Finding Yourself in the Psalms

Psalm 39

A Psalm of Hope

 Life without hope is despair
 “It’s been said that a man can live about 40 days without food, about three days without water, and about 18 minutes without air – but only one second without HOPE.” (Sweeting, 240)
Psalm 39 – David considers the brevity of life and realizes that he must hope in the LORD. Read Psalm 39
 39:1-3. Silence during a time of trouble
 39:4-6. Recognition of the brevity of life
 39:7-11. All I can do is Hope in You.
 39:12-13. Prayer for God’s mercy.

KEY: David recognizes the brevity of life and asks the LORD to remove His hand of discipline because life is so short (39:10, 13).

Strong OT statement of HOPE – Job 19:25-26

hope = “looking forward to in confident expectation”

The threefold combination of faith, hope and love is found 6x in the NT….

(1 Thessalonians 1:3, NIV) "We continually remember before our God and Father your work
produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord
Jesus Christ."
(1 Thessalonians 5:8, NIV) "But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet."
(Galatians 5:5-6, NIV) "But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."
(1 Corinthians 13:13, NIV) "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
(Hebrews 6:10-12, NIV) "God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised."
(1 Peter 1:21-22, NIV) "Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart."
The REASON for our HOPE
 the message of the GOSPEL. Col 1:3-5 “the hope that is stored up for you in heaven
and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel.”
 the character of GOD. Rom 15:13 “may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace . . .”
 the indwelling Holy Spirit. Rom 15:13 “so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”
 the resurrection of CHRIST. 1 Corinthians 15:19-20 "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised
from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."
 the promise of His return. Titus 1:11-14 “while we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and savior, Jesus Christ.
Many REASONS for hope, but only one SOURCE of hope.
Psalm 39:7 (NLT) “And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.”
(Colossians 1:3-5, NIV) " We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel"
(Colossians 1:22-23, NIV) "But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through
death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you
continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant."
(Colossians 1:27, NIV) "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
(Romans 8:23-25, NIV) "Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."
(Romans 15:4, NIV) "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
(Romans 15:13, NIV) "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
(Ephesians 1:18, NIV) "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,"
(Titus 2:11-14, NIV) "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all
wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."