Psalm 54: By Your Name

Morning, we continue on in our sermon series in the Psalms. And for those of you who are regulars here, you'll know what I'm talking about. But if your new perhaps, you mean, what do you mean can return to it? We time we just got out of Mayhem and we have but every summer for the past few years, we have been in the Psalms and it's summer now. So we are going to continue on in the Psalms where we left off last year at the end of summer. We looked at Psalm 53. And so this morning, we look at Psalm 54, I'm going to encourage you to open your Bibles and turn off or turn on your devices so that you can read along. I'll be reading all of Psalm 54 it's only 7 versus and the translation I'm using is the ESV

Psalm 54 to the choirmaster with stringed instruments, a mask of David when the ziphites went and told Saul is not David hiding Among Us, Oh God, Save Me by your name and vindicate me by your might owe God. Hear my prayer, give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen against me, ruthless men seek my life. They do not set God before themselves. The whole God is my helper, the Lord is the upholder of my life. He will return the evil to my enemies and your faithfulness. Put an end to them. With a free-will offering. I will sacrifice to you. I will give thanks to your name. Oh lord for it is good. For he has delivered me from every trouble in my eye. Has looked in Triumph on my enemies. Let's pray. Father God, we thank you for the songs. We thank you for these special songs and hymns and prayers that you have given to us. We asked father God will this morning and in the coming weeks that you by your spirit would apply your Living Word to our lives that we might be transformed. That we might grow and godliness that we might be conformed to the image of Christ. We need your help in those things. I pray, father, God, you would help me to Proclaim your word faithfully and father God, help us to see Jesus. We ask this in his name. Amen. I would articulate, the main idea of this song. In this way, God always answers prayers in accordance with his character. Therefore we must consider who he is in light of our requests. And trust him accordingly. Let me say that again. God always answers prayers in accordance with his character. Therefore, we must consider who he is in light of our request and trust him accordingly. My first point this morning is retrospect. The superscription of Psalm 54 contains information that helps us to understand the specific place and time and which in the life of David in which the song was created. We read a mask of David. When the ziphites went and told Saul is not David hiding among us, this is a reference to what we can read about in 1st Samuel 23 + 26. + fact, the song works with both instances and both occasions. These are similar situations, it is David who is fleeing from Saul and his fleeing from Saul. He finds himself in the southern part of Israel and he takes refuge in the mountains, near zeph. No sooner, do the ziphites learn that he is there when they sent Messengers to Saul to inform. Saul about David's actions. Saul gathers, his army, and takes him to the area, where David is in an attempt to capture him with the intent of killing him. Yeah, it is Saul closes in on David saw. Here's that the Philistines have invaded his country and so he leaves that District in order to protect his kingdom. And that's David escapes. That's important to know the ziphites were descendants of Caleb. And therefore, they were from the same tribe as David, they were of the tribe of Judah. Let's retrospect leads us into the main body of the song, will start with the request verses 1 and 2. Oh God, Save Me by your name and vindicate me by your might do God hear my prayer. Give ear to the words of my mouth. The psalmist begins, this song was really to request one, that God would save and vindicate him and to that God would respond favorably to his prayer. The first two verses can be summed up with four words, help me hear me. Help me, hear me. The psalm is asked to be saved by God's name. Oh, Gods, Save Me by your name. Another word name in this context stands for more than just what God is called. The title. We ascribe to him the word name and Compasses, his nature, his character, his attributes, and his axe. One commentator notes that in calling on the name of God's, the psalmist is calling upon the whole of the Divine manifestation, the whole of the Divine manifestation, oh God Save Me by your name is oh God, Save Me by everything that you are and all that you've done. Save me according to that. that's perhaps seems a little strange, but this is the case in the New Testament and for us as well, when we pray in Jesus name, It is. In this sense that for example, Peter uses the word name and Acts 4:12, Peter says. And there is salvation in no one else for. There is no other name under Heaven given among by which we must be saved. We are saved by the name of Jesus with that word named many, more than just what he is called. But it's referring to who he is, and is Dyson's that is he is fully God and he is fully man. He is the god man. We pray in the name of Jesus. We pray in his name. And we're saved because of who he is and what he's done. Mercedes by the name of Jesus were saved by all that he did and his birth taking on human flash, becoming a man and his perfect life lived, his sacrificial death on the cross. That wasn't penalty in payment for our sin as well as his resurrection from the dead and his Ascension to God the Father where he sits at his right hand. When we pray in the name of Jesus for salvation, it's more than just his title. And his name, Jesus were praying and everything that he is, and everything that he's done. And that's how we find Salvation there is salvation and no other name except Jesus. That's the request of the psalmist make. It's almost also asked to be Vindicated by God's might. It desires to be proven, right? And the innocent by God who will come to his Aid? Looking upon God is both Savior and judge. And then the second request is an appeal, to be heard since God hears all prayers. That should be taken. As an idiom, showing the psalmist, desire for his request to be received and to be responded to favorably. With this short fairly straightforward song, we have lots of time for application this morning. So let's begin now. After these first two verses. These first two, verses remind us that we need to know God, we need to know who he is and know what he's done and what he's about. This song presupposes a knowledge of the Theology of the name of God which is in essence, a knowledge of who God is, and what God has done.

