Beaten But Not Defeated

Psalm 129

For much of Bible, have at least basic idea of historical setting… both of author and what is being described. More than 30 psalms have no author cited; sometimes can speculate, others not. Several like present text have no indication of who penned it beyond possible indicator v.1&2 – from my youth, not a young fellow any longer! No specific clues within text of psalm to indicate time or circumstances of writing. All that is certain: follows / in response to extended time of affliction.

Given that Israel is in view here, affliction has three possible objects: nation, church, individual. Parallels institutions God has ordained – family, church and state. Each has sphere of responsibility, but none is independent of the others. Like three balloons, inflated to perfectly fill shoe box – when one changes size, either of both of others adjust.

If Job’s friend Eliphaz was right, “man is born to trouble, As the sparks fly upward.” Job 5:7 Question then is how will you deal with affliction? Will hardship get the better of you? or will you persevere? if so, how? Maybe it has already brought you right up to point of defeat – if so, hang on, there is hope!

One more kind of technical point: what’s up with v.1-2 – opening line, then “Let Israel now say”, then opening line again? Possible explanation: singing led by precentor, sets tune, then lines out the song, singing one line at a time followed by congregation. Sang first line, stopped and said “if you know it, sing along with me”, then started again and completed the song. Now what about the ending? v.8? Depends on where you put quotation marks! For sake of simplicity, will treat separately, assume the final line has different audience. More on that when we get there.

A. many afflictions v.1-2a

appears to be long-standing pattern of hardship, affliction, attack over extended period of time – “since my youth”

not short-term situation, somebody having bad day, wrong place at wrong time; describes repeated action with intent of wearing down

like pain or illness – can endure pretty intense stuff when it’s short; chronic pain or disease usually far more debilitating, often provokes bad response

ongoing repeated attacks have different results based on which entity is in view

on government – look at older history of Cold War, current issues between two Koreas: one side pokes, other side may not respond; poke, nothing; repeat…; poke, angry response; poke, huge angry reaction; escalates quickly because of pent-up hostility/frustration

on church – do the right thing, stick to right principles… for a while; government/culture keep pushing against church, eventually it moves, gives up the fight and figures out how to accommodate; sometimes circle wagons, grow unhealthily inward-focused

on individual – shrug it off, move on to next thing; then, frustration and fatigue, maybe angry reaction; if it keeps up long enough… give up/give in, no strength left to resist

source of affliction: those who at root are enemies of Zion, hostile to God and his people (Christ and the church)

basically all who are “without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” Eph. 2:12

be sure to remember: only reason affliction doesn’t come our way all the time from all unbelievers is because God restrains

unregenerate conscience still functions at some level; civil government does not wield sword in vain – most people don’t want to risk penalty of lawbreaking, at least on big stuff

affliction psalmist talking about – comes primarily from those who are active enemies, quick to express hostility toward God

nature of affliction – whatever causes harm, not limited to physical harm; can be physical, spiritual, emotional, financial/material

which institution is in the sights affects strategy – Koreas, e.g., using tactics that are intended to cause both physical and emotional harm: artillery and land mines, loudspeakers

took a page right out of Sanballat’s playbook – ridicule (Neh. 2:19); entrapment (Neh. 6:2), propaganda (Neh. 6:5), similar to Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:19-27)

early church suffered physical harm (Saul, breathing out threatenings and slaughter), resulting emotional harm; spiritual harm in Galatian church (who has bewitched you)

converted Saul (apostle Paul) suffered all of the above as did Jewish people numerous times during their history, sometimes by their own doing (God’s correcting their bad behavior) but not always

affliction not something new on stage of human history – promised as result of sin and Curse: “enmity between…” Gen. 3:15

been part of family life since beginning – think Cain and Abel, first issue between them not likely what happened at church that day

goes with the territory of being God’s people, in Israel or in the Church – Bible full of descriptions about that

