Some Problems No.1 Anxiety

And we'll join together in reading this psalm, that is, you please read the even-numbered verses. And if yours isn't the A.V., well, still read, but a little bit more quietly, so that at least the main thrust of the A.V. comes out in our public reading. Psalm 55, Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not thyself from my supplication.

Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked, for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness.

Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues, for I have seen violence and strife in the city. Wickedness is in the midst thereof. Deceit and guile depart not from her streets.

But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide and mine acquaintance. Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell, for wickedness is in their dwellings and among them. Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud, and he shall hear my voice.

God shall hear and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God. The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart.

His words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords. But thou, O God, shall bring them down into the pit of destruction. Men of blood and deceitful shall not live out half their days.

But I will trust in thee. Amen. Now I'd be grateful if you have a Bible.

If you would open it at the 55th psalm. If you haven't got one, then perhaps you would look on at the person alongside you, their copy. So that together we can profit from the word of God.

I want to direct your attention to the 22nd verse of this psalm. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee.

My approach this morning shall be a simple one. For this message weighs upon my soul, as I believe it is for certain people. Within the sanctuary today.

And I want you to be able to take it from here and to recall it. So that in times to come, it shall help you and encourage and stimulate you. As you cope with the pressures and the problems of life.

Here then in my text is a condition implied. Men and women generally speaking, unless they have charmed lives. Go through burdens and difficult experiences.

Here is a remedy prescribed. Cast your burden upon the Lord. And thirdly, here is relief assured.

He shall sustain thee. We'll come to those headings in a moment or so. In the 27th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.

Reference is made to a rather tragic voyage. That the Apostle engaged in. The Apostle being Paul.

He was being taken under guard to the capital of the Roman Empire. Do you remember a storm blew up and it seemed as though the vessel would capsize. And you find in that rather gripping narrative.

That at one stage the order goes out from the captain. That all the cargo has to be jettisoned. And as a result of that with a lighter load.

The boat seems to be able or the ship seems to be able to cope. More adequately with those terrific conditions. To the extent that the Apostle comes on deck and he tells the men to cheer up.

Having jettisoned their cargo. He believes that God will minister to them at their hour of need. They got relief after they jettisoned additional weight.

When I flew into Bombay airport some months ago. One of the first things that I did arriving at the OM base. Was to put all the necessary pieces of clothing and what have you.

That I would need for my tour in those far eastern countries. Into one suitcase. I hate when traveling to have bits and pieces all over.

I want just one bag. My philosophy of traveling is to travel well. Travel light.

And it seems to me that this also has a parallel that you can run in the spiritual life. To travel well my friend. You need to travel light.

So my text comes into its own. Cast your burden upon the Lord. Additional cargo must be left at his feet.

If you're to make progress. You don't want to be cumbered about. With more responsibilities than those which you have to bear.

That was the reason why we sung that hymn. To a very fast moving tune. Which speaks about are you heavy laden.

Is the cross you carry too hard for you to bear. I particularly wanted to bring that little verse into your mind. Because it might well be the case that when you were singing it.

You said yes I am heavy laden. The cross that I bear is too heavy. And I am under its weight.

Groaning and asking for help and for relief. Well if that's your situation. I'm glad you came.

Because I want to speak to you as you've gathered from the word of God. On lightening your load. On ensuring that you can make progress.

In your spiritual life. So come to this verse. With these very simple divisions.

And let's consider for starters. That here is a condition implied. Cast your burden upon the Lord.

Here is an assumption that everybody. Be they young or old. Has at some time and probably right now.

An area of anxiety. That perhaps they feel they could well do without. What is the nature of your particular anxiety.

Your pressure your burden this morning. Is it about a person. Maybe you're a family man.

And it's something to do with your wife or your children. Or maybe as a lady. It's something to do with the one with whom you're living.

You've got problems. And they center upon people. Well that was the nature of the difficulty.

That is referred to in this 22nd verse. For if you read the context. You'll find that the psalmist is in trouble.

In desperate trouble. He's anxious because of certain people. And what they are doing in his life.

A better rendering of the Hebrew in verse 2. Reveals the state of his anxiousness. His anxiety. Attend to me and answer me.

I toss about in my anxiety. I am quite distracted by the voice of the enemy. By the pressure of the wicked.

The poor psalmist. Had put his confidence. In certain people.

His son for instance. And a trusted colleague by the name of Ahithophel. And unfortunately they had dealt badly with him.

As those of you who know the story of David. Are familiar with. And because of this.

The burden just piled and piled on top of him. And he came to the Lord. Groaning under its weight.

How does a father cope. When a son has dealt so diabolically with him. That's the problem.

