Psalm 56 - A Confident Prayer

INTRODUCTION:

Interest:

Many of us may feel like we are surrounded by fears this morning. You might have fears generated by medical issues or the uncertainty that comes with potentially severe problems. Maybe it is the possibly of contracting COVID that has you fearful this morning. Maybe it is not COVID itself that you fear, but you may have fears generated by the chaos in our global economy that has been created by the COVID preventative measures taken by various governments. Maybe this morning your fear comes from watching all the civil unrest ripping through our country displayed daily on the news. Maybe it is fear generated by the racial tensions in the land. Maybe it is the hostility that is being directed toward Christianity suddenly in our country. Or maybe, your fear is much more personal, much more direct. Maybe there is someone who is trying to personally break you down, who has it out to get you. Whatever the case, it is likely that many of us feel as if we are surrounded by fears this morning. That is a central facet of our existence at this moment in time.

Yet, since you are here this morning…either physically gathered in this building with me or virtually gathered through the live-stream of the service…since you are here this morning, I expect that most of us recognize another central facet of our existence today; we are all surrounded by God at this very moment as well. God is present and active in our lives. Our faith informs us that this is true.

So, we have these two central facets this morning: we are surrounded by fears AND we are surrounded by God. How do we bring the two together? Is there any way that these two things can coexist in our lives or must one suppress the other?

Involvement:

Well, I can assure you that we are not the first believers in history to struggle with these twin realities. Our psalmist, David, in Psalm 56 which we are looking at this morning struggles with these same two realities in his life as well as he records this inspired prayer.

Context:

If you have your bibles open, you can see that the superscription…the information above the psalm that reflects ancient Jewish traditions about the psalm…the superscription tells us that David wrote this psalm for a very difficult time in his life. The actual event referenced is recorded in 1 Sam 21:10–15. David was forced to flee for his life after Jonathan assured him that his father, King Saul, wanted to kill him. David did not think that there was anywhere safe for him in Israel, so he fled to Gath, one of the major cities of the Philistines. Now, for several years David had led the armies of Israel against the Philistines, wrestling one military victory after another from them. Apparently, he hoped that he could hide out from Saul in Gath without being recognized as their Israelite enemy. Such was not the case, though, and David was quickly brought before the Philistine king. In order to save his own head, David pretended to be insane. His ploy worked and he was able to escape, but he had nowhere in which he could hide and feel safe. He was literally surrounded by enemies.

It is supposedly against this backdrop that David wrote the psalm that we are going to look at this morning.

Preview:

Like so many of the psalms that we have looked at, it is the common emotions generated by the situations of life that can cause this psalm to speak to us today. We do not need to be fleeing for our lives from enemies to feel fear. We do not need the fear created by raw danger to struggle with how our faith in God is to respond. David’s emotions can resonate with our emotions and David’s prayer can instruct us today. In fact, as we look at this psalm this morning, the truth that rises from its words is that Faith in God shines brightest against great fear. Faith in God does not mean that our fears will disappear. Rather, we will see that great fear creates a backdrop against which our faith in God shines brightest.

Transition from introduction to body:

Faith in God shines brightest against great fear. Let’s read this entire psalm before we begin picking apart its lesson this morning…<read Ps 56:1–13>.

In the first two verses we learn from David that…

BODY:

I. We can turn to God when we are afraid. (vv. 1–2)

David begins with the common appeal for grace or mercy, “Be gracious to me, O God.” Being faced with huge life problems, his proper instinct is to turn to God in prayer. He doesn’t really get into the details of his problem at the start of his prayer, rather he uses broad strokes to paint his hardship. “man has trampled upon me…all day long he oppresses me…trampled upon me all day long…many fight proudly against me.” He expresses that he is under constant adversity, pressed from every side. He uses a variety of verbs to generate the impression that his various attackers give him no rest. And with nowhere else to turn, he turns to God; God the one place where David can still expect to find mercy and compassion or favor.

