Never Have I Seen The Righteous Forsaken

NEVER HAVE I SEEN THE RIGHTEOUS FORSAKEN

Ps. 37:25

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. How many of you know that there are times God has to get your attention?

2. A man was bragging about how smart his donkey was to his friend. “My donkey’s so smart when I say ‘Stand on your hind legs,’ he does! If I tell him to read a book, he’ll hold a book open in his hooves and act like he’s reading it.”

3. His friend doubted this description, so the man invited him over for a demonstration.

4. When they arrived, the donkey acted like he didn’t even notice they’d arrived. Though spoken to, he just kept sleeping.

5. The owner picked up a 2x4 board, walked over and gave a resounding crack to the donkey’s nose. The donkey stumbled dazedly to his feet.

6. The friend said, “Why did you just whack your donkey like that?” He answered, “This is the smartest donkey in the world! But first you have to get his attention!”

B. TEXT

1. This Psalm contrasts the destiny of the wicked with the future of the righteous. The wicked, though prospering today, will be cut off on the Day of the Lord. But the righteous will inherit the earth and will be vindicated by the Lord.

2. The message of this Psalm is to wait patiently in faith on the Lord because the Lord is faithful. Listen to the Psalm:

a. Feed on His Faithfulness (v3)

b. Trust in the Lord and do good

c. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart (v4)

d. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him

e. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him

f. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord

g. Wait on the Lord and keep His way and He shall exalt you to inherit the land

i. But the salvation of the righteous is from the lord; He is their strength in time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked and save them because they trust in Him.

3. The summary of the chapter is found in verse 25. “I was young and now I am old; Yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken, or their children begging bread” NIV 1984.

4. For us this is comforting because through every trial, struggle, battle, and problem, the righteous have the promise of God being with us.

5. God never forsakes His people. God never leaves us to fight alone and He never abandons us. Whenever we are dealing with any harshness or adversity we should remember God is with us.

6. If God is with us we can make it. Paul said, “If God be for us, who can be against us.” The answer is no one can defeat us and no enemy formed against us shall prevail.

I. DAVID SHARES HIS EXPERIENCE

1. “I was young and now I am old.”

2. These are not the words of a novice. David is no neophyte. He is an experienced man. David has seen the fullness of life. He has tasted the bitter and the sweet. He has experienced both pleasures and pains.

3. David can provide expert testimony concerning the faithfulness of God. Through everything David faced, whether good or bad, God had never forsaken him.

4. Forsake in the Hebrew sense means to abandon, to leave in the lurch, to leave someone who is depending on you, and to leave someone alone with a problem!

A. DAVID HAD MANY HARDSHIPS WHILE YOUNG:

1. HIS FATHER OVERLOOKED HIM. In 1 Sam. 16:10-12 when Samuel asked for the sons of Jesse to pass by before him to select a king, Jesse never even gave thought to the youngest boy, David. He was a non-person in the eyes of his father. Surely God would choose one of his tall, good-looking sons. But God saw at the heart of David and chose him! He sees your heart too!

2. HIS BROTHER DESPISED HIM.

1 Samuel 17:28-29 “Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David and he said why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for have come down to see the battle. And David said what have I done now? Is there not a cause?”

3. ATTACKED BY LION, BEAR

“…a lion…a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it….When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.” 1 Sam. 17:34-35.