J. I Packer wrote a book that I can't recommend you strongly enough called knowing god. And in the preface of that book in the foreword of that bulky rights, this the conviction behind the book that is knowing god is that ignorance of God, ignorance, both of his ways and I was practice of communing with him lies at the root of much of the churches weakness today. Too, unhappy Trend seem to produce this state of affairs trying to one. Is that Christians Minds? Have been conform to the modern Spirit, the spirit. That is that spawns. Great thoughts of man and leaves room for only small thoughts of God, the Modern Way With God, is to set him at a distance. If not to deny him altogether Church men, who look at God, so to speak through the wrong end of the telescope, so reducing him to pygmy proportions, cannot hope to end up as more than pygmy Christians, and clear-sighted people naturally, want something better than this brothers and sisters. When we pray in the name of God. And by the name of God, in the name of the G of Jesus, it suggests that we know who that is. That we understand who that is. Now I'm going to speak about two significant ways in which Christ fulfills, so I'm 54 and certainly one of them pertains to this. That is we are calling this song. There's a presupposition that we know. God, Jesus is God's and we need to know him. As well as the father, as well as the Holy Spirit, we need to know him. He is the god to whom we pray. He is a God. We must know he is a God who saves us. Let me encourage you to Endeavor this summer in some way. And some for maybe it's reading the book knowing god, maybe it's some other way. To know. God better. Because you're praying to him and asking him to work by his name. We need to know who he is. Let's keep moving this morning. We move from the request and verse one. And two to a report in verse three. That is a report of what was the problem that instigated orilissa? Did the request, we read for strangers, have risen against me, ruthless men seek my life. They do not set God before themselves Selah. The problem that prompted. The prayer is reported in verse three strangers, have risen against the psalmist and ruthless man are seeking his life. now, the antagonist of the psalm is David is referring to be either the ziphites Who told Saul and betrayed David or could be solving his army or most likely, both one commentator suggested that the strangers could refer to the ziphites and the ruthless man just saw and his army and that works. Well. Because the strangers. That are spoken about in this song. And I weren't strangers is the same word as foreigners, and yet there's no foreigners in the events that are talked about here. So, so what's going on? Well, I think David is using this. We're strangers to refer to the ziphites. Not because they were true foreigners. They were in fact of his tribe are the tribe of Judah and yet they were treating him. As if they were foreigners, they were treating him the same way. The enemies of God treated him. They were trying to trap him and have him killed. They have the spirit of foreigners until David calls him. Such, and the ruthless, man. Literally those who caused others to tremble is a fair description of Saul and his army who pursue David and tried to kill him, they're rising up speaks to their assembling in their organizing that they might trap him and put him to death. And both these groups are summed up by the last phrase in verse 3, they do not set God before themselves, do not set God before. Oneself is not to give is to not. Give him preeminence, is to not have God in full view that we might understand him and Obey him, we may stay in this day and age has to put God on the back burner. Not only were these adversaries, treating David the way foreigners treated them, but they were also treating God the way foreigners treated God.

