gave victory under Joshua and establish them in the land and he says it wasn't by the strength of our fathers. Look at verse three with me. He says, for by their own sword.
They did not possess the land and their own arm did not save them but your right hand and your arm and the light of your presence for you favored them.
He says God and this is a matter of prayer that we don't practice nearly often enough today. I suppose what he's doing in the Psalm is before he gets to the nature of the problem that is of afflicting his heart is recalling history, setting a context for the prayer that is yet to come.
He says God I remember in this time of national difficulty that in the past by your power by your strength. You delivered our fathers. It wasn't there military expertise that that it it was the fact that they were under your guidance under your grace under your love by your miraculous power you manifested to them your strength and you secured them in victory and establish them in the land. God I remember that I praise you and I thank you for it. It's not a bad place to start in prayer. If you're struggling here today. You're in a time of affliction is Christian just go back to set your problem aside for moments I got. I remember I remember how you've blessed me in the past, how you blessed how you blessed others that I know. Perhaps others who were in my biological lineage who were Christians and you bless them or other Christians I've known you've blessed them father. I've seen how you have acted strongly for your people and I thank you for that and I thank you for how you've done that in my path. That's a great place when you're in affliction is remember that your life hasn't always been one of affliction and trial you had times of God's blessing. Haven't you will remember that and let that frame the way that you pray God in favored this nation in the past with his power and disgrace. Now as you follow through in the Psalm limits are one of the thing about the Psalms. I understand that for those that are just very superficially acquainted with the Bible you know there's an expectation I think that is sometimes brought an unspoken assumption and unrecognized presupposition that says every time I go to the Psalms. I'm going to find something written that is in the spirit of Psalm 23 something that that speaks of security in faith and trust in God and you try to read every song from that perspective of the particular need that you bring to it. As you read it, but the Psalms are like that. There is a broad variety of experience reflected in the Psalms. There are just like in your own life.
There is a broad asked nature of experience in your life, sometimes happy, sometimes sad sometimes difficult sometimes peaceful, sometimes you're concerned about what's happening at a national level in your country. Sometimes it's deep spiritual anguish, confessing sin, perhaps trying to find your way through trials.
There's a broad breath of of of experience in your own life will Psalms are like that to. And it's important to realize that to let the Psalm speak and to let it let it be received on its own terms rather than trying to force it to speak immediately into the need that you think you're bringing to the text. What we need to do here today is to realize what the psalmist is saying let it speak for itself and then draw lessons from it, rather than just forcing. This is what I need today and trying to force it into saying something that wasn't meant to say now with that said, he opens up in these first three verses makes this historical framework God you bless our fathers in the past as you go on.
Beginning in verse four he identifies himself and his nation with the fact that that's our faith to the faith that our fathers had. That's our faith to were not separated from them were not distinguished from them. We self-consciously identify and place ourselves in the lines of the faith of our fathers, the fathers that you blessed in the past. Look at verse four. He says you are my King know God command victories for Jacob through you. We will push back our adversaries through your name.
We will trample down those who rise up against us. Notice just as a matter of observation how he switches from first person singular in first person plural. Sometimes he says you're my King. Sometimes he speaks in the plural. They verse five they rise up against us. This is perhaps indicating that maybe this was written by a king, perhaps by a military general who is speaking both on his own behalf, and as a representative of the people at large yards, as is when a president speaks on behalf of our nation. He speaks in his own capacity in his own person. In one sense, but also in a representative capacity for the people that he leads will I gives you a sense of something like what's happening here in Psalm 44. The psalmist is saying you're my King know God.
Remember what he saying God, you're the God who blessed our people in the past and led them to victory your that God and you knew that God my God, he brings that past experience in says Lord that defines my perspective of faith in you.
As I pray here today and he affirms that he and his people are trusting God as they go. He says in verse five, you know, through you will push back our adversaries will give us victory on the battlefield.
Verse six he disclaims any confidence in self but in verse six he says, for I will not trust in my bow, nor will my sword save me. He says God I am not trusting in my own strength.
We are not trusting in our own military prowess to bring us victory with our eyes are fixed on you. We are looking to you for help. We are not trusting in ourselves and so he's clarifying in his own heart and in prayer where his face is another good place for you to go beloved is you're going through those deep waters to just simply clearly unambiguously affirm your faith in God and say God I am not trusting in my own abilities to deliver me from this affliction. I am looking to you say I don't have any control over the attitudes of this person. I don't have any control over what they do. Father therefore and trusting in you who are sovereign over all to help me.
