Latest / Reformed Thinking / When the Wandering Sheep Cries Out for God’s Salvation (Psalm 119:169–176) | Charles Spurgeon

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When the Wandering Sheep Cries Out for God’s Salvation (Psalm 119:169–176) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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Usually when we talk about a medical diagnosis, there's this
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expectation of absolute precision.
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Right, a very clear cut answer. Yeah, I mean, you break your
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arm, the doctor puts you in front of an X-ray machine and
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there is that jagged white line right on the screen.
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You can't argue with it. No, you can't.
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The doctor points to it, you look at it, and there's no
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ambiguity at all. The bone is broken, the
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diagnosis is binary, it's clean and it's totally visible.
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We like things to be categorized that neatly.
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We really do. But when you step into the
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diagnostic landscape of our spiritual lives, that X-ray
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machine just shatters. We are looking at a reality that
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is incredibly murky. Oh, absolutely.
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You hook a monitor up to the human heart, and one moment the
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line of faith is just soaring off the charts, and the next
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it's plummeting into despair. And sometimes it feels like it's
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flatlining completely. Spot on.
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Well, welcome to Reformed thinking.
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Today we are analyzing a specific set of ancient sources
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that strip away that artificial, binary view of faith, and they
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look closely at the messy reality of spiritual dependency.
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We're doing a deep dive into the source material.
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Yes, we're pulling from the exhaustive historical commentary
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in Charles Spurgeon's The Treasury of David, and we're
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bringing in the theological analysis of figures like John
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Owen, Thomas Manton, and John Calvin.
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Right as they evaluate the final section of Psalm 119, those last
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8 verses. The Tau section.
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So what is the mission of this deep dive today?
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Well, the intention here is to trace the anatomy of spiritual
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dependency. We are looking at a progression
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of thought that moves from a state of total desperation for
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insight, climbs to an undeniable overflow of vocal praise.
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And then, well, it crashes into this stark, almost jarring
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confession of personal wandering.
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It's a huge shift. It is the text forces us to look
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at the tension of holding soaring theology and personal
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failure at the very same time. Think about your own life for a
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second. Consider how often your internal
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state oscillates between feeling completely locked into a sense
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of purpose and feeling entirely lost in the woods.
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It happens constantly. One day you feel like you're
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touching the sky, and the next day you wonder if you even know
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the the way home. The sources we are examining
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today speak to that very specific tension.
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But before we get to the heights of praise or the depths of
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wandering, the writers point out something crucial, right A
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person must first secure an audience with the king.
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Yeah, the text begins with this plea.
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Let my cry come near before the O Lord, give me understanding
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according to Thy word. Ambrose observes a very
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deliberate sequence in these opening lines.
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He notes that first the cry comes near and then the
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supplication enters. It's a 2 step process.
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Precisely. He compares it to knocking at
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the gates of a royal estate. You don't just kick the door
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down and start demanding things. No, you'd be arrested.
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Right. You approach the perimeter, you
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ask the guards for an audience, and you wait.
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Spurgeon expands on that by noting the trembling reverence
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required in this approach. He compares the nature of the
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specific prayer to the groan of a wounded beast.
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Or the cry of a destitute child. Yeah, it's primal.
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It is not a polished, articulate speech delivered with
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confidence. It's a raw expression of
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necessity. Because when you approach a
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monarch in the ancient world, yeah, you are stepping into a
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space where your life is entirely subject to another's
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will. Spurgeon uses the imagery of
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Queen Esther to illustrate this, which I think is brilliant.
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Oh, that's a perfect analogy. Right.
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Esther had to venture into the inner court of the Persian king
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to beg for the lives of her people, and the law stated that
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anyone who approached the king unsummoned would be put to
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death. Unless the king extended the
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golden scepter. Right.
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So Esther stepped into that royal presence timidly, yet she
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was driven by a boldness born of absolute necessity.
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She knew she had no inherent right to demand an audience.
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But the stakes were too high to stay silent.
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So the psalmist is approaching God with that same life or death
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desperation. Specifically asking for
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understanding. And here's where I want to push
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on the historical context a bit. OK, go for it.
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David is historically credited with much of this text.
