Sanctification Through Suffering
Psalms 39
May 19, 2019
Tonight we approach the 39th Psalm.
I would confess to you that this Psalm took a sharp right turn on me this week, and caused me much grief in trying to prepare to preach it.
I have always read the first 3 verses of this Psalm
In a way that is all too often very relevant to me.
• That is I read it as though David has something he really wants to say, but
knows he shouldn’t say it,
• Until finally his flesh wins out and he blurts it out to the displeasure of God, and
thus incurs the Lord’s discipline.
It’s easy for me to want to apply this Psalm that way,
Because I all too often live there.
When James says no one can came the tongue, all I can do is say “Amen”.
So, I’ve always read Psalms 39 as “The struggles of taming the tongue”
Or even more specifically as “A warning against boasting”
Since that is what I always figured David’s great mistake to have been.
But, as I studied this week,
I also began to consult with other saints on the matter.
I read commentaries from men like MacArthur and Spurgeon and Matthew Henry,
And others, and none of them agreed with me.
Now, I don’t mind arguing my point,
But even I know that if a group of scholars (each of which are wiser than me)
All say a Psalm means something else, then it probably does.
So my struggle was to learn from them before I could teach you.
Let me just say, “It’s been a long week!”
But, as God continues to prove His faithfulness,
I am thankful for His servants who are so diligent
To help us understand truth even when we may initially miss the point.
And so tonight I would just tell you that Psalms 39
Is NOT primarily about the tongue,
Though David does reference it in the first 3 verses.
Psalms 39 is about the painful process David walked through as God began to work out sanctification in his life.
Even more specifically,
Psalms 39 is a testimony to a time
When God reached in to David’s heart to remove his love of the world.
Now just in saying that, you are already familiar with the need there.
1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
We know what John says there.
• You can’t love God and this world at the same time.
• It’s an impossibility.
The struggle for us is that
• We are born in a natural body,
• In a natural world,
• With a flesh that naturally craves this world
• And the things that gratify the body.
It is sinful, but it is natural, and to an extent, comfortable.
BUT THEN COMES SALVATION
• The work of God is to bring us under conviction
• Ultimately to lead us to Christ where we are forgiven,
• To give us the Holy Spirit who enables us to overcome our sinful flesh.
That is what Paul talks about in Romans 8 and also in Galatians 5
Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”
And so once we are saved
We undergo the process of sanctification.
Whereas Regeneration is what we have called a MONERGISTIC effort.
(God had to do it all)
That is not true with Sanctification.
Sanctification is now a SYNERGISTIC effort.
That is to say WE WORK WITH GOD to produce holiness in our lives.
Philippians 2:12-13 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
You see both elements there.
We are told to work, and we are told that God is also at work.
We are NOT to just “Let go and let God” as it relates to our sanctification.
We are given very strict commands to intentionally obey.
Colossians 3:5-6 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience,”
Galatians 5:24 “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
What I want you to grasp in both of those passages is that
1. Not only is the process our responsibility,
2. But I also want you to see that sanctification comes through death.
Paul told the Colossians to KILL the old man.
Paul told the Galatians that you have to CRUCIFY the flesh.
When we are talking about the process of sanctification
We are talking about the process of death.
We are killing off the old man.
And that is our responsibility.
That is our command.
But let’s be honest, that is a HARD THING TO DO.
• It is hard to crucify your self.
• It is hard to put to death your self.
That’s why it is a good thing that God is also at work in our sanctification.
For consider also what Paul said about his process of becoming sanctified.
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Galatians 6:14 “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
There it is again, only here Paul said that crucifixion of the flesh
Was something that happened to him.
Let me give you a few references of this.
2 Corinthians 1:8-11 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 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, you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.”
• There God did away with Paul’s propensity to trust in himself.
• God put Paul in a situation where death was inevitable
• And there Paul learned not to rely on himself, but to trust in God who raises the dead.
Or consider:
2 Corinthians 4:6-10 “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”
• God put the treasure of the gospel in an old clay pot.
• But then God had to break that old clay pot so that the treasure could shine through it brighter.
Or consider:
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me — to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
• Paul had to have a thorn in the flesh so he’d quit trusting in the flesh and learn to depend upon God.
YOU GET THE IDEA.
It is the process of sanctification,
But I want you to see that at times it can be a painful process.
We use words like “death” and “crucified” and “broken”
And “persecuted” and “tormented”
Those are HARSH WORDS.
But it’s because the flesh is not an easy kill.
And yet that gives us A GREAT DEAL OF EXPLANATION
Regarding why suffering is so intense at times in the life of a believer.
It is NOT because God hates you,
It is because God is choking out the flesh,
And that can be a painful experience.
