I'd like to read to you again the verses I read just a few moments ago from Psalm 119. I realize you may not be as familiar with it, so let me read it again. The psalmist said, your hands made me and fashioned me, give me understanding that I may learn your commandments. May those who fear you see me and be glad because I wait for your word. I know, O Lord, that your judgments are righteous and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. O may your lovingkindness comfort me according to your word to your servant. May your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight. May the arrogant be ashamed, for they subvert me with a lie. But I shall meditate on your precepts. May those who fear you turn to me, even those who know your testimonies. May my heart be blameless in your statute, so that I will not be ashamed." This morning, in coming to these verses, we have come to the tenth stanza, or the tenth section, Psalm 119. Now I remind you that the psalmist, whoever he was, wrote this lengthy psalm as an acrostic. so that each new stanza begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and the first word of each verse in that stanza starts with that same Hebrew letter. Therefore, with this being the tenth stanza, it begins with the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which is the letter Yod. Now, that may not mean much to you. I don't expect it to mean much to you. However, The letter Yod is not a complete stranger to Bible-believing Christians. You know of this because Jesus spoke of it, mentioned it in a very significant statement that he made in his Sermon on the Mount. He said in Matthew 5.18, For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the law until all is accomplished. The word that is translated in my version smallest letter, sometimes rendered jot, as in jot and tittle, is the Hebrew letter yod. because it literally is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. In fact, it is so small that it actually looks just like an accent mark or an apostrophe. It's just a little dash or a stroke of the pen. That's all it is as far as the way it looks. But although this letter, Yod, is small, this tenth Yod stanza, that I've just read to you here in Psalm 119, deals with a very big subject, a very major and significant subject. It deals with the subject of how to go through an affliction that you know God has sent into your life. How to endure, how to go through, how to experience an affliction that you know God has sovereignly sent into your life. As you recall from our study a few weeks ago, the previous stanza of Psalm 119, the writer speaks about the affliction that he was experiencing, which was the persecution that he was enduring at the hands of some very evil men. He said in verses 69 and 70, the arrogance have forged a lie against me with all my heart. I will observe your precepts. Their heart is covered with fat, but I delight in your law." Now, earlier in the psalm, he mentions that these same men had mocked him and taunted him, lied about him, and were even threatening to take his life. But something that we learned from this stanza, this previous stanza, which we really didn't know prior to this, is that this affliction of persecution was God's discipline on this man because of his sin. He tells us that in verse 67. He says, before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word. Prior to being afflicted, he had been backslidden, but the Lord brought him back through this affliction. In spite of suffering greatly, and he really did, he asserts that God has treated him well. God has been good to him. even though it's been very painful. He says that, by the way, in verse 65. You have dealt well with your servants according to your word. He says it in verse 68. You are good and you do good. This is in the context of telling us he's been afflicted. He says the same thing in verse 71. It is good for me that I was afflicted that I may learn your statutes. Now, what the psalmist is telling us in these verses is not that his affliction was good. He never says his affliction is good, but that God, being good in nature, in character, God being good with sovereignly, using this affliction for his own good. The results are good. That's what he's saying. And the good that he's referring to is really threefold. Number one, he tells us that God used this affliction to bring him to the point of repentance and return him to godly obedience. I was going astray, but now I've returned, and that's good. Number two, he tells us God used his affliction to drive him more deeply to dig into the word of God, that I might learn your statutes, and that's certainly good. Number three tells us God used this affliction to teach him the true value of the Word of God. That is, he says at the end of this last stanza that it was more precious, the Word is more precious to him than thousands of pieces of gold and silver, and certainly that is good. But having spoken of God being good and that he used this affliction to benefit him, the psalmist now moves on to this tenth stanza, this yod stanza, to teach us an important lesson about affliction. And what is it that he teaches us? He teaches us how to go through an affliction in a way that honors the Lord. how to handle affliction the right way, the godly way, how to respond to affliction the way God wants us to respond. Using his own experience and himself as the example, he teaches us the way to endure adversity, affliction, trouble, trials, so that we don't waste