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He was a king, He. Was a prophet.
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Right, he had already written volumes of inspired poetry.
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Why is a man with that resume suddenly pleading for basic
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understanding as if he's an absolute novice who just walked
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through the door? That tension is precisely what
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Abraham Wright addresses in his commentary.
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What does he say? Wright draws a sharp,
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unforgiving line between natural gifts and spiritual grace.
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OK, natural gifts encompass things like a rare memory, a
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massive intellect, quick wit, or, you know, the ability to
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read and parse ancient languages.
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Things society heavily rewards. Absolutely.
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Society rewards those traits, but Wright points out that
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natural traits never teach a person to see what they lack.
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In fact, natural intellect almost always makes a person
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incredibly proud. It creates an illusion of
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self-sufficiency. Spot on.
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Spiritual grace operates in the exact opposite manner.
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It opens a person's eyes to their own glaring deficiencies.
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It drives them to their knees to beg for the very things they
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cannot generate on their own. I think about this distinction
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in terms of modern technology. Like imagine you go out and
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purchase the most expensive top of the line computer hardware
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available. Maximum RAM, incredible
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processing speed. Massive storage.
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Yeah, that hardware represents natural intellect.
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It represents your high IQ, your ability to speed read, your
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capacity to memorize historical facts.
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It's impressive hardware. But, and this is the catch, you
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can load a highly encrypted file onto that computer, but without
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the specific decryption key, all of that processing speed is
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completely useless. It's just sitting there.
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Right. The hardware can run
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calculations all day, but it cannot open the file.
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The theological argument here is that the human mind is the
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hardware, but spiritual understanding is the external
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decryption key. Without the Holy Spirit
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providing that key, your natural processing speed cannot decode
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the reality of the text. That analogy makes so much sense
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to me. And it captures John Owen's
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central argument perfectly, too. Owen insists that true
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understanding is an inward, effectual work of the Holy
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Spirit. Meaning you can't just study
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your way into it. Right.
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He argues that humanity operates under a massive, dangerous
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delusion. We assume that because we can
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comprehend a complex math equation.
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Or a dense philosophical treatise?
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Yeah. We assume we can comprehend the
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mind of God through our own diligence study alone.
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But Owen says the self-confidence is contrary to
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the plain testimonies of Scripture.
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The decryption key must be handed to you from the outside.
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Always. You know, when you look at our
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modern educational and professional culture, we prize
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quick wit. We heavily reward natural
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intellect. We do.
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If someone is articulate, if they can hold a room's
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attention, if they're well read, we automatically assume they
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possess wisdom. But substituting natural
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intelligence for spirit given understanding seems like a
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recipe for a very specific kind of disaster.
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What happens to a society that does that?
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Well, it creates a culture saturated with theological
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arrogance. When individuals rely solely on
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their natural hardware, they become puffed up by the sheer
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volume of data they've accumulated.
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They lose the humility that grace demands.
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Precisely, Grace functions by constantly illuminating our
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need. And that is the answer to your
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earlier question about David. Why he prays like a novice.
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Yes, he prays like a novice because he recognizes that
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yesterday's understanding is insufficient for today's trials.
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Wow, yesterday's key doesn't open today's lock.
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That's a great way to put it. He knows that applying universal
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truths to new, hyper specific temptations requires a fresh
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decryption key every single morning.
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He cannot rely on his past insights to walk through his
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present reality. That constant need for a fresh
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key makes total sense, but the commentators point out that once
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the King grants that audience and hands over that key of
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understanding, an internal shift occurs.
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And it cannot remain internal. No, it can't.
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The internal realization forces a very loud external reaction.
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We see this in verses 171 and 172.
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Yeah, the text shifts from begging for insight to making
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absolute promises. The psalmist says.
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My lips shall utter praise when thou has taught me thy statutes,
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and my tongue shall speak of thy word.
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We are moving from silent desperation to vocal overflow.
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How does John Stephen describe this vocal reaction?
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He describes it as a psychological inevitability.
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When the human heart is genuinely taught by God, the
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internal pressure simply becomes too great to contain.
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It has to. Come out.
