Once Again …

One of the sure proofs of our humanity, pardon me, even our Christianity, is that when it comes to spiritual growth, we are not a one and done kind of people. We might actually hear a principle or a lesson, and we might hear it accurately, We might understand it completely, and we might immediately put it into practice. But with a disheartening inevitability, we will need to hear, relearn, and reapply that lesson over and over again. As believers, constantly growing in sanctification, no matter how committed or mature we are, we are in a continuous need of reminder, sometimes even of the most basic spiritual principles.

And that is really the primary task of a shepherd He doesn’t produce a constant flow of what is new or novel. I would encourage you to be aware of anybody who does. No matter the flock that he shepherds, his job is to provide a steady stream of reminders to God’s people.

If I could, May I do that right now? May I take you on a tour, a reminder of reminders? And for that, please open your Bibles to Romans chapter 15. Romans chapter 15, where we begin our tour of reminders. Romans chapter 15, Paul, was faithful to his calling, including providing these kinds of reminders to his people. Listen to this in chapter 15. Scroll down, if you would, to verse 15. To the Romans, he’s writing, who were, for the most part, solid Christians, he says in verse 15, I’ve written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again because of the grace that was given to me from God.

Please turn, if you would, to 1 Timothy in chapter 4. 1 Timothy in chapter 4. Paul tells the Romans they needed to be reminded, and he was faithful to do so. In 1 Timothy chapter 4, when Paul dispatched young Timothy to Corinth, Part of his function as a shepherd would be to remind people of the lessons that they had already heard.

First Timothy 4.17, he writes, I have sent you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my ways, which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. Turn, if you would, just a few chapters to your right to 2 Timothy 1. 2 Timothy 1 shows us that even young shepherds themselves need a refresher course in ministry.

And in 2 Timothy 1.6, Paul writes, I remind you Speaking to Timothy, I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. In the very next chapter, chapter two, it’s almost amusing here that Paul had to remind young shepherds to remind their people of some things. Second Timothy chapter two. He recites what was probably a little song in that day. Verse 11. It is a trustworthy statement, for if we died with him, we will also live with him. If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. As I said, those simple truths have been written down in verse for memory’s sake.

And then in verse 14, Paul adds this, remind them of these things and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. In other words, they knew these things, They probably sang that song to themselves, but they needed to be reminded.

Turn one book to the right to Titus and chapter three. In Titus chapter three, Paul is speaking to his young fellow worker in the faith, Titus, appointed there to the island of Crete. And he admonishes Titus in chapter three, verse one, to remind them, that is to remind his churches to be subject to rulers, authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed. Those were lessons they’d already learned.

But they had to be reminded of those things. One more, if you would turn to second Peter and to chapter three, when you get there, second Peter, Chapter three, where Peter addresses his readers in this same regard. Reminders. If you look at verse one, this is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you, in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder. Peter admits it right up front that, look, he needed reminders, and so he is going to be faithful to provide them with reminders. Why? He gives the why in verse two, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles. In other words, in order to remember, they had to be reminded.

And now, finally, if you would, please turn to Psalm 42. The bottom line is that we need a constant supply of reminders. Because of the weakness of our flesh, because of the deceitfulness of the devil, because of our tendency to forget. And it was no different for the psalmist, the author of Psalm 42 and 43. In Psalm 42, seemingly our psalmist had it all figured out. We’ve been there. We go to a conference and we come back supercharged, ready to live out our faith until the Lord returns, only to find out within weeks or months that we needed a reminder.

Well, the psalmist initially lamented of his need for God, as the deer pants for the water brooks, remember? So my soul pants for you, oh God. But as he came full circle, his longing was concluded by his verbalized conviction, hope in God. But then this same person, in a new and challenging circumstance, cries out again. Oh God, my God, my soul is in despair within me. But as he ponders his God, he remembers his great faithfulness and he comes again to a place of resolve. Why are you in despair, oh my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me?

Hope in God. He has recalled and reflected upon God’s great faithfulness. And in Psalm 42, as he closes, he comes away, perhaps thinking, that’s it. That’s the last of my troubles. But it’s not so. Suddenly, a new little wrinkle presents itself, a new challenge to his faith. And though he has learned and applied this lesson before, he’s right back at square one. He needs a fresh reminder and a renewed assurance of God in his character.

Several weeks ago, when I introduced to you Psalm 42, I shared with you that this Psalm has historically been blended together with Psalm 43. We heard a refrain twice in Psalm 42, Why are you in despair, O my soul? And it’s identically repeated a third time here in Psalm 43. That identical section is what has led scholars over the years to the idea that Psalm 42 and 43 are one psalm. That 43 is just really the third portion of the writer’s thoughts.