As the psalmist expresses that he goes on and recognizes that God has helped them in the past. In verse seven that you have saved us from our adversaries. There's a contrast were not trusting in ourselves and as we look back at the past and we see our success Lord that came from you. You have saved us from our adversaries. You have put to shame. Those who hate us. And in verse eight he says he says were full of gratitude as a result, in God we have boasted all day long and we will give thanks to your name forever. What's he saying there he saying is saying God our faith and our confidence is so completely in you.
I want you to know that we recognize that our success in the past, came from the blessing of your hand and I want you to know that we recognize that were full of gratitude. We thank you for how you've blessed us in the past and we give thanks to you, our heart is inclined to gratitude we have not forgotten your blessing. We have not forgotten all that you've done. We give thanks to you.
We recognize your supremacy and we bow humbly before you what he saying your time affliction. That's what you do, you affirm the centrality of the goodness in the character of God, you recognize that any blessings that you had in the past of come from him and not by your own skill or wisdom and you think him and you express that gratitude toward him. Look at the end of verse eight there over and most of your Bibles probably separated out a little bit in the margin is the word cell.
That's a call to to stop to meditate to to think about what's just been said and what he saying is this in this first section is this blood. This is so important to understanding the direction of the song. He says God we identify with the faith of our fathers, we confess that you are our God that are past blessings have come to you. We are inclined toward obedience toward faith, toward thanks we are. We are unconditionally committed to blessing your name forever and ever says that's that's the condition that we bring. That's that that's the posture of faith with which I approach you here today so you stop and you think about that now. Remember a couple of things as he wrote this song he was riding under the influence of the Holy Spirit who was guarding his heart from error regarding what was written for many sense of error misrepresentation. What we have in these first eight verses is an accurate reflection of the condition of the people in the condition of the psalmist. When this was written, they are in a position of a spiritual trust not disobedience. They are in a position of gratitude, not complaining and murmuring and so based on the character of God and the ways acted in the past you would expect their life to be flowing out with external circumstantial blessing.
That's not the case and you see that as you move into the second section of the song. Their experience was actually just the opposite, and I would I would love to preach this onto a a health and wealth, prosperity congregation.
I know that that is almost certainly never going to happen, but if it did I would embrace the opportunity with gladness because it turns all of those assumptions on their head and exposes it for how un-biblical and wrong.
It is because in this condition of faith identified with the people of God. Section 2. What do you see you see the suffering in the present, the suffering in the present. They are positioned spiritually where they should be, but life does not match up with what you would expect if it was simply a matter of the simple equation obedience leads to external blessing. Faith leads to prosperity.
If that was the case then there lie.
Everything is upside down for them rather than sharing in the victories of their ancestors. They were in the throes of a humiliating military defeat. Look at verse nine with me, look at that keyword. Yet here we are at trusting thankful people and yet something different, it alerts you that something unexpected is about to come. What does he say let let's look at verses nine through 12 together here is as yet you have rejected us and brought us to dishonor and do not go out with our armies.
You cause us to turn back from the adversary, and those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves. Stop right there for just a minute you see the core as he gives a little little description of what is the occasion of the song.
He says God you have not gone out with our armies. We have experienced a humiliating defeat rather than advancing in victory. We are in retreat. Those who hate us have taken our spoil. We are rejected and there is nothing but shame and dishonor to show for our efforts on the battlefield God.
This is not the way it's supposed to go ever thought that in your trials cut on the Christian been in your word a bit in prayer.
This is not how it's supposed to happen. That's what he struggling with here.
Verse 11, he begins to describe it in a metaphorical sense is as you give us a sheep to be eaten and of scattered us among the nations you sell your people cheaply and if not profited by their sale. He says God, it's like you handed us over a sheep to be slaughtered and why would you do that when we are your people and yet there's nothing to gain from this in your honor God. What's the value to the honor of your name when your people are humiliated on the battlefield. Those who have trusted you that have gone out in your name. Find defeat and shame in their spoil for their enemies. How does this honor your name, God, there's nothing in this result for you long for us beloved. Here's what I want you to see as we grow together. Maybe some of your new this will be helpful to you. You know there is a tendency among week. Those who hold to week teaching that when trials come they say Satan got me here on this is the devil that's doing this and and all of that, you know I need to pray for God to intervene and stop the work of Satan here noticed something really crucial here that is not at all. The perspective of the psalmist. Look at verses nine through 12 with me again, he attributes their defeat to the sovereign action and plan of God, not to their military prowess.
Those who defeated and look what he says in verse nine memories praying to God. Here, why are we in this position.
God is because you have rejected us.
