The Song of a Struggling Sinner

Sean and the Woos are dear friends of ours. I got the privilege of meeting Sean at our

pastor's college back in 2013-14 and I would say that it is very true that

his iron sharpens iron so spending time with Sean Woo was some of the most

edifying and blessed time of being there for a year and he's the only regret of

not being able to spend more time with him of the way in which Sean encourages

challenges and spurs us on in our faith and you are blessed to have him as your

pastor and we love to get to know the Woos as well and they have a few more since we last met them and

what a blessing they are. As Sean said this morning this evening we're going to be in Psalm 25

but before we get there let me pray and give some more opening words of introduction.

Would you pray with me? Father God we are very much aware of our need for you this evening

of your need to speak to help to help us concentrate. Thank you for the facilities we meet in but even

then we need help to focus things are still not the way we expect them to be and anything it seems

can distract us from what is truly valuable what is truly going to help us and speak to us. Help me

as I preach help us all as we listen to be submitted to your word and by your spirit working in and in

us and through us will change us more into the likeness of your son Jesus Christ. In his name we pray.

Amen. Amen.

Like I say we're going to turn to Psalm 25 but before I read there let me ask you are you familiar

with what with one of the shortest and yet perhaps the most terrifying questions that known to man

and it's the question are we there yet? It's a question which most parents have received during

some long car journey or other and you may well have even asked it yourself at one point or another.

It's a short yet terrifying question because we know that it is not an honest inquiry about

geographic location about distance and travel times but it is a question loaded with hidden meaning.

Maybe it really means I'm hungry or I'm thirsty or I'm tired or I'm bored or my brother hit me or I need

the bathroom or I feel sick or any other thing and you as the parent receiving this request are now

expected to deal with it to be the answer and address this need. You heard the struggle now respond.

Now as adults we don't tend to ask that question anymore at least not in that way we don't articulate

it but I think we still carry within us the same spirit about many of the things we experience through

the journey of life. Many of us and we're all experiencing obviously the impacts of COVID-19,

the health impacts and then responding and dealing with various precautions and response to the virus

and it's right and appropriate in our souls to ask are we there yet? But there may be many other

things that we experience struggles with where we ask that same essential question. Maybe it's some

difficult relationship within our families or within our with our work colleagues. Maybe it's just the

struggle with holding down a decent paying job even though you've tried your hardest to apply yourself.

Maybe it's an ongoing struggle with sin and guilt that doesn't seem to move and it's just a question of

Lord are we there yet? I want to be done with this. And although we may not articulate those words

I think we're somewhere often in a spectrum of how we handle complaints and struggles. On one end

it may be that complaining becomes very easy to you and you will complain in every breath every

opportunity anyone who will listen. And with the advance of social media obviously we've all got a

platform 24-7 in which to share our complaints and find someone at least who's going to jump on that

complaint and join with us in it. But on the other end of the spectrum maybe you don't know how to

complain or maybe you've been brought up like I have in a culture where we really don't complain at all.

I am British and part of our ethos is to keep a stiff upper lip. Complaining just won't do. We don't do that.

And generally speaking obviously everyone's different. Cultures are different and vary widely.

But I would say New England we tend to endorse that attitude don't we?

No I'm not going to complain. I won't say anything. I don't want to rock the boat.

Well wherever you are on that spectrum

we will be wrong in how we address and handle complaints if we don't do so in the way God

intends to us. Intends us to handle our struggles and our complaints before him.

And this evening we're going to look in the Psalms to help us, guide us and teach us

in how to handle complaints in a way which is honoring to God and his word

rather than be informed by our natural bent or by our culture around us.

Actually if you're not familiar the Psalms have a rich content of various different Psalms

of different types and dynamics but actually the most common of all the Psalms

are Psalms of lament or Psalms of complaint.

So clearly we can take from that that God wants us to know how we can and how we should bring our struggles to him

and how to do so.

So we're going to look at Psalm 20-25 as a good lesson for us

in how to bring our struggles to God

and by God's grace I trust that we're going to learn

the way God intends for us to pour out our soul and our struggles to him

because of his steadfast love and his mercy and goodness to us in Christ Jesus.

So read with me in Psalm 25 starting in verse 1.

The Psalmist David says this,

To you O Lord I lift up my soul.

