Our Anchor In Sorrow
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Introduction
Introduction
The purpose of an anchor is to keep a ship safe and secure at a desired location, or to help control a ship during bad weather. We all need anchors as well. Adversity and deep sorrow can come as a great storm to blow us off course and threaten to cast us against rocks, drag us out to open sea. The danger isnt only when the storm hits, sometimes the danger is present even when everything seems safe, the winds are soft and the water is calm and smooth. We can in fact be drifting and the movement is slight and we might not even notice it. It is the nature of things to drift and without a set anchor we are in danger.
This Psalm is a lament Psalm and comes from a place of great sorrow in David. David was much acquainted with troubles, trials, griefs and sorrows — how did he keep from drifting off course? What kept him so near to the LORD? David like ship captains laid anchor to keep the ship where he wanted it.
1 I said, “I will guard my ways so that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle as long as the wicked are in my presence.” 2 I was speechless and quiet; I kept silent, even from speaking good, and my pain intensified. 3 My heart grew hot within me; as I mused, a fire burned. I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, make me aware of my end and the number of my days so that I will know how short-lived I am. 5 In fact, you have made my days just inches long, and my life span is as nothing to you. Yes, every human being stands as only a vapor. Selah 6 Yes, a person goes about like a mere shadow. Indeed, they rush around in vain, gathering possessions without knowing who will get them.
7 “Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you. 8 Rescue me from all my transgressions; do not make me the taunt of fools. 9 I am speechless; I do not open my mouth because of what you have done.
10 Remove your torment from me. Because of the force of your hand I am finished. 11 You discipline a person with punishment for iniquity, consuming like a moth what is precious to him; yes, every human being is only a vapor. Selah
12 “Hear my prayer, Lord, and listen to my cry for help; do not be silent at my tears. For I am here with you as an alien, a temporary resident like all my ancestors. 13 Turn your angry gaze from me so that I may be cheered up before I die and am gone.”
Understand Life is Fleeting
Understand Life is Fleeting
1 I said, “I will guard my ways so that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle as long as the wicked are in my presence.” 2 I was speechless and quiet; I kept silent, even from speaking good, and my pain intensified. 3 My heart grew hot within me; as I mused, a fire burned. I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, make me aware of my end and the number of my days so that I will know how short-lived I am. 5 In fact, you have made my days just inches long, and my life span is as nothing to you. Yes, every human being stands as only a vapor. Selah 6 Yes, a person goes about like a mere shadow. Indeed, they rush around in vain, gathering possessions without knowing who will get them.
As David opens up his Psalm he starts with the phrase “I said...” This is a statement of a previous vow made. He isnt saying it now, he is declaring that he had already said and already determined. What was it he had determined and decided to do? David had determined to guard his ways. To protect or keep his ways or also known as his conduct or way of being. He also states that the end goal in sight was to not sin with his tongue. This would be to sin in speech — gossip, slander, lying, backbiting, cursing, etc. He even says he will guard his mouth with a muzzle — as long as the wicked are in his presence.
David’s motive and intention was right as was his silence. The issue we will see is that his resolve was not deep enough. He resolved at the mind and the tongue, but both of these fall short of the source of speech. It is the heart that must be dealt with to silence the mouth and the mind.
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
45 A good person produces good out of the good stored up in his heart. An evil person produces evil out of the evil stored up in his heart, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.
Maclaren said “To build a dam across a torrent without diminishing the sources that supply its waters only increases weight and pressure and ensures a muddy flood when it bursts”
David recounts the events - he was speechless and quiet. He kept silent even from speaking good, but now in silence his pain intensified. His heart grew hot within him. He says as I mused a fire burned. To muse is to sigh, but this phrase takes all of the discontent and irritable sighing as a whole event all together. This lit a fire within and the fire burned and it lit a fuse and the fuse when it burned out blew open the dam. David says I spoke with my tongue.
The more David nursed the bitterness of his soul, the greater the pressure increased. After time even the most dammed up frustration and feelings will burst forth.
7 a time to tear and a time to sew; a time to be silent and a time to speak;
The wise man knows the difference between the time to speak and the time to be silent, as well as whom to speak with when it is time.
When David spoke he spoke to the right one - the one who can handle our frustration and pains. God can handle our emotions and our sufferings. David didnt speak with critics or enter into vain arguments with those who had strong opinions about his suffering and sorrows. Job had friends to comfort him in his trouble and they were miserable friends at that. David spoke to the LORD.
