What to do with what you feel: Worthlessness (Psalm 139)
Psalms | What to do with what you feel • Sermon • Submitted
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· 7 viewsWeek 7 of series going through David's human responses to real emotions in light of the Gospel
Notes
Transcript
These verbs are perfect tense, meaning they imply a constant, undending state
The Legitimacy of emotion
The Legitimacy of emotion
These emotions we’ve covered are real
Billy mentioned it last week when he said “exhaustion of this kind is real”
David was real (we elevate Bible characters sometimes) - the one who was called “a man after God’s own heart” - and he felt these things
Human emotions are real
The Legitimate question of worth
The Legitimate question of worth
We are made in God’s image
Image-bearers imply worth
Worthlessness encapsulates the other emotions
Sin nature mars the Image
Sin nature is ours
Worthlesness, therefore, is ours
…BUT CHRIST
Romans 5:8-9 (ESV)
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
The LORD knows you
The LORD knows you
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
• Knowledge implies worth
The LORD is with you
The LORD is with you
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
• Presence implies worth
The LORD has created you
The LORD has created you
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
• Creativity/creation implies worth
- These verses are the backbone of God’s definition of worth, often the key verses used in defense of value of all life
- Not today’s main point, but they certainly point towards underlying point: God is the determiner and definer of value; His choice, not us or ours (i.e. abortion)
- Please, please know, I’d love to spend more time here, but a) God determines value, b) God’s grace abounds and is readily available, and c) please come talk if you have questions about these particular verses
The LORD thinks of you
The LORD thinks of you
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
• Thought implies worth
The LORD defends you
The LORD defends you
Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain.
Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
• Belief breeds confidence in worth
- David begins to believe (almost like he’s trying to convince himself)
- David, with some (maybe only some, but still) confidence presents his request to God
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
The LORD knows you intimately
The LORD knows you intimately
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
• Worth leads us to this plea
Like no one else, God knows you . . . and that means you are worth knowing