Do You Ever Feel Abandoned By God? (AM Sermon Notes)
GIST: Sometimes God appears to be hidden; this might shake you, but it will also reveal your true character.
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 10
This morning we’re going to be looking at Psalm 10. If you were here last Sunday night, you might recall that this psalm is a kind of “part 2” or “to be continued” since Psalm 9 and 10 are one acrostic poem. Psalm 10 picks up where Psalm 9 left off. However, it’s not separate by “accident”. It has a message all it’s own. Originally, I had intended on covering this text in the evening service, but changed my mind yesterday. I just feel like God wants me to preach this in the morning. In case I’m wrong, though, you should probably come back in the evening, too...that way you make sure you get the right message ☺️!
"1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised. 3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD. 4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, "There is no God." 5 His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them. 6 He says in his heart, "I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity." 7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. 8 He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; 9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. 10 The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might. 11 He says in his heart, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it." 12 Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted. 13 Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, "You will not call to account"? 14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless. 15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none. 16 The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land. 17 O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear 18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more."
Spurgeon noted that every time he would read this psalm something new would strike him. Therefore, I won’t be able to cover everything this psalm addresses. Plus, I have been camping the past three days with my family, so I hand-wrote most of these notes around the campfire...which means they might be mercifully shorter than usual☺️! Nonetheless, it is 18 verses, so let’s dive straight into the gist: Sometimes God appears to be hidden; this might shake you, but it will also reveal your true character.
I. SOMETIMES GOD APPEARS HIDDEN (V1)
This passage starts with a parallel question: "1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” In this case, this repetition is to emphasize the same key point or question: “God, why do you seem hidden in times of trouble?”. Let’s make two quick observation:
1-God is never gone. We mentioned the other “omni’s” last week [God is omniscient (He knows all things); God is omnipotent (He is in control of all things).], but we left out a third one, God is omnipresent (He is all places at all times!). There is no where you can go where God is not! David said this himself in Psalm 139. The whole Psalm is wonderful (check it out), but here’s just a snippet:
"7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me."
2-However, there are times when His presence and activity are not as evident. This is His doing. Since in actuality, He is never more more or less present, He allows Himself to seem hidden. Why? Well, we’ll come to that more in the next points ☺️, but let’s just say here that God is always intentional. (Side note: This is why remembering the truth of who God is is so important.)
II. AND THIS CAN SHAKE EVEN THE FAITHFUL
If you remember, Psalm 9 & 10 are part of the same acrostic poem. In Psalm 9, David determines to give thanks with his wholeheart, recount God’s wonderful deeds, and worship Him. Then, he prays to remember this in times of affliction. Now, he illustrates why he needs this reminder even more clearly.
There are several contrasting parallels between 9 and 10 that help illustrate this. I’ll point out four.
God Is A Stronghold VS God Is Hidden In Times Of Trouble: Psalm 9:9 "9 The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble." → Psalm 10:1 "1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?"
The Wicked Falling Into Their Own Pit VS Catching The Innocent In It: Psalm 9:15 "15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught." → Psalm 10:9 "9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net."
God’s People Not Forsaken VS Attacked: Psalm 9:10 "10 And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you." → Psalm 10:8 "8 He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;"
The Wicked Punished VS Wicked Prospering: Psalm 9:5 "5 You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish; you have blotted out their name forever and ever." → Psalm 10:5 "5 His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them."
Though he knows the truth, sometimes it doesn’t seem true. So, what do you do when what you know to be true isn’t obvious? What do you do when God seems hidden, or when you feel He’s abandoned you?
III. BUT IT IS IN TIMES LIKE THIS THAT TRUE CHARACTERS ARE REVEALED!
Stuart Olyott pointed this (see above ☺️) out. And you can see this is laid out clearly in the text, as well. We see those who trust in God and those who don’t reacting very differently. Let’s just look at how that’s developed in the text.
The Wicked (Those Who Don’t Believe In God-Verses 2-11) The texts calls these people the wicked because their lives are still defined by sin. Reading over these verses, we’re given a pretty clear picture of what these people are like...and it sounds an awful lot like our world today (which should come as no surprise). Let’s just take this verse-by-verse.
2, 8-10: They are arrogant and harmful to those around them. “2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised. … 8 He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; 9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. 10 The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might. In pursuing self, everyone else is collateral. Hurting people is inevitable when you’re only looking out for selfish gain.
