Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

Let's open with a word of prayer. Lord, thank you that we can gather this morning and open your word.

Lord, this morning we desire to be drawn closer to you.

Help us to navigate this life and to do it well, to live out our days, whether they be many or few, faithfully.

Lord, trusting and hoping in you.

We pray this morning that, like the deaf man in the passage in Mark that we just read, that our ears would be opened.

That we would hear exactly what you would speak to us this morning about.

And that we wouldn't just be hearing it, but we'd be doing it.

That it would go deep in our hearts and we'd live out this truth.

We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

If you have a Bible, turn with me to Psalm 71.

We have two more weeks in our summer series in the second book of the Psalter.

If you don't have a Bible or you've got it at home, there's a stack at the back.

Feel free to grab it at any time. Don't worry about distracting me.

I have three young kids. I'm undistractable.

That's not true.

It feels, though, that I'm pretty good at not being distracted.

Anyways, this week I had a great back and forth conversation super early in the morning with a buddy that lives in the Toronto area.

He's very driven and successful.

And we were talking about goals pertaining to fitness.

He's a super goal-oriented guy.

He's, it was a bit of a, actually, I shouldn't say it's so much of a conversation.

It was like a borderline coaching session.

It was, it was great. I love this guy. I've known him for years.

He has some fantastic insight and goals.

And one of the things that stuck out to me that he shared was how he has,

and I found this actually, on one hand, incredibly admirable.

On the other hand, I mean, I have it in my notes alarming.

I wouldn't say alarming, but I'll explain what I mean by this.

He has this goal for when he's 90 years old.

And the goal is that he would walk a full 18, play a full 18 with the clubs on his back.

No cart, no hand cart that he'd be carrying the clubs on his back.

And I just thought, that's great.

I mean, I'd love to live to 90, let alone be able to play golf, you know, in such a way.

I mean, you have to be in fantastic shape.

And my friend is in fantastic shape.

And I mean, he's a real stand-up guy.

But I thought it was admirable for that reason.

But I found it, I guess, alarming or troubling.

When I thought about, I mean, my friend, and I mean, he would say this as well,

he doesn't know what next year will bring.

There's no possible idea what the future holds.

We make plans, but we truly can't curate and plan out our life so well that will,

in the case of my friend Dave, that he will find himself on a golf course at 90 with the clubs on his back.

Like, it's impossible.

Now, it might happen, and I really, really hope it does.

But God forbid something bad happens to my buddy.

And, I mean, one knee accident, or accident that messes up his knee or his back, or God forbid, takes his life.

And things are over.

That goal is unachievable.

It was a strong reminder that although we have great agency in this life,

there are so many things that are completely out of our control.

There are so many things that we can't figure out, we can't direct or curate in our own lives,

let alone the lives of those around us, our friends, our family members, our bosses, our subordinates,

whatever it may be, our children, our friends, our neighbors.

And when we try to control things, things don't really turn out great, by and large.

Especially when we try to control other people.

We have lots of agency, but we also have a lot of things out of our control.

And if you live long enough, you realize that one of the things you cannot control is suffering.

Suffering is a part of the human life.

And it is something that in a very real way, if you live long enough,

maybe not even if you live long enough, but if you just live, it is unavoidable.

Suffering is something that touches us all.

Certain degrees of suffering.

Some people, it seems like it is a ton of suffering.

Other people seem like it's easy street.

But truly, everybody experiences some kind of suffering.

Our best vision for the good life, in many respects, is completely out of our control.

And that's, by the way, like, I'm not naturally somebody who, like, has a 90 year,

like, I'm 90 years old and I have a goal for when I'm 90.

That doesn't mean we don't plan things out.

But we need to understand that our future is certainly not certain.

We need to be honest with ourselves about that reality.

And also very honest with ourselves if that's a very jarring reality for us.

So two things I think that we need to think about and consider when we're thinking about the future

and how we want our lives to play out and what vision of the good life we want to engage in.

First is, what is the true vision of the good life?

