When I first bought my house, there was a creeping vine climbing up my chimney. It was beautiful, but destructive. It was trying to work its way under my siding, in the vent, and in the windows. I decided it was time to take care of it.
As I researched how to get rid of it, I found that you should cut the vine from its root source. Then you wait. When it can no longer draw water and nutrients from the roots, it began to die. After a certain amount of time, I just grabbed the base of the vine and pulled, and the dead branches easily pulled away from the house. Unfortunately, there were remnants left on the brick and siding of its existence. These only come off by power washing and scrubbing.
These vines took me time, patience and perseverance to remove. Yet today, I can still see the effects their existence created.
Similarly, going through hard and difficult times in life take patience and perseverance to overcome, but there is hope in God’s deliverance.
Claiming Victory in the Midst of Affliction
Read Psalm 129
You may have to read that a few times to try to get what he’s talking about, at least I did. Rightly you could say this is another lament. A lament, we learned last week, is turning our complaints into worship. It is the faithful act of emptying ourselves of our complaint before God by acknowledging the difficulties and disappointments, reminding ourselves of God’s loving kindness, and asking God to do something about it.
This Psalm opens up with acknowledging the writer, and all of Israel, have suffered under great affliction for a long time. There is no dismissing the hardship or the pain. As a matter of fact, he describes the affliction in graphic imagery, “plowed upon my back.”
But, there is a reminder that the enemy has not prevailed over him. He was not lost in the pain. He was not overcome by the darkness. Why?
Psalm 129:4
The LORD is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked.
Literally he is talking about the bonds of captivity being cut, and God setting him free. As I read this, I thought of the vines I cut several years ago. A decisive action took place, but it still took time, patience and perseverance for the vines to be removed. And even then, there is still scaring that remains.
The righteous LORD has made a decisive act and has overcome the enemy. Yet it takes time, patience and perseverance for the reality of His action to be fully experienced. In this Psalm, the writer acknowledges the LORD’s action in the middle of his affliction, and then asks God to thwart his enemies.
The righteous LORD dealt a decisive blow to the enemy when He spread His arms out of love for us on the cross. He voluntarily took our place and shed His blood to deal a death blow to sin, death and Satan, that we might have life (John 10:10; Romans 5:8; 2 Cor 5:21).
Genesis 3:15
“he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
In this first prophecy of the Gospel, the enemy of our souls is warned that he will bruise the Messiah’s foot, but Jesus will deal a death blow. The illustration perfectly describes the reality we live in, The righteous LORD indeed made a decisive and victorious blow by cutting the head off of the snake, however a decapitated snack can still bite for hours after the blow has been made.
The enemy has been defeated. Victory has been won. Our present reality may not feel like it, but the enemy of our soul is living on borrowed time. His influence will come to an end and the fullness of Jesus actions will be experienced by all one day.
Psalm 129 is written in the midst of affliction, but holds fast to the victory found in the LORD. Psalm 130 takes us in a hopefully anticipation of the fulfillment of that decisive action.
My Soul Waits For the Lord
Read Psalm 130
The writer moves quickly from his complaint into praise in this song. He does mention the “depths” and the “pleas for mercy,” so we know that he hasn’t arrived in the promised land yet. However, his tone is one of celebration and excitement as He waits for the Lord.
The Power of Confessing Sin
The recognition of God’s loving kindness toward us is acknowledge by recognizing God’s gracious willingness to forgive sins. He concedes that he can do nothing on his own to overcome sin (Romans 3:10, 23).
Isaiah 53:6
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
All of us are sinners and cannot stand before God on our own merit. We cannot earn our way to God (Ephesians 2:8-9). We cannot pay our own way. We all deserve judgment. Yet, God offers us a pardon through Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
In Christ, we don’t have to do penance. We do not have to give a certain amount of money to the church. We don’t have to fulfill a to do list to be forgiven. Jesus paid it all. We receive forgiveness through confession.
Sin is an insidious agent. It keeps us from seeing God and understanding His ways. Our sin makes us doubt God, distrust God and even deny God. Yet the moment we confess our sin, when we become vulnerable and name our sin before God, the bondage is cut and our eyes our opened and we can see God for who He is: a gracious and loving Father.
Notice that the writer says God offers forgiveness that He may be feared. God doesn’t threaten us with lightning bolts that he might be feared, he offers forgiveness.
When you understand the depths of your sinful heart, and you cry out for mercy and experience the forgiveness of God, you will rejoice in knowing and fearing God.
Because of God’s forgiveness the writer waits for God with anticipation. Even as the night watchman anticipates the rising sun in the morning, so the forgiven soul joyfully anticipates the return of Christ.
Even as Phil Whickham writes it like this:
I see your face
In every sunrise
The colours of the morning
Are inside your eyes
You’re Beautiful
There is a joy and a desire in this hopeful anticipation for God. It’s the joy and desire that draws us to His Word to spend time with Him. It’s this anticipation that encourages us to be with God’s people to see Him in their lives. It’s this joyful desire that drives us to our knees and lift our voices in praise.
We are forgiven! We are free! Because of what Jesus Christ has done for you and me!
A Calmed And Quieted Soul
Psalm 131
The Psalmist reminds us in this psalm to relax in the arms of a God who has our backs. His knowledge of who God is leads him to surrender his fears and anxieties before God.
A proper understanding of the character and nature of God will lead the believer to a confidence and assurance in this life, no matter what the external circumstances are. When we pursue God and His Word, we will find that He will reveal Himself to us.
James 4:8
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
It’s a promise, that when we pursue God we will find He has already been pursuing us. He waiting to show you more of who He is. If we are overwhelmed by God, we won’t be overwhelmed by this world.
The psalmist makes a decision to not get caught up with the unknown and uncertain things. He surrenders the mysterious things to God and is content knowing, “God’s got this!”
By casting His cares upon Christ, He is able to live without fear, like a contented child with his mom.
I remember waking up from an afternoon nap as a young child and I couldn’t find anyone in the house. I thought I was left all alone and I was afraid. I was running all over the house looking for anyone and I was crying. Mom was in the back yard doing yard work and heard me. She ran to me and picked me up. All at once, everything was ok. Everything was fine. I was calmed and quieted because she was there.
This is the picture the Psalmist gives us. You might be afraid and anxious. Life might be overwhelming. The COVID-19 era may seem like too much for you. But you don’t have to carry that burden, God’s got it. You can run to Him, even as I ran to my mom, and realize He is there for you, He’s got you and He is working this out so that you can have a calmed and quieted soul.
Put your hope in the finished work of Christ and the sovereign hand of the Lord. Let your heart run to Him. Ask Him to give you a calm and quiet soul, one that trusts Him implicitly.
Where are you at today? Are you in the midst of affliction? Remember God has dealt a decisive blow to the enemy (Psalm 129). Do you have sin that needs confessing? He will forgive you and restore your joy for Him. Are you worrying about things that are outside your control? God’s got it, give it to Him and ask for calm and quiet in your soul.
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