A Psalm in Three Passes

Please take your Bibles and turn with me to , the page number is noted in the bulletin for the pew bibles. You can also pull it up in the YouVersion app by going to more/events, and then First Baptist Park Street should pop up. Should!

Night.

A Promise of Peace

Night often brings with it a temptation to brood on wrongs done - to us and by us - as well as fixation on present perils. And, looking at this context, King David was in a perilous situation. It’s no accident that this psalm is side-by-side with which Pastor Rob preached last week. David was the anointed one, the King, meant to rule for God on earth. Yet he had committed grievous sin. Though David had repented, his sin opened the door for his son Absalom to rebel against him, gaining the favor of many in the kingdom. Eventually, David had to flee Jerusalem with those friends still loyal to him. 2 Samuel tells us they were in the wilderness…hungry, tired, and dejected. It’s likely David had this in mind when he wrote .

Please stand as I read from , where King David encourages his wavering and weary friends with a prayer to God that was answered with peace and rest.

A NIGHT PRAYER

For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A psalm of David.

1 Answer me when I call,

God, who vindicates me.

You freed me from affliction;

be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

2 How long, exalted ones, will my honor be insulted?

How long will you love what is worthless

and pursue a lie?

Selah

3 Know that the Lord has set apart

the faithful for himself;

the Lord will hear when I call to him.

4 Be angry and do not sin;

on your bed, reflect in your heart and be still.

Selah

5 Offer sacrifices in righteousness

and trust in the Lord.

6 Many are asking, “Who can show us anything good?”

Let the light of your face shine on us, Lord.

7 You have put more joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and new wine abound.

8 I will both lie down and sleep in peace,

for you alone, Lord, make me live in safety.

(!!!PRAY!!!)

(06:00)

In this discouraging situation, what does David do? He turns to the Lord in prayer.

Answer me when I call,

God, who vindicates me.

You freed me from affliction;

be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

This is what made me understand how David was a man after God’s own heart: He always turns to prayer. We could say it this way: when David is anointed and given the Holy Spirit, his life becomes marked by

A PATTERN OF PRAYER

He prays in every situation - the book of psalms is a testimony to his pattern of prayer! Here is David - humiliated, surrounded by lies, with friends who were exasperated and gloomy. But he prays. Our first of three passes is to anchor this Psalm in the life of David. Let’s look together:

Well-founded prayer

First, verse 1, the prayer is grounded in God’s character, who He is, and His power to save David…and his friends. You see, David’s present prayer draws strength from the past trials. But this trial is different, for it tests David less than it tests His friends.

There are three groups of friends David appeals to in his prayer: the fickle friends, the fierce friends, and the fatigued friends.

Verses 2 and 3 are an Appeal to the Fickle

How long, exalted ones, will my honor be insulted?

How long will you love what is worthless

and pursue a lie?

I thought this was directed at David’s enemies. But my friend Buddy pointed out David does not mince words about his enemies (“break the teeth of the wicked!”) and next week you’ll see what David really thinks about enemies of the kingdom. Since this language is so much gentler, these “exalted ones” are the leaders of Israel, leaders that were friends. They should have stood by David but are being swayed by Absalom. David appeals to them inside his appeal to God.

Verses 4 and 5 are an Appeal to the fierce

Be angry and do not sin;

on your bed, reflect in your heart and be still.

Selah

Offer sacrifices in righteousness

and trust in the Lord.

If some friends loyalties waver too much, others are too fierce, letting their anger get the best of them. David had these in his group as well, and this was just as dangerous as any other threat.

Verse 6 and 7 is an Appeal to the fatigued

Many are asking, “Who can show us anything good?”

David hears this plaintive cry of despondency and doubt, and answers in a gentle & loving way, focusing on the right direction. God.

Let the light of your face shine on us, LORD.

Their despondency is focused on circumstances. Which are bad! But David is not, and there is such a contract. He is with them in the wilderness. He is with them in hunger. But he has joy

You have put more joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and new wine abound

Well-founded peace

This God-ward focus has a fantastic application: peace. This is more than the sleep of the exhausted, the Hebrew here means a deep and abiding trust in the Lord that means David truly rests.

This trial has challenged David to make his faith explicit and to urge it on others, as a committal of his cause and himself to a faithful Creator. It results in peace and rest.

TRANSITION:

Let’s take a second pass at this Psalm, this time looking at it not only as David’s Pattern of Prayer for the People, but as a Prayer meant for the People to use.

(12:00)

Have you ever been humiliated? Exasperated? Impacted by lies? Gloomy?

Since this is a prayer of public worship, part of it is for instruction when we find ourselves in similar circumstances: at night, pressed by troubles and with friends who are angry, discouraged, or wavering. The psalmist wants us to respond in the same way:

Well-founded prayer

Just as David is not appealing to God because of his personal character, we don’t base our prayers on how good we have been. We pray because God is good, and he promises to hear us, his people! If you are a young believer, this can explain why older believers often have such amazing peace…they have, like David, seen God move countless times before, and they trust him to move again.

But, that does not mean we “let go and let God”. No! Let us exhort our friends, through prayer to God, not to follow what pleases their ears:

Do you have friends who are fickle?

How long, exalted ones, will my honor be insulted?

How long will you love what is worthless

and pursue a lie?

