Ascending from Persecution to Peace

Sermon Summary

Main Point: Confident contentment comes not from worldly winning, but from waiting on the Lord.

Summary: This Sunday’s sermon walks through Psalms 129 to 131 in a three-step journey from affliction to assurance. Amidst a world where moral standards are often subjective and shifting, these psalms remind us of the steadfastness of God's righteousness and mercy. Psalm 129 assures us that the wicked will not prevail, reinforcing our confidence in God's justice. Psalm 130 leads us to a place of humble repentance, acknowledging our own iniquities and the need for God's forgiveness. Finally, Psalm 131 paints a picture of serene trust, encouraging us to rest in the Lord with childlike faith. Together, these passages call us to a life of confident contentment and humble hope, rooted in the clearly revealed character of God.

Sermon Outline:

1. Step # 1 (Psalm 129): “The wicked will not win”

2. Step # 2 (Psalm 130): “The forgiven will fear”

3. Step # 3 (Psalm 131): “The humble will hope”

Sermon Text: Psalm 129-131

Psalm 129

A Song of Ascents.

¹ “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth”—

let Israel now say—

² “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,

yet they have not prevailed against me.

³ The plowers plowed upon my back;

they made long their furrows.”

⁴ The Lord is righteous;

he has cut the cords of the wicked.

⁵ May all who hate Zion

be put to shame and turned backward!

⁶ Let them be like the grass on the housetops,

which withers before it grows up,

⁷ with which the reaper does not fill his hand

nor the binder of sheaves his arms,

⁸ nor do those who pass by say,

“The blessing of the Lord be upon you!

We bless you in the name of the Lord!”

Psalm 130

A Song of Ascents.

¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!

² O Lord, hear my voice!

Let your ears be attentive

to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

³ If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

O Lord, who could stand?

⁴ But with you there is forgiveness,

that you may be feared.

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

and in his word I hope;

⁶ my soul waits for the Lord

more than watchmen for the morning,

more than watchmen for the morning.

⁷ O Israel, hope in the Lord!

For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

and with him is plentiful redemption.

⁸ And he will redeem Israel

from all his iniquities.

Psalm 131

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

¹ O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;

my eyes are not raised too high;

I do not occupy myself with things

too great and too marvelous for me.

² But I have calmed and quieted my soul,

like a weaned child with its mother;

like a weaned child is my soul within me.

³ O Israel, hope in the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore.