Longing in the Wilderness

I trust that all is well with your soul today. I'm sure for you it's been a challenging week as it has been for most of us. Many of us, I'm sure, have faced some challenges in this past week we haven't had to deal with in a long, long time, maybe never in our lives.

But I do trust all is well with your soul. I wanna express appreciation to Melissa, our daughter, for playing that prelude for us this morning. She's going to actually play a couple of hymns as I read them later on in the service.

Appreciate her help today. Just a couple of announcements to kind of know what's going on. I don't know if you've been following it, but each day at noon on Facebook, I'm doing a little devotional, not very long thing, five to seven minutes as a maximum for length on that.

So you can pop into Facebook at noon, Monday through Friday, and I'll share those devotionals. And they do keep them on, record them and keep them online for maybe 24 hours or something like that. But I encourage you to pop in for that.

And that's just on Facebook. Then on Wednesday nights, Wednesday evening at seven o 'clock, we'll have like a prayer time, have a little devotional or Bible study time at seven o 'clock. That's going to be just on the Faith Baptist Church website homepage.

Facebook is a little broader, has a broader audience, automatically reaches a whole bunch of people. The homepage, the church family's more likely to just zero in on that. So the Wednesday evening time is just on the homepage.

I will send daily reminders just to keep you informed of these different events coming up. We also encourage you during this time of shelter in place and you're not supposed to get out any more than absolutely necessary to please send your prayer requests, any updates on your life, your family, what's going on, any needs that you have of any kind, please pass those on.

Or just a note to tell us how you're doing. You can send those things by email, you can text me, you could do if you're on Facebook, you can send a Facebook message, any number of ways, but just keep the communication lines open.

We wanna stay in contact with you throughout this time of keeping our distance, social distance. So we have this shelter in place, apparently through April 4th, and at least that's what it is now. And what it's gonna mean after that, nobody knows at this point whether or not we'll be able to meet together afterwards, how long after is before we can gather together.

But as it stands right now, on Thursday, April, was it 10th, 9th, we have a Maundy Thursday service scheduled. If we can't have that service, we can't gather together for that service, I'll do something online just in keeping with that theme.

And of course, then the following Sunday is Easter Sunday, and we don't know yet whether we'll be able to meet on Easter Sunday. But if we do, if we are able to meet on Easter Sunday, we had a brunch scheduled for that morning, we will not do that brunch.

We won't plan a sunrise service, we'll just plan for Easter Sunday morning service. And if we can gather together that day, we'll have the Lord's Supper together to start the service off. I talked to the deacons last Monday about a way to serve communion, the Lord's Supper, that would minimize any potential passing along of unpleasant germs, so we could do that.

But again, all of that is contingent upon whether or not we can actually meet, and we'll know more about that in the days ahead. So as we begin this morning, let me just share with you Psalm 62, first couple of verses, calling us to worship.

The psalmist says, truly my soul waits upon God, from him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense, I shall not be greatly moved. I'd like to, I promised you I wouldn't sing in these solo worship services, but I do want to share with you the text of a hymn.

It's the hymn Sing Praise to God, and if you want to sing it in your homes, that's fine, but I'll share with you just the text, Sing Praise to God. Sing praise to God who reigns above, the God of all creation, the God of power, the God of love, the God of our salvation.

With healing balm my soul he fills, and every faithless murmur stills, to God all praise and glory. What God's almighty power has made, his gracious mercy keepeth. By morning glow or evening shade, his watchful eye never sleepeth.

Within the kingdom of his might, lo, all is just and all is right, to God all praise and glory. The Lord is never far away, but though all grief distressing, an ever-present help and stay, our peace and joy and blessing.

As with a mother's tender hand, he leads his own, his chosen band, to God all praise and glory. Thus, all my toilsome way along, I sing aloud his praises, that all may hear the grateful song, my voice unwearied raises.

Be joyful in the Lord, my heart, both soul and body, bear your part, to God all praise and glory. Let's look to the Lord in prayer, shall we? So, our Father and our God, we are grateful that we can give you praise and glory through even the difficult times of life.

We're thankful that in these times, when the world is in chaos and there's so much uncertainty that lies even before us, it can be well with our soul. We thank you for this opportunity this morning to gather together, even electronically, virtually, and I pray that you would bless this time together.

