MIDWEEK ADVENT 3
December 14, 2011
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Psalm 71:1-18

“PSALM-THING TO THINK ABOUT: HOPE FOR FOREVER!”

Psalm 7:1-14 (NIV 1984) “In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. 2 Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me. 3 Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. 4 Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of evil and cruel men. 5 For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth. 6 From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you. 7 I have become like a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge. 8 My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long.
9 Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone. 10 For my enemies speak against me; those who wait to kill me conspire together. 11 They say, “God has forsaken him; pursue him and seize him, for no one will rescue him.” 12 Be not far from me, O God; come quickly, O my God, to help me. 13 May my accusers perish in shame; may those who want to harm me be covered with scorn and disgrace. 14 But as for me, I will always have hope.”

Over the summer my family had a chance to visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. It is a moving, heart wrenching display. Of the many things that made no sense in that horror was one that stood out to me, the reaction of many of the death camp prisoners. We saw videos where one hundred or more prisoners were guarded by just 5 soldiers who would march them to a ditch, line them all up and they simply stood there waiting to get shot. Why? Why not at least try to resist? It didn’t make sense. We heard eyewitness accounts of prison escapes where some would overpower their guards, get the gates open and run for freedom while the majority simply stayed where they were. Why? The gates were open! The guards unable to respond! Why just sit down? Hopelessness. That’s the reason given. They had lost all hope so they didn’t even try. Having no hope is a horrible place to be. In all probability none of us will have to endure the horrors of a death camp. And yet because we live in a sin messed world and we ourselves are sinners we are likely to face all kinds of difficult situations. At each one our ancient enemy the Devil is there trying to lead us to despair, despondency, giving up. His tool is hopelessness. How thankful we are for the word of God, the truth that defeats Satan’s lies. As we conclude our Advent focus of Psalm thing to think about Psalm 71 proclaims God’s truth that with Jesus we have hope for forever.
We don’t know for sure whom God used to write Psalm 71. Likely it was King David. The psalmist prayed “In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. 2 Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me. 3 Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. 4 Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of evil and cruel men. 5 For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth. 6 From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you.” Here we find a truth proclaimed. With the Lord there is hope for when you are young. Young people have problems. We can think of young David. Sounds like he was the runt of the litter, the forgotten child in the family. He could have been hopeless. Things will never change. He had to defend sheep from lions and bears. Pretty scary, a chance to feel hopeless. But he wasn’t . He had the Lord. The Lord would protect him and see him through. He had hope when he was young because he had the Lord.
We young people here today, we have problems we face. You young ones younger than I, have hard things to face. What is it that the Devil is trying to make you feel hopeless about? Is school work a struggle? Do you think it will never change, never end? Is it hard for you with the other kids? Having trouble fitting in? Are there problems at home? Do you have a broken heart that you feel will never end? It’s OK. This too will pass. You have Jesus. He is on your side. That means you have hope. Just wait and you will see how He rescues you for He will. Don’t give up. Don’t despair. With Jesus you have hope for when you are young.
But it’s not just us young people who to have hope. You old people do too! Listen to the Psalmist. “Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone. 10 For my enemies speak against me; those who wait to kill me conspire together. 11 They say, “God has forsaken him; pursue him and seize him, for no one will rescue him.” 12 Be not far from me, O God; come quickly, O my God, to help me. 13 May my accusers perish in shame; may those who want to harm me be covered with scorn and disgrace. 14 But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.” Young people problems can seem pretty big and they are for those at that age. As we get older problems get bigger. Now we are talking jobs and family income and expenses. Now we are talking marriage relationships. Now we are talking major medical and end of life issues as the plumbing and electrical start to degrade. Then there’s the kids and the grandkids too. What situation is the Devil trying to use to make you feel hopeless? But you are not hopeless. You have the Lord. Just like the Psalmist you can say, “As for me I will always have hope.” You can say that because you know and have seen how the Lord has worked your past. He does work all things for good. He does refine and chasten those He loves. He does come to that aid of His people when they cry to Him. He never has left you nor forsaken you and He never will. Jesus lives. He is ruling all things for your good. With the Lord we have hope for when we are young and for when we are old.
And forever. Let’s go back to the first verse of the Psalm. Often times with Psalms the first verse will be a summary of what you need to learn through the whole Psalm. Verse one says, “In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame.” Never is a strong word. It is a controlling word. Never means not ever under any circumstance. The Psalmist prayed for no shame ever under any circumstances. Shame is an interesting word, isn’t it? Children who misbehave might hear their parents say, “Shame on you!” People who do or say things that go beyond what is commonly accepted as decent might here the phrase, “Have you no shame?” What if God gave me a camera where if I shined it on you all your thoughts about others would be revealed on a screen. What you thought about me, your pastors, your teachers, your students, your spouse, that actor or actress. Is there anyone who wouldn’t be ashamed?
And yet the Psalmist prayed for no shame. Because his trust was in the Lord. We will never be put to shame trusting in Jesus, that means regret it because with Jesus we have no shame. Instead with Jesus we have hope for forever. All those things you thought of when I talked about the camera revealing that would embarrass you to death. Those sins that we are ashamed of and shame on us for committing them, everyone gone because of Jesus. Washed away by His blood. No shame. Hope for forever. We have heaven to look forward to. We have Jesus. At the day of our death, on Judgment Day we will have no shame because with Jesus we have hope that lasts forever.
Hope for forever. Hopelessness can lead people to do things that are hard to understand. Like doing nothing. Like ending their own lives. Like giving up or pushing people away. If the Devil whispers in your ears that your situation is hopeless, resist him, rebuke him, tell him to go away. For you belong to Jesus and that means you have hope for forever. Amen.