these times of deep suffering and fail to use them as opportunities to grow and to mature and to honor the Lord. A number of years ago, John Piper wrote a book entitled, Don't Waste Your Cancer. It's a very personal book in that Piper wrote about his own battle. with cancer. Here's how the publishers described this book, Don't Waste Your Cancer. On the eve of his own cancer surgery, John Piper writes about cancer as an opportunity to glorify God with pastoral sensitivity, compassion, and strength. Piper gently but firmly acknowledges that we can indeed waste our cancer when we don't see how it is God's good plan for us and a hope-filled path for making much of Jesus. Now, I want to suggest to you that what John Piper did with his cancer, the psalmist does with his affliction. He doesn't waste it. He uses it as an opportunity to bring glory to God by responding to it in a godly manner. And he wrote this tenth stanza with the little letter yod to teach us a big lesson, an important lesson in life, and that is don't squander your affliction. because it's valuable. Don't waste adversity. Learn from it. Grow by it. Use it for the glory of God and for your own benefit, your own spiritual benefit. And the way the psalmist teaches us this important lesson of how to not waste our affliction is by telling us several things that he did while going through his deep time of affliction. And by doing these things, far from wasting his affliction, he used it as an opportunity to grow and mature spiritually, and to honor his Lord. And so will you, if you take these truths to heart. If you ask the Holy Spirit right now to help you, to have the wisdom to apply these truths to your own life, regardless of whether or not your trial is due to God's discipline, what the psalmist teaches us is timeless. It involves everything. during a time of suffering. It's applicable to every kind of pain and trouble, not simply persecution or discipline. Whatever you're going through or will go through, these truths are applicable. And so, as we begin to look at this 10th stanza of Psalm 119, we see that the first thing that the psalmist did during his time of affliction, so that he didn't waste it, he asked God for an understanding of his word. Verse 73, Just the beginning, it says, your hands made me and fashioned me. Now, look at that. Interestingly, the psalmist opens this stanza in a way that we might not expect. Instead of saying something about his affliction, he makes this a prayer statement to God about creation. Specifically, the creation of himself. He says, your hands made me and fashioned me. Now, why would he speak about God creating him years ago when he was in such a distressful situation right now. In other words, what does God's past creation of him have to do with his present suffering? Well, the first thing we need to understand is that this statement about God's hand making him, about God fashioning him, is a reference to Genesis chapter 2, verse 7. Here's what we read in Genesis 2, 7. Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being. And the book of Genesis makes it very clear that God made man, mankind, to be very different, very distinct from all the other animals that he had created. He made man to be different from the beasts of the earth in that man being made in the image of God Note this, he was created with a mind, a mind that's higher than the animals, a mind that is capable of knowing God, a mind that is capable of understanding God's Word. And knowing the Bible as he did, the psalmist knows that this is what scripture teaches about man's creation. And he believes it. He affirms what David had written in Psalm 139 when he said in verse 13, for you formed my inward parts and wove me in my mother's womb. This man believed what the Bible taught about man's creation. That amongst all the creatures that God has made, man stands out distinct. and different, having been created with the capacity to think logically and rationally and understand God and His ways. Now, understand this, although this man lived at a time in history when there were many different pagan views of the origin of life, he didn't live in a day when anyone thought or accepted the modern theory of evolution. But we do. We do live in a day like that, and there are millions of people who accept evolution today not as a theory, but as a fact. And it has impacted our culture greatly, primarily by reducing man to just another animal. That's how our society, for the most part, views man. Listen to these wise words of Bible teacher John Phillips as he explains the devastating impact and influence that the acceptance of evolution has had on society's thinking. He writes, to say that we are the result of chance is to insult God. We're not just a mass of atoms. We're not a product of the slime of the sea, nor are we descended from anthropoid apes. We come from the hand of God. The evolutionary propaganda of our day, cleverly orchestrated, hotly espoused by thousands of scientists, philosophers, and educators, is a satanic myth, designed to debase and dehumanize man, and make him kindred to the beast, when God says he is kindred to himself. Now listen closely. By declaring to us that God's hand made and fashioned him, the psalmist is asserting that God created him differently and to be different from any other creature that God made and the way he is different as I've already noted is that we can think rationally logically we can understand God we can comprehend his truth and that's why the psalmist immediately