I pray our hearts would be encouraged and challenged by your word. Give us comfort, give us hope, as we reflect upon who you are, our God. This we pray in Jesus' name, amen. I'd like to read a passage of scripture that serves, I believe, as a background for the main text for our message this morning.

It's 2 Samuel 15, verses 13 through 17, and then verses 24 through 30. If you want to follow along in your copy of scripture, 2 Samuel 15, and I'll read verses 13 through 17, and then skip a few sections and come back to verse 24.

2 Samuel 15, 13 says, "'And a messenger came to David, saying, "'The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom.'. "'Then David said to all his servants "'who were with him at Jerusalem, "'Arise and let us flee, "'or else there will be no escape for us from Absalom.

"'Go quickly, lest he overtake us quickly, "'and bring down ruin on us, "'and strike the city with the edge of the sword.'. And the king's servants said to the king, "'Behold, your servants are ready "'to do whatever my lord the king decides.'.

So the king went out, and all his household after him, and the king left 10 concubines to keep the house. And the king went out, and the people after him, and they halted at the last house.". Drop down to verse 24.

"'And Abiathar came up, and behold, "'Zadok came also with all the Levites, "'bearing the Ark of the Covenant of God. "'They set down the Ark of God "'until the people had all passed out of the city. "'Then the king said to Zadok, "'Carry the Ark of God back to the city.

"'If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, "'he will bring me back, "'and let me see both it and his dwelling place. "'But if he says, I have no pleasure in you, "'behold, here I am. "'Let him do to me what seems good to him.'.

The king also said to Zadok the priest, "'Are you not a seer? "'Go back to the city in peace with your two sons, "'Ahimeaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. "'See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness "'until word comes from you to inform me.'.

"'So Zadok and Abiathar carried the Ark of God "'back to Jerusalem, and they remained there. "'But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, "'weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered.

"'And all the people who were with him covered their heads, "'and they went up, weeping as they went.'". The Lord add his blessing to the reading of his word I trust together today. Another hymn I'd like to, I guess this is one of those spiritual songs we talked about last Lord's Day, is a hymn, Speak, Lord, in the Stillness.

And that should be our prayer this morning as we gather together that the Lord in the stillness of wherever you are right now, that he would speak to us. Speak, Lord, in the stillness. Speak, Lord, in the stillness.

Speak, dear Lord, to us. To me, hush my heart to listen. Keep my thoughts on thee. How I need thy presence. How I need thy care. Speak, Lord, in the stillness as I kneel in prayer. Calm the storms within me.

Drive away the fears. Quiet every murmur. Wash away my tears. How I need thy wisdom. How I need thy power. Teach me, Lord, to listen in the quiet hour. Help me trust thy goodness. Let me know thy will.

Fill me with thy spirit. Keep me calm and still. May I trust thee fully. Make my faith increase. Keep my heart forever in thy perfect peace. As we pray together as a church family, several requests I want to share with you.

Our missionary of the week this week is Jim Stroop. Works with Law and Grace Ministries as a regional director of chaplains in our jails, county jails, in all over the region of the Midwest, upper Midwest.

And I want to pray for him this week, particularly because of the virus crisis. They're not able to visit the jails right now. So they haven't been able to get into the jails for Bible studies and services all last week and now for the foreseeable future.

So I want to pray for him as he prays for those he's been working with in the jail. Pray for the believers in those jails who meet regularly with Jim and the other chaplains. And just pray that the Lord will sustain them and that they themselves will individually get into the word and study the word.

Then I also want us to pray for those in our congregation who would be more vulnerable at this particular time with the COVID -19 virus. So I think, for example, of Rebecca Funderburg. Rebecca is a nurse in the hospital.

And so consequently is coming across sick people all the time and the potential for contracting that virus is greater for those individuals. So pray for her and for, in that regard, all of those who are in such positions that God would graciously protect them.

You've heard about the shortages in masks and things of that nature. I'm not quite sure how severe it is right now. In our community, I do know there's been requests for various kinds of masks, if you have those in construction trades and so forth, to donate them, but do pray for them.

And then also Zach Wiseman and Jason Hemmer work as first responders. And so they could very easily come into contact with people who could pass along this virus. So pray for them, that the Lord would protect them.

Earlier this week, I think it was Friday, my wife sent out a prayer request to ask prayer for my sister-in-law, who we suspect has come down with this COVID -19 virus. We won't know until tomorrow for sure, but pray for her.

