The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. Sermons
How different are the ways of him whose everlasting kingdom and enduring dominion are told of in the previous verse, from the ways of the world and of hard and selfish men! Vae victis! is the world's verdict, and the facts of life too often confirm it; but the Lord, he is the Savior of the unsuccessful, the Speaker of heart-cheering words to the crushed ones in life's stern conflict, and the Performer for them of corresponding deeds. I. CONSIDER THE TWO CLASSES OF PERSONS HERE SPOKEN OF. 1. Them that fall. How many of these there are in the secular struggle! The fight for mere life is not seldom so severe that many are beaten down, and unless men have some upholder, some strong support and prop, there would be no hope for any of them. And in the social struggle: there is the perpetual effort to advance in position; but there are many who are not only utterly unable to raise themselves to a higher social grade, but are unable even to maintain the position in which they now are; they are on the verge of a precipice, and they are in constant peril of falling over and down. And in the intellectual struggle: how the eager scholar strives, but the contests seem to get harder every day, and the overtaxed brain too often threatens to give way altogether! And there is the physical struggle: the conditions of life are often so destructive to health that they render full vigor of body an unattainable thing, or, if at first preserved, inevitably and speedily lost, and then what can a man do? And, above all, there is the spiritual struggle, to keep the garment of the soul unspotted, and the heart pure, and the will steadfast and true to God. Ah, how difficult is all this! How often we are compelled to confess, "My feet had well-nigh slipped"! How many are there of these fallen or falling ones! 2. And then, there are "those that be bowed down." They do not fall, but it is with bent form and weary feet and burdened spirit that they stagger on as they best can. How frequent are the cries and complaints of such bowed-down ones heard in these Psalms (see Psalm 42., etc.)! II. SEE WHAT THE LORD DOES FOR THEM. 1. He upholdeth the falling ones. Illustration: the woman taken in adultery (John 8.; Luke 7:37, etc.). He does this by, as in these cases, gracious words; or through human ministries of sympathy and help; or by the kindly ordering of his providence; or, and yet more, by the ministry of the Holy Spirit shedding abroad in our hearts the love of God. 2. He raiseth up them that are bowed down. (Luke 13:16.) The world says that the weakest must go to the wall; but the Lord's thoughts concerning them are far otherwise. And so, also, have been and are his deeds. The saints on earth and in heaven attest this. III. WHEREFORE GOD THUS DEALS WITH THEM. Because God is love. So he wins trophies of his grace; and his most devoted servants, and successful workers; and thus he encourages all men to trust in him. IV. IN WHAT WAY SHOULD WE RESPOND? By rendering heartfelt praise; by imitating his example; by turning to and trusting him for ourselves; by making known his grace. - S.C. The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. : — The Bible, being a book for humanity, is a book for the weak, the fallible, and the disappointed. A large part of it is devoted to the erring and the unsuccessful. Take its biographies. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Elijah, Job — every one of these biographies is the story of a faultful man. Then, so much of its counsel and warning is directed at servants of God and disciples of Christ. Not only guide-posts, but-danger-signals, are set up all along the way of life. It was to His own disciples that Christ said, "Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." By far the larger part of its promises is to the sorrowful, and afflicted, and disappointed. When Christ invited the weary and heavy-laden to rest, He invited a restless and burdened world. When the Bible addresses the strong, it is to point them to the true source of their strength, to warn them against presuming on their own wisdom, and to commend the weak to their sympathy and helpfulness. The whole matter is summed up in the psalmist's statement of God's attitude toward His children at large. It is that of pity based on knowledge of their infirmity. I speak, as the psalmist does, of men and to men who recognize and honour the law of God, and are honestly striving to keep His laws. The words do not apply to the indolent who interpret the invitation to east their care on God as a "permit" to cast off all care about their own souls and lives. They do not apply to those who are indifferent to God and who wilfully defy His law. The psalmist settles that in ver. 20. I am speaking, then, to you who honour God; who are making an honest fight for the truth and the right; who are trying to keep your lives pure and to make them useful. I know that you fall as I do, and are often bowed down. I know that you are not all successes, either from a worldly or a religious point of view. Now, first, in relation to your worldly affairs. You have stumbled and fallen in the path which you thought would lead you to success and victory. Well, look at the text. O merciful, wise, tender love, which, even while it denies what we long for, bends over us while we lie prone and weeping over our disappointment, and sets us on our feet again and bids us follow God and not the devices and desires of our own hearts. He may thus set us on our feet that we may walk another way from that on which we were going. The fall may be a blessing in disguise, a monition to abandon that way. Many a man has found that to give up the thing he desired and take something less and lower was not a sorrow after all. Or, suppose God means to admonish you by your fall to go more slowly after your desire. "He that believeth shall not make haste." God will not let us pursue one remote end to the neglect of all that lies by the wayside. Success in life is not the gaining of that one end at the end. It is the right adjustment to all that lies in the track of each day. So God lets you walk, upholds you, teaches you to walk. He is doing you a greater service by upholding you, so that you can move on and win the strength, and discipline, and experience which come through walking circumspectly, than if lie had let you go straight to the thing you coveted and sit down and enjoy that. Disappointment need not mean wreck. It will not if God is in it. Sometimes it seems as if God's policy toward