Sermon Psalm 69 Suffering

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

New Covenant Presbyterian Church

Sermon Psalm 69 Suffering

June 25, 2017

I am continuing today with my sermon series called Psalms of Summer.    Two weeks ago we saw in the 8th psalm that everyone was created to praise God.  Last week in the 100th psalm we saw that praising God leads to jubilation.  But not everyone approaches God joyfully.  Some of us are suffering.  And when we suffer it is difficult to praise god especially if our suffering is not deserved.  So how can we praise God in the midst of our suffering?  We will get to this important subject, but first let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Three thousand years ago a young shepherd was tending his sheep on a hill near Bethlehem.   While counting his sheep, he did what often happens, he fell asleep.  And while David was sleeping he had a nightmare. Suddenly he woke up and exclaimed:

Psalm 69:
1 Save me, O God,
   for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in the miry depths,
   where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
   the floods engulf me.
3 I am worn out calling for help;
   my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
   looking for my God.

There could be nothing worse for a shepherd in Judah than to drown in the Mediterranean Sea.   Not that David ever got there.  He probably had never been more that a day’s walk from his home in Bethlehem.  But could imagine the terror he might experience of his feet sinking in the mud and the water up to his neck.  And this dream terrified him.  As is often the case, nightmares can indicate that the person dreaming them has some kind of problem in his life.  David is facing something that is bothering him.  He is suffering in some way.  Let’s go back to the psalm and see what is happening in his life.

4 Those who hate me without reason
   outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
   those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
   what I did not steal.

So young David is facing the accusation of theft.   He is accused of stealing something that he knows he did not steal.   Unless the real culprit is found it is difficult to prove that you didn’t do something.  David is being blamed for the theft in spite of his innocence.  And so he is experiencing unjust suffering and this has led to nightmares.  So what should he do about this?  Well, what David does is he turns to God in prayer.

5 You, God, know my folly;
   my guilt is not hidden from you.
6 Lord, the Lord Almighty,
   may those who hope in you
   not be disgraced because of me;
God of Israel,
   may those who seek you
   not be put to shame because of me.
7 For I endure scorn for your sake,
   and shame covers my face.
8 I am a foreigner to my own family,
   a stranger to my own mother’s children;
9 for zeal for your house consumes me,
   and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
10 When I weep and fast,
   I must endure scorn;
11 when I put on sackcloth,
   people make sport of me.
12 Those who sit at the gate mock me,
   and I am the song of the drunkards.
13 But I pray to you, Lord,
   in the time of your favor;
in your great love, O God,
   answer me with your sure salvation.

And with that David turned to the only person with the power to save him, God.

We all know what this is like.   We know what suffering is all about.  Sometimes suffering is the result of sin, and your suffering is the just result for what you have done.  But sometimes there is no good reason for the suffering.  Good people suffer.  Maybe they suffer from chronic illnesses.  Maybe a loved one is suffering in a nursing home.  Maybe someone is suffering because he lost his wife.  Maybe someone is suffering from the loss of a job.  Maybe someone is suffering after a divorce.  Good people, godly people, suffer all the time.  When this happens we can turn to God, because God alone can save us.  And with faith we believe that God will save us.  Let’s get back to the psalmist.

14 Rescue me from the mire,
   do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
   from the deep waters.
15 Do not let the floodwaters engulf me
   or the depths swallow me up
   or the pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love;
   in your great mercy turn to me.

The reason we trust that God will save us is because God is good.  And in God’s goodness he gives us love and mercy.  Love and mercy from a good God is exactly what we need when we experience suffering.   And since we worship a good God we can be assured that we will receive his love and his mercy when we need it.   Let’s return to the psalmist.

21 They put gall in my food
   and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

22 May the table set before them become a snare;
   may it become retribution and[b] a trap.
23 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
   and their backs be bent forever.
24 Pour out your wrath on them;
   let your fierce anger overtake them.
25 May their place be deserted;
   let there be no one to dwell in their tents.
26 For they persecute those you wound
   and talk about the pain of those you hurt.
27 Charge them with crime upon crime;
   do not let them share in your salvation.
28 May they be blotted out of the book of life
   and not be listed with the righteous.
29 But as for me, afflicted and in pain—
   may your salvation, God, protect me.

When someone suffers unjustly a common response is anger.  You get angry at the people who hurt you.  And in your anger you want to get even.  That is why anger often leads to violence.  But David has chosen another path.  Rather that act upon his anger he has taken his anger to God and asks for justice.  He wants God to punish those who have harmed him.   And rather that respond with a sword in his hand he has chosen to rely on God for his protection.  This is something we can follow.  As we suffer we can take our pain and anger to God in prayer.   This relieves us of the need to get even.  This prevents a situation from escalating into violence.  Our need to do something is given over to God and we can rest in his arms.

Psalm 69 was well known to Jesus.  When he entered the Jerusalem Temple and saw the money changers he got angry and began overturning tables.  But then Jesus remembered verse 9, “for zeal for your house consumes me”, and this reminded him to stop the violence and deal with his anger with prayer.   Jesus told his disciple that they would suffer for their faith in him.  And he quoted to them verse 4, “Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me.”  When the disciples watched Jesus die on a cross they understood the wine Jesus was given as  a fulfilment of verse 21:”They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.  Jesus experienced unmerited suffering just like we do.  And he turned to psalm 69 for comfort.  Like his ancestor, David, Jesus took his concerns to his Father in prayer.   So too for us.   When we suffer and are angry, rather than doing something harmful,  we can take our concerns to God in prayer with the confidence that a good God will send his love and mercy.

When David realized all the benefits of faith in a good God that he had received, he made a vow.  If God got him through all his troubles,  he promised to do something.  Let’s listen in.

30 I will praise God’s name in song
   and glorify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the Lord more than an ox,
   more than a bull with its horns and hooves.

So David’s promise is to write a new song for God.   David, like all of us, was created to praise God.  And David was given extraordinary gifts to praise God in songs.  Much of the Book of Psalms is attributed to him.  And we still sing his Bible songs in worship.   So let’s hear the song that David wrote in praise of God.

32 The poor will see and be glad—
   you who seek God, may your hearts live!
33 The Lord hears the needy
   and does not despise his captive people.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
   the seas and all that move in them,
35 for God will save Zion
   and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it;
36     the children of his servants will inherit it,
   and those who love his name will dwell there.

A song of praise is an appropriate response to the love and mercy we receive from a good God.  Because God hears our prayers and responds to us, we need to respond to him with songs of praise.  And that is why we are in worship today.  We have all experienced great suffering in our lives.   And by turning to God in prayer we receive great blessings of God’s love and mercy.   In gratitude for all the blessings we have received we respond in worship with praise and thanksgiving.

We all experience suffering in our lives.  And much of it is undeserved.  When this happens don’t try to deal with the problem yourself.  This will just lead to anger and violence.  But take your concerns to God and let God deal with matters of justice.  Your job is to receive God’s love and mercy and to sing song of praise to God.  Let’s pray.

O God we love you.  Thank you for listening to our prayers.  Thank you for being with us in our suffering.  And thank you for blessings us today with the ability to praise and worship you.  We pray this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.