What does it mean to live a good life?

And on one hand, I mean, it is subjective.

You have your personal goals.

It's a fantastic thing.

I'm not poo-pooing that.

But in an objective, general sense, what is the ideal life to live?

That's the first thing to consider.

And the second thing is, when we fall short of that, how do we deal with disappointment and pain?

In our psalm this morning, we find an older or elderly believer that reflects on the life of faith with Almighty God.

Now, the commentators, they, they're, you know, some people say this is clearly an elderly person, you know, praying the psalm.

Other people are like, it's just a person that might be alluding to the future.

I'm going to go with the former.

This is an older person, an elderly person in the faith, reflecting on a life of faith lived with Almighty God.

And in this psalm, we're going to see a vision of the good life.

And that at the core of this good life is this faithful life of placing one's ultimate trust and hope upon the triune God,

especially in times of difficulty, frustration, and danger.

So, three things to glean from it.

First, that we recognize our frailty and our inability to overcome hardships.

And that's not to say every single hardship, every last bit of difficulty we can't overcome.

I'm saying in general, this psalm teaches us that we ought to recognize our frailty and our inability to overcome hardships.

The second thing that teaches us is that we ought to have a trusting and hope-filled faith in the faithful, unchanging God.

Key to that, and we'll touch on it a bit, is that God makes promises and He keeps them.

And that's what we put our hope and trust in.

And then finally, the last thing that we can gather from this psalm is that we can truly endure to the end.

And that there is a way forward.

Maybe a term that's fallen out of use, but this psalm will teach us to die well.

So, recognizing our frailty and our inability to overcome hardships,

trusting and hoping in the faithfulness of the unchanging God,

and finally, enduring to the end.

So let's jump into it, starting in verse 1.

1.

We're going to be jumping around in the psalm.

We're not going to necessarily follow the linear progression of the verses,

so jump with me to verse 4.

Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,

from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.

Throughout this psalm, there's a recognition that life is difficult,

and that there are factors outside of our control that can and often overtake us.

In this case, we see three kind of categories here.

The wicked, the unjust, and the cruel.

Maybe we can prevail against rude people and unjust treatment at work,

or even the odd bit of gossip.

That is, in a sense, gossip can be a form of cruelty.

We can overcome it, but such things are not the exception, but the rule.

Oftentimes, we get leveled in degrees by the things we experience,

the injustice that we hold on to,

and we nurture in our hearts of being overlooked,

or being falsely accused, or misunderstood.

And we nurture that, and we hold on to that, and it becomes bitter.

When we experience some form of cruelty,

it is very hard to get over cruelty.

The fact is, if we're honest with ourselves,

these are the types of things that can totally take us out of proper functioning,

and maybe all of us, to a degree, deal with a degree of mental trauma

that we have lived through, that we have struggled with in the past,

and that follows us.

And I say trauma, and maybe it's too heavy of a word, maybe it's not.

But nevertheless, wickedness, and injustice, and cruelty

aren't things the average person can easily overcome.

Maybe, again, here and there,

but if it becomes an ongoing pattern that you experience,

it is a very difficult thing to overcome.

The reality is, evil exists in droves,

because the human heart is bent towards the self.

This is why people are cruel.

This is why people are unjust.

This is why people can be wicked,

because there is this focus on the self.

The heart of men and women have an unquenchable desire for more,

and a pride that can't be satisfied.

Sometimes, as in this psalm,

we find ourselves on the receiving end of such things.

But let us not somehow think that we are not agents of injustice at times.

Or we have not been cruel.

Maybe not, you don't want to admit like you've been cruel,

but you've been a bit mean.

Maybe you have been very unkind to somebody that borders on wickedness.

That you seek revenge, and you do certain things,

or you say certain things,

or you wish certain things upon people

that is not in keeping at all with a heart of love and selflessness,

but of selfish gain and wickedness, injustice, and cruelty.

We can be the wicked, unjust, and cruel man.

