“Our Father’s Hands”
Psalm 32:1-11
David P. Nolte
Daddy’s hands. What nice things to remember about a dad. Particularly when those memories include dad’s hands folded in prayer, calloused from hard work, soothing and caressing to show love, chastening when necessary, gentle but firm, and always to help.
On this Father’s Day, let’s consider the hands of our Heavenly Father and apply the truths in our own lives – father or not.
First to God’s Word: “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. ‘I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, But he who trusts in the LORD, lovingkindness shall surround him.’ Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones; And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.” Psalm 32:1-11 (NASB).
On Father’s Day and every day, be submitted to the hand of God our Father. There are benefits when we do..
I. HIS HANDS DISCIPLINE US:
A. “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.”
1. A truly loving God is not like a doting grandpa who finds no fault with his grandkids and even encourages them in outrageous behavior and speech because it is “So cute!”
2. We are informed, “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him;’” Hebrews 12:4-5 (NASB).
B. Instead of ignoring sin, or leaving us in our ignorance, on the contrary His love for us results in the chastening and discipline of His children. He may have to spank or ground or rebuke us for our good. Some Bible examples of discipline:
1. After his sin with Bathsheba and her husband Uriah, David wrote, “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.” Psalm 32:3-4 (NASB).
2. When Elymas the sorcerer interfere with Paul sharing the gospel with Governor Sergius Paulus Paul told him, “You bag of wind, you parody of a devil — why, you stay up nights inventing schemes to cheat people out of God. But now you’ve come up against God himself, and your game is up. You’re about to go blind — no sunlight for you for a good long stretch.” He was plunged immediately into a shadowy mist and stumbled around, begging people to take his hand and show him the way. Acts 13:10-11 (MSG)
C. Please do not adopt the one-sided understanding that discipline equals punishment. Discipline is teaching, training, forming and developing us for godliness.
1. It might come in the form of chastening or punishment as in David’s situation.
2. Discipline might come in the form of natural consequences. Bad choices bring bad consequences. We learn not to touch a hot stove by the consequence of burned fingers.
3. Discipline or teaching might come in the form of positive reinforcement, that is, a blessing. When we do good things, God blesses us. Do good, enjoy good consequences.
4. It might come in the form of a loving rebuke from a caring brother or sister in Christ. Nathan the prophet rebuked David for his adultery and murder and David was disciplined.
D. God will use whatever means necessary to teach and train us.
1. He is more interested in developing our character than He is in establishing our comfort.
2. He is more interested in holiness than happiness. Don’t get me wrong, He is a God who fills us with Jesus’ Joy and Heaps of Heavenly Happiness – but some seek happiness and forfeit holiness to get it.
3. God is more interested in us doing good works than He is in us gaining wealth.
4. God is more interested in disciplined disciples who do His will than He is in indolent idlers who amount to nothing.
E. To that end, He disciplines us. He teaches us. He trains us. Let me show you discipline: CLIP OF DOG’S OBEDIENCE
OUR FATHER’S HANDS DISCIPLINE US FOR OUR GOOD AND:
II. HIS HANDS DELIVER US:
A. “You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance.”
B. Ezra the priest wrote about Gods deliverance of Israel from captivity in Babylon, “Then we journeyed from the river Ahava on the twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was over us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the way. Thus we came to Jerusalem and remained there three days.” Ezra 8:31-32 (NASB).
1. God delivered them from captivity in a pagan, foreign land.
2. God delivered them from ambushes by marauding gangs as they traveled.
C. He has not promised to deliver or keep us from all troubles or even danger, but here are some promises that He did make:
1. If we suffer for His sake, we will be richly rewarded.
2. He has already overcome the inevitable troubles and we can overcome, too,
3. No circumstance or opponent can separate us from His love.
4. He will never leave nor forsake us.
5. Greater is He Who is in us than he who is in the world.
6. He will limit the trials and temptations to our ability and will provide the way out.
7. He is our refuge and strength in every kind of trouble.
8. “In His kindness God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation.” 1 Peter 5:10 (NLT2).
9. If He doesn’t deliver us from our troubles, He will deliver us through them.
D. For deliverance, keep focused on Jesus not on the problem. In Matthew 14, we read about Peter walking on the water toward Jesus. But he became focused on the storm and the danger, and began to sink. He may have thought, “What am I doing out here?” Then Peter got his focus back on Jesus. He cried, “Lord, save me!”
1. That’s all he had time to pray. It was a prayer of desperation and complete dependence on Jesus.
2. Jesus reached out His hand and delivered Peter. Jesus is reaching out His hand to you today. Reach out and take His hand—He will never let you sink.
E. Sometimes He has to deliver us because we get ourselves into hot water. We think we can handle temptation and withstand Satan. There is a story about a boy who thought he was tough so he picked a fight and got the worst of the exchange. He said to the other boy, “You wait here while I go and fetch my big brother, and he will give you such a whipping’!” When it comes to our spiritual battles we should never take on the devil in our own strength. If we try to fight the enemy on our own we will get the worst of it.
1. Always call on the Lord Jesus who will deliver us and defeat the Devil. Our elder Brother will give him such a whipping.
2. And when our hand of faith grips His hand of power He will give us the victory.
OUR FATHER’S HANDS DISCIPLINE AND DELIVER US AND THEN
III. HIS HANDS DIRECT US:
A. “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you.”
1. The proverb says, “My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. Keep their words always in your heart. Tie them around your neck. When you walk, their counsel will lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up, they will advise you. For their command is a lamp and their instruction a light; their corrective discipline is the way to life.” Proverbs 6:20-23 (NLT2).
2. “The LORD is good and does what is right; He shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them His way.” Psalm 25:8-9 (NLT2).
3. “Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:6 (NLT2).
B. God has His way of directing our steps onto the right path of life.
1. He may direct us by reminding us of some passage of Scripture.
a. “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105 (NLT2).
b. Of course we must have implanted that Scripture in our hearts by memory.
2. He may direct us through the wise, Biblical counsel of a friend.
3. He may direct us by closing the door to the way we were going to choose.
4. He may direct us by the interaction of His Spirit with ours.
5. He may direct us by making an opportunity obvious to us.
C. The problem is that we want to choose our own way.
1. Satan tempts us with the attraction of the material world.
2. Our fleshly desires appeal to us to go the way of carnal pleasures.
3. The world urges us through peer pressure, persecution and false promises to follow its ways.
D. And when we do go our own way and He is ready to direct us back to the path.
E. When Travis was in pre-school, I went to pick him up to take him home. One day he came out holding the hand of a tiny little blond girl and announced, “She’s going home with me. We’re going to get married.” He was gently directing her steps and she was humbly following where he led. In case you are wondering, I convinced them they ought to wait a few weeks until Travis could get her parents’ consent.
As Travis gently led that tiny little blue-eyed blond by the hand, God wants to take our hand and to gently lead us. He said to Israel, “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (NASB). “For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’” Isaiah 41:13 (NASB)
His people of any era can claim that promise. We are safe in His hands. They discipline us for our good; they deliver us from the enemy and from sin’s power and penalty; they direct our steps on the way that leads to life.
“Precious Lord, Take my hand,
Lead me on, let me stand,
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.
Through the storm, Through the night,
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious Lord, Lead me home.”
PRAY / INVITE
