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| Rev. Canon George Sinclair |
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(Podcast of CFRA broadcast on Sunday, October 5th, 2014)
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Broadcast Notes:
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'God's Absence?'
We will be looking today at Psalm
10. The talk today is a shortened version of a full sermon that I gave
at Church of the Messiah. It was part of a series entitled, "Seven
Psalms".
Psalm 10:1
(ESV)
10:1 Why, O Lord,
do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
1. True faith can include asking
the living God honest questions.
Psalm 10:2-5
In
arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses[a] and renounces the Lord.
4 In the pride of his face[b] the wicked does not seek him;[c]
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5 His ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses[a] and renounces the Lord.
4 In the pride of his face[b] the wicked does not seek him;[c]
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5 His ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
2. When God's word written
disappoints me, I do not have to kiss my brains good-bye or become cynical. I
am being invited to carefully examine God's word AND myself.
3. I am divided and confused.
Sometimes I am in anguish over God's absence and sometimes I consciously and unconsciously organize my world to keep God
absent.
Psalm 10:6-11
He says
in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
8 He sits in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;
he lurks that he may seize the poor;
he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
10 The helpless are crushed, sink down,
and fall by his might.
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
8 He sits in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;
he lurks that he may seize the poor;
he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
10 The helpless are crushed, sink down,
and fall by his might.
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
4. If I am god all things are
permissible and the weak cower.
Psalm 10:12-18
12 Arise,
O Lord; O
God, lift up your hand;
forget not the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked renounce God
and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless commits himself;
you have been the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call his wickedness to account till you find none.
forget not the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked renounce God
and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless commits himself;
you have been the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call his wickedness to account till you find none.
16 The Lord is king forever and ever;
the nations perish from his land.
17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
the nations perish from his land.
17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
5. Who is the living God? "Helper-of-the-helpless". What is a
fundamental part of becoming a godly man or woman? I use the strength that
comes from God to help the helpless.
6. God calls my wickedness to
account till He can find no more and this is what, in love, Jesus bears for me
on the cross.
Let’s
pray:
Father, Draw us to
your Son. Make us disciples, gripped by the Gospel, living for your glory. We
ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
- Rev. Canon George Sinclair
Church of the Messiah
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