God the Ultimate Carer

to psalm 34 we're going to look at verses 15 to 22 for a short time this evening psalm 34 in the

book of psalms and at verse 15 the verses down to the end of the psalm the eyes of the lord are

towards the righteous and his ears towards their cry the face of the lord is against those who do

evil to cut off the memory of them from the earth and so on through to the end of the psalm now if

you look at the number of verses in the psalm you'll see that there are 22 and that's exactly the

number of letters in the hebrew alphabet hebrew of course being the language in which the old testament

was written and this kind of device in hebrew is called an acrostic this is an acrostic psalm

because it's got these verses 22 now each of these verses begins in turn with the letters of the

hebrew alphabet from beginning through to the final letter and you'll find that in other psalms as

well you'll actually find it in certain books of the old testament if you think about they don't have

to look it up just now but the book of the lamentations of jeremiah there are five chapters

in it the first two chapters have 22 verses each chapters four and five have 22 verses each

and chapter three in the middle has 66 verses three times 22 so you'll find that that pattern

is found in the psalms and passages and the question is well why is that we can't be absolutely certain

about it but it appears that one of the best ways of looking at it is that this was an aid to memory

an aid to learning and especially useful especially for young people coming through in the hebrew homes

that they would actually have a mechanism by which they learned the psalms and actually could then

think of the hebrew alphabet and trigger their memory for these verses that's a very good way of looking at

it i think in any case you have that in psalm 34 here each of these verses begins in turn

with the letters of the hebrew alphabet and you do see in it an invitation to actually come and learn

which fits in with the idea that the acrostic is actually a mechanism for learning the things of god

and what the psalm especially sets out is the lord's care his pastoral care his wonderful care

not just for his people but for his suffering people and the care of the lord for his suffering people

is a care that's in this psalm particularly it's directed to them in their suffering while they're

suffering in respect to their sufferings different kinds of sufferings but as they as they go through

this psalm as we go through it ourselves in relation to whatever sufferings afflictions difficulties

challenges we may have here is a passage of the bible that really in the complete sense of the whole

hebrew alphabet brings us a counter to thinking that some or other things would be better outside the

will of god or that if god's will were different for us to what it actually has has shown itself to be

we actually have of course that temptation to think that things would be better if god had not willed this

or that for us well that goes all the way back to eden doesn't it it goes all the way back to the

tempter coming in before eve first of all and then she took it to adam where the tempter said regarding

god has god really said this in other words he was really saying would it not have been better for you

if god had given you all the trees of the garden including the three of the knowledge of good and evil

and of course in the mystery of that situation uh adam and eve capitulated to the suggestions

of the devil and all the way through from then as human beings we always have to remind ourselves

whatever is in god's will for us even the difficult bits the challenging bits he has planned that in his

wisdom for us and therefore there must be a benefit for us somewhere in that as god takes us through

now we imbibe this sort of wisdom this sort of teaching as we sing the psalms one of the great

points of singing the psalms one of the great benefits of singing the psalms is that we actually

imbibe this teaching almost unnoticed in some ways as far as the singing of the psalm although of course

we have to always try and understand and follow the meaning of the words that we're singing that's a

very important thing but as you sing your way through the psalms you actually are getting this

teaching flooding into your mind informing your heart coming to actually add to what you already

know about god and his ways of dealing with you and so here in the psalm we have psalm 34 the lord's

care for his own suffering people i'm just taking verses 15 to 7 to 15 to 22 just as as a section to

look at in itself two things from that first of all in terms of god's care and he is the ultimate

carer of course god's care for his suffering people is first of all god has them in his mind

always god has them in mind all the time and secondly god helps them in his might he has them

in mind and he helps them in his might and these two points really summarize for us the teaching

of those verses indeed you could say the teaching of the whole psalm and when you think of god having

his people in his mind there are two things that come into that as well god looks out to them

wherever they are found whatever their circumstances are god is looking out to them looking out specifically

not just for them but to them with a particular regard for them in mind and secondly he listens

out for them too because the psalm talks about how how david actually cried to the lord and he's thankful

for the lord heard him god has them in mind as he looks out to his people he's directed towards them

in his own mind because you'll find for example this elsewhere think of exodus chapter 2 for example just

