NEVER FORSAKEN

SCRIPTURE:  Psalm 37:25 “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”

 

INTRODUCTION:

This psalm was composed when David was an old man (Psalm 37:25); and apart, therefore, from the fact that it is the work of an inspired writer, it has special value as expressing the result of the observations of a long life on a point which perplexes the good in every age.  Albert Barnes

 

I.  THE STAGES OF LIFE

                        Each stage of life has its burdens and its benefits.  Warren W. Wiersbe

            A.  “I Have Been Young”

1.  There is a sad kind of feeling which a man has when he is constrained to say, “I HAVE BEEN young;” for it             suggests the memory of joys, and hopes, and friends, that are now gone forever.  Albert Barnes

                                    a.  The innocence of youth is gone.  I am no longer free from knowledge of sin.

                                    b.  The strength of youth is gone.  I am no longer free from aches and pains.

                                    c.  The carefree living of youth is gone.  I am no longer free from responsibility.

 

                        2.  In Remembering

                                    a.  Often there is joy.  Cherish it.

                                    b.  Sometimes there is anguish.  Forget it.

 

                        Philippians 3:13 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those                                     things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,”

                       

            B.  “Now I Am Old”

                        1.  A child is free to play, and he has no burdens to carry, yet he is immature and really doesn’t know what life                                     is all about.  W. W. Wiersbe

 

                        I Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but                                     when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

 

                                    a.  Now I know.           b.  Now I am responsible.         c.  Now I am accountable.

 

                        2.  Getting older is a part of life.  

                                    a.  You and I may want to stop getting older, but there is really nothing we can do about.  W. W. W.

                                    b.  Life moves on, one day at a time, and we find ourselves getting older. W.W.W.

                                                When I was young, time seemed to crawl.  Now it seems to fly.

 

                        3.  The “outward man” is perishing

                                    a.  The body gets one day older, but the spirit becomes more like Christ--and we move one day                                                 closer to glory.  W. W. W.

 

                                    II Corinthians 4:16 “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward                                                 man is renewed day by day.”

 

                                    b.  The next remove is to another world, and that now MUST be near; and it is a solemn thing to stand                                                 on the shores of eternity; to look out on that boundless ocean, to feel that earth, and all that is                                                 dear on earth, is soon to be left “forever.”  Albert Barnes

 

                                    c.  I hope we are growing in the Lord as we grow older.

 

II.  THE EXPERIENCES OF LIFE

            A.  Obstacles and Opportunities

                        1.  David

                                    a.  Killed Lions and Bears

 

                        I Samuel 17:33 “And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for                                     thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.  17:34 And David said unto Saul, Thy                                     servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:                                     17:35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose                                     against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.”

 

                                    b.  Killed Goliath the Giant

 

                        I Samuel 17:37 “David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the                                     paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go,                                     and the LORD be with thee.”

           

                                    Can you say that with me?  He will deliver me!!!!!!!!

 

                        2.  Myself / Yourself

                                    a.  You and I Have Killed Bears and Lions

                                    b.  You and I Have Killed Some Giants

 

            B.  Failures

                        1.  David

                                    a.  David and his women. --> Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife.

                                    b.  David and his children. --> Tamar, Amnon, and Absalom

 

                        2.  Myself / Yourself

                                    Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

                       

                        3.  When David failed and repented of his failures,   II Samuel 12

                                    a.  God rebuked him.    

                                                v. 1  “And the LORD sent Nathan unto David.”

                                                v. 7  “And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.”

                                    b.  God chastised him.

                                                v. 10 “Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house;”

                                                v. 11  “Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives                                                             before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in                                                             the sight of this sun.”

 

                                    c.  God forgave him.

                                                v. 13a “I have sinned against the LORD.

                                                v. 13b  “The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.”

 

                        I John 2:1 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.  And if any man sin, we have an                                     advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:”

                       

            C.  Victor or Victim

                        1.  It seems impossible for a youth to understand by way of knowledge what an elder knows by way of                                     experience.

                        2.  I wish the youth could learn from our mistakes.

                        3.  I hope we learn from our mistakes.  If we continually repeat them, we are not learning.

                        4.  David was a Victor.

 

III.  THE BLESSING OF LIVING FOR GOD

            A.  You Will Flourish Like A Tree

                        Psalm 1:3 “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;                                     his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

 

                        1.  You will go places you never thought you would go.

                                    a.  North          b.  South                      c.  East                         d.  West?

