TITLE: THE CRY OF THE HELPLESS
TEXT: PSALM 10:12-18
INTRODUCTION:
- We’re continuing our study through the book of Psalms.
- Last time we were together, we looked at the first 11 verses of Chapter 10, where we’re given a description of the wicked.
- We saw that the wicked are godless, the wicked are prideful, and the wicked are violent & blasphemous.
- Today, we’re going to look at the second part of the chapter where we look at the cry of the helpless who are being oppressed by the wicked.
- I’m reminded of when Aaron and Leah were newborn babies.
- They couldn’t do anything on their own.
- They couldn’t speak…
- They couldn’t walk…
- They couldn’t move around much…
- But they could cry!
- They quickly figured out that when they needed something, the way to get mommy and daddy’s attention was to cry.
- At that age, it usually meant they were hungry.
- Other times, it meant they needed a diaper change.
- Other times, they just wanted to be held.
- It’s amazing to me that God created them with the instinct to cry out when they were helpless, knowing that help would come.
- I believe God has given Christians that instinct as well, to cry out to Him when we’re helpless, knowing that He will answer and help us.
- So, let’s look at 3 ways the helpless cry out in these verses.
FIRST: THEY CRY OUT FOR GOD TO ACT- VS 12-13
- One of the things I can’t stand is politics.
- Whenever elections come around, you’ll see all sorts of ads going around attacking the candidates.
- It can get very messy sometimes.
- Recently, there has been a lot of commotion over whether or not Judge Brett Kavanaugh will be confirmed by the Senate to become a Supreme Court Justice.
- Sadly, it has taken a stand-still because of the last-minute accusations being hurled against him.
- Unfortunately, Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins has not decided whether or not she will confirm him or not.
- Before the accusations were made against the Judge, she and 1 or 2 other Senators held the deciding votes on whether or not he would be confirmed.
- Since she’s a Republican, you’d think it’d be a no-brainer…
- Unfortunately, Senator Collins just so happens to support abortions.
- Judge Kavanaugh is Pro-Life, so that is one reason she has hesitated on deciding whether or not she will support him.
- So, I decided to be a good citizen, and contact my Senator and urge her to act on confirming him.
- I wrote a nice long email, and clicked the box asking for a reply.
- A few hours later, I received an email back, but it was only 2 or 3 sentences, and she didn’t answer my question.
- It was just a very generic, “Thank you for contacting me” email.
- Obviously, my email didn’t do any good because she still hasn’t made up her mind, and now there’s a whole other mess happening with the confirmation process, which has been delayed even longer now.
- Anyways, I reached out to her to act, but it didn’t do me any good.
- Even if I’d gone to her office, and pled on my knees with tears in my eyes, it wouldn’t have done any good…
- She would have given me the same response.
- Thankfully, when we reach out to God to act during our times of trouble, and we cry out to Him, He does listen, and He does act.
- That’s what we see happening here as the helpless cry out to the Lord, urging Him to take action.
- Remember, in the first 11 verses, we’ve seen what lengths the wicked go to oppress and abuse the helpless.
- Obviously, the helpless can’t do anything on their own to stop the wicked.
- So, their cry is to God Almighty, whose hand can squash the enemy.
- They say, “Lift up your hand”, which is a picture of God’s strength and power, which is a strength and power that the enemy can’t fight against.
- But look at the way they’re crying out to Him…
- The last part of vs 12 says they’re asking Him, “Do not forget the humble…”
- So, they’re not demanding for God to act on their behalf…
- They’re not giving God an ultimatum to act or they will renounce Him…
- No, they’re humbly coming before Him, crying out for Him to act against the wicked.
- As Christians, we should follow their example.
- We don’t deserve anything from God, so when we’re going before Him to cry out for Him to act, we must remember this, and be humble.
- God won’t always act the way we think He should, but that’s part of our humility…
- You know what’s best, God, so I’m coming before you humbly, asking you to act on my behalf, please!