Exodus 2 · chapter mention

to pick one incident where this is also very much mentioned there exodus chapter 2 verses 24 to 25

Exodus 2:24–25

where you find um god heard their groaning and remembered his covenant with abraham with isaac

and with jacob god saw the people of israel and god knew and of course then he later told moses

i have heard the groanings of the people of israel and i am come down to rescue them to deliver them

so he has them in mind he he views them he sees them all the time and it's not just that god knows

everything that's taking place in your life as he sees you in your circumstances as he sees you in

your challenges and your sufferings it's not just his mere sight the psalmist is saying this is the favor

of the lord that i'm experiencing it's one thing to actually know that god is seeing you

you can have that with a fear and a trepidation but it's another thing to know that god's sight of

you is a sight that's filled with favor filled with blessing and good intentions toward you and

that's what the psalm is really saying about god's care for his people in their sufferings towards them

in their sufferings god views them god god looks out for them you see the contrast there verse 15 is

saying that the eyes of the lord are towards the righteous he's drawn towards them he's locked into

them and onto them and the contrast then follows in verse 16 the face of the lord is against those

who do evil to cut off the memory of them from the heart the psalmist often does this puts two

contrasts it puts a contrast between two opposites within the one verse or within two verses

and he's saying here is the favor of the lord toward the righteous here is the frown of the lord

towards the wicked and there is a god's loving care of his people first of all in the sight that he has

of them they are in his sight in the way of his favor as in grace he looks out toward them but also he has

them in mind in terms of listening out for them we've got verse 15 here and then verse 17 as well

now the eyes of the lord are towards the righteous and his ears towards their cry when the righteous

cry for help the lord hears and delivers them out of all their trouble of course that's part of

god's perfect ability to know everything that's going on all at once in the lives of everybody

and especially the lives of his people but it isn't just simply in a general way just as the sight of god

is very much focused in terms of his favor so the hearing of god is very much to do with his intensity

of listening because you have an image here really as you see sometimes although of course now with

advancements and in hearing aids and so on that maybe isn't quite as regularly the case that you

would see somebody like this when you're talking to them or even like this if they're deaf in both ears

but your cup your hand your cup your palm so the sound is directed more uh more easily towards your

your hearing and that's the kind of imagery that you find here in the psalmist where it says that

the lord actually hears his ears are towards their cry you might say he's cupping his ear of course he

doesn't have physical properties the lord are from the humanity of jesus but the lord this is an image of

just demonstrating for us how intensely interested the lord is in our cry to him you know sometimes

if you're like me sometimes you get above your knees when you're praying and you say that was a

pathetic effort at prayer you say am i not learning anything at all as i go along as a christian

or why did i have to actually ask the lord to forgive this sin yet again that i'm conscious of in my life

and you may be feeling quite downcast over that and i'm not maybe something in your life that you're not

simply getting over as far as you're concerned and you're still struggling with it and you're crying

out to the lord and you're saying lord i'm sorry but again i have to come to you with this well just

look at what the lord is saying the lord is saying i hear you and i hear you with my interest in you

and i hear you as nobody else is hearing you and i'm listening as nobody else is capable of listening

and when in this world we know how difficult it is for people just to listen for a few moments

intently to what people are saying because we're so used to noise we're so used to having the

television or the radio or social media or something and it's just flitting in and out very

often into our brains and to actually sit down and have a studied time of listening so difficult to

fit into the ways of the world but this is so different this is god on his throne the almighty

the great god the majestic god the creating god the redeeming god what is he saying to us he's saying

i am listening intently to your cry cry to me and i assure you it will not pass my ears

it will be something i give my earnest attention to you

and many millions of people the lord is listening to tonight throughout the world billions of his people

crying out to him and yet you and i can say that the intense listening of god the intent listening of

god to our cry to my cry to your cry is as if we were the only ones crying out to him the only ones

needing attention he is just that concentrated on your life and what an encouragement that is we're