He is sanctifying you.
Well, here in Psalms 39 we have David
Caught in the middle of one of those crucifixion moments.
Some have seen it fitting to carry over Psalms 38 right into this Psalm
As though they were written together.
Psalms 38 of course is the Psalm we saw last week
• Where David had blown it pretty severely and felt God’s great displeasure.
• He talked about how God had shot His arrows deep into him and how there was no soundness in his flesh because of his sin.
Some have noticed that David referenced a (10) “plague” from God here
And said that “Perhaps what David spoke of in Psalms 38
Was a severe illness of which he is still feeling the effects in Psalms 39.”
There’s no way to know that for sure,
But at the very least David has some sort of clear affliction from God.
Now the first 3 verses of Psalms 39 OPEN WITH
David in some pretty intense contemplation and a deep inward struggle.
(1-3a) “I said, “I will guard my ways That I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle While the wicked are in my presence.” I was mute and silent, I refrained even from good, And my sorrow grew worse. My heart was hot within me, While I was musing the fire burned;”
What you have here is David recounting his former commitments.
• He had made a covenant with God.
• He had made a commitment to God.
And that commitment was that He would
“guard [his] ways that [he] may not sin with [his] tongue.”
• David was continually the man who preached trust in the Lord.
• David was continually the man who preached patience and waiting on the Lord.
And here you have David wanting to practice what he preached.
The last thing he wanted to do was
Haul off complaining how bad his life was in front of the wicked.
And you and I certainly understand that.
You often hear Christians when tragedy strikes say some of the most inspiring things you ever hear.
We understand David’s commitment here not to say something blasphemous or negative about God in front of the wicked.
But we also know that
While we typically answer well at the announcement of tragedy,
We can very easily become more prone to grumble
As the hardship continues.
Let’s face it, on day 1 we’re all pretty good theologians.
But on day 517, maybe not so much.
David knows that and so he is doing everything he can to MUZZLE his mouth, and BITE his tongue and not let the wicked hear him grumble.
So what’s the problem?
HE REALLY WANTS TO GRUMBLE!
(2-3) “I was mute and silent, I refrained even from good, and my sorrow grew worse. My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned;”
We’ve all heard of Jeremiah’s “fire in his bones”
When he just couldn’t contain the message he heard from God.
Well David here has an opposite one.
He’s got a fire in his bones because he wants to complain about what a raw deal he’s getting.
• He wants to cry out, “Not fair!”
• He wants to wine about his circumstances.
• He wants the world to know how hard this is.
THE PROBLEM IS that after preaching for so many years
About how God is enough and how God is good,
He can’t start complaining without dishonoring God.
SO HE IS CURRENTLY A MISERABLE MAN.
He is keeping his promise not to complain, but he really really wants to.
Now, the PROBLEM of the Psalm IS NOT that David breaks his silence
And gets on Facebook and lays down a rant.
THAT’S NOT WHAT HAPPENS.
YES we do read at the end of verse 3 “Then I spoke with my tongue:”
It is true that David did break his silence,
But verse 4 tells us who he spoke to and what he said.
He spoke to the Lord.
And what is more, he did not complain to the Lord about how unfair this was.
Rather, David spoke to the Lord in great humility.
SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
• Not that David outwardly grumbled to the wicked.
• But rather that David recognized a discontented heart
• He may not have grumbled, but he wanted to
• And it bothered David that his heart was still so far from where it needed to be
And let me just remind you here that GRUMBLING
(whether in the heart or on the tongue) INDICATES 2 THINGS.
1) A LOVE OF THE WORLD
• You wouldn’t grumble or be angry about losing the world if you didn’t love it.
2) DISSATISFACTION WITH GOD
• If He was enough then again you wouldn’t be discontented.
David’s frustration revealed that to him.
And so when David finally does open his mouth
It is not to blast God for being unjust.
Rather, it is to confess to God
What he has learned through this time of suffering.
And the 3 things David learned are amazing.
• They are 3 things that we all must learn,
• And 3 things that many of us will not learn apart from suffering.
When God began to crucify David’s flesh, here is what David learned.
#1 I AM A SHADOW
Psalms 39:4-6
If we could be even more specific we’d say,
“I am a shadow in need of perspective”
As David felt the discontentment grow in his heart
He recognized that his perspective was way off.
There was something he needed to remember, and that was this:
THIS LIFE IS NOT INTENDED TO LAST FOREVER
(4) “LORD, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am.”
Oh, that’s big!
And that is such an important life lesson.
People go through this life and live in this world
Like they are going to live forever.
They walk like they are so important.