B. deep afflictions v.3

again, not just surface irritations that can just shrug off like cow twitches off flies; are deep, painful, long-lasting, not quickly healed

just like farmer plows field – methodically, repeatedly going back and forth, leaving no spot unturned – this kind of affliction intended to hurt, crush, ultimately destroy

in no way accidental, absolutely purposeful with end goal in mind; must realize – many act as agents of Satan, unwittingly working toward his end goal

individual may not consciously set out to destroy you, however they willingly go along with Satan’s incentives to cause hurt

same true in larger contexts – church and government; mastermind behind corporate evil is unseen Father of Lies himself

then there are those who are fully aware of what they are doing, may even take perverse pleasure in causing harm to others

intentionally set out to destroy reputation, confidence, faith of other person; failing that, destroy the person entirely

those who torture Christians for their faith make up mental picture – countries that are closed/hostile to the Gospel

are others who behave similarly – neighbors, co-workers, family members, random members of society who hate Christ and Christians: set out on agenda to methodically attack and harm until their goal is reached

So how do we avoid defeat even though beaten up, beaten down?

C. powerful God v.2b, 4

have clear testimony of God’s servant – “they have not prevailed against me”; “they have not defeated me”

enemies keep coming back, over and over and over, with hardly break between attacks – yet God’s child was not overcome

one thing you won’t find here – reliance on own toughness; is not personal strength or fortitude, national might (military or otherwise), church’s determination to hold fast to its confession of faith

in fact, scenario described by psalmist kind from which there is no humanly explainable escape; it is all of God and his power

notice: God did not prevent certain amount of hurt coming to his people – they experienced real affliction… for long time

situation far from hopeless – God will not allow his people to be finally and irrevocably overcome by their enemies

is not God’s power that takes center stage, is instead his righteousness – must keep in mind power is not the deciding factor

not that God is bigger than schoolyard bully and can take him out; is that God is righteous, does what is righteous, has the power to do what is righteous in any/all circumstances, and… uses his power for that purpose

in light of God’s righteousness, can be confident of righteous outcome for our affliction when God moves to deliver us

significant element to God’s exercise of power on our behalf – to govern his creation and our lives so even most awful things ultimately serve good purpose according to his plan

since God is righteous, can count on him to deliver us from enemies (Lord’s Prayer – deliver us from Evil One) at precisely right time

God will never expect us to endure more affliction than is necessary, less affliction than will achieve his good purpose for us

D. protected church v.5-8

focus changes from past to future – how should God treat his sworn enemies who have attacked his people

prayer in this section really that God would deal justly with his enemies – those who are committed to hating Christ’s Church

must keep in mind – attack on Church, body of Christ, equals attack on Christ: “Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Acts 9:4

God doesn’t always bring hammer down on enemies; e.g., converted one of greatest enemies, Paul, into friend and follower

at same time, should not, must not expect God to compromise his character – cannot overlook evil indefinitely

as God carries out his decrees in his works of providence, preserving and governing his creatures and their actions, has Church specially in mind and focus

sentiment expressed: may God bless those who love his Church, deal justly (judge) those who hate and try to harm his Church

Christ loved the church, gave himself for her, is preparing a place for her, will come back for her, will finish preparing her for full union with him – Son and Father do not work at cross purposes, God-in-three has single purpose

means everything that God allows or directs toward the Church designed to strengthen her, purify her, prepare her for heaven

some specifics requested here with regard to treatment of Church’s enemies

lose their credibility, evil purposes be exposed and so humiliate them

frustrate their purposes, prevent from achieving their intended goal, show their boasts to be empty

end up producing nothing of value or substance, dry up and blow away; be like a flash in the pan with no endurance – leave no legacy to continue persecution

obvious they are objects of God’s displeasure, not his blessing; clear and present sense of God’s righteous anger can be means of moving individual toward conversion

would be wrong to expect God to prosper individual or government who is actively trying to harm his Church

I know, that’s a hard one, especially when you live in country becoming increasingly hostile toward Gospel and God’s people

Conclusion: is right to look around gathered church and say “We bless you in the name of the LORD!” Can do that if last sentence has own set of quotation marks! Can rightly say it – those who are genuine members of Zion, the true Church, can expect God’s rich blessing.

