We open our service with this
passage of Scripture from John 14.1. Our Lord says, let not your heart
be troubled. I confess to you this Scripture
has been on my heart for some time now. Let not your heart
be troubled. Back in Job 5 verse 7, Job said,
this man that is Man is born into trouble. He said, as sure
as the sparks fly upward from the fire, man is born into trouble. And then a few pages over, he
said, man that's born a woman is a few days full of trouble. Well, we're certainly not alone
in this thing of trouble. Our Lord, look at John 11. Turn to John 11. John 11 verse 33. Here we read that when our Lord
saw Mary weeping, when He saw her weeping, verse
11, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, He groaned
in his spirit. And he, he was troubled. Our Lord was troubled. The Lord
saw many weeping. There, he saw Mary weeping at
his feet and those many Jews around him. Mary couldn't even,
she couldn't even speak. She could only, she could only
weep. No doubt he thought of man's sin, of man's inability,
of man's sorrow and grief. But we read that He groaned in
the Spirit. Our Lord groaned in the Spirit.
Here we see, if we read on in verse 35, that Jesus, He wept. Our Lord wept. And we see a glimpse
of His humanity. Our Lord, He had a real human
soul. He was subject to the same passions
that we are. yet without sin. David, David
of whom it was said, I found David, the son of Jesse, a man
after mine own heart. God said that about David. And
David, David certainly knew something of trouble. David was certainly
acquainted with trouble. His son, that son that Bathsheba
bore, lived seven days and died. David grieved over the death
of his son. He had Saul going about trying
to kill him. He certainly grieved over that. His sons had rebelled against
him. They were rebellious, and then
his son Absalom was killed. David knew something of it. David
was well acquainted. He was well acquainted with grief
and with sorrow. In Ecclesiastes 3, we read there's
a season, a time, a purpose for everything under heaven, a time
to weep, a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
This life certainly isn't filled with laughing and dancing, is
it? There's a time to weep, and there's
a time to mourn. Times of trouble. Our Lord said,
in this world, you're going to have trouble. There's going to
be sorrow and pain for the believer. Well, what should we be reminded
of during these times? Let's look at Psalm 31. If you'll
turn there with me to the seat, and this will be our text. Psalm
31, beginning with verse 7. Four or five points here. Four
or five things that would be good reminders for us in times
of trouble, in times of sorrow. Look beginning in verse 7. David said, I'll be glad and
rejoice in thy mercy. I'll be glad and rejoice in thy
mercy. And here's the first point. For
thou hast considered my trouble. He's speaking to the Lord. If
you look back in verse one, you'll see David speaking to the Lord.
He said, Lord, you've considered. You've seen it. You've waited. In Hebrews 4.15, we read, for
we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling
of our infirmities. He was in all points tempted,
just as we are, yet without sin. In times of trial, in times of
sorrow, in times of difficulty, we go to our Lord. Consider, consider who it is
we go to. Consider anything we experience,
He's experienced it. Our Lord's experienced it. He's
a faithful and merciful high priest. He knows our frame. He knows that we're but dust. He's considered my trouble. See that? Think about that, that
the Lord would think upon His people, that He would consider
us. It's my trouble. What is man? What is man that thou art mindful
of him? Lord, you have considered my
trouble. You've seen it. You've waited. He's directed
it. He orders all things after the
counsel of his will. He's directed it. And listen,
he set the bound of it. Psalm 34, 19, many are the afflictions
of the righteous. but the Lord delivers them out
of it all. He'll bring it to pass. Only
He can. Only He can. You have considered
my trouble. The Lord has considered my trouble. You know, when a man considers
things, we put a lot of thought into it. You think about it,
you plan it out, you do all those things, When you consider it,
you're giving everything you've got into it. This isn't to say
man's considered my trouble. He said, Lord, You've considered. Imagine when the Lord looks upon
what He considers our trouble. Nothing left undone. You've considered
my trouble. Second, look back in our text
at verse 7. You've known my soul in adversity. It's been said that adversity
is a true test of friendship. I thought I'd heard that somewhere
and I looked it up and I've actually read that somewhere. But isn't
that the real test? And most of the time in adversity, Friends tend to shy away. We don't see much of them in
times of trouble. True friends we do, but most
people who claim to be friends in times of trouble, they're
nowhere to be found. But he said, Lord, you've known
my soul. You've known my soul in adversity. David said this, he said, when
my mother and father forsake me, Those that you would think
would be also close, David said, when they forsake me, the Lord
will take me. You've known my soul in adversity. Turn over to Ezekiel chapter
16. I was thinking about this passage
of scripture in Ezekiel 16. Take just a little bit of time
to read it. Let's begin beginning with verse
one of Ezekiel 16. Again, the word of the Lord came
unto me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations
and say, Thus saith the Lord God of Jerusalem, Thy birth and
thy nativity is of the land of Canaan. Thy father was an Amorite,
thy mother an Hittite. As for thy nativity, in the day
that thou was born, thy navel was not cut, neither was thou
washed in water to supple thee. Thou wast not salted at all,
nor swaddled at all. None I pitied thee to do any
of these to thee, to have compassion upon thee. But thou wast cast
out into the open field to the loathing of thy person in the
day that thou wast born. I just wonder how many passed
by. How many passed by? But he says, when I passed by.