Psalms 49:10-12 “For he sees that even wise men die; The stupid and the senseless alike perish And leave their wealth to others. Their inner thought is that their houses are forever And their dwelling places to all generations; They have called their lands after their own names. But man in his pomp will not endure; He is like the beasts that perish.”
Unregenerate man lives this life like he is the center of the universe
And like there is none more important than him.
They live like they will be here forever.
But David knows better.
In fact, look at his theology.
(5-6) “Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah. “Surely every man walks about as a phantom; Surely they make an uproar for nothing; He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.”
James taught us that life is like a vapor.
And David says the same.
He says our days are like a handbreadth.
• They just aren’t long.
• We are like a fading shadow.
• We are just a “breath”
Now the wicked don’t know that.
They put so much stock in their honors. They really like to achieve greatness and be named to high position and to receive awards.
BUT NONE OF THOSE THINGS LASTS:
“Surely every man at his best is a mere breath”
• I mean, who was the Super bowl MVP 12 years ago?
• I bet you can’t even name all the former presidents of the United States
• Who was the richest man in the world 50 years ago?
Better than that, when David wrote Psalms 39,
Who do you think the fastest runner in the world was?
Honors don’t last. But men put so much stock in them.
DAVID ALSO KNOW THAT LABORS DON’T LAST.
“Surely every man walks about as phantom”
• He spoke of man going busily from one task to another.
• But even in that, they’ll all fade away.
OR CONSIDER MAN’S TREASURES
“Surely they make an uproar for nothing; he amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.”
It’s really the most absurd picture of futility in our world.
• A man storing up wealth that he will never be able to use and had no clue what
will come of it after he is gone.
David sees all of these things about the world.
Namely that loving the world and pursuing the world
And hoarding the treasures of this world are dumb ambitions.
AND YET, David also realized that
These same mentalities were alive and well in his heart,
Or else he would not have been so discontent with his hardship.
And to that end David makes that great prayer.
“LORD, make me to know my end and what is the extend of my days; let me know how transient I am.”
David says, I AM A SHADOW – I NEED PERSPECTIVE
He recognized that part of what God was doing in this plague
Was rooting out his love of the world
And teaching him that this life does not last forever.
And that is such a great lesson.
• We don’t get to keep this life
• We don’t get to keep this body
• We don’t get to keep our fame or our accomplishments or our riches
HOW FOOLISH IT IS TO PUT SO MUCH STOCK IN THIS PLACE
Paul had it right:
Philippians 3:7-8 “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,”
Well, believer we need to learn that too.
• And so the next time you suffer,
• Just thank God that He is teaching you some perspective
• And is helping you let go of your love of this world.
David saw that.
David learned that he was just a shadow.
Here’s the second thing David learned
#2 I AM A SINNER
Psalms 39:7-11
More specifically,
“I am a sinner in need of sanctification”
David just acknowledged that
• This life was fleeting
• That the things of this earth pass away
• That he needed to realize that he is only on this earth for a short period of time.
This realization caused David to reevaluate his priorities.
And in that process he asks:
“And now, Lord, for what do I wait?
That is another way of saying,
“What am I seeking? What is my ambition? What is the goal?”
And he quickly answers: “My hope is in You.”
• It is not in earthly comfort…
• It is not in earthly fame…
• It is not in earthly success…
In short, you have David here in the midst of his suffering,
And he has done a little soul searching
As to why he was so discontent.
And now he says,
“I get it Lord! I understand what You are teaching me”
You are reminding me that You are my only good.
You are reminding me that You are enough.
It is a moment very similar to that of Asaph in Psalms 73
Who after he received some perspective in the midst of his suffering wrote:
Psalms 73:25-28 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”
That is right there with David.
He has begun to understand that his greatest needs in life didn’t have to do with comfort or victory or success.
• His greatest need was God.
• His greatest treasure was God.
And to that end look at how he prays:
(8) “Deliver me from all my transgressions; make me not the reproach of the foolish.”
David has had his eyes opened to what God was trying to teach him.
GOD WAS SHOWING DAVID THAT
The culprit in his life was not sickness, it was sin.
And that is what David is asking to be delivered from.
In short, David says,
“I get it God! You are the treasure and sin is the problem”
And then listen:
(9) “I have become mute, I do not open my mouth, because it is You who have done it.”
That is to say, “The reason I am in this condition is because this is the condition that You have put me in.”
That is David’s way of saying,
“You are doing what is right. You are doing what is best.”
It is David now in the place of acknowledging that
His current plight is not only the sovereign prerogative of God,
But that it is also the right thing to do.
He can see that God is using this plague
Not only to pull his heart away from the world,
But also to lead him to greater holiness.
It’s almost like David has read Hebrews 12.
Hebrews 12:5-11 “and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
I don’t know if there is a passage in Scripture that yields more insight to God’s purposes in our suffering than that one.
