From His Wheelchair, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Recognized

BROKEN BY FEAR TRAPPED BY FEAR :1-3 Psalm 39 David desires to do what is right even though his enemies have The early days of 1933 were among the bleakest in the history of unjustly attacked him. He wants to be wise in how he responds. the United States as the Great Depression settled down across the He knows that what we say often gets us into trouble because it is: country. Some 13 million people were unemployed and the failure 1. Not the whole truth. 2. Hurts the feeling of others. of the banking system had crippled the nation. During this time 3. Said with the wrong attitude. 4. Misunderstood. a new President was elected, who knew what is was like to face difficulties because he was handicapped. Leading the nation Sin with my tongue – our words come from our sinful heart. from his wheelchair, Franklin Delano Roosevelt recognized James 3:8 The tongue is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. that the greatest failure was not the economy, but the failure 1. It is easy to sin with the words that come out of our mouth. of courage in the face of difficulty. 2. Therefore we need to think before we speak so we don’t sin.

For that reason on March 4, 1933 as he delivered his first inaugural David wants to protest to God that his suffering is not fair, but address, President Roosevelt called the citizens of the U.S. to look he does not want to do it in front of unbelievers because they fear in the face and not to be afraid. He said, “So, first of all, let will not understand he can honestly share his feelings with God. me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself – nameless, unreasoning, unjustifed terror which paralyzes :2 He continued not to say anything, but inside he became needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” more and more disturbed about what might happen to him. Being quiet did not relieve his fears it magnified them. Our English word fear comes from the Latin word danger. The longer he kept quiet the more he became angry. Webster defines fear as: a painful emotion excited by an expectation of evil or apprehension of impending danger. Distress (KJB sorrow, NIV anguish) – Heb. grief or pain. We can be afraid of darkness, height, water or almost anything. It includes both emotional as well as physical pain. We can be afraid of our future, health, security or wealth. Job lost of all of his property, then all ten of his children killed and Fear is the overwhelming enemy of our hearts and spirits. then he was struck with painful sores all over his body. Three of It will paralyze us from doing something or trusting God. his friends came to comfort him in his suffering.

Fear is the opposite of faith. While faith trusts, fear retreats. Job 2:13 They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven Puritan William Greenhill wrote, “Our help is in the name nights and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his of the Lord, but our fears are in the name of man.” suffering was very great. He was suffering emotionally as a result of all he had lost personally and he was suffering David addresses his concern that our lives are so short and the physically as a result of the painful boils all over his body. fear that his life will end too soon. This prayer could have been written when Absalom forced him to flee from Jerusalem. He :3 Mused (2x) – Heb. murmuring (5:1 meditation). feels that his life is in real jeopardy if the rebellion succeeds. Here the word means to think with the attitude of complaining. Our of fear for his own life he offers an honest prayer to God It comes from the word meaning heat or fire which he just used. about his fear of soon losing his life. He sat stewing over his situation without saying anything. Application Frustration :6 1. When you are suffering be honest with God about it because Shadow (NIV phantom) – image which appears for a little he already knows what you are feeling and thinking anyway. while and then disappears just as quickly as it appeared. Tell him how you feel, not what you think he wants to hear. We work hard to gather and save money so we can feel secure 2. Don’t wait until you are so angry you cannot talk to him. and be able to take care of ourself, but we do not know what It is better to talk to God sooner than later when you are suffering. will happen or control what will happen in the future.

3. God wants to see your faith in him so he will then help you. Application 1. Because life is short remember trials are only temporary. BREVITY OF LIFE :4-6 They may seem like they will last forever, but they do not. Revelation :4 In dealing with trouble in our life we need to understand that 2. Trials should cause us to focus on what is really important our physical life is really short from an eternal perspective. and that is our personal relationship with God who loves us.

