In Our Distress
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 4 viewsNotes
Transcript
[SLIDE 1] Introduction
If you have your Bible, then please turn to Psalm 120
A Song of Ascents. 1 In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. 2 Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. 3 What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue? 4 A warrior’s sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree! 5 Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar! 6 Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. 7 I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!
Illustration
Let me begin by asking you a question, “When was the last time you called 9-1-1 or the emergency line?
Usually, you call 9-1-1 when you require immediate assistance from emergency services.
Now, many years ago, there was a video that went viral on the internet where little Johnny was struggling with his math homework.
One day, he did not know how to solve a subtraction question.
Frustration turned into desperation.
So, what did he do?
He did what every kid shouldn’t do in that specific situation: He dialed 9-1-1.
Now, during that time, he was only four years old, so we’ll cut him some slacks.
So, the operator answered the call, and Johnny told him that he needed help with his math.
And the operator was compassionate and obliged to help little Johnny out.
Johnny wasn’t able to figure out what “16 take away 8” was OR what “5 take away 5” was.
Just then, his mother storms in and asked Johnny, “What do you think you’re doing?”
Johnny says, “The policeman is helping me with my math!”
Mother replied, “What did I tell you about going on the phone?”
Johnny replied, “Well you told me to call somebody if I needed help!”
Mother says, “I didn’t mean the police!”
Well, I don’t know if Johnny knew what a true emergency was, but I think Johnny knew that he desperately and sincerely needed help, and so he called for help.
Brothers and sisters, I wonder, what do you do when you’re in a moment of emergency, distress, and in desperate need of help?
What should you do when you’re surrounded by trouble?
Context
Last week, Dr. Herb Sturhahn started off our summer series in the Song of Ascents.
Some of the guest speakers will cover other Song of Ascents from Psalm 120-134.
I don’t intend to give a detailed introduction or explanation of the Song of Ascents as Dr. Sturhahn covered it in his message.
But, in the superscription, or the title, just before verse 1, it says, “A Song Of Ascents.”
Some of you may not know this, but this is actually God’s word. It is in the Hebrew Old Testament.
It is not a heading that the translators added.
So, I think we should read it if Psalms is in the Scripture Reading.
Dr. Sturhahn gave various explanations for the Song of Ascents and what it means.
Basically, the Song of Ascents is known as the Pilgrim Psalms as the Jews make their way to Jerusalem and worship in the temple.
Today, we’re going to look at Psalm 120. It’s going to teach us the importance of calling upon the LORD in our moment of distress.
Psalm 120 is the first of the Song of Ascents.
Now, why is this Psalm placed first?
It is unclear why this is the first of its collection.
OT scholar - Allen Ross - gives one possible explanation.
He says that Psalm 120 sets the tone for the difficulty of worshipping the LORD with militant opposition. Psalm 120 expresses the tension of trying to live in peace when surrounded by enemies who only want conflict until they get what they want.
Furthermore, sometimes, the superscription or title would indicate who the composer of the Psalm is.
For example, if you jump to Psalm 122, it says, “A Song Of Ascents. Of David.”
In other words, Psalm 122 was composed by King David.
But, we do not know for sure who composed Psalm 120.
Some suggest it might have been written by King David.
Some suggest it might have been written by one of the prophets.
But, we can’t be too certain of either option.
So, we can safely say that this is one of the Songs of Ascents where the composer is anonymous.
And what we can be certain about is that this is the word of the living God who inspired this text for our instruction.
Since Psalm is a poetry, some of the poetric features are parallelism and imagery.
If you have studied Chinese poetry, you may notice some similarities.
For example:
In verse 2, lying lips parallels with deceitful tongue where it repeats the same idea but with a different phrase.
In verse 3, what shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you. The second line expands upon the first line.
In verse 5, sojourning in Meschech is paralleled to dwellong among the tents of Kedar. The second line expands upon the first line.
You get the point, but knowing these poetic features can enrich your understanding of the Psalms.
So, this text teaches us an important lesson that is summarized in this applicational statement:
[SLIDE 2] In our moments of distress, we turn to God in prayer, seek His deliverance, and desire peace.
Exposition
[SLIDE 3] 1. Distress In Prayer (v.1)
We see that the Psalmist is experiencing distress: “in my distress...”
It means that he was experiencing anxiety and that he is in need of rescue or deliverance.
Why was the Psalmist in distress?
We get the idea in the content of his prayer.
Take a look at the end of verse 7.
His distress is prompted by those who are waging war.
Those who are for war are also those who have lying lips and deceitful tongue.
And these people are not for peace, but are for violence.
Plus, the Psalmist was likely not in the land of Israel.
Take a look at verse 5.