• It is NOT that God delights in human suffering.
• It’s just that God delights in human holiness more than He
delights in human comfort.
He brings scourging…
He brings plagues…
He brings hardship and suffering…
“so that we may share in His holiness”
And David says, “I get it!”
• I have been latched on to this world,
• I have been walking in transgression
• And this current period of pain and grief has been to cause me to let go of both.
And that again is good perspective for the people of God even today.
We, like David, are prone to be more content with our spiritual condition than God ever is.
We are often prone to be more tolerant of our sin than God is.
And so when the call of sanctification comes.
Namely that we should put to death the sins of the flesh
We rarely go far enough because we are more content with our wickedness than we ought.
God however has a holy standard, and since He is also at work in us; both to will and to work for His good pleasure,
God often does what is necessary.
David sees that.
God, You had to do this in my life
Or there are certain sins I would have never let go of.
AND NOW, AFTER THE REPENTANCE
You start seeing David requesting relief from the pain.
(10-11) “Remove Your plague from me; Because of the opposition of Your hand I am perishing. “With reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity; You consume as a moth what is precious to him; Surely every man is a mere breath. Selah.”
IMPORTANT TO NOTE that David did not start here in his request.
• He first asked for perspective
• He then asked for forgiveness.
• And then he asked for relief.
That’s an important order to remember in our prayer life
While we are suffering.
We often pray for relief first.
But to do that misses the entire point of why God brought the plague to begin with.
I am a Shadow in need of Perspective I am a Sinner in need of Sanctification
#3 I AM A STRANGER
Psalms 39:12-13
And again, to be more specific:
“I am a stranger in need of focus”
David asks:
“Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; Do not be silent at my tears; For I am a stranger with You, A sojourner like all my fathers.”
It is not just a request that we see here from David,
But also a great confession and acknowledgment.
• Certainly David now wants relief from the pain.
• Certainly David wants relief from the burden.
• But he is also quick to reveal to God WHAT HE HAS LEARNED.
And that is that: “I am a stranger with You, A sojourner like all my fathers.”
Hebrews 11:13-16 “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”
The saints of old in their walk of faith came to realize something.
WE DON’T BELONG HERE
• We are no longer citizens of this world.
• We are no longer seeking the kingdoms of this world.
• We have a higher aim.
It is bound up in all those commands from Paul to us.
Philippians 3:17-20 “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;”
Colossians 3:1-4 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
Or it reminds of what Jesus taught:
Matthew 6:20-21 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
We as believers are still too often prone:
• To build our kingdoms here on this earth.
• To have our “Best Life Now”
• To seek an inheritance here.
And all the while God uses suffering to remind us
That this place is not our home, and this place is not our prize.
This world is passing away, but we were fitted for a better one.
“I’m pressing on the upward way, new heights I’m gaining every day; still praying as I onward bound, Lord plant my feet on higher ground. Lord, lift me up and let me stand, by faith on heaven’s table-land, a higher plane than I have found; Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”
“All I know is I’m not home yet, this is not where I belong. Take this world and give me Jesus, this is not where I belong.”
Take the world, but give me Jesus All its joys are but a name, But His love abides forever Through eternal years the same. Take the world, but give me Jesus; Sweetest comfort of my soul. With my Savior watching o’er me I can sing though billows roll. Take the world, but give me Jesus In His cross my trust shall be Till with clearer, brighter vision Face to face my Lord I see. Oh, the height and depth of mercy. Oh, the length and breadth of love. Oh, the fullness of redemption; Pledge of endless life above. Take this world, my God’s enough!
https://sovereigngracemusic.org/music/songs/give-me-jesus/
David sees that.
“I get it God, I’m a stranger and my focus has been far too long on my earthly kingdom, when my focus should be my heavenly one.”
That is another wonderful thing for us to learn.
We see that God uses our suffering
• To pry our hands off the things of this world;
• To awaken us to our need for holiness,
• And to draw our gaze toward our heavenly home.
David saw that, and he confessed that it was good.
And then, after learning his lesson, and confessing that is good, David closes the Psalm with a REQUEST FOR RELIEF.
(13) “Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may smile again Before I depart and am no more.”
David knows this life is fleeting
And he simply asks for God to grant him some relief
That he might enjoy the few years he has left.
I certainly can’t fault him for that request.
But he knows now the goal.
• The goal is to learn he won’t be here forever.
• The goal is to learn his need for holiness.
• The goal is to learn to focus on eternity.
Tonight I just want you to see that
The process of sanctification is often times a painful one,
And yet it is necessary.
It is God’s way of getting us to let go of this world, let go of our sin, and to set our gaze toward heaven.