a man is to keep him down, and yet keep him walking and working. That develops the highest type of moral heroism. It is a higher and greater thing for an unsuccessful and disappointed man to keep rising from his failures and to struggle on his way leaning on God's hand to the very end, than for him to succeed before the world. God has a testimony to bear to the world through His sons and daughters no less than to them; and He bears that testimony most emphatically in showing the world that His hand can keep a man a man, with an honest soul and a persistent purpose in him, amid all his falls and disappointments. And as to the matter of Christian experience and the falls and stumblings which are along that line — I know that the ideal which at once beckons and reproaches us is that of a steady growth in faith, and love, and goodness, and Christian power. It is the true ideal too. Let us never lower it: never cease striving for it. Let us never admit to ourselves that yielding to temptation is anything less than sin: that sin is other than vile. Tried by the high ideal of the Gospel you are not a religious success, only trying hard to be. That is the saving clause. God is on the side of the unsuccessful but honestly-striving. You find in yourself a constant tendency to stumble. If Satan desires to sift you as wheat, Christ prays for you. He is bent, not on raising up you and your sin together, but on raising you out of your sin and making you a man in Christ Jesus in spite of your temptation and weakness. () : — An Eastern parable represents a man as falling down by the way, and getting so broken up by his fall that he lay there eleven years. One day an old friend came along and began to commiserate and encourage him, and forthwith he poured out the story of his sorrows, and began to tell the ether what a dreadful thing it was to fall down. "Ah, yes," said the friend, "but I know something much worse than falling down." "Why," said he, "what can be worse?" And the other answered, "Not getting up again." Thank God for recuperative grace! When we were boys, at our wrestling matches we were not considered down until we said "Down," and some of us refused to stay down long enough to count. Beloved, don't make the mistake of not getting up again. Be brave in spite even of yourself and your own failures and weaknesses. Remember that "the Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up those that be bowed down." People David, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Bent, Bowed, Crushed, Fall, Falling, Lifter, Lifts, Raises, Raiseth, Raising, Support, Supporting, Sustains, Upholdeth, UpholdsOutline 1. David praises God for his fame
8. For his goodness
11. For his kingdom
14. For his providence
17. For his justice, holiness, and savings mercy
Dictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 145:14 5138 bowing Psalm 145:13-14 1330 God, the provider Library June 17 Evening
All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee.--PSA. 145:10. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.--I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.--Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily PathThe Satisfier of all Desires
'Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing ... 19. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him: He also will hear their cry, and will save them.'--PSALM cxlv. 16, 19. You observe the recurrence, in these two verses, of the one emphatic word 'desire.' Its repetition evidently shows that the Psalmist wishes to run a parallel between God's dealings in two regions. The same beneficence works in both. Here is the true extension of natural law to the spiritual world. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Christian Conversation
"They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power."--Psalm 145:11. YOU HAVE only to look at the preceding verse, and you will discover, in a single moment, who are the people here spoken of who shall speak of the glory of God's kingdom, and talk of his power. They are the saints: "All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power." A saint will often be discovered by his conversation. He …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 46: 1900 How I Know God Answers Prayer
How I Know God Answers Prayer The Personal Testimony of One Life-Time By ROSALIND GOFORTH (Mrs. Jonathan Goforth) Missionary in China since 1888 "They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness."--Psalm 145:7. "Go . . . and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee."--Mark 5:19. HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS NEW YORK AND LONDON Copyright, 1921, by Harper & Brothers PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA …
Rosalind Goforth—How I Know God Answers Prayer Exhortations to those who are Called
IF, after searching you find that you are effectually called, I have three exhortations to you. 1. Admire and adore God's free grace in calling you -- that God should pass over so many, that He should pass by the wise and noble, and that the lot of free grace should fall upon you! That He should take you out of a state of vassalage, from grinding the devil's mill, and should set you above the princes of the earth, and call you to inherit the throne of glory! Fall upon your knees, break forth into …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial God, My King, Thy Might Confessing
[1186]Stuttgart: Gotha, 1715 Psalm 145 Richard Mant, 1824 DOXOLOGY God, my King, thy might confessing, Ever will I bless thy Name; Day by day thy throne addressing, Still will I thy praise proclaim. Honor great our God befitteth; Who his majesty can reach? Age to age his works transmitteth, Age to age his power shall teach. They shall talk of all thy glory, On thy might and greatness dwell, Speak of thy dread acts the story, And thy deeds of wonder tell. Nor shall fail from memory's treasure …
Various—The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA Free Grace
To The Reader: Nothing but the strongest conviction, not only that what is here advanced is "the truth as it is in Jesus," but also that I am indispensably obliged to declare this truth to all the world, could have induced me openly to oppose the sentiments of those whom I esteem for their work's sake: At whose feet may I be found in the day of the Lord Jesus! Should any believe it his duty to reply hereto, I have only one request to make, -- Let whatsoever you do, be done inherently, in love, and …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions Prayer Out of the Deep.