we're looking at this passage tonight hopefully um as it will encourage us as believers in the lord

as we see the difficulties of life sometimes uh really challenging our progress and here is god

having them in his mind god's pastoral care for his suffering people for his people in regard to their

suffering and he has them in his mind as he looks out to them and as he actually listens out for them

and it's not without good reason that the apostle peter when he wrote his first epistle

took these these words of of the psalm and quoted them specifically you have them in first peter chapter

three and verse 12 um we began that passage it's in the esv where you have section headings

there just to help us through uh with uh what the what the words are actually saying what the passages

are actually saying that heading is suffering for righteousness sake finally all of you have unity of

mind sympathy brotherly love etc do not repay evil for evil reviling for revival but on reviling but on

the contrary bless for to this you were called he's saying you were called to the kind of suffering that's

particular for christian people and so that in those sufferings you would be conscious of the fact

that god never loses sight of you and god is never out of out of your uh out of hearing of your voice

and that's he goes on to say for the eyes of the lord are on the righteous and his ears are open

to their prayer but the face of the lord is against those who do evil now peter was writing to people

who are being persecuted who are suffering grievously for their faith and he finds the words of psalm 34

so applicable so relevant so up to date for him and so they are for you and for me too they're never out

of date they're always a benefit to us as we look at them though god has them in his mind moving on

secondly god helps them in his might and there are three elements from verse 15 to 22 that come into

god helping his people in his might there's first of all his nearness and then secondly there's his

keeping of them and thirdly his deliverance there's firstly his nearness look at verse 18 the lord is near

to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit look at verse 7 the angel of the lord encamps

round those who fear him and he delivers them the angel of the lord in the old testament sometimes

speaks as god so it's a um it's a bit too far to say going too far to say that it's actually the lord

present in a human actual human nature but it's an anticipation of the angel of the lord as you know

in passages in the old testament appears at people like joshua and others and speaks to them but he speaks

as god and so it's an anticipation it's a foresight or a foretaste if you like of the coming of jesus

himself the coming of the son of god in then taking our nature to himself permanently and that's

anticipated here in the angel of the lord what does he say he encamps around those who fear him

and delivers them and when you take that with you into the new testament and into its absolute

fulfillment in the lord jesus christ himself what do you then find well you find that jesus comes

alongside of us through his own sufferings through not just taking our nature but taking all that was

thrown at him by way of temptation and suffering as he represented his people as he stood in their place

and in the great book of hebrews as you well know let us come he says therefore boldly to the throne of grace

so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need because we don't have

a high priest who is unable to sympathize with us or empathize with us in our sufferings that's the

argument that jesus who comes to surround his people he encamps around them and delivers them

and of course as we think about jesus as we think about all that it took to rescue us

all that it took to provide for our sufferings the very presence of god the nearness of god

just think of that cry from the cross it's not a cry of nearness is it my god my god why have you

forsaken me it's the very opposite of nearness it's jesus in the depths of experiencing the

curse of god that was due to us for our sin that's the way that jesus actually took to open up a way

for us to have the presence of god come to minister to us in our need and our sufferings in our

difficulties and the presence of god in this sense that you find it here and the lord is near to the

brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit it's not the presence of god as theologians call his

omnipresence in other words that god is present everywhere there is no place where he is not

but his presence is absent

but this is a specific redemptive presence it's a presence that is allocated to his own special people

to his believing people to his saved people especially as they are at times brokenhearted and crushed in spirit

he brings that presence through the holy spirit into their experience to bless them

