Psalm 42: Why Are You Cast Down?
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Alright, so, if you've been around long enough, you know this. We don't line up sermon series and individual sermons with holidays that aren't Christmas and Easter. It's just not a thing that we do. We did last year do Psalm 31 on Mother's Day, but that was very much the exception, not the rule. So, it's not intentional to put a Psalm of lament right before July 4th, but it is where it landed on the calendar. And that's what we're looking at today is Psalm 42.
It'll be on page 268 in the blue Bibles that are right around you. You can grab one of those. You can also follow along on the screen as we walk through this. So, culturally, in America, we don't handle suffering and sadness very well. That's just a cultural thing we don't handle very well. And in the American church, we're not much different.
We don't handle that subject well either. I could give you lots of examples of how that proves to be true. I really just want to give you one this morning, and that is K-Love. That is Christian Radio. So, this might step on some toes. I'm mildly apologetic about it.
But, Christian Radio in this department is very painful. It's painful in general for many reasons. First off, there's a lot of stuff that ends up on the radio that just is bad. It's bad theologically, songs you should not sing, bad quality, songs that should be done differently. You know, there's lots of reasons. You know, the songs that come from churches that I would never recommend you ever visit personally, ever, ever, ever.
There's a variety of reasons why Christian Radio can be a landmine. But one of the ones that is more pertinent that K-Love really misses the Mark on is that they're literally branded as positive and encouraging. That's it. Positive and encouraging. And what that really means and how they define encouragement is very narrowly what they mostly mean. It's positive.
It's positivity. And, you know, that's kind of been a thing for years in Christian Radio. It's just like it's all, it's a lot, it's very, very happy, positive, positive, positive. And, listen, I'm not against encouragement. I think encouragement is a very biblical thing. But you've got to have a broader category for that.
And, you know, that's been a thing. But I didn't want to. I was like, you know, I haven't listened to Christian Radio in some time. So let me get on K-Love and listen. And as soon as I turned it on, this song got off. And this guy got on and was like, it's National Selfie Day.
He's like, and just got really excited about National Selfie Day. And then he had this little jingle that went with it that was, you know, turn that frown upside down. I was like, you've got to be kidding me. It took two minutes for me to hear this. And I was like, all right, no, I think they're on brand. I think they're sticking to what they do.
Okay. Here's why that's problematic. When life curb stomps your happiness, okay, when it destroys the good things that are happening in your life, you need more than just positivity. That's not going to cut it. But, I mean, listen, you need more than even solid, cheerful theological songs. All right.
Psalm 100 is glorious. I mean, that's a beautiful Psalm. Some of the songs we sing are very joyful. Great things he has done. But there's got to be more than that.
The Psalm book gives us more than just joyful songs. When life is hard, you need more than celebration. You need a dirge. You need lament. And the Psalm book gives us that as a holistic part of worship. That there are Psalms throughout the whole 150th Psalm book that give us this, and we're in one of them today.
And my hope is that this would expand a category of worship for us. But what we're going to see as we follow through this today is that godly lament does not seek to fix our pain and suffering and loss, but it will help us endure. And that is what Psalms do for us. They help us endure through it all. So we're going to see that this morning as we walk through this.
Let me pray for us, then we will jump in. God, I pray that you'd help us be present this morning as we walk through a Psalm that is heavier. There are folks that are in a joyous season right now. And I pray that this would speak to them, preparing their hearts for the day of suffering when it comes. There are folks in our church family that are suffering. That right now this is very apparent in their life.
And I pray, God, that you would use this Psalm to provide unbelievable comfort that is found in you. We ask this in Christ's name. Amen. Okay, so the Psalm book, the Psalms have subscripts underneath them that I'd argue probably go back to the original when it was recorded. And this Psalm 42 has that. It has a subscript that gives us some context.
And it says, To the choir master, a mascal of the sons of Korah. Now, we don't know what mascal means. It happens in the Psalms. There are certain words we don't know. It could be an artistic teaching type Psalm. But we do know who the sons of Korah are.
If you know the story of the sons of Korah, their descendant, their ancestor, is Korah. So Korah was a part of a rebellion that happened against Moses in the wilderness. And that rebellion did not go well for the people who rebelled. The earth literally gave way in judgment and swallowed them whole. So some of the sons of Korah survived this, and they bear the history of their ancestor's rebellion, of his unfaithfulness.
