BIG IDEA:
CLINGING TO HOPE IN PROLONGED TIMES OF TROUBLE
Context: Trouble in the form of unwarranted persecution
7 STEPS:
I. (:1-3) TAKE REFUGE IN THE LORD
“In Thee, O Lord, I have taken refuge”
Goal: “Let me never be ashamed”
(chiastic structure)
A. 2 Reasons for Hope
1. The righteousness of God — deliverance and no shame
“In Thy righteousness deliver me”
2. The name of God — He will lead and guide
“For Thy name’s sake Thou wilt lead me and guide me”
B. 2 Resources for Hope — physical images of strength and security
1. “A rock of strength” — my rock
2. “A stronghold to save me” — my fortress
Summary: “For Thou art my rock and my fortress”
II. (:4-5) HANG ON TO THE ONE WHO WILL RESCUE YOU
Goal: “pull me out of the net”
(chiastic structure)
A. 2 Expectations of Rescue
1. “thou wilt pull me out of the net” — set by devious schemers (vs. 4)
2. “thou hast ransomed me” — saved by the God of truth (vs. 5)
B. 2 Expressions of Security
1. “Thou art my strength” (vs. 4)
2. “Into Thy hand I commit my spirit ” (vs. 5)
Messianic quote by Christ on the cross
III. (:6-8) STAND TALL IN THE SPACE GOD HAS CARVED OUT FOR YOU
Goal: “Thou hast set my feet in a large place”
A. Stand Tall by Fixing Your Faith in the Lord
rejecting “vain idols”
B. Stand Tall by Rejoicing in the Lord’s Lovingkindness and Compassion
1. He knows my pain
“my affliction”
2. He keeps me safe —
He has not “given me over into the hand of the enemy”
IV. (:9-13) DON’T DESPAIR
Goal: “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress”
Deep Distress — Yes; Despair — Never!
A. Emotional Sorrow and Sighing
“My eye is wasted away from grief”
B. Physical Suffering
“My soul and my body also.
For my life is spent with sorrow,
And my years with sighing;
My strength has failed because of my iniquity,
And my body has wasted away.”
C. Relational Reproach and Rejection (vs.11)
“Because of all my adversaries, I have become a reproach,
Especially to my neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in the street flee from me.”
D. Root Problem: Insignificance (vs.12)
-
a dead man – “I am forgotten as a dead man, out of mind”
-
a broken vessel – “I am like a broken vessel”
E. Vicious Attacks (vs. 13)
“For I have heard the slander of many,
Terror is on every side;
While they took counsel together against me,
They schemed to take away my life.”
V. (:14-18) EXPECT DELIVERANCE
Goal: “Thou art my God”
A. Antidote to Despair = Faith
Faith = the Victory that overcomes the world 1 John 5:4
B. God is On My Side and In Control
1. God is on my side — “Thou art my God”
2. God is in control — “My times are in Thy hand”
If my time isn’t up then my enemies can’t kill me
C. Prayer for Deliverance and for God’s Favor (vs. 15b-16)
1. For Deliverance (vs. 15b)
my enemies = those who persecute me
2. For God’s Favor (vs. 16)
shown to God’s servant out of God’s lovingkindness
D. Bring Shame Upon the Wicked but Deliver Me (vs. 17-18)
1. The wicked don’t call on the Lord for help
2. The wicked speak with lying lips (Remember: God is a God of truth)
3. The wicked speak arrogantly against the righteous
4. The wicked speak with pride and contempt
(Remember: God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble)
VI. (:19-22) PRAISE GOD
Goal: “Blessed be the Lord”
A. Praise for God’s Goodness – “How great is Thy goodness”
1. For those who fear God – “Which Thou hast stored up for those who fear Thee”
2. For those who take refuge in God – “Which Thou hast wrought for those who take refuge in Thee”
B. Praise for God’s Protection
1. “In the secret place of God’s Presence from the conspiracies of men”
2. “In a shelter from the strife of tongues”
C. Praise for God’s Lovingkindness
in a besieged city
“Blessed be the Lord, For He has made marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged city.”
D. Praise for God’s Listening Ear
easy to imagine that we have somehow been separated from the love of God
Remember Rom. 8 — nothing can separate us from the love of God
no reason to get alarmed and anxious despite our desperate situation
“As for me, I said in my alarm, ‘I am cut off from before Thine eyes’;
Nevertheless Thou didst hear the voice of my supplications
When I cried to Thee.”
VII. (:23-24) KEEP HOPING
Goal: “Be strong, and let your heart take courage all you who hope in the Lord”
A. Keep Hoping by Loving the Lord with your whole heart
“O love the Lord, all you His godly ones!”
B. Keep Hoping by Resting in the Faithfulness and Justice of God
because “the Lord preserves the faithful”
“and fully recompenses the proud doer”
C. Keep Hoping by Fortifying Your Courage
“Be strong and let your heart take courage”
cf. charge of Moses to Joshua about taking the promised land — Joshua 1:9
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed; for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
cf. David’s charge to Solomon — 1 Kings 2:2 (1 Chron. 22:13; 28:10)
“I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man.”
cf. Hezekiah’s charge to the Jews in Jerusalem under attack by Sennacherib king of Assyria — 2 Chron. 32:7
“Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria, nor because of all the multitude which is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him. With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.”
Psalm 27:14
“Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.”
Is. 35:3-4 — Coming of the Millennial Kingdom
“Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. Say to those with anxious heart, Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.”
Hag. 2:4 — people depressed over the comparison between the rebuilt temple under Zerubbabel and the glorious temple of Solomon’s days
“But now take courage, Zerubbabel…and work; for I am with you…My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear”
The audience of this Psalm = “All you who hope in the Lord” vs. 24