Psalm 90 written by Moses describes man’s life as temporary. 3. We focus on how long something goes on, but God focuses Thousands of Israelites died during the 40 years in the wilderness. on developing our character so we become more like him. He made this observation about human life seeing people die. :10 The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength DISCIPLINE OF GOD :7-11 eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone. Repentance :7-8 Hope (6x) – Heb. expectation of God’s blessing or forgiveness. Calvin wrote, “When the time is divided into small portions, the Proverbs 10:28 The hope of the righteous brings joy. very number itself deceives us, so that we flatter ourselves that life is long . . . yet we find that the term of seventy years is short.” Hope is the confidence assurance that God can bring meaning and purpose to our life even though it is short. There is no hope Description :5 without God because life is filled with afflictions, and suffering. Behold – this is important or significant so pay attention. Without hope in God life would not have meaning. David understands that the length of his life is really short. Transgressions (93x) – Heb. rebellion from root word revolt. Handbreath (6x) – Heb. the width of the palm of your hand. It is a deliberate and willful breaking of any command of God. It was one of the smallest units of measurement in the O.T. This is the strongest word used for sin in the O.T. because this It was the thickness of the great basin for water with the twelve is not just a mistake, but knowing disobedience to God’s law. bulls under it in the temple which Solomon built (I Kings 7:26). David uses this word to acknowledge his of adultery with Breath (KJB vanity, NKJ vapor) – Heb. breath from your mouth. Bathsheba and murder of her husband to cover up his sin. James 4:14 What is your life? You are a mist that appears Psalm 51:1 Blot out my transgressions . . . for a little while and then vanishes. Paraphase – “You have really made my life very short and it All transgressions – he humbly acknowledges himself guilty is nothing compared to you who are eternal and everlasting.” before God who alone can forgive him of his sins. Calvin wrote, “We are taught by the example of David, not merely REQUEST FOR MERCY :12-13 to seek deliverance from the miseries which afflict and trouble us, Stranger :12 but to trace them to their cause and source, entreating God that he He prays for God’s mercy upon him because he feels like a would not lay our sins to our charge, but blot out our guilt.” stranger who is not part of God’s family, but a foreigner who has not claim to any of the blessings or promises of God. Grace Alone This psalm was one of John Calvin’s favorites. In commenting Sojourner (KJB stranger) – Heb. temporary inhabitant. on the phrase “deliver me from all my transgressions” he wrote, The idea was they did not have any right of inheritance. “If God should begin to deal with us according to the strict Guest (KJB sojourner) – Heb. alien, emigrant or foreigner. demands of the law, the consequences would be, that all The two words are synonyms used of those who were not citizens. would perish, and be utterly overwhelmed under his wrath.” He doesn’t just want to experience relief from his suffering, he One of the five solas of the Protestant Reformation was “grace also has a sincere desire to renew his relationship with the Lord. alone” meaning we are forgiven of our sins by the grace of God alone without anything which we have done to deserve it. God Danger :13 choose to forgive us by faith in Christ because he loved us. David asks God to remove his hand of judgment upon him so that he may enjoy the few days of life which he believes he has left. Acceptance :9 He believed that if nothing changed he would not live very long. David realizes that the affliction and fear he feels have come If the men loyal to Absalom were to find him they would kill him. from God and he humbles himself under God’s sovereign hand. He believes God is in control of everything that happens to him. APPLICATION 1. How long we live is not as important as how well we live. Calvin wrote, “David regards the judgments of God with such We are concerned about the length of our life, while God reverence . . . he considers it sinful to open his mouth to utter is concerned about the depth of our commitment to him. a single word against him.” 2. Often we only want relief from our present physical suffering. Deliverance :10-11 God wants us to renew our relationship with him so we come When God disciplines us for our sins we need to ask for his to depend upon him and trust him more than we did before. forgiveness and trust that he will restore us to fellowship again. The goal of discipline is that we would change our lives. CONCLUSION

Hebrews 12:11 At the moment all discipline seems painful rather Oswald Chambers, chaplain to British soldiers in Egypt during than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceable fruit World War I said, “God allows anguish to come right to the of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. threshold of our lives in order to prove to us that his life in us is more than a match for all that is against us.” Henry wrote, “When under the correcting hand of the Lord, we must look to God himself for relief, not to any other. Romans 8:39 Nothing in all creation will be able to separate Our ways and our doings bring us into trouble, and we us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. are beaten with a rod of our own making.”