But they go on to do... This is a really cool redemption story. They go on to do great things. They become worship leaders. They become Psalm writers. Some of them are in the party of David, when David is on the run for his life.
And it's just a really cool backdrop to see the suffering that they come from, and the redemption that they have, that sets up Psalms like Psalm 42. So that's the subscript. Then you get into verse 1. It says, As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. So, as a deer pants for flowing streams, I like to deer hunt. That is a hobby of mine.
I actually got to join a hunting club this year. I'm very excited about it. Been working on the land, getting it ready for the fall. One of the things that you, when you're choosing land to hunt on, you want to choose land that has a water source of some type. Because if it doesn't have a stream, or a creek, or something nearby, you will not have a lot of luck. Deer need water.
That's the point. As a deer pants for flowing streams, as an animal who is in need, who's dehydrated, who needs water to survive. So my soul pants for you, O God. We're going to see this next week in Psalm 1, when Psalm 1 says, He is like a tree planted by streams of water. That God is this vibrant life source, this well of worship, and joy, and goodness. He says, As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you.
He's desperate, in need of the Lord. And what it's setting up is that, that this man, is a man who loves the Lord. That this lament, is not disconnected from the fact, that he is a godly man. He loves the Lord. He longs for the Lord. And that, that's a part of building this category of lament.
That it needs to come from a desperate, love, and desire, and pursuit of God. Because often times, culturally, mourning, and sadness, and lamenting of our culture, isn't that. When we're sad, we'll escape. Or we'll distract ourselves. Or we'll comfort ourselves. Which in the south means, a lot of unhealthy food.
And I'm not saying, like, bringing food isn't, I'm not, I'm not down on that. But you've got to have a broader category, that says no. Godly lament, is coming before the Lord, desperately needing Him, longing for Him. That type of godly, lament, does not seek to fix, our suffering and sadness. But it, it helps us endure.
It helps us withstand. And that's what He's doing here, when He gets into verse 2. My soul thirsts, for God, for the living God. When shall I come, and appear before, God. So, we're going to see this, throughout the rest of this Psalm. But that statement there, when shall I, when shall I, come and appear before God, we're going to see it fleshed out, that He can't be, in the presence of God, right now.
That He's far away, from the presence of God. So, in this period, the presence of God, ruled and reigned from, this is either written, during the period, when the tabernacle, was in existence, or the temple. But both of those, have the same thing. This is where God, ruled and reigned, amongst the people of God. This is where, He ruled and reigned from, and this is where, worship happened, before the Lord. So, when He's separated, from the Lord here, He can't be, worshiping, before the Lord.
And that's a very, joyous event, as the sacrifices, were being offered, there was all types, of joyful singing, before the Lord. There were instruments, like trumpets, and harps, and lyres, and tambourines, and strings, and pipes, and cymbals, and dancing. Yes, dancing. Baptists. There's this joyful, worship before the Lord, and He can't be there. We don't know, if it's because, He's on the run with David, if He's one of those, Corites, or if He's been banished, from the temple.
We don't really know, why He can't be there. But He longs, to be there, like in a barren, desert, needing, thirst, He needs, God. Which, just pause for a moment. That just gives us, that elevates the importance, of corporate worship, of what we do here, every Sunday. It is good for our souls, to be here. And we just, a lot of times, we take that for granted.
Like the inside joke, for us as pastors, is if we want to make, an announcement, it's got to be not just done, on one week. You have to do it, like multiple weeks in a row. Because we're, this is something, we're not alone in this. A lot of southern churches, struggle with this. That if you're, had a long week, or retired, or you know, coming off vacation, or whatever, it's just easy, to miss out on this. And even in our church, it's a lot easier, actually to be in a community group, and show up on, in the week, than it is on a Sunday morning.
And I want to push on that, a little bit, to say no value this time. It's good. It's good for your soul, to be amongst the people of God, worshiping Him together. So he goes on in verse 3, he says, my tears have been my food, day and night. What a vivid picture of suffering. That he's, in such mourning, he can't drink from the streams, of worship, that is before the Lord, that he's, day and night, crying.
So much so, that tears are flowing down his face, they're flowing, blubbering into his mouth. And that should expand, the category for us, and especially, men more struggle with this, generally speaking, that emotions are okay. You don't have to put your emotions, in a box, and put it up on a shelf, and never talk about it again. No, like, tears are fine, it's a healthy part of worship. Jesus, the God man, wept, when he saw Mary and Martha, mourning, when Lazarus died. We should have that, as a category of response.
