010 7 Requests of the Afflicted

Psalms 119:73-80

October 16, 2011

As you know we are studying through this 119th Psalm

And we are primarily learning the infinite value and sufficiency

Of the word of God.

Most recently we have been dealing with the topic of affliction.

Back in verses 49-50 the Psalmist credited God’s Word

As being his source of comfort in affliction.

Psalms 119:49-50 “Remember the word to Your servant, In which You have made me hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, That Your word has revived me.”

Last week we saw that God’s word had taught him to appreciate affliction.

Psalms 119:71-72 “It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.”

And so twice now we have seen affliction,

And twice we have seen the value of God’s Word in the midst of it.

Both as a comfort, and as reward.

Tonight we still find a Psalmist in the midst of affliction.

(And after all, it is only right that so much of his time be spent on the topic

As much of our lives is spent dealing with it.)

This time he mentions his affliction

With a very mature and perceptive understanding of it.

(75) “I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteous, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.”

There he attributes his affliction as coming from God,

And he attributes it as being justified.

That is extreme humility.

He doesn’t argue, he doesn’t complain.

But he comes at it with extreme spiritual maturity.

God has afflicted me and He is just to do so.

And so we see a man again afflicted.

What we see tonight are the requests of an afflicted man.

Specifically, I would like us to see what he requests.

Being in the midst of affliction can be a confusing thing.

It is especially confusing when we have a delight in the sovereignty of God.

It places us in a bit of hamster wheel.

I know God is sovereign and has good plans for me.

I desperately want relief from my affliction.

So do I ask for relief, or do I ask for God’s will?

Is it actually a lack of trust in God’s sovereign plan

That I should ask God to deliver me now?

Consider Christ.

Matthew 26:39 “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will."

Now there, we notice that Christ definitely wanted the will of God.

BUT we also notice that He asked specifically for deliverance.

Did Christ have a lack of faith?

Was Christ selfish?

As Paul would say, “May it never be!”

No, Christ was simply fully human.

He had human desires, he had human needs, and He expressed those.

He just didn’t allow those human desires to trump God’s will.

BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT ISN’T THE WHOLE STORY?

Matthew 26:42 “He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, "My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done."

WHAT IS THAT?

He actually asked a second time?

Was that a lack of faith?

Was that selfishness?

NO – Christ was simply afflicted.

The point I am making is that it is perfectly OK

To make requests of God while in the midst of affliction.

There is nothing wrong with praying for relief.

Furthermore, asking for relief does not make you a faithless person.

Asking for deliverance does not make you a quitter.

Christ did.

And by the way, God tells us to do this.

Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

1 John 5:14-15 “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”

There we are told we can give our requests to God.

That does not indicate a lack of faith in God’s sovereignty,

But rather a dependence upon God’s ability.

So let me show you the 7 requests this Psalmist makes.

And obviously you will notice that his requests are themed.

They all have to do with the word of God.

WHY?

Because this is where his trust comes in.

Christ asked for deliverance and then said, “Thy will be done”

The Psalmist asked for deliverance, and yet asked for it

While desiring to stay close to the word of God.

This indicated his desire for God’s will as well.

He definitely has requests, but the fact that they all involve God’s word

Indicates that he still desires the will of God.

#1 UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR WORD

Psalms 119:73

Now you easily see the request part.

“Give me understanding”

And how many times we have been afflicted and asked for understanding.

Well, the Psalmist asks that.

But he doesn’t ask it in selfishness.

For he doesn’t want understanding of his situation.

WHY DOES HE WANT UNDERSTANDING?

“Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.”

All that he asks for here is the ability to know what God wants him to do.

He simply wants to learn God’s will.

That brings about a great point of it’s own.

WHY IS HE SO BENT ON FINDING GOD’S COMMANDS?

It seems if God is the One who he credits with the affliction,

That he might not be so eager to find out what God wants.

And yet from the midst of his affliction he wants to know his orders.

WHY?

Look at the first line.

“Your hands have made me and fashioned me.”

Let me put that statement to you another way.

“You are the potter, I am the clay”

Let us remember something very important.

God is not God on a trial basis.

We are not letting Him lead so long as we continue to like where we go.

He will always be the Creator, we will always be the creation.

He will always be the Potter, we will always be the clay.