And now my brother, her husband, has exactly the same symptoms. They are symptoms consistent with COVID -19. And so pray for God to graciously heal them of this. And that they are, by the way, quarantined in their home and not able to get out and contact anybody at all, but they'll get a diagnosis, I think, or at least have the test for, the definitive test for this tomorrow.

So pray for them. And then we also wanna pray for our older folks in our congregation, those who are considered most vulnerable to this virus and its most dangerous impact. And specifically, let's pray for our shut-ins, those in the nursing homes and those unable to get out at all.

So think, for example, of Sue Cherry, Jeannie Ludwick, Jerry Sailors. And then Bob Klein is not in a nursing home, but is pretty much confined to his home and has been for quite some time. Dean Kinnaman as well.

And then the other folks in our congregation who are past the age of 80, who are considered to be most vulnerable, we wanna pray for them. Also had received a prayer request to pray for a couple that are suffering from some severe diabetic issues, and we want the Lord to undertake in their behalf.

And then finally, let's pray for our governmental leaders at this time, state and federal, as they have all kinds of information to process and need to make decisions that affect all of us in some way or another.

And we wanna pray for God to give them wisdom and to make right decisions. So let's look to the Lord in prayer, shall we? So our Father and our God, we are grateful that we can come to you today, and we can count on you to speak to us through your word in the stillness.

But we also thank you that we can speak to you, and we can bear our burdens to you and ask for you to intercede in behalf of those we love and care about, and in behalf of our nation, our community, even our world.

So we do pray this morning for these in our congregation who could very easily come into contact with this virus. We think of Zach and Jason and Rebecca, and we pray that you would protect them and shelter them from any harm or danger, any contamination or impact from this virus and its effects.

We pray also for our older folks, those who are shut in especially, and pray that you would encourage them and protect them. Think of the isolation and the discouragement, the loneliness that can come at a time like this when those who are used to having folks visit and having connections, and now those connections are cut off.

I pray that you would particularly draw near and give comfort of heart to those who are feeling so isolated and lonely. We pray for Sue and Jeannie, for Jerry, for Bob, for Dean. We also pray for those older ones in our congregation, the most vulnerable to this disease, protect them, we pray.

We pray for Doug and his wife, Linda. Just pray that you would give them healing from this sickness. Pray that as a diagnosis is clearly given that there would also be an opportunity for treatment and healing coming out of this, we pray.

And for this couple suffering from diabetic issues, I pray right now that you would strengthen their bodies and help them get through this, protect them in their vulnerable position as well. Father, we pray for our government leaders.

We pray for the president, as he has a tremendous weight of responsibility on his shoulders right now, all kinds of decisions that he has to make from many different fronts. Give him wisdom, give him good advisors who will be able to counsel him in the right direction.

Pray for Vice President Pence, as he heads up this pandemic response team that has so much responsibility on their shoulders, so much information coming at them from many different directions. Give them wisdom and insight in how to process it all and to make good decisions.

We think also of the decisions in our own state and our governor and his advisors and how their decisions are so greatly affecting us. And Father, we trust that these are wise decisions. And Father, we pray that you would continue to guide them along the way.

And then Father, we do pray for Jim and the work of Law and Grace Ministries. Pray that you would encourage Jim and the other chaplains at this time when they can't visit those whom they normally serve and care for.

I pray that the inmates who are believers and are used to the Bible study times, I pray that you would give them insight into your word as they themselves personally would study it and read it together.

So meet these needs, we pray. Father, we ask as we open your word this morning that you would speak to us and challenge us from it. Encourage us from Psalm 63. This we pray in Jesus' name. So if you would, turn to Psalm 63.

I wanna read the psalm together and then share a message from this psalm today. Psalm 63 is a psalm of David. We see right in the inscription right after the title of the psalm. It's a psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

He writes, oh God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee. My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is to see thy power and thy glory so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

Because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus, I will bless thee while I live. I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips when I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night watches.

Because thou has been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee. Thy right hand upholdeth me. But those that seek my soul to destroy it shall go into the lower parts of the earth.

They shall fall by the sword. They shall be a portion for foxes. But the king shall rejoice in God. Everyone that sweareth by him shall glory. But the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped. Again, may the Lord add his blessing to the reading together of his word.