O my God in you I trust.

Let me not be put to shame.

Let not my enemies exult over me.

Indeed none who wait for you shall be put to shame.

They shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

Make me to know your ways O Lord.

Teach me your paths.

Lead me in your truth and teach me.

For you are the God of my salvation.

For you I will wait all the day long.

Remember your mercy O Lord and your steadfast love

for they have been from of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions.

According to your steadfast love remember me.

For the sake of your goodness O Lord.

Good and upright is the Lord.

Therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

He leads the humble in what is right

and teaches the humble his way.

All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love

and faithfulness

for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

For your namesake O Lord pardon my guilt

for it is great.

Who is the man who fears the Lord?

Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.

His soul shall abide in well-being

and his offspring shall inherit the land.

The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him

and he makes known to them his covenant.

My eyes are ever toward the Lord

for he will pluck my feet out from the net.

Turn to me and be gracious to me

for I am lonely and afflicted.

The troubles of my heart are enlarged.

Bring me out of my distresses.

Consider my affliction and my trouble

and forgive all my sins.

Consider how many are my foes

and with what violent hatred they hate me.

O God my soul and deliver me.

Let me not be put to shame

for I take refuge in you.

May integrity and uprightness preserve me

for I wait for you.

Redeem Israel O God

out of all his troubles.

This is God's word from Psalm 25.

I encourage you to keep that open

in front of you if you can

because we'll be referencing

various verses through that

through this message.

I'm sure you've seen as we were reading that

that this psalm doesn't cover

one single struggle that David has

but it's rather many entwined threads

throughout this psalm

entwined threads of David's

the psalmist is struggling with

of what he's expecting from God

and how he is approaching God

because of them.

And I think life is like that

for all of us isn't it?

Rarely are we presented with one issue

all by itself

one struggle at a time.

Often we have many

and they are all connected

in one form or another.

If not directly in what's causing them

then at least in how they impact us

in terms of maybe our body

or our mind

or our souls at least

before the Lord.

So to help us see

these elements in the psalm

we're going to consider it

under three questions

and with each question

we're going to try to tease out

those entwined threads

so that we can better appreciate

and benefit from it

once we put them all back together.

So the three questions

we're going to look at

from this psalm is

what shall we bring to God?

What should we bring to God?

What should we expect from God?

And then how should we wait for God?

What should we bring to God?

What should we expect from God?

And how should we wait for God?

And for each of those

we're going to kind of tease out

four threads of thought

that we see through the psalms

through that psalm.

So first of all

let's start with

what should we bring to God?

And the first thread

we tease out in that

answering that question

is the need

that we bring to God

of being lost

and in need of direction.

Look at verse four.

He says

make me to know your ways

O Lord

teach me your paths

lead me in your truth

and teach me

for you are the God

of my salvation.

We're perhaps

very keenly aware

of our need

under these current

unprecedented circumstances

with COVID

and the regularly changing

guidance and directives

that we're asking

this question

aren't we of one another

and of God

what should we do?

What does wisdom look like

regarding my personal health?

Regarding the health

of my loved ones?

What's the right thing

to do about my work situation?

Whether I'm still employed

and I'm having to adjust

to new working arrangements

or maybe I'm now

out of work

and I'm looking for new work

perhaps in a completely

different field

than before.

What about coming to church?

Do I come to church?

Do I stay home?

What should our service

look like?

I'm sure your elders

are wrestling

with those sorts of questions.

What about school?

What does school look like

when we go back to school

and how will that affect

our decision

as to what we do next year?

We have all of these things

in common to some degree

of feeling lost

and in need of direction

under these present circumstances

but we don't need to pretend

that these struggles

only started with COVID.

All of these sorts of questions

and many more

are regular questions we face.

Questions around our career,

our family,

health,

relationships,

finances.

Psalm 25 tells us

that we can channel

all of these struggles

about feeling lost

and in need of direction

to God.

The second theme

or thread we see here

in terms of bringing

our needs to God,

our struggles to God

is in terms of attack

from our enemies.

Verse 2 says,

Oh my God,

in you I trust.

Let me not be put to shame.

Let not my enemies

exult over me.

And then later in verse 19,

Consider how many

are my foes

and with what violent hatred

do they hate me.