It is never His responsibility to learn our will,

It is always our responsibility to learn His.

EVEN WHEN HIS SOVEREIGN PLAN TAKES US TO A PLACE

WE WOULD NOT HAVE TAKEN OURSELVES.

Psalms 100:3 “Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”

And the Psalmist knows that.

So please note his first request from the midst of affliction.

He wants Understanding of Your Word.

He hasn’t changed his mind about whether he is following God.

He still wants God’s will.

In the midst of our affliction, we must maintain that same mindset.

Understanding of Your Word

#2 PATIENCE FOR YOUR WORD

Psalms 119:74

Here again we first recognize the request portion of this verse.

“May those who fear You see me and be glad,”

I think you certainly understand his point.

How many times have we seen people claim to have an abiding relationship with Christ, and then in times of affliction walk away from God entirely?

Jesus promised they would, He called them the rocky soil.

John called the apostates.

But they grieve us none the less.

It is not a time of rejoicing when we see a supposed believer

Get afflicted and turn away from the Lord.

On the flip side, you know what it does for your faith

When a fellow believer is afflicted and yet remains strong.

1 Peter 5:8-10 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”

The Greek word there is: EPITELEO

It means “to complete”

We get encouraged when others gain victory in their suffering.

Here, the Psalmist wants to be that encouragement to others.

I try to point this out to people all the time.

Don’t overlook what you are doing for the body, just by faithfully enduring.

And so the Psalmist wants to be an encouragement.

BUT HOW DOES HE PLAN TO BE THAT ENCOURAGEMENT?

“May those who fear You see me and be glad, BECAUSE I wait for Your word.”

Running ahead of God wouldn’t encourage other believers…

Bailing out on God wouldn’t encourage other believers…

But waiting on God would send a resounding testimony

That God remains trustworthy and a sure source of deliverance.

Isaiah 40:31 “Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”

And we want to encourage others to wait as well.

Psalms 69:5-7 “O God, it is You who knows my folly, And my wrongs are not hidden from You. May those who wait for You not be ashamed through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel, Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Dishonor has covered my face.”

It is a similar request here.

Help me be patient for your word because I want to encourage others.

WHAT A GREAT REQUEST!

Understanding of Your Word Patience for Your Word

#3 COMFORT ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD

Psalms 119:75-76

Now we certainly applaud the perception and faith of this man.

He is afflicted, but he is not bitter.

He is suffering, but he doesn’t blame God.

In fact he upholds the righteousness of God.

“I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.

He may not know why he is afflicted, but he knows it doesn’t mean

That God isn’t just, or that God isn’t faithful.

And so we have no doubts this man is a man of faith and trust.

His requests do not indicate a disdain for God’s will or God’s plan.

But his request is still obvious.

“O may your lovingkindness comfort me,”

Now we already talked about this to a greater degree

A couple of weeks ago.

While it is possible to seek comfort to an unhealthy level that can even cause disobedience to God’s mandates; comfort is not a bad thing.

· God is the “God of all comfort”

· God is the one who comforts us in our afflictions.

· God even gives the spiritual gift of mercy so that we can comfort others.

And when we are afflicted, it is ok to ask for comfort.

WHY?

Because God’s word offers it.

See what the Psalmist said:

“O may Your lovingkindness comfort me, According to Your word to Your servant.”

WHERE DOES GOD’S WORD PROMISE COMFORT?

Isaiah 40:1 "Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God.”

Isaiah 51:3 “Indeed, the LORD will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places. And her wilderness He will make like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in her, Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.”

Isaiah 61:1-2 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,”

And who can forget the infamous 23rd Psalm?

Psalms 23:4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE NEW TESTAMENT?

Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Acts 9:31 “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.”

In fact we know the name of the Holy Spirit: (KJV)

John 14:16 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;”

And of course we remember Paul’s words to the Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.”

The point is friends, God has already promised comfort,

It is not a lack of trust to ask for it, or to expect it.

#4 DELIVERANCE FOR YOUR WORD

Psalms 119:77

The Psalmist here actually reminds me quite a bit of Hezekiah.

Remember when he got the boil and Isaiah told him he was going to die, and he asked for God’s deliverance?

This Psalmist is similar.

Again, we don’t know all the facts about his affliction,

But it is obvious that the affliction is serious enough,

That the Psalmist sees death as a very present reality.