“The central reality for Christians is the personal, unalterable, persevering commitment that God makes to us. Perseverance is not the result of our determination; it is the result of God’s faithfulness. We survive in the way of faith not because we have extraordinary stamina but because God is righteous. Christian discipleship is a process of paying more and more attention to God’s righteousness and less and less attention to our own; finding the meaning of our lives not by probing our moods and motives and morals but by believing in God’s will and purposes; making a map of the faithfulness of God, not charting the rise and fall of our enthusiasms. It is out of such a reality that we acquire perseverance.” Eugene Peterson

Faith – What Is It?

Hebrews 11:1-3

Start reading with Heb. 10:36

“You have need of endurance so that …you may receive the promise.” We, like all previous believers, somewhere on continuum between when God gave promise of heavenly inheritance and when will actually receive it. Every previous generation has died without receiving promises (11:13), yet they didn’t give up on promises. How? “The just shall live by faith! …we are …of those who believe (have faith) to the saving of the soul.”

According to commonly expressed wisdom found in our culture, faith may not even be necessary. In any case, must be kept private. Seems more and more people opting for no claim to religious faith, along with that have abandoned any hope offered by religious belief system. That way of thinking comes with steep price, exacting toll on individual and those around them. Century-and-a-half ago, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Thoreau Perhaps you’ve noticed, no longer quiet. Desperate seeking for meaning, hope and failure to find it encourage many to make choices leading to disastrous, often violent end.

What sets Christian apart from all the rest? Faith that has particular object, a specific hope. True biblical faith of kind identified in our text is not blind leap into the unknown. It is not taking risk that defies godly wisdom. Is not deciding on course of action without any supporting evidence. The one who takes blind leap expecting God to make it come out all right is both foolish and presumptuous. God never expects us to take any kind of risk or action that truly contradicts wisdom he gives by Word and Spirit.

And… God does not expect us to “just trust him”, simply because he says so. We have his Word and his works – describe and demonstrate his character. Who is it we’re supposed to trust? What kind of Being is he? Why should we trust him? Can he be trusted? What does he expect us to trust him about? Bible expresses clearly, backed up by his works of creation and providence – making all things, then providing for needs and sustaining all things.

So what is faith? Is something of substance, that provides evidence, defines route to good testimony and supplies means to understanding things we can’t see.

A. the substance [assurance] of things hoped for v.1a

faith is reality, but where did it come from? listen to lots of radio / TV preacher types (and others), would think is something you must somehow come up with on your own

absolutely not what Bible has to say on subject – and doesn’t matter whether talking about saving faith or persevering faith

Eph. 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Heb. 12:1-2 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,looking unto Jesus, the author [originator] and finisher [completer] of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Mark 9:24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

faith you have is really yours, you exercise it, ordinarily grows larger and stronger with time and exercise

yet, you have it because God graciously gave it to you; you keep it because God graciously nourishes it, puts you in circumstances that grow and strengthen it

faith is reality you hold your in possession that corresponds to what you hope for – faith not what you hope for in itself, is title you have been given to your hope

if you own real property, have a title to it; don’t have to see property, experience it – drive car, live in house – to be confident it exists… and is yours

can carry title with you, show it to others, derive full assurance from simply possessing title; same is true of faith that is gift from God

do you have faith in promises of God – ones that relate to this life as well as next? faith that God gives supplies confidence that things you hope for will be yours one day

B. the evidence [demonstration] of things not seen v.1b

faith you possess supplies adequate evidence to convince judge and jury that unseen things really exist and deserve our trust

follow the reasoning here: you have faith in God, faith is gift from God, God is real but unseen, your faith demonstrates God exists

what are things we hope for? things we can detect with senses? sometimes, but not always – most important ones are spiritual realities

think about ones who fill out ranks of faith heroes in chapter 11 – who not only had faith but acted on it in things of daily life

Noah – never saw cloud in sky for 120 years, persevered in building boat in face of increasing evil around him

Abraham – surrogate motherhood not part of God’s plan, no hope of in vitro fertilization, no awareness of ram caught in bush