You have brought us to dishonor you do not go out with our enemies. Verse 10, you cause us to turn back from the adversary verse 11 you give us a sheep to be eaten. You have scattered us among the nations you sell your people cheaply. You have not profited by their sale saying God I recognized that your hand is in this setback to me is not blaming it on other forces. He realizes that his circumstances are what God has given to him what God has brought to him in his nation and he is attributing it to the sovereign work of God. James Montgomery Boyce says this at this point in his commentary on Psalm 44 and I quote he says the people's defeats are no accident. God is behind them. Although it makes the situation puzzling. The realization that God is in control is still both the proper way to approach such problems and the only possible way to find a solution to them."
Beloved, let me help you a lot when you go through trials with what I'm about to say right here. First of all, it is theologically incorrect to separate God from the trials to come into your life as though they have happened to you.
Apart from the hand of God that is it an utter denial of the providence of God. It is a denial of his sovereignty.
It is a denial of the fact that God is always working out his purposes, especially in the lives of his people and so it is a serious mistake to somehow stop thinking about God when you are in the midst of your trials and to say God allowed this or something not know know God has brought this into your life in one manner or another.
Why does that help. Why does that help. It helps you. For this reason, first of all, all you've got to write these things down. You've got to imprint them on the heart of your mind so that you bring this to mind again and again and again.
Beloved, here is something really crucial for you to recognize to recognize and acknowledge and submit to the sovereignty of God in your trials, means this. First of all first of all, it means that that there is a purpose in them.
Even if you can't see them right now. If a sovereign God is bringing trials into your life. A wise God is at work.
It means that there is a purpose to them.
It's not something random, something that is happened to you as a result of hostile forces. It also means that there is there is hope going forward in the midst of them, if God is sovereign over your trials. It means that the same good God who saved you in Jesus Christ has the power to bring you out of them and to to deny that to forget, that is to let the whole purpose.
The whole meaning the whole significance of the deepest trials in your life collapse into meaninglessness. Don't do that. Renew your confidence.
Renew your your trust, your belief, your assertion that God somehow God's sovereign hand is in this. Even if I don't understand is what the psalmist is doing here Lord you've brought this into our lives. I can understand it but I cannot and I will not compromise the basic fundamental principle of your sovereign reign over your universe in order to account for what's happening in my life.
Says you've done this. What's the result of it. Remember that he's working on the front side of the cross.
The result of this is it is a demoralizing time of national disgrace for a people who are trusting in God. Look at verse 13 were defeated.
God, you've rejected us. Now let me tell you, God, here's what the outcome of it has been verse 13 you make is a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and a derision to those around us.
You make as a byword among the nations. A laughingstock among the peoples all day long. My dishonor is before me and my humiliation has overwhelmed me because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.
Imagine your worst enemy, defeating you on a field of battle and taunting you mocking you where's your God as he raises his blood. He soared in conquest over you as he takes your goods, your people away from you and leaves you humiliated in your left asking the question God, I trusted you going into this battle and here I am defeated God, we belong to you. We look to you what is happened loss, humiliation and disgrace.
Instead surely there are some of you in here today. Some of you watching over live stream who can identify with that God. This is not the expected outcome. This is how you deal with your loyal people… And in the song is not claiming sinlessness is not claiming a sense of merit that obligated God. That's not like that he simply saying we been loyal. We haven't turned other gods and yet here we are in shame and defeat in the midst of a battle with our enemies taunting us, you loser. Where is your God. The discouragement that is great and goes forth as it were. He protests their blamelessness and the innocence of the nation, even in the midst of the battle. They have not stopped looking to God in the midst of the defeat.
I should say they have not stopped looking to God. Verse 17 with me now, all this has come upon us all this what all this defeat. All this disgrace has come upon us, but we have not forgotten you, and we have not dealt falsely with your covenant. Our heart has not turned back in our steps have not deviated from your way saying God in the midst of this suffering in the midst of this defeat were still here looking to you God were still were still loyal were still calling out to you and yet despite our faithfulness, you handed us over to a dark defeat. Look at verse 19 says, yet you have crushed us in a place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death were in a position of desolation.
Wild animals roam about in the midst of our defeat. The shadow of death, deep darkness is come upon us both in a physical sense of lives lost in the battle in a spiritual sense. There seems to be nowhere to go forward in the midst of this beloved what I want you to see in this that which you can identify in your own trials. Is this is that the inconsistency of the situation is painful God we been loyal not saying we been sinless.