If you work at the University of Virginia, there must be a strong temptation to set your faith on the shelf. Maybe you are sitting here and thinking: “no, I am holding fast.” Good! But you know those there who aren’t. They say they are believers, yet they are fickle. Encourage them in person but also in prayer to see through the lies of the world to the truth of Christ!

How about friends who are too fierce and quick to angry action?

Be angry and do not sin;

on your bed, reflect in your heart and be still.

Selah

Offer sacrifices in righteousness

and trust in the Lord.

If some loyalties waver, some you know are so quick to angry action it becomes their default. And just like endless doctrinal debates, both angry groups seek to cloak it in righteousness! These verses do not deny a right to be angry at injustice, at oppression, at lies! Instead, this psalm implores the angry to be still, and trust in the Lord. We can pray for them the same way!

What about friends who are weary, or maybe cynical?

Many are asking, “Who can show us anything good?”

It’s so easy to take a look around and be despondent. Gloomy. Eeyore-like. Let’s take the church. I only have 7.5 years here, but I know many stories, many hurts. I know about families that look like they’ve got it together but are deeply divided. The people we’ve prayed for that cancer took anyway. Of seeing peopled saved! Then lost.

It is so easy to become weary when our friends are. Instead, hear their plaintive cry of despondency and doubt, and turn their gaze to God through prayer.

Let the light of your face shine on us, LORD.

Do you have friends whose circumstances are dire? In this world they often are! Look at this prayer, it is not asking to change the circumstances, but rather to let us see God, pleading for God to show his glory.

Well-founded peace

This God-ward focus has a fantastic application for you, today, as well: peace, leading to rest. Deep sleep, not of exhaustion, but true and complete peace with God and Man.

TRANSITION:

Looking out, I see some of you are encouraged, but a lot of you are not. You’ve already seen the problem here, haven’t you? You aren’t sleeping the deep and abiding sleep of those completely at peace with God and man regardless of circumstances.

(18:00)

We looked at it through the eyes of David, God’s anointed king. Then we looked at it through our eyes. Neither perspective is complete, though, because of what we share with David. Sin.

Let’s take one final pass at this Psalm, this time putting it in the mouth of the True and Greater Anointed King, Jesus the Christ. For later Revelation tells us that Christ has the keys of David, and that he is “the root and the descendent of David.” All that David was meant to be finds it’s fulfillment is all that Christ is

And, In the mouth of Jesus the Christ, Messiah and King over all creation, there is a surety in this Psalm that elevates it. After all, what more vindication and freedom from affliction could God provide than to raise Jesus from the dead, set him at his right hand, and grant him dominion and rule over the earth forever and ever?

Jesus, too, is sure of God from past circumstances. This means that, like David, this prayer is a prayer for his friends. Those who are angry. Those who are discouraged. And those who are wavering.

In short, this is a prayer from Jesus…for you.

David’s authority was brought into contempt through the false promises and slanders of an enemy. Jesus had far more authority than David, and did nothing to deserve the lies against him. Maybe you’ve believed those lies about Christ. Some are easy to spot…most are not. Most sound like this: “did God really say…”

Be strengthened. Jesus knows you are wavering, and has no contempt for you.

Perhaps, though, the lies about Jesus in this world make you angry!

Be angry and do not sin;

on your bed, reflect in your heart and be still.

Are you too fierce? Are you so quick to angry action it becomes your default? Do you seek to cloak it in righteousness? Do you feel you are the defender of the Word of God and woe be to anyone who gets it wrong?

Christ is appealing to you, and asking for you to be still. Trust in the Lord. Don’t trust in your intellect or doctrine to win the battle for God! Be still!

Jesus hears our plaintive cry of despondency and doubt, and answers in a gentle & loving way, focusing us the right direction. God.

Our despondency is focused on circumstances. Which are often bad! But, brothers and sisters, please hear this. Jesus is not offering this prayer from on high.

Let the light of your face shine on us, LORD.

He is the one saying “Us”. He is with us in our wilderness. He is with us in our hunger. He is with us in our trials.

But Jesus is the True and Greater David, and where David could only say that he has joy from the Lord, Jesus says: I am the one who put joy in David’s heart.

And he will place his joy in our heart as well, leading to rest…and peace.

(24:00)

Are you fickle about God?

Are you angry?

Are you discouraged?

God knows. He knows. He’s not surprised or disappointed or frustrated.

He’s praying for you. But more than that, he’s God, which means that he’s powerful enough to grant you joy and peace through his Holy Spirit that strengthens the wavering, stills the anger, and restores the weary in the middle of distressing circumstances.

I saved one verse for the end. It’s right in the center of the psalm, and fittingly so.

Know that the LORD has set apart

the faithful for himself;

the LORD will hear when I call to him.

We set apart things that are precious; the people of God are set apart as God’s peculiar treasure (); we are called the excellent of the earth, (); His garden of delight (Song Sol. 4:12); His royal diadem, ()); comparable to fine gold, (); double refined gold (), God calls us jewels (). We are the glory of creation, ().

Do you want to be set apart for him? Do you want to be one of the faithful? Faith is granted through belief in Jesus Christ as savior and as Lord…the very one who is praying this prayer before all the angels in heaven. It is a gift of God, not from me, or you, to make sure our eyes stay constantly fixed on God.

Do you know you are set apart but feel angry, discouraged, or wavering between the two? Jesus knows this too. For either one, during this time of invitation, invite him to come and let the light of his face shine upon you.

Because he is the life of joy, he is the way of true rest, and only he can truly give you peace.

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