That faces David. But maybe it's not so much people that are concerning you at the moment. But things.

Things. They can add up to a tremendous burden. Here is our Lord Jesus in the household of Lazarus.

And he comes and takes on one side Martha. Martha she is so anxious. She is so burdened.

And Jesus said Martha you are troubled about many things. You are distracted. You are turning hither and thither.

Your mind is preoccupied with things. And unlike Mary. You don't appreciate what should have a prior place.

In your list of priorities. There you are in the kitchen. Doing something that is perfectly honorable and necessary.

But you are getting so much in a flap. As to whether I am going to enjoy the meal or not. That you are missing the greatest thing that you could enjoy for yourself.

The teaching that I am giving to your sister Mary. How often we get distracted with things. The lack of things.

Or how to handle them. The Savior makes reference to this again in a more general observation. In Luke's Gospel in the 21st chapter.

There we find him speaking about anxieties. That might consume the disciples who have put their trust in Jesus. So he says take heed to yourself.

Lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness. And you say well why are you referring to this at this particular moment. To a Christian congregation.

Surfeiting, drunkenness. We are not pub men. We don't go from place to place.

Indulging in alcoholic drink. Letting down the testimony of our Lord Jesus. That's not our problem.

No but Jesus goes on and he says. Take heed to yourself. Lest your hearts be overcharged with drunkenness.

And the cares of this life. So that the day when I might return. Ceases to have its position of priority and preeminence with you.

The cares of this life. Do you sometimes find perhaps a young man. Someone who has just been married.

Or maybe you have been married five or ten years. The pressure of things really. Almost annihilates your spiritual growth.

The problem of a mortgage. The problem of coping with your job. Things, responsibilities in the office, in the factory.

Or younger folks at college, at school. They pile up on top of you. And you find yourself in such a dither.

You are like Martha. You are distracted. You are encumbered with many things.

And a working great burden is being shouldered by yourself. Is it things? Is it people? Or is it thoughts? Poor old Timothy. He just couldn't cope with those thoughts.

That went like hot arrows through his mind. And so he kept sending letters to the Apostle Paul. Asking for help.

How could he cope? There he was. Becoming almost a neurotic. Though he was a young man.

Unable to cope with disturbing and distracting thoughts. So Paul writes him a letter. The second letter that's in the Bible.

That bears the name of Timothy. And in the first chapter in the seventh verse. Paul says, God hath not given you, Timothy, the spirit of fear.

But of power and of love. And of a sound mind. It is within the will of God, my friend.

For you to know peace. For thoughts to be controlled. By the power of the Holy Spirit.

So your pressures come. They build up. Your burdens get bigger and bigger.

And it seems as though you've got the rock of Gibraltar resting on your shoulder. Pressed out of measure and pressed to all length. Pressed so intensely it seems beyond strength.

Pressed in the body and pressed in the soul. Pressed in the mind till the dark surges roll. Pressure by foes and a pressure from friends.

Pressure on pressure. Till life nearly ends. Do you ever find yourself like that? If you do.

Don't be afraid to admit it. The Apostle Paul said, I was pressed. So that I despaired even of life itself.

My verse implies a general condition. Men and women. No burdens and anxieties.

But within this text, thank God, advice is prescribed. Cast your burden upon the Lord. There's a New Testament counterpart to this text.

It says, Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden. And I will give you rest. Here is Jesus speaking.

Endorsing the sentiments of this promise. Located in the Old Testament. Jesus is saying, Yes, for you in the Gospel era.

The same blessings are available. I want you to know rest. Take your yoke and exchange it with the light one that I give you.

Take that one that rubs and chafes your neck. And exchange it for this one that I have prepared. Which is perfectly made.

Like some carpenter with expertise. Will prepare a good yoke for the oxen. The Lord Jesus says, Take my yoke upon you.

Cast your burden at my feet. Well, what's your reaction to that? When in a very, again I use the word simplistic way. I say to you, Cast your burden upon the Lord.

I wonder if your reaction is exactly the same as mine was at seven o'clock this morning. When I was meditating upon this particular psalm. It's easier said than done Lord.

Here it is. In the page. In no way can I go to that tabernacle and give them any excuse.

And qualify it and say, Well, you know if you go back to the original Hebrew it doesn't quite mean exactly that. It does mean what it says. It's a bold statement.

It will admit to no modification at all. Cast your burden upon the Lord. It's easier said than done Lord.

You see, if you're like me you tend to feel that you've got a monopoly on your burden anyway. Now it's like the adhesive tape with sticky stuff on either side. And when you get it off one finger it sticks onto the other finger and so on and so forth.