Now you may not think

of many people around you

as enemies as such,

but I think we all know

what it means

to have people oppose us

at one time or another

in different ways.

It may be something

as simple as the person

who cut you off

in market basket parking lot

to something far more

long lasting

as the work colleague

who is persistently

seeking to undermine you

for the last 10 years.

Or perhaps it's opposition

that you experience

for speaking out

for Christian truth

and values

in the matters of race

or ethnicity.

Or challenging either side

of the political spectrum

when either policy

or character

conflicts with God

and his ways.

The psalmist does not hesitate

to bring this opposition

to God

and encourages us

to do the same.

The third thing we see here

in what the psalmist

brings to God

is the need

around loneliness.

In verse 16,

Turn to me

and be gracious to me

for I am lonely

and afflicted.

So often with opposition

either directed

to me personally

or impersonally

by virtue

just of the group

that I identify with

or groups I identify with

that coupled with opposition

comes a deep sense

of being alone.

Even though others

may be around me physically,

if they stand against me

or against my beliefs,

we feel that distance

between us

in our souls,

don't we?

We feel very much

that sense of us

and them

which leads to

our isolation.

Or again,

in this climate

of COVID,

many are physically

alone

and isolated

in a way

which is unprecedented.

And it doesn't take long

under those circumstances

for loneliness

to be a constant

and unwelcome companion

from the moment

you wake up

to the moment

you go to bed

at night.

And Psalm 25

invites us

to pour out

that loneliness

to God.

The fourth struggle

that we see here

in this psalm

is with sin

and with guilt.

Verse 7

says,

Remember not

the sins

of my youth

and my transgressions.

And in verse 11,

For your namesake,

O Lord,

pardon my guilt

for it is great.

The psalmist

does not either

hide past

or present sin

or guilt

over that sin

from God

but regardless

for all of us

whether you came

to Christ

as an adult

as I did

or whether you

grew up

in a Christian home

and have always

walked with him

as long as you

can remember,

most of us

I would imagine

can look back

at our youth

our younger days

and have regret

for things

that we did

or things

that we said

or things

that we neglected

to do

that did not

meet God's

standard

of character

or his ways.

And yet sadly

our fight

with sin

isn't confined

simply to our youth

or to our younger days

although by God's grace

we should see progress

year by year

yet the nearer

we walk

with Jesus

the more

is exposed

within us

that does not

meet God's standard

which the Bible

calls sin.

And sometimes

that sense

of sin

perhaps either

because of the sense

of its magnitude

or because of a sense

of how persistently

it remains

and lingers

plaguing us

and without any

appreciable progress

that sin

and guilt

can weigh heavily

on our souls.

and yet God's word

in Psalm 25

encourages us

to see

that there is no end

to being able

to bring

our burden

of sin

and guilt

before God.

Whether it is

fresh from this morning

or where it is

from decades ago

Psalm 25

shows us

that God wants us

to pour out

our souls

and our struggles

with sin

to him.

Now Psalm 25

is not an exhaustive

list of struggles

that we can bring

to God

but as I say

there are many

other Psalms

of lament

which cover

struggles

with physical

affliction

struggles

with feeling

great distance

and separation

from God.