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Right. The text points out that God's
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commandments are not viewed here as a burdensome standard of
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rules. They are recognized as
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righteousness itself. So when the mind grasps the
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beauty of that righteousness, the mouth has no choice but to
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open. Stephen provides a brilliant
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visual for this mechanism. Let's hear he describes standing
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at The Fountainhead of a mountain stream.
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You watch the water bubble up from the ground.
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It runs down the rocks as a clear small rivulet.
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Just a little trickle. Yeah, but as it continues to
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flow, it gathers momentum, joining with other streams until
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it swells into a massive, unstoppable river that alters
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the entire landscape. That river of praise sounds
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beautiful in theory, but I want to look at the reality of how we
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actually behave. William Calper makes a piercing,
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almost uncomfortable observation about this dynamic.
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He notes that many individuals who claim to possess this
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understanding can sit at a dinner table and speak freely,
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articulately and passionately about any earthly subject for
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hours. But the second the conversation
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turns to spiritual matters, they are suddenly struck dumb.
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Think about your own dinner table conversations.
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We can effortlessly debate the nuances of tax policy.
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Or the strategy of our favorite sports team.
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Yeah. Or the plot twists as a new
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television show, the words just flow like a river.
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But when someone brings up the scriptures, an awkward silence
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descends. People clear their throats, look
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at their plates and clam up. It's so true.
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Why is that? Why is it so easy to talk about
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TV for an hour, but we freeze when the topic changes to
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theology? CalPERS critique forces us to
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examine the source of that silence.
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We often excuse our reluctance to speak about spiritual matters
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as mere social politeness. We tell ourselves we don't want
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to offend anyone. Right.
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Or make the room uncomfortable. But if we apply John Stevens
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logic that a taught heart produces an inevitable overflow,
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then our polite silence is actually a symptom of a much
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more severe condition. What condition?
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If the spring is not bowling over into the public square, the
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harsh reality might be that there is no water at the source.
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Wow, so if the decryption key has truly unlocked the file, the
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contents will spill out. We have to.
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I liken this process to a musician learning to master an
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instrument. Oh, that's good.
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Learning the mechanics of music is grueling, repetitive work.
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You sit in a room for hours practicing scales until your
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fingers bleed. It requires immense discipline.
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Nobody wants to hear someone practicing scales.
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No, it's terrible. But once that grueling practice
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yields actual mastery and the musician suddenly understands
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the underlying theory of the composition.
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They don't just pack the instrument into its case and sit
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in silence. Right.
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The mastery creates a desperation to play the melody
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out loud. They want to share the beauty
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they have uncovered with anyone who will listen.
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The tongue finds a fruitful subject and refuses to stay
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quiet. The overflow of the tongue is a
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natural byproduct, but speaking about the text is significantly
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easier than actively walking the path it requires.
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Action is harder than words. Always the commentators draw a
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sharp distinction between vocal praise and practical execution.
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Facing the sheer difficulty of the chosen path requires daily
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physical assistance. Which brings us to verse 173.
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Yes. This is why the psalmist shifts
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his focus again, praying. Let thine hand help me, for I
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have chosen thy precepts. Making a choice is a defining
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moment. By stating I have chosen thy
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precepts, the writer is making a definitive break from the past.
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Jeremiah Burroughs highlights that this choice involves
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finding better consolations in the rule of God than in flesh
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pleasing ways. You are actively turning your
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back on the mechanisms that used to provide you comfort.
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Whether that is wealth, status or self indulgence, you are
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renouncing the old ways. Stephen Charn adds A
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psychological layer to this choice that I find fascinating.
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He insists that this choice must be accompanied by cheerfulness.
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Yes, and he uses a fantastic older word, lumpishness I.
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Love that word lumpishness. He argues that lumpishness or a
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melancholy attitude in our obedience betrays a deeply held
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secret belief that God is actually a hard master.
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That's a striking insight. When we obey with a long face,
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we turn incredible privileges into miserable drudgeries.
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A begrudging attitude communicates to the world that
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we regret the choice we made. We act as if we are forced
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laborers under a tyrant rather than willing servants under or a
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gracious king. That makes perfect sense
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regarding the attitude of the choice, but I have to push back
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on the logic of the petition itself.