I'm trying to build this, in my own son, who's four. I'm trying to help him see, listen, there are things, that we don't cry about. Alright? Not getting the right ice cream, not getting the right toilet, like, that's not, you know, yesterday was his sister's birthday, and his time's frustrated, he's not, no, no, no, it's alright. We're not gonna cry about that. There are things, you do cry about.
There are things, that you should grieve, there are things, that you should have tears for. I'm trying to build that, in himself, or build that in him. We need that, we need to grow in that. He's weeping, before the Lord. My tears have been my food, day and night, while they say to me, all the day long, where is your God? So, in the midst of, weeping, he's being taunted, with where is your God?
And I would argue, that that's more than just, the skeptical taunting, of where is your God? Because we hear that, culturally, you hear that a lot. Where is your God, when the shooting in Uvalde happened? Where is your God, when children were dying? I don't think that's what's, happening here. I think it's more personal to him.
He can't be, in the presence of God. So they're, they're poking on something, that's deeply hurtful for him. Where is your God? Oh, you can't be there, amongst your people, in the presence of God. Verse four, these things, I remember, as I pour out my soul, and then he starts to, recollect, how I would go, with a throng, throng is just, a crowd, the crowd worshiping together. I would go, with the throng, and lead them in procession, to the house, of God.
With glad shouts, and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival. Oh, I remember, how I used to lead, and worship, amongst the people, with, glad shouts, and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival. That's such a human, response, in the midst of suffering, to long for the good old days. Maybe that's, maybe that's for you, that's long for the days, when you were a kid, in high school, the days of college, longing for the days, when you're in this community group, with this group of people, and this time of life, this friend group. That's very natural. That's what he's doing, he's longing, for the days, when he could joyfully, worship in the presence of God.
And in verse 5, we get this refrain. So the way that this Psalm, is structured, is you've got, verses, refrain, verses, refrain. So think like, verses, chorus, verses, chorus, that's kind of how this works. Here it is, verse 5, Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you in turmoil, within me? Why am I so sad?
Why is there so much turmoil, in my soul? That is a question, that many of us will ask, in life. Why am I so sad? Why am I depressed? What's wrong with me? Why can't I feel, better?
And a lot of times, those answers, are not readily available. Last week, we looked at Psalm 55, which was, cast your cares, your burdens, your anxieties, upon the Lord, he will sustain you. And as I walked through that, can I help us, see a little bit, that anxiety is complicated. And we've taught that in the past, it's complicated. There's, there's physical things, that contribute to that. There's spiritual things, that contribute to that.
There's behavioral patterns, there's all kinds of things, that makes anxiety, a very complex subject matter. But the scriptures, say in the midst of that, it has a word for it. It has a word for us, when it says, to cast your cares, upon the Lord. The prescription is, coming to the Lord, with our anxieties. And depression, well depression is a close cousin, of anxiety. In fact, a lot of times, they come together, for some folks.
Depression and anxiety, come together. And depression is complex. It just is. There are physical things, that add to it. All the way down, to where you live, geography matters. Right?
You live in more northern parts, of the hemisphere. It's a little bit harder, when you have less sunlight. Sunlight matters. The vitamin D is, it matters. Seasonal affect, depression matters. That sometimes winter, is very hard.
There are physical things, there's chemical things, that are happening, that contribute to depression. There's behavioral patterns, that contribute to depression, and deep sadness. It's a strong correlation, between social media usage, and depression. Especially, the younger you are. There's contributing factors, that make it a very complicated, thing. It is definitely, multifactorial.
The part of the treatment, is very similar. It's coming before the Lord, with our depression. Coming before the Lord, with our sadness. That's what the psalmist, is doing here. He's deeply depressed. He's lamenting, before the Lord.
And he's asking, before the Lord, his own soul, why are you cast down? Why is the innermost part, of my being, so deeply sad, and distressed? Why is there so much, turmoil within me? Or as one songwriter, paraphrases this. He says, why so disturbed, within me? He's asking this.
These are difficult questions, to ask before the Lord. You have to, that's the question, why is he asking this, of himself, before the Lord? And it's very simply, he is acknowledging reality. He is acknowledging, his reality, before the Lord. That he, is in a desperate, depressed, sad, state. You can try to act, like you're not depressed.
