The Steadfast Love of God

Good morning, welcome, Happy Mother’s Day.

Please open Bibles to Psalm 36.

Dismiss Bright Lights.

With many of our families celebrating Mother’s Day today, I’d like to draw our attention to the topic of motherhood this morning.

My hopes for this morning:

Mothers would feel encouraged in their role as mothers, no matter the phase of life.

Those of us who still have mothers in our lives would feel greater appreciation for their important role.

Those of us who have lost our mothers would feel built up in the truth of Scripture.

In general, all of us would be made aware of the magnitude of God’s love for His people.

Read Psalm 36:1-12- Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil. Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O LORD. How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart! Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. There the evildoers lie fallen; they are thrust down, unable to rise.

Pray.

As far as I can tell, this text has nothing to do with motherhood.

I’d like to draw out some principles, or ideas, from the text that are generally given to all of mankind, but can be directly applied to the task of motherhood.

1. The message of motherhood.

Mothers do a lot. They care a lot. They provide a lot. And they teach a lot.

Mothers communicate the true nature of humanity.

Notice the first 4 verses of our Psalm. We may find them to be discouraging as part of a sermon on Mothers Day, but notice for a moment their content. These verses cover the topic of wickedness. There are many truths to be found in these verses. Let’s see what is pointed out:

Transgression, or sin, is found deep in the heart of the wicked. It is deeply rooted, not surface level. This means that the sin deep in a person’s heart is not easily dealt with.

The wicked person lacks a fear of God. Such a person sees God not as He is, but as they would like Him to be. He is not great, mighty, or just, so there is no reason to fear Him. In other words, their understanding is of a shell of God, not the reality of God Himself.

He flatters himself in his own eyes, meaning that he finds no problem within himself. The Hebrew word for flatter is used elsewhere as the smoothing over of something. The wicked person sees as smooth what is truly rough in his life. He is able to deceive himself in this way.

As a result, his wicked works cannot be found out and hated. He will not hate the sin that is in his life because he will not admit the sin that is in his life. He will accept it and say that it is good, or smooth, though it is an offense to God.

The overflow of the wicked heart comes out through deceitful and troublesome words. This means that the tree will be recognized by its fruit. When evil comes from the mouth, it reveals the evil that is found in the heart.

He does not act wisely or do good. The wicked acts according to his own selfishness. He does not seek to honor God in any action, but only wants to honor self.

He plots trouble while on his bed. This is the time of sleepless nights. The mind is too awake to sleep. It is when we come up with our best and worst ideas. For the wicked person, this is the time for planning evil. What more can be done? What more can I think of?

He doesn’t reject evil. He accepts it. This is his life.

When we read the rest of the Psalm, we find that this is the life of the person who finds themselves apart from God. This is the person who has a great need. Ultimately, we know that drawing close to God happens only through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And so we find the common nature of sinful humanity, those who have not yet embraced the love and presence of God, received by grace through faith in Jesus.

Ephesians 2:1-3- And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

The point that Paul is making here is that it is our shared experience. If we are in Christ, it is our shared past.

Understanding the nature of mankind apart from Christ shapes the way that we parent. The honest truth is that every mother with children of any age are tasked with sharing the truths found in these four verses with their children. And the reason for this is that what is described in these verses is describing our children apart from Jesus Christ.

This goes a bit against the grain of parenting today. The temptation is to praise our children in every way possible, to constantly remind them of their uniqueness, to highlight God’s love and care for them. These are all important parts of teaching in parenting, but they are by themselves completely inadequate.

One of the most important parts of imparting the wisdom of Scripture to our children is to let them know the nature of their sinfulness, the behavior of their sinfulness, and the consequence of their sinfulness.

It is okay, on occasion, to let our children know that the reason they messed up, the reason they wronged a person, is because the words of Psalm 36:1-4 are describing them. If they have not embraced Jesus as their Savior, then wicked behavior is to be expected.

The message of mothers for their children apart from Christ is one of sinfulness and need.

If a child is failing a subject in school, we do not tell them that their doing just fine and should continue down their present path.

Instead, we tell them that something is wrong, there is a problem, and we seek the solution. We hire a tutor, we talk to the teacher, we set specific times for homework at the dining room table, we limit time with friends that might distract. We see the problem and communicate it in order that change can happen.