Perhaps, he was away from Israel.
He’s sojourning in foreign lands like Meschech and Kedar.
Was he away from God’s people, God’s promised land, and God’s presence?
Being away from those key things could lead towards distress.
If that’s the case, then why was he away?
He probably might have been in exile from the promised land.
There is a historical background to the exile.
If you know the story of the Old Testament, God’s people were living in the promised Land from the book of Joshua until 2 Kings.
If you know God’s relationship with Israel, it is based on their covenant relationship.
God established a covenant with Israel back in Exodus 20.
In essence, because God rescued them from Egyptian slavery, God promised the Israelites that He’ll bless them if they promise to walk in obedience to Him.
But, God also promised that He’ll curse them if they break their covenant relationship with Him.
The history of Israel was a pattern of sinful rebellion and the neglecting of God’s law.
And God has been very patient and gracious towards His people.
Yet, God is also the judge.
Ultimately, He judged His people by exiling them from the promised Land, from the land of Israel, to the nation of Babylon.
So, what does the Psalmist do in his distress?
Take a look at verse 1: “I called to the LORD, and he answered me.”
He turns to God when he’s surrounded by trouble.
When he’s surrounded by those who seek to harm him.
When he’s surrounded by ungodly people.
He called to the LORD (YHWH - God’s personal name).
He cried out to Him in prayer.
Prayer to God is an appropriate response in distress.
In our human mind, prayer just sometimes seems to be the most counterintuitive response to distress.
I know I’m guilty of this.
Prayer is not always the first thing I would do in an emergency situation.
I would rather do something practical about the situation.
However, lack of prayer may be sign of our lack of dependance and trust in the LORD in our distress.
And we also have to recognize that there are a lot of things in this world that are out of our control. For example:
A colleague of mine who pastors a church in Texas got a heart attack, but thankfully, he’s sedated.
The wars happening in Ukraine & Russia, Israel and Hamas, and potential war between China and Taiwan.
The uncertainty of the future that fuels our anxiety.
People’s actions and decisions that that affect the families, schools, churches, communities, cities, and nations.
While we could take small actions, I think we need to recognize the reality of human limitations.
So, there is a sense in which this statement is true: “All we can do is pray.”
The Bible teaches us that we are to pray constantly and pray unceasingly.
And that we are not to 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 minds in Christ Jesus.
James 1:5 also says this in the context of facing the trials of life, “if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
So, we learn that prayer, crying out to the LORD was the Psalmist’s response in his distress.
Not only that, take a look at the second half of verse 1.
The Psalmist also has confidence that the LORD answered him.
Where does his confidence come from? Why does he have such confidence?
I think it is because of his past difficulty.
The LORD answered him in the past.
The LORD watched over him and protected him.
This is a good lesson for us to remember.
We need to learn to count our blessings of what the Lord has done for us in the past.
I recognize that our Canadian economy is not in a good place.
Some of you may be concerned with the inflation and the rising cost of living.
However, let me encourage you to look to our LORD who is the Provider.
Let me encourage you to remember how much God has provided for you in the past.
If He was with you in the past, you can have confidence that He’ll be with you in the present and in the future.
Brothers and sisters, do you have confidence that the LORD answers you?
Calling upon the Lord in distress is a repeated theme in the book of Psalms and in the OT.
We have a situation where David prayed almost a similar prayer in Psalm 18:6.
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.
Psalm 18 is all about the Lord’s deliverance of David from all his enemies and from king Saul.
It’s the LORD who fought for David and bring His people to victory.
Jonah also prayed in Jonah 2:2.
2 saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.
Jonah was running away from the LORD when he was called to go to Nineveh.
Jonah was thrown into the sea until God sent a great fish to swallow up Jonah.
In this situation, Jonah felt that he was dead inside the fish.
But, the LORD delivered him.
So, the application we can learn from verse 1 is to cry out to God in our distress.
It is an invitation to humbly lament before our God during trouble times, and trust in the sovereignty of God over our situation.
[SLIDE 4] 2. Deliverance From Plight (vv.2-4)
Here, we see the Psalmist is pleading the Lord to do something: “Deliver me, O LORD.”
He’s calling upon the LORD to deliver him.
To rescue him.
To pull him away from the danger that he’s about to be in.
This reminds us of firefights who go into the burning building to rescue survivors and pull them away from danger.
That’s the picture we are getting, I think.
But, it’s more than merely delivering him from danger.
It also about securing him in safety.
What exactly is Psalmist asking YHWH to deliver him from?
Specifically, we’re given two, yet similar, descriptions.
From lying lips
This is someone who has a breach of faith.
This is used in the context of bearing false witness in the legal context (cf. Matthew 26:59-62).