And this they're just staying in their neglect towards God and courage, they're ruthless Behavior towards a man. Let's pause for a moment again and make an application. Let me encourage you. Not to act like a foreigner. What do I mean by that? What does that mean in our day and age? How does one of God's people act like not one of God's people? Let me suggest you very specifically one of the many ways that we are tempted today to act like a foreigner in this sense, is in our response to the pandemic. Specifically in regards to how we posture towards other churches and their actions during the course of the restrictions and how posture and act towards their own church. There are people. And I'm guilty of this to some degree myself. That are undermining, the unity between churches and within a church by their actions and words during the course of this pandemic. And let me tell you this to undermine the unity of Christ's body, is the act like a foreigner is to act like not one of God's children.

This is what happens when we don't set God before ourselves.

To work and ways and say things and suggest things and act in ways that undermines the unity of churches and our church. Is the act like a foreigner to act? Like not one of God's people. And again, I confess to you, I have had thoughts and words that work towards that end. We we seek forgiveness for that. Then we seek not to act in such ways. Let me suggest to use freeways, which can help in regards to this. We started off talking out at the very start of this pandemic that we would not bind other people's consciences in regards to what's going on.

Don't be wrong to take what God has put in our hearts and place it on the hearts of everyone in yet. This is happening. When we look at other churches who maybe haven't opened it all during the whole pandemic. And question them and question their motives. We are perhaps inadvertently trying to bind their consciences to ours this undermines the unity of church to church. Similarly, there are churches who have decided according to their convictions to disregard what the government says. And then they call on other churches to be faithful like them. That is the blind other churches to their conscience. Let's not do that. Let's maintain the unity of churches and let's maintain Ade. The unity of our church because we all have different consciences and convictions in regards to all of this. And I'm trying to find someone else's conscience. Is to undermine the unity of our church. That's the act like a foreigner. Let's not do that. In regards to that, when we encourage those of you who are on social media that if your opinion will lead or breed disunity, keep it to yourself. Don't share it. Encourage you not to do an act and say things that undermines the unity of churches to other churches or within our church. That's the act like a foreigner.

In regards to our church specifically, let's be responsible for us. Let's pray for the church down the road, on the other side of the city. And let's be responsible for us and what God has called us to. That we make my maintain is rough trade. The unity of the spirit in the bond of Peace. We're getting towards the end. And my fear is Lord willing, we're getting towards the end of this pandemic, but my fear is in this last stretch will stumble

That would be the act like a foreigner. Let's keep moving here. The reporting of this difficult situation could potentially leave the psalmist in to worry or doubt or despair. But the Samus preamps that emotional descend by doing what He suggests his adversaries are doing. He sets God before his eyes and reflects on who he is and what he does. And two verse four and five, we have the reflection of the Samus Behold, God is my helper. The Lord is the upholder of my life. Do you want return the evil to my enemies in your faithfulness? Put an end to them? The psalmist now reflects on God. And instead of descending into despair or worry or doubt, he arrives at a bold assertion of confidence in God. this is a confidence that grows out of a life lived with god Set before you God is the same as helper he does for the song mess with. The Samus cannot do for himself. The Lord is the one who upholds. His life. God has his refuge in his stronghold is Hightower, which he can run to in times of difficulty and be saved. And the psalmist is confident that God will act against the song Miss enemies. And in the very way that they desire to act against him, they desired his death until the song is confidently asserts. That God would destroy them according to his faithfulness. What faithfulness is the faithfulness of his promise to protect David? This occurrence with the ziphites has after Samuel had already anointed David as the future king of Israel, as the one who would replace saw. God had promised to David that he would sit on the throne. So David can see that the actions of salt and the actions of the ziphites are contrary to God, they're acting as foreigners as God's enemies. And so she can look to the faithful God, who has made a covenant?

