When Fear Meets Faith
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
To the chief Musician upon Jonath-elem-recho-kim, Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath.
1 Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up;
He fighting daily oppresseth me.
2 Mine enemies would daily swallow me up:
For they be many that fight against me, O thou most High.
3 What time I am afraid,
I will trust in thee.
4 In God I will praise his word,
In God I have put my trust; I will not fear
What flesh can do unto me.
5 Every day they wrest my words:
All their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They gather themselves together, they hide themselves,
They mark my steps,
When they wait for my soul.
7 Shall they escape by iniquity?
In thine anger cast down the people, O God.
8 Thou tellest my wanderings:
Put thou my tears into thy bottle:
Are they not in thy book?
9 When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back:
This I know; for God is for me.
10 In God will I praise his word:
In the Lord will I praise his word.
11 In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid
What man can do unto me.
12 Thy vows are upon me, O God:
I will render praises unto thee.
13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling,
That I may walk before God in the light of the living?
In our text tonight, David is not having a good day at all.
The superscription gives the exact occasion of the writing of this Psalm. It was when the Philistines took David in Gath. The incident is recorded in 1 Samuel 21 :10-15. The word "Michtam" means "a prayer." So we can deduce that this Psalm is a prayer of David concerning those who were out to take his life.
Saul, the king of Israel, had determined to kill David (1 Sam 20), so David had gone to wherever Saul least likely suspected him to be. Remember that Gath was the home of Goliath, the giant whom David had killed in 1 Samuel 17. David was certainly not expecting a welcome party when he arrived; and to add insult to injury, David had walked into the hometown of Goliath with Goliath’s old sword in his hand…When David arrived in Gath, the people recognized him and seized him. Fearing that he might be killed, David pretended to be insane, which apparently worked!
Reading this text in it’s entirety, we find that David encouraged himself in the mercy, mindfulness, and might of God.
This is a great example set before us on how to face a hopeless situation, so for a little while tonight, I’d like to preach on the subject of “When Fear Meets Faith” - I want you to notice first of all:
I. GOD IS MERCIFUL
I. GOD IS MERCIFUL
1 Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up;
He fighting daily oppresseth me.
2 Mine enemies would daily swallow me up:
For they be many that fight against me, O thou most High.
David was in great and constant danger from many enemies – both the Philistines and Saul’s servants. He cried out to God, knowing that divine help could rescue him from any man-made threat. He appealed to the mercy of God, not relying on what he may or may not deserve.
Mercy is what we all need, for it is the other side of grace . Grace is receiving what we do not deserve, while mercy is not receiving what we do deserve.
David seeks the Lord's help in the situation.
David wastes no time, he spills it all right out to the Lord.
He accuses his enemies of being:
Eager: This is implied in the phrase "for man would swallow me up."
Numerous: David said, "For they be many that fight against me." The godly soul has many enemies. The world, the flesh, and the devil seem to have many allies. We have enemies within and enemies without.
Constant: "Mine enemies would daily." There seems to be no let up. When one enemy slows to rest, another steps in.
Dishonest: "They wrest my words . . ." (v. 5). They twisted and perverted every word he said, so as to get from them a meaning which he never intended, and by which they might injure him.
Confederate: "They gather themselves together . . ." (v. 6). The enemies of David combined against him. It was a known fact that the Sadducees and Pharisees could not get along at all; but when Jesus arrived on the scene, they quickly formed an opposing coalition. This is always the case.
Secret: "They hide themselves . . ." (v. 6). They would lie in wait like some wild animal, ready to jump on its prey . The designs of evil are crafty and cunning. The people of God have to guard against the Wiles of the devil, the Weakness of the flesh, and the Ways of the world.
Cruel: "They wait for my soul" (v . 6). The enemies of David sought to take his life. Our spiritual enemies seek not only to deprive us of physical life but also to ensnare and ruin our eternal soul.
No wonder David began this Psalm by asking for mercy and mediation in the face of such foes. He cried out to God!
This must also be our first reaction when we are overwhelmed, opposed, alone, or afraid. Our approach should not be, “When all else fails, pray.”
