Content And Confident In Christ

Psalm 62

Transcript

rock and my salvation, my fortress, I shall not be greatly shaken. How long will
all of you attack a man to batter him like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in
falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. For God alone,
oh my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my
salvation, my fortress, I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my
glory, my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, oh people,
pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Those of low estate are
but a breath. Those of high estate are a delusion. In the balances they go up,
they are together lighter than a breath. Put no trust in extortion, set no vain
hopes on robbery. If riches increase, set not your heart on them. Once God has
spoken, twice have I heard this, that power belongs to God and that to you, oh
Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man according to his
word. Before we take time to pray and open up the text together, as Matt
mentioned in his pastoral prayer, we would greatly appreciate your prayers. This
Thursday, I will be heading out to Zambia for two weeks. Many of you know that
I've been, over the past three years, serving a Bible school there in Zambia,
training pastors through remote theological education. Due to a lack of funding,
our school will be closing. And somebody had to bring the news to both faculty,
staff, and students that the school is closing down. And so I am in that
position to be the bearer of that news. So I would appreciate your prayers. Pray
that the Lord would use me to be an encouragement to a lot of people who are
going to be discouraged. The Lord has opened the door for our students to be
able to transfer to another excellent theological school. So I'm thankful for
that. But also there's going to be a lot of folks that have been serving there
for years. And this news is going to hit them very hard. So pray that the Lord
would use me to shepherd these dear brothers who, again, are going to be
struggling with that news. So I would appreciate your prayers. Also appreciate
your prayers for our family as they'll be out for two weeks. So that begins on
Thursday, and then we'll be back. Okay, now my mic's on. That'll begin on
Thursday, and then we'll be back September 4th. So I appreciate your prayers.
We're in Psalm 62. Before we look at the text, let's pray together. Father, we
thank you for your word. And we thank you for your character. That we can find
great contentment and confidence in the God of our salvation. So Lord, I pray
that as we look into your word that you would open our eyes and give us a fresh
understanding of who you are and all that you have done for us in Christ. So may
you be glorified this morning. May you draw our hearts to you. And Lord, I pray
for those who are here that might not yet know you. That you would awaken them
to their need of a Savior. We ask this that Jesus might be glorified. Through
your son's name we pray. Amen. I think we've all probably known the frustration
of placing our confidence in the wrong person. The person maybe didn't have the
character. Maybe they didn't have the ability to do what we trusted them to do.
My former seminary roommates learned the hard way that it's not wise to place
your confidence in the wrong person. Many, many years ago, my roommate in
seminary was preparing to have a date. He did not have many dates, both as an
undergraduate student or as a seminary student. So this was kind of a big deal
for him. And so both Paul and I were extremely poor and Paul was worried because
he knew he needed to get a haircut. His hair was definitely needing a trim. And
so he said, oh man, I'm so excited, but like I got to get a haircut and I have
like no money. I said, Paul, I know how to cut hair. I mean, I had after all
given a buzz cut to two freshmen a couple of years ago. He said, you know how to
cut hair? I said, yeah, it's easy, simple. He's like, all right, all right,
well, I mean, I do need to save the money. Again, I mean, we were poor, like
luxury eating was like waffle house for us. So sure enough, I begin to cut
Paul's hair. So he brings me the pair of scissors. He said, have you ever used
scissors to cut hair before? I said, well, you know, I can, can't be that
difficult. I'll give it a whirl. So I began to cut his hair and it was a
nightmare. I mean, it was bad. And so at the end of this, he's like, how are
things going? I said, well, I mean, things are going. And so finally, as I
conclude his haircut, he grabs a mare and he looks and he says, what did you do?