David as he speaks to the LORD asks the LORD to give him knowledge and wisdom through awareness. Awareness is walking around with your eyes open and your mind apprehending. David desires to have the wisdom from God to be aware of his end, and the number of his days. David says with this understanding, and with this wisdom I will know how short-lived I am. David continue and says in fact you have made my days inches long, and my lifespan as nothing to You. In fact every human being stands as only a vapor.
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.
3 furthermore, if you call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, 4 if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
“Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.
The lifespan of men in comparison to the eternal ongoing span of God is a mere blip or mark that is quickly gone and barely seen. How quickly time passes is an issue for all of us, not just the elderly. Wisdom on the quickly passing of the sands of time coupled with a heart for God allows us to be mindful of eternity. Our culture is steeped in the denial of time marching on and the aging process. We rename things - old folks homes are retirement villages - the golden life acres, we employ a myriad of cosmetics, potions, and dyes. Cosmetic surgeries to reverse the aging process — but in the end it is all VANITY.
David compares the vanishing life to that of a shadow. Rushing around in vanity gathering possessions. This is the idea of accumulating and building up vast quantities. In this conquest of accumulation there is no thought given to who will inherit or receive them after.
18 I hated all my work that I labored at under the sun because I must leave it to the one who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will take over all my work that I labored at skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.
21 When there is a person whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a person who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong.
The writer here knows the vanity or futility of the accumulation of stuff - for there has never been a U-haul towed by a Hearst when the life is laid to rest.
10 For one can see that the wise die; the foolish and stupid also pass away. Then they leave their wealth to others.
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?’
David tells us human life is frail - comparing it to vapors and shadows. Time is fleeting seeds of sand in the hourglass of life. The length of which is a few handbreadths - surely then accumulation of wealth is not the goal - we must live for something greater and for something beyond this life. Armand Nicholi a Harvard psychiatrist says that “Only when we are ready to die are we ready to live.” If we can accept both our death and our life in light of death then we can be anchored in our sorrows to live beyond ourselves.
Trust the Only Solid Hope
Trust the Only Solid Hope
7 “Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you. 8 Rescue me from all my transgressions; do not make me the taunt of fools. 9 I am speechless; I do not open my mouth because of what you have done.
10 Remove your torment from me. Because of the force of your hand I am finished. 11 You discipline a person with punishment for iniquity, consuming like a moth what is precious to him; yes, every human being is only a vapor. Selah
David asks an incredulous question of the LORD - what do I wait for? For what do I look forward to the occurrence of or the arrival of? In what is my trust? David already concluded that with life as a vapor that the goal of accumulation is a dead end. David says in light of death I cannot trust in what I have accumulated or what I have amassed. The length of life cannot be trusted in either as it is fleeting. David knew his trust needs to be in something outside of the reach of death and so he says my hope is in You! Maclaren “What should earth’s vanity teach but God’s sufficiency.”
David decides that instead of losing hope, and drifting out further he is going to set his hope - not in this world or this passing life but his hope is set in the LORD. The LORD is the only solid hope as He is the foundation of all that is real and lasting.
17 These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is Christ.
With our trust firmly anchored in the hope of the LORD we are no longer concerned with how long we live instead we are focused on how we are living. Life is no longer measured by the world’s values but by eternity’s values.
17 And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.
With eternity in mind David becomes hyper aware of the need to deal with his sins, and his transgressions. When eternity is in view we realize we need the LORD’s help from our sins more than we need His help from our accusers. David declares his speechlessness - this means he has no defense no argument for what has transpired in him and around him. David acknowledges it is from God. We would do right to keep our mouths closed as we remember that God allows whatever is happening around us, instead trust in His mercy, grace and His goodness. C.S. Lewis aptly wrote in his book The Problem of Pain, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to arouse a deaf world.”
David’s awareness of the transitoriness of life is heightened by his sickness. With his health gone he sees himself and his life for what it is in light of things — a vapor and a mere shadow. David calls on the LORD to rescue him from his trangressions and to remove His resulting torment. We can gather a few view points from David’s time and understanding here.
Life is passing and any illnesses and weaknesses is a reminder of one’s mortality
Sin often leads to sickness, and when forgiven the root of many ills is broken.
Sickness is viewed in the Bible as a sign of God’s judgment or a result of Satan’s work
David simply saw God bringing the “plague” of His wrath upon him and cried out for deliverance. When we come to Christ, we receive God’s forgiveness, knowing that He has borne the wrath of God on the Cross
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus,
This means that in Jesus God comes to heal us rather than to punish us.