That's not the point. But God, we haven't dealt falsely with your covenant God, we haven't turned away God. We look to you in faith. And yet look at the circumstances here God. This is not the way it is supposed to be God. There's nothing else we could've done to shore loyalty to shore faith. To be obedient to you goes on in verse 20 and he sets up a hypothetical.
That would explain this result he says in verse 20 he says if we had forgotten the name of our God, or extended our hands to a strange God would not God find this out, for he knows the secrets of the heart. He says I can understand a God if if we had been disloyal to you if we had turned to idolatry.
If we had denied your truth and pursued false idols in the process of this I can understand a loss like this, but there's nothing like that God were here blameless and we are here in pain and what you have done is you've withdrawn and stood in silence and abandoned your people in the midst of it very powerful statement of lament of complaint and the psalmist says in verse 22. The only explanation for this God is that you have sacrificed your people for reasons that are known only to yourself. Look at verse 22, he says, but for your sake we are killed all day long we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered, says God were your people somehow for something that pleases you for something known only to you for your sake were treated like sheep to be slaughtered and there is a great sense of resignation in what is said here, beloved, sympathize with this dilemma sympathize with and man of God remember what he said from the beginning we share the faith of our forefathers. You helped them why are you silent, why are you in active when we have not forsaken you why this difference of treatment between one loyal people compared to the way that you bless and help loyal people in the past, why are you dealing with us differently. Prayer is dilemma. Beloved faithful Christian walking through deep water you find yourself in a similar position at time of life where it seems like with one wave of trial crashing down. You, upon another, upon another driving you into the sand beating you down. You're trying to cling to God and it seems like God has turned against you even went to the best of your ability. You've been faithful and you suddenly find yourself in the midst of a raging storm that was not of your own making.
Beloved, take heart.
Other saints have walked that same painful path with you. Good men of God even recorded for us in Scripture have walked down that path and know exactly what you feel you find their spirit inspired words recorded for you in Psalm 44. Beloved. Here's the thing, let me make this as simple as I possibly can.
As simple as I possibly know how to say let this strengthen you in your own trials, let it shape your perspective in the way that you view people going through their own trials because we all share that tendency. I wonder what's wrong in their life. Look at their life and how bad it is, you know, I wonder what they are hiding. That's what they said to Joe wasn't know that's not the way we think that's not biblical thinking to let that be the only explanation that you have to offer in the midst us a faithful person of God in the midst of their suffering. Here's the truth of the matter. Sometimes God's people suffer greatly even when they are innocent and it suffering is not always a direct consequence of personal sin that brought it upon you multiple illustrations on a given here right now but start with the supreme one did not our Lord Jesus Christ suffer during his earthly life, but he was innocent. Didn't the apostle Paul, though not sinless, faithful, did he not suffer greatly reduce epistles and hear them describe the beatings. The nights in the deep, the hunger, the cold, the sleeplessness, the pressure of the concern they had for all of his churches suffering the plan of God is not church history of market faithful martyrs shedding their blood rather than denying Christ rather than turning over the Scriptures to be burned. They said no. Crucify me gallop out my eyes. I will be faithful to Christ.
Instead, you see beloved, we need to expand our view of suffering, we need to understand the purposes of God far transcends simply arranging our circumstances so they were good and comfortable all the way into heaven. That's not the purpose of God for many people can't help but think of our sister Brooke Higgins lying in her bed in Cincinnati suffering from what appears to be terminal brain cancer.
When did it come to her to come to her in a time of sin no Brooke's testimony is is that she came to faith in Christ.
Maybe six months ago started to grow started to love you people of this church growing in Christ. Then all of a sudden your body is not working right.
And one thing leads to another and she's diagnosed with brain cancer, but the doctors expect to take her life for long are we to look at that a conversion and a happy growth in Christ, followed by that until she must be punished for sin no, no, we don't even let her thoughts go there. What we do is we put our hand over her mouth and we say who can understand the sovereign wisdom and the sovereign purposes of God that he deals with one in such a way and deals with another in a different way. We recognize the sovereign prerogative of God to deal with his people as he sees fit, and to realize that everything that he does, he does in his wisdom he does in his goodness and he does in his love, and the fact that you and I cannot see the purpose in it as it is happening does not mean that we either accuse innocent people of sin or that we accuse God of unrighteousness. We accuse ourselves of having a lack of wisdom and a lack of ability to understand and we renew our trust in God all over again. That enlarges your heart to have sympathy on those that are suffering that enlarges your heart to avoid false accusations when trials come that enlarges your own heart to patiently submit to suffering in your own life when it comes to God. I trust you in the midst of this, even though I don't understand because Scripture has laid out for us the pattern. The example that there are times when God's people suffer, even though they are in comparative innocence in the midst of it.
