Anticipating Worship: The Fellowship of Suffering
Psalms 123
May 1, 2022
You know that we are currently in this section in our study of Psalms
Where we see a common sub-heading: “A Song of Ascents”
• This was the unofficial hymn book of the pilgrims as they traveled to Jerusalem.
• And they were songs that were sung in anticipation of gathering with the saints in Jerusalem for worship.
We enjoy them because they help us to evaluate and focus on
The true blessings and joys of corporate worship.
In a day in which the priority of attending corporate worship has slipped,
It is a wonderful thing to be reminded of the true value that is found there.
And thus far we have clearly seen a progression.
We started in Psalms 120
• With a Psalmist who lamented that he lived among liars.
• He dwelled with people who had no interest in peace.
• He anticipated worship as a place of sanctuary from an evil world.
In Psalms 121
• It was time for our Psalmist to start his journey, but it would be a difficult one.
• He thought about the hills and the weather and the dangers of travel
• He prayed for God to help him safely arrive.
In Psalms 122
• Our Psalmist entered the gates of Jerusalem, and we saw the joy of arrival.
• The excitement of just being in a place where the redeemed gathered was sheer joy to him.
• And he was motivated to pray that this city would always be a city of peace and prosperity.
Well tonight the progression continues
As he now looks past his contemporaries and past the hills he will walk
And past the city he has entered.
Now he lifts his eyes to the One he came to worship.
Now he approaches the heavenly throne.
We then understand certainly that this request
Must have been the heaviest upon his heart.
It is almost pictured like this: “As soon as I get to Jerusalem I know what I’m going to ask God.”
This was his burning issue.
This was the big one.
And it all has to do with the CONTEMPT and ILL-TREATMENT
That he has received from the world.
Look at verses 3-4
“Be gracious to us, O LORD, be gracious to us, For we are greatly filled with contempt. Our soul is greatly filled With the scoffing of those who are at ease, And with the contempt of the proud.”
In Psalms 120 he lamented that he lived among liars.
In Psalms 123 we find that the resentment was mutual.
The world in which he lived didn’t care much for him either.
Our Psalmist was the subject of their “contempt” and their “scoffing”
“contempt” is a word that speaks of “great disdain and mockery”.
Maybe you’ve watched a legal drama on television
And saw a time in which someone was held “in contempt of court”.
That means “they failed to properly respect the authority of the court
Or that they made a mockery of the legal system.”
THAT IS WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE.
It is the Hebrew word BUZ (booz)
In Genesis 38:23 it is translated “laughingstock”
In Proverbs 12:8 it is translated “despised”
It is actually a word that is used for the eternal fate of the wicked.
Daniel 12:2 “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.”
The Psalmist says that this is what he has felt from the world around him.
• He is not respected
• He is despised
• He is laughed at
• He is mocked
He says “we are greatly filled with contempt”
We are also filled “with the scoffing of those who are at ease”
“scoffing” is another term for “mocking or derision”.
And it comes from “those who are at ease”
In one sense it is people who have an easy life.
Perhaps it is the wealthy or the fortunate
And they belittle those who have nothing.
That could certainly be part of it.
But perhaps a better for translation of the word here would be “undisturbed” or “complacent”
(That is how the word is used in Isaiah 32)
Isaiah 32:9-11 “Rise up, you women who are at ease, And hear my voice; Give ear to my word, You complacent daughters. Within a year and a few days You will be troubled, O complacent daughters; For the vintage is ended, And the fruit gathering will not come. Tremble, you women who are at ease; Be troubled, you complacent daughters; Strip, undress and put sackcloth on your waist,”
It was people who may have experienced an easy life,
But more than that they just had an arrogant smugness
About the things of God.
They had life all figured out, they didn’t need God.
They were doing fine on their own.
To some extent this is the mindset of anyone
Who doesn’t feel the need to participate in worship.
But at it’s root it is simply a pagan mentality.
These people are fine without God…so they think.
And they throw “contempt” on those who would seek and trust God.
They are “the proud” who scoff at those who seek God.
Now, Scripture is clear about the fate of these arrogant people.
Psalms 37:7-15 “Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing. For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land. Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there. But the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity. The wicked plots against the righteous And gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, For He sees his day is coming. The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow To cast down the afflicted and the needy, To slay those who are upright in conduct. Their sword will enter their own heart, And their bows will be broken.”