But it doesn’t stop there. The message of motherhood communicates the true nature of humanity but also provides the solution.

Mothers communicate the remedy.

This is where the text leads. The Psalmist writes of the nature of wickedness, but highlights a change that has happened. Here are the first words of v. 5- “Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.”

If the beginning of the psalm highlights wickedness that is shared by all of humanity, why does the Psalmist speak of the faithfulness of God? Why not punishment, wrath and judgement?

It is because the author has moved from the judgement of God to the faithfulness of God. And what was it that brought about this change? It’s the steadfast love of God.

I love that the adjective “steadfast” is used here. It is the crucial word.

Even in our wickedness, in our sinfulness, in the planning of evil laying awake at night, in our lack of fearing God, His love toward us is steadfast. It endures. It overcomes the depths of our wickedness.

So motherhood includes not only the teaching of the shared wickedness and sinfulness of all mankind, but it includes the remedy- God’s persevering love for His people.

But can we trust in this love? How can we be sure of its existence?

Ultimately we know that the love of God was shown most clearly through the sacrificing of His Son on our sinful behalf.

How do we truly know God’s love for us? Romans 5:8- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I love this. This steadfast love spoken of in Psalm 36 is most expressed, most proven, in the atoning blood and death of Jesus.

So we communicate this to our children. This is perhaps the most important thing that we can teach them, and so mothers would do well to constantly return to it.

This is a conversation that must frequently happen- “Yes, you are a sinner. But God has proven His love to sinners through the sending of His Son Jesus. Even while you’re sinning, God provides the remedy. He can bring about the necessary change. Will you let Him?”

Motherhood includes many difficult yet important tasks. Perhaps the greatest of these is the constant reminder to our children that God loves them is capable of saving them from sin.

This is the message of motherhood.

What else might Psalm 36 highlight for us this morning?

2. The balm of motherhood.

I’ve referenced the difficulty of being a mother. It almost feels like “difficult” is too light a word.

Difficult is a word used to describe frustration (that kid is being difficult), lack of knowledge (this math problem is really difficult), or annoyance (Why must you be so difficult?!).

The pain and heartache that I find mothers experiencing is so much more than annoying difficulty.

Please allow me to share some sweeping generalizations.

I’ve found that women, and specifically mothers, struggle with some of the biggest questions in all of existence.

Why am I struggling so much in this one particular area of life? Why can I not become what I want to be? Why can I not get through to my children? Why can I not get control?

This is a small sampling of the many questions that mothers are likely asking, oftentimes simultaneously.

This is not to say that men don’t have these thoughts, I just don’t think we are plagued by them.

Ali asking me what I’m thinking about.

Add to these questions the lingering pains of motherhood.

Someone mistreats kids, moms don’t tend to forget. They hold on to it.

Someone insults the way you do things, it’s difficult to forget. Why do you mother that way, cook that way, etc.?

So if this is the reality of a mothers mind, a mothers heart, what is it that might give soothing comfort?

I use the word balm because I love the image of a balm.

No matter where you find one, it feels like it will have magical abilities!

What is it in the life of a Christian mother that will provide relief, provide healing from unanswerable questions, mistreatment.

What will encourage you in the most disheartening moments of being a mom? Let’s look at the Psalm.

Psalm 36:7-9- How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.

The Psalmist uses the images of refuge, of shadow, of feasting and drinking, of light.

Notice that all of these images deal with harmful situations. To seek refuge requires warfare and strife. To desire shadow requires scorching heat. Feasting and drinking presupposes hunger and thirst. The need for light requires darkness and confusion.

Do we see what the Psalmist is writing here? It is that God provides for our needs when we find ourselves in the midst of need. God provides the balm that offers healing. And so we look to God in the midst of our suffering, trusting that He will provide that which is necessary for us.

But notice the many different examples of comfort being offered. God gives what is necessary when it is necessary. There would be little need for the remedy of food when you are nothing but thirsty. Or to give light as a remedy in times of struggle and warfare.

Thus, we are reminded that God is not only able to give what is a necessary remedy, but also that He knows us well enough to know the specific need.

The question, then, is what does this look like practically?

In the most practical sense, what is most needed is a mother’s knowledge of God’s Word and His promises.

Before we roll our eyes, consider the value and importance of words.

For Men Only- Fighting with reassurance. Storming off versus reassuring and taking time.