his nearness his nearness to the brokenhearted

whatever it is

whatever it is

whatever it is

tonight that sometimes

breaks your heart

as you reflect on it or maybe even

in the current

moment of your life

whenever

we have a broken heart

sometimes we do

but we are never out of

god's view of us

and god drawing near to us

he has a special regard

for the brokenhearted

he understands what a broken heart is

because jesus experienced it

in the sufferings of the cross

and so his nearness is the first item in

helping them in his might

the second one is his keeping of them

now they're not kept from suffering

but they're certainly kept in or during their sufferings

so they're not overwhelmed

by their sufferings

look at verse 20 here

he keeps all his bones

not one of them is broken

whereas in contrast

affliction will slay the wicked

those who hate the righteous will be condemned

one of the brethren mentioned tonight in prayer

isaiah 43

and that's

something i noted down here in my notes for

the sermon tonight too

in regard to this very point

where

isaiah was

being informed or used by the lord

to convey

this message of encouragement to

the people of god in his time

who were suffering a lot for

their

attachment and faithfulness to god

now thus says the lord who created you

oh jacob

he who formed you oh israel

fear not i have redeemed you

i have called you by name you are mine

when you pass through the waters

i will be with you

and through the rivers they shall not overwhelm you

when you walk through the fire you will not be burned

and the flame shall not consume me

consume you

there's nothing in these verses that says

you will never experience what it's like to be burnt

you will never experience what it's like to go through a flood

in your emotional or spiritual experience

it's not saying that to us

but it's saying to us

when that happens

when you do have pain and suffering

to engage with and to go through

and to overcome

they're not going to overwhelm you

it may at times feel

the flame very hot

the waters rising fast

but what he's saying here is

i assure you

i will be with you

and so they will not overwhelm you

and the flame shall not consume you

how precious that is

how very precious

that is to us tonight

because whatever it is you're suffering and your sufferings

your afflictions tonight

perhaps only known to yourself and to god

maybe you just simply cannot share them with anyone else

maybe they're just the burden of your heart

and the pain of your heart

whether it's through the loss of loved ones

or something else in your life

or in your community

or in your family

but here is god saying to you

it doesn't matter

how much you may feel the waters rising

or the flame intensely hot

they're not going to take hold

and crush you

and overcome you

because i am with you

i in my nearness

is key

i am keeping you

and um

the puritan theologian

john owen once had a wonderful

illustration

of the difference between

a believer

and an unbeliever

or an atheist

both experiencing exactly the same type of suffering

let's say they're both

in exactly the same situation

where they are suffering

in in their lot

in the providence of god

and he's asking the question

what's the difference between them

and what difference is there between the suffering

in the case of the believer

and the suffering in the case

of the atheist

or the unbeliever

well he said

it's a bit like this

the sufferings

that the believer experiences

can be pictured as a surgeon

binding up the wounds of the patient

because that suffering

is going to

one day just

issue into

eternal glory

it's preparing

as paul said

the sufferings of this present time

it's preparing for us

a far more exceeding

and eternal weight

of glory

the sufferings

in the believer's life

are really

a preparatory

method of god

to cleanse

to further purify

to prepare for heaven

when the sufferings will be gone

now contrast that

Owen is saying

with the same sufferings

in the atheist

or unbeliever

and the picture he makes there

is not of a surgeon

binding up wounds

with a view

to complete healing

no he says

it's an executioner

putting a bandage

on the eyes

of the victim

before he

takes his life

because for the wicked

the sufferings

of this present life

are just a preparation

for the eternal sufferings

of the next

that's the difference

that's the difference

the same sufferings

can be in the life

of two people

one a believer

one an atheist

or unbeliever

and when you look

at the end in view

these are the two images

Owen makes

now aren't you thankful

tonight that

as you trust us

in the lord

so you regard

the sufferings

of the christian life

the very same way

as the psalmist here

and throughout scripture

god's way

of carrying out

his program

of sanctification

or an element

in that

I know it's very difficult

sometimes

just to get your

your thinking

clear enough

to think that way

when you're in

the sufferings

that sometimes

occur in your life

but we have to go

by what the word

of god assures us

of

and this is what

it's saying

