Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION

Is life fair?

It is the most heart rending question to a whole generation of people called millennials.

Whereas previous generations have often fought for justice in the world, they have most often accepted that the world is unfair and unjust, and that in order to succeed we have to deal with the hardships and adversities we encounter in life, millennials as a cohort on the other hand have been surprised by the levels and layers of difficulty and struggle they have to face down, just in the ordinary pursuits of daily living.

Not everyone in this generational group is like this, but as a group they tend to think this way about life.

This is true particularly in the western hemisphere, and culture.

Life is generally more comfortable, the economy better, and standards of living much higher than for their parents or grandparents.

Most have not face major deprivation, war, cataclysmic adversity a natural disaster that has completely devastated their lives or region.

They are accustomed to to having money for regular visits to the coffee shop, an fairly easy passage through school and college, safe places where they are protected from hearing things with which they disagree, and have the expectation that in the corporate world they will have little problem making good money almost immediately after of college.

So when life is tough or things go wrong, or there is a price to be paid for success and progress, it sometimes comes as a shock, a significant emotional and mental shock, that the world does not routinely grease the skids for them, just because of who they are.

In short, they have been sold a bill of goods, that fails to deliver once they enter the unprotected world outside of their home and educational environment, where they are finally responsible to make their own way without being propped up in some way.

was written for millennials!

In it the writer...

David deals with the the big questions about life, about injustice, adversity, wisdom, folly, rewards and punishments (VanGemeren, Willem A. “Psalms.”

In The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, edited by Frank E. Gaebelein, Vol. 5. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991, 297).

What emerges is a principle, which can only be described as providence, the overarching rule of God, whereby the wicked will eventually be punished and the righteous will be rewarded by God.

Furthermore, the wrongs of the world will be brought to an end and God will establish utterly impeccable justice under the sovereign rule of his hand.

In the meantime, however, the psalmist acknowledges and admits that things are not perfect and that the world is both unsafe, unfair and brutal.

It is because of the sin and wickedness of men.

Their pride, greed, selfishness and lack of concern for God, God's rule and holiness has perverted the course of history, with the result that injustice and evil prevail, and adversity and suffering are as much a part of the natural order of things in this present age as birth and death (, , , , ).

So what then is the final conclusion of the Psalmist?

The wicked will perish like grass that grows and is then scorched by the sun ().

They may plot against the righteous and even wound them from time to time, but God will turn their fierce anger against them, and they will ultimately fail and be punished in judgment ().

While the wicked are dishonest in their dealings, it is God who will reward the righteous with a lasting inheritance, and the wicked will lose what little they once possessed ().

While the wicked scheme against the righteous, their plans will not prevail, and they will not ultimately be able overcome those who belong to God; there will be a reversal of fortunes in the end ().

Once they have been removed, once they have been punished, once the books have been balanced, the wicked will be no more - even if you were to look for them you will not be able to find them ()!

On the other hand, the prospects of the righteous are far better!

God Has undertaken to give to the righteous the desires of their hearts (), whenever they first delight themselves in the Lord.

Their way, the course of their lives, will not fade away unto death, but grow brighter and brighter, as they reach the goals God has for them, when he will vindicate their cause at the end of the age and in the ages to come ().

So it is vital that the righteous simply commit their way to God.

That ism they are to trust God with the final outcome, and not to fret and worry about it, to the point they seek to manipulate things for their own ends and benefit ().

Let God be you benefactor, and he will vindicate you!

The righteousness should not fret, be eaten up with dread or anxiety over the future, or about the outcome of something uncertain in the future ().

Neither should they become angry and impatient about the speed at which things unfold or at which God works, because God is dealing with ultimate and permanent outcomes, which will be in their favor, and not immediate and temporary benefits and comforts in this age (, , , , , , ).

In the midst of this conversation about the fate of the wicked and the rewards of the righteous, the Psalmist also contemplates the providence of God in this life.

He notes that God guides and protects each step that we take.

So in our lives as we ask about taking the next steps, it is vitally important to know that between the present moment and teh day of victory and vindication, God is watching over every step in order to bring us safely home ()!

In the midst of this conversation about the fate of the wicked and the rewards of the righteous, the Psalmist also contemplates the providence of God in this life.

He notes that God guides and protects each step that we take.

So in our lives as we ask about taking the next steps, it is vitally important to know that between the present moment and teh day of victory and vindication, God is watching over every step in order to bring us safely home ()!

In our passage the psalmist first makes an assertion about God's providence, then he testifies as this his own observation and experience of God's providence and finally he encourages his readers to surrender to God and trust in his providential care and blessing.