So not only is he hoping for comfort in the midst of this affliction,

But he is also hoping for deliverance from it.

The point to be made here, is that it is ok to hope for deliverance.

It is ok to ask for deliverance.

It is ok to desire deliverance.

Furthermore desiring deliverance is not a mark of spiritual immaturity.

We are dealing here with a Psalmist who is as submissive and perceptive as you will find and yet he even desires deliverance.

And I want you to know that just because you want to be delivered Does not mean you don’t trust the sovereign plan of God.

Now if deliverance doesn’t come immediately

Certainly we don’t turn on God, but it isn’t wrong to desire it.

Listen to Paul’s hope.

2 Corinthians 1:9-10 “indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,”

It didn’t make Paul faithless because he wanted deliverance.

In fact, there was a reason why this Psalmist wanted deliverance.

“May Your compassion come to me that I may live, For Your law is my delight.”

He asks God to save him because he wants to obey God.

Listen to what Hezekiah said:

Isaiah 38:18 "For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.”

There have been many upon their death bed ask for deliverance,

Only so they can continue with a life of sin.

Not this man.

He asks for deliverance so he can continue a life of obedience.

Understanding of Your Word Patience for Your Word

Comfort According to Your Word Deliverance for Your Word

#5 VINDICATION BY YOUR WORD

Psalms 119:78

Here we actually get another partial peek into his affliction.

We know God has at the very least allowed it.

But here it appears that part of his affliction is the gossip he has endured.

“May the arrogant be ashamed, for they subvert me with a lie;”

And in the midst of that, he has a request.

He wants “the arrogant to be ashamed”

He wants God to set the record straight and vindicate him.

“But I thought we were supposed to die to self and surrender our reputations and all of that…”

We are, and we do.

The Psalmist didn’t reject God’s purposes

Simply because he lost his reputation.

But if you ask him what he hopes for, he hopes God will restore it.

We even know he isn’t concerning himself with fixing his reputation.

“But I shall meditate on Your precepts”

He is focusing on God’s word.

But he is definitely hoping God will vindicate him.

And if you have walked through trials of this kind,

It is not a lack of submission to hope for God to vindicate you.

Some time read 2 Corinthians.

Some time read Elijah’s prayer on Mt. Carmel:

1 Kings 18:36 “At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, "O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word.”

The point is, when you stand for God,

It isn’t wrong to hope that God will vindicate you.

#6 FELLOWSHIP WITH YOUR WORD

Psalms 119:79

“May those who fear You turn to me, Even those who know Your testimonies.”

DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE WANTS HERE?

HELP

It isn’t that he refuses to stand alone…

It isn’t that he is concerned about popularity…

But he would sure like someone else of like faith to come to him.

Maybe encouragement…

Maybe deliverance…

Maybe companionship…

And preferably “those who know Your testimonies.”

And that is not a bad hope.

Even Jesus sent out the twelve in two’s.

It isn’t a lack of faith to want someone to walk with us.

It isn’t selfish to hope for someone who will come along side us.

It is ok to hope for a human helper and encourager.

#7 OBEDIENCE TO YOUR WORD

Psalms 119:80

“May my heart be blameless in Your statutes, So that I will not be ashamed.”

And what a fitting way to close his requests.

He does want for comfort.

He does want deliverance.

He does want vindication.

He does want help.

But above all, he wants to be found faithful.

DOES THAT SOUND LIKE JESUS?

Matthew 26:39 “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will."

And that is my point to you tonight as well.

WE KNOW AFFLICTION COMES.

But don’t let someone hold up some “holier than thou”

Standard over you simply because you ask for God to deliver.

God tells us to give Him our requests.

God tells us He is the God of comfort.

Even Jesus asked for deliverance, and that from the cross.

But when deliverance didn’t immediately come, He did not lose faith.

And neither should we.

The important thing is to understand that God’s purposes,

Even His purposes in our affliction,

Are heavily intertwined with His revealed word.

And deliverance without obedience…

Or comfort without obedience…

Or affliction without faithfulness…

COMPLETELY MISSES THE POINT

When affliction happens, present your requests to God,

But continue to walk in faith as you do,

Always seeking His revealed word.

That is what the Psalmist did.

Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”