Psalm 56 - Going to Higher Ground
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To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” A Michtam of David When the Philistines Captured Him in Gath. 1 Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up; Fighting all day he oppresses me. 2 My enemies would hound me all day, For there are many who fight against me, O Most High. 3 Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. 4 In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me? 5 All day they twist my words; All their thoughts are against me for evil. 6 They gather together, They hide, they mark my steps, When they lie in wait for my life. 7 Shall they escape by iniquity? In anger cast down the peoples, O God! 8 You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book? 9 When I cry out to You, Then my enemies will turn back; This I know, because God is for me. 10 In God (I will praise His word), In the Lord (I will praise His word), 11 In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? 12 Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You, 13 For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, That I may walk before God In the light of the living?
In this passage
David is going to God with his day long attacks from his enemies....
he says 3 times here “fighting all day.... he oppress me.... my enemies hound me all day, and all day they twist my words”
the attacks are constant, they are relentless,
its hounding
the attacks from people seeking to harm him and end him
he describes it as being a fight,
that if they could they would swallow him up
they been hounding him
think like a vicious dog
just panting for its chance to attack
they lie in wait for him
they mark his steps
to see where he is
and where he is going
They twist his words to make it seem he said something else
they people think evil towards him
so it has made David feel afraid
and what we can learn from David is that
in life scary things happen
things may happen that cause us to fear
but we dont need need to live in fear
instead he shows by his words and example
how he goes to God
which changes from him saying
“whenever I am afraid”
to saying 2 times “I will not fear”
so
How does David first go to God here?
as verse 9 says he cries out to God
He cries out to God!!
expressing it 3 times in this passage
by saying “oh God”
reading it in this passage you
feel the emotion behind it.
and in verse 2 “Oh most High”
David takes his battles to higher ground
what a lesson for us.
(((my boys going to me)))
“no higher ground then our Heavenly Father”
So he cries out to God
and in this passage we see David
explaining to God
all that they had been doing.
another lesson for us
yes God knows ...but tell Him
go tattle tale on the enemy
dont complain to others about it
Tell God
David says what they are are doing
He is asking God if he is going to do something about in verse 7
He isnt holding back.
May we learn from David and tell God what it is.
Now maybe sometimes
all you can say is
God you know
Please help
While thats a great prayer
May we not just say that prayer in lazyness
because its good for us to tell God
like we see David doing here.
but the key action David takes is
he places his trust in God
trust - to where you put your confidence in,
where you feel safe in, to rely on
it has a sense of well being, and security,
he starts off saying “I will trust” then says
2 times later “I have put my trust”(v.4, 11)
while it shows us David applying the trust in God
it also worth us noting
is that each time he says
“I have “put” my trust
it comes after he says I will praise His Word
Showing us his great appreciation
in God’s Word in troubling times.
Our trust in God is
because of what we know of Him through His Word
and through His Word we know what He has done
and what He will do!
Because of His Word we share with David
what He says in verse 13
13 For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, That I may walk before God In the light of the living?
What great reminders and promises like this
we can hold onto from His Word
when we are in the battles.
Teaching us a great practice
when we are in the mode
of labeling, and counting, all the problems
to remember His promises,
to be reminded of what He has done
Yes all day the enemy attacks
Yes I feel the oppressive, attacks hounding me
but God has kept my feet from falling
He has delivered my soul from death
as verse 9 says “He is for me”
God isnt against me!
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
In this passage we also see God’s great care
in one of my favorite Bible verses
in verse 8
8 You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?
He counts my wanderings
this just makes me think of the times when facing
challenges when you feel lost and dont know what to do
or when your pacing around back and forth
thinking through all the ottions
Or maybe like we you just try to get away
He counts the wanderings
He numbers them
Shows us He knows, He is aware
He puts our tears in His bottle
there was ancient practice possibly being refered here
where they would collect their own tears in a bottle
So I love here making the contrast that
He collects our tears in HIS bottle
No tear is wasted or forgotten
Its recorded
What that does for me
is that while yes its hard
and I dont know why
I dont understand why God doesn't just stop it
it helps to know He sees, He cares,
He loves,
He sees each tear that falls.
He has saved my soul from death
He has kept my feet from falling
All I can do is trust Him!
and give praise for His Word
for its reminders and promises it brings.
I cant fight this battle
on my own
I have to take it to higher ground
to the Most High
1. Crying out to Him
2. Trust Him / rely on Him
3. Give praise for His Word
He is for you not against You,
He records each tear He remembers them
He has saved our souls from death
He has kept our feet from falling
So going to God is the greatest weapon we have
verse 9 says
9 When I cry out to You, Then my enemies will turn back; This I know, because God is for me.
our enemies are nothing compared to God
when we go to God
we will be reminded how much bigger He is
and puts our enemies, problems, into a proper perspective.
So as David said twice here in saying
what can flesh do to me
and what can man do to me?
Dave comes up
may we take our battles to the higher ground
where the all powerful God who cares for us is
This is not a promise
for God to get rid of all our problems
but to go to God when we face them
because God is the higher ground
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
to trust Him, to remember He is for us,
and all He has done
and all He will do.
so when we like David and whenever we are afraid, we wont be afraid
because we trust Him
we know His Word
He is for us.
13 For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’
The best thing to do when we face those trying times
is to trust Him
7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
In these songs may we
1. Cry out to Him
2. Trust Him / rely on Him
3. Give praise for His Word