Try to act, like you're not sad. You can try to grit your teeth, and get through it. Or, you can acknowledge, reality, before the Lord. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of the most famous, preachers, in western, history, the last 500 years. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, was, I mean, had an early ministry, from 20 all the way, until he passed away, in his mid-50s. And what some people, don't realize is, that Spurgeon, if you read about his life, was depressed, on and off, most of his life.
Most of his adult life. He struggled with depression. I mean, there are times, where he literally, he could not, muster the strength, to stand up, and proclaim the word of God. He's nicknamed, the prince of preachers. That's his nickname. That's a dope nickname, that you want, if you're a preacher.
But he, could not muster, the strength sometimes, to actually come, before the Lord, and proclaim the word of God. That there were times, that he was deeply, deeply sad. And part of it, there's multiple things, there's multiple things, that contributed to that. One of the things, that he had, was he had chronic pain. That he had, chronic gout, and kidney disease. And he had to leave London.
The doctor said, you need to leave London. So he had a place, in the south of France, where he would go, to get better weather, less harsh climate, more sunlight. That's actually where he died. Because he got away, out of London. And he just never came back, because he died there. Spurgeon, once said this, I could say with Job, and Job is an Old Testament story, where a man suffered immensely.
I could say with Job, my soul chooseth strangling, rather than life. And then he says, I could readily enough, have laid, violent hands upon myself, to escape, from my misery, of spirit. That is Spurgeon saying, that, I could have readily, harmed myself, than endure this, miserable, spiritual state. And Spurgeon, was a great man of faith. He understood, this song well. He's a great man of faith, and some people will try to reduce, depression down to, well, if you just have enough faith, you'd be joyful.
Don't you, don't you know the gospel? Don't you know how good, the news is? Just believe the gospel. And it's just not, that simple, sometimes. To muster up enough faith, to lift you out of this. Faith does not guarantee, hear this, faith does not guarantee, a permanent state of joy.
It just doesn't, not this side of the fall. It does not guarantee, a permanent state of joy. But in faith, we get to endure, through suffering, through lament. And through, hear this, a right understanding, of who God is. So when he says, why are you cast down, oh my soul, and why are you in turmoil, within me, in his next breath, he says, hope in God.
For I shall again, praise him, my salvation, and my God. In the midst of depression, he knows where his ultimate hope, is found. His hope is in the Lord. He's not able to praise God, joyfully now. That day is coming for him. He will joyfully praise God again, but it is not yet.
So that's the refrain, that's going to be repeated at the end. And then, from that position of faith, knowing who God is, he continues, my soul is cast down, within me. Therefore, I remember you, from the land of Jordan, and of Hermon, from Mount Mazar. So this is where we see, how separated he is. Okay? But he is in the land of Jordan.
He's, that's far away from Jerusalem. That's how far he is, as he's, suffering, longing to be back in Jerusalem. Longing to be, before the Lord, in his presence. And then verse 7, he says, deep calls, to deep, at the roar, of your waterfalls. All your breakers, and your waves, have gone, over me. Water is very metaphorical, throughout the scriptures, and how it's being used.
You just saw, in verse 1, like God is a stream of water, that he longs for. But the picture here changes. It's replaced with, a violent picture of water. The roar of a waterfall. Waves crashing, over him. Like the judgment waters, that crashed over, Jonah.
This is the picture, that's happening here. And I want you to hear, what he says. I want you to, he feels the pain, but I want you to acknowledge, I want you to see, what he acknowledges here. He says, your breakers, your waves, have gone over me. He's talking to God. Your breakers, your waves, have gone over me.
And that highlights, and taps into, a difficult truth, that is mysterious, and hard, to wrap our minds around, that God is sovereign, over suffering. He's sovereign, over our suffering, and our pain. People try to get around that, try to explain that away, and they'll say, no, it's actually, this is the work of the devil, that increases suffering, in our lives, or this is our own flesh, you know, our own sin, you know, results in suffering, or the world, is a fallen place, and in a fallen place, there is suffering, and all of that is true. Okay? The enemy absolutely does, increase suffering. Our sinful mistakes, absolutely do, increase suffering.
We do live in a world, that is fallen, and broken, and because of that, suffering exists, but, God is sovereign, over all of that. Which is why he says, your breakers, your waves, God has ordained for him, to suffer in that purpose. God ordained suffering, in our lives. We don't always understand why, we don't understand the purposes, the mysteries, all behind it. But don't miss that, when he says, your breakers, and your waves, are crashing over me.