And if that's you today. I would encourage you.
You don't have to do it in the same animated way that I do when I'm in a pulpit, but to let your heart latch onto that say all thank God there's an explanation here. An explanation that transcends me that helps me see that the hand of God has not abandoned me. But sometimes he allows his people.
Sometimes he brings them into hardship and what I'm going through is consistent with the way the God sometimes deals with his people. Nothing has changed.
I'm still in a position of security is a go through Pembroke. If you're watching I'm confident that that's the work of God in your life now it's come back into the present. Come back into the midst of the howling storm what you do in the midst of the howling storm when there is no explanation why brings us to our third point.
The final section of the song the supplication for the future. The supplication for the future.
In the midst of this time it seems like God has fallen asleep your member that that that actually happened to the disciples when they were with Jesus out on the boat. Jesus fell asleep in the storm is rousing and raging.
They go down and they wake him up, they say, Lord, why Don't you care that were perishing. This is a an Old Testament example of that. The psalmist in the midst of his suffering and the inactivity of God urgently praised and tells God to wake up and get to work with verse 23 he says arouse yourself.
Why do you sleep all Lord away. Do not reject us forever know, of course, God is not literally asleep.
He hasn't literally stopped watching and superintending his creation. The psalmist is speaking from his perspective, the inactivity of God. The prolonged nature of the suffering indicates God is not acting.
It looks like he's asleep so in verse 24 says, why do you hide your face and forget our affliction and our oppression.
Surely God you see that were low, don't you. Verse 25.
Our soul has sunk down into the dust or body cleaves to the earth as often happens in the Psalms. A simple prayer defines the request and gives the need verse 26. The simplicity of this rise up be our help and redeem us for the sake of your lovingkindness, he says, oh God, for the sake of your loyal love act and help us manifest your covenant faithfulness to us. Show to us your loyalty by interceding by waking up by starting to act in a way that you haven't before.
In order to relieve this affliction that we find ourselves be our help now. Love.
Notice the profound depth of faith, it's reflected in that last song not last on the last verse of the song and understand why you in your affliction in the midst of your suffering in the midst of your fears understand why you can still continue to pray why is it that you can still trust God even though it seems like he is flaying you because Christian. He is a God of unchanging love to his people. What seems like abandonment in the moment couldn't have her be the true explanation of what you're facing, because God's love does not change God does not stray from his people.
There is purpose. There is love, there is grace in the midst of your trials, even if it is not visible to your eyes, even if it is not apparent to your understanding. In fact, beloved turnover to Romans chapter 8 your innocent suffering in life is simply you have a benefit that the psalmist didn't have your innocent suffering in life is actually a down payment on your eventual victory. Look at Romans chapter 8 verse 35 the apostle Paul quotes from Psalm 44. In this great familiar passage that you know so well. Psalm 44 points you into the eternal realities of Christ. Romans chapter 8 verse 35 who will separate us from the love of Christ will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword just as it is written in a quote from Psalm 44. For your sake we are being put to death all day long.
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered in your loyal love Lord you brought us to a place of great suffering and hardship. It's like we were sheep to be slaughtered is at the end.
No verse 37. Quite to the contrary. But in all these things we overwhelmingly conqueror through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from what from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing of these earthly circumstances can sever the bond of loyal, faithful love that God has set upon you in Christ, nothing of your worst circumstance is not the worst surprises.
Not the worst afflictions, not the worst actions of man ever break that unbreakable bond. They got a set upon you in Christ beloved. Whatever the momentary reversal. God will not abandon you. Christ loves you even if you are suffering without blame your position in him is utterly completely secure. God rules over all his love never fails will always bring us to the victory in Christ spell together in prayer.
Father, we ask that in your loyal love you would bring us through the hardships of the present. We ask that in your great faithfulness you would sustain us though you slay us will trust you.
Yes, Lord, though you slay me I will trust in you prayer of our hearts today close give encouragement and grace to those who are suffering greatly if those of us who are in positions of relative sympathy and compassion on those that are suffering round all of us in the certain hope of our ultimate friend.
Thank you for joining us for through the Psalms, a weekly ministry of the truth. Pulpit and if you have the opportunity. We would love to invite you to join us on Sundays at 9 AM Eastern and Tuesdays 7 PM Eastern for our live stream from truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.
You can find the link@thetruthpulpit.com. Thanks, Don and Fred. Be sure to join us each week as we continue through the sum with pastor Don Greene five church information God's complete sermon, library and other helpful materials@thetruth.com this message is copyrighted by Don Greene. All rights reserved