Temple Baptist Church - 12-1-2024
Psalm 123
Introduction:
A. The 123rd Psalm is another “Song of Degrees” which the was a “Song” that the people of God sang in the pilgrimage back the Jerusalem on one of the Feast Days when all males were required to attend.
B. What I find interesting in this Psalm is the reproach suffered by the Jews as they traveled toward Jerusalem through heathen land. The Jews have always suffered such reproach as the world, through the leadership of Satan, has always hated God and God’s people.
C. Those who strive to live a life pleasing to God in our day also suffer such reproach.
2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
D. In such times for these Jews, they looked to God as servants to a Master and as handmaids to their Mistress. God is in charge of His servants and takes care of them also!
E. When we do not understand something, there is something that we do not know. Be thankful tonight that God both knows everything and also controls everything.
F. Ofttimes, our waiting is both long and open ended as we do not know what or when our assured victory will come. How many here tonight love to wait when you do not even know the end-date of your waiting? Aha! Zero!
G. Now, a little “Disclaimer!” I am about as impatient as the rest of you! There is an old saying, “I want patience right now.” Fortunately, it doesn’t work that way because there is both a Promise in Waiting and a Prize in Waiting.
1. The Promise of Waiting.
Isaiah 43:1-5 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. (2) When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. (3) For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. (4) Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. (5) Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
2. The Prize of Waiting.
Isaiah 40:27-31 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? (28) Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. (29) He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. (30) Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: (31) But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
H. There is value in our waiting as it brings about a more perfect or mature ending.
1. Waiting on the Lord teaches us submission to His will - Mark 14:36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. (The Father did not even answer our Lord’s request for immediate removal of His problem. Our Lord bowed to the will of the Father.)
2. Waiting on the Lord is a cleansing agent for the child of God - Psalms 26:2 Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. (Problems bring about self-examination and self-examination brings about confession and forsaking.)
3. Waiting on the Lord produces a sincere prayer life - Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. (Often, our prayer life becomes a formality because life is good and we have need of nothing. Problems “drive us to our knees” as we seek God’s deliverance.)
4. Waiting on the Lord teaches us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts - Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. (When we do not understand and our problems seem to get the best of us, we need to remember that God is still in control. Paul said, “For I have learned!” God’s providence becomes a reality in our lives.)
5. Waiting on the Lord teaches us to rest in Him - Psalms 37:7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. (The Lord loves us and cares for us. He will always do right in our lives. Yes, sometimes sin must run its course but God still controls everything in this universe and can be trusted.)
6. Waiting on the Lord renews our strength spiritually - Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (As bodily exercise profiteth little (and it does prosper), spiritual exercise also makes us to mature in the things of the Lord. As our world is fat and lazy, so do we become if we have all that we want and never have problems. We shall “mount up as eagles!”)
7. Waiting on the Lord causes us to hope in Him - 1 John 3:2-3 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (3) And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (The older we get; the more problems that we endure; the more we long for home!)
Psalms 42:5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
Conclusion: Psalms 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
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