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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/gary-sharp/keep-me/
Let's read, please, in Psalm 17. Psalm 17. And we'll read at verse 8, please. Psalm 17 and verse 8. Keep me, sounds like a prayer, doesn't it? If you'll notice the title of the psalm, it is a prayer. Keep me as the apple of thine eye.
Hide me under the shadow of thy wings. From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies who compass me about. Hide me under the shadow of thy wings. Over, please, to Psalm 36. Psalm 36. Psalm 36 and we'll read there at verse 7.
Psalm 36 and verse 7. How excellent. How precious. Now this doesn't sound like a prayer. It sounds more like worship. And you'll notice that the title of the psalm is a psalm of David, the servant of the Lord.
And you'll see how that works out in this psalm. Psalm 36 and 7. How excellent. How precious is thy lovingkindness, O God. Therefore the children of men put their trust. They take refuge under the shadow of thy wings.
They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house, and thou shalt make them drink of the water of thy pleasures. Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
Psalm 63, please. Psalm 63 and let's read there at verse 7. Psalm 63 and verse 7. This again is a psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. Psalm 63 and verse 7. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
My soul followeth hard after thee, thy right hand upholdeth me. Again verse 7 says, in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. Ruth chapter 2, please, for a final reading. Ruth chapter 2. Ruth chapter 2 and we'll read just verse 12.
Ruth chapter 2 and verse 12. The Lord reckoned them. Interesting how quickly after they're hatched they become dependent. It's instant. Sometimes we as believers, we don't learn the lessons nearly as quickly.
You see little bobble heads and they're kind of lifting them up and they expect to get something in them. And sure enough, it's kind of remarkable to see the tenderness of the eagle parent as they feed their young.
For all its size and all the greatness of that bird constructing a 1 ,600-pound nest and feathering it with softness and taking care of her young. But you know those who are so dependent become very independent.
And floppiness, well you could hardly say it was a wing. And then you hear its little cry. And after a while that mother moves that little baby back where it belongs, under the shadow of their wings. I just was thinking on these texts.
That first one is Psalm of David. Ah, here's a man and he appeals to another's wisdom. Oh how much, not only that, but he longs for his watchful eye, the vigilance of that parent bird. Because after all, if that mother or that father bird were to leave that baby unattended, it would quickly be an enemy to destroy.
I'm so thankful for a God who understands my needs. And as a young believer, I had to learn not only what it was to take food and to be happy to accept it. I don't think I would have been very happy with what that eagle was feeding her young, but they were.
It was suited for them. And God has food. And it's suited for us. And it's amazing, you know, sometimes the youngest believer can take in truth and God's just so tender in his way with them. Giving it so freely.
Suiting their need. Because he's working for us. That we might grow. And that we might develop. And that we might be all that he wants us to be. A prayer of David. Keep me. Keep me as the apple of thine eye.
Oh, the tremendous importance that that young life in Christ would be preserved and protected. And sometimes even those of us who have grown older and may be more independent, we need to be reminded of the tender care of one who has my very best interest at heart.
And sometimes we become so independent, we forget to pray. We find ourselves in danger. Keep me. Oh God, keep me. None of us are too old or too advanced to think that we can do it all on our own. That we can be all that God intends us to be without his care.
And how tender he is. Keep me as the apple of thine eye. Hide me under the shadow of thy wings. You know, it's pretty obvious that a young bird needs that protection. And it needs that warmth. And it needs that care.
And it needs that provision. And all of that is quite delightful. But you notice he says, hide me. You know, when those mothers cover their babes, they not only provide protection, they not only are ready, it seems like almost at a moment's call, to provide the food that they need.
Not only are they willing to protect against all uncomers. But ah, when I am hidden, another is seen. Are we seen under the shadow of his wings? Are we found there in a way that allows him to be manifest in our lives?
And all that he is, do we really give him credit for it? As he hides us, whether it's from the enemies who would plunder, or from the elements that would take away life. David says, he has a need. And we still have a need.
Hide me. Keep me under the shadow of thy wings. In this passage, it seems to be a place of rest. And oh, what rest we find when he is seen. And we find shelter in him. You turn to Psalm 36, and there it seems to be the idea of a refuge.
How excellent! Ah, he must have been thinking about it. He must have been considering it. He must have been meditating about the great truth of God's loving-kindness. You know, every one of us, every one of us need to be reminded, on a constant basis, how excellent is his loving-kindness.
For every one of us would somehow falter, or fail, or slip. And he says, therefore, therefore, he says, the children of men put their trust under the shadow of their wings. Who is it who's speaking? Why, he tells us it's David the servant.
David the servant. Are we servants? We ought to be. Are we going to work in his way, for his glory? Here's David, and he says, oh, how excellent. How excellent is thy loving-kindness. We've found a place of trust under the shadow of thy wings.
You know, even as I seek to serve him, and as you seek to serve him in your life, there's a tremendous importance in finding that it's only through the loving supply of our God we can do anything, or we will stand for anything, or we will amount to anything.
This is his expectation. He knows that the Lord is able, not only to preserve as in the first case, but that God is able to enable so that his will and his purposes may come to view, and that those results that we seek will be seen in our lives and through us as servants.