From deceitful tongue.
Treacherous tongue.
This person is a fraud.
He’s deceptive.
This verse also parallels with verse 3 because “deceitful tongue” is repeated.
It is unclear what exactly they were lying about.
Regardless, for the Psalmist, his enemies were speaking lies and bearing false witness about him.
So, he’s seeking the LORD for deliverance from plight.
How would the Psalmist respond to those who accused him?
Take a look at verse 3.
3 What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue?
A more literal way to translate this verse is this: What shall He give to you, and what shall He add to you, O deceitful tongue?
The Psalmist is shifting from his prayer and focusing on his enemies.
He is like looking at the eyes of those who have caused him the distress.
He asks them questions. These questions are meant to taunt his opponents - deceptive tongues - with a threat from God.
God is going to do something to His enemies, and He’s going to do EVEN MORE violence.
This then leads us to verse 4.
4 A warrior’s sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree!
The image that we are given may be that God is the warrior that uses the hot coals from the broom tree to develop and sharpen his arrows that can pierce through his enemies.
Now, we should remember that this is poetry.
It is not like God is literally a warrior dressed up in armour and ready to go to war like what you would see in the Lord Of The Rings.
This is a violent description of God.
Derek Kidner: “The liar, wounding though his weapons are, will be destroyed with far more potent shafts than lies: God’s arrows of truth and coals of judgment.”
Here is something important that we can learn from the Psalmist.
He knows this to be true of God.
We are given a “balanced” understanding of who God is in this Psalm.
First, He’s the God who listens to our prayer.
Second, He’s the God who delivers us.
Third, He’s the God who takes vengeance. (Deut. 32:35; Psalm 94:1).
The Psalmist doesn’t seek vengeance upon his enemies.
He knows that God will judge His enemies.
He knows that God is the God of vengeance.
1 O Lord, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth! 2 Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!
Now, you may be shocked to hear about the God of vengeance.
But God’s vengeance is all about God’s punishment.
It is about God’s judgment and punishment upon His enemies for inflicting harm and injustice upon His people.
When God made a covenant with Abraham, God promised this to Abraham in Genesis 12:3:
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
It wasn’t just Abraham who received this blessing, but his descendants also.
Now, you may feel like saying this, “Well, that is the God of the Old Testament. Jesus is not like that. I follow Jesus.”
Well, you have two big problems:
First, Jesus is the God of the Old Testament. He’s the 2nd Person of the Trinity.
In the New Testament, there is a tiny letter written by Jude.
And Jude 5 says that Jesus is the One who saved the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.
How were the Israelites rescued from Egypt?
God sent the 10 plagues.
And you want to know who brought the 10 plagues upon Pharaoh and Egypt? Jesus.
Jesus is the same God who also punished the Israelites in the wilderness who did not believe.
Second, we know Jesus Christ came the 1st time as a humble baby, lived the perfect life, died on the cross to save those who repent of their sins and believe in Him for salvation, to be buried and raised again on the 3rd day.
And Jesus ascended back into heaven, seated at the Father’s right hand, ruling heaven and earth.
And Jesus promised that He will return the 2nd time.
On His first coming, He came as a Lamb.
On His 2nd coming, He’ll come as a Lion.
And on His 2nd coming, it’ll be the day of vengeance. It’ll be a day of recompense.
Revelation 19:11 describes Jesus riding on a white horse and He’s coming back to judge and make war upon His enemies.
This is the God whom we praise and worship.
What’s amazing about this God is that while He is the God of vengeance and justice, He is also the God of love and grace and patience.
God delays His vengeance in order to give time for sinners to repent, to turn away from their sins, and turn to Him for salvation.
So, if you’re not a Christian this morning, I pray and hope that this is the day of salvation for you.
This God - Jesus - came into the world to save sinners and to die for His enemies by paying the penalty of our sins so that our sins can be forgiven.
We were all His enemies before becoming Christians.
But, through faith in Christ, we can be reconciled to a saving relationship with God.
Through faith in the person and work of Jesus, we go from being enemies of God to children of God.
Psalm 120 teaches us what it is like to live as children of God.
We get to call out our Abba Father in our time of distress.
We get to see what it is like to live as children of God.
So, for the Psalmist, he doesn’t seek vengeance upon His enemies.
Instead, the Psalmist seeks for God’s deliverance while pursuing peace with his enemies.
[SLIDE 5] 3. Desire For Peace (vv.5-7)
The Psalmist says this at the beginning of verse 5: “Woe is me.”
In Hebrew, “woe is me” is an expression of being a fool.
It’s like saying in English, “Oh I blew up…or I dropped the ball…or I made a blunder!”
The Psalmist expresses grief and regret for being foolish by travelling to Meshech and Kedar.