Prayer is not a last resort; it should be your first choice!
Look at what he writes next:
3 What time I am afraid,
I will trust in thee.
4 In God I will praise his word,
In God I have put my trust; I will not fear
What flesh can do unto me.
It is no sin to be afraid at times, but our fear should never take the place of faith. To trust God at all times is not only a privilege but also a duty of every believer-particularly when we are afraid.
One of the greatest blessings is also one of the hardest things a man will ever do, and that is simply trust in the Lord.
There will be times when you cannot track Him, but you must trust Him anyway…No matter what!
In verse 4, we find praise…Faith is always the forerunner of praise...
Faith receives, rests on and rejoices in the Word of God!
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
What we see here with David is faith and trust had overcome fear and the flesh, and praise was the natural result!
II. GOD IS MINDFUL
II. GOD IS MINDFUL
5 Every day they wrest my words:
All their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They gather themselves together, they hide themselves,
They mark my steps,
When they wait for my soul.
7 Shall they escape by iniquity?
In thine anger cast down the people, O God.
This is interesting…David’s enemies had not gone away. They were still there, congregating outside his cell, mocking him, telling him what they planned on doing with him…And David encourages himself in God.
The attacks against David were not only violent; they were also devious, with the twisting and distortion of his words and intentions. His many enemies constantly plotted against him for evil, hoping to lie in wait and kill David with a surprise attack.
David asked a question in verse 7 which the answer was obvious. It may seem that evil is on the throne in our day. But you can rest assured this will not last forever .
Wickedness will not stand; God will avenge His own. God is mindful of David’s trouble!
8 Thou tellest my wanderings:
Put thou my tears into thy bottle:
Are they not in thy book?
9 When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back:
This I know; for God is for me.
In these verses we have contrasted the tenderness of God with the tyranny of the enemy.
First, David points out the perfection of Divine knowledge. "The Lord numbers our wandering." He took note of David's every step.
Next David speaks of God's concern for His own. Our very tears are treasured by the Lord . Tears are a manifestation of David’s sorrow right here.
Let me ask you this...If you pay attention when your children cry, how much more does God notice His children?
Verse 8 tells us that God is so concerned that He saves our tears. And there is a day coming when He shall wipe away all tears!
Let us remember when our circumstances seem to frown that God is watching. When we cannot sleep at night, when we pace the floor agonizing over a lost loved one, a wayward child, a threatened lay-off, God is watching. He is mapping out our footsteps, gathering up our tears.
10 In God will I praise his word:
In the Lord will I praise his word.
11 In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid
What man can do unto me.
Notice the "I will's" and the "I have." God has delivered David from imminent danger and death time and again.
Because of that, David, concludes, what God has already done indicates what He will do. So his past experiences were an assurance of the future.
God is merciful, God is mindful, and thirdly:
III. GOD IS MIGHTY
III. GOD IS MIGHTY
12 Thy vows are upon me, O God:
I will render praises unto thee.
13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling,
That I may walk before God in the light of the living?
God is so mighty that David can look upon his deliverance from the men of Gath as already accomplished.
David mentions vows and future offerings in verses 12–13.
Keep in mind, David says this while he’s still in the fearful throes of Gath with King Saul and his army on his heels.
Yet David promises to render “praises” to God (v. 12) because he knows that he’s praying to the God who “delivered my soul from death” and kept “my feet from falling” (v. 13).
Although enemies may assail your steps, and trouble may pack your path, God has the power to keep your feet from faltering.
In this psalm that begins with such a bleak picture of being overwhelmed and overtaken by trouble, David ends by saying he was rescued in order to “walk before God in the light of the living” (v. 13).
God is mighty! He takes us from death to life, from darkness to light. Instead of stumbling, we walk by faith in the God who saves.
David knew he was weak…He needed God to keep him.
May we, like David, encourage ourselves in the Lord when we find the enemies of life, when we face the trouble of life. Whatever it is that we face, we can trust in our merciful, mindful, and mighty God.