- Notice in vs 13, the helpless ask a legitimate question…
- “Why do the wicked renounce God?
- I ask this question all the time.
- Why don’t they believe in God?
- Why do they insist on living their lives as if there is no God?
- Why is it that when I attempt to share the Gospel with them, they want nothing to do with it?
- It makes no sense to us as Christians because we know that their unbelief will lead to their eternal punishment in the lake of fire.
- Just like the story of the rich man and Lazarus that Jesus told, the wicked will be in hell, and they will regret their decision.
- Why do the wicked renounce God?
- In the next part of vs 13, the writer answers his own question.
- It’s because “…he has said in his heart, ‘God will not require an account!’”
- As we saw last week, they genuinely believe this with all their heart because they either believe God doesn’t exist, or if He does, He doesn’t care or can’t do anything about their evil deeds.
- Even worse, sometimes they genuinely believe that God approves of their actions.
- Just look at some of the religions out there that believe there is a God, but they genuinely believe God will not require them to give an account for their actions.
- Muslims, for example, claim to follow God, yet they commit horrendous deeds, such as beheading innocent women and children in the name of God.
- Or how about the slaveholders in the South before the Civil War?
- Not all of them, but many of them said and did horrible things to slaves, just because of the color of their skin.
- Many of those slaveholders claimed to be Christians, so they actually believed God approved of their actions.
- So, if you believe you won’t have to answer to a higher power, you’re more likely to do wicked things.
- Just look at what happened to Lucifer when he was filled with pride.
- He genuinely believed that he could be as powerful or more powerful than God Himself.
- It led to his rebellion against God Almighty and taking 1/3 of the angels with him, because he genuinely believed that he wouldn’t be held accountable.
- He was dead wrong, and so are the wicked men and women who renounce God.
- Every last one of them will face God’s judgment if they don’t turn their lives over to Him.
SECOND: THEY CRY OUT FOR GOD TO HELP- VS 14-15
- A fellow was stuck on his rooftop in a flood. He was praying to God for help.
- Soon a man in a rowboat came by and the fellow shouted to the man on the roof, "Jump in, I can save you."
- The stranded fellow shouted back, "No, it's OK, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me."
- So, the rowboat went on.
- Then a motorboat came by. "The fellow in the motorboat shouted, "Jump in, I can save you."
- To this the stranded man said, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith."
- So, the motorboat went on.
- Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, "Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety."
- To this the stranded man again replied, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith."
- So, the helicopter reluctantly flew away.
- Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned.
- He went to Heaven. He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, "I had faith in you, but you didn't save me, you let me drown. I don't understand why!"
- To this God replied, "I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?"
- Obviously, that man didn’t understand that God did hear him, and He did answer him by sending help.
- It’s the same with the helpless…when they cry out to God for help, He does answer and help them, though it’s not always the way they expect.
- We see in vs 14 that God does see what the wicked are doing, and nothing escapes His notice…
- There are several examples we could look at, but the one that came to my mind was the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11.
- The people thought they could build a tower to reach to the heavens and make a name for themselves, which was in direct rebellion to God Almighty.
- Scripture tells us that God came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.
- That’s because it didn’t escape His notice, He knew exactly what they were up to.
- In response, God judged them for their wickedness by changing their one language to many languages…
- That forced them to separate and move to different parts of the world.
- The wicked don’t think God is watching, but He is…
- He sees and knows everything…
- It’s not possible for them to hide any of it!
- Back in Psalm 10, the next part of vs 14 says, “You observe trouble and grief, to repay it by Your hand.”
- There’s that word again…God’s hand…
- Remember, it’s a picture of God’s strength and power.
- So as the wicked go about causing trouble and grief, God is there, and He will repay it by His hand, through His strength and power.