I look like a freak. I said, Paul, the haircut had nothing to do with that. What
am I gonna do? So he ended up getting a one eighth buzz cut right before his
date. And he learned that it's not wise to place your confidence in the wrong
person. Now, in this case, placing confidence in the wrong person was pretty
harmless. And it ended up being pretty short lived because at the end of the
day, it was just a haircut. The date did not go well, but he did get married and
he has nine children. So I think he's doing all right. But it's a sobering thing
to think about what happens when we place our big dreams, our hopes, our
ambitions, our confidence in what is fleeting, what is powerless and what is
unable to truly satisfy the great longings of our heart. That's a much greater
problem. All of us have a desire to place our confidence and hope in something
or someone. But the good news of scripture is that we can place our confidence
and trust in the God of our salvation, for he alone can save and satisfy. And so
as we open up Psalm 62, we see that God alone is the refuge and rock of his
people. And so therefore, we can find contentment and confidence in him,
regardless of what is going on in our lives. We can find contentment and
confidence in the God of our salvation. And we see the Psalm developing his
truth in an interesting way as it moves toward the center with its exhortations
to place confidence and hope in the Almighty. And so the Psalm begins and ends
with a declaration of confidence in verses one and two, and then in verses 11
through 12. The Psalm then moves toward a misplaced confidence in man, verses
three and four, nine and ten, ultimately toward the center of the Psalm, verses
five through eight, where we are exhorted to trust in him at all times. And so
the Psalm begins with this declaration of confidence in God, verses one through
two. The Psalmist reads, for God alone, my soul waits in silence. From him comes
my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress. I shall not be
greatly shaken. For God alone, my soul waits in silence. We can literally
translate that as I am at peace. I am content in God alone. Now, if we think of
the Psalmist's situation, it's far from restful. As we go through the Psalm, we
see that the Psalmist is facing oppression from powerful people who are trying
to bring him down. Some commentators believe that the Psalm was written during
Absalom's rebellion. David's life was in danger. His closest allies have
betrayed him, and he's forced to leave his palace and travel through the
wilderness into the great unknown. His life is in turmoil. There's no stability
whatsoever in his circumstances. And yet through suffering, the Psalmist learns
to see more clearly that rest, real rest, contentment comes as we silently
submit, casting our cares and hopes in the goodness and grace of God. He says, I
am at rest in God alone. Now, friend, would you be able to say that? Does this
kind of rest and contentment that the Psalmist is talking about, does that
describe you? The truth is we live in a very stressed out society. And that
stressed out society isn't just something that's out there. It's something very
much in here as well. We're an anxious people. We're a fearful people, worried
and restless. Why is that? Maybe because we set our hopes and confidence in all
the wrong places. The truth is, I know in my own heart how anxious and restless
and discontent I become when I begin to look to my plans, my resources, my
goals, my vision of the way things should be or the way things could be in order
to find a sense of security and satisfaction. My mom used to call it the when
then syndrome. When this happens, then I'll be satisfied. When this takes place,
then I'll be content. But the truth is only in God can we find that real rest,
that real sweet sense of contentment. Because as the Psalm goes on to say, from
him comes my salvation, my rest, my security, my stability. Now, when the
Psalmist speaks of salvation, he's not merely talking about our eternal
salvation, but he's also talking about the countless ways that the Lord works in
our lives to protect us, to guide us, to comfort us, to direct us, to sanctify
us, and to transform us as he prepares us for future glory. And so as the
Psalmist considers the greatness of his God, he says, for God alone, my soul
waits in silence. I am content. I am at rest because real salvation comes from
him. You say, well, Micah, that sounds great, and I would love to have that kind
of contentment and confidence. So how does that happen? Well, look at verse two.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress. I shall not be greatly
shaken. The Psalmist says, I look to God alone. I'm content in God alone because
he alone is my rock. He alone is my salvation. He alone is my fortress. Now,
notice he doesn't simply say that he alone is a rock or that he alone is the
rock. He alone is my rock. He's my salvation. He's my fortress. You see that?
You see, for David, theological knowledge and right beliefs about God are not
enough. He wanted the knowledge about God to transfer to a knowledge of God, to
know him experientially, to know him intimately, because these truths that the
Bible reveals about God's character, God's purposes, God's promises, they're not
simply abstract facts. They're life-giving realities that we can build our hopes
and dreams and confidence upon. Sadly, as one Bible teacher has put it, many
Christians seem almost content living with a gap between the theology that they
confess and their beliefs about God that functionally guide and direct and shape
their lives. We can confess, rightly so, that our God is sovereign, that our God
is wise, that our God is good, and that our God is loving. And yet, at the same
time, as we confess these great truths, our lives can be wracked by worry,
doubt, fear, because somehow these truths about God haven't really come down to
the heart. They're out there, but they're not really in here. I think the Psalms
help us bridge that gap, because the Psalms help us to understand what the true
knowledge of God looks like through life's varied experiences and emotions. It
shows us what it looks like to turn to the Lord when we have no one else or
nothing else to turn to. As we look at this Psalm, we see that the true
knowledge of God, this kind of relational depth that we are called to cultivate,
it leads to great contentment and confidence in God, because He's not just the
rock, He's my rock. He's not just the salvation, He's my salvation. He's not
just a fortress, He's my fortress. I love that in the Psalms. He's my rock.
Sometimes we talk about a person being our rock, a husband, a wife, a friend,
but the truth is, I think we all know that people will disappoint. People are
limited in love, in power, in goodness and wisdom, but not our God. He alone is
my rock, because He alone can truly satisfy. God may use people, but He is the
rock, my rock. And as we turn to Him, He can be your rock, your fortress, your
stability in the midst of all of the uncertainties of life. And that's why the
Psalmist could say, I don't need to be shaken. I don't need to be disheartened.