follows this statement about God creating him with these words give me understanding that I may learn your commandments." Now what he's saying is that because God made him to be different from all the other animals, having formed him with a brain that's capable of knowing and comprehending divine truth, He's now asking the Lord to give him a greater understanding of his truth. In other words, he's asking God to help him to grasp, comprehend his word. See, what he's telling us is that during a time of affliction, the thing to do is to use your mind, the mind that God gave you as a human, to grow in your understanding of His Word so that you will know His will and obey His will. Remember, this man's affliction was a disciplinary act of God because of his disobedience, because of his straying, he says, from the Lord. And so now, having repented of his disobedience and returning to the Lord, he wants to know as much as he can about God's Word so that he can be as diligent as he possibly can in obeying him. Now, I realize, as I was studying this, I realized that this must sound like a broken record because we've heard it so many times from the psalmist, the same desire to understand the Bible. He constantly says that. I delight in your word, I meditate in your word, teach me your word, stuff like that. What he's saying here in this verse isn't simply that he wants to grow in his understanding of Scripture. He's saying that God having created him with the unique capacity to understand his word, having made him with a mind that is capable of understanding his word, having fashioned him with a mental aptitude to read and understand his word, that's what he wants to do and that's what he intends to do. Even as he is being persecuted for his faith, He is determined to grow deeper in his understanding of the Bible. And here's the principle that he's teaching us. If God made you with a mind that is capable of understanding him, then use it. Use it. to learn His Word. If He created you with the ability to understand Him, don't waste your mind on trivial things. Use it for the purpose for which it was primarily made, and that is to learn the Word of God. The Apostle Paul was referring to this when he said to the Romans in Romans 12-2, that the way to keep from being conformed to the standards of this world, this temptation that we all have because we live in this world, he said is by being transformed by the renewing of your mind. Think differently. Think biblically. Only as you spend time in God's Word, and that's a discipline you have to have. It doesn't happen because you want it to happen. You have to do something about it. as you spend time in the Word of God, and you allow the Holy Spirit at that time to change your thinking, that's when you'll have a renewed mind. That's when you'll be able to live a more godly life, a life that is pleasing to the Lord. That's what this man is telling us he's determined to do during this difficult time in his life. And it may surprise you to know why he felt it was so important for him to understand as much as the Word as he could, and to obey it. He tells us why in the next verse. It may surprise you. Verse 74. May those who fear you see me and be glad because I wait for your word. May those who fear you, he says, see me and be glad because I wait for your word. Now in this statement he tells us why he felt it was so important for him to have an understanding of God's Word and to obey Him during this trial. It was important, he says, watch this, because it gave him an opportunity to be a good example to other believers who would be watching him to see how he was responding to his affliction. He says, may those who fear you, what does he mean by that? He means true believers. This isn't a fear of cowering in the corner. Those who hold you in reverence, is what he means. May they rejoice, may they be encouraged, may they be strengthened in their faith as they look upon me, he says, and see me, someone who's trusting you, someone who's waiting upon you, someone who's looking to you, even as I go through this terrible ordeal. See, what this man is concerned about is setting an example for other believers. He wants to be a good testimony to them as he endures this persecution. He wants to be a model to them for how a believer is supposed to respond when he is afflicted. He wants to illustrate to others that one can trust the Lord even when life is falling apart all around him. I wonder if you've ever thought of your affliction that way. Most of us just get very self-absorbed when we're going through an affliction, but it's not to be that. It is to be an opportunity for you to be an example to others by handling your affliction properly. So don't become self-absorbed. Get out of yourself. So I wonder if it's ever occurred to you that one of the reasons God has sent this affliction to you is for the express purpose of encouraging others who are looking at you, perhaps new believers, perhaps others who are weak in the faith, Someone who's less mature than you. Someone who's less experienced than you are, spiritually. Because it gives you then the opportunity to show them, this is how a Christian is supposed to respond. Let me, without boasting, because this is only by God's grace, he's saying, let me just demonstrate to others how a believer is supposed to handle it. Trust in Christ. Obeying him, even in a time of crisis. Listen, you may not think that your behavior in the hard times of life makes a difference in the lives of your fellow