Bending Down to Lift Up Psalm 40:1–3 

Grace, mercy and peace be with you, from God our Father, who bends down to us, and our Lord, Jesus Christ, who lifts us up.

We’re going to talk about how God bends down to lift us up, and how we bend down to help and encourage others.

Our message is based on our Psalm, chapter 40, especially verse 1: I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. 

God made us, our body, in a wonderful way, in a way in which everything, every part of the body works together, so that we can we can do what we need to do to take care of ourselves.

God made our bones with joints, so we can bend our thumbs and fingers, and grasp things; and elbows and wrists, so we can feed ourselves, and do work, and write and steer a car, and much more; and knees and ankles so we walk comfortably, and hips, so we can bend over; and hips and knees and ankles working together, so we can sit down or stoop down.

God gives us these abilities not just to care for ourselves, but also to care for others, that we might bend down to help others.

But to use our bodies, our hands and arms and legs and feet to serve others, and to stoop down and come close to them and help them, we also need a heart that cares, a mind that sees the need, and a soul that loves people, and a will that wants to serve.

So we need not just a pliable body to be able to work and help and serve, but also a softened, compassionate heart, and a healed soul, an enlightened mind, so that we can be a blessing, a benefit to others.

Thanks be to God, He stoops down, He bends low, He comes close to us, so close that He comes within us, the Holy Spirit in us, that we might receive His love into our souls, and might show that love to others.

How amazing that a God who is so high above, can stoop down so low to help and save us.

When Jesus was born, the angels sang, Glory be to God in the highest!

No one and no thing is higher than He is. But no one ever stooped lower, than He did, born a humble man to save us.

In being lifted up on the cross, Jesus went lower than anyone had ever  gone; not low in the sense that He sinned or did anything wrong or dishonorable, but in that He suffered more than any other person ever had. 

He suffered so much and so severely because He bore the torment of all the  punishment for all our sins.

When Jesus cried to His Father, “Why have you forsaken me?”, His heart and soul felt all the agony of the guilt, and all the pain of the just punishment for the sins of all humanity, every sin of every person to ever live. 

God’s dear Son stooped down and went lower into the human condition than anyone. He lowered himself to suffer more than anyone ever had, but in stooping so low to suffer so severely, He raised us higher than anyone ever had, or ever could.

Because He rose and was exalted to the highest place at the right hand of God, now we, by faith, in Baptism, we are raised to life in the highest realm, what Paul calls in Ephesians 2, the Heavenly places. 

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him… and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

We have such a wise and amazing God. He knows to do the opposite of what the world does: what the world did brought death, what God does brings life.

God does the opposite of what conventional, worldly thinking would have had Him do, or would have us do; and in that way, Jesus has done what the world could never do, He has won our eternal innocence, our complete forgiveness; He has won our eternal peace and glory above and beyond all strife and suffering.

Although our Baptism has lifted us to heavenly places, we still have struggles to bear in this imperfect world Jesus stooped down to save.

Thanks be to God, He has knees and hips and ankles and elbows and hands, so to speak, He has a loving heart and gentle spirit, to bend down to us, to come beside us where we are, and embrace us, and cover us with His mercy,  and surround with His holy angels to guard and keep our soul. 

He bends down to lift us up in His almighty strength, to protect us with His almighty power, and in His arms He carries us through the worst of our earthly troubles.

As a loving father or mother, bends down to his or her dear, little child, gets down on one knee, or both knees, and gathers their little one up in their arms, so with such kindness and compassion, God bends down to you, His dearest child, and takes you into His arms, and covers you with His love, and protects you with His benevolent power.

Our psalm verse gives us the picture of God leaning into us, with His ear close to hear us: I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. 

Let us lean into God, to confide in Him, to tell Him all that’s on our heart, all that may trouble our mind, or all that may make our heart glad.

Sometimes God bends down and comes close to us to correct us. Hebrews 12 tells us that God corrects and disciplines us as a sign of His personal love and care. 

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” 

In ancient times, the king would discipline only the royal heir who would succeed him. He was considered too exalted to do the unpleasant task of disciplining his other children. 

Our King, the king of Heaven, cares enough to come to each of us and personally correct us, to discipline us with His Word of law, when that’s what we need.  

And as we respond with an open heart, willing to listen to our Lord, as He corrects us in His Word of law, as we learn and change; and as we repent, He kneels beside us, and embraces us with His personal forgiveness; He lifts us up and restores us, to walk with Him as His dear friend, and to serve Him with honor and joy. 

As God has heard and responded to our cry for help, let us hear and respond to the cries of others. As He has come close to us, let us open our hearts to others, and come close to them, with the mercy our Lord shows to us.

Sometimes, we must bend down in love to correct others, with the personal correction we, too, have received, hoping that they may receive it to their good, as it was for us, and they, too, might be forgiven and restored to walk in the joy of the Lord. 

When others grieve, whatever their pain or loss might be, let us bend down to comfort them; and kneel down with a word of prayer for them, that their joy is restored.

Whatever the need may be, let us bend down to our hurting neighbor, and help in whatever ways we can.

May God, who bends down and comes close to care for us, bless us to bend down, come close, and care for others.

And as we do, His peace, which passes understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, who came down to save us, and comes close to comfort us. Amen.