That is why it is vitally important,

and I mention this on purpose as we confess our sins together,

to confess our sins.

To not try to hide, or excuse,

or as the prayer book says,

cloak our sins before Almighty God,

to be honest with Him.

We are prone to this,

and confession, therefore,

is a wonderful blessing for us

to bring into the light what we hide in the darkness.

Let's continue on.

Look with me at verses 9 to 11.

It says this,

If verse 4 has a picture of a wicked, unjust, cruel man,

now we see that this man,

this enemy,

is one that conspires,

and plans to pursue,

and to overtake,

and to abuse.

The psalmist is recognizing

that he is susceptible to being taken advantage of.

And this is certainly a problem

in terms of how we treat

our elderly folk in the West,

or how they are treated, rather.

Elderly people are the target

for scam calls up the wazoo.

Every few months,

you hear something on CTV,

or on the radio,

about a poor lady,

or a poor man,

who has been scammed out of

a few tens of thousands of dollars.

It's a horrible thing.

It's a terrible thing.

We,

again,

I'm speaking in generalities here,

we look to take care of our elderly

by,

by and large,

pushing them away from us.

And I'm not saying that every person

that encourages their elderly parent

or aunt or uncle

to go into a retirement home

is a monster.

I'm not saying that at all.

But by and large,

there is a push to

let somebody else deal with that.

And it's a very lucrative business

to,

to,

to get into.

It's a very lucrative business

that will drain people dry.

And sometimes it very well is

this

situation where people

are taken advantage of.

In recent years,

people are encouraged,

given the option rather,

to,

to end life early

and on their terms.

And sometimes it's by families

so that they can get

control of the estate.

Our elderly people

are susceptible

to

conspiracies

of,

of,

of,

of takeover

like we see here

in verses 9 to 11.

It's very unfortunate

that there,

there's great fortunes

to be made

by taking care of,

or by taking advantage

rather,

of the sick and the weak.

And

this is evil

in God's eyes

and such schemes

harm people

because they treat them

as commodities

and,

and,

and people that are made

in God's image

are not to be treated

as such.

So,

in a very real way

from our youth

to adulthood

to our elderly years,

there is a great

reality of,

of our frailty

be put,

being put on full display

when hardships come,

when people conspire

to,

to rob us

or undercut us

or treat us

unjustly.

It is something we experience

in all aspects

of our lives.

and it leads us

in a sense

to

our second point,

but before that,

even the strong among us

will one day,

you know,

will deal with

the reality

of becoming physically frail

and having our strength spent.

Recognizing

that we are frail

is again

such a critical part

to living the biblical vision

of the good life

and this again

leads into our second point

because it helps us

to live a life of truth,

knowing our limitations

and therefore

recognizing our need.

And what are we in need of?

We are in need

of help

and deliverance

and salvation

and somebody

to stand on guard.

So the second point,

trusting and hoping

in the faithfulness

and reliability

of the unchanging God.

We'll look

at verses 1 to 3.

In you, O Lord,

do I take refuge.

Let me never be put to shame.

In your righteousness

deliver me

and rescue me.

Incline your ear to me

and save me.

Be to me a rock of refuge

to which I may

continually come.

You have given the command

to save me

for you are my rock

and my fortress.

So although,

I mean,

we'll read a few more passages,

but first,

I mean,

although our frailty

must be understood

and acknowledged,

this psalm teaches us

not to dwell on that primarily.

Notice that the focus

throughout the psalm

is on God,

His strength,

His ability to save,

how He fights on our behalf,

on behalf of His people,

His faithfulness

to His promises

that He has made,

His unchanging goodness,

His rock-solid reliability.

The focus of Psalm 71

isn't so much

of the evildoers

attacking me,

it is about how God

will save.

Time and time and time again.

We've read verses 1-3,

verses 5-8,

For You, O Lord,

are my hope,

my trust, O Lord,

from my youth.

Upon You,

I have leaned

from before my birth.

You are He who took me

from my mother's womb.