Application

Can you relate to David’s mood? As I said at the outset, we don’t have to be facing people actually trying to kill us to be able to relate to David’s emotions. Have you had times when everywhere that you turn seems to only reveal more pressure points in your life? Have you felt overwhelmed by the adversity that has fallen your way?

Illustration

I know that I can immediately think of a couple of occasions in my own life. There was a time when over the course of a couple of weeks three of our four parents were in hospitals at the same time: Grace’s father, and both my father and mother. That felt overwhelming as at least two of the situations were quite severe. We were concerned for their lives.

I remember another time when multiple plans that I had for developing things in the church all collapsed at once to the point that I was unsure how to move forward. People that I had depended on had walked away and the plans had fallen apart. I was fearful as to what might come next

In both cases, the only thing that I could do was turn to God. In the case of the church issues, I remember sitting on these steps right here crying out to God to be gracious to me. My fears drove me to God. And I would expect that the same has happened to many of you as well.

Transition:

We can turn to God when we are afraid. That is the first thing that we learn from David in our psalm in the first couple of verses. As we continue looking at David’s words, in verses 3 and 4 we learn that…

II. We can trust in God when we are afraid. (vv. 3–4)

Look at verse 3, “When I am afraid…” Literally, the Hebrew says “In the day that I am afraid…” There is a vividness to that, isn’t there? There will come a day when we are afraid. But David says that in that day, when he is afraid, “I will put my trust in You.” In who? “In God, whose word I praise.” David is willfully and consciously choosing what he will do when fear strikes. He chooses to trust God.

This is not a blind trust, though; this is the trust in One whom David knows. After all, he is familiar with God’s word. He has praised God’s word. He has committed himself to God’s word. He has put his trust in God before and now he is choosing to do so again, “I shall not be afraid.”

Now, that statement does not mean that David has found a magical way to remove fear from his life. What he is saying is that he will not be ruled by his fear. He refuses to let fear control Him. Instead, he is going to continue to be guided by God’s word, trusting in the character of God.

After all, the problems that are generating his fear are all sourced in people. But compared to God, what can “man”…the NASB adds mere, “mere man,” to make the point…what can man do. What can man do compared to God? The word that David uses that we have translated as “man” is actually the word “flesh” as reflected in the KJV and the ESV. “Flesh” means man in this context, but it is used to make a striking contrast with God.

Application

Are we going to trust in God, the infinite Spirit, the Creator of all flesh? Are we going to let confidence in the all-mighty God govern our actions? Or, are we going to be fearful of the antagonism and problems created by fleshly beings who have no more ultimate control than we do ourselves?

Of course, we need to see that the foundation for David’s trust is not feelings; it is knowledge. The foundation is his knowledge of God as God has revealed Himself in His Word. Do you know this book? You cannot know God without knowing this book? I think that one of the main reasons that so many Christians become controlled by their fears is because they know very little about God because they have spent so little time learning of Him through His revelation. How can you trust God when you do not really know Him? It is not that our fear goes away, but when we know God everything else becomes insignificant by comparison.

Transition:

We can trust in God when we are afraid. Remember the big idea of this psalm? Faith in God shines brightest against great fear.

Having decided to trust in God, David moves on by expressing his problem in verses 5 through the first part of 9. From these verses we learn that…

III. We can call for justice when we are afraid. (vv. 5–9a)

We won’t go through all the details that David mentions in these verses, but notice that he starts verse 5 once again with “All day long…” There is no rest to the difficulties that his enemies are bringing into his life; they are relentless. The very moment that he thinks that he can relax, he finds himself under a renewed attack of some kind.

Illustration

I’m sure that over the years I have mentioned this before; I had braces on my teeth for several years when I was growing up. I had a severe overbite and needed braces to correct it. The think that I remember most about those braces was the misery that they created for a couple of days after every adjustment. After the doctor adjusted them and until my teeth began responding by moving where the braces were pulling them, there was an unremitting pressure on my teeth. It wasn’t that the braces created severe pain. The problem was that the discomfort that they created was relentless. I remember just wanting a 5 min break from the pull; but it didn’t come.