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OK. What do you mean?
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If you have willingly chosen this path, if you have
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cheerfully renounced your old ways and committed to the rules,
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shouldn't you have the self-sufficiency to actually
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walk the path? You think so?
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Naturally. I mean, why make the choice and
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then immediately cry out for a rescue?
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Picture a climber who has chosen to ascend a treacherous, icy
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mountain. Making the decision at base camp
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is absolutely necessary. You cannot reach the summit by
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accident. Right, but making the choice
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does not eliminate the sheer drop offs or the freezing wind
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at 20,000 feet. When the climbers muscles are
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burning and they cannot find a foothold, their willpower is
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entirely exhausted. The choice got them onto the
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mountain, but they still urgently need the veteran guide.
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Exactly. I mean, absolutely.
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They need the guide to reach down, grab their harness, and
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physically pull them over the hardest ledges.
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Willpower cannot substitute for physical rescue.
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Spurgeon brings in a New Testament parallel that mirrors
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your climber analogy perfectly. He points to the narrative of
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Peter walking on the sea. Oh.
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That fits so well. Peter made the definitive, bold
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choice to step out of the relative safety of the boat and
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onto the water. That required immense faith.
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He left the boat behind. But the moment Peter looked at
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the violence of the wind and the waves, he began to sink.
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His initial choice to step out could not keep him buoyant.
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The environment overwhelmed him. Right when the reality of the
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environment overwhelmed his natural capacity, he had to cry
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out. Lord save me.
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He required the literal physical hand of the Master to pull him
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up from the abyss. You know that phrase, The hand
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of God gets used constantly. But what does that actually look
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like in the practical, daily experience of the believer?
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It sounds like a broad metaphor. Well, the commentators break it
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down into very specific functions.
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The hand of God is entirely multifaceted.
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It is not a single static action.
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How so? They outline that sometimes the
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hand functions as a worm hold, providing quiet comfort and
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assurance during moments of isolation.
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Other times it manifests as a heavy blow chasing the believer
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when they begin to drift dangerously close to the edge of
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a Cliff. A corrective strike.
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Yes, and in seasons of intense trial, it acts as a sweet
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shadow, offering rest from the scorching heat of circumstance.
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And frequently it is a protecting force actively
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guarding the person against external hostility.
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The prayer for help here is a rejection of human assistance.
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The psalmist is not asking to be entrusted to the care of well
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meaning friends. He is demanding the skill, the
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readiness and the absolute force that only the hand of the Divine
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possesses. Because walking this path,
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constantly facing the elements, constantly needing that hand to
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pull you over the ledges, it generates a very specific kind
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of exhaustion. It creates an insatiable longing
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for the struggle to finally end Which?
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Leads right into verse 174. I have longed for thy salvation,
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O Lord, and Thy law is my delight.
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Spurgeon compares the intensity of this longing to the patriarch
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Jacob on his deathbed. Jacob was a man whose entire
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existence was marked by conflict, deception and
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struggle. So much drama in his life.
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Right on his deathbed, he was not just looking for a temporary
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reprise, he was desiring a final, complete salvation that
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would free him entirely from the turmoil of mortal life.
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It is the sober realization that the current state of affairs, no
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matter how blessed or successful, is still a
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battlefield. Longing for the end of the
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battle is a natural human desire, but Samuel Herron
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provides a very sharp caveat to this longing.
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And this caveat is crucial. He argues that longing for
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salvation is absolute hypocrisy if a person refuses to utilize
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the appointed means that God has provided.
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You cannot just sit on your hands, stare at the sky and wait
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for deliverance while ignoring the instructions you've been
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given. Herron backs up his argument
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with a rapid fire sequence of biblical case studies.
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It's. Brilliant.
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Let's walk through those. OK, so God intended to save Noah
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from the devastating flood, right?
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But Noah was required to chop the wood and build the massive
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ark. He had to swing the hammer.
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Exactly. God intended to save Lot from
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the destruction of Sodom, but Lot had to use his legs and
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physically Sprint to the city of Zoar.
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God didn't just teleport. Him no.