- I used to watch action movies with my father, and one thing action movie’s will do is paint the bad guy in such an evil way, that through the entire movie, you want the hero to make the villain pay for what he’s done.
- Obviously, the characters in those movies are actors and actresses, and most action movies are made up stories…
- But think about how you feel when you see real wicked men and women in our world doing horrible things to people…
- For example, evil dictators committing mass genocides, or wicked men and women stealing babies and young children away from their families in order to traffick them, or serial killers torturing their victims before murdering them…
- Those are just a few examples, and I could give many more…
- Any time you and I see the wicked committing sin, or we hear about it, there’s a fire inside of us that wants to see them pay for what they’re doing.
- If God made you and me to feel that righteous anger, think about how He feels when He sees the wicked causing trouble and grief in our world.
- He will repay it by His powerful hand.
- Isaiah 3:11 says, “Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what their hands have done.”
- The wicked certainly don’t think so, but every wicked person in history that has died and entered eternity has found out just how wrong they were.
- Notice the last part of vs 14 which says, “The helpless commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.”
- By fatherless, the Psalmist doesn’t mean “orphans”, though certainly God does care for orphans.
- Instead, it refers to anyone who is in distress, or the “comfortless”, which of course means “the helpless.”
- Obviously, a helpless person is unable to defend themselves…
- They’re too weak, even if they tried.
- That’s why the Psalmist says they “commit themselves to You.”
- That’s the best thing they can do!
- God is All Powerful and none can stand against Him.
- So, the helpless cry out to the Helper, and God takes care of it, one way or another.
- I remember many years ago, when I was in the 3rd grade, there was a bully picking on a kid after school out near the busses.
- The kid was wearing glasses, and this bully called him 4-eyes.
- I don’t think I was wearing glasses quite yet, but I do remember being very angry with that bully for picking on this kid.
- So, I walked up, and I said, “Stop picking on him.”
- I don’t remember what else I said, and I don’t remember the bully’s exact reaction, or what he said, but what I do remember is that he stopped picking on him.
- It felt really good to be able to help that helpless kid by defending him.
- Of course, God is much greater than me, and He takes care of the helpless one way or another, much better than I can.
- That’s one of the awesome things about our Great God…
- He has an infinite amount of ways to help the helpless.
- He’s not limited to just one or two ways, like you and me…
- No, He can do anything!
- So, in vs 15, the helpless continue to cry out for help by asking God to “Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man…”
- To break the arm of the wicked means to destroy his power.
- Think about God’s power compared to man’s power…
- There really is no comparison because God’s power is above all…
- But when it comes to man’s power, the only power we have comes from God.
- Even the most powerful man in the world, whichever world leader that might be, is only there because God has put him there.
- Romans 13:1 says, “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”
- He puts them in power and He takes them out of power.
- So, when the helpless cry out to God for help, He answers them, and as the end of vs 15 says, He seeks out their wickedness until He finds none…
- That means they either repent of their wickedness, or they are taken out of power by God.
- Either way, God remains in control.
THIRD: THEY CRY OUT FOR GOD TO JUDGE- VS 16-18
- I’ve only had 2 experiences in my lifetime with a judge.
- The first was when Sherri and I went to Machias to adopt Alan, Alex, and Shaelyn.
- We had to stand before him, but it was a joyous and special occasion.
- He quickly went through all the legal stuff and talked to the kiddos alone, each separately.
- Then, he made it official!
- The other time I had an experience with a judge was when I went to court to support a friend.
- He had gotten into some trouble, and really needed a friend with him, so I went, but it was my first time actually sitting in a judge’s courtroom.
- When the judge entered, everyone was told to rise for him.
- I remember how official and powerful the judge looked when he sat behind his bench and told us we could be seated.
- As each person went up for their turn to stand before the judge, it was evident just how much authority he had.
- He had his gavel, and his robe on, and every time he spoke, the room was silent.
- Obviously, I never want to stand before a judge, and I also hope I never have to cry out for mercy from a judge.