I don't need to be unraveled. I don't need to be undone. Come what may, God
doesn't change. He's my confidence and my hope. And so we find contentment and
confidence in Him. In contrast to the trustworthiness of our God, look at verses
three through four, and the untrustworthiness, if that's a word, of man. How
long will all of you attack a man to batter him like a leaning wall or a
tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They
take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly, they
curse. Notice the contrast. Couldn't be starker between verses one and two, and
then verses three and four. He begins with this prayer. How long will this go
on? And of course, the picture here is of the world with its persistent assault
on the people of God. Granted, they might say the right things. They may bless
with their mouths, but it's just empty platitudes because their heart is far
from the Lord. And so they make it their ambition and agenda to tear down the
people of God. They don't know the truth. They don't love the truth, and they
certainly don't love those who insist on the truth. So what the psalmist is
describing back then is something that is still very much true today. In fact,
Jesus told us this is exactly what would happen. In John 15, he says, if the
world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the
world with its desires to live independently of God, the world would love you as
its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world,
therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you? A servant
is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you.
If they kept my word, they will keep yours. But all these things they will do to
you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. The whole
story of the scripture, we see the opposition between the kingdom of man and the
kingdom of God, and we experience that reality in our own lives as well. So in a
world that is hostile to our faith, it's a comfort to know that we can turn to
the Lord, for he is our refuge and strength. And so the psalmist now then begins
to say, and so the psalmist now then, beginning with confidence in God, an
explanation of man, moves then toward the primary exhortation in verses five
through eight. In verses five through eight, we read, for God alone, oh my soul,
wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress. I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory. My
mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, oh people. Pour out
your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Selah. This exhortation to find
both contentment and confidence in God alone. Now if we look at verse five, it
almost seems, really five through seven, it almost seems as if the psalmist is
simply repeating what he's already said in verses one and two. And if you're
reading through the psalm pretty quickly, you might miss something that's going
on here. In verse one, the psalmist said, for God alone, my soul waits in
silence. He's talking about an inward reality, an inward condition of
contentment and rest in God. But in verse five, notice what he says, for God
alone, oh my soul, wait in silence. He's not talking about a condition. He's not
talking about a condition. He's actually giving a command. He's speaking to
himself. Now we might know different people who kind of talk to themselves. That
can be strange at times. My poor wife learned during our first week of marriage
that I am one of those kind of people that talks to myself at times. We're not
talking about that kind of strange thing. We're talking about the kind of
discipline that is necessary to find contentment and confidence in God. We're
talking about what David did back in 1 Samuel 30 when he strengthened himself in
the Lord by reminding himself about the character and promises of God, by
informing his conflicting emotions with the truths of scripture. In fact, this
isn't the first time that we see this kind of self-talk or self-preaching. In
Psalm 42, we read, why are you cast down, oh my soul, and why are you in turmoil
within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
In his book, Spiritual Depression, its causes and cures, the great preacher
Martin Lloyd Jones states that the main trouble in this matter of spiritual
depression is this, that we allow ourselves to talk to us instead of talking to
ourselves. Have you ever realized that most of your discontent in life is due to
the fact that you're listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take
those thoughts that come to you the moment that you wake up. They start talking
to you. They bring back the problems of yesterday. Somebody is talking. In Psalm
42, we see that the Psalmist, instead of allowing his self to talk to him, he
talks to himself. Why are you cast down, oh my soul, he asks. His soul had been
crushing him, repressing him because of the circumstances and trials of his
life. And so he stands up in that moment and says, self, listen for a moment. I
will speak to you. You must say to your soul, why are you cast down? What
business do you have to be discontent? You must exhort yourself and remind
yourself of God, who God is and what God is and what God has done and what God
has pledged himself to do. Friend, if we're going to find real contentment in
God, if we're going to experience great confidence and hope in the God of our
salvation, then we need to stop listening to the deceitful lies of sin and self.
