Psalm 7 - Safe with the Sovereign

Psalm 7 Safe with the Sovereign 2019-06-23 Find refuge in the Lord; he saves those who call to him. This morning we’re studying Psalm 7, but I want to begin our study this morning by looking at 2 Samuel 16:5-14. Do you have days where you struggle with the way things are? Maybe your health, maybe your work, maybe your family, maybe things in the larger world. You look out and things don’t seem right, and you’re not sure what you can do to change them. Scripture Passage: Psalm 7:1-17 Struggling with the injustices you see around you. David saw many injustices, and several that were directly contrary to him and his well-being. But David called to the Lord and found refuge in the Lord. Find refuge in the Lord; he saves those who call to him. This passage is going to lead us to five questions as we work our way through. Where do you turn for help? (vv.1-2) 1. v.1 “O LORD my God, in you do I take refuge…” - David turns to the Lord in his troubles. He calls out to Yahweh, the great I AM of Exodus 3:14. It’s there that he seeks sanctuary, safety, shelter. Storms of life are battering him and he’s out in the elements, susceptible to their abuses. But in the LORD he finds a place of protection. 2. v.2 “Lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.” - David compares his enemies to a lion. They would destroy him, body and soul. 1. We also have a very real enemy who is seeking to destroy us. 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Revelation 12:10 refers to him as “the accuser of our brothers… who accuses them day and night before our God.” He works through various ways and means, but his objective is always the same - to tear down and destroy. 2. Do you seek refuge in the Lord? Or do you resort to other means of refuge? Do you look for help in the wisdom of the world, in distraction and diversion, or in yourself? The only real help, especially when we’re falsely accused, is in the Lord. He knows all and sees all and it is to Him that we finally answer. Transition: David turns to the Lord for refuge, and he seeks the Lord inquiring, which brings us to the second question. Have you searched your heart? (vv.3-5) 1. v.3 “O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands…” - David seems to pause and search and inquire. If he is guilty of repaying a friend with evil, or treating an opponent wrongly, he says he is deserving of his enemy destroying him. 1. This is a difficult process but a necessary one. David doesn’t just ignore the accusations, but he considers them seriously. He brings them before the Lord in searching prayer. But notice that David also doesn’t automatically assume that the accusations are true. I think our tendency is to one extreme or the other. Either we assume they’re untrue and don’t give them any consideration, or we assume they’re true without giving them consideration. 2. This section in vv.3-5 ends with Selah, which I understand to be some sort of break or change in the music, a time for pause and meditation. From this pause, this searching and inquiring, David emerges in vv.6-11 with great confidence. Who is your Judge? (vv.6-11) 1. v.8 “…judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.” David calls on the Lord to judge, to arise over the people of Israel and call the court into session. And David makes this statement that, at first reading, is astounding. He calls on the Lord to judge him according to his righteousness and integrity. Doesn’t that seem like that’s just asking for fire to come down from heaven? 1. But we must realize that David isn’t pleading innocence and sinlessness in all of life. He is referring to the accusations leveled against him by his enemies in this case, and after pause, searching, and inquiring, David is confident of his innocence in this matter. So he calls on the Lord to judge. 2. It was what we had come to expect from a Tijuana Mexico traffic stop. In a multi-lane roundabout that made no sense and seemed to follow no right-of-way rules, my friend got pulled over by the police. We were down on a short-term missions trip during summer break to build a house for a family in need. There he was, on the side of the road, as the police officer approached his window. My friend hadn’t done anything wrong; it seemed he was targeted because he was an American, and the police officer was now trying to get him to hand over some cash before he would let him go. But little did the police officer realize that my friend had met the Chief of Police just the day before, and left the meeting with his business card. As the police officer demanded some sort of cash payment, my friend pulled out the Chief of Police’s business card, then his cell phone, and began dialing. The police officer could see the card and realized this wasn’t a conversation he wanted to be part of. He wished my friend well and sent him on his way. 3. We have the Lord as our advocate. When the accuser of the brothers levels his charges against us, we have the Lord we can call to. 2. v.9 “Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end…you who test the minds and hearts…” - David doesn’t plead his innocence and then seek revenge, but looks to the Lord to execute his justice. If David were to retaliate here, no longer could he say “according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.” The Lord is the judge, and to the Lord he must answer, so from the Lord he seeks justice. 