Whatever they may be

these Psalms

function to help

us see that

however messy

however entwined

and knits together

God intends us

to bring them

to him

so that in general

we will be able

to echo

verse 17

of this Psalm

the troubles

of my heart

are enlarged

bring me

out of my

distresses

Now it is

one thing

to be invited

to pour out

our soul

and our struggles

to God

it's another thing

to know what

God promises

to do in response

is God

just a listening

ear

or is he

willing to help

us in these

struggles

and if he's

willing to help

is he able

to help us

in them

so that leads

us to our

second question

what should we

expect from

God

and again

we're going to

go back to the

same four threads

that we see

woven through

this Psalm

so first of all

regarding the

need for direction

we can expect

teaching and

guidance

if you look at

verse 8

we read

good and upright

is the Lord

therefore he

instructs sinners

in the way

he leads

the humble

in what is

right and

teaches the

humble his

way

and then

verse 12

who is the

man who

fears the

Lord

him he will

instruct in

the way that

he should

choose

when we bring

our need for

guidance and

direction to

God he

promises to

teach and

to guide

now

unfortunately

this is not

the sermon to

go into great

detail on how

God teaches

and guides

but to

suffice to

say that

God has

given us

his word

that is

enough for

the man of

God to be

complete

equipped for

every good

work according

to 2 Timothy

3 16

and he has

given Christians

his spirit who

guides us into

all truth

in John

16 13

so that is to

say that we

can be confident

that when we

come to God

pouring out our

needs to him

for guidance

we can hear

him speak to

us

he instructs

us and he

teaches us

through his

word so we

must couple

our prayers

with reading

his word

and we can be

encouraged that

we are not

left to our

own intellect

and our own

ability to

figure out what

he is saying

to us

although God

does those

gifts are

gifts from

God and he

certainly uses

them but rather

he also gives

us his Holy

Spirit to be

with us

to be with

us and in

us and to

speak through

his word

to guide us

certainly God

can and does

use other

means and ways

to speak to

us through

prophetic ministry

for example

but the normal

means that God

has given to

speak to us

and to receive

instruction and

that we need to

look to is

through his

written word

now clearly

though scripture

does not address

directly how

to reopen

schools under

COVID-19

or a myriad

of many other

very specific

needs for

guidance that

we can

legitimately

bring to

him asking

for direction

but scripture

and Psalm 25

tells us that

God is more

inclined to

direct us

through informing

us and shaping

us to cause

us to be

spiritually aligned

with his ways

of moral

uprightness

his paths

of righteousness

so that when

we are feeling

lost and in

need of direction

and look to

God for

guidance

God's way

and the way

that we discern

to be the best

way increasingly

come into

alignment

so we can

expect the

teaching and

guidance that

our souls

truly need

now regarding

struggles with

enemies and

opposition

we should

expect

deliverance

look at

verse 3

the psalmist

says

indeed

none who

wait for you

shall be put

to shame

they shall be

ashamed who

are wantonly

treacherous

the psalmist

declares his

confidence to

trust in God

over fearing

his enemies

and that he

knows God

will safely

deliver him

the apostle

Paul had a

very similar

confidence to

declare

if God is

for us

who can be

against us

in Romans

8

31

now such

confidence for

Paul and for

the psalmist

is available to

us

and it comes

from knowing

that just like

with David

and with Paul

the deliverance

they sought

and they

received

it doesn't

make enemies

suddenly disappear

or suddenly

change their

ways

although God

can make

both of those

things happen

but they

had confidence

that their

enemies would

not overcome

God's hand

upon them

and in the

final reckoning

their enemies

had no hope

for victory

because God

is on their

side

God will

rescue his

people from

shame

we may not

see that

until the

courts of

eternal

judgment

for all

to see

but God

will advocate

for you

and deliver

you

the third

thing we see

in terms of

what to expect

from God

regarding loneliness

is we can

expect his

presence

look at verse

14

it says

the friendship

of the Lord

is for those

who fear him

and he makes

known to them

his covenant

now in the

ESV translation

which I'm

reading from

with friendship

there's a little

footnote

which says

secret counsel

and other

translations use

those sorts of

language

it makes no

difference really

because the

idea is of a

person laying

their loneliness

before God

and finding him

that he takes

them into his

confidence

the king of the

universe ushers

us into his

throne room

