Living Confidently In The Lord (part 2) - [Psalm 54]

We did study in the Psalms and we were we passed out some handouts so if you have this handout from last week it's the same one that is being handed out today so you don't need another copy if you have the one from last week but if you don't we have copies coming around.

So last week we looked at some 86 and we looked at how to live confidently in the Lord in the midst of trials and just give a minute for the handouts to go across. If you don't have one please raise your hand because we're getting some extra copies made.

Prayer, Confidence, and the Setting of Psalm 54

Let's let's begin with a word of prayer and then we'll continue passing out the handouts. A loving and gracious father we thank you Lord for this day this Lord's day where we can come before your presence as a an assembly of believers those who are redeemed by the blood of your precious son the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

And even as we open the word and look to your revelation for counsel we pray father that you would speak to us from your scriptures and strengthen us and equip us to live lives in accord with your truth in Christ's name.

We pray amen. So last week we began by looking at some of the fears that assail us and some of the trials and troubles that come upon us and how we as Christians are to look at them and look to God in the midst of our trials so that we can live and act with confidence and boldness in the midst of our trials.

So one of the things we did was we looked at these lament Psalms. Psalms that go through intense periods of trials and then how the psalmist draws upon the Lord's help in his time of need. And they set a template for us as we look to this sacred writings in the Psalms that we too can empathize and learn from the psalmist to look to God in the midst of our trial and to live and act with confidence and boldness.

And today we're going to be looking at another Psalm and this is Psalm 54 and we'll continue this. This is also a lament Psalm. So there there are two categories of Psalm we'll hopefully get to today.

The Psalms we have this for this morning are small so we may be able to move through a couple of them. One of them is the first one is a lament Psalm again so hopefully it'll reinforce what we saw from last week and then we will see some Psalms of confidence after we finish this this Psalm.

So the handouts are coming again. So if you can raise your hands those of you who don't have a handout we'll have that given to you. One of the challenges that I had from last week was it almost felt too academic the way we went through Psalm 86.

You know Psalms just don't feel right when you dissect them too small and then go through a list of checklists. It's a lot better when you just read the Psalm and then just meditate on its richness and then let the words of the Psalm kind of seep in rather than you know ask questions and answers.

So what I'm going to do is we'll begin with Psalm 54. Can someone volunteer to read it loudly and slowly. Brian. So if you can read that and what I'd like you to do is just as Brian is reading just try to meditate on it.

Just try to get what the Psalmist is is going through and then we will then dig into the Psalm in more detail. Go ahead. Thank you. If you're familiar with the Psalms you may already get a sense of what's going on in Psalm 54.

If you're not hopefully we'll spend a little time unpacking this to understand the background of what is going on here and what is really going on through David's heart and mind. Let me begin with verse one and it says here to actually the beginning of verse one is actually like a heading but it is part of the scriptures.

So it is not as it's not a heading that we add it is there in the text to the choir master with stringed instruments a masculine or an instruction of David and it gives an occasion. Not all the Psalms do this but some Psalms give this.

It says when the Zephyrites were told went and told Saul is not David hiding among us. And that's kind of like the big heading. And then with where Brian started is where the psalm actual psalm begins in his prayer.

Now when you have the context of the psalm is always helpful for us to go back in the scriptures to see what specific event was happening in the life of the psalmist. Not all the Psalms do that but in this particular case it does say this.

You know when you're reading the New Testament there's a lot of times when the New Testament refers to the old and there's several of the Psalms where you have occasions from earlier in chronological history that it refers to.

It's always good for you to read the entire Bible the Old Testament the New Testament. And in for those of you who are used to the Old Testament who know the events in the scriptures you know what this event is talking about.

Can someone just briefly tell me what this event is. The Zephyrites. Who are these Zephyrites. What is it talking about. I am looking for those who never mind. Let me do this. Actually let's let's turn here to some not some first Samuel 23.

If you know the Old Testament you you'll kind of roughly know what book this this event occurs in. And if you're new to your new Christian you're not familiar with all the books in the Bible then you know maybe you can have a book tool like a concordance and then you can just go back and look for Zephyrites what is Zephyrites.