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God promised to cure King Hezekiah's fatal illness, but
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Hezekiah still had to gather a lump of figs and apply it
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directly to his infection. He had to use the medicine
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provided. And God explicitly promised the
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Apostle Paul that every single sailor on his ship would survive
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the massive storm. But Paul informed the Centurion
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that they still had to stay in the sinking ship to live.
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The promise of ultimate salvation never, under any
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circumstance, negates the immediate requirement to act in
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obedience using the tools provided.
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It forces a very uncomfortable mirror in front of us.
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It really does. I mean, are you wishing for
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spiritual maturity without putting in a single ounce of the
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required work? Many people are.
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Are you hoping to just wake up one Tuesday morning with a
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perfectly ordered life and a deep understanding of theology?
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It's like a farmer standing in the middle of a massive empty
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dirt field. He's weeping, staring at the sky
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and longing for a bountiful harvest to feed his family.
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But he actively refuses to pick up the plow, and he refuses to
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plant a single seed in the ground.
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The harvest is never going to come.
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The longing is completely disconnected from reality.
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Robert Walker adds another layer to this.
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He notes that genuine grace actually makes a human soul
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insatiable. The more grace a soul receives,
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the more it demands. It functions by quenching our
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thirst for temporary earthly things while simultaneously she
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opening our appetite for eternal realities.
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But as your farmer analogy points out, an appetite demands
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action. When we evaluate the landscape
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of modern spiritual apathy, we see thousands of individuals
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claiming to long for peace, claiming to long for salvation.
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Yet they view the appointed means reading the text, engaging
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in prayer, gathering for worship as heavy, irritating chores.
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Charles Bridges observes that religion decays into a hollow
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shell when it is performed as a duty, but it flourishes into
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life when it is a delight. If the law is an annoyance to
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us, our vocal longing for salvation is highly likely to be
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a facade. Because the writer actually
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delights in the law, and because he actively uses the appointed
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means, his ultimate prayer for continued life is driven by a
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highly specific, totally unselfish motive.
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We see this shift in the petition in verse 175.
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Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee, and let thy
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judgments help me. Thomas Manton clarifies the
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language here, noting that the word soul represents the whole
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man. The intellect, the will, the
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affections, and the physical body.
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All of it. This petition for a prolonged
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life is entirely aimed at 1 objective glorifying God.
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The writer is not asking for an extension of his days so he can
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finally build his dream house. Or accumulate more wealth, or
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enjoy a few more years of earthly leisure.
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He is asking for more time on the clock for the sole purpose
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of generating more praise. William Gernell observes that
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the mark of tree Saints is that they take earthly materials and
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improve them for heavenly ends. Life itself becomes a resource
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to be spent on worship. Let me reframe this concept for
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a second. When we pray for our own health,
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when we pray for our children's safety, or when we pray for a
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promotion at work, are we secretly just asking for a more
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comfortable existence? That's a tough question to
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answer honestly. Or is the genuine underlying
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goal to increase our capacity to produce praise?
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Picture a massive corporation applying for a multi $1,000,000
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loan from a bank. If the executives write on the
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application that the money is going to be used to buy luxury
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Italian leather furniture for their corner offices, the bank
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will deny the loan immediately because absolutely 0.
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But if the application states that the millions will be used
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to purchase state-of-the-art machinery that will double the
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factory's productive output within a year, the bank approves
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the loan. The machinery generates a
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return. In this text, the writer is
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applying for the loan of life solely to increase the output of
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praise. Gurnell provides a striking
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historical example of this exact mindset playing out in real
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time. He looks at the life of King
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David. What happened with David?
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When David's son Absalom orchestrated a massive
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rebellion, David was driven from his regal throne in Jerusalem.
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He lost his palace, his royal status, his wealth and his
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security overnight. He was forced to flee into the
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harsh wilderness. But as he was fleeing, he did
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not pray to sit on his throne again.
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He did not pray to sleep in his luxurious bed.
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What did he do? He ordered the priest to carry
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the Ark of the Covenant back into the city, and he prayed
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only that he might live to see God's habitation and sanctuary
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once more. Wow, his absolute priority, even
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while losing his entire Kingdom, was the presence and worship of
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God, not his personal comfort. And that singular focus leads
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right into the second-half of that request.