And as he says, that, right, in the next breath, he says in verse 8, by day, the Lord commands, his steadfast love. And at night, his song is with me, a prayer to, the God, of my life. As he's acknowledging, the suffering, the God is sovereign, over the waves, and your breakers, are crashing, over me. You are the God, of steadfast love. And look at this, at night, his song is with me, that at night, he's worshipping God. This man loves the Lord.
He is worshipping, in the midst of his suffering. And he's pouring out, songs, and prayers. And we get a glimpse, of his prayers, in verse 9, when he says, I say, to my God, my rock, why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning, because of the oppression, of the enemy? As with a deadly wound, in my bones, my adversaries, my adversaries, taught me, while they say to me, all the day long, where is your God? He says, I say to my God, why have you forgotten me?
What a bold prayer. Why have you forgotten me? Why do you, why do you allow my enemies, to taunt me like this, in the midst of my, suffering? That almost feels dangerous, to question God like that. And it would be dangerous, if it was done from a place of arrogance, or a place of pride, if he was questioning, the character of God. But he's not doing that.
He says, you're the God of steadfast love, you are my rock. The breakers, your breakers, he understands, who God is, and the character of God. So he's not doing this, from a place of arrogance, or pride, or self-righteousness. He's doing it, from a place of deep humility. It's a legitimate plea. Spurgeon, once said that, faith is allowed, to inquire of her God, the causes, of his displeasure.
They're done from a place, of faith. faith. You can ask, God, why have you forgotten me? Why have you forgotten me? Why am I so sad? Why do I suffer, O Lord? And then he ends it in verse 5, or the repeated refrain of verse 5, shows it in verse 11.
This is the final verse. He says, why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you in turmoil, within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my salvation, and my God. And that's it. There's a promise, a future joy, but it's not now.
And it is an end joyfully. It acknowledges the reality of it. There's no verse 12 that says, and everything gets awesome. This is not, it's not what happens here. It just ends. And I could expand on this Psalm, in a lot of different ways.
There's a lot of different directions, you can run with this, to deal with sadness, and loss, and depression, and suffering. I just want to, I just want to end, on one idea. You need, good theology, to help you endure, a downcast soul, in turmoil. You need, a right understanding, of who God is, and a right worship of who, of God, to endure, depression, suffering, and loss. Jerry Bridges, a pastor once said, trust is not a passive state, of mind. Faith, is not a passive state, of mind.
It is a vigorous act, of the soul, by which we choose, to lay hold, on the promises of God, and cling to them, despite the adversity, that at times, seeks to overwhelm us. He says, faith, is not a passive state, where you're passively, just believing, the promises of God, is a active, vigorous, clinging to, claiming, holding, the promises, of God, laying hold, of who he, is, and that happens, throughout this entire Psalm. Verse 2, God is the living God, verse 5, God is my salvation, verse 8, God is the God, of steadfast love, verse 9, God is my rock, verse 11, God is the God, of my salvation. This psalmist, has a healthy, understanding, of who God is.
And there is a great danger, as a Christian, being unprepared, for, suffering. There's a danger, and an over emphasis, on positivity, on faking it, until you make it. On saying, I'm fine, I'm good, I'm good, I'm good, I'm fine. And never, actually, preparing your soul, for what awaits you. If your understanding, of God, and believing in Him, is that He is going to, faith, equals, blessing, in this life. If that's the equation, of your heart, that you are setting yourself up, for failure.
You're setting yourself up, for, when that happens, the questions of God, that are not done, from a position of faith, but are done, from a position of arrogance. It says, I would not believe, in a God, who lets, this happen. I can't believe, in a God, who would let, this person die. My brother, my sister, my father, my child. I can't believe, in a God, who would allow, this type of suffering, in my life.
Psalm 55: Cast Your Anxieties
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. So before we get into the text for today in Psalm 55, which is on page 272, if you want to go ahead and flip there, just have a church family quick announcement to address really the elephant in the room. So Friday was a big emotional day in our country with the fall of Roe v.
Wade. If you've not been around our church the last few years, we are not a political church in the slightest. We do approach things biblically as they arise in the scriptures. When it talks about life in the womb, when it talks about justice, we will address the issue. We do believe as a church that life begins at conception. We believe that God is knitting and forming a child in the womb.