1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,
One can say with even more assurance than did David, “My hope is in You.” The LORD has sent Christ to redeem and heal. In Christ our lives go from vapor and potentially wasted to being in the LORD’s hands and He allows nothing to be wasted.
10 A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.
It is not that the life of the Christian has no meaning, but rather that our meaning is tethered to the Lord.
Such an honest realization drives us to anchor our hope in God alone (v. 7). Too often, we anchor our hope to certain outcomes, only to be disappointed - and left adrift. Sometimes a marriage collapses. Sometimes loved ones die. Sometimes a job is rendered redundant. Sometimes a friend becomes a foe. Sometimes an unbeliever does not repent. Sometimes a sinful habit grasps us again. Sometimes the ungodly prosper. Sometimes the persecuted do not escape. Sometimes medical reports are ominous. Sometimes ministry comes to an end. Sometimes children rebel. Sometimes prayers are answered no. Yet in our disappointments we find ourselves not alone but rather disappointed with God. Sometimes God disappoints us, but at least we are not disappointed alone.
Our attitude must always be like that of Daniel’s friends who, when threatened with a fiery death, boldly declared,
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to this question. 17 If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can rescue us from the power of you, the king. 18 But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”
Life without hope is despair Hal Lindsey said that “A man can live about 40 days without food, about three days without water, and about 18 minutes without air but only one second without HOPE.” If we can put ALL of our life in God’s hands only then are we anchored in Him our only solid hope.
Remember This Is Not Home
Remember This Is Not Home
12 “Hear my prayer, Lord, and listen to my cry for help; do not be silent at my tears. For I am here with you as an alien, a temporary resident like all my ancestors. 13 Turn your angry gaze from me so that I may be cheered up before I die and am gone.”
David pleads with the LORD to hear his prayer, listen to his cry for help and to not be silent at his tears. David says I am here with you as an alien - dependent upon you and your generosity. I am here as a temporary resident or sojourner as all my ancestors. Under the law the stranger is a protected resident alien. The sojourner is an alien passing through the land. Provisions were made for these groups to be included in Israel’s day to day life.
48 If an alien resides among you and wants to observe the Lord’s Passover, every male in his household must be circumcised, and then he may participate; he will become like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat it. 49 The same law will apply to both the native and the alien who resides among you.”
Vacationing is great but there always comes that time where you begin to long for home. Your own town, your own house, your own bed - and even your own routine. C.S. Lewis in his book The Problem of Pain wrote “The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment, He has scattered broadcast. . . . Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”
This world - and especially this life is not our home - we are merely passing through. David undertsood that and he chose not to be anchored to it - but in another sense David also sensed that as an alien and sojourner that he could seek grace, mercy and help as a sojourner - the LORD is the one who put that compassionate law into place to begin with and therefore was a mirror of His own compassion towards the wanderer, the pilgrim or sojourner.
We must like David be anchored in the reality that this world is not our home. We are aliens and transient people here.
20 Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. 4 You know the way to where I am going.”
Conclusion
Conclusion
In the midst of our sorrow we can begin experience the waves of life, the waves of emotion and the storms beating against us. We are but a tiny vessel in the sea of life and so we can be taken off course quite quickly, or taken out of the harbor and into open seas. We must set our anchor as a ship does to keep it from drifting out or from being dragged out in the storm.
We must be anchored in knowing life is short and fleeting
We must be anchored in the solid hope of our Rock!
19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.
We must be anchored in knowing we are passing through this world as pilgrims and sojourners.
Apart from the eternal God all life is meaningless and despair will overwhelm us. Have we prayed for the wisdom to number our days so we might live accrodingly? Have we considered ourselves for strangers and sojourners upon earth, as like sojourners only to make Christ our home, our resting place, our one only pursuit, our one only desire? Are you a stranger upon earth? Then surely your plan of life, your pursuit, your conversation, your daily walk, will be as the pilgrim, foreign to all the customs, manners, habits, pleasures, and delights of those around. If a sojourner only, then this is not your home, nor are these objects worth your pursuit. Oh! how blessed is it to sit loose and detached from all things here below, that we may have our conversation in heaven, that while going home to our Father’s house we may use the world as not abusing it, knowing that the fashion of it passeth away; and, like the patriarchs, may be always on the look-out for that city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.