And then some of your Bibles might have a reference there say this is the passage in the Bible where it refers to and this particular event is a small one so it's easy for us to quickly go through it.

So if some of you are not familiar with this I think it'll it'll be good for us to just read this event before we get into the psalm. So first Samuel 23. And if someone can read this louder but really fast not as slow as we did the earlier time from verse 15 I'd like us to read up until 24 15 to 24.

And you yes Bruce and we'll keep your hands that after it's done because we'll come back to this. Thank you Bruce. So here is the immediate context of King Saul pursuing David and the Zephyrites betraying him or revealing to the King where David was hiding.

And if you're not familiar with the broader context here is what was happened. King Saul was anointed by Samuel to be the king over Israel. It was done in a time when God himself was the king and the people of Israel said we want a king like all the other nations we do not want God to be our king is in effect what they were saying.

God chose Saul and ordained him to be king. But Saul disobeyed. The disobeyed God and was the kingdom was taken from him and David was anointed to be the king who will be the next king after Saul. And Saul was jealous of all the victories that the Lord was doing upon David and was seeking out his life.

So David is now hiding from Saul. And that's the context in which this happens. David and a few of his men are are away and Saul is out there to get him. And even Saul's son Jonathan who would otherwise have been the next king is a friend of David and comes here to comfort him when David is out.

But here you have the Zephyrites who are now revealing the presence of David to the king Saul and he knows that Saul is out there to get him. And it is in the midst of this context where his life is basically four feet that David writes the psalm.

Petition, Lament, and Praise in Psalm 54

And so with that let's dive into verse 1. Oh God save me by your name and vindicate me by your might. You know we talk of Jesus as our Savior. We do that because he saves us from what I heard just say it loud who he saves us from from the wrath of God from our sin the penalty of our sin.

And why is it that we look to Jesus. Where do we look to Jesus as our Savior is Stephen. Exactly because he is the only one who is capable of rescuing us from our from our desperate need. There's nobody else who can save us.

And Jesus is our Savior. He is the Savior. He's our only Savior. And here David is in a place of desperate need and he has that same mindset when he's looking to God God save me by what. By all the armies that are around me.

No he doesn't have any any refuge for himself to rest on. He says save me by your name. It is by God his character and his and who he is that David relies on. He says you are the Lord of hosts you are the Almighty you alone can save me.

And it is in that mindset that he opens his prayer save me. There is a desperate plea that goes with the rest of the Lament Psalms. And actually let's let's actually do this first. And then we'll dive deeper under in your handout.

You should have those bullet points so I'll just put those out and then we'll come back to what I was beginning to start. So you have those four points in the Lament Psalm. The first one is the cry or the plea for help and you see that in verses 1 2 save me there is a there is a desperate need a cry that comes out that identifies this as a Lament Psalm.

Hear my prayer. You know there is this call this plea that you see in verses 1 2. And then in in verse 3 you see the Lament which is the explanation of what is this need that he is so desperately asking out for the strangers who have risen against me ruthless men who seek my life they who do not have God before their eyes.

So that's the problem the Lament the the trial in which he is going through. And then the third element of the Lament Psalm is the petition. See this in verses 4 5. So what does he want God to do in the midst of his trial.

He says God is my helper God you need you are to. He's looking to God to uphold his life that his enemies would be recompensed according to God's justice. And that's basically what you see in verses 4 5.

And then comes the wow of praise or his confidence in God answering his prayer that his response and gratitude would be this with a free will offering I will sacrifice to you. I will give thanks to your name O God for it is good.

And his confidence that the God who has delivered him from all his trouble will enable him to look with triumph upon his enemies. So that's the basic components. There's a cry for help there is a lament his his his danger.

And in the petition what is it that he looks for from God. And then the praise that comes even while is in the midst of his trial. So with this with this structure in place let's go back to verse 1. O God save me and how it is by your name and vindicate me by your might.