Psalms 37:35-40 “I have seen a wicked, violent man Spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil. Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more; I sought for him, but he could not be found. Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; For the man of peace will have a posterity. But transgressors will be altogether destroyed; The posterity of the wicked will be cut off. But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in time of trouble. The LORD helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, Because they take refuge in Him.”
Psalms 49:16-20 “Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich, When the glory of his house is increased; For when he dies he will carry nothing away; His glory will not descend after him. Though while he lives he congratulates himself— And though men praise you when you do well for yourself— He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They will never see the light. Man in his pomp, yet without understanding, Is like the beasts that perish.”
Our Sunday School class has been studying Zechariah and we remember God’s disdain about this very thing.
Zechariah 1:14-15 “So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. “But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.”
God does not take kindly to the world’s attitude toward His people.
God does not reward those who choose the world and ignore everyone else.
AND THE PSALMIST KNOWS THIS.
WE KNOW IT TO.
We’ve read the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
• We know that in this life that rich man had good things but in the afterlife he received bad things.
We’ve read of the Rich Young Ruler
• And how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
We listened as Jesus pronounced woe
• Upon those who laugh now or who were well-fed now, or who were loved by the world now, as they are clearly told that eternity won’t have such favor for them.
We know what the Bible says about those proud and complacent and smug scoffers who hold God’s people in contempt.
AND SO DOES THE PSALMIST.
In fact, when he draws near to God in Jerusalem
That is item number one on his agenda to present to the Lord.
There is a personal anticipation on his part to draw near to God and cry out to Him regarding the contempt he has had to walk through at the hands of arrogant men.
So let’s look at his personal anticipation a moment.
Two main points we see here.
#1 HIS LOOK
Psalms 123:1-2
Verse 1 is such a great verse of awareness and contemplation.
“To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens!”
Lets talk first about:
1) THE DIRECTION (1)
“To You” “and not to another” the Psalmist might have said.
Jeremiah reminded us:
Jeremiah 17:5-8 “Thus says the LORD, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the LORD. “For he will be like a bush in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. “For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.”
The Psalmist taught us:
Psalms 118:8-9 “It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in princes.”
Clearly our Psalmist knows that.
• He didn’t come to Jerusalem to appeal to David.
• He didn’t come to Jerusalem to appeal to the masses.
• He is here to appeal to God.
“To You I lift up my eyes”
AND THE REASON of course is because “You…are enthroned in the heavens!”
Psalms 115:3 “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.”
Psalms 113:4-8 “The LORD is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens. Who is like the LORD our God, Who is enthroned on high, Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in heaven and in the earth? He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the needy from the ash heap, To make them sit with princes, With the princes of His people.”
Our Psalmist knew that God dwells in the heavens.
• The earth is but His foot-stool.
• The temple is but a man-made sanctuary to symbolize his presence.
• For even Solomon said “Heaven and the highest heavens could not
contain” Him.
He is the chief authority.
He is the ultimate sovereign.
• If God says it, it is so.
• If God decrees it, it will happen.
And that is why our Psalmist comes to God.
But not only is our God the supreme authority,
BUT HE IS A GRACIOUS ONE AS WELL.
• He is not a Tyrant
• He is not cruel or mean
• He is not disinterested in the plight of humanity
He is certainly not negligent toward the needs of His children
Psalms 103:8-14 “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.”
Our God is perhaps best known in the fact that
He does not treat us as we deserve.
We have spoken many times about His remarkable CHECED
That He richly gives to those whom He has chosen.
Jesus reminded us of God’s loving nature to answer the prayers of His children.
Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”
So it is no wonder our Psalmist begins by lifting his eyes to God.
He is suffering contempt from the world.
He is scoffed at and mocked.
He has become a laughingstock.
And though he may have found no help or relief in the world,
He knows where to look and so he lifts his eyes to God.
So we see the direction of his look.
2) THE DESCRIPTION (2a)
Our Psalmist gives an analogy of exactly the way in which he is looking to God.
“Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God.”
Two analogies which mean the same thing.
• “As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master”
• “As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress”
You might be TEMPTED here to see this in the light of SUBMISSION.
One could paint the picture of a focused servant who’s only job is to patiently watch and listen for the directive of his master so that he might quickly jump in compliance.
Or you could make the same analogy regarding a hand maid who sits patiently listening only for the call of her mistress that she might spring to fill the need.
And certainly both of these roles have submission in common.
But that is NOT THE POINT to which the Psalmist is driving.