His expectation. How excellent is thy loving-kindness. But in Psalm 63, we have a place of rejoicing. He says, because thou has been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. And here's David in the wilderness of Judah.
May have been forgotten by others. Maybe I'm speaking to some dear saint, and you feel like you're kind of not in the same place of life like you were before. And you're not as active or effective in the ways that you used to be, and you seem to be on the sidelines more.
There are those who have forgotten what you once were. Maybe you've even forgotten the ways in which so wonderfully used you. And here he is in the wilderness of Judah, overwhelmed by setbacks and amidst difficulties and distress.
Maybe even sleepless because, well, like you and me, problems don't instantly resolve themselves, do they? Why am I way back here in the backside of the desert, alone, with such a few? Not in the place that God has promised.
And sometimes in that place of distance, sometimes in that place where the going is hard, sometimes the only resources we can find are found in the shadow of his wings, sensing his provision and the warmth of his love and the strength of his power.
And oh, how wonderful. We can still exalt in him. Sometimes older believers wonder why God has allowed them to keep on living when they're able to do so little. And sometimes I have looked on and I have said, I know, I know.
And that may sound like presumption to some of you today, but I do know. I know that sometimes God allows the outward glory of a man to fade. And sometimes he feels his lack, his inability. Sometimes he feels the loneliness of being forgotten.
So that God can reveal himself more clearly through your hope and through your confidence in God. And so that God can be seen in the way you link yourself to the Scriptures and trust in his love and depend upon him in all the circumstances of life.
In the wilderness of Judah, David cries, because thou has been my help. Therefore, in the shadow of thy wings, I will rejoice. Satisfaction. You know, when you look at that first one and you think of that place of rest, there, I'm close to his heart.
Close to his heart. What do you know about being so close to him that you can sense his heart? We've been hearing about compassion. Sometimes we talk about it. We don't manifest much of it. Sometimes there are those around us with sorrows far deeper than our own, and all we think about is ourselves.
And we forget about his heart. And we forget about how we could be a blessing to others. In the second one, you can see that there he is. He is benefiting from his strength. He is the refuge. And you can see in the third one, in Psalm 63, he's benefiting from his watchfulness and provision, even in the distant place of loneliness.
When you come to the book of Ruth, it's a place of recompense. It's a place of reward. The Lord recompensed thy work. Maybe what she had done seemed very small to her, but it wasn't small in the eyes of another.
And Boaz recognized that there was something there of worth. And he says, the Lord recompensed thy work, and a full reward, a full reward, an overflowing reward, a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel.
Ah, what must his reward be like? What kind of rewards are you living for? What kind of rewards are you seeking? You know, most of us, we want instant gratification. We want results. We want it now. Sometimes we even want more than we deserve.
But here is this dear godly man, Boaz, and he has observed. And God's going to use this man to give her a great reward too. But he has observed in her life those things that he deems worthy of recompense and a full reward.
And this dear young woman, she had sought grace, and she had linked herself to the one who was her God. And she was willing to be one of them as her people, the people of Israel, she would like to be numbered amongst.
At all, God had greater plans, far greater and more wondrous plans than at all. And there was going to be a compensation that she never dreamed of to become part of that godly line. Who knows what God has in view?
The little things that we've forgotten. The faithfulness to God, the assistance maybe to an elderly soul, taking time out of what might be fun and games in a normal person's life, to look at my Bible, to try and communicate its truth to someone else, and someday to see what it's all worth in the presence of the Lord Jesus.
The Lord recompense thy work. Looking for earthly rewards? You'll probably find them. And they may abound, but they won't be able to compare with what God gifts for faithful service, for a life that deserves recompense.
In every case, in these verses that we've read, there is some form of distress. In Psalm 17, there is a danger, there's an enemy. And we have an enemy. We need the shelter that only He can provide. In Psalm 36, there's darkness, but oh, thank God, He is the light in the midst of the darkness.
He is the one who, as we seek to serve Him, He can give us the joy that we long after and expect. As you look at Psalm 63, ah, there you'll see that there's desolation and there's drought, there's distance.
But ah, as we muse upon how God has sustained us, we can say, like a David, thou has been my help. Thou has been my help. Therefore, in the shadow of thy wings, we'll rejoice. And you'll find a satisfaction in living, and a satisfaction even in the darkest days.
It brings a smile to the face and sunshine to the soul in the shadow of His wings. That reward that comes in the case of Aruth, it was in spite of difficulty. There were dangers for her. You remember how Boaz speaks about, I have commanded the young man.
There's dangers in our world. There are those who would take advantage of us. There are those who would spoil us for God. There are dangers in every single case, but in all the circumstances of life, when the Lord is there and we take our place, letting Him be seen under the shadow of His wings, we rejoice.
There's a hymn that certainly goes along with these words. I'm going to quote some of it to you. Under His wings, I am safely abiding. Though the night deepens and tempests are wild, still I can trust Him.
I know He will keep me. He has redeemed me, and I am His child. Under His wings, what a refuge in sorrow. How the heart yearningly turns to His rest, often when earth has no balm for my healing. There I find comfort.
There I am blessed. Under His wings, oh, what precious enjoyment. There will I hide till life's trials are o 'er. Sheltered, protected, no evil can harm me. Resting in Jesus, I'm safe evermore. May the Lord help us to learn the truth of resting and trusting under His wings.