3. v.10 “My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.” - Acts 13:22; 1 Sam. 13:14 David is known as being a man after God’s own heart. David wasn’t a perfect man; if you know your Bible you know this well. But David’s heart, his pursuit, his desire, was for the Lord. And when he failed? He turned to the Lord in repentance. What is your hope and confidence? (vv.12-16) 1. vv.12-13 “If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow…” - I think it’s here that we find the key to the upright in heart. Not sinless perfection, but repentance. A response to sin that seeks to be reconciled back to God by turning away from sin that destroys and turning to God who forgives and restores. 1. Without repentance what can or should a person expect from God? David uses vivid imagery to help us understand. God is honing an edge on his sword, his bow is strung and ready, his quiver is full of arrows. Now, this doesn’t seem much like the God of mercy, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, does it? Is this only David’s skewed presentation of God in the midst of his own trial and conflict? No, all Scripture is breathed out by God (2 Tim. 3:16). This is God’s revelation of himself to us, and it is right and accurate. God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin (Exodus 34:6-7). But he also does not clear the guilty apart from repentance. 2. Sin must be dealt with. To ignore it, to let time pass and hope it’s forgotten, to try and do enough good to offset the bad - these are all vain attempts and destructive approaches to dealing with sin. There is only one way to deal with our sin rightly. 1. Here we see our only hope is in the gospel. What must we do to be saved from this wrath? Repent and believe in Jesus Christ. Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Acts 16:30–31 “Then he brought them out and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’” 2. Proverbs 28:13 “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” 2. vv.14-16 The wicked, the unrepentant, can only expect trouble. Not karma, but God’s judgement, as their devices are turned against their own heads. Transition: Verse 17 brings us to our last question this morning. What is your refuge and relief? (v.17) 1. v.17 “I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise…” - Let me ask a question of observation at this point. What has changed of David’s circumstances? Are the false accusers gone, the accusations all answered, and conflict removed from David’s life? We’re not given any indication here that any of that has taken place. Yet David finds refuge and relief, even in his trying circumstances. He finds occasion to give thanks and sing praise to the Lord. 1. Only when your hope and confidence are in the Lord can your refuge and relief come from the Lord. And only when your refuge and relief come from the Lord can you actually experience relief. Conclusion: Church, this is Paul and Silas singing hymns and praising God at midnight in the jail, the church praying for boldness to speak God’s Word even in the face of persecution. This is you in the midst of your particular trial looking beyond present circumstances and praising God, knowing that whatever comes, God’s will is perfect. He sees all. He knows all. As you look to him and turn to him, he is for you; he is sovereign over his creation, and will work in your life for your good and his glory. y l i m Fa 23-25 Table Talk June 23, 2019 GOD’S TRUTH Find refuge in the Lord; He saves those who call to Him! Family Discussion 1. Have you ever been accused of wrong doing? If so, what is typically your first response in that situation? 2. if you answered yes, are you defensive, full of excuses, angry, or do you ignore and not even consider the accusations? In contrast, do you listen and consider the possibility that you have been wrong? Do you seek the Lord for confirmation of the accusations? Whichever resembles your heart’s attitude and your actions when you are accused, are your responses godly ones? 3. Read the Scriptures listed in Table Reading#1. Notice David’s response to accusation in Psalm 7, and discuss. 4. Read the Scriptures in Table Reading #2. Look at Jesus as He was accused. How did He respond? Even as Jesus was on the cross, what were His words? 5. Read the Scriptures in Table Reading #3. David acknowledged who his (and our) Judge is. God tests ours hearts and minds; He is a righteous God. We know sometimes we fail, we sin, but be encouraged by the words of Paul as he reminds us who is our help, who is in control, and who has justified those whom He has called through faith in Jesus Christ. 6. As you allow the Lord to search your heart daily, may you be quickly prompted to humble confession of whatever His Spirit reveals to you is sin in your life. Our Lord is faithful and just to forgive us as we confess. Table Reading #4 Key Verse “My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.” Psalm 7:10 ESV TABLE READING 1. 2. 3. 4. Lead your kids into God’s Word... Psalm 139:23-24; Psalm 19:12-14; Romans 3:23; 1 Peter 5:6-11; Psalm 7:1-5 Matthew 27:11-14, 22-23; Luke 23:32-43; Hebrews 4:14-16 Psalm 7:8-10; Romans 8:26-30 1 John 1:9 Scripture Memory: Psalm 1:3-4 “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” - Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (ESV)