As you will see, he isn’t looking for his next assignment,
Our Psalmist is looking for grace.
(3) “Be gracious to us, O LORD, be gracious to us”
Our Psalmist wants relief.
Our Psalmist wants deliverance.
He uses this analogy to point out his DILIGENCE IN SEEKING God.
His diligence in seeking God for grace
Can be likened to the diligence of a servant or the diligence of a maid.
As their focus is continually upon their master,
So his focus is continually upon God.
He is looking to God and he refuses to turn his eyes away.
He is looking to God and he refuses to look anywhere else.
We think of a child who wants something from their mother.
That child will ask, and then will stand there and stare at their mother until they get an answer.
That is how our Psalmist is looking to God.
There is a commitment and a diligence here.
And that ties directly to the third aspect of his look.
3) THE DURATION (2b)
“Until He is gracious to us.”
• He is looking to God and he won’t look away until God comes through.
• He’s got nowhere else to go.
• He’s got no other hope.
• And he refuses to leave.
Luke 18:1-8 “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ “For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’ ” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
A familiar story, but a tremendously convicting one as well.
In that parable we are reminded that
Faith often looks like patience in our prayer life.
Our faith is in fact proven by our diligence and our patience.
We come to God and we keep looking until He moves or answers.
That is clearly what our Psalmist is doing.
• In his affliction and in his contempt he has now come to Jerusalem
• And he is lifting his eyes to heaven that he might call upon God
• And he’s not going anywhere until God demonstrates grace to him.
Now that’s his look.
#2 HIS LONGING
Psalms 123:3-4
As we clearly said, his longing is for relief.
(3) “Be gracious to us, O LORD, be gracious to us”
And you know why.
He is a laughingstock and has been filled with contempt.
And his cry is that God would show him grace.
The KJV actually translates this verse, “have mercy”
He has found no relief in the world, but he appeals for it from God.
So we have here a Psalmist who has been chewed up in the world.
• He said he lived among liars, but his pain has been more than that.
• They have lied about him and they have scoffed at him.
• He was eager to come to Jerusalem that he might seek the God of heaven
• And find mercy and grace and relief from his affliction.
He came because he wanted mercy.
(And we learn a lot there about seeking God
And seeking Him for mercy in a difficult world)
Well that is all clear, but at this point I suppose WE HAVE TO ASK.
WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH LONGING FOR CORPORATE WORSHIP?
This is “A Song of Ascents”
Couldn’t this man simply have prayed this prayer while he dwelt along in his own country?
Could not this prayer have been prayed from his own closet at home?
He clearly indicated that God is “enthroned in the heavens”
So it’s not even like he felt as though
He had to be in Jerusalem to offer this prayer.
• Why is this one of these songs of ascents?
• What does this have to do with corporate worship?
Well, there is a SUBTLE INDICATION in this Psalm that I hope will make it obvious why the pilgrims sang this song on their journey.
If you’ll notice
The Psalmist started as a single pilgrim with a solitary request.
“I” lift up “my” eyes.
He was one man who had suffered scorn
And he was traveling to Jerusalem that he might call upon God.
But no doubt as he traveled along the way it wouldn’t be long before he joined other travelers, perhaps even a caravan.
Certainly by the time he entered the gates of the city he saw plenty of others who had made the journey just as he did.
And by the end of his prayer,
It’s no longer “I” and “me”
“So OUR eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He is gracious to US. Be gracious to US, O LORD, be gracious to US. For WE are greatly filled with contempt. OUR soul is greatly filled with the scoffing of those who are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.”
“I” becomes “we”
“Me” becomes “our”
What do you suppose has changed his tune or his perspective?
THE FELLOWSHIP OF SUFFERING
He was not alone in his plight.
He was not the only Israelite who had been scorned by the world.
As he walked along the road and as he entered the city
He was welcomed by others who had endured
The same sufferings that he walks through.
AND THIS IS A GREAT ENCOURAGEMENT.
1 Peter 5:8-9 “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.”
SUFFERING IS DIFFICULT,
But is there not relief and encouragement
In hearing the testimony of others?
• Some who sympathize with your pain…
• Others who have stories of victory and deliverance from when they were in your shoes…
That is what Peter references.
“the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world”
“accomplished” there DOESN’T mean endured.
It is not just common suffering.