Notice a few promises of what God’s Word provides:

Psalm 119:25- My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!

When we feel that life’s circumstances bring us near to spiritual exhaustion or death, God’s Word provides life, nourishment, restoration.

The Psalmist even draws attention to it here in Psalm 36- “For with you is the fountain of life.”

Whatever is taken out of you by your circumstances can be restored by the promises of God’s Word.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

How many times can we say the word comfort?

God brings comfort in affliction. And when we receive comfort, we share such comfort. How do we do this? Not with our own wisdom, but with the wisdom of God’s Word.

Moms reaching out to other moms.

2 Samuel 7:28- And now, O Lord GOD, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.

David, in receiving God’s promise of a covenant relationship, speaks to the truthfulness of the Word of God, and how the promise of good things to come is able to be trusted.

God provides in His Word what is true, in order than we never find ourselves chasing after falsehoods.

No matter what is said to you or of you, you are capable of returning to the truth of Scripture, what God truly thinks of you. Not opinion. Truth.

This is what it looks like to practically receive the balm of motherhood. It is reminding ourselves of the truths found in Scripture. It is meditating on such truths. It is seeing and applying the promises that God has made. It is changing perspective based off of what God has communicated.

And it changes the way you see your situation in life, no matter hardship.

3. The hope of motherhood.

Please allow me one more sweeping generalization. I’ve found that many mothers tend to worry about the future.

I think this is part of the territory of having children. It’s easy to run through the worst case scenarios with each and every one of our kids. I go through it. But I find that with mothers, that concern is exponentially increased.

What will become of my kids? The what if questions.

And there is something that makes it worse. These are questions and concerns that cannot be answered, because their answer is in the future.

We can’t say, “Well, it will all be alright.” because we truly have no idea.

Thus, many moms have these crippling fears over what might happen, and we cannot in ourselves give any practical wisdom because of the limits of our own knowledge. So where does this leave us? What encouragement can we find here in the psalm?

Psalm 36:10-11- Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart! Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

Here we find the hope of the psalmist. Not only for current pain that requires comfort, but for hope in the thoughts of our future.

Notice the tense of the verbs. The psalmist is writing of God’s continuing presence, love, righteousness and protection. Continue proving your love, continue showing your righteousness, continue protecting me from the wicked.

This is the very nature of hope. It is the required trust in the yet unfulfilled promises of God.

Where might mothers turn in the moments of doubt and frustration when asking questions that cannot be answered? To the continuing love and righteousness of the Father.

Again, the word ‘steadfast’ is of great importance here. God’s love for His people continues, it endures. No matter the circumstances surrounding you, no matter the magnitude of your questions, God’s love remains. It does not grow weak, it does not grow tired, but will continue with nothing stopping it.

A few weeks ago, taking Z to get his blood drawn. He was scared, he had no idea what to expect. I was not, and so I held him, told him everything would be okay, and it was.

In the same way, the continued love and righteousness of our Father reminds us that He can see beyond our limited vision, and He can accomplish beyond our meager efforts.

And so, our hope is secured. We do not trust in ourselves, but instead in the sovereign God of the universe. We do not trust in ourselves, but in the caring compassion of our Savior Jesus. We do not trust in ourselves, but in the knowledgeable equipping of the Spirit. These traits will continue, and in them, mothers, even with unanswerable questions, can find rest and peace.

Bringing all of this together this morning in conclusion, how might we all be built up and pressed on?

So mothers, find rest, peace, knowledge and wisdom in the truths found in God’s Word. Children, love your mothers for the great concerns they have over you about which you have no knowledge. Dads, partner with your wives in caring for your family, and speak the powerful and lovely truths of Scripture over her sweetly and gently. Friends, encourage the moms in your life, knowing that motherhood is no easy task and is never for the faint of heart. Look for ways to serve them, to help bear their burdens, and to renew constantly their identity in Christ.

For those who are missing your mom this morning, remember that God is near to the broken hearted. He hears your cries, He sees your tears, He knows your thoughts. Seek peace in the knowledge that God’s mercy remains, and is most visible in circumstances that pose the greatest heartache.

Finally, for everyone listening, know that the steadfast love of God endures. His faithfulness remains. His righteousness never fails. In Him, you can find the most secure refuge. Let’s pray.