Continuing on,

I have been as a portent

to many,

but You are my strong refuge.

Continues on in verse 12

and following,

O God,

be not far from me.

O my God,

make haste to help me.

May my accusers

be put to shame

and consumed

with scorn and disgrace.

May they be covered

who seek my hurt.

My mouth will tell

of Your righteous acts,

of Your deeds of salvation

all my day.

With the mighty deeds

of the Lord,

I will come.

Continues on,

verses 19,

Your righteousness,

O God,

reaches the high heavens.

You who have done

great things,

O God,

who is like You?

How can we possibly

dwell on our frailty

when we have before us

an almighty God?

It is God who saves.

He is the true actor

in our times of calamity,

in our times of hardship.

It is He who delivers.

That's why I say,

I mean,

even the strongest of us

who can withstand injustice,

can only withstand

to a degree,

can only fight

the wicked

and the cruel

to a degree.

But God is able

to win the day

all the day.

He is always reliable.

He is always steadfast.

He is always

doing great things.

And what is our part?

To trust and hope

in Him.

And that comes

to an expression

in prayer and praise

that is rooted

in the history

of God's covenant

faithfulness

with His people.

What do I mean by that?

Simply that God

has made a promise

to us

that He,

through Jesus,

will always,

always stand guard

against His people.

That He will never

leave us

or forsake us.

And what do we,

how can we trust that?

Well, because look

what He's done

in the past.

He has created

all things

and when things

go awry

and backwards

and things

start to get

bent out of shape

and misfigured

because of sin,

He constantly saves.

When His people

get sold

into slavery,

what does He do?

He saves.

When the people

get exiled

to foreign lands

because of their own

sin

and their enemies

descending upon them,

what does He do?

He saves.

This is what God

does constantly.

This is the history

of our scriptures.

This is our heritage.

So we look back

and that gives us

the energy,

the fuel,

the faith

to trust Him

for the future.

Because if this is

the God that we serve

and He is unchanging,

my goodness,

that same God

is with us,

for us,

right now.

this psalm quotes

at least three

different psalms,

22,

35,

and 70.

It has a reference

to Moses' song

at the Red Sea

at Exodus 15.

I mean,

this psalm,

in a very real way,

is a psalm

that delights

in God's Word

and God's salvation

of the past

that is then used

to trust Him

for the future.

So,

it helps us

to see

that there is

a great benefit

in knowing God's Word

but also praying

God's Word.

To know God's Word,

to have it go deep

inside our hearts

that it may be

the thing we think

about throughout the day

that we teach

to our children

that we meditate upon.

This is easier said

than done

in an age of distraction

but,

friends,

we take baby steps.

We incrementally grow.

We don't make this

huge change overnight.

It's what Eugene Peterson

calls a long obedience

in the same direction.

And we have each other

to help us.

To know God's Word

and to pray God's Word.

And, friends,

what will be the result?

Our outer selves,

it says in 2 Corinthians 4,

will waste away

but our inner souls

will be strengthened

day by day.

That Christ Himself,

He says that

men,

men and women,

humans,

can't live by bread alone

but by what?

By the Word of God,

by every word

that comes out

of God's mouth.

He quotes that

in the desert

when He is struggling

Himself.

and really,

we understand

the importance

of God's Word

because it is the way

that He has revealed

Himself to us.

It is for our benefit

and growth

that He has given us

His Word

so that we,

first and foremost,

may know Him.

the way He has revealed

Himself to us.

We recall His past,

His saving work

in the past

and trust Him

in the future.

There's this interesting

bit here

and I wrestled with,

you know,

should I keep it?

Should I cut it out?

But in verse 18,

it says this

about elderly folk

in the faith.

Verse 18,

well,

I'll go back to verse 17.

O God,

from my youth

you have taught me

and I still proclaim

your wondrous deeds.

So even to old age

and gray hairs,

O God,

do not forsake me

until I proclaim

your might

to another generation,

your power

to all those to come.