And we need to start preaching to ourselves and preaching to others those great
grand truths of the Christian faith. Those truths that provide comfort and
strength and life rooted in who God is and all that God has done and all that
God is doing and all that God will do for his people through Christ. And in
those moments when those dark thoughts intrude because of the circumstances and
trials and suffering of life, we have hope because we have God. He is the one
rock and fortress and salvation. And when we remind ourselves of those truths,
we find confidence and contentment. Because he is only is my rock and my
salvation, my fortress, I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my
glory. My mighty rock, my refuge is God. You can almost feel the confidence and
the joy pulsing through the psalmist as he preaches these truths to himself. And
so as he then preaches these truths to himself, he's now in a position to
proclaim those truths to others. Verse eight, the talk shifts from preaching to
himself to now exhorting us trust in him at all times. Oh people, poured out
your heart before him because God is a refuge for us. He's saying I have found
refuge in him and so can you. You can trust him. Trusting him at all times, it
really summarizes the heart of life in the kingdom of God. We talk about
trusting in the Lord. What does that mean? It means submitting to him, placing
our confidence in his character and promises, which then leads to active
obedience to his commands. Trust in him at all times, through the highs, through
the lows, through the ups and the downs. Pour out your heart before him. God is
a refuge for us. Real trust in God leads us to pour out our heart before him.
You see, this is an invitation to bring it all to Jesus. The pains, the sorrows,
the doubts, the conflicting emotions, the thoughts, the frustrations. There can
be this kind of idea that mature Christians can just simply suppress all of
that. But true faith doesn't simply suppress, but true faith rather casts our
cares upon him. True faith opens up about everything, anything, all of it. And
as we open to him, and then as we remind ourselves of who he is and what he's
done, we find strength strength. We find a refuge. We find confidence and
contentment in the God of our salvation. Friend, I don't know the burdens that
you bear. We all have different hopes and dreams that have perhaps never come to
fruition. Bring it to him. We have things that are going on in our life that
cause us great pain. He knows. He cares. Bring it to him. Trust in him at all
times, in all places, and in all circumstances. And think about this. For the
psalmist, he's living on the other side of the cross. How much greater
confidence do we have living on this side of the resurrection? If you have any
doubts about the love of God, look at the cross. If you have any doubts about
the purposes of God, consider his resurrection. He's defeated all your enemies.
He's demonstrated his undying, unfailing love for his people. You can go to him.
Jesus lived among us, experiencing all the pains and sorrows and frustrations
that we do, yet without sin, we have a sympathetic savior. And so as we read
this exhortation, how much more confidence can we have that this is true?
Because we can look at Jesus, and we know it's true. Trust in him, my friends,
with all the things that you're going through, because he cares for you, and he
is indeed a refuge. And so having worked toward the center, the psalmist then
works back out, reminding us that, in contrast, we cannot put trust in the
things of man. Verses 9 and 10, those of low estate are but a breath. Those of
high estate are a delusion. And the balances they go up, they are all together
lighter than a breath. Put no trust in extortion. Set no vain hope on robbery.
If riches increase, set not your heart on them. You know, it's tempting to
believe that the rich and the powerful are somehow sovereign, that man has
control or power over our lives for good or for ill. But what does the psalm
say? What does scripture remind us? That from the greatest of man to the least,
man's power is but a mere breath. Even those in the highest of positions have no
real authority or power. We think of Jesus as he stood before Pontius Pilate,
silent, knowing that the will of the Father was going to be done. Pilate could
not understand and he said, will you speak to me? Don't you know that I have
authority to release you and I have authority to crucify you? But Jesus answered
him, you have no authority over me at all, unless it had been given to you from
above. So why would you set your hope on man? Why would you be rattled by mere
flesh? Don't trust in extortion. Don't set your hope on robbery. If wealth
increases, don't let that be your confidence. Verses 11 through 12 then reminds
us, we don't need to get excited about man or worldly resources, but we can
trust in the Almighty who is infinite in both power and love. Verses 11 through
12, once God has spoken, twice have I heard this, that power belongs to God and
that to you, oh Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man
according to his work. Now this once-twice formula is used throughout scripture
to draw emphasis to a key truth. He's saying, listen, God has all power. He's
full of power, but he's also full of steadfast love. And aren't you thankful
that that is our God? Because if God was full of power with no love, well that
would be the end of the world. Well that would lead to tyranny. If God was full
of love with no power, well that would lead to vanity. He could not help us. But
we can trust in God. We can place our contentment and confidence in him because
he has complete power and perfect love. No man can have that. Only our God can.
And once again, if we have any doubts, consider Jesus. Because in Jesus we find
perfect love, the kind of love that dies for one's enemies. But in Jesus we find
perfect power because in his resurrection he defeats sin, death, and hell. All
the enemies that you and I could not defeat. Power and love come together
perfectly in the cross and the resurrection of Jesus. So we can find contentment
and confidence in him. And we can also, according to verse 12, take heart in the
fact that in the end he will reward his people and he will judge his enemies. He
will right the wrongs. He will make all things new. And so we look to him. So my
friends, I don't know the kind of restlessness that's going on in your soul
right now, but I know that God alone is a worthy rock in refuge. And I know when
I look at scripture and when I see Jesus, that you can find contentment and
confidence in the God of your salvation. So look to him. Let's pray.