Fruit of the Spirit - Patience

Order of Service

• Westminster Shorter Catechism — Questions 13 & 14
• Hymn — Breathe on Me, Breath of God (#334)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — Psalm 62
• Sermon
• Hymn — A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (#92)
• Benediction

---

Sermon Title: Fruit of the Spirit — Patience

Scripture: Psalm 62

I. Spirit-Wrought Patience Is a Remembering Silence Before Who God Is

A. David opens with an abrupt declaration: nevertheless, his soul waits in silence for God alone (Psalm 62:1–2) B. David quiets himself by remembering who God is

1. God is a saving God — "from him comes my salvation"; like Job, David knows his Redeemer lives
2. God is a rock — a sure, unshifting foundation; the wise man builds on the rock (Matthew 7:24–25)
3. God is a fortress — a protecting stronghold; David shall not be greatly shaken C. Application: When patience is a struggle, are you remembering who your God is?
4. Patience looks back to a saving God in order to wait with confidence through present trials
5. Just as a parent reminds a child of who they are, God calls us to remember him in moments of urgency

II. Spirit-Wrought Patience Is a Resolving Trust in Who God Is

A. David faces enemies who use false words and curses to batter and topple him (Psalm 62:3–4) B. Feeling himself begin to sink — like Peter on the water — David now must speak to his own soul (Psalm 62:5)

1. The shift from declaring the state of his soul to addressing his soul directly is significant
2. Like the father who cried, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24), we teeter between belief and unbelief C. Spirit-wrought patience recalls who God is so we can resolve ourselves to trust him on the "help my unbelief" days D. Patience must not be divorced from trust and hope in God's character
3. Wilhelmus à Brakel: "There is much time, much cross-bearing, and much strife between promise and possession. Patience supports hope so that it does not succumb to tribulations."
4. James calls us to establish our hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand (James 5:8)

III. Spirit-Wrought Patience Is a Discriminating Application of Who God Is

A. David contrasts false sources of trust with the God upon whom he has called himself to wait (Psalm 62:9–12) B. People — whether of low or high estate — are merely a breath and a delusion (Psalm 62:9)

1. We are drawn to trust people of influence, but they are temporary and fleeting C. Riches — whether gained honestly or through oppression — are equally unreliable (Psalm 62:10) D. By contrast, God has spoken: power and steadfast love belong to him (Psalm 62:11–12)
2. He is a long-suffering, patient God — slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Exodus 34:6)
3. He is a just God, rendering to each according to their works E. Application: In whom or what are you entrusting yourself?
4. The Spirit grows in us the ability to look through victories and defeats, gains and losses, and to see God
5. God is enough — even a glimpse of what he is doing, of the rest to which he is bringing us, is sufficient to fuel our waiting
6. He works all things together for the good of those called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28)
7. We must learn to know God as David did — in good times and especially in bad