after this time of reflection, On God, David response. We see Universe 6 and 7. With a free-will offering. I will sacrifice to you. I will give thanks to your name. Oh lord for it is good. For he has delivered me from every trouble in my eye. Has looked in Triumph on my enemies. The song ascends his song with a vow, a vow to praise God, a voucher to perform his religious duties in the future. The Thomas vows to enter into the sanctuary with his sacrifice and to publicly declare what God is like and what God has done to praise God and to infuse his praise with Thanksgiving Because the lord's name his nature, his character, his attributes and all of his acts are good. The song, a sentence of Jesus gathering with the Covenant Community to offer, praise for his Deliverance. And Victory. It brings to us our last application this morning. I suggested to you there were at least two ways in which Christ fulfilled Psalm 54 one. Is that he is the one that Psalm is praised Christ is God's until the song is a prayer to Christ. what's interesting is this as we can also see Christ as the one who is being attacked as the one whose life is being threatened. That was the case when he walked this Earth, when his enemies sought his life, And they temporarily succeeded by killing him, but they rose from the dead. But in our day, he is still under attack. As I shared with you in the last application is under attack by those within the body of Christ. Minor actions and their postures. In the words, And so we need to seek the Deliverance of the church and do what we can do.

To protect Christ in verses, 6 & 7, I believe suggest to us this morning, an application, David makes a promise that he's going to return and gather with God's people to praise president sisters, as we come to the end of the pandemic, we need to encourage and call God's people back to church. Not buying their consciences. There are people who haven't come and they have their reasons for doing that. When the restrictions are lifted and things are back to normal, we should call our brothers and sisters back. You're watching online. You may have good reason to not be here. I'm not making a judgment on that but we want you to know that we want to see you. We want you to be here. We missed you and when I get back to normal My Hope Is that the people will gather. I do have a concern again in these last Lord willing, these last weeks of the pandemic that when the dust settles and God's people are able to come back with no restrictions, that there will be people who aren't here who ought to be here. Doobie Brothers and Sisters who for whatever reason, don't return. I want to call the family back when the family finally gets the gather together. We want everyone there at the table. The celebrate them. And so perhaps, you know, some people who have struggled with this and have their reasons for not being here. Give him a call. Send them an e-mail. Tell him. We love them. And we miss them and we can't wait to see them again on a judgmental way. But because we love them. We want them to return so that we can all worship together. Make that commitment in your heart even now. The When We Gather when the restrictions are lifted that you're going to come back even is David anticipated to gather with God's people and to worship and glorify him. We see in Psalm 54 an example of Prayer.

We reminded at Christ is both the one we pray to. and when we pray for, in the sense of this being Christ's body, So let's apply at this summer by endeavoring to know. God, do not understand what it means to say. In the name of God. But also to protect his body and his people, but taking a posture and speaking and acting in ways that support and strengthen the unity of churches and our church. I love your brothers and sisters know that we love them and we can't wait to see them. We long to worship God together with them. Let's pray. Father God, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the songs for the Salter that you have given us.

Your Hymnal as it were. Give me a songs of praise and prayer for us to consider. We thank you for we ask. Father, God, that you would use it in our lives particular this morning. Father God, that we Woods. Courage to know you. The despres in the Name of Christ and to look to you to answer prayer. Is best done by understanding who you are and what you've done and understand the entirety of your existence. Help us with that. We pray. Father, going to make this a summer in which we know God.

Deeper ways and we know him now and father God is we consider how Christ fulfills. So I'm 54 we understand that he is both the one we pray to and and the one who is under attack Father God, we may we do all that we can to preserve the unity of your churches and the unity of our church. Father, God, may we do so by lovingly and caringly calling the family back together when the time is right. I pray these things in Jesus name, amen.