to hear our

struggle

and he doesn't

issue direction

from afar

rather he

welcomes us

and directs us

to the seat

beside him

he leans over

and he lets us

be privy

not just to any

counsel

not just to any

promises

but to his

counsel

and to his

promises

Jesus said

something very

similar in

John 15

John 15:15

verse 15

he said

no longer

do I call

you servants

for the servant

does not know

what his

master is doing

but I have

called you

friends

for all that

I have heard

from my

father

I have made

known to

you

the lonely

have confidence

to expect

from God

his presence

and his

comfort

and then

lastly

for sin

and guilt

we should

expect mercy

and love

in verse 6

we read

remember your

mercy

oh lord

and your

steadfast love

for they have

been from of

old

remember not

the sins of

my youth

or my

transgressions

according to

your steadfast love

remember me

for the sake

of your

goodness

oh lord

when we

bring our

struggles

before God

whether they're

a jumble

or just

one single

struggle

and whether

it includes

guilt

or the

burden

of sin

or not

at some

point

I'm sure

we've all

heard the

small voice

of our

conscience

blended

with the

voice of

the evil

one that

whispers to

us

God's not

going to

listen to

you

not after

what you've

done

do you

really expect

that God's

going to

listen to

you and

help you

with that

sin in

your life

or in

your past

as I

imagine

I say

we've all

had that

sort of

temptation

I would

expect

and we

attempted

with a

response

of perhaps

one of

two things

either to

give up

coming to

God

altogether

or just

to try to

make up

for our

sin and

our failure

by trying

all the more

hard to

win

got back

God's

affection

and

Psalm 25

speaks loudly

and a

wonderful truth

to drown

out and

correct the

error and

wickedness of

that temptation

verse 8

speaks gloriously

good and

upright is

the Lord

therefore

he instructs

sinners

in the

way

Psalm 25

reminds us

that God

chooses to

relate to

us not

on the

basis of

who we

are

but on

the basis

of who

he is

and that

doesn't mean

that sin

is irrelevant

to our

relationship

with God

but it

means that

sin is not

an impediment

to our

relationship

with God

sin is not

a permanent

barrier

to our

relationship

with him

God chooses

to show

mercy

and steadfast

love to

sinners

and that

is not

man's

wishful

thinking

that is

God's

word to

us right

here in

this

Psalm

and so

that's the

confidence

that we

can have

when we

come to

God

bearing the

struggle

with sin

and guilt

we can

pour out

our soul

and our

struggles

to God

because of

his steadfast

love

and goodness

and it

occurs to

me that

we have

a glimpse

a little

more keenly

of the

magnitude

of God's

steadfast

love

and goodness

on display

right now

under

COVID

you see

for me

it just

takes one

child of

mine to

ask are

we there

yet

for me

to find

my patience

a little

tested

a little

tried

but with

God

I'm sure

that it's

not simply

one of

his children

asking him

are we

there yet

but rather

his children

around the

world

are crying

out day

by day

hour

by hour

Lord

are we

there yet

and our

father

does not

once

roll

his eyes

not once

mutter

under his

breath

but

patiently

responds

with his

counsel

with his

deliverance

with his

presence

and with

his mercy

and with

his love

but having

said that

it is very

important to

know one

final thread

that is woven

through this

psalm of

struggle

and that's

the thread

of waiting

in verse

3

and in

verse 5

and in

verse 21

we hear this

similar

message

from the

psalmist

that for

you

I wait

all the

day

long

and if

we truly

value the

counsel

and the

care

and the

comfort

that God

promises

his

children

then we

will want

to receive

them

according to

God's

time scale

and not

according to

our own

it's not

that God

simply enjoys

keeping us

in suspense

but it is

that in

his wisdom

not only does

he know

what we

need

but he

also knows

when we

need it

and that

leads us

to the

last and

third question

we want to

consider from

this psalm

how should

we wait

for God

and in

psalm 25

again we see

these four

threads

for how the

psalmist

waits for

God

the first

we see in

verse 9

is that he

waits with

humility

and in

verse 12

with fear

let me read

those two

verses 9

and 12

he leads

the humble

in what

is right

and teaches

the humble

his way

and then

who is the

man who

fears the

Lord

him he

will instruct

in the way

that he

should choose

humility

before God

submits

to hear

to receive

and to

follow

God's

way

it says

to God

you know

best

and your

way is

best

I will

choose

no other

way

and the

fear of

God

puts the

consequences

of not

following

him

and his

ways

above

any

gain

that

might

be

had

from

following

another

way

that God

says

is off

