Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Anger
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Disgust
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Fear
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Analytical
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Social Tone
Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Anger
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Introduction
On June 22, 1941, Hitler attacked the Soviet Union.
He’d expected the war in the east to take Stalin by surprise since he’d earlier signed a peace treaty with him, and he thought that they would be able to swarm and overwhelm Russian forces for a quick victory.
Instead, the Soviets sent wave after wave of men to the battle field until eventually the Russian winter would succumb the German forces in a battle of attrition.
The real significance of this is that the audacious move to attack the Soviet Union thrust Germany and her allies into a two front war in both the east and the west.
It spread their resources and forces thin, leading to their inevitable defeat by the allies.
God’s Word
In 1 Samuel 21, David enters a two-front war himself.
Saul’s intentions to kill him become known and apparent, and he is forced to flee alone for his own safety.
The problem is that the only place for him to flee is Gath.
Do you remember who was from Gath? Goliath.
And, guess whose sword David has on his side when he arrives.
So, here is David seeking political asylum in Goliath’s hometown.
This would have been like Osama bin Laden seeking asylum in New York City.
And, it goes about the way that you would expect it to go.
David goes from having one problem to having two problems.
He goes from having one group of people trying to kill him to having two groups of people trying to hill him.
His situation goes from bad to worse.
I imagine that many of you feel a lot like David.
You feel like you’re fighting a war on every front.
At first, you had stress at work.
It was hard and overwhelming and you struggled with anxiety for the first time in your life, but you were managing.
Then, you started having health problems.
Then, your kids rebelled.
Then, your mom died, and you were left refereeing between all of your siblings.
You keep thinking everything is going to get better, but it just seems to go from bad to worse.
The storm in your life has turned into a flood, and you’re drowning.
That’s why I’m so thankful for how God gave us the Bible.
That thought has even been rejuvenated for me this week.
He doesn’t just tell us what happens, and He tells us how people felt and reacted as it happened.
That’s why we’re in Psalm 56 this morning.
Notice at the top by the chapter number.
It tells us that this Psalm was written based upon David’s experience in 1 Samuel 21.
So that’s how I want us to approach this.
Two psalms written during this time: 34 and 56.
56 is the rawer, more emotional, likely earlier of the two.
It lays out how we are likely to feel in similar situations, and how we can weather the storms (headline):
Our “hope” is “bigger”.
David’s problems are big.
56:1-2 Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me; my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly.
He’s pleading with God to have mercy on him in the midst of his multi-front, multi-faceted suffering.
His language is meant to help us understand how big his problems really are.
Intensity.
He feels “trampled”, “attacked”, and “oppressed”.
Ambushed, beaten down, and then held down.
(Oppressed)
Duration.
Being oppressed points that the issue here isn’t just the intensity of the suffering, but also the duration.
“all day long”.
Many people would say that they can endure almost anything for a short season, but what often causes us the greatest despair and hopelessness is not the intensity of the suffering so much as it is the duration.
Didn’t you think things would be better by now?
Your marriage.
Your job.
Your financial situation.
Your relationship with your dad.
Your relationship with your kids.
Your health.
Suffering virtually always last longer than we think it will.
David’s hope is bigger.
56:3-4 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
So, what we’re getting is insight into how David felt and how David responded to this multi-front, long-form war.
“When I am afraid” This is the giant-killer who’s admitting fear.
Even that brings me comfort.
He was after God’s own heart.
He took down bears and lions without a gun.
He faced down Goliath.
He’s afraid.
I can identify with David here.
He feels what I feel when I suffer.
This is important to recognize.
When you deal with suffering, you aren’t just dealing with the circumstance or the hardship itself.
You’re also dealing with how you feel about it and think about it.
You aren’t just coping with the threat itself but also with the fear and anxiety and pessimism about the future that the threat brings about.
David is physically threatened and emotionally distressed, and both of these realities have to be addressed.
That’s what we see in this psalm, and it’s a powerful reminder of how all suffering must be addressed.
That’s what leads to the refrain that is virtually repeated in verses 10 and 11.
It’s how David responds to external threats and internal fear.
It’s how he responds to cancer and how cancer makes him feel.
It’s how he responds to the loss of his job and the fear that it produces.
David responds to his multi-front war with a multi-dimensional hope.
Notice this because this isn’t unique to David.
This is accessible, real-world hope that can help us when we’re drowning in our own sufferings.
He gives three responses that he has to hope to both his suffering and his fear.
When I’m afraid: 1) “I put my trust in God.”
That is, I make sure that my hope is not in myself to make me better.
I remove my faith from my circumstances to make me happy.
I remove my faith from friends and family to bail me out.
David actively, intentionally concentrates his faith upon the only one worthy of it — the LORD.
2) “In God, whose word I praise”.
How does he concentrate himself upon God?
He focuses on what God has promised.
God had anointed and promised him as king.
God had promised that He would be with him and drive out his enemies.
He’d promised.
So, He praises God — in light of what he sees and in spite of what he feels — for what God has said.
3) “What can flesh do to me?”
While concentrating on God, he remembers how puny and pitiful his threats really are.
Who is Saul in the face of God? Who is Achish in the face of God? They’re just men!
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