And where biblical ethics overlap with political things, we will actually address that from the scriptures. Now, I'm not going to get into all of that today. What I will say is if you have not been here long enough, and that was a lot to hear, I would invite you, please have a conversation with me or one of the pastors. We would love to have that conversation with you. I understand it is a very, very hot button issue right now, and there are a ton of emotions that are stirring in the midst of all of that. But the reason I say that is because that ruling will directly affect this state.
And there will be an opportunity for Christians to do what we are called to do in the coming years in this state. There will be unplanned pregnancies that happen in this state. And we as Christians are called to care for orphans. That's biblically, James 1, 27, the pure undefiled religion before the father is this, to visit the orphans and the widows. That is historically, the church has stood up for orphans all the way back to the first, second, and third century when children who had birth defects were being abandoned by Roman families and Christians were swooping in and adopting children. We get the opportunity to live out our faith and the calling of Christians when it comes to orphan care.
That we'll have an opportunity to step into that through the foster system, which some of you should be praying about. Domestic adoption. We have families that do domestic and international adoption in our church. I say all that to say that we have a benevolence fund in our church. It's $15,000 this year. That benevolence fund is for a lot of different things, from paying for families in our church that are behind on payments, to supplementing counseling costs, to engaging community needs that we do from time to time.
We have $15,000 that we set aside in our budget for that. We will be, in the future, giving adoption grants out of that because we want to incentivize and come alongside some of the financial costs of adoption because we deeply care about orphans. And my hope, my prayer is in the response to all of this, that we would first walk in wisdom, be salt and light, but that we would get behind the biblical ethic of orphan care and actually step into a need that is going to happen. So I want to start this conversation. If you have questions about any of that, please don't leave today frustrated or angry.
Please come and talk and we can start a conversation. But we are going to be moving this direction with orphan care and we want to encourage this as a church family. So we're going to be in Psalm 55 today, which is on page 272 in your blue Bibles. You can turn there and follow along. The text will be on the screen. These first three Psalms and this summer in the Psalms that we have deal with.
Last week, Chad introduced the idea in Psalm 37, a fret not. Be still before the Lord. Don't worry. This week, we get to walk into that a little more from Psalm 55. The next week is a Psalm of lament. It's kind of all three go together on this broader subject matter of what do you do in the midst of suffering.
So we're in Psalm 55. We'll follow along with that in a moment. About a month ago, if you know me, I love music. I listen to lots of different types of music, different genres of music, different time periods of music. And I have Spotify, different playlists and shuffles that happen. And I had a shuffle.
I was in a late 90s, early 2000s music, alternative music kind of mood. So I was letting the Spotify shuffle. And that's, you know, that was my childhood, late 90s, early 2000s. So these are songs that I grew up listening to. And then all of a sudden, one came on and it hit differently because when you're listening to a song, when you are a kid, it doesn't hit the same when you're in your 30s. So it was a song called Breathe by Anna Nolik.
That, you know, 2 a.m. and she calls me because I'm still awake. All right. So that song. Listening to it, I'm like, oh man, I remember this. And then all of a sudden, the chorus hit. And I went, oh man.
The chorus says this, because you can't jump the track. We're like cars on a cable. And life's like an hourglass glued to the table. No one can find the rewind button now. So cradle your head and your hands and breathe.
Just breathe. And I heard that and I went, oh man, I did not know songs from Grey's Anatomy could do that to me. Like I just, I was like, man, she has a point. Life is like an hourglass glued to the table. Like there is no rewind button. She's talking about all like difficult situations and life is hard and suffering happens.
And her advice is cradle your head and your hands and breathe. Just breathe. And I was like, yes, man, that is so good. It's so close. Like you almost got it. You got part of the picture.
The gospel gives us a more complete picture. And this Psalm 55 today helps paint that in more completely. It helps give us a picture of what to do in the midst of suffering when life hits us in the face and how we are called to respond. We're going to look at this, the Psalmist David, in the midst of deep trials and suffering. And we're going to see his response and how that is key for us and important for us in understanding how we are to respond in the moments of trial. So if you feel overwhelmed right now, if you feel ridden with worry or anxiety, if you feel like you are struggling, this Psalm is for you.
Okay? Let me pray for us and then we will get going. Father, I pray that you would help us be present this morning. You help us hear the words of the Psalm, the wisdom that is bound up in it, that it would be balm for the soul. That it would help us see how we would respond in the midst of trials and suffering. And that you would help us walk this out in faith, in repentance, in glorious worship.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. Verse 1. He says, Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy. Attend to me and answer me.
