| GOOD CHEER FOR THE NEEDY |
November 9, 2021
- Starting point: 1 Tim. 2:1-6
- Praying from: PSALM 9
A Psalm of David: The Fall of The Beast
“I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
3 When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.
4 For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.
5 Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
6 O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.
7 But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
8 And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
9 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
11 Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
12 When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
13 Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
14 That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.
15 The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
16 The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
19 Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
20 Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.”
- MEANING WITHIN THE SCRIPTURES:
The practical value of a text very much depends upon the man to whom it comes. So will those who are spiritually poor and needy eagerly lay hold on this promise, prize it, and live upon it with contentment.
- Two Bitter Experiences Ended.
- “The needy shall not always be forgotten.” You have been forgotten:
- By former friends and admirers.
- In arrangements made and plans projected.
- In judgments formed and in praises distributed.
- In help estimated and reliance expressed.
In fact, you have not been a factor in the calculation; you have been forgotten as a dead man out of mind. This has wounded you deeply, for there was a time when you were consulted among the first. This will not so always be.
- “The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.” You have been disappointed:
- In your natural expectation from justice, gratitude, relationship, age, sympathy, charity, etc.
- In your confidence in man.
- In your judgment of yourself.
- In your expectations of providence.
This disappointment shall only be temporary. Your expectation shall not perish forever; you shall yet receive more than you expected.
- Two Sad Fears Removed. Fears which are naturally suggested by what you have already experienced.
- Not forever shall you be forgotten:
- You shall not meet with final forgetfulness.
- In the day of severe trouble.
- In the night of grief and alarm for sin.
- In the hour of death.
- Nor shall your expectation perish:
- Your weakness shall not frustrate the power of God.
- Your sin shall not dry up the grace of God.
- Your constitutional infirmities shall not cause your overthrow.
Your future trials shall not be too much for you.
III. Two Sweet Promises Given.
- “Not always be forgotten”; you shall not be overlooked:
- At the mercy seat, when you are pleading.
- From the pulpit, and in the Word, when your soul is hungering.
- In your sufferings and service, when to be thought of by the Lord will be your main consolation.
- “Expectation shall not perish for ever.” You shall not be disappointed:
- Peace shall visit your heart.
- Sin shall be vanquished without and within.
- Let the poor man hope in God.
- Let him feast on the future if he find the present to be scant.
- Above all, let him rest in the promise of a faithful God.
An aged Christian lying on his deathbed in a state of such extreme weakness that he was often entirely unconscious of all around him, was asked the cause of his perfect peace. He replied, “When I am able to think, I think of Jesus; and when I am unable to think of Him, I know He is thinking of me.”
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When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.
For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right [Ps. 9:3–4].
Once again we move into the time of the kingdom that is mentioned in Psalm 8, when all things will be put under His feet. John Knox put it like this: “One with God is a majority.” He was not so much concerned about having God on his side as he was making sure he was on God’s side. The important thing to David was that his cause was right. Let’s make sure, my friend, that we are on God’s side.
Now he speaks of the coming judgment.
Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever [Ps. 9:5].
“Thou hast rebuked the heathen” is better translated, “Thou hast rebuked the nations.” What a psalm this is!
But the Lord shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness [Ps. 9:7–8].
“He shall judge the world in righteousness”—that is important. It is my feeling today that we are short on judges who will follow the law and assess a penalty when a penalty should be assessed. We have too many judges who are softhearted, and I sometimes think softheaded, who are trying to be popular. Righteousness is what is needed today. The One who makes the right is God. Right is not necessarily what you think or what I think. It was God who divided the light from the darkness. I have never been able to separate them. I have never gotten up before daylight, waved a wand, and brought up the sun. God does that. He is the One who declares what is right. If you don’t think so, you are wrong. That is just the way it is. It is as simple as that.
Have mercy upon me, O Lord; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the sates of death [Ps. 9:13].
“Have mercy upon me, O Lord”—I don’t know about you, but I need mercy from God. You may question that since I said there will be justice when He comes. But, you see, justice has already been established in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ when He bore our sins, and He has been made unto us righteousness. What I need today is mercy, and mercy is extended to us in the person of Jesus Christ.
The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken [Ps. 9:15].
The heathen is better translated “nations”—“The nations are sunk down in the pit that they made.”
Look at the nations of the world today. Even the great nations of the world, including our own nation, have sunk down into a pit. We seem to be caught. This is the condition of the world at the present hour.
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God [Ps. 9:17].
A cry goes out: “The wicked shall be turned into hell [Sheol, that is, unto death], and all the nations that forget God.” This is a great principle that God has put down.
For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever [Ps. 9:18].
“The needy shall not alway be forgotten”—they are today. Oh, there are poverty programs, but the man at the top always seems to get it before it reaches the poor. The poor will receive justice when the Lord Jesus comes. You know, we poor people ought to be more interested in the Lord. There are so many people in poverty who are turning to political parties and certain political candidates for help. Unfortunately, they are not going to receive much help. What the candidates are trying to do is to get into office. The Lord Jesus is not running for office—He is King of kings and Lord of Lords. He is not anxious to please any party or any group on this earth. When Christ came to earth the first time, He came to do God’s will. Since He is God, when He comes again He is going to do His own will. My friend, “the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.” They are expecting a great deal from man, but only God will meet their need.
Arise, O Lord; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight [Ps. 9:19].
“Let the nations be judged”—the nations are yet to be judged, according to our Lord (Matt. 25:31–6), “… and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats” (Matt. 25:32).
Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah [Ps. 9:20].
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- IV. THE A-MEN OF ROMANS 16:20, 24, 27
16:20 “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. A-men.”
16:24 “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. A-men.”
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