Psalm 31

 

²³             Love the Lord, all you His saints!

                        for the Lord preserves the faithful

but repays the arrogant completely.

²⁴             Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart,

all you who hope in the Lord!

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Hope in the Lord

For the Lord’s Day:  the 9^th of October 2005

 

Introduction:  Earlier this year, there was some worry that enlistments in the military forces at war might fall far short of the necessary numbers to keep our forces in the field.  But, while it is true that new enlistments are down, an unexpected increase in re-enlistments is holding the force levels almost steady.  One would naturally think in a humanistic world that this phenomenon is incredible to the extreme.  Why would those soldiers and marines most exposed to the dangers of Iraqi terrorists choose to keep on with the difficult task of bringing peace to that war torn corner of the world?

 

This question will have to beg an answer in a different venue, because – I raise this issue only to posit another theorem concerning the life long loyalty and service of every Christian who has seen hard service down through the ages.  It was Spurgeon who pointed me in this direction this morning.  In writing about the context of the twenty-third verse with the rest of the Psalm, he writes:  “A most affecting exhortation, showing clearly the deep love of the writer to his God: there is the more beauty in the expression, because it reveals love towards a smiting God, love which many waters could not quench.  To bless him who gives is easy, but to cling to him who takes away is a work of grace.”

 

Let us reprise the ordering of this Psalm to illustrate the point of this question.  In verses one to four David establishes the honor of the Lord’s Name as an attractive foundation for life and salvation.  Then in verses five to eight he gives the totality of his life over into the hands of a gracious God.  Having said and done all of that, in verse nine to thirteen David raises a complaint for the obvious depths to which he has sunk.  Quickly, he reaffirms his trust and pleads his case, stating that all of his days belong to the Lord God of heaven and earth.  Then in verses nineteen to twenty-two he outlines the besieged mentality he has fallen into because of his briefly supposed abandonment.  Up and down, his emotions had held sway – but in spite of everything, his faith in God remained firm.

 

This brings us to our text for the day, and in it he rises above the mortal and ongoing natural fray of daily living to share his confidence to any and all who will listen to his testimony of God’s eternal kindness and grace towards those who seek to do His will.  Delitszch catches the incredible spirit of David the king:  “In this part well-grounded hope expands to triumphant certainty; and this breaks forth into grateful praise of the goodness of God to His own, and an exhortation to all to wait with steadfast faith in Jahve.”

 

I do not know if this is true in many churches, but over the years, it seems if the saints in our little congregation have been challenged to a greater extent than many within the faith.  I know that in the last few years, I have personally been challenged far deeper theologically than I ever expected.  After all, when I came into the PCA – this was where the “good guys” were.  There was no comparison with the cut-throat mentality of personal destruction, reminiscent of national politics the last few decades.  And yet, even as individuals and families came into the church from many diverse and interesting places, it seems that life’s challenges took on a new urgency once they became members.  Many have been tested to their limits and beyond.  Too many have moved on to greener and fairer pastures where the deep things of the faith are only hinted at.

 

While my heart goes out to any, and all who have suffered emotionally within our extended family; still it is those like David who see the bigger picture of God’s sanctifying fires: who grow in steadfastness as well as in grace to meet every challenge.  That does not mean that we should organize a rugged, strident means of testing in any church, but unfortunately wherever the spiritual stakes are higher than ordinary, Satan takes every opportunity to create conflict, misunderstanding and every other deterrent to a godly state of affairs.  Of course in today’s spiritual market, there be few who would understand these things except in the context of a “Survivor” series on reality television.

 

Development:  Wouldn’t it be interesting to organize a “believer’s” documentary of life in a church, much along the same media lines.  We could throw in an honest pervert or intelligent pagan just to see what might happen?  Of course, we would expect every honest Christian to always vote for him or her self whenever a vote was taken to expel someone from the pew!  But, I digress from the purpose of David’s closure to his own survivor dynamics of living within two worlds.