It occurred to me the other day that when we're going through some difficult times like these are, challenging times, it's good to stop and get a little bit of perspective. I was reminded in a quip that somebody posted the other day that the class of 2020, the high school graduates of this year, came into this world in the middle of the crisis of 9 -11 and they're graduating from high school in the crisis of COVID -19.

Many of them may not even get to graduate and go through all those typical activities that are associated with a senior year and the final months of the senior year. And those are difficult things and challenging things to deal with.

But it's helpful in these times to be able to look elsewhere and get a little bit of perspective. So for example, a couple of the things I would like to do in these times of being sheltered in place is to watch a couple of videos that are in my collection.

Haven't looked at them in a long, long time. One of them is the movie Gettysburg. And one of the reasons I wanna watch that movie is for this very reason, to get a little bit of perspective. You realize that in the Battle of Gettysburg, in that one battle, in one day, over 7 ,000 soldiers died and that's far more than have already died worldwide in this COVID -19 crisis.

And then the other movie that I'd like to watch is the movie Life is Beautiful. It's a drama, comedy, horror movie because it takes us to the prison camps of the concentration camps in Nazi Germany and the trials and the afflictions that people went through in those concentration camps.

And I looked up to find out how many people actually died in Auschwitz. And there's no way to calculate the exact number, but most think it was more than a million people died in those concentration camps.

And then I'm reading a book right now. It just came out a few weeks ago entitled The Splendid and the Vile. It's a book about the first little bit of Winston Churchill's ascendancy as prime minister in England just before Germany declared war on Britain.

And I'm reading about the preparation and the anticipation, the expectation, that at any day, at any time, Germany was going to attack Great Britain. They expected that the German Air Force would send bombers to bomb downtown, to the main city of London, and they expected that Nazi forces would land on the coasts.

And talking about all of the processes, and can you imagine the difficulty and challenge of living through something like that where you know that at any moment air raid signals could go off and you'd have to find a place to shelter at any moment and you had to turn off all your lights every night, you had to close your blinds and things of that nature.

That constant fear, and they endured that for years. So it's helpful to get a bit of perspective, but it's also helpful to get that perspective by going to the scriptures. So here we come to Psalm 63, and this opening inscription in Psalm 63 tells us that David wrote it when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

Now that could be one of two times. One of the times it could have been was when David was fleeing from Saul in Saul's constant efforts to threaten his life and to kill him. And so specifically the time that this could be referring to is when David had gone to the town of Keilah and he delivered that town from the Philistines.

And so he protected them, drove the Philistines away, and David and his men were lodging there in this community of Keilah. And then word came to David that Saul was heading to Keilah. And David prayed to the Lord and said, Lord, I hear Saul's coming, is he indeed coming?

Yes, he's coming. Will the people of Keilah deliver me over to Saul? And the Lord responded, yes, they will deliver you over to Saul. And so David took off and fled to the wilderness. In 1 Samuel 23 verses 14 and 15 tells us that David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph.

And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand. And David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. That's one of the possibilities.

The other occasion that could have prompted this psalm, and I think it actually did, is the passage that we read earlier in 2 Samuel where David's son Absalom had usurped the throne and in really fear for his life, David and those who would remain loyal to him fled in exile and they went out to the wilderness of Judah.

So I chose that passage earlier because I believe that's the situation that prompted this particular psalm. And the thing that settles it to me is in verse 11 where David writes, the king shall rejoice in God.

Now in all of David's fleeing from Saul and all that period of time from when Samuel anointed David to take Saul's place until the time when David actually became the king of Israel, Judah and then Israel, he never referred to himself as the king.

It was only after he actually became the king that he called himself the king. So I think it is this occasion when David has fled from his son, Absalom, and he is hiding out in the wilderness to spare his own life that he writes this psalm.

So given this time of extreme anxiety in David's life, and it's a very reasonable thing, a very reasonable fear and uncertainty for him, this song, Psalm 63, came out of the midst of it. And I find in this psalm some very timely encouragement for the crisis that we find ourselves in at this time.

Now, there are any number of things that we can be longing for, that we can be pining for these days. But here in this psalm, we find what must be the ultimate heart longing for the child of God. In verse one, David says, my God, you are my God, my soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you.

So above all else, above all else, long for God. And whatever comes our way in these days, this period of uncertainty, whatever comes our way, affirm that he is your God. David says, my God, oh God, you are my God.