It's a beautiful picture

of what this Christian life is,

that it is to be lived out

together,

intergenerationally,

that there is this

beautiful opportunity

for people

of all ages

to share the faith

and to proclaim

God's word

and to encourage

and to exhort

younger people

in the faith

to trust the Lord,

which is also

a testament

to you

not having to do it

all yourself.

How on earth

could you do

this Christian life,

live it out

faithfully

without help?

this will be

the fuel

in our tanks

to live out

this life of faith

until the end.

Like I mentioned,

Eugene Peterson

calling it

a long obedience

in the same direction.

This is what

the Christian life is.

It's trusting God

for whatever comes

next.

It's not about

killing it

non-stop

home runs

for the next

30,

40 years.

It is about

faithful,

faithfully trusting

God

in the next steps,

whatever comes about.

And he has promised

to give us

his Holy Spirit.

He has given us

his Holy Spirit

so that we may

have then

the power

to do so.

It certainly

isn't about

hitting home run

after home run.

It's about

getting on base.

One of my favorite

Blue Jays

of all time,

and to be honest,

I can't say

I'm a Jays fan

like I was.

I haven't watched

a game in years.

But when I was a kid

it was Paul Molitor.

I don't know

if anybody knows

Paul Molitor.

He played like

three seasons

with the Blue Jays

but he won

some World Series

with them.

But you go through

his stats over the years

and I did it

just so I wasn't

going to be called out

if I told a fib.

But he

kills it.

He gets on base

non-stop.

He has a ton of hits.

It's always in the hundreds

every single year.

Never,

I mean,

maybe he cracks

15 home runs

in his best season.

But he gets on base.

And it's singles

and it's doubles

and it's walks

but he gets on base.

And in many ways

this is a formula

for championships.

This is a formula

for faithful living.

It's to trust God

in the small decisions

in the everyday.

everyday,

it's showing up

sometimes.

It's not necessarily

having these

high,

incredible,

mountaintop experiences

but it's faithfully

trusting him

in how we raise

our children,

how we approach

our position

at work,

how we spend

our money,

how we think,

how we pray,

what we do.

which leads us

to our final point

that this psalm

helps us

to know

that we can truly

endure to the end.

The long,

faithful obedience

in the same direction.

I'll ask a question,

are you preparing

for your death?

It's a terrible thing

in one sense

to ask people

but it's also

a beautiful thing

to ask.

Will you die well?

Let's read

verses 18-20.

to the end.

So even to old age

and gray hairs,

O God,

do not forsake me

until I proclaim

your might

to another generation,

your power

to all those

to come.

Your righteousness,

O God,

reaches the high heavens.

You who have done

great things,

O God,

who is like you?

You who have made me

see many troubles

and calamities

will revive me again

from the depths

of the earth.

You will bring me up again.

You will increase

my greatness

and comfort me again.

I will also praise you

with the harp

for your faithfulness,

O my God.

I will sing praises

to you with the lyre,

O holy one of Israel.

My lips will shout

for joy

when I sing praises

to you,

my soul also,

which you have redeemed.

And my tongue

will talk

of your righteous help

all the day long,

for they

have been put

to shame

and disappointed

who sought

to do me hurt.

we will all

experience pain

and suffering.

There's no way around it.

I mean,

verse 20

seems to imply

that God

is the one

who is allowing

us to go through

the suffering

that we go through.

It is the reality

of how creation

is bent

and disfigured

because of sin.

However,

no tragedy,

no suffering

goes without

being used by God.

What do I mean by this?

That God

can transform

our sufferings

into beautiful

acts of faith

that bring him glory

and that bring

goodness

and kindness

and joy

to those

around us.

When we see

somebody suffering

well,

it is

an otherworldly

act.

It is something

that doesn't

seem at home

in this world

but something

that is heavenly

and divine.

You see somebody

suffering

and not

looking for

vengeance

but looking

to the Lord

for vindication.

