Psalm 31

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — Psalm 31
• Sermon
• Pastoral Prayer

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Sermon Title: Remembering God in the Dark Days

Scripture: Psalm 31

I. Remember the Character of God

A. David cries out not in his own righteousness but in God's righteousness — Psalm 31:1 B. The emphasis in the opening verses is on the name of Yahweh — his very character

1. In Hebrew culture, a name reflected the essential character of who God is
2. God's self-revelation in Exodus 34 — full of steadfast love, mercy, kindness, slow to anger C. "Yahweh, faithful God, you have redeemed me" (Psalm 31:5) — recalling the Covenant Lord who is faithful to his people D. The character of God is stronger than our circumstances; even the darkest day in human history does not drown out who God is

II. Remember Your Relationship with God

A. "I say, you are my God" — Psalm 31:14 — not merely a God, but my God B. Paul's language of "my gospel" (Galatians 2) reflects the same intimate covenantal ownership C. God condescends and binds particular people to himself through the Son D. God vows himself to us personally — swearing by his own name because there is no higher name (Hebrews 6)

1. Like a covenant marriage, both parties vow themselves to each other
2. God is the "Hound of Heaven" — he pursues, draws, and drags us to himself (cf. the parable of the lost sheep) E. In dark days, rest in the covenant promises and vows God has made to his people by his own name

III. Remember the Timing of God

A. "My times are in your hand" — Psalm 31:15 B. God is storing up a treasure house of goodness for those who fear him, to be revealed in his timing — Psalm 31:19 C. Therefore, wait for the Lord — Psalm 31:24

1. Present darkness is in his sovereign hand
2. Future blessings will far outweigh present suffering — cf. Paul's "eternal weight of glory" (Romans 8:18) D. The Hebrew perfect tense in Psalm 31:8 — "you have set my feet in a broad place" — speaks of deliverance as so certain it is stated as already accomplished
3. Parallel in Romans 8:30 — "those whom he justified he also glorified" — glorification spoken of in the past tense though not yet fully experienced
4. In the midst of suffering we can already say: "I am more than a conqueror through him who loved us" E. Warning against a finite, temporal perspective on salvation
5. David nearly falls into this trap: "I am cut off from your sight" (Psalm 31:22) — language of covenantal curse
6. "Cutting a covenant" in Hebrew — the cutting of animals, each party walking through, symbolizing the oath
7. David felt as though he had become like those severed animals — cut off and cursed
8. The remedy: being in the Word, so that eternal promises replace a temporal, waxing-and-waning perspective on God's love

IV. Remember Christ

A. Jesus quotes Psalm 31:5 — "Into your hands I commit my spirit" — as his final words on the cross B. All of Psalm 31's themes of despair, reproach, and abandonment find their fullest expression in Christ

1. His closest disciples denied and abandoned him; his own people spat upon and crucified him
2. His neighbors — Jerusalem — rejected him C. How could the sinless Christ pray Psalm 31:10 — "my strength fails because of my iniquity"?
3. Because he became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) and bore the full wrath due to iniquity
4. The one who felt it most was the one who had no sin of his own D. The cry of dereliction ("My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?") is not a cry of defeat or faithlessness — it is still a cry of faith, still directed upward
5. Like Job, who in his suffering kept his voice directed toward God
6. Christ, even in separation from the Father, still says "my God, my God" E. His final word is not the cry of defeat but the cry of hope and assurance: "Into your hands I commit my spirit" F. Christ has tasted death and faced the ultimate judgment, securing and solidifying God's promises for his people
7. Therefore, in our dark days we can lean on, remember, and run to Christ
8. Even as sheep led to the slaughter, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us — Romans 8:37