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And let thy judgments help me. You know the word judgments can
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sound harsh or punitive to modern years.
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How does John Calvin interpret that specific phrase in this
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context? Calvin provides A fascinating,
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incredibly comforting angle on the concept of God's judgments.
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He describes the reality of believers living in this world
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as sheep living among a pack of starving wolves.
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That's a terrifying image. It is.
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And because the sheep are inherently vulnerable and lack
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defensive capabilities, they require constant, active
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protection. Calvin equates God's judgements
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to his secret Providence, His. Script Providence.
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He describes these judgements as an invisible, hidden fence.
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The fence restrains the wicked. It actively blocks the wolves
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from executing the harm they intend to inflict on the sheep.
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A hidden fence. The visual of an invisible
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barrier actively managing the chaos is incredible.
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What is truly fascinating is how frequently we fail to recognize
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the existence of this hidden fence in our daily lives.
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We only notice when things go wrong.
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Exactly. I mean, absolutely.
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We are acutely aware of the trials that actually hit us.
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We feel the pain of the circumstances that breach our
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comfort. But we are completely blind to
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the 1000 disasters. The catastrophic accidents and
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the malicious intentions that God's judgments deflected away
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from us on any given Tuesday. We do not possess the capacity
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to see how often the sheer chaos of the world is being actively
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managed, restrained and redirected to ensure our
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protection. This hidden fence is the only
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reason the sheep survive the night and therefore it is the
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only reason they can wake up and continue praising.
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So we have tracked this incredible progression.
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We have seen the desperate plea for the decryption key, the
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overflowing river of praise, the cheerful choice of the
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treacherous path. The reliance on the guide's
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hand, the active use of the appointed means, and the
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realization of the hidden fence. But after achieving these
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soaring, majestic heights of theological clarity, the text
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concludes in a manner that is completely jarring.
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It really is. It does not end with a
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triumphant shout. It does not end with a victory
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lap. It drops into a minor cadence,
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ending with a shocking, mournful reality check.
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Verse 176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep.
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Seek I servant, for I do not forget thy commandments.
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The metaphor of the lost sheet is intentional and devastating.
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Spurgeon highlights the crucial biological distinction between a
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lost dog and a lost sheep. Oh this is a great point.
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If a dog wanders miles away from its home, it ossesses an innate
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homing instinct. It can put its nose to the
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ground and sniff its way back to its master's door.
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But a sheep ossesses no such instinct.
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None at all. A sheep is notoriously
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directionless. Once it wanders away from the
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flock, it will only walk further and further into the barren
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wilderness. It will fall into ravines or get
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its fleece hopelessly tangled in briars.
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A lost sheep will never find its own way back.
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It will die in the wilderness unless it is actively physically
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sought out and carried back by the shepherd.
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This ending creates a massive psychological tension.
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Why would a writer with this level of spiritual maturity, a
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man who just spent 175 verses detailing the intricacies of
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divine law and the longest, most exhaustive chapter in the
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ancient scriptures, on a note of utter defeat?
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It seems completely counterintuitive.
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It feels like reading an epic thousand page novel where the
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hero conquers armies, slays Dragons, and saves the Kingdom,
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only to trip on the front steps of his own castle and cry out
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for someone to help him stand up.
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I love that comparison. Reminds me of a highly decorated
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ship captain returning from a grueling, years long voyage.
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He has steered his vessel through screaming hurricanes,
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navigated past deadly reefs and outmaneuvered hostile pirates.
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He's a master of the sea. But the second he sees the calm
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waters of his home port, he immediately radios for a tiny
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tugboat to guide his massive ship into the Arbor.
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No matter how many victories he secured out on the open ocean,
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his present need for guidance at the final stretch is absolute.
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Commas. Carlisle argues that this
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seemingly defeated ending is actually the text's greatest
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triumph. Really.
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How so? He states that the truest emblem
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of a person's moral progress is not a record of unbroken
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perfection. The true emblem is a struggle
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that is frequently baffled, often wrecked, yet constantly
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begun anew with genuine repentance.