Moses’ parents Amram & Jochebed – no clue would be their son 80 years in future long after their deaths who would lead slaves out of Egypt

all of them had faith in even greater promises, of things not seen, that even now have only been partially fulfilled

they have moved on to next stage of their salvation, but still not complete; like us are still waiting promised final consummation, new heaven and earth, all that entails

bottom line here – if you want to have any kind of serious, valid understanding of spiritual things at all, must have genuine faith from God

without faith, cannot read Bible and understand spiritual truths; cannot read God’s handwriting in creation; carry on conversation with Christian about God, Jesus, Bible on more than surface intellectual level

C. the route to a good testimony v.2

how are you going to make your mark on the world – faith not even on the radar as far as world is concerned

what books did you write, machine did you invent, scientific discovery did you make, Nobel prize did you win

for Christian, what matters to God should come first, then maybe what is important to those close to us; so what matters to God?

from verse 3 thru end of the chapter – “by faith” eighteen times! talking about people doing things we only dream about

yes, what they did was important, how they did what they did far more significant to God – God commended them for living by faith

not only action heroes who were commended by God – read v.35-39

“all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith” – in sense, didn’t matter what they achieved, was that they achieved it by faith that mattered to God

key point: “by their great faith the elders obtained a good testimony”? “by their strong faith the elders obtained a good testimony”?

NO! simply “by their faith…”; no reason to feel like second-class citizen if you have small or weak faith; more important – is it genuine?

and… are you following example of apostle Paul: Gal. 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; 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 for me.”

Paul’s desire was to end his life with a good testimony, commendation from God; no bucket list can ever compare to that

so… do you want your Heavenly Father’s approval? pursue your God-give vocation (calling) by faith, in God and his promises

live and act and speak every day all day in such a way that those who know you will say – must be your faith in God that enables you to be like that

D. the means to understanding v.3

when we take our faith out front door and into the world, must grasp significance of faith as we interact with others

apostle John greeted readers Rev. 1:4 “John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,”

Carl Sagan began show in 1980: “The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be.” – wording not coincidental!

those two statements mutually exclusive – both can be wrong but both cannot be right; more important, what is fundamental difference between how John and Carl Sagan viewed same universe? Faith, of kind we find in our text.

both John and Carl Sagan had faith – John’s faith in God and his promises, Sagan’s faith in his own reasoning powers

it is kind of faith that is gift of God that enables us to recognize / acknowledge his fingerprints all over his creation as explained by his story

we look at universe, reach one set of conclusions; unbeliever, even a really smart one, sees same evidence, reaches radically different conclusions

it’s not because they’re stupid, uninformed, careless; is because they do not have right kind of eyesight, informed by faith in God

took group of high school students to Boston Museum of Science – got into lengthy discussion with staff; harder students pushed, harder staff pushed back defending their own beliefs

btw, Sagan’s viewpoint not new; 350 years before Christ, Aristotle knew nothing comes from nothing, so matter (the cosmos) must be eternal

problem was staff at Museum had wrong kind of faith – like Sagan and others, had faith in reason, in science, not in God

so what does biblical faith tell us? if it is either/or, either God is eternal or the cosmos is eternal, biblical faith takes God’s word for it

God’s word for it is he “created all things from nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good”

one who has kind of faith that leads to God saying “well done” is confident that God has power to create ex nihilo, used his power to do just that, communicated accurate description of what he did to Moses… who wrote it down in Genesis 1-3

if it takes right kind of faith to properly understand chapter 1, what about rest of the book? exactly! it is mostly closed to unbeliever

can be true of practical truths found in Bible as well as spiritual; don’t get frustrated with unbelieving family and friends

they cannot understand/receive biblical truth you try to tell them without faith accompanied by power and help of Holy Spirit

So how does God expect us to live each day? What is necessary for us to be included in those who obtain a good testimony (39)? Use the faith God has given you as title guaranteeing your future heavenly reality. Exercise that faith, pray diligently for more of it, do what you know is right according to God’s word, follow leading of God’s Spirit – believing God will keep his promises, trusting God knows what is best and will lead you right even when you cannot see past next curve in the road.