“accomplished” is EPITELEO
It means “to bring to an end” or “to execute” or “to complete”
It comes from the same root word as that famous announcement
Jesus made on the cross, “It is finished”
Peter spoke of the encouragement we receive from other believers
When we see how they have completed or finished their sufferings.
It not only fuels our hope
But it encourages our faith to continue looking to God.
God delivered them, may He also deliver me.
THE POINT IS that there is fellowship in our sufferings.
Consider Jesus’ teaching on prayer (The Model Prayer)
Matthew 6:9-13 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. ‘Give us this day our daily bread. ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’”
You hear the same focus in that prayer don’t you?
• “Give US this day our daily bread”
• “Forgive US our debts, as WE forgive OUR debtors.”
• “And do not lead US into temptation, but deliver US from evil”
These are all subtle reminders that
Our walk of faith was never intended to be in a vacuum.
We were never meant to “go it alone”.
An integral part of our walk and our growth and encouragement
Comes from the presence of other believers.
Imagine now the sheer joy and relief that strikes our Psalmist.
• He has left a country of pagan liars who scoff at him and dish contempt upon him.
• He has entered a city of worshipers who have been enduring the same struggles that he has.
That is a fellowship you cannot get apart from corporate worship.
You can most certainly (and you should)
Pray to God about your struggles in your closet at home.
But there is also a tremendous encouragement in gathering with the saints and sharing the fellowship that comes from suffering.
Remember when the apostles suffered at the hands of the Sanhedrin and were commanded to not preach anymore?
Do you remember what they did after that threat?
Acts 4:23-31 “When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O Lord, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM, who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, ‘WHY DID THE GENTILES RAGE, AND THE PEOPLES DEVISE FUTILE THINGS? ‘THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TOOK THEIR STAND, AND THE RULERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS CHRIST.’ “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.”
What a blessing the congregation was to the apostles there!
Consider the book of Hebrews.
Remember they wanted to quit.
• The writer gave that strong warning in chapter 10 that if you shrink back the Lord will have no pleasure in you.
• And then to encourage them he gave them Hebrews 11.
What is Hebrews 11?
It is the record of other men and women who suffered just like them but who trusted God and endured.
And then the writer said:
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
TAKE ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THEM!
Let the saints lift your spirits that they endured as well.
DO YOU SEE WHY YOU NEED THE CORPORATE FELLOWSHIP?
But encouragement to continue is NOT THE ONLY BENEFIT.
When you suffer in this world for your faith and then you come to church and see other men and women of God suffering the same way, that doesn’t just bring encouragement it also bring ASSURANCE.
Listen to Jesus here:
Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Do you hear what Jesus said?
• When I suffer contempt and scoffing…
• When I become a laughingstock…
• That just puts me in good company!
That is how the world treated the prophets and the apostles.
1 Corinthians 4:11-13 “To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.”
So when you come to the church there is encouragement
And there is assurance that your faith is real!
Beyond that, that leads to a fellowship even with Jesus!
Philippians 3:10 “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;”
Paul wanted the fellowship of His sufferings.
Well what did Jesus say to that?
Matthew 10:24-25 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”
John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”
There is assurance that is also produced here.
• When we suffer as Jesus did…
• When we suffer as the apostles did…
• When we suffer as other saints do…
It gives us the greatest form of assurance
That the faith we possess is the same that they possessed.
But how will you know that unless you gather with the saints in fellowship?
The fellowship of suffering is a tremendous reason
To faithfully attend corporate worship.
It’s not that we long to gather and just dump out all our pains and problems to one another,
But what a blessing to know that our journey is not unique.
Others are walking the same path.
And their suffering can be a tremendous encouragement to me.
BUT I’LL TELL YOU ONE OTHER THING.
It is a blessing when your pain can be an encouragement to someone else.
One of the things that we so often look for in our struggle
Is to find some sort of redeeming purpose in it.
We ask God “Why?”
And often times that is a question we can’t answer.
But when someone looks at you and says, “The way you are enduring through your trial is encouraging me.”
• Does that not lift your spirits in your own affliction?
• Does that not redeem to some degree your pain?
• Does that not give at least a little purpose to your trial?
And that is encouraging!
AND I HOPE YOU GET THE IDEA.
• Our Psalmist could have stayed home and prayed about this in his closet,
• But much of the grace which God would bestow upon him would actually come
through the corporate worship he was commanded to attend.
Attending church is not a burden, it is such a rich blessing.
And tonight we see it in the form of THE FELLOWSHIP OF SUFFERING.