Affirm that he is your God. You know, there is a danger in times of crisis of losing faith. Now think about what David had lost and what David had gone through in the betrayal of his own son. Think of his wilderness hardships.

He was persecuted, he was threatened, he was destitute, he was abandoned by many who had called for him to be the king. And now they had turned their backs on him and become disloyal to him and pledged their loyalty to Absalom.

He was deprived of physical privileges that he was used to. He was deprived of spiritual privileges. And on top of all of that, David was well aware of the fact that his plight was largely due to his own sin.

He had to deal with that. Now, I said that there is a danger of losing faith when you're going through a time of crisis, a time of great challenge. I read of a woman who was very burdened about her mother who had been diagnosed with cancer.

And this woman wasn't a particularly religious person, but she started praying. And she said, I prayed and I prayed and I prayed for God to heal my mother. And he didn't. She got sicker and sicker and then she died.

He wasn't there for me, she said. He's no God of mine. Well, whatever comes, affirm that he is your God. And whatever comes, earnestly seek him. David says, early will I seek thee. Early will I seek thee.

That word early could be translated diligently or earnestly, but it can be translated exactly as it is here. Early, like first thing in the morning. And that in itself gives a sense of the earnestness of the seeking of God.

I get up in the morning and I'm seeking you. These days when you get up first thing in the morning, what do you seek? What do you look at? Where do you go? It's awfully tempting, isn't it? To flip on the TV and find out the news, what happened overnight.

Or to open up your phone and scroll through stuff. And it's easy to get glued to the TV news and to the social media news feeds and all of that kind of stuff. It's also easy to want to shut everything out and do so by some kind of escape distractions, entertainment and all of that kind of thing.

But whatever comes, earnestly seek him, earnestly seek him. And the end of verse one encourages us that whatever comes, deeply long for him, long for him. Long for him as if you are deprived of one of life's most basic necessities.

He says, my soul thirsts for thee. My flesh longs for thee in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. That is one of our most basic necessities, isn't it? Water, water. And it is of great concern if we fear that we'll not have water.

And because we know, if I don't have water, I'm going to thirst and I could die of that thirst. In my own amateur experiences in backpacking, I know that one of the things you have to be concerned about is water supply.

A couple of years ago when I went up to the Ice Age Trail in the Kettle Moraine South, I'm looking at the map that is given in the Ice Age guide, trail guide, and looking to see where the water supplies are.

And before I headed out, I realized that I was going to get to that night's first shelter and from the place I started until that shelter, there was nowhere along the way to get water. And the next watering hole, if you will, was going to be a few miles after that shelter.

So I knew I need to stock up on water before I ever head out. Why? Because if I didn't, I would be very thirsty by the end of the day and in the next morning. And you can, it saps you of your strength.

So he says, my soul thirsts for you, oh God. My flesh longs for you as if I am dying of thirst in a land where there is no water. Long for him as if you are deprived of your greatest necessity without him.

And what is it that you're looking for? Your greatest necessity, he tells us in verse two, is his power and glory. He says, I long for you to see your power and your glory as I have seen you in the sanctuary.

What he's referring to here in these two words of power and glory are in the first place, a longing for him to act again in behalf of his people. That's what he means by his power. I wanna see you act again in behalf of your people like you have in the past.

And I think what he may be referring to here is the thrill and the experience of when David had brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, I don't know if you remember all that whole story, but listen to what he said in 1 Chronicles 16 when the Ark was finally settled in Jerusalem.

He said this, oh, give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people, sing to him, sing praises to him, tell of all his wondrous works. Glory in his holy name. Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Seek the Lord in his strength. Seek his presence continually. Then he says this, remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered. And he looked at that bringing of the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem in that place in the tent where he had set it up, he looked at that as being a display, an evidence of God's marvelous works, his wonderful power in behalf of his people.

And here he is out here in the wilderness longing for God to demonstrate that same kind of power that he and his people could once again be in the place of worshiping God. And that does bring up the second part of what he longs for.

His power and his glory, and his glory. This is an expression of longing to be able to worship God together, worship God again together with his people. The perspective of the Jewish worshiper is, we go to Jerusalem and there in the presence of God where the glory of God resides on the Ark of the Covenant, there where the glory of God resides, there, there it is that we worship him together.