                        2.  You will do things you never thought you would do.

                                    a.  Obtaining a college education.  Teaching in a public school.

                                    b.  Singing and Ministering;  In the pulpit, on television.

                                    c.  Making a tape. 

                                    d.  Publishing sermon outlines.

                                    e.  Writing a book.

                        3.  You will meet people you never thought you would meet.

                                    a.  I have heard political leaders, scientists, astronauts, and several great men of God speak.

                                    b.  I have made many friends across Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, etc.

                                    c.  I have meet numerous young people through Sunday School, Youth Camps, etc

                        4.  You will take others with you to higher heights and deeper depths.

                        5.  If you are not prospering, maybe you are not planted.  Are you rooted and grounded.

 

            B.  When You Fall, You Will Not Fail

                        Psalm 37:23 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.  37:24 Though                                     he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.”

 

IV.  NEVER

            A.  Never Forsaken

                        1.  When David grew to be an old man, he looked back at his stormy life and came to a wonderful conclusion-                                    -God had been with him all the way.  W. W. W.

                                    a.  In the field as shepherd, in palace as a king, God was with him.

                                    b.  In the valley facing Goliath, in the cave hiding from Saul, God was with him.

                                    c.  In battles without against the Philistines, in battles within against lust, pride, and rebellious sin, God                                                 was with him.

 

                        2.  He was forsaken once so that we would never be forsaken. 

           

                        Matthew 27:46 “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that                                     is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

 

                        3.  Troubles are not of sign of being forsaken.

 

                        II Corinthians 4:8 “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 4:9                                     Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;”

 

                        4.  If you will, He will.

 

                        James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  4:8 Draw nigh to                         God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”

 

                        Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for                                     he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

           

            B.  Never Begging

 

                        While these statements should not be interpreted as affirming absolutely that NO child of God will ever be in                         need of food, or drink, or raiment, or home, or friends, yet it is GENERALLY true that the needs of the righteous                         are supplied, often in an unexpected manner, and from an unexpected source.  Albert Barnes

 

                        1.  Because the saint has a work ethic.

 

                        I Timothy 5:8 “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the                                     faith, and is worse than an infidel.”

 

                        Religion tends to make men industrious, economical, and prudent, and hence, tends to promote prosperity,                                     and to secure temporal comforts;  Albert Barnes         

 

                        2.  Piety deters Poverty

                        Who are the inmates of the poor-houses in the land? Who are the beggars in our great cities? Here and there,                                     it may be, is one who is the child of pious parents, reduced by sickness or misfortune, or a lack of                                     practical good sense — for religion does not alter the constitution of the mind, and does not impart the                                     “skill” or “talent” upon which so much of the success in life depends; but the great mass of persons in                                     our charity-houses, and of beggars in the streets, are themselves intemperate, or are the wives and                                     children of the intemperate. They consist of those whom religion, as it would have made them virtuous                                     and industrious, would have saved from rags and beggary.  Albert Barnes

 

                        3.  God blesses those who are His.

                                    God never blesses or prospers a sinner AS SUCH, though he often does it NOTWITHSTANDING the fact                                                 that he is a sinner; but he does and will bless and prosper a righteous man AS SUCH, and                                                 BECAUSE he is righteous.  Albert Barnes

                        4.  David is saying:  God will always provide whatever we need so that we don’t have to turn to anyone else                                     except Him.  W. W. Wiersbe

 

            C.  Because God Never Changes

                        1.  No matter how you may change or how life may change, God never changes, and His promises never fail.                                      W. W. Wiersbe

            Hebrews 1:10 “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works                         of thine hands:  1:11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;  1:12                         And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years                         shall not fail.”

 

            Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

 

                        2.  Though the years pass by, you can still claim your mountain.

 

            Joshua 14:9 “And Moses swear on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine                         inheritance, and thy children’s for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God.  14:10 And                         now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake                         this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day                         fourscore and five years old.”

 

CONCLUSION:

The general argument in the psalm is that righteousness, the fear of God, “religion,” has a tendency to promote ultimate happiness, and to secure length of days and real honor upon the earth; that the prosperity of the wicked is temporary, and that however prosperous and happy they may seem to be, they will be ultimately cut off and made miserable.  Albert Barnes

 

Matthew 28:20 “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”