Here he is when. And I think this is one of the challenges what might help you as you look through the psalm is identify one of the trials that you actually went through and maybe are going through right now.

What what is the source of help that you look for in the midst of your trial. We began with with talking about fear last week we said you know when sometimes trial comes and overwhelm us we can get so fearsome that we are just unable to move forward and to live in the way that God has called us because we do not have the strength in us to move forward.

And I these songs are intended for exactly those types of moments when we feel that we are just outnumbered outflanked and down on our way to the grave physically or metaphorically we can look up to God like the psalmist does right here.

And how does he do that. Save me by your name and vindicate me by your might. His confidence was in God's character it was in God's ability to rescue him even when he had no help. So if you want to think about it in human terms he has David is here in this forest of Zipf and he hits a hiding place but it is well known to the Zipfites who are the locals in the area and these guys have gone now to Saul to tell him and he has no places to hide.

In fact if you keep reading in the psalm in 1st Samuel 23 Saul will pursue and there is basically a mountain ridge that is separating David from Saul and they're basically he's going to be caught sooner or later when Saul comes after him and Saul has the entire Israelite army at his command whereas David has just like 400 men and he was going to get killed and David has made a covenant not to kill Saul.

Saul is here to kill his life. But David says I will not kill the Lord's anointed because he was anointed by the Lord and until the Lord takes him he will not touch his hand. And we will see that in verse in in 1st Samuel 24 as well.

So what kind of a fight is this. Here is this man coming to take his life but here I he cannot even kill the man who is out to out to seek him. And it is in this case where he comes to God and says I I have no solution for this.

I have no place to hide but you Oh God you can help me. And and verse 2 I want to just spend a few minutes on this. Oh God hear my prayer give ear to the words of my mouth. Hear my prayer give ear to the words of my mouth.

Now does God hear our prayers. He does. Doesn't he. It's God does God need to be woken up to be said to listen to our prayers. But how often is it that when we go through our trials it seems that God is so far away.

You know some last year about this time there was something that was just going on in in my life and in life of one of the brothers here in BBC things were just going pretty much out of control. There was a lot of things that were happening.

And as is normal when the trial comes your way something especially new something that you haven't dealt with before you you try to pull your resources try to get your brain working see how you can solve it.

And at some point it comes and you say no there is no solution that I am capable of drawing over here and and until then your prayer has been God help me at this point in time. And now you're like God.

I am desperate because I I am at my the end of my rope and I there is a severe consequences to this trial if if this does not get answered you know that God is there. But you pray these words because you need to have faith and confidence in your God who does hear your prayer.

And that's basically what the psalmist does here. And when we when we reiterate in our mind the nature and the character of God God is a God who listens. But you need to be convinced in your mind that there is a God who is listening and a God who is hearing your prayer.

And so when when the when David cries out to God hear my prayer he genuinely means it because he knows that his cry is desperate and he needs God to answer him. And while it is true that God always hears God always listens you need to put your faith and your trust into God into the character of God that the that David does here.

And I remember lying on my bed like that nights I couldn't sleep because this was a trial that was causing great anxiety. We're going to see in a few minutes how Philippians helps us deal with the same issue.

And when you come to the end of your rope you rest on the bold confidence that there is a God who hears your prayer. And and so when psalmist look I mean David looks at Saul he knows that his life is forfeit.

He looks at the fights he knows that he is being betrayed by people. But he looks up to God who is who is a strength who by his character not only hears his prayers but he's actually going to help him.

Now let me look at verse 3. This is the lament strangers have risen against me here he's actually talking about the fights were not foreigners they are actually Israelites. But they have acted like strangers.

If you go one earlier in the chapter you are the Philistines who have attacked the town of Kiela and David has gone to Kiela to rescue the these Israelites from the Philistines. The Philistines would be what would be properly called strangers foreigners.

But when Kiela was when Saul was coming to Kiela David prays to God he says will these people protect me or will they give me up. And God tells him no these people won't. So David leaves from them. But here he is in the land of the Ziphites and the Ziphites act like the foreigners in terms of not having God before their eyes.