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If this massive text ended with a declaration of flawless
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undefeated victory, it would be entirely unrelatable.
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It would crush the spirit of the average person reading it
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because none of us experienced flawless victory.
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Instead, it ends with a raw confession of chronic weakness.
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John Steven points out that the phrase I have gone astray is not
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just a reference to a single historical mistake in the
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writer's youth. No, it is an admission of an
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ongoing habitual tendency. The wandering is a present,
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active reality. There is an older story from the
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writer Kristian Scrivor about a man named Gotthold that
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illustrates the mechanics of this seeking process
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beautifully. I remember this story.
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Gotthold was an observer of nature, and one evening he was
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watching a local farmer bring his flock back from the pasture.
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As the sheep funneled through the gate, the farmer stood
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there, meticulously counting every single animal, ensuring
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none were left behind in the hills.
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Gotthold had a huge realization in that moment.
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He reasoned that if a normal human farmer possesses the
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diligence to meticulously count his flock and search for one
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missing animal, the faithful divine shepherd will certainly
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notice the absence of a single wandering believer.
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The shepherd's entire job is to track the inventory.
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The sheep does not need to possess the intelligence to
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figure out the complex topography of the route home.
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The sheep only needs the breath to cry out so the shepherd can
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locate it. And that brings us to the final
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anchor of the entire text. Amidst the wandering and the
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lostness, the writer states. For I do not forget thy
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commandments. William Calper notes that this
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final phrase is the defining mark of genuine grace.
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A person who has been changed by grace may wander terribly, but
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they never fall into a state of full oblivion regarding the
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truth. Even in the deepest, darkest
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ravine of their wandering, the root of the matter remains
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embedded in their mind. A true believer might stray
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miles off the designated path, but they never entirely lose the
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memory of the Shepherd's voice. This lingering, inescapable
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memory is what creates a deep, agonizing homesickness for God.
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They cannot be truly happy or at peace in their wandering because
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they know what they left behind. The agonizing tension between
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their wandering feet and their remembering heart is the exact
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mechanism that drives the desperate final Praise prayer.
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Seek thy servant. We have covered massive ground
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today, tracing this intricate anatomy of spiritual dependency.
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We started by looking at the necessity of the spirits
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decryption key, recognizing that our natural processing speed and
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high Iqs mean nothing without external illumination.
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We examine the overwhelming, inevitable river of vocal praise
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that bursts forth when the mind finally grasps the reality of
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righteousness. We analyzed the cheerfulness
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required when choosing to renounce the old ways while
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simultaneously acknowledging our absolute need for the guides
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hand to pull us over the icy ledges of that new path.
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We looked at the strict requirement to utilize the
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appointed means, rejecting the hypocrisy of The Who cries for a
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harvest but refuses to plant the seeds.
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We discussed the concept of applying for the loan of life
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solely to generate a higher output of praise, resting in the
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comfort of Calvin's hidden fence that restrains the wolves.
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And finally, we face the jarring, humbling reality of our
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own habitual wandering, recognizing that we lack the
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homing instinct of the dog and must rely entirely on the
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shepherd to carry us back. It's a lot to take in.
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It is I want to leave you with the final thought of Mull Over.
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Look at the writer of this massive text.
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He spent 175 consecutive verses articulating the absolute
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majesty of divine law. If the absolute peak of his
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spiritual maturity is the stark, unadorned realization that he is
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still just a helpless sheep requiring the shepherd to come
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find him at the end of the day. How does that reality reshape
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the way you view the people around you?
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How does it change the way you react to the moral failures, the
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stumbles and the wanderings of the other believers sitting in
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the pews next to you on Sunday morning?
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That question shifts the entire paradigm.
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If every single one of us is the decorated captain who still
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requires the tugboat to avoid crashing in the harbor, our
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patience and our grace toward one another's failures should
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increase exponentially. When you see someone else's
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spiritual heart monitor flatlining, or when you see them
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wandering into the briars, let it be a mirror of your own
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constant need for the Shepherd's active pursuit.
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Thank you for joining this thorough analysis of the source
30:47
material today on Reformed Thinking.
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We will catch you next time.