But the troubles mentioned in the two psalms are substantially different. And so there is another plausible explanation. Rather than One psalm clumsily split in two. Sometime after Psalm 42 was written, the psalmist had to have come to a place where he knew that he needed a reminder. It’s a new and different challenge, but in time he comes again to that same sound principle that he had discovered and expressed in Psalm 42. God’s people have their Bibles open. Psalm 43, we’ll take it in full.

Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation. No, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. For you are the God of my strength. Why have you rejected me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy. Oh, send out your light and your truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling places. Then I will go to the altar of God. To God, my exceeding joy. And upon the liar, I shall praise you. Oh God, my God. Why are you in despair? Oh, my soul. And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, the help of my countenance and my God.” A writer had come to a place of understanding, a place where he knew of God’s faithfulness, and he applied it to his longing, to his despair in Psalm 42. How soon he forgets. How soon we forget. And when troublemakers arise, suddenly he finds himself in a familiar place, crying out to God as if it were the first time that he’d ever done so.

We’re brought into his life here in Psalm 43 in the midst of what I would call a spiritual cycle. Trouble, despair, recollection, reflection, resolve. He’s in a familiar place once again. And we’re brought in to observe what I would call the paces and the restoration of his confidence in God. that this cycle in which we find ourselves, find our psalmist rather, caught is really no different than the cycle we find ourselves in. We too find ourselves in a recurring pattern of living out our faith, trouble, despair, recollection, reflection, and resolve. Our psalmist, like us, has not entered into devastating doubt, apostasy, leaving God altogether. He believes, but he calls out to God to help his unbelief. I want to look this morning at just these three paces in the restoration of confidence in God, the first of which we see in verses one and two, a new challenge to our living faith.

Vindicate me, oh God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation. Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man, for you are the God of my strength. Why have you rejected me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? Just like that, the psalmist finds himself in the midst of a new challenge. And this time, not from within, not longing for God, not in despair, but now challenged from without. Outside of himself, harassed and distressed by others, the psalmist cries out for vindication. Well, not exactly.

The word he uses here means to judge, used over 200 times throughout the Old Testament, and the psalmist is so sure of his integrity here, his confidence in his innocence, that he asks God to judge the situation, which he is assured will lead ultimately to his exoneration in the matter. The writers of Psalms frequently take this posture. Psalm 7, 8.

The Lord judges the peoples. Vindicate me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me. Psalm 26, verse 1. Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted the Lord without wavering. Psalm 35, 24. Judge me, O Lord, my God, according to your righteousness.

This man, the psalmist, is so certain of his blamelessness that he appeals to the righteous, all-knowing God and asks Him to judge. And he not only asks God to be his judge, he asks God to be his lawyer as well. Would you look at the Verse, once again, the second line of verse one says, plead my case. Quite literally, he asked God to contend with those who contend with me. Take up my cause, God.

And we may wonder whether this is an individual, a man, or an entire nation arrayed against him. If the individual is a man, a man of position, power, influence, it may seem to him as if an entire country has entered into the fight. The world is against me, kind of a thing. Regardless, the writer’s enemy is particularly awful. ungodly, deceitful, unjust.

The translation ungodly is particularly appropriate here. The Hebrew root word here is kesed, which is one of the beautiful attributes of God. We’ve seen it even in our recent weeks in the Psalms. It is that attribute out of which flows God’s magnanimous, loving kindness. It’s a blend of mercy and grace. But here, there is a negative particle that precedes this word, identifying the person or persons as the very opposite of God. They are not kind. They are unmerciful, unfeeling, and unkind. They are ungodly. And as such, they are also deceitful.

A word that speaks of treachery and falsehood. They put on one face, all the while behaving differently. It’s a sinful feature that is characteristic of the wicked. Proverbs 12, 20. Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil. All the while they’re putting on a friendly face, they are conniving and plotting. Proverbs 14, 25, he who utters lies is treacherous. He’s telling you one thing and doing another. The Psalms frequently utilize this word, deceit, to speak of such people. The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit, Psalm 36, 3. They devise treachery, Psalm 38, 12. You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue, Psalm 52, 4.

Well, not surprisingly then, they are thirdly unjust. And this one only makes sense. If someone is ungodly, and in the course of their ungodliness, they are deceitful, of course, they are unjust. This word unjust, translated here as unjust, is only used twice in addition to its use here. One scholar defined it as roguish, mischievous conduct, utterly devoid of all sense of right. Another has it this way. perversity, conduct which is not regulated by the law of God, but selfish or sinful self-interest. So unjust, unrighteous is the consistent meaning of this word. Unfortunately, in this life, we are going to meet people like this. ungodly, deceitful, unjust, unlike God, treacherous, lacking in basic decency and fairness.