As you see in the end of verse 3 these are ruthless people who seek their life. Spurgeon says this King Saul has set his mind against David and the anointed one of God and the people in the kingdom act like the king without having regard for God's justice.

And so just as Saul ruthlessly seeks for David's life the Ziphites as well do the same. And as far as David is concerned people who ought to have no cause of enmity against him are now against him and causing his looking for his demise.

These people act not with the justice of God but with the as if they did not set God before their eyes they know that Saul has just killed the priest who had sheltered David and they are now aligning with Saul against David himself.

And then at that point he says Selah and I wanted to think about that for a moment because sometimes it is good for us to recognize what the problem is that we're facing like David boldly confronts here is the issue that I'm facing.

But he doesn't just stay in his trial as the only thing that he can keep his eyes. And on you know sometimes the trials come so close to us so big and fill our vision that that's all we can see. We see the trial and then that trial just sinks us down.

But here after boldly confronting his trial he just lets that rest. And you will see in verse 4 how his mind changes. Because while we are to bring our petitions before God the petition by itself the the trial by itself is not all there is that we are to talk about.

And we will apply this in a minute in our in our own lives as we once we finish the psalm after verse 3 once he has let that weight rest in he turns his eyes upon the nature of his God. He says behold God is my helper.

And I think this is one of those cries of faith where you know having looked at the trial around him there is a great confidence that the psalmist has in his cry of confidence in this God and he says God is my helper and the Lord Adonai master he is the one who is the upholder of my life.

Saul may be king but the Lord is the one who rules over all the universe and he is the one who is going to uphold my life. And here is something I think we want to be a little careful about David is going to start saying some things about his life on earth and what is going to happen to his enemies.

And sometimes when I am in my trial I'd like to think this way like maybe how I was last year this is my trial and this is how I'd like it answered. And then oh you know like some of the charismatic I know how God is going to answer it.

God likes me so he's going to answer it just the way that I wanted. So I'm going to start praising God for what he is going to do by rescuing me in this particular way out of my trial. And then God can I is obligated to do it my way because you know I've already prayed it.

You know I thank them for the solution that he's given me not so fast. Let me let me kind of give a little bit of context on why David prays this way and how we ought to be careful in order to pray according to God's will and not according to our will.

In in David's life God's revelation was given to him about who he was to be what was what was he called to be what was he. Well I'll give it away this word but anointed to be he was to be the next thing God had revealed through Samuel that this was the next king of Israel and here was the future king of Israel according to God's sovereign plan out hunted like a brigand by the current king of Israel.

So here is David who has the sure promise and assurance of God that this is what was to be that David was to be the king of Israel. And and he is praying in according to God in accordance with God's revelation upon his life.

He's speaking very specifically about what has already been revealed to him. And so here he is talking about and you will see in other songs to when it talks about the kingdom of God God has placed a covenant a promise upon the nation of Israel.

And when you see some of those national prayers that come up you you need to keep that broader context of the Old Testament that the psalmist isn't praying in accordance with. And here when we are speaking especially in terms of temporal trials whether it's a health issue whether it's financial we talked about a few of these last time we want to make sure that what we are praying for is in accordance with God's will.

And it does not mean that I just play pray so generically that it means nothing. I'm broken because my loved one is desperately ill but I'm going to just you know pray in a very bland and neutral way you know that I will be done.

No you want to pray with with the with a heartfelt need and fervor for the loved one that you care so deeply about. But you do not want to go down the path of saying you know I know what God's revealed will is in this particular circumstance and I just want to make sure I say that before we get further into this into this text because in verse 4 he says God is my helper the Lord is the upholder of my life he will return.

And this is the words I was going to talk about evil to my enemies and in your faithfulness put an end to them. So David here is cognizant of injustice and wickedness that is being done. If you just walk back one chapter you will see how David has actually killed the priests and his entire family just one of them escapes to come and be with David for just giving bread to David there was extreme wickedness that was being perpetrated by Dave by Saul and then now by the Zephyrites in aligning with with Saul and David brings the injustice that is before God to say God you uphold justice not for revenge according to my favor but according to your faithfulness.