 

“Love the Lord, all you His saints!”  David’s first admonition in verse twenty-two is one that common wisdom would tell us:  covers a multitude of evils.  However, David sees more deeply into the mind of God as Calvin explains it:  “The Psalmist does not here exhort the saints to fear and reverence God, as many think, but encourages them to confide in him; or, in other words, to devote themselves wholly to him, to put all their hope in him, and to rely entirely upon him, without seeking to any other.”  He continues with the observation “that our own fond devices delight us, but because we do not delight in God so much as we ought, and because our affections do not cleave to him?  This love of God, therefore, comprehends in it all the desires of the heart.”

 

As any marriage counselor will tell you, the love between a husband and wife is very often a mixed bag of desires, intentions and expectations.  So it is with our love for the Father in heaven.  What I believe David is saying here, after rehearsing all the fearful events in his life that came within the allowance and providence of God, is this:  we must love the Lord God, even as we vow to love our husbands and wives, in good times and in bad, in sorrow and in joy, in peace and in trouble.

 

And why is it that David encourages us to love the Lord above all else, is nothing more than the righteous holiness and manifold promises of the ever faithful God over heaven and earth.  The first reason that David gives is that according to David’s testimony and experience is simply this:  “the Lord preserves the faithful.”

 

We can certainly take this in the eternal sense of the promises of life after death.  But, also – even as David’s life celebrates, the Lord takes care of all of His people.  In spite of wars, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes, the Lord’s people are safe from all alarms and even in death – there is the precious hope that Christ has won victory over the grave for all of those who believe in His precious name.

 

Further, we should add, that in the midst of natural disasters, untimely family events and all the things that happen whenever life turns interesting, through it all, the Lord’s people are drawn in closer to the One who first loved them.

 

By contrast, David reminds us that the Lord God “repays the arrogant completely.”  There is a profound distinction made between those who love the Lord and those who prefer their own company.  Here, David reminds us that the arrogant will receive full payment for every sin done in defiance of the Holy God of Israel.  Complete and utter will be their ongoing destruction in the realm of Hell.  I think I saw this in a Science Fiction movie, where deviant doctors, murder and bring back to life their victims over and over again.  Given the imagination of such writers, it is no stretch to presume that the process of being destroyed in the realm of hell forever is possible, even presumed in any responsible expositional theology of the end times.

 

Application:  But, this end is not one that comes the way of the elect of every nation.  David would encourage us all “who hope in the Lord.”  Given the tremendous troubles of his times and the constant agitation militarily, emotionally and spiritually – David counts constantly upon the goodness and promises of our Father God.  So much confidence has he, that even in the despair of this Psalm, he can end with this profound encouragement:

 

“Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart,

all you who hope in the Lord!”

 

All we need to do in the face of every trial is to stand fast, maintaining courage in the face of every enemy and in so doing, the Lord God Himself will strengthen our hearts by proving the multitude of blessings which He would bestow on all of those who serve Him.  Now perhaps we can return to the worldly example with which we began and having seen it all in the contested spiritual realm, realize also that the same courage in the face of adversity may serve the common history of many nations around this old world.  After all, it is not in the heart and mind of American fighting men to conquer and die for mere military “gloria,” but to serve the cause of civilization, which at bottom may be inspired by a biblical understanding of history and the good providence of civilization’s Creator.  Within the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to demonstrate the same heroic fortitude in the face of all manner of obstacles: spiritual, emotional and material.  We may do this because, like David we may be assured that God is real, and that He has a purpose for His Church and therefore we must realize the potential He has given us and serve Him faithfully as long as we have breath and a calling.  May the good Lord so stimulate and encourage us to this essential duty.  Amen.

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PREACHING RESOURCES

 

Calvin, John:  Commentary on Book of Psalms.

Delitzsch, F:  Commentary on the Old Testament – Psalms.

Spurgeon, C.H:  Treasury of David.

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