Christians, but I assure you, it does. You may not think that anyone is watching you, but they are. Or that your behavior has any bearing on the behavior of others, but it does. No man is an island. We are a body of believers. The Apostle Paul was very aware that how he behaved, especially when the circumstances were difficult, he was very cognizant that it affected others. For example, while in prison in Rome, Paul writes a letter to the Philippians, one reason we call it a prison epistle. And in doing so, Paul is very careful to set a good example for them by showing them that his really bad circumstances, his bad circumstances of losing his freedom and being holed up in some prison in Rome, he wants to set an example for them to show them that it did not defeat him. regardless of how rough it was. And it was years that Paul was in prison. On the contrary, he says, his poor circumstances were actually the cause for his rejoicing. He said in Philippians chapter 1, starting in verse 12 through 14, he said, now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel. My rotten circumstances, being chained to a soldier day and night and in this prison, It's turned out for the greater progress of the gospel. So that, he says, my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard. That was the elite guard that watched him. And to everyone else. And that most of the brethren, watch this, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. Now Paul saw his imprisonment as an opportunity to advance the gospel. How so? because his jailers, who couldn't get away from him, being chained to the apostle day and night, you know what he's going to talk about. They're going to hear the gospel, they're going to go home, they're going to tell their families, others are going to hear, it's going to spread throughout the city of Rome. And then Paul said other believers on the outside, those who are not in prison, seeing his example of going to jail for his faith, he said they were emboldened. to preach and witness for Christ without fear of being imprisoned themselves. See, other Christians who were watching Paul, and the fact that he went to jail for his faith, they're watching all this. Paul's not backing down. He's going to jail for his faith. He's proclaiming the gospel while in prison. That gave them the courage to boldly preach for Christ without fear of being imprisoned themselves. But it's in chapter 3 and chapter 4 of Philippians where Paul explicitly states that his teaching and the way he lived by his teaching were to serve them, the Philippians, by being an example for them to follow. In chapter 3, verse 17, he says, brethren, join in following my example. and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. I've been a model to you, others have been an example to you, now you be an example to others. He said in chapter 4 verse 9, the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace will be with you. What you've learned from me, what you received from me, from my teaching and what you have observed in my life, practice. So if you're going through a time of affliction, Don't simply think about yourself. Don't get self-absorbed. Think about other believers who are watching you, whether you realize it or not, they are. Show them how a Christian is supposed to respond to affliction. And do it by asking God to give you an understanding of his words so that you'll obey it. Set an example for others to follow you. Listen, suffering is no time to let down your guard. It's no time to back off on your obedience to God. You haven't been given an exemption. This is the time when you have the greatest opportunity to show forth the reality of your faith. What you really believe about God's sovereignty, that it's not simply a doctrine to you, it's a reality. what you believe about God's love and goodness when life isn't good, when you're not feeling well. This is the best time that you have to be an example of godly obedience to other Christians. Look, anybody can sound good and look good and be upbeat when things are going well. It's when life is falling apart when we see, when others see, what we're really like, what we really believe, what our true character is, what our faith is about. This is what the psalmist did. This is what he did when he was afflicted. He asked God to give him understanding of his word so that he would obey it, and in doing that he would be an example to others. And he tells us this so that we would do it. So that we would receive this truth and say, Oh God, no matter what I'm going through, help me to be an example. Help me not to dwell on myself. Help me to be an example to others. Help me to obey you and to show them. how a true Christian is to behave. But as he moves on in this section of his psalm, he tells us about something else he did during this time of affliction so as to not waste it. Not only did he ask God to give him understanding of his word, but he also acknowledged that God was right in sending him affliction. He says in verse 75, I know, O Lord, that your judgments are righteous and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me." I'm just amazed at this statement. Because in the previous stanza, the psalmist implied that God was behind his affliction. I taught that. when we went over this, but it was really more of an implied truth than an actual statement of it. But here in this verse, he comes right out and he explicitly states it. It's not implied at all. He comes out and he plainly says at the end of the