And you may have already thought of someone like this. You’re going to meet people like this. It’s going to happen. We are going to interface with these kinds of people. It almost did. And regarding people like this, there’s no wonder that the psalmist implores God to deliver him. These people are steeped in what I would call the rancid syrup of evil, from whom only God can rescue. To attempt to flee ourselves or to disentangle ourselves from such dark character will only meet with Failure. He explains this in the first line of verse two. Glance there if you would.

For you are the God of my strength. That word strength is used abundantly of in the Psalms, translated variously as fortress, stronghold, refuge, shelter, God is my strong fortress, 2 Samuel 22. God, the rock of your refuge, Isaiah 17.10.

He is the defense of my life, Psalm 27.1. Only God is strong enough to be our refuge.

Only God is strong enough to extract us out of the grip of Such people’s hands And then at the end of verse 2 the psalmist gets a little dramatic He gets a lot dramatic Why have you rejected me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? We’ve all prayed these prayers The rejection that he senses is only a sense.

God has not rejected him. It isn’t reality. What the psalmist perceives as a delay in God’s response or a protracted silence makes him to feel as if God has turned his back on him. He is not. In the companion Psalm, Psalm 42, He complained that God had forgotten him. Here, it’s worse as if God has intentionally snubbed him. There’s another fascinating feature here in this particular psalm and compared with Psalm 42. The two lines there are almost an exact quotation of Psalm 42 9.

Why do I go about mourning? But here, the form of the verb suggests a slow, depressed shuffling. It’s very subtle. But he paints a picture here of this dreary moping about under a cloud of gloom in mourning, as if he’s on the way to his own funeral. Again, it’s his perception. Not the reality. It’s not true. Our psalm writer does believe in God. He knows enough to go to him. He knows where to turn in his distress. And even if there’s a measure of protest in his appeal. In this, he is well on his way to restoring his confidence in God. We see the second pace toward this restoration in verses three and four.

Glance down at those verses, if you would. Oh, send out your light and your truth. Let them lead me, let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling place. Then I will go to the altar of God. To God, my exceeding joy. Upon the liar, I shall praise you, oh God, my God. The second step in the restoration to confidence in God, not only a new challenge to our living faith, but a fresh appeal for our living faith. The psalmist comes to his senses and he gathers himself, no longer given over to grumbling as if God has rejected him.

Here in verse three, it’s a straightforward and confident and trustful prayer. He asks that God would provide both light and truth by which to guide him. By the word light, he’s not speaking of literal light as if the shining of a bulb or the sun. He uses this word much like the Apostle John does in the New Testament. Spiritual illumination. The Psalms use this, the word this way many times. Psalm 4-6 speaks of the light of God’s countenance. Well, In John 1, verses 4 and 5, speaks of Christ. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Not a literal, physical light. And then verse 5 says, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. Psalm 36 uses it. this way as well. In your light we see light. God provides spiritual illumination by which we have understanding. First John 1 5 says that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. Psalm 44 Also uses the word light in this manner, the light of your presence. Psalm 97, light is sown like seed for the righteous. God is going to provide this kind of spiritual illumination for his children. And then how could we forget? How could we leave out Psalm 119, 105? We probably have it memorized.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. So he’s using this word light metaphorically as spiritual illumination. Same in the Old Testament and the New Testament. This understanding of the use of the word light is undergirded by this second word with which it’s coupled, truth. The very opposite of evil and falsehood. And these two are like trusted friends sent to lead him to a pleasant place.

You see, he desires the presence of God. This is spoken of metaphorically here as God’s holy hill, his dwelling place. God doesn’t live in a structure. He doesn’t live in a house or a building. The psalmist is speaking of the divine presence, the place where his glory dwells. Psalm 26, eight.

The dwelling place for the mighty one of Jacob, Psalm 132.5. It’s referred to as nearly 150 times in the Old Testament. It is that place where the psalmist most desires.

And it is the surest way to God’s presence. To be led there by his light and his truth. light as a beacon in the darkness, truth as inherently trustworthy, and is clearly identifiable reason for seeking God’s presence in worship. Would you glance at verse four? Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and upon the liar I shall praise you, O God, my God. Then, that is once God has drawn him into his presence, he immediately proceeds to the act of worship.

That’s why he’s there. That’s why he’s come. A priest would not dare to draw near to the altar of God except in humble reverence. So here, so does the psalmist. Just as we do not come to church to worship a building, the psalmist speaks of the altar of God as the means of expressing his worship. It is the God of the altar that he seeks.

The child of God comes here, as the psalmist says, in exceeding joy. The first word here, gladness, refers often to rejoicing. The second word refers to exultation, or as it’s translated here, joy. I am rejoicing in my exultation, he says. There’s an intentional redundancy to the use of those two words. rejoicing of exaltation, we could say. In other words, he expresses it much more succinctly in the next line, I shall praise you, O God.