Hear my prayer, O God; and hide not Thyself from my petition. Take heed unto me and hear me; how I mourn in my prayer and am vexed.--Psalm iv. 1, 2. In my trouble I will call upon the Lord, and complain unto my God; so shall He hear my voice out of His holy temple, and my complaint shall come before Him; it shall enter even into His ears.--Ps. xviii. 5, 6. The Lord is nigh unto them that call upon Him; He also will hear their cry, and will help them.--Psalm cxlv. 18, 19. In the day when I cried …
Charles Kingsley—Out of the Deep The Life, as Amplified by Mediaeval Biographers.
1. His Early Years.--Ephraim, according to this biography, was a Syrian of Mesopotamia, by birth, and by parentage on both sides. His mother was of Amid (now Diarbekr) a central city of that region; his father belonged to the older and more famous City of Nisibis, not far from Amid but near the Persian frontier, where he was priest of an idol named Abnil (or Abizal) in the days of Constantine the Great (306-337). This idol was afterwards destroyed by Jovian (who became Emperor in 363 after the …
Ephraim the Syrian—Hymns and Homilies of Ephraim the Syrian I Will Pray with the Spirit and with the Understanding Also-
OR, A DISCOURSE TOUCHING PRAYER; WHEREIN IS BRIEFLY DISCOVERED, 1. WHAT PRAYER IS. 2. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT. 3. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT AND WITH THE UNDERSTANDING ALSO. WRITTEN IN PRISON, 1662. PUBLISHED, 1663. "For we know not what we should pray for as we ought:--the Spirit--helpeth our infirmities" (Rom 8:26). ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. There is no subject of more solemn importance to human happiness than prayer. It is the only medium of intercourse with heaven. "It is …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Second Great Group of Parables.
(Probably in Peræa.) Subdivision D. Parable of the Lost Son. ^C Luke XV. 11-32. ^c 11 And he said, A certain man had two sons [These two sons represent the professedly religious (the elder) and the openly irreligious (the younger). They have special reference to the two parties found in the first two verses of this chapter --the Pharisees, the publicans and sinners]: 12 and the younger of them [the more childish and easily deceived] said to his father, Father, give me the portion of thy substance …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Knowledge of God Conspicuous in the Creation, and Continual Government of the World.
1. The invisible and incomprehensible essence of God, to a certain extent, made visible in his works. 2. This declared by the first class of works--viz. the admirable motions of the heavens and the earth, the symmetry of the human body, and the connection of its parts; in short, the various objects which are presented to every eye. 3. This more especially manifested in the structure of the human body. 4. The shameful ingratitude of disregarding God, who, in such a variety of ways, is manifested within …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion The Holiness of God
The next attribute is God's holiness. Exod 15:51. Glorious in holiness.' Holiness is the most sparkling jewel of his crown; it is the name by which God is known. Psa 111:1. Holy and reverend is his name.' He is the holy One.' Job 6:60. Seraphims cry, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.' Isa 6:6. His power makes him mighty, his holiness makes him glorious. God's holiness consists in his perfect love of righteousness, and abhorrence of evil. Of purer eyes than …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Covenant Duties.
It is here proposed to show, that every incumbent duty ought, in suitable circumstances, to be engaged to in the exercise of Covenanting. The law and covenant of God are co-extensive; and what is enjoined in the one is confirmed in the other. The proposals of that Covenant include its promises and its duties. The former are made and fulfilled by its glorious Originator; the latter are enjoined and obligatory on man. The duties of that Covenant are God's law; and the demands of the law are all made …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting The Mercy of God
The next attribute is God's goodness or mercy. Mercy is the result and effect of God's goodness. Psa 33:5. So then this is the next attribute, God's goodness or mercy. The most learned of the heathens thought they gave their god Jupiter two golden characters when they styled him good and great. Both these meet in God, goodness and greatness, majesty and mercy. God is essentially good in himself and relatively good to us. They are both put together in Psa 119:98. Thou art good, and doest good.' This …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity The Intercession of Christ
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us! T he Redemption of the soul is precious. Fools make mock of sin (Proverbs 14:9) . But they will not think lightly of it, who duly consider the majesty, authority, and goodness of Him, against whom it is committed; and who are taught, by what God actually has done, what sin rendered necessary to be done, before a sinner could have a well-grounded …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Psalm 145:14 NIV
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