that god keeps us

even through

the most intense

sufferings

when our trust

is in him

not because

of our trust

not because

the the level

of our trust

guarantees his

keeping

it's not based

on anything

in us

or done by us

we are assured

of his keeping

because he is faithful

because he's faithful

to his covenant

and he will not

actually be

any way short

of that

at any step

of your life

so he helps

him in his

might

through his

nearness

through his

keeping

and finally

through his

deliverance

verses 19

to 22

there many

are the afflictions

of the righteous

but the lord

delivers him

out of them

all

he keeps

all his bones

not one of

them is broken

there again

you have the

contrast

affliction

will slay

the wicked

those who

hate the

righteous

will be

condemned

but the lord

redeems

the life

of his servants

none of those

who take

refuge in him

will be

condemned

well he says

many are the

afflictions

of the righteous

many in number

many in kind

he's just

stating that

very matter of

fact like

but it's

something

that obviously

he knows

is a reality

but out of

them all

the lord

delivers them

not necessarily

while they're

in this life

entirely

but the lord

will deliver

them out of

all of

these

afflictions

ultimately

and especially

when the

afflictions

are left

behind

as we

leave this

life

behind

let's

think about

the contrast

then

not only

with the

wicked

but contrast

how things

are with

you

in terms

of your

need

presently

in this

life

look at

all the

different

kinds

of people

of experts

that you

need

in order

to help

you through

various

things

that you

need to

deal with

in the

course of

your life

if you're

something

legal

that you

need to

attend

to

you need

a lawyer

who's

qualified

solicitor

if it's

a health

matter

a physical

health

matter

you need

to go

to a doctor

you might

have to

consult a

surgeon

somebody who's

expert in

that field

if it's a

mental health

issues

you go to

someone

who can

hopefully

help you

with that

as well

and give

you some

support

all the way

through it

if it's a

spiritual issue

well we hope

that although

it's not very

common in this

world we hope

that as

ministers of the

gospel people

would ask

us look I've

got this

spiritual

problem can

you help

me with

it

all of

these different

people and

there are many

more each

of them with a

specific area of

expertise that

can hopefully

help hopefully

help us but

when you go to

Jesus and to

the Lord the

Lord of your

life all of

the expertise is

packed into the

one person

many are the

afflictions of

the righteous

but the Lord

delivers him

out of them

all you only

need the one

expert this

Christ this

Lord he has

everything in

himself for

you to appeal

to for you to

apply to

whatever kind

of need

arises and

of course

that's something

that carries

through into

the very end

of your life

and on into

eternity

itself

now that

David doesn't

merely list

these as

truths for us

that God

has his people

in mind that

God helps

them in his

might and the

various points

we've looked at

under each of

these headings

he's not content

simply to

specify these

he's actually

inviting those

that are going

to be reading

the psalm

those that are

going to be

listening to

what he's saying

here he's

inviting them to

come and prove

this put it to

the test

experience it

for themselves

look at what

he says there

verse 3

oh magnify

the Lord

with me

let us

exalt his

name

look at

verse 8

oh taste

and see

that the

Lord is

good

look at

verse 9

oh fear

the Lord

you his

sins

for those

who fear

him have

no lack

and then

verse 11

come oh

children listen

to me

I will teach

you the

fear of

the Lord

and so

as he

makes his

appeals

so we

tonight

are the

beneficiaries

of this

great psalm

this portion

of God's

word

and where

tonight

God has

laid out

these great

truths for

us

he's also

saying to

you and

he's saying

to me

come and

see and

taste

that the

Lord is

good

come and

fear him

oh you

saints

come God

is saying

to you

come oh

my children

listen to

me

put into

practice

the wisdom

that I'm

setting out

for you

Lord our

God we

thank you

that we

have such

such great

words as

these to

console our

hearts and

to guide us

we thank you

tonight for

the way that

your regard

for your

people is

constant

unfailing

and true

we thank

you oh

Lord that

even such

as we

are can

actually say

these things

of ourselves

oh Lord

help us we

pray in

the confidence

that we must

have in the

Lord help

us never to

doubt you or

to doubt your

wisdom give

us to

progress in

our Christian

lives in

our walk in

such a way

oh Lord as

would seek to

draw our

encouragement

and our

strength from

these great

truths that

you have

given us

grant his

mercies to

us we

pray now

accept our

worship and

cleanse us from

all our sin

for Jesus

sake amen

and we're going

to conclude

from Psalm 34

robert

on the

of

the

of

the

the

the

the