You treat this according to your justice and you will repay them according to your wickedness to their wickedness. Yes yeah I in I could be corrected here but I'll tell you what I do know about some of these songs.

What is understood in a few of the songs that I've been studying is that while he is in the midst of his trial he actually does write them but then they are set to music and set as a song of praise later when he is actually rescued from it.

So this particular one I didn't see anything about it when it was written but having studied some of the other songs that he actually does right in the midst of his trial I actually assume that to be the case here.

But it you're right it may not have been so yeah. So once it is actually written it was meant to be sung forth as a praise in front of God. So and again it'll keep in with a theme of verses 6 and 7 David has been rescued and delivered by God and that's history.

And he does not want that to be forgotten and he wants that to be showcased as praise to God for what God has done in our in his life. And that ought to be the case in our lives as well. So no matter what desperate trial we go through.

Versus 6 and 7 showcase the response of gratitude and thankfulness that the psalmist has for his deliverance and that should characterize our lives as well. So here in verse 6 he says with a free will offering I will sacrifice to you.

And I want and I want to repeat what I said last week because while the pagan nations had this idea of quid pro quo you know I do this for God and God does this for me whereas in the believers life it is turned around.

And it is very very crucial that we recognize this. Because if we don't don't recognize this we do not understand grace. And we do not understand what salvation is in Jesus Christ. Because when God saves us he does not save us because we've done some good things we have followed some actions that are pleasing to God or given him some money or done this action or that action we've done nothing except bring our sin and God saves us from our sin.

I mean the worst thing. And like we read in Romans if God has rescued us from the most desperate of our problems would he not help us also in our times of need our temporal needs where we go through. And the same mindset is what is there in David's mind.

He has already prayed to God he has called upon God's strength he has laid his petition before him and he's looking for God's redemption. And in the confidence and the boldness of standing in God's presence he is assured of God's salvation from his current trial that he joyfully offers up his sacrifice.

He says I will give freely my offering before you. I will give thanks to your name O God. For it is good because he knows that his heart is overflowing with gratitude. And like Charlie corrected me this may have been written later but in some of the Psalms it actually happens while he is in the midst of his trial.

I can't remember the particular Psalm. There's a one where he's actually leaving when his son kicks him out of Jerusalem Absalom and that that Psalm he is. He is right in the midst of the trial when he's actually penning that.

But while he is meditating on the Lord his heart just bursts forth with praise. There is something that changes in him. And I'm kind of getting ahead of myself. But let let me just finish this verse. I will give thanks to your name O Lord.

For it is good for he has delivered me from every trouble and my eye has looked in triumph upon my enemies. And the idea here is while he his eyes have been fixed upon God when he is assured of God's absolute and complete sovereign control over his life he has great joy not only to thank him but also to recognize all that God has done in his life up until this point every trouble that he has gone forth until now God has rescued him.

You just have to begin with the chronology of David's life from you know being a little shepherd who fights Goliath all the way to where he is today and then henceforth till he will die. And he has a great confidence that God will actually enable him to be a victor over this this situation that he has been placed in.

How Psalm 54 Teaches Us to Pray in Trials

And so how does this apply to our lives. So as we go through our lives there are many wrong responses for us to take. One of the worst response that we can do is say what I call this the plaster effect.

You know I'm a Christian God is in sovereign control and I just let go and let God. You know God knows what to do over my life. And I will do. You know he'll take care of it. I'm just fine. The thing is when you're not fine you are not fine.

You need to be at a different place than that. And that is at the throne room of God in his presence on your knees. And that's what the day the psalmist is teaching us this God is in control. But we are to be at the feet of our King in the times of our need.

Because what will happen is this. Sometimes I can say you know I'm just going to pretend like this is just water flowing over the birds of a feather. But it doesn't because you're not glorified yet. Neither am I.

And I found that out very quickly because the more I try to pretend that the trial doesn't exist the more desperate does your situation become. And the heart just weighs you down a whole lot more faster than you ever can see.