That is the way the pressure seems on David. Can you relate? Do you yearn for just a short break from whatever has created your fear? I know many people do. In fact, they yearn for that break so badly that they turn to destructive habits to try to get it. They try to find numbness in alcohol or drugs. They try to find distractions through compulsive shopping or immoral activities. But none of these things work, the pressure from the fears continue.

David takes a much wiser course to deal with the relentless pressure of his enemies and his fears; he calls on God to deliver justice. Verse 7, “Because of wickedness, cast them forth, In anger put down the peoples, O God!” David petitions God to bring justice to his situation. His enemies have acted unjustly; David wants vindication from the ultimate Just One.

David can call out to God for justice for two reasons. First, we have to presume that he is confident that he has behaved righteously. He is not concerned that he is suffering as a consequence for sinful actions of his own. Secondly, though, he is also confident that God is fully aware of what is happening in his life. He knows that God is not distant; God is intimate. Verse 8, God is aware of what is going on. He pictures God as collecting every tear that David has shed in God’s own bottle. He envisions God writing down everything that David has suffered in God’s own personal diary. God knows how David has been wronged and because God is perfectly just, God must vindicate him. God cannot gather this information—the tears and the details of the wrongs that David has suffered—without acting on it. Because that is the case, David can boldly call out to God for justice, even though he feels all alone in his fears.

Application

Friends, I hope you know God in this same way, as an intimate God. It doesn’t matter how alone you may feel in your fear, God is completely aware. Every tear that you have shed He has seen…and not in a dispassionate way as an observer of a movie or something…no as One who has reached over and wiped that tear from your face, captured it before it could fall to the ground and be lost. He is aware of every wrong that you have suffered as if He had taken the time to write each one down. You are not alone; God is with you.

And should you doubt that such is the case…I know how lonely fear can make us feel…should you doubt that God is really with you; just consider the fact that God was so aware of your great need that He sent His own Son because He saw your need of salvation. He saw your sins and He loved you enough to provide a way for you to have their penalty carried by His own Son to the cross. He saw you and determined that He would provide a path in your life so that you would hear about what Jesus did, how Jesus died for you. Maybe today is the first day that you have heard that, but you are hearing it because God has arranged for you to be listening today. You can contact me after the service to learn more about Jesus. Maybe you have heard and believed in Jesus long ago, but need to be reminded that Jesus is the ultimate proof that God cares. Well, remember Jesus and from Him remember that God cares for you. He is aware of every injustice, every fear. You can call on Him for justice in your fear.

Transition:

We can call for justice when we are afraid. Which leads David…and us…back to the second idea:…

IV. We can trust God when we are afraid. (vv. 9b–11)

The second part of verse 9 is quite emphatic, “By this I know…” David expresses confidence that God is for him so again he expresses that it is his choice to trust. God. Really, the essential parts of verses 3 and 4 are repeated in the end of verse 9 through verse 11. David again rests on the promises that he finds in the Word of God. He remembers that this is the Word is God’s revelation of Himself. In fact, David remembers that the Word reveals that God is a personal God who is in a covenant relationship with him. Do you see the capital LORD in verse 10? This is our translation for the covenant name God gave to Israel through Moses, Yahweh. This is the God, the living true God who chose Abraham, who rescued the people from Egypt, who promised David the throne; this is the God that David has chosen to trust. And because of this God, David is able to say, “I shall not be afraid, What can man do to me?” With certainty in God, fear has no place in David’s life.

Illustration

One of the ways that Pastor Aaron and I are different is in the place that golf has in our lives. Pastor Aaron loves golf. He will get up early on his day off just to go chase that little white ball around until he gets in into the cup…just so that he can bend down to take it out of that cup and begin chasing it again! Not me. I have decided that I really don’t enjoy the game very much…which leaves me as odd man out in Grace’s family, btw. The men in her family all enjoy golf, but for me, golf really has no place in my life. Even though, as Pastor Aaron demonstrates, there are numerous golf courses around us, I have chosen to not give golf a place in my life.