And so remember when David was fleeing Jerusalem, the priest came out with the Ark of the Covenant and they were going to take it with David. David says, no, put it back in its place in Jerusalem where it belongs, and if God favors me, I will come back there.

I'll be able to come back there and worship in Jerusalem again. This is what he's longing for, God's power and his glory. Do you sense that this morning? Do you have that kind of longing today? Here I stand in the auditorium of our church and I'm looking at a camera and there's one other person here.

And you're where you are this morning, in your place, in your home, whatever I'm assuming. Do you have that longing for the power and the glory, experiencing that again together in God's house as God's people gather together and worship?

Well, above all else, during this time of isolation and separation, I trust your longing for God. And through it all, through all of this time, I'm gonna encourage you from this psalm to be committed to the praise of your God.

Be committed to the praise of your God. This comes out in verses three and four. So here David is, he's out there in the middle of the wilderness, and yet he's got this terrible longing. He's suffered all these things from the hand of his own son and yet he expresses a commitment to praise the Lord.

You see this in verse three? Why is it that he is committed to praise the Lord? Look at what he says. Because your loving kindness is better than life. Your loving kindness. It's that Hebrew word hesed, your covenant loyalty.

What David is saying is that you and I, along with him, can praise the Lord, even in these difficult times, because of his covenant loyalty. God is never unfaithful to his word, to his promises, to his covenant.

And look at how valuable it is. He says your loving kindness is better than life. It's better than life. One of the commentators I read put it this way. He said it's better not to exist than to exist without God's favor.

It's better to die enjoying God's favor than to live without it. You can praise him because of his loving kindness, his steadfast loyalty to his covenant. Are you one of his covenant people? Are you one who has, by God's grace, through faith, come to Jesus Christ as your personal savior?

You've turned from your sin, you've cried out to him to save you, and he has done so. He has done so. If he is your savior, God is your God, and he has made a covenant with you that he will never, never forsake.

You can praise him because of his covenant loyalty. And do so. Commit yourself to doing so. And look at how David expresses this commitment. He says I'm committing to praise you vocally, verbally, continually, and physically.

I am going to praise you with my lips, he says, verbally. I'm not gonna hold it in. I'm going to express it verbally. And I will do so continually, he says at the beginning of verse four. I will bless you while I live.

And he said that knowing that there was a possibility he could very well die in the wilderness. And he, listen, he could die at the hand of his own son. And yet he said, until that point in time when my life is snuffed out, I will bless you.

I will bless you, I will praise you. So that's quite a context, this wilderness experience at the threat of his own life when he commits himself to praising God continually. Now look, in the last couple of weeks, we've all lost a great deal.

Haven't you? I'm sure you have. But what do you have? What do you have? What are some of the silver lining blessings that have come your way in this chaotic time? Bless the Lord at all times. And then do so physically.

He says at the end of verse four, I will lift up my hands in thy name. I will lift up my hands in thy name. This lifting up of the hands is not something that's quite so common in our Western culture.

It is in some churches and that's all fine, well and good. But in the Old Testament culture and David's worshiping of the Lord, this was a posture of both prayer and praise. So the lifting up of the hands was in one sense an expression of I'm offering my prayer and my praise.

I'm offering it up to you, oh God. Here, take it, accept it. And then it is also an expression of a readiness to receive what God gives, to receive every good and perfect gift that comes down from God.

In other words, this physical expression of the lifting up of the hands is a way of expressing a dependent trust in God. And that in itself is, in God's eyes, an act of praise. Commit yourself to praise.

So above all, long for God. Through it all, be committed to praise your God. And then thirdly, in verses five through seven, through it all, remember your history with God. Remember your history with God.

He says in verse six, when I remember thee upon my bed and meditate in the night watches. Take time in this wilderness experience, if you will, to reflect, to reflect. When you wake up in the middle of the night, anxiety has struck, you can't sleep, you're tossing and turning.

Thoughts, concerns, worries, burdens come to your mind. It's all understandable. What do you do with it? Reflect, reflect. And in your reflection, remember what God has done to help you thus far. I remember you upon my bed, I meditate on you in the night watches because he says at the beginning of verse seven, you have been my help.

What has he done to help you thus far? Now we could talk about, and you may think about some very physical, tangible things like health and so on, and material blessings, et cetera, et cetera. But go deeper than that, go beyond that.