Now, Meshech is located North of Israel.
The people in Meschech were mountain dwellers in Asia Minor, which is modern day Turkey.
Kedar is located South of Israel.
They’re a tribe in the Syrian-Arabian desert between Egypt and Edom.
The Psalmist’s sojourning is paralleled to his dwelling.
Sojourn is meant to convey temporance.
Dwell is meant to convey permanence.
I think the parallelism is trying to communicate the intensity of the Psalmist’s displacement and hostility in foreign places.
Some commentators would suggest that the Psalmist wasn’t literally living in those places because they’re so far apart geographcally, but they argue that Meshech and Kedar are metaphors for living in pagan nations.
Whether he’s living in one place temporarily to another place permanently, the Psalmist is constantly in distress during his time in exile.
The Psalmist did not feel at home living in the midst of ungodly people.
He laments at the reality that he’s anywhere but in the promised land.
The Psalmist continues to write in parallelism from the end of verse 5 to verse 6.
I dwell among the tents of Kedar...
Too long have I had my dwelling AMONG those who hate peace.
He’s exhausted in living in an area that hates peace.
While the Psalmist had the desire for peace, he wasn’t able to experience it amongst the ungodly.
He says in verse 7: “I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!”
What is peace? What is it about this peace that the ungodly hate?
In Hebrew, peace is called, “Shalom.”
Jews often use Shalom on casual conversation to mean hello and goodbye (peace to you).
When dig deeper into the word study, Shalom means...
Completeness or well-being, not merely just an absent of war.
In this context, it seems like the Psalmist does not want to have conflict with anyone.
He doesn’t want to start a war.
He doesn’t want to fight with anyone.
He wants relationship with people.
He wants peace.
Yet, these ungodly and heathens don’t want peace. They want war.
They are barbaric.
They wage war. They fight against peace.
They caused distress for the Psalmist.
They do not know the God of peace so that they can receive peace from God through justification by faith in Christ alone.
That’s the flow of the Psalms.
He is distress, but he doesn’t just sit there.
At the end, he pursues peace.
Not just personal peace.
Not just peace with God.
But, he wants social, cultural, and political peace despite the oppositions he’s facing.
This is the thematic framework of Psalm 120 from beginning to end.
Why does this matter to you?
If Meschech and Kedar represent the pagan world that is hostile, we are living in Meshech and Kedar.
I think we can relate to the Psalmist as we dwell in the midst of a godless society that has abandoned God and His Word.
Truly, as believers in the Lord Jesus, we are reminded again that we are sojourners.
Scripture talks about how we are currently living in exile.
This is a reminder that this place is ultimately not our home.
The Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:20
20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Second, while we are living in exile, the attitude of the Psalmist should challenge us to desire peace.
The New Testament teaches us many things about peace.
[SLIDE 6] So, I want you to turn to Matthew 5 and Romans 12.
Jesus taught in the Matthew 5:9
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Being a peacemaker is the mark of believers who belong in the kingdom of God.
What does it look like to be a peacemaker?
Jesus explains later on in Matthew 5:44-45.
Matthew 5:44–45 (ESV)
44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.
Our responsibility is not to avenge ourselves, but to love our enemies and pray for them and ultimately leave the punishment up to God.
Turn to Romans 12:14-21. If you’re using the ESV, the heading should say, “Marks of the True Christian.”
This passage provides a comprehensive and mandatory list of traits that characterize the Christian life.
It describes the life where believers are filled with the Spirit of God.
Really, this section is going to tell us how we as Christians are to treat others, especially those who would consider us as enemies.
This ties nicely with the previous section about leaving vengeance up to God.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
There are so much to say about this passage in Romans.
Ideally, we would want to live like that, but I think we obviously fall short of this instruction.
We may be unforgiving and bitter towards those who speak ill of us as Christians.
But, what should motivate us to live this way is by looking towards Jesus Christ.
We are to forgive our enemies because Christ forgave us when we trusted Him for our salvation.
We are to love our enemies because Christ loved His enemies by dying for them.
Ultimately, those who wage war on God’s people are in a dangerous position.
Why is that?
Well, who will win this war, ultimately?
The LORD.
As God’s people, we’re on the winning side.
Conclusion / Application
[SLIDE 7] In summary, we have learned this lesson:
In our moments of distress, we turn to God in prayer, seek His deliverance, and desire peace.
We saw:
The Distress In Prayer (v.1)
The Deliverance From Plight (vv.2-4)
The Desire For Peace (vv.5-7)
While you may not call to God for help about your math questions, you can call to Him in your troubles, whatever that may be.
[SLIDE 8] So, may God’s eternal truth be written in your heart as we close in prayer.