3-4: They are proud of their sins and publicly renounce God. “3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD. 4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are,"There is no God."They don’t just sin, but glory in that sin. We’ll be talking about this more next week, too. But just think about what is “popular” in our world today. How much of it is blatant sin? Sin sells. Our world isn’t ashamed of their sins, they boast about them. And they are equally loud about their disbelief in the One True God of the Bible! They might be ok with spirituality in general, but the exclusive claims of Jesus? No way! The wicked doesn’t seek God, because in his pride he doesn’t believe in Him.
5: They are often prosperous and seem exempt from punishment. “5 His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.” This is a reality addressed in the psalms pretty often. It seems that those who get their wealth by dishonest means (which is implied by the “exempt from punishment part”) seem to continue to do well, while those who seek God are sometimes amongst the poorest. AND it’s not like the wicked are doing this unknowingly. They knows it and even sometimes brags about it (puffs at foes).Yet, we know this is only temporary. Sadly, unless they repent, they do not.
7: Their mouths reflect their hearts. 7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.” Cursing, deceit, oppression, mischief, and iniquity are all coming out of their mouths. Why? Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45).
6, 11: They feel invincible. “6 He says in his heart, "I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity." 11 He says in his heart, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.” And this is the key here. The wicked behave this way precisely because they feel there are no consequences for their actions. This is how they react to God seeming hidden. I had someone tell me this summer that they felt people would behave better if they all would just realize that there is nothing more than this life. If they would just give up on any fancies about any kind of afterlife, or any “gods”, they could just be happy with making the most of the life they have here. Unfortunately, the opposite is nearly always the case. Just take this country as an example, as we have become progressively less and less influenced by Christianity, has crime and depravity decreased or increased? The same is true of anywhere where God is not sought.
The Made-Righteous (Those Who Do Believe In God-Verses 12-15) I didn’t want to put “the righteous” because we are only made so by His blood, not our own self-righteousness.
12: They plead for God’s active protection. “12 Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted.” God seems hidden? His people call for Him still! Knowing He can and knowing His hiding is only perceived, but never actual! Why? Remember last week’s gist? Because we are children who have been so deeply loved, and we know His love, unmerited though it is, will never be shaken by the fleeting circumstances of this world!
13-14: They… remember the truth about who He is! “13 Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, "You will not call to account"? 14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless.” Again, I might be verging on broken record here, but there is a reason these points keep coming up in the psalms. We live in a world that will throw us for loops...constantly. What day goes by when your faith is not tested? If you’re taking seriously His calls, none. Yet, we must remember that even in these, God is still God. He sees and will still judge sin and protect those saved by His blood. Period.
15: They call for judgment and purification. “15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.” Lastly, they call for God to be God. I think we see both His judgment and his purification here. The psalmist calls for the wicked to be punished, but then says “call his wickedness to account till you find none”. Reveal all his sin until there is nothing more to punish. Ultimately, the only way there would be no more punishment for sin is through the forgiveness Jesus brought on the cross through His blood!
So, the wicked think there is no judgment and do as they please, while the made-righteous continue to seek God even when His presence is not seen! Which are you?
TAKEAWAYS
The psalm ends by echoing the praise of psalm 9 and giving us these key truths:
1. Sometimes God appears hidden.
2. And this can shake even the faithful.
3. But it’s in times like this that true characters are revealed.
4. So, we must remember, He won’t be hidden forever! (16-18)
16 The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land. 17 O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear 18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more."
BABY DEDICATION
Parents, looking back at the verses we’ve read, it is precisely this kind of faith you are being charged to demonstrate to your son. It’s why you should be standing up here. You’re committing to love God with your whole life--everything you think, feel, and do forever, to strive to see the world through His eyes and allow Him to drive your actions, and to do so publicly, unashamed of Jesus or His Gospel. You’re committing to then model this life before your son, so he grows up seeing what a relationship with God looks like. You’re also committing to raise this child in such a way that he will know what it means to be a Christian, saved by Jesus Christ. This means you’re committing to personally and diligently teach him the truths of God’s Word---which you are also committing to personally and diligently study, for you cannot teach what you do not know. This is no small task. If, however, you have come here today to make this public commitment, please respond by saying, “We do.”
Now, I want to address the Church, big “C”, those who are part of this congregation, and the Christian family members who have come to support this couple today. Raising a child is hard. Raising a Christian is even harder. We are called as the body of Christ to grow together, to bear one another’s burdens, to stir one another up to love and good works. We are called to go to all people and make disciples of Jesus Christ. This commitment starts here, with our children. We are responsible for helping every member of this family grow in their walk with Christ through both our words and deeds. If you are willing to make a public commitment to these families today, please respond by standing.
Let’s come together and pray for these families.
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