I am restless in my complaint and I moan. There are four urgent pleas right out the gate. He says, Give ear. Don't hide yourself from me, O God. Pay attention. Answer me.
This is a desperate, needy posture. Lord, listen to me. Give ear to my prayer. And then he says, I am restless in my complaint and I moan. You ever heard someone moan before? And by someone, I mean not a child.
In our household, we have, in the summertime, we have ice cream. Because we're a fun family. And I'm a cool dad. And we have, my wife bought the variety pack of, box of drumsticks. Which back in the day, they just had like the vanilla centered ones. Not anymore, you guys.
They have ones that are filled with chocolate in the inside. And caramel in the inside. And about every day, our kids are like, Can we have ice cream? And most days, we're like, Yes. Now, they love the ones that have the chocolate and the caramel in the center. Right?
Because that's awesome. And, you know, they get the chocolate ones. I may or may not clear out the caramel ones. But by the end of the week, or however long we have them, what's left is just the original ones, the OG drumstick. And there is weeping and lamenting in our house sometimes. But there's moaning and deep complaint.
And it's like, Oh man, y'all have not experienced suffering yet. If this is the type of lamenting that happens. Like, it's not a child. But if you ever heard, you ever heard an adult moan? And deep pain. It hurts the soul.
It is heavy. It is a deep hurt. Deep complaint. That's what's happening here. And then in verse 3, he says, Because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked, for they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me. So, context.
David is the Lord's anointed. He is a man after God's own heart. God fiercely loves David. David fiercely loves David. And yet, he ordains that David suffers. In fact, when you follow his life in 1 and 2 Samuel, you see he suffers over and over again.
He has enemies that seek to destroy him, to kill him. Some of these Psalms are written in the midst of those times. And that's what's happening here. So, God loves his people deeply. That does not mean he will spare us from suffering in the slightest. Verse 4, it says, My heart is in anguish within me.
The terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me. And horror overwhelms me. David is in emotional and physical torment. He's restless. He cannot sleep.
Moaning. It says, His heart is in anguish. Fear of death. Fear and trembling are upon him. Horror overwhelms him. And some of you have felt that.
You felt that with the death of a loved one. You felt that with abandonment that has happened in your life. That type of deep anguish of the heart. You felt that with rejection that happens in a way that makes you question reality itself and what's happening in your life. We feel this. And at some point, if you have not felt this, you will feel this.
Suffering is guaranteed this side of the fall. You will feel this type of pain, the kind of pain deep in your soul when you have no more tears to cry. And when this happens, you may feel tempted to run. And that's what David feels here in verse 6. And I say, Oh, that I had wings like a dove. I would fly away and be at rest.
Yes, I would wander far away. I would lodge in the wilderness. Selah. Which, by the way, we don't know what Selah means. Okay? In the Hebrew, we just don't know.
It could be a pause. It could be a musical note. Not even Kanye knows what Selah means. We don't know what that means. But before that, he's like, if I had wings, if I could just spread and get away, if I could fly away, if I could wander and get in the wilderness.
Who hasn't wanted that to run from your problems? Who hasn't wanted to flee and get away from it all? Maybe you're someone in a marriage that is filled with suffering and you want out. Maybe you're a teenager that's in a home that you maybe feel misunderstood. Or maybe it just feels toxic. Or maybe you're the parent of a teenager where you feel misunderstood and things are tumultuous and you just want to get away.
Listen, most of us, we're not going to physically escape. It's not going to happen. But we will do it mentally. Right? That's our go-to. We'll mentally escape.
We'll go to Netflix. We'll go to social media. We'll go to pornography. Because that's easy and controllable. To get away from it. Fly away to it.
What feels like a safer place but ultimately isn't safe for the soul. David feels that. He wants to get away from it all. He's acknowledging that before the Lord. I want to get away. Verse 8, I would hurry, verse 8, to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.
A tempest is a storm. I could just find shelter in the midst of all of this from this storm. From this raging storm of suffering that he's enduring. Maybe you've wanted that. Maybe you've wanted that. You've been in a group and a community group that feels like there's a lot of suffering, a lot of trials, a lot of people that are hurting.
Maybe there's some relational drama that's happening. You just want to get away from it all. Maybe you're a group leader and you feel that as a group leader. I just want to stop leading this group. Maybe you feel this as it pertains to the whole church family. It's like, I just want to leave this church.