sentence, you have afflicted me. You've done it. He opens the verse by acknowledging that what God did to him in afflicting him, it was right And it was just. Notice he says, I know, Lord, that your judgments are righteous. You know what he's saying? He's saying, I know, Lord, that you did the right thing in deciding to discipline me by the hands of these evil men. It was right. It was just. I'm not complaining about it. I'm not blaming you. Think about what he's saying. He's saying that the affliction, which was a painful thing in his life, it had brought him to tears. He says that it crushed him. This affliction was a righteous action taken by God. He's not angry at the Lord for this horrible suffering that he's had to endure. He's in agreement that it's just and right. You did the right thing, God. And then he adds at the end of verse 75, that in faithfulness you've afflicted me. What does he mean by that? As I said a moment ago, it couldn't be any clearer from these words that God is behind his affliction. That it was the Lord who brought this terrible trouble into his life, though he used evil men to do it. And that what God did to him, he says now, you did it because you're faithful to keep your word. What is he saying? He's saying that since God has said in his word that he will discipline his wayward children, he's saying you've only been true and faithful to keep your word. You've disciplined me because of my sin. In faithfulness, you did this. You're always true to your word. Now, let's think about this. Let's think about this for a few minutes. Does the Bible actually teach that God, who is sinless, and perfect? Does the Bible teach that God uses evil men to carry out his will? It absolutely does. You see, the Bible teaches that God is totally sovereign. Meaning this, that he is in absolute control of every event in life down to the most minute details. and therefore He is in absolute control of every human being and will use them to accomplish His will even those who don't know Him or even acknowledge His existence. Listen to what the Word of God says about His sovereignty over people and their actions and then think about your life, people who affect you. It's all under God's sovereign control. Proverbs 16.9, the mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. In other words, man makes his plans, thinking that he's in charge of whatever he's doing, but it's actually the Lord who is sovereignly directing his very steps, though man often doesn't have a clue. Proverbs 21.1, the king's heart is like channels of water in the hands of the Lord. He turns it wherever he wishes. The most powerful people in the world, human monarchs, are under the control of God to accomplish His will. I can't think of a better illustration of this than what we read in Ezra chapter 1. In Ezra chapter 1, here's how the book starts out. Now, in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order to fulfill, note this, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, thus says Cyrus, king of Persia, the Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, And he has appointed me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God be with him. Let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel. He is the God who is in Jerusalem. Every survivor, at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with a freewill offering for the house of God, which is in Jerusalem." Listen. King Cyrus, the most significant monarch of that day, the ruler of that part of the world, made a proclamation. He's saying that all the Jewish people taken into captivity could return to their homeland, to Israel, in order to rebuild the temple that had been destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Now, Cyrus was not a godly man. I know he acknowledges the God of heaven, but he most likely had many gods that he believed in. He was not a godly man. He wasn't even a true believer. But the scripture says that the Lord stirred his spirit, meaning God moved in some mysterious way, moved his heart. Why? In order to fulfill the word of God, spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, and that word was that the Jews could return to their land after 70 years in captivity. Now in the case of Cyrus, though he was a pagan, unbeliever, what he did for Israel was actually kind and benevolent. He actually also told people to give them money and supplies. This was a kind thing. But what about when evil men do evil things to God's people? Is God still in charge of that? Does He orchestrate this? The answer, again, absolutely yes. God's sovereignty applies even to the actions of evil men, although God is never the author of their sin, nor is He ever responsible for their sin, nor does He ever induce anyone to do evil against their own will. And if you say, I don't understand that, welcome to the club. Nobody does. But James chapter 1 verses 13 and 14 say this very clearly, let no one say when he's tempted, I'm being tempted by God. James says, for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he's carried away and enticed by his own lust. What evil men do, James is telling us, they want to do. It's their own lust, their desires that drive them. They want to do, even though in some mysterious way, which as I told you we don't understand, God sovereignly controls their thinking and their actions, so that in doing their evil, they actually carry out His sovereign will and purpose. We know this is the case, even if we don't comprehend this. And listen, as I