You don't want to let it go. How do you cope with this burden? That you are to bring to the Lord. As I say our reaction immediately on seeing that particular injunction from this psalm is, it's easier said than done.

And another natural reaction is to run away from your burden and not to take it to the Lord. And there of course you've got the same problem of getting a piece of sellotape off your finger. Because when you do run away from it you find that it's with you in any case.

Now again in no way am I speculating. This is precisely what the psalmist said. Verse 6, Oh that I had wings like a dove for then would I fly away and be at rest.

Here's his son Absalom who has dealt treacherously with him. Absalom who on the advice of Ahithophel has taken David's wives and committed adultery in full view of all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Absalom who has made the name of David to stink.

And David himself who has not been guiltless in the area of morality. All these pressures they just build up upon the psalmist and he says, Oh that I might be like a dove and sprout wings and just fly and fly away from it all. Ever felt like that? Precisely the way that this man reacts to his difficulty.

It's the Jonah and the Elijah temperament. You know Jonah he knows what the will of God is. So he goes down to Thomas Cooks and gets a ticket to take him out of the will of God.

But finds that the burden the problem sails with him. Or Elijah he is wondering whether to finish it all in the wilderness and he flops down by the juniper tree. And discovers that he can't run away from his burden.

But that God in his sovereignty will relate to him still. It's easier said than done Lord. My natural reaction to pressure is to is to run away from it.

To get into a situation where it no longer exists. But no you find from this psalm how you are to bring your burden to the Lord. And speaking positively instead of negative.

You find from the 16th to the 18th verses that it's going to take great spiritual discipline. Great spiritual discipline. Look at verse 16.

As for me I will call upon God and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud. And he shall hear my voice.

Discipline in the face of great problems. You discipline yourself in prayer. When you're almost caught in a vortex of anxiety.

One of the things that I shall never forget about the East is the way. That the members of the Islamic faith call the faithful to prayer. Five o'clock six o'clock in the morning the priest is there at the top of the minaret.

And he calls his people to prayer. Thousands and thousands of people you'll see in the big mosque in Dhaka at noon. In Bangladesh.

And the men mark you. No women allowed in there. The men are on their knees at prayer.

Sometimes the heathen religions have a lot to teach us about spiritual disciplines. Says David as for me despite the problem. I will call upon the Lord evening morning and at noon will I pray.

And what's more. David will reflect upon happier times when God moved into his life and delivered him. Look at verses 18 and 19.

He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me. For there were many with me. God shall hear and afflict them.

Even he that abideth of old. His love in times past. Here's biblical psychology.

Don't blush at that word. The Bible knew more about psychology than Freud ever forgot. His love in times past.

Forbids me to think. He'd leave me at last in trouble to think. Here's David out in his wilderness.

His son as I say dealing treacherously with him. His trusted friend endeavoring to bring about his death. So what does David do? He goes back beyond the immediate circumstance.

To happier periods in his own life. And he recalls that God in his sovereignty delivered him then. Will he not do the same now? When I express my burden to him in prayer.

Here then is a condition implied. Advice prescribed. Relief assured.

He will sustain thee. You say but man how do you know? How do I know that God will sustain you? And how will he go about bringing the relief that you require? I know that he will sustain you because it's within his nature so to do. Back to South India.

Remember coming to one place very late at night. And the taxi rank consisted of ponies with carts. First time I've been taken by a horse and cart to a service.

In my life. And quite frankly taking one look at the animal I'd rather have walked. Such a thin thing.

But my one suitcase was on board and myself and the driver and my interpreter. And how those people out there treat animals some of them is quite beyond description. And I nearly had my first argument with a Hindu pony cart driver.

As he was whipping that animal. The thing could hardly take his weight let alone mine. And the luggage.

So I tried to tell him to leave off which was a bit stupid as he didn't speak English and I didn't speak Hindu. Hindustani. And at one point and I don't tell you this so that you'll go away impressed by me.

There's not one person in the tabernacle here. Not one western sensitive person to the suffering of animals would have done any different. At one point when the animal could hardly take his load further up the hill.

I got off and started to push at the back as he's pulling at the front. And I think the Hindu thought I'd gone absolutely you know. He will sustain thee.

It's in the very nature of God to come to the help of men and women in distressing circumstances. He knoweth our frame. He remembereth that we are dust.

This is not some impersonal God who brought the atom and the molecule into being. Who by a creative supernatural act hung the stars and the planets in space and then retired from duty. This is no God divorced from the scene of time and the affairs of your life.

The God of the Bible is a reality and a present reality to those who call upon him. You say friends have let you down. Like a hither full.

An Absalom, David's friends and his son let him down. Jesus can enter into that experience. I looked for someone to have pity on me.