- The helpless, on the other hand, have the privilege to cry out to the Ultimate Judge, the God of the Universe, God Almighty, and can cry out with confidence knowing that He will judge the wicked.
- Vs 16 begins with a confident shout that, “The Lord is king forever and ever! The nations have perished out of His land.”
- Earthly kings come and go.
- They might be powerful, and they might cause a lot of destruction in their paths, but they can’t live forever.
- Psalm 90:10 says, “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away.”
- Of course, we’ve been studying the book of Exodus, and they claimed their Pharaoh’s were immortal, so they mummified them and placed their bodies in pyramids, yet their bodies were lifeless, and haven’t come back to life…unless you watch the movies!
- Several other empires claimed the same thing, but none of their leaders are still alive…they’re all dead!
- The only One who ever came back to life is our Lord Jesus Christ.
- And as one of my favorite songs, Handel’s Messiah, puts it, Jesus is “King of kings, forever and ever, and Lord of lords, forever and ever, Hallelujah! And He shall reign forever and ever!”
- Notice at the end of vs 16 that it says the nations have perished out of His land.
- Sure, they might conquer and expand their kingdoms, believing that the land belongs to them, like the Roman Empire for example…
- Yet God makes it clear that it is His land and they perish.
- His judgment against them will not be overruled and they won’t be able to stand against it.
- The Psalmist might have been referring to the Promised Land, and the Canaanites foolishly attempting to fight against God’s people; it led to their downfall.
- That makes me think of the Holy Land, and how it’s been fought over time and time again over the centuries.
- Yet God gave that land to His people the Israelites, and they have not been replaced as His physical people…they are Abraham’s descendants.
- One day, He will give that land to them again, and no one will fight Him.
- In vs 17, he says, “You have heard the desire of the humble…”
- I like what Charles Spurgeon says about this verse.
- “David does not say, ‘Thou hast heard the prayer of the humble;’ he means that, but he also means a great deal more. Sometimes, we have desires that we cannot express; they are too big, too deep; we cannot clothe them in language. At other times, we have desires which we dare not express; we feel too bowed down, we see too much of our own undeserving to be able to venture near the throne of God to utter our desires; but the Lord hears the desire when we cannot or dare not turn it into the actual form of a prayer.”
- Remember in vs 12, the Psalmist asked God, “Do not forget the humble.”
- In the next part of vs 17, God honors their humility by preparing their heart, and hearing their prayers.
- I like what Adam Clarke says here…
- ““See the economy of the grace of God: 1. God prepares the heart; 2. Suggests the prayer; 3. Hears what is prayed; 4. Answers the petition. He who has got a cry in his heart after God, may rest assured that that cry proceeded from a Divine preparation, and that an answer will soon arrive. No man ever had a cry in his heart after salvation, but from God. He who continues to cry shall infallibly be heard.”
- In the final verse of chapter 10, we see the confidence that grew in the Psalmist throughout this entire prayer…
- He began feeling helpless and full of despair, and now, he’s ending with confidence.
- “You will do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of earth may oppress no more.”
- There will be perfect justice through God and God will have the final victory over the wicked.
- In our world today, it might seem like the wicked are getting away with things more and more, especially as the world’s view of sin changes, and more sin becomes acceptable.
- Just look at the things our Supreme Court has made legal…
- Abortions…how on earth could the murder of unborn babies ever be made legal?
- Homosexuality…how on earth could this abomination against God ever be made legal?
- Pornography…how on earth did we allow this filth to become the number one money making business in the world?
- Those are just a couple examples of the wicked things that wicked people have made acceptable in the eyes of men.
- Wicked men and women might be able to fool the world, but they can’t fool God.
- He sees all, He knows all, and all will stand before Him one day.
- God has the final victory…
- The Psalmist rested in that fact, the helpless can rest in that fact, and you and I as Christians can rest in that fact as well.