And so the psalmist presses on in his restoration of his confidence in God. He needs only to apply the lesson that he has now relearned. Come to the third. step in his restoration of confidence in God, not only this new challenge to his living faith and a fresh appeal for living faith, but thirdly, an added application to our living faith. Verse five, why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God.

Christ shall again praise him the help of my countenance and my God. Let’s hear at last that the psalmist comes once again to this applicational refrain. Uttered twice in Psalm 42 and now again here. He’s heard this lesson before. He’s applied it twice already to his varied circumstances. He’s been here. He’s learned this lesson again and again.

His life circumstances again do not warrant this faithless gloom, despair, and disturbance. Just as in his other life situations, to be low and unsettled in his soul is dishonoring to God. And so it is with a greater humility that this child of God comes again to this place. He takes up again this self-talk, having already been reminded again of God’s mercy and his faithfulness. He rebukes his own soul for entertaining these disgraceful sentiments. He challenges his own sinful emotions, just as he did twice in Psalm 42, He admonishes himself once again, hope in God. Our earthly circumstances must not stand in the way of our worship of God. They cannot thwart our intention to praise God. The psalmist evidently needed this reminder, didn’t he? But you know what? He’s not any different than you and I. We too need these spiritual refreshers along the way, don’t we?

And the most direct and thorough passage written to provide these kinds of reminders is in 2 Peter 1. Would you turn there in closing? Second Peter, chapter one. And if you would glance down beginning at verse five, where Peter writes, now for this very reason also, applying all diligence in your faith, supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. You realize this? None of those virtues were new. to Peter’s readers, none of those elements that he speaks of there, faith, moral excellence, knowledge, perseverance, self-control, godliness, brotherly kindness, love, none of those things were new to them. They were all reminders. Would you look at verse eight? Why are they so important?

Peter tells us, for if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. It’s proof, he says, that you’re saved if those qualities are yours and are increasing.

That’s the process of sanctification. That’s a process of growing, and we need these reminders. Oh, yeah, I’m supposed to be pursuing brotherly kindness. I’m supposed to be pursuing self-control. We need these reminders. Would you look at verse 10? Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about his calling and choosing you. Essentially, he says, you say that you’re saved, let’s look at the fruit.

Are those things a part of your life? Are they growing? Are they more and more manifest in your life? For as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble. For in this way, the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be abundantly supplied to you. You’re not saved by doing those things. Those things are the fruit of your salvation.

And now to verse 12. Why has Peter done all of this? Why am I quoting all of this? Verse 12, therefore, I shall always be ready to remind you of these things. I’m going to keep on reminding you. I’m going to preach the same thing in two weeks. I’m going to keep coming at you in our discipleship, in our interactions. I’m going to keep saying the same things to you.

Even though you already know them and have been established in the truth, which is present within you. He basically says there, look, I know you’re saved. I can see that you’re saved by the way that you conduct yourselves. Verse 13, I consider it right as long as I am in this earthly dwelling. As long as I’m alive, says Peter, the faithful shepherd. I consider it right to stir you up by way of reminder.

Knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me, Peter knew that his time on earth was fleeting. He was going to be martyred. The Lord has already told him again and again. And so all the more important that he remind them. And he concludes in verse 15. And I will also be diligent. that at any time after my departure, you may be able to recall these things to mind. I remember what Peter said. He gave us a reminder. He pointed us in the direction of glory and called us to cry out for God’s grace, just as our psalmist did. Would you humble yourself before him?

Our merciful God, we thank you for this reminder and we acknowledge before you humbly that we need these reminders. We have such a tendency to plateau, to think that just because we’ve conquered one sin that we are closed and ready for glory. All we have to do is wake up. get out of bed and realize that there’s a new challenge to our faith. We have a greater cause to look to you and to appeal to you for grace for living out this faith all over again as if we’d never done so. Lord, we thank you that having been provided that grace, you give us the new avenue to apply it. And Lord, for the believer, there will always be those scenarios. There will always be those pauses to cry out to you for grace and the need to apply them. We thank you for Peter’s reminder here. And we thank you for those of us who have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ, that we are on pace.

We’ve already experienced many things. We’ve already learned so much. We’ve already been called to understand principles and to put them into action in our life that we know. If we’ve walked with you for a week or 50 years, we know that these lessons will come up again and again. And so we plead with you for grace. Grace to understand them when they come. Grace to cry out to you when they arise. And for the grace to overcome these weaknesses. Lord, we thank you.

And for any here who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ, it isn’t by means of moral excellence. It isn’t by means of some self-effort in perseverance or godliness. If those things aren’t wrought in us by the very spirit of God, they become just so many mile markers on a highway that leads nowhere.

Father, we plead with you, do your work of grace. Save sinners in our midst, bring them to repentance for their sin. And then Lord, begin the work of sanctification in their lives. Father, continue it in ours, we pray. We lay these things before you and we pray them in Jesus’ name. Amen.