But there was no man. The shepherd was smote. And the flock scattered.

And even Peter ran away. He knows what it is for friends to let him down. You say it's things that you get worried about.

He sometimes had nowhere to lay his head. Sometimes he didn't quite know what was going to happen at the next village or in the next town. He can sympathize with your predicament.

You say it's thoughts that cause you discomfiture. All the fiery darts of hell were let loose and entered into his mind. Do you know that? Does that make you blush to hear me spell it out in such blunt language? This was no masquerade that the Lord Jesus went through when he was confronted by the devil in the temptations in the wilderness.

When he's there in the garden of Gethsemane. All the thoughts of turning his back on Calvary come to him. Enough for him to be able to understand the thoughts that cause you difficulty and anxiety.

When you ask me what's your proof that this text can be applied to my situation. He shall sustain thee when I cast my burden upon him. I point you to the cross and I say there my friend is eloquent proof.

A man who was let down by his friends. A man who never had enough of things. A man who had to withstand the pressures and temptations of the devil in his thought life in a way that you and I have never known.

That's how I know. But how will he do it? How will he sustain you? That I cannot prophesy individually. God doesn't deal with us on a mass production principle.

He deals with us on the basis of our own personal need. But I can give you certain guides. He might do it by removing the burden.

The poverty that crushes. The mystery that bewilders. The suffering that distresses.

Sometimes those go in answers to prayer. Or he might do it by disclosing the design of the burden. Why are you crushed? Why are you knowing these particular problems in your life? Sometimes when God reveals his purpose and doesn't alter the situation, you can cope with the situation because you understand his design.

Pressed into knowing no helper but God. Pressed into loving the staff and the rod. Pressed into liberty when nothing clings.

Pressed into faith for impossible things. Pressed into living a life for the Lord. Pressed into living a Christ life outpoured.

Sometimes God discloses the design behind the burden. And then the burden becomes bearable. Then at other times he does it by increasing strength so that the load may be borne.

The apostle Paul had a burden. I believe it was physical. You may take theological issue with me on this.

I believe it was a form of sickness. And if you disagree, well, no matter. The point still remains.

He was burdened. And he brought his problem to the Lord. And three times Paul said, Lord, will you take this thorn that penetrates my side, that causes me discomfiture, this burden, will you lift it from me? And no way would God do that.

But rather the Lord said, Paul, my grace is sufficient for thee. And God has in my own pastoral ministry, amongst many people and with myself individually, granted grace to be able to withstand strain. I've seen it in the eyes and in the personality, in the life situation of women who've lost their life's partners, of men who've lost their life partners.

I've seen it in terms of people whose homes have been absolutely broken by the pressures of this life. People who, I must confess, on my knees before God, I despaired that the Lord could ever recover them, could ever bring the particles together and build them into a wholesome life so that they may enjoy their existence here on this earth. Praise God, His grace proves sufficient.

And one has seen as a rose of a human personality has been crushed. One has witnessed and smelt the perfume that emitted as a result of the difficulty. And God finally sometimes helps us to sustain by giving us a glimpse of what lies beyond.

And when you know what's in store, you can cope with the present, says the apostle writing in the second letter to the Corinthians, the chapter four, having catalogued all his problems and pressures as he ministers as a mighty evangelist. He adds them all up and he says, this light affliction is just for a moment and it worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. You say, what does that mean? I don't know.

Because the apostle Paul breaks every language that there ever was in Greek synthesis and grammar as he tries to express the inexpressible. But in one sentence, this is what he's after. He's saying, I've had a glimpse into the glory that lies beyond the grave.

I realize that God has got something phenomenal in store for me. I know that when this heart stops beating, when this physical frame refuses to support my life, I shall then be forever with the Lord. And this light affliction, which worketh just for a moment, this small particle that really defines my life on the clock of history, will seem completely insignificant in the pressure and the problems that it had to endure set against the background of God's tomorrow.

Cast your burden upon the Lord and He shall sustain you. Lighten the load and take it to Him. And demonstrate, for I tell you in the name of God, what I've preached to you this morning is absolute truth.

That this scripture can be worked out in your life, no matter how bizarre your circumstances, no matter how complex your situation. Cast that burden upon the Lord. Lighten your load.

Travel light into this world and see how God will sustain you. Amen. Casting all our cares upon Him, for He careth for us, cast your burden upon the Lord, for He shall sustain thee.

Father, we praise you for the promises so replete in your word that deal with our life situation. May we see them worked out Monday through to Saturday. We ask that our life shall show its gratitude to you in the way that we conduct our affairs before our fellow men and women.

So send us on our way rejoicing, basking in the assurances of God's word and in the blessing of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Amen.