said, nobody understands how God's sovereignty and human responsibility work together. But Scripture teaches it. Both. Man is responsible. God is totally sovereign. And we don't take it down the middle and just say, well, it's somewhere in between both. No, it is both. It's not, don't water it down. Don't dilute the sovereignty of God or human responsibility. Both are taught in Scripture. It's taught in Scripture by clear statements as well as illustrated through the lives of others. For example, a few weeks ago we saw that Joseph, the son of Jacob, told his brothers, who did the most wicked thing out of jealousy, they sold him into slavery. This young man, godly man, that just sold into slavery, terrible. Joseph eventually said to them, that you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. Did God use their evil? Absolutely. Absolutely. Did he control? Was he in control of what they were doing? Absolutely. Was he responsible for their evil? No. In the New Testament, we read of the wicked actions of Judas, Herod, and Pontius Pilate, all in one statement, in relation to the murder, and that's what it was, the killing of Jesus, the murder of our Lord. But Scripture says that all of their actions, what Judas did, what Herod did, what Pilate did, were done under the sovereign hand of God in order, note this, to accomplish his will of putting his son on the cross. And he did it, this is the amazing thing, this is the mysterious thing, he did it without forcing them to do something that they didn't want to do. What Judas did he wanted to do? What Herod did he wanted to do? What Pilate did he wanted to do? God didn't force them to do anything. In fact, the Bible says that the actions of these wicked men were foreordained and determined by God. If you will, look at Acts chapter 4, verses 23 through 28. Here's what we read. When Peter, when they, it's Peter and John, had been released, they'd been released from the Sanhedrin who took them in and then released them. They went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard this, they lifted their voice. This is what the church did. This is what believers did now. Their companions, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and here's what they prayed. This is persecution coming. Here's what they prayed. Oh Lord, it is you who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that's in them. who by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of our father David your servant is going to quote from Psalm 2 David wrote this, through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said this, Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples devise futile things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ. For truly, and now they're coming and saying, here's how it was fulfilled. You predicted this through David, here's how it was fulfilled. For truly in this city, the city of Jerusalem, there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel," watch this, "...to do whatever your hand and your purpose predestined to occur." It was predestined. And yet Herod and Pilate, and by implication, of course, Judas was involved in this, and the Gentiles, the Romans, and the Jewish people, this was predetermined, predestined by God to occur. God never is responsible for evil. Does He allow evil? Yes. He's not responsible for it. The Bible says in Isaiah 45, 7, He creates calamity. as well as good things, he brings it about, he permits it, but he is never responsible for evil. Now, it's one thing, I realize, to read these examples in scripture, the ancient word of God, that God brought about his will by using evil men to do these evil things, but what about today? What about in your life, in my life? What about it when evil is done to you? Is God still sovereign over someone doing evil to you? Is God sovereign when there is an injustice done to you? Is He sovereign when your supervisor treats you poorly because you're a Christian? Is He sovereign, and how appropriate to think of it today, when planes flown by terrorists crash into buildings and people die? Is He sovereign when someone maliciously lies about you? The answer is yes. There is nothing done, whether good or evil, that is outside of God's sovereign control. If there was, He would not be God. See, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And what that means, that verse in Hebrews, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever, it means He never changes in His character. He sovereignly, and we'll apply it, he sovereignly used evil men in Bible times, and he sovereignly uses evil men today. But listen, just because we know and believe that God is sovereign over our afflictions and our adversities, it doesn't mean we're immune to the pain that we experience from these afflictions and these adversities. When evil is done to us, our pain is very real, and we shouldn't pretend that it's not. It's very real. The ache in our hearts are very real. Even though we acknowledge God is good, and His sovereign hand has brought this for my good, it still hurts. I remind you, the writer of Psalm 119, the man who's writing all this, has told us in previous verses that he was crushed. He was brought to tears. He was a broken man because of this. So, he's not telling us that he's immune to pain, and we're not either. But while an understanding of God's sovereignty doesn't mean that there's no longer any pain, what it does mean is that you can trust the Lord. You can trust the Lord that what He is doing in your life