There is a hint here that this declaration comes from a moment of doubt or crisis in David's life when he saw the apparent thriving of the wicked, who reject God and and do not trust in his providence.

But on reflection and further observation, he realizes that they are doomed to perish along with their ways, as quickly as the grass is withered by the heat of the sun.

This is critical, because the next observation is based on confidence in the providence of God and his care for his people, and all who put their trust in him!

In our passage the psalmist first makes an assertion about God's providence, then he testifies as this his own observation and experience of God's providence and finally he encourages his readers to surrender to God and trust in his providential care and blessing.

There is a hint here that this declaration comes from a moment of doubt or crisis in David's life when he saw the apparent thriving of the wicked, who reject God and and do not trust in his providence.

But on reflection and further observation, he realizes that they are doomed to perish along with their ways, as quickly as the grass is withered by the heat of the sun.

This is critical, because the next observation is based on confidence in the providence of God and his care for his people, and all who put their trust in him!

1. Firm Steps

The promise made by the psalmist here is that God will make our steps firm.

But what does that mean?

First of all…

The idea of taking steps is a familiar biblical metaphor for living one's life.

The idea of walking in a certain way means to conduct one's life in a certain manner.

The idea of walking in a certain way means to conduct one's life in a certain manner.

So, the psalmist said in that he will not walk in the way of sinners or the ungodly (, ).

In Deuteronomy the metaphor of walking for how one conducts their life is a most common way of referring to righteousness as a way of life (; ; ; ; ; ; ).

In other words, to take steps forward is to conduct ones life, live one's life, to make personal progress or to move forward in living one's life.

The idea of walking in a certain way means to conduct one's life in a certain manner.

So, the psalmist said in that he will not walk in the way of sinners or the ungodly (, ).

In Deuteronomy the metaphor of walking for how one conducts their life is a most common way of referring to righteousness as a way of life (; ; ; ; ; ; ).

In other words, to take steps forward is to conduct ones life, live one's life, to make personal progress or to move forward in living one's life.

So, the psalmist said in that he will not walk in the way of sinners or the ungodly (, ).

In Deuteronomy the metaphor of walking for how one conducts their life is a most common way of referring to righteousness as a way of life (; ; ; ; ; ; ).

In other words, to take steps forward is to conduct ones life, live one's life, to make personal progress or to move forward in living one's life.

What the psalmist says, building on the metaphor, is that the Lord will make the steps of the one who delight's in God, firm.

Now, before we deal with the condition, we should explore what it means for God to make our steps firm.

The idea behind the word is that to direct, place, make firm, arrange, establish, fix, etc., (Brown, Francis, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs.

Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon.

Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977, 465).

So the psalmist is claiming that God will direct and firmly establish the steps of those who delight in him.

There is a certain assurance in this that although the wicked are destined at some point to fail, and their success is temporary and short-lived, the righteous will prevail, because God will direct their paths and establish there steps (their lives and its outcome) firmly enough not to fail (Brown, Francis, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs.

Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon.

Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977, 857).

It is the noun steps that carries the metaphor for the course of one's life, and it is the final outcome that is put beyond question, as we shall see in the next clause.

The individual elements of the journey may be tough and hard to walk out, but the final outcome is not in question for those who delight in the Lord.

But the promise is conditional, on delighting oneself in the Lord ().

This person is described as a strong man(גֶּ֫בֶר), the hero (Clarke, Adam, trans.

The Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes.

New Edition.

Vol.

I–VI.

Bellingham, WA: Faithlife Corporation, 2014, Vol. 3, 339).

But what does it mean to delight yourself in the Lord?

It basically means to take pleasure in something, or to enjoy it, but has the underlying notion of being mindful of or paying proper attention to something (Brown, Francis, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs.

Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon.

Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977, 342).

The truth is that the way many of us conducts our lives, the Lord is lucky to ge a mention in dispatches or a brief window of attention on Sunday morning!

He is hardly at the center of our lives, or at the core of our devotion.

But that is what David is saying.

If we want the course of our lives to be finally established and if we expect to prevail and be vindicated in the end, then we must delight in the Lord, give him our wholehearted devotion and attention!

The promise is conditional!

Now we note that the psalmist is thinking in term of outcomes, as the use of the metaphor steps seems to imply.

He says that even if the man who delights in God stumbles, he will not fall ().

Now this is vitally important...

Building on the metaphor of steps as a reference to the entire course of one's life...

He envisions the individual steps being sometimes uncertain, or over difficult or uneven terrain, so that one might stumble.

Nevertheless, God will not allow the stumbling steps to undermine and overpower the outcome.

How will be do this?

By upholding or sustaining those who delight in the Lord, with provision and strength from his own hand.