I want to find somewhere else. I want to find shelter from what I'm facing. Listen, you have felt this or you will feel this. This side of the fall in a world that's filled with suffering. David feels this. He feels this and he continues in verse 9 to describe what he's facing.
Destroy, verse 9, O Lord, divide their tongues for I see violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go around it on its walls and iniquity and trouble are within it. Ruin is in its midst. Oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace. So he has enemies that seek to destroy him but he's also in a city that's filled with oppression and fraud and violence and sin.
He wants to get away from it all to the wilderness. He wants to leave it all behind. That's a familiar feeling for our country. And that was 2020. Cities falling apart. People trying to leave and get away from all of it.
My sister recently moved to Bozeman, Montana with her husband. And when they moved out there and they were, before they moved out there they were on a job interview out there and the Uber driver that was driving around said, hey, where are you from? They said, we're from South Carolina. He said, oh good. He said, as long as you're not from California. Because Montana and some of the states have been overwhelmed.
People trying to get away from the cities, get away from the violence, get away from everything that's happening. The reality is it's not just the cities that have sin all over it. It's the suburbs. It's your phone. It's the internet. It's all around us.
David feels this. Iniquity, sin is all around him but the situation is much worse. In verse 12 it says, for it is not an enemy who taunts me, then I could bear it. It is not an adversary who deals insolently with me, then I could hide from it. The enemies are not the worst part of what I'm facing here. Verse 13, but it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend.
We used to take sweet counsel together. Within God's house we walked in the throng. David has been stabbed in the back and betrayed by a close friend. By a familiar friend. That's an intimate, close friend. A friend he used to go to advice for.
The end of throng is worship. So he used to worship together with him in the house of the Lord. This friend has betrayed him and it is crushing. If you've ever been betrayed, it hurts. My first big dose of that was when I was 17 and naive, 17, dating a girl, thinking, things are, things are great. All of a sudden, boom, find out she's cheating on me with not one, not two, but most likely three.
Couldn't confirm the third one, but I'm almost positive. Third. Three of my friends and football teammates crushed me. I was like so naive. Like how could this happen? You were my friends.
You were my girlfriend. What in the world? And it taught me one valuable lesson. You really cannot trust anyone fully in this life like you can, God. No one is 100% dependable like the Lord. But what came out of that is a lot of cynicism and a lot of deep anger.
I worked through it, you guys. It took some years to be able to get in to trust some people. But if you felt that kind of betrayal, it hurts if you've been betrayed by a family member or a friend or a church family member, a mentor or a child or a parent or a significant other. It hurts. When you've had your trust violated seemingly beyond repair, it hurts. One of the most famous lines in all of Western literature is from Julius Caesar, Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
And Caesar, in the midst of the conspirators, in the midst of the senators who are killing him or stabbing him is fearless. He's fearless. But the moment he sees Brutus, his friend, he's no longer fearless. One of those famous lines, et tu, Brute. And you, Brutus. And this is a picture of, oh, man, you would betray me as well.
A dear, close friend. That's what David feels. A king betrayed by a close friend. And when that happens for us, you will, there's a part of you that longs for retribution. Longs for, maybe it's not retribution, but it's justice. But you feel that in you.
That's what David feels in verse 15. He says, let death steal over them. Which is a poetic way of saying, let death come upon them by surprise. Let them go down to Sheol alive. Sheol's the place of death. The best I can tell what he's saying there is let them be buried alive.
For evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart. David has put his enemies, the evil in the city, his close friend, all in the same category as he's lamenting before the Lord all of this. this shows the real thoughts and sorrow that David feels. Many of us have felt that. Maybe a co-worker that has hurt you. Maybe a family member that has hurt you. We can't relate to what David is saying here.
And then a shift happens in verse 16. After 15 verses of David before the Lord lamenting all the pain and suffering that he has endured and is facing, he shifts to the one whom he's crying out to in verse 16 and says this, but I call to God and the Lord will save me. He cries out to God because God is his help. Throughout the Psalms you see this one of the ones that David writes and throughout the Psalms the Lord is our help. The Lord is our salvation. This cry here in this Psalm is personally humbling for me to read this, to see this on display because what happens for me and I'm probably not alone is that when I face problems right, every now and then it's like clockwork in our family.
Every three years we're due for like a major medical bill that just comes out of nowhere and when it comes like we're feeling with right now it's like alright I'm going to hustle who I got to call alright, insurance company, doctors, how are we going to negotiate this? I get into I'm going to fix this.