is based on His good and perfect righteousness and wisdom in knowing what's best for you. Even if you don't understand why He's allowing such heartache in your life, you can trust Him because you know that he knows what he's doing. And ultimately, what he is doing is for your benefit. I love the way Spurgeon put it. I've quoted this many times, but it is so wonderful. He said, when we cannot see the hand of God, we can trust the heart of God. And that's often the way it is with us. You don't know what's going on. You're confused in all this, but you can trust the heart of God. Now this is a truth that sustained the psalmist. He knew that what God had done through these evil men, he knew it was right. It was just. It was the right thing for him and he trusted the Lord. So he didn't waste his affliction by getting bitter or angry against God. He simply submitted to the truth that God is sovereign and he does what is always right. How about you? If you're suffering, you're going through some affliction, don't waste this. This is a golden opportunity for you. Use it as a time to trust the Lord because He knows what He's doing. And whatever He's doing is right and according to His sovereign plan for your life. Trust Him. At this point, I want to offer just a brief word of caution concerning the truth of God's sovereignty. There's always a concern when we speak about pain and the doctrine of the sovereignty of God that we might misuse this doctrine, especially as we minister to someone else who's suffering. When one believes strongly in the doctrine of God's sovereignty, as I think many, if not most of us here do, there is always the potential danger of using this doctrine in a very insensitive manner in ministering to those who are hurting. So I want to offer this caution. See, what I mean by this is that it is wrong to glibly say to someone who is going through deep pain something like this, what's the problem? God is sovereign, so just suck it up and trust him. Listen, while it's true that God is sovereign and that his people do need to trust him in suffering, a glib statement, put something like that, that's not what people need to hear when they're in pain. Someone has so wisely put it, he said, it is much easier to trust in the sovereignty of God when it is the other person who is hurting. You don't want to be like Job's friends who had no idea of how to comfort him. They were terrible. So be sensitive. Be sensitive in dealing with people concerning the doctrine of God's sovereignty and their pain. Don't crush them. Don't hammer them and break them with this truth. Just be sure that you let it bring you comfort in your pain by acknowledging that what God has done has been the right thing in afflicting you. Now, if you're a Christian and you are currently going through some great adversity, Let the words of this psalm and the words that this man has written encourage you. Apply it to your life, not somebody else's life. May it encourage you to use this difficult time as an opportunity, don't waste it, to grow in the Lord, to honor Him. Others are watching you. about how you respond to your adversity. So, turn to the Lord, get into his word, and be an example to them of godly obedience. And don't grow bitter over your pain. Don't blame God as if he's done something wrong to you. Submit to his authority. That's what it comes down to. Submit to his authority in your life by acknowledging that whatever he is allowing to happen to you is the right thing. Now, if you're not a Christian, Then, when suffering does come, may God use it to wake you up, to see your need for Him. That's the way the Lord often works in the life of those who are not converted. He lets them go through terrible times to wake them up, see how much they need Him, because you do need Him, not simply to comfort you in your suffering. You need him for the salvation of your eternal soul. Someday your suffering in this life will be over and you'll face eternity. But salvation is within reach. Because Jesus Christ offers to save you from God's judgment. How and why? Because he was judged in the place of sinners like you. So he invites you to come to him. He said, come to me all who are weary and heavy laden. I'll give you rest. He meant rest for your soul. Rest in Him. Trust Christ's death on the cross for your salvation. And be converted, and be forgiven, and become a new creature in Christ. Let's pray. Father, we are so grateful that you inspired this psalmist, whoever he was, to write these truths because they are so important for us. Lord, may we not waste our affliction. May we not become self-absorbed and people who think only of us. May we turn from ourselves and be in your word and be obeying you no matter what our adversity is and be a good example to others, even in our pain. Not denying our pain, but being models of how a Christian is to suffer. And Lord, help us no matter what sorrowful situation you bring into our lives, help us to acknowledge that it's right, you're right, you're just, that you've afflicted us for our own good. So I pray, Lord, for those going through deep, deep hurts right now, that you help them to receive these truths and apply them to their own lives. I pray for those who are not converted, Lord. I pray that they'll see their sinfulness and that they'll run to You, Lord Jesus, and flee from the wrath of God which is to come. May this be the day of their salvation. May You use their pain to wake them up to their need for Christ. It's in His name that we ask this. Amen.