When I passed by thee and saw thee polluted in thine own blood,
I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood live. Yea, I said
unto thee when thou wast in thy blood live, and I've caused thee
to multiply as the bud of the field. Thou hast increased and
waxed and grayed, and are come to excellent ornaments. Thy breast
are fashioned and thy hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked
and bare. And when I passed by thee and looked upon thee, behold,
thy time was a time of love. Spread my skirt over thee, and
covered thy nakedness, yea, I swear unto thee, and entered into a
covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine. I washed thee, washed thee with
water, yea, I thoroughly washed thy blood from thee, I anointed
with oil, I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod
thee with badger skin, I girded thee about with fine linen, and
covered thee with silk. I decked thee also with ornaments,
and put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck, and
put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thy ears, and
a beautiful crown upon thy head. Thou wast decked with gold and
silver, and thy raiment was of fine linen and silk and embroidered
work, and thou didst eat fine flour and honey and oil, and
thou wast exceeding beautiful. Thou didst prosper into a kingdom,
and thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty. for
it was perfect through my comeliness, which I put upon thee, saith
the Lord God." He'll not pass his people by, will he? He said,
I'll never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Thou hast known my soul in adversity. Romans 5, verse 6 of Romans 5, when you were without strength
in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. Nothing to recommend
us to God. Repulsive in His sight, dead
in trespasses and sins. Not just undeserving, but hell
deserving. Deserving of nothing but death
and condemnation. And we read on, he says, scarcely.
For a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good
man some would even dare to die. But God commended his love toward
us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He's considered my trouble. He's
considered my soul. He's known my soul in adversity.
And back to our text, back to Psalm 31a, here we read, He has not shut me up into the
hand of mine enemy. Thou hast not shut me up into
the hand of mine enemy. To be shut up into the hand of
the enemy is to be completely given over to his power. Completely. But the believer has not been
shut up in the hand of the enemy. He's not been shut up in the
hand of death or Satan, let alone man or even ourselves for that
matter. We've not been shut up in the
hand of the enemy. Rather, we're kept in His hand. We're kept in His hand. Look
at 1 Samuel. 1 Samuel 25. You guys are familiar
with this. You're familiar with this story. Here in 1 Samuel 25, David was
in the wilderness with his men. And he sent ten of his young
men out to go to Nabal. Nabal was a prosperous man. Nabal
had, as far as this world goes, Nabal had much. And David said
to his young men, he said, you go to Nabal and you greet him
by name. You let him know that we come
in peace, we've not bothered his men, we've not bothered his
animals. In fact, we've been, if anything,
we've protected and kept them. And you ask him, you ask him,
give unto David whatever's in your hand to give. And look at
Nabal's response here in verse 10. Nabal answered, And Abel answered
David's service, and he said, Who's David? Who's David? And who is the son of Jesse?
There be many servants nowadays that break away every man from
his master. Shall I take my bread and my
water? Kind of sounds like Nebuchadnezzar.
Shall I take my bread and my water and my flesh that I've
killed for my shears and give it to men of whom I don't know
who they are? David, when the servants came
back to David, he was certainly not pleased with Nabal's response. And he took 400 men, and they
girded their swords, and he was heading up to kill all of them. I'm going to kill every man in
that place. But one of Nabal's servants went to Abigail and
explained what happened. And Abigail goes. intercedes
on behalf of her husband. You know the story. She brought bread and wine and
raisins and corn and interceded and stopped David. And look at
verse 25. She says, "'Let not my Lord,
I pray thee, regard this man of Balaam, even Nabal, For as
his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and follies
with him. But I, thine handmaid, saw not
the young men of my Lord, whom thou didst send. Now therefore,
my Lord, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing
the Lord hath beholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from
avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies,
and they that seek evil, be just as Nabal. And now this blessing,
which thy handmaid hath brought unto my Lord, let it be given
unto the young men that follow my Lord. I pray thee, forgive
the trespasses of thy handmaid, for the Lord will certainly make
my Lord as a sure house, because my Lord fighteth the battles
of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. Yet a man is risen to pursue
thee and to seek thy soul. But look at this, that the soul
of my Lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord
thy God." Bound? We've not been shut up in the
hand of the enemy. We've not been given over to the hand of
the enemy. Rather, we're bound up. Bound up in the bundle of
life with the Lord our God in His hand. I had an uncle that would stick
a quarter in his hand. He'd say, you can have it if
you can get it out of my hand. And I'd pry and pry. I could
never ever get that out of his hand. That was just a quarter
in a weak old man's hand. We're bound up in his hand. Nothing
can get us out. Nothing can take us away from
him. More secure. We sing that song.