Application

Well, David is demonstrating that we can do a similar thing with fear. We can choose not to give it a place in our lives because we can choose to trust God instead. It is not that the circumstances that create our fear disappear the moment that we choose God. But the influence of those circumstances change; we decide to not give fear a place in our lives because we focus our confidence upon God.

Again, let me ask you; do you know God well enough that you can place your confidence in Him when fear comes along? Do you know Him as a covenant-making, covenant-keeping God? Do you know Him as a personal God? Do you know His character and His promises? If not, it is because you have not sought out knowledge. After all, God has revealed Himself in His Word and through His Son. You can know Him and You can trust Him.

Transition:

We can trust God when we are afraid. In fact, remember Faith in God shines brightest against great fear.

Having twice proclaimed his choice to trust God, David concludes the psalm with one final lesson for us,…

V. We can anticipate worship when we are afraid. (vv. 12–13)

The final two verses of this psalm are a bit of surprise. Instead of ending with a lament or petition about his current circumstances or even a proclamation of trust, David ends with visions of thanksgiving. In the OT system, an Israelite could make a vow to bring a thanksgiving offering to God at the central tabernacle. This offering was an expression of devotion to God. Apparently, David has made a vow to bring such an offering when God rescues him from his enemies and allows him to return to worship. So even though there is nothing in the psalm to indicate that David is writing it after God has rescued him, these final verses are written as if it is an accomplished fact—David is so confident that he will worship again at the tabernacle that he speaks of it as a done deal. He knows that his prayer will be answered. He knows that God will keep his promise to deliver him from adversity.

Application

Now, here is where we need to be a bit careful in how we apply this psalm. At the time that David fled from Saul to Gath, God had already promised to make David the king of Israel. David could not be killed by his enemies without God’s promise failing. David knew that God would somehow preserve his life. David knew that the fears that he was facing at the moment would be removed so that he could become king.

Frankly, we don’t have that kind of a promise. God has not promised that He will preserve our lives or that He will remove the circumstances that are generating our fears. Nonetheless, we do have great promises from God. He has promised that nothing that comes our way can separate us from His love. He has promised that He will sustain our faith until the end. He has promised that when we are absent from this body, we will be present with the Lord. He has promised us an eternal inheritance free from all sorrow. Each and every one of these promises is unconditional if we know Jesus as our Savior…and there are actually many more that we could list. Each and every one of the promises that God has given to us, while different than the promises that David had, are just a certain of coming to fulfillment. God cannot fail to bring them about; His very character requires it; God cannot lie.

So, like David, the proper response for us when we put it all together is to anticipate worshipping our God. Sometimes we may be able to anticipate worshipping God when the next Sunday comes around and the church gathers for corporate worship. We may be surrounded by fears even as we gather on a Sunday morning, but if we are able to gather, we can worship. Sometimes we may be unable to gather for worship for some time…perhaps an illness keeps us away…but we can still anticipate being able to return to worship if the Lord allows…and that anticipation should cause us to worship God privately in our own thoughts. At some point in our lives, we may be forced to conclude that it is likely that we will never again gather for corporate worship on this earth…but even then we can anticipate that we will gather with the church of Jesus Christ for all eternity, worshipping our God through our Risen Savior.

The bottom line is, no matter what we are facing, what fears we might have, we can anticipate worship. And that anticipation will cause our faith to shine brightly for Jesus against the backdrop of our fears. Faith in God shines brightest against great fear.

Transition from body to conclusion:

We can anticipate worship with we are afraid. That is the final lesson that David leaves us with in this psalm. Faith in God shines brightest against great fear.

CONCLUSION

Faith in God shines brightest against great fear.

Fear is a very real facet of our lives. It surrounds us. But God also is a very real facet of our lives. God also surrounds us. As we have seen this morning, David shows us how to bring these two things together and discover that Faith in God shines brightest against great fear.

Do you have great fears this morning? If so, follow the lessons of David’s prayer. We can turn to God when we are afraid. We can trust God when we are afraid. We can call for justice when we are afraid. We can trust God when we are afraid. We can anticipate worship when we are afraid.

Faith in God shines brightest against great fear.