limits

and I

tie those

two

together

because of

James 4

6

which says

God

opposes

the

proud

but gives

grace

to the

humble

the fear

of God's

opposition

is to

lead us

to shun

pride

and that

same

desire

for God's

grace

is to

lead us

to embrace

a humble

spirit

in submission

to God

as we

wait

for him

we also

wait

with

confession

look at

verse 11

which says

for your

name's sake

oh Lord

pardon my

guilt

for it

is great

and in

verse 18

consider

my

affliction

and my

trouble

and forgive

all my

sins

we've already

seen that we

can pour out

our struggles

with sin

to God

we wait

for God

to wait

for God

with confession

means that we

recognize that

sin damages

our relationship

with God

and creates

interference

between us

yes

we can

and we

should

bring sin

and guilt

before God

but not

simply to

offload it

as if to

try to get

it off of

our chest

like some

sort of

therapeutic

experience

rather the

way we

bring sin

and guilt

before God

is with

confession

and with

repentance

we take

responsibility

for our

sin

and for

sin's

consequences

we say

sorry

sincerely

desiring

to turn

away

from that

sin

and trusting

that in

God's mercy

and his

steadfast love

that he

will pardon

us

and bring

forgiveness

and power

to overcome

sin

through the

atonement

of his

son

Jesus

Christ

to which

we will

return more

in just a

moment

now these

verses

don't mean

that each

and every

time we

want to

pour out

our souls

to God

we have

to list

this kind

of long

catalogue

of old

sins

reconfessing

things as

we go

each and

every time

as if

we didn't

do it

right

the first

time

or in

case

that's

just

what

God

needs

us

to do

rather

these

verses

mean

that we

should

never

lose

sight

of

the

fact

that we

are

forgiven

sinners

undeserving

of God's

help

apart

from

his

mercy

and

his

love

with

no

right

to

expect

God

to

work

to

our

timeline

so

we

wait

patiently

for

his

thirdly

we

wait

with

obedience

verse

10

says

all

the

paths

of

the

Lord

are

steadfast

love

and

faithfulness

for

those

who

keep

his

covenant

and

his

testimonies

and

in

verse

21

says

may

integrity

and

uprightness

preserve

me

for

I

wait

for

you

even

if

you're

seeking

God's

direction

for

a

very

specific

path

and

guidance

and

it's

unclear

to

you

nevertheless

he

has

clearly

given

us

guidance

for

the

way

of

godliness

in

his

word

and

we

can

wait

for

God

while

walking

out

the

way

of

holiness

now

clearly

that

can't

mean

that

God

only

guides

and

preserves

the

perfect

those

who

perfectly

obey

him

we've

just

looked

at

how

God

extends

forgiveness

to

the

sinner

but

it

does

mean

that

forgiveness

is not

an

excuse

for

ongoing

disobedience

God

desires

his

children

to

enjoy

blessing

that

carry

on

from

generation

to

generation

look at

verse

13

he says

his

soul

shall

abide

in

well

being

and

his

offspring

shall

inherit

the

land

but

God

has

made

clear

that

those

blessings

his love

and his

faithfulness

are found

in the

context

of his

ways

and we

must be

obedient

to walk

in those

ways

to enjoy

those blessings

for ourselves

and that

means that

when God's

ways don't

seem popular

in the world

around us

or the ways

of our

foes

who oppose

us

seem to be

very productive

in the short

term

even though

they oppose

God

it means

it means that

with fear

and humility

before God

we don't

abandon

his ways

to take

up the

ways

of the

wicked

but we

continue

to submit

ourselves

to God's

ways

in obedience

and we

wait

for him

the final

thread

in terms

of waiting

is we

wait

with

faith

look at the

opening

verses

of our

psalm

verse 1

says

to you

oh Lord

I lift

up my

soul

oh my

God

in you

I trust

let me

not be

put

to shame

we

wait

for God

with

faith

just as

the

psalmist

does

who

wasn't

trusting

in who

he

was

or what

he

had

done

to

deserve

God's

counsel

God's

care

and God's

comfort

but who

trusted

in who

God

was

in God's

steadfast

love

and his

unchanging

goodness

and mercy

now the

psalmist

had God's

word

revealed

to him

as it

was

in that

time

and we

have that

too

but we

also have

the fullness

of God's

word revealed

to us

in his

son

Jesus

Christ

and we

have the

full

revelation

of his

gospel

on which

to base

our hope

in which

to pour

out our

souls

and our

struggles

to God

to trust

that he

hears us

that he

wants good

for us

and to

wait on

him

in faith

and we

can do

that because

we know

that there

was one

who poured

out his

soul

to God

in the

form of

another

song

of lament

and yet

was not

heard

by his

father

in order

that we

could be

both the

gospels of

Matthew

and Mark

record

Jesus'

words as

he hung

on the

cross

words taken

from Psalm

22

my

God