Our Frame of Dust - Pastor Stacey Shiflett
- Pastor Shiflett
- Apr 9
- 4 min read
Our Frame of Dust
Psalms 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
Intro:
A. The Extolling of the Favor – vs. 1,2, 4, 5, 6, 7
B. The Extent of the Forgiveness – vs. 3, 8-12
C. The Embrace of the Father– vs. 13, 17
D. The Explanation of the Frame – 14-16
E. The Endurance of the Fearing – vs. 17-22
The statement, “He Knoweth Our Frame” is a blessing to me.
It means that…
I. He Knows our Carnality
Our frame is but dust.
Abraham reminded God of that when he was praying for Sodom.
· Genesis 18:27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:
The word “dust” is found in the Bible over 100 times.
The theme is common throughout the Bible.
It is cheap. It is common. It is worthless.
There’s nothing good about dust.
· Psalms 113:7 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
Satan’s curse was to eat dust all the days of his life.
People in the Bible put dust on their head when they were mourning.
· Job 2:12 And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven.
· Job 42:6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
It might be good for us to remember that we are but dust.
· Romans 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
· Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
It means that…
II. He Knows our Capability
Dust is vulnerable to wind.
We have the capability to stray.
Song: Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.
Wind is the enemy of dust.
Wind carries dust wherever it wills.
Dust is no match for wind.
The Bible warns the child of God of winds.
A carnal believer is in serious trouble apart from the help of God.
We are vulnerable to:
A. Winds of False Doctrine
· Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
B. Winds of Fleshly Deceit
Acts 27
· 13 And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete.
· 14 But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.
C. Winds of Faithless Doubt
· James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Remembering that we are but dust should motivate us to be anchored in Jesus.
Hebrews 6
· 18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
· 19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast,
III. He Knows our Capacity
· 1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
See, dust is weak.
There’s nothing to it.
David said,
· Psalms 22:15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
2 Corinthians 12
· 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
· 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
ILLUSTRATION: When we framed houses, we had to reinforce the loadbearing walls.
That was an important part of the framing.
Where was the load going to sit?
The good thing about God knowing our frame is He knows what parts of us to reinforce!
He promised not to overload us.
Conclusion: There are two takeaways from this message:
A. The blessing of God’s remembrance that our frame is but dust.
B. The burden of our reliance upon God because our frame is but dust.
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.