And soon you won't recognize verse 3. You would not realize that there are enemies who are against you. You will just feel like you're your own worst enemy because you have no idea what is chasing you anymore.

What happens is when the trial comes in your way. We are to go before our ever-present ever-hearing and ever all-strong God. We need to bring our petitions before him. We need to be convinced in our own minds who is this God.

That we serve that we are before him. We are trusting in him in that particular trial through which he is going through. And when we do that we can draw great confidence because a mind that is just troubled by its trials can suddenly be freed from the anxieties.

We're going to get into Philippines in a minute. And and when we are when we are taken out from there that trial that what has become the cause of our oppression suddenly becomes the cause of great praise a cause of great thanksgiving.

And then is how the Christian glorifies God in the midst of his trial. Because the world can now see you. They can see the trial. They can see you under the trial. But they do not see the response that normal human beings have to those trials.

Because what happens is there is the power of God that is at work in you. Because you are now used by God to glorify him in a way that is just not natural it is supernatural. It demonstrates the power of God in a way that is just not possible on a human term.

And you bring glory to God. So let me move on to Philippines. So if you can actually let me stop here if you still have your page on your hand on 1st Samuel 23 you can see how God delivered him. Actually Bruce would you would you mind reading the rest of the chapter from verse 24 to 29.

Thank you once again. You see how God rescues David in this particular circumstance by the invasion of the Philistines. And when you think about the sovereign rule of God it is just beyond our mind how God rescues his people.

And if you just keep reading through 1st Samuel you just see case after case how God just rescues David but David is still faithful to obey God even when he has Saul in his in his sights. Amen. I'll just add one small thing to it.

I mean that was just excellently summarized. You know when when you're going through your trial sometimes you may have opportunities to solve your trial in your own way but like Pastor Dave just said he committed his ways to the Lord and then let God be the judge of that circumstance.

And yeah and I think you know and that shows the confidence that David had in God resolving this ultimately rather than obeying the voice of his fellow men in killing Saul. So let's move on to Philippians 4 6 to 9.

I'll just read that. And then we'll we'll go through a few questions in terms of how do you look through anxiety and worry that might come to you in your time of in your time of trial. Philippians 4 verse 6.

Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus.

We'll say. Finally brothers whatever is true whatever is honorable whatever is just whatever is pure whatever is lovely whatever is commendable if there is any excellence if there is anything worthy of praise think about these things what you have learned and her received and heard and seen in me practice these things and the God of peace will be with you.

Let me quickly go through these questions that you have in your in your sheet. And hopefully we'll tie them together with the psalm in a minute. Question 1. What is the command given at the beginning of verse 6.

I just don't wait for me to for your hands. Just blurt it out when you have it be anxious for nothing. And what is the sin that Paul you think is confronting in this verse. Worrying. Yeah. And Jesus talks about in Matthew.

You know do not worry why. Because God is in control. And you have absolutely no control of what is going to happen in your life. Trust in God. Not in your verse 3 in handling the future rightly rather than trying to fix it which is impossible.

What is the one thing that Paul commands us to do again. Verse 6. And so that is the one recourse that God has given to all Christians. So no matter what trial we have what we are anticipating. Prayer and supplication is what God has ordained for us to use as we address our trials.

Well question 4. A prayer to God regarding the outcome of the future includes supplication and request. Another word for both of these is petition which is what we saw in the psalm. The section third section was petition.

So what does it mean to petition. This is a general question. What do you think a word petition generally means yes. Asking for the law to intercede. Now when you do a human petition how do you normally make a petition in writing.

And what would you normally say when you write. Grant me X. Would you normally stop there. You'd normally say because of why. Right. You would normally say here is what I need and here is why I need it.

And I think your question probably has that too. If you turn your sheet around to question number five did you ever think about giving God your reasons why he should answer your prayer. I'm not going to go there.

Exodus 32 7 to 13 has this in event between God Mount Sinai Moses receiving the commandments. And then here you have the people of Israel down before an idolatrous crowd. And when God is here to punish the Israelites Moses intercedes for them on their behalf.