More secure is no one ever. than the loved ones of the Savior. Now back to our text, back to
Psalm 31. I'll be glad and rejoice in thy
mercy, for thou hast considered my trouble. Thou hast known my
soul in adversity. Thou hast not shut me up in the
hand of mine enemy. You've set my feet in a large
place. The old writers, they say that's
a reference to liberty. He set his people at liberty.
Isaiah 61 verse 1. Turn to Isaiah 61. The spirit of the Lord God is
upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings
unto the meek. He has sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty, liberty to the captives and the
opening of the prison to them that are bound. He has proclaimed
liberty. This isn't merely a suggestion
or a recommendation. It's a proclamation. He's proclaimed
it. He's declared it. The captives are set free. Free from the law, free from
sin. By one offering, by one offering,
he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. He has set
my feet in a large room. And then fifth, here we see a
cry for mercy. David says, have mercy upon me,
O Lord, for mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and
my belly. And we read earlier, many are
the afflictions of the righteous. He said, my eye is consumed with
grief. You mothers, especially, you can look at your children.
You can look at their eyes and you can tell when they're sick. That always amazes me. You just look at their eyes and
tell that they're not feeling well. He said, my eye is consumed
with grief. It's evident that David is grieved. Maybe from tears, I don't know.
Maybe from trying to hold back tears as we're prone to do sometimes. He said, my eye is consumed with
grief. My body, my soul, my innermost
being is consumed with grief. Oh, it's a time of trouble. Have mercy on me. That's his
cry. Have mercy on me. Turn over just a couple pages
to Psalm 34. Psalm 34, beginning with verse
15. The eyes of the Lord are upon
the righteous, What's my hope when I cry unto him? His ears
are open to their cry. I can remember, Memo, you probably
won't like this, but I can remember when Isaac was just little and
we had determined it was time for him to sleep in his own bed.
And I can remember we took him in the room and we laid him down
in that bed and we just closed the door just a little bit And
he cried, and he cried. But now we were right there.
Oh, we were close. We could hear his cry, and finally,
he just settled down, and he went to sleep. You know, if we
can hear the cry of our children, and take concern, and watch over
them, consider what our Lord says He hears, He hears our cry. He hears our cry. He says He hears their, that's particular
isn't it? Read that again. The eyes of the Lord are upon
the righteous. His ears are open unto their
cry. He hears the cry of His people. Verse 16, the face of the Lord
is against them that do evil to cut off the remembrance of
them from the earth. That doesn't sound to me like
God loves everybody, does it? Huh? The face of the Lord is
against them that do evil. Look at verse 17, the righteous
cry. What an amazing thing, the righteous cry and the Lord hears
them. He hears our cry. His ears are
open to them and He hears them. Verse 18, the Lord is nigh unto
them that are of a broken heart. He saved us such as be of a contrite
spirit. When our hearts are broken, we
tend to look all over for relief and even sometimes question our
Lord's presence. But listen, He's not. He's near them that are of a
broken heart. He's near them. Verse 19, many are the afflictions
of the righteous. But here's our hope. The Lord
delivers them out of them all. The same Lord that sends the
affliction, He'll recall it when He's accomplished His purpose
in the matter. I turn back to our text. I just want to close
by reading the rest of Psalm 31. Pay attention to how many
times there's a reference to our Lord. We see this word, thy,
thee, and thou, and Lord, beginning in verse 10. David said, my life
is spent with grief. My years with sighing. My strength
faileth because of my iniquity. There's my problem, my sin. My
bones are consumed. I was a reproach among all mine
enemies, especially among my neighbors, a fear to mine acquaintance. They that did see me without
They fled from me, didn't want to be around me. I'm forgotten
as a dead man, out of mind. I'm like a broken vessel. I've
heard the slander of many. Fear was on every side. While
they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away
my life. But I trusted in Thee, O Lord.
I said, Thou art my God. My times, my times, whether that's
seven days, whether that three score and ten seven days or seventy
years, my times are in thy hand. Deliver me from the hand of my
enemies and them that persecute me. Make thy face to shine upon
thy servant. Save me not for anything I've
done. Save me for thy mercy's sake.
Let me not be ashamed, O Lord, for I've called upon thee. Let the wicked be ashamed. Let
them be silent in the grave. Let the lying lips be put to
silence, which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously
against the righteous. Oh, how great is thy goodness,
which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, which thou hast
wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men.
Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride
of man. Thou shalt keep them secretly.
in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord,
for he has showed me his marvelous kindness in a strong city. I
said in my haste, I'm cut off from before thine eyes. Nevertheless,
thou heardest the voice of my supplication when I cried unto
thee. Oh, love the Lord, all ye his
sons. For the Lord preserveth the faithful
and plentifully rewarded the proud. Be of good courage. He
shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord. We started our service with this
passage of scripture. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe God, believe also
in me. Well, he's considered my trouble. He's known my soul in adversity.
He's not shut me up in the hand of the enemy. Rather, He's bound
us up in His hand. He set our feet in a large row. Let's cry for mercy. Cry for
mercy. See, here's His children.