“Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have enlarged; bring me out of my distresses!” Psalm 25:16-17
David, the author of this Psalm, experienced many sorrows and times of anguish in his life. Some were from his many conflicts with his enemies, others were the result of his sins, which in some cases were very great. But in all these there was an abiding child-like trust in God.
It was during these times, however, that David sometimes was tempted to think that God had turned His back on him, and this would be to David a great source of distress. He would then feel isolated and alone, and left to his own thoughts, his condition would then loom large and ominous to him.
This experience was not unique to David. It was felt in the greatest degree by Jesus himself who walked this earth as a “Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). Who could possibly plumb the depths of the grief, distress and sorrows He knew? Who can know the profound sense of forsakenness Jesus experienced on the cross when He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).
We know that Jesus submitted Himself to this agony of body and soul so that true believers might be delivered from their sin. He who knew no sin became “sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (1 Corinthians 5:21). And we know that those who trust Jesus are also commanded to take up their cross and follow Him, which unavoidably involves suffering. However, the Apostle Paul would write concerning his sorrows and distresses, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ” (Colossians 1:24). He was not in any way undermining the sufficiency of the sufferings of Christ for His people, but was acknowledging the intimate union of himself with his Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. By experiencing these distresses, he and we in our afflictions enter into fellowship with His sufferings, which gives us real cause to love Christ more as we experience a small taste of what He knew in all its fullness.
But there’s more here in this Psalm. Charles Spurgeon once wrote that, “It is the mark of a true saint that his sorrows remind him of his sins, and his sorrow for sin drives him to his God.” This was indeed the case with David who petitioned the Lord earlier in the same Psalm, “For Your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great” (verse 11). You see, it was the awful realization of sin in his life which gave David this profound sense of loneliness, affliction and desolation. It’s the same for all Christians because sin alienates one from God. God utterly hates sin, and when one sins, it often brings on a real sense of God’s displeasure!
But that’s what the cross was all about, God pouring out in righteous wrath His holy displeasure with sin. But the good news for humble, penitent, believing sinners is that Christ received this outpouring of God’s wrath on their behalf. Therefore, when a true believer knows he’s sinned, he need no longer fear God’s wrath, but may now go freely and confidently into God’s presence in humble confession and repentance, knowing he will receive forgiveness on the basis of Christ’s legal debt paying suffering and death.
In this way, Christ has sanctified the suffering of the saints in that it is used for their good. And the greatest good for the sinner is to be reconciled with his Creator and to be conformed to God’s image, the image in which he was created. Known sin inevitably and ultimately drives the child of God back to the cross to experience fresh washings in the blood of Christ.
And therefore, during those times of loneliness and affliction, whether it is because of sin or perhaps a time of testing, the Christian has a place of refuge in Christ. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).
May you find relief and comfort in your times of distress and sorrow as you wholly trust in God through your faithful High Priest Jesus Christ.
David, the author of this Psalm, experienced many sorrows and times of anguish in his life. Some were from his many conflicts with his enemies, others were the result of his sins, which in some cases were very great. But in all these there was an abiding child-like trust in God.
It was during these times, however, that David sometimes was tempted to think that God had turned His back on him, and this would be to David a great source of distress. He would then feel isolated and alone, and left to his own thoughts, his condition would then loom large and ominous to him.
This experience was not unique to David. It was felt in the greatest degree by Jesus himself who walked this earth as a “Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). Who could possibly plumb the depths of the grief, distress and sorrows He knew? Who can know the profound sense of forsakenness Jesus experienced on the cross when He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).
We know that Jesus submitted Himself to this agony of body and soul so that true believers might be delivered from their sin. He who knew no sin became “sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (1 Corinthians 5:21). And we know that those who trust Jesus are also commanded to take up their cross and follow Him, which unavoidably involves suffering. However, the Apostle Paul would write concerning his sorrows and distresses, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ” (Colossians 1:24). He was not in any way undermining the sufficiency of the sufferings of Christ for His people, but was acknowledging the intimate union of himself with his Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. By experiencing these distresses, he and we in our afflictions enter into fellowship with His sufferings, which gives us real cause to love Christ more as we experience a small taste of what He knew in all its fullness.
But there’s more here in this Psalm. Charles Spurgeon once wrote that, “It is the mark of a true saint that his sorrows remind him of his sins, and his sorrow for sin drives him to his God.” This was indeed the case with David who petitioned the Lord earlier in the same Psalm, “For Your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great” (verse 11). You see, it was the awful realization of sin in his life which gave David this profound sense of loneliness, affliction and desolation. It’s the same for all Christians because sin alienates one from God. God utterly hates sin, and when one sins, it often brings on a real sense of God’s displeasure!
But that’s what the cross was all about, God pouring out in righteous wrath His holy displeasure with sin. But the good news for humble, penitent, believing sinners is that Christ received this outpouring of God’s wrath on their behalf. Therefore, when a true believer knows he’s sinned, he need no longer fear God’s wrath, but may now go freely and confidently into God’s presence in humble confession and repentance, knowing he will receive forgiveness on the basis of Christ’s legal debt paying suffering and death.
In this way, Christ has sanctified the suffering of the saints in that it is used for their good. And the greatest good for the sinner is to be reconciled with his Creator and to be conformed to God’s image, the image in which he was created. Known sin inevitably and ultimately drives the child of God back to the cross to experience fresh washings in the blood of Christ.
And therefore, during those times of loneliness and affliction, whether it is because of sin or perhaps a time of testing, the Christian has a place of refuge in Christ. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).
May you find relief and comfort in your times of distress and sorrow as you wholly trust in God through your faithful High Priest Jesus Christ.