WEEPING AND WINNING
PSALM 119:129-136
INTRODUCTION
A. It is said of Alexander the Great that he wept when he saw he had no more worlds to conquer. David’s weeping was not self-centered narcissism but God-centered zeal for God’s glory and honor.
B. Jesus wept over the sins of Jerusalem (Lk 19:41-42).
C. Paul wept over the sins of those who opposed the gospel (Phil 3:18).
D. Peter wept over his own sin (Matt 26:75).
I. WE WILL WEEP OVER SIN WHEN WE HAVE A PASSION FOR GOD’S WORD (119:129-130)
A. The first words recorded in Psalms set the stage for all that follows (Psa 1:1-2).
B. David tells us that if we delight in the Lord, He will act (Psalm 37:1-5).
1. Ponder these key words: trust, do good, befriend, commit, trust.
2. When we truly delight in God and his word, we cannot keep it hidden any more than a young man can keep his love for a young lady hidden. It will gush to the surface like a bubbling spring. (Psa 111:1-3).
II. WHEN WE HAVE A PASSION FOR GOD’S WORD, WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO KEEP IT (119:129-130)
A. passion for God’s word, apart from a conviction of our sinfulness, can be dangerous, as it was with Saul, who said that his zeal caused him to be a persecutor of the church (Phil 3:6).
B. As we strive to know God’s will and to do God’s will, we must never forget that our best will always fall short of God’s holiness. Paul, who could say that concerning law-keeping he was blameless, declared that it was all dung (Phil 3:8-9, KJV).
C. We must beware, however, of using our imperfections as an excuse to live a passionless, lukewarm life, claiming the grace of God as a get-out-of-jail-free card (Rom 6:1-2).
III. WHEN WE HAVE A PASSION FOR GOD’S WORD, WE LONG FOR IT (V. 131).
A. The sons of Korah sang,” As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God” (Psa 42:1-2).
1. They did not long for God’s word as ammunition for winning an argument or bringing down God’s wrath on others. They sought to nourish their souls.
2. Delighting in God and his word does not mean we will skip through life with an idyllic, Pollyannish, “What a wonderful world” fairy tale mindset.
B. David had his struggles. He mourned, “For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer” (Psa 32:4).
C. Paul loved God’s word but struggled with keeping it (Rom 7:21-25).
D. Our struggles do not condemn us but confirm us. Jesus sympathizes with our weakness (Heb 4:14-16).
1. One of the first things people-helpers—whether professionals or lay—must learn is the difference between empathy and sympathy. God empathizes with our condition, as demonstrated in his sending his Son to die for us. The Son can sympathize with us because he struggled with sin.
2. In my book on friendship helping, entitled The Aroma of Friendship, I wrote concerning the difference between empathy and sympathy: “The difference between the two is that empathy refers to our awareness of and sensitivity to the feelings, thoughts, and experiences of another without having had those feelings, thoughts, and experiences. In contrast, sympathy means that we have shared the same or similar feelings, thoughts, and experiences (Second Edition, 2022, p. 67. Available on Amazon.)
IV. WE WIN OVER SIN WHEN WE REST ON GOD’S GRACE (V.132)
A. If we view God as a demanding taskmaster instead of a loving Father, we will find no rest. The ancients did not address God as Father as we are encouraged to do. But David had a firm grip on grace.
B. Resting on God’s grace does not mean that we lounge on the deck of the ship of Zion. Instead, it means that we put our confidence in God (Rom 5:1-2).
1. Note that we not only access grace by faith, but we also stand in grace by faith.
2. Grace is like our bread: we need it every day (Psa 68:19).
V. WE TRUST GOD WHEN WE DO NOT PRESUME UPON HIS GRACE (V.133)
A. There is a movement spawned by Satan called “hyper-grace,” in which it is taught that all sin, past, present, and future, has been forgiven, and believers never need to confess sin.
B. This is not a new doctrine, but the same old lie of Satan dressed in new clothes. Paul dealt with it—in fact, he was accused of teaching it: “Some people even slander us by claiming that we say, ‘The more we sin, the better it is!’ Those who say such things deserve to be condemned (Rom 3:8, NLT).
1. Paul landed what should have been a death blow to this soul-damning doctrine, but like the seven-headed beast of Revelation chapter thirteen, its mortal wound is healed and keeps coming back. Paul's words should have laid the idea of hyper-grace to rest forever (Rom 6:1-4).
VI. WE TRUST IN GOD WHEN WE SEEK HIS PROTECTION (VV. 134-135)
A. Many want God’s shining face in their lives but have no appetite for his statutes. If we want his protection, we will be in the word daily. Those who make God their refuge are assured of his protection (Psa 91:1-6).
B. John says it less poetically but succinctly (1 John 5:18).
CONCLUSION
A. There is coming a time when God will wipe all tears from our eyes (Rev 21:4). Until then, we should weep over the trampling of God’s word by false teachers, self-aggrandizing politicians, and lukewarm Christians.
B. When weep, we win (Jam 4:8-10).