When Jesus

says,

give them

your other cheek

if they slap

you on one side,

give them

the other cheek

if they command

you to walk

a mile,

go with them

too.

There is something

incredibly powerful

about that

and all of a sudden

in Christ Jesus

our pain

and our calamities

and our

the injustices

done against us

can be used

to be this

to paint this

beautiful picture

of what heaven

truly is like.

that justice

will reign

that

kindness

and joy

will reign

forever

and that

ultimately

we

take

the very

image

of Jesus

and we

participate

in his

sufferings.

Jesus hangs

on the cross

completely

not

a just

act at all

complete injustice

acts of cruelty

by wicked men

and he opens

not his mouth

and he suffers

and he suffers

well

and he suffers

on our behalf

so that we may

enjoy

the presence

of God

the triune

God

forever.

And when we

suffer justly

sorry

when we

suffer

injustice

well

we

proclaim

the very

gospel of Christ

with our

lives

we certainly

back up

what we

preach.

The triune

God of creation

who is perfectly

good

100% reliable

and trustworthy

is not ambivalent

to our

difficult estate

and this is a

wonderful truth.

He is very

aware of our

suffering

to the

end that he

would send

his son.

He takes

upon himself

all of our

suffering and

pain

so that we

may be

rescued

not just

so that we

can go back

to some

type of

sinless

state

but rather

that we

could be

welcomed

into the

very

family

of God

himself.

Look with

me

again at

verses 20

and 21

you

who have

made me

see

troubles

many

troubles

and calamities

will revive

me again

from the

depths of

the earth

you will

bring me

up again

you will

increase

my

greatness

and comfort

me again

whether or

not the

psalmist

had a

vision of

the

resurrection

or not

this is

resurrection

language

that there

is this

picture of

God

taking us

even if

we are in

the depths

of death

when we

truly die

that he

will revive

us but

not just

so we

could be

the same

as before

we died

so that he

could elevate

us so that

we would be

perfect without

blemish

unable to

sin

unable to

suffer

that we

are included

into Christ's

very body

we get to

enjoy his

very presence

this is

I think

what the

the text

is getting

at the

psalmist

is getting

at when

he says

it in

verse 21

you will

increase

my greatness

and comfort

me once

again

that we

will share

in the

greatness

of God

the glory

of God

and we

will know

comfort

upon comfort

forever

to live

a life

this way

with this

perspective

is to

live a

well

ordered

faith

filled

hope

filled

life

in the

unchanging

God

who has

overcome

death

and everything

that you

will experience

and what

that does

then

is that

helps us

when the

suffering

comes

to look

beyond it

to the

life to

come

where we

are promised

an end

to all

evil

that is

the fuel

we need

to live

out the

Christian

life

to endure

to the

end

to die

well

to die

faithful

friends

I'll close

with this

Christ

died a

gruesome

and painful

life

forsaken

by God

the

Father

so that

we

when we

die

can die

well

knowing

that we

no longer

are forsaken

but accepted

by the

only one

who has

conquered

all of

our enemies

let us

pray

Lord

we

talked about

death

death

and

mortality

and

suffering

and

the

difficulties

of

life

but Lord

as we

talked

about it

let us

not dwell

there

let us

recognize

surely

that we

are frail

people

and we

are unable

to save

ourselves

but Lord

help us

instead to

focus on

who you

are

you are

the

unchanging

God

who saves

to the

end

who

has sent

his

very

son

to die

in our

place

so that

we may

live

forever

in your

presence

enjoying

love

unspeakable

Lord

would you

give us

that

perspective

would you

help us

then

to live

faithfully

and when

we sin

and when

we fall

short

and when

we find

ourselves

to be

the cruel

man

the

unjust

man

the

wicked

man

that we

would

repent

and turn

back

to you

and Lord

that we

would live

faithfully

in the

day

to day

and find

ourselves

whether you

come back

or

when we

are about

to take

our dying

breath

that we

have lived

well

because you

have given

us the

strength

to do

so

help us

all

in Christ's

name

Amen