<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Weimar University

Don Mackintosh

When You Come to Your Wits’ End

Well, we're going to continue our series of looking at the Psalms during the summer.

And we've been looking at some Psalms that at least touched on aspects of the Exodus experience.

And last week, due to a special service, a memorial service, and some other things, we took a break from the Psalms and looked at Ecclesiastes 12, which was a very good study as well.

I've learned so much from these Psalms, Psalm 105, teaching us that the covenant of God is our only hope.

His side of the covenant actually is our only hope.

And he is faithful to his covenant, even when we're not faithful.

And when we call upon him, he remembers his promises, and that's really better promises than ours.

And that's why the New Testament talks about better promises than ours.

Then Psalm 106, he actually in Psalm 106, it identifies all our problems.

It went through how the people were not faithful in the Exodus.

It went through how the people were not faithful in Canaan.

It went through all the unfaithfulness in the wilderness.

And then it had 2 times in that psalm, nevertheless, the Lord saved them for his namesake, that he might make his mighty power made known.

He saved them for his namesake, that he might make what?

Not their power made known, but whose power made known?

His power in and through them, but it still is his power.

And these are just amazing Psalms that show us the sovereignty and the power of God.

Now today's Psalm, Psalm 107, entitled our message, When You Are At Your Wits' End.

And how many have ever heard that expression, being at your wit's end?

Did you know that that expression actually is from the scriptures?

And to be at your wit's end means to be in a situation where you have no more answers.

You are upset, you're at the end of your emotional and intellectual abilities, you no longer have knowledge, that's not like you can get out a book, You don't know exactly what to do.

How many of you have ever been in a situation like this?

And this is the whole idea of calling out and asking for outside help when you're at your wits end and we'll see that in our psalm today.

But before we open God's Word let's just ask God to bless us again as we open his word.

Father in heaven, bless us as we open your word.

And we ask that you would draw specifically near to each person.

I don't know what frustrations they come with, but I do know that some are at their wits end today.

So bless them especially, and bless each of us with your word today in Christ's name, amen.

So Psalm 107 gives 4 then pictures of people who are in a dead end, wit's end situation.

So let's look at these 4 situations in the Psalm.

Our scripture reading looked at actually praising God for getting them out of these situations, the first 3 verses.

It also ends with praising God for getting them out of these situations.

It's kind of a sandwich of praise that surrounds the problems that have been dealt with.

So let's look at Psalm 107 and look at these 4 pictures.

Situation number 1, look there in verse 4 and 5.

They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate place.

Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.

So they had no food, they had no water, and they had no relief in sight.

It's not like they could find a town to go to.

They're in a wilderness And they're wandering around.

How many of you have ever been in a wilderness, wandering around with no food or no water?

Not too many of you have been in this situation.

How many of you have been in this situation, maybe spiritually speaking, where you're wandering around wondering what to do.

Of course there's the physical and there's also an allusion to, you know, the spiritual here, because it says their soul fainted in them.

I was thinking when we're traveling in Egypt in the Sinai desert, the wilderness, man, if this bus breaks down, we're in trouble.

We are in deep trouble because it's already uncomfortable in the bus.

I remember once I was traveling with my father, and my father was getting tired of my brother and I fighting with each other.

I've never heard of this ever happening except in my family.

My father was upset, finally upset, and he was getting to his wits end.

And so he came up with a plan, and his plan was to kick me out of the car.

The only thing was we were in Death Valley.

And he said, you're going to have to walk outside if you do not Start behaving.

I had no clue what that meant to walk outside, you know, until I started walking outside.

And so he drove the car about, I don't know, an eighth of a mile down the freeway.

You know, you would think I'd learned my lesson wandering there briefly in the wilderness.

But I got back to the car and I said, why did you do that?

And then I was yelling at him and my brother and he goes, it's obvious you have not learned your lesson.

The next time I got to the car, you know what I said?

So this first time was wandering in the wilderness in a solitary way.

Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death bound in affliction and irons because they rebelled against the words of the Lord and despised the counsel of the Most High.

Therefore He brought down their heart with labor, and they fell down, and there was none to help." So here they are, no way out, none to help, bound in affliction, bound in chains, sitting in darkness and actually having the shadow of death, no 1 to help.

Have you ever been bound in chains and in affliction facing death?

I remember when I was a young boy And we would go once a month, sometimes more than once a month, to the Jackson Penitentiary.

And we would visit the people in the penitentiary, and we would visit sometimes even the people that were on death row.

And they so much appreciated our visits, right?

But some of us might be bound through chains of addiction.

Maybe addictive ways of thinking, addictive ways of acting that have got us in problems.

Back to Menu

When You Come to Your Wits’ End

Transcript

Sponsor

Recorded

Sound Doctrine