Psalm 57

GOD-CONFIDENCE

Are you a confident person? You might say “It depends.” If we are doing something that we have done before and are sure that we know how to do it correctly, we are confident in ourselves. Put yourself in a totally unfamiliar situation and do what you have never done before and you might not be so confident.

            Some people have an aura of confidence about them no matter what situation they are in. They appear to know exactly what they are doing all the time. Either they are faking it or they really believe they can do anything.

            Confidence is generally described as a state of being certain that either a hypothesis is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Self-confidence is having confidence in oneself, even where others doubt you. This does not necessarily mean “self-belief.” You can be inept at a sport or other activity but still be confident as a person. When you are self-confident in this way you are not worried about failure or the disapproval of others if you do fail. Self-confidence actually allows you to enjoy what you are doing no matter the outcome. Arrogance though, is believing you are correct when it is obvious you are not correct at all. And Overconfidence is excessive belief in yourself without regard to failure and perhaps to your own detriment.

            I want to introduce a different term this morning regarding confidence. Have you heard of God-confidence?

Self-confidence is good, but being confident in God is better. When we put our trust in God and His revealed Word, our lives take on a new stability, focus, and poise. God-confidence is really confidence in God’s promises and power.

            David exemplified God-confidence in the situation that Psalm 57 celebrates. And we can know God-confidence in our own lives if we choose to adopt David’s attitude. David teaches us what it means to be confident in God even if we are holed up in a cave.

I want to look with you at five principles in Psalm 57 that teach us something about the God-confidence that David possessed. As we read in 1 Samuel 24, David was once again being pursued by Saul. King Saul was jealous of David, the giant-killer and knew that David was next in line to sit on the throne of Israel. People sang the praises of Saul, “Saul has killed thousands,” but they really exalted David who “killed tens of thousands.” So Saul set out to kill David, that young upstart. Now he’s got David trapped in a cave, though he does not know it. And David is face with a dilemma: kill Saul or…

1. David’s Confidence began with God’s Mercy

Psalm 57 is called a miktam. There is some controversy as to what this means. Derek Kidner says that it is a silent prayer. As David fears discovery while Saul “uses the John” in the cave, David prays, “Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge,” (1a).

            Ironically, David and his men fled into the bowels of the cave to find refuge. But their refuge has become a trap. We learn two things from David’s predicament: First, we cannot rely on human merit. Our intelligence or genius is limited. It seemed like a good idea to run into the cave and hide but genius turned to folly. Second, we cannot rely on human means. Our best methods and plans or programs are sometimes not enough to “save us” from our problems.

            David, in the midst of the cave found his true refuge to be the mercy of God. The picture of “refuge” David gives is of baby chicks nestling under their mother’s wings as a predator flies over. For a chick this is the safest place to be.

            Saul was David’s predator. Pressed against the wall of the cave, a wave of fear must have caught in David’s throat. On the cusp of discovery you almost want to yell out and end the suspense, but the words won’t come. Instead, David prays silently to his true refuge, to his God. He could kill Saul and end this, or rest on God’s power to protect him.

2. David’s Confidence rested in God’s purposes for him

David’s prayer continues with the line, “I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purposes for me…” (2). Saul was a disappointment as Israel’s king. This is why the Lord had Samuel anoint David as Israel’s next king. David’s men saw this moment in the cave as a shortcut to the throne for David. How does David answer, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lift my hand against him…” (1 Sam. 24:6).

            Saul may have been a disappointment but God put him on the throne and David believed that God would remove him in His time. David submitted to Saul as the rightful king and vowed to serve him, even if he was insane. That’s how much David trusted God and God’s purposes for him. He was confident that the Lord would make him king of Israel just as God promised he would, but David was not going to sin to make this a reality. God-confidence requires a patient trust in God’s plans.

3. David’s Confidence allowed him to claim hope in the midst of trouble

I found verse 4 perplexing. I wondered if the lions and beasts, these men with spears and arrows for teeth and tongues like sharp swords were Saul and his army, or David’s own men urging him to kill Saul. I didn’t know – still don’t. Both are possible. David says, “They spread a net for my feet – I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path – but they have fallen into it themselves,” (6). The net or the pit may have been the temptation to take the shortcut. Or it may have been Saul slandering David to the people of Israel.

            Take note of this: between v. 4 and 6 there is an insertion, an interlude if you will. In the midst of trouble, David praises God. It’s like he’s saying, “This is not good; this is gonna be real bad – Praise the LORD! – Oh, this is bad.” But it’s not that way at all. As David considers the beasts and the traps, he thinks to glorify God, “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth,” (5).

            What does it mean to glorify God? The Hebrew word for glory has the idea of weight, heaviness, worthiness, reputation, honor. We might say of someone, “He’s a heavyweight in his field.” What we mean is, “This guy is a person of substance, someone to be reckoned with.” When glory is applied to God, it means that we consider God worthy of all honor because of who He is, perfect in all His ways.

            So David is looking at the heavy situation of pits, traps, and beasts, at the tight spot he’s in, being between a rock and a hard place, and he suddenly remembers “God is heavier.” God is greater than all my troubles.

4. David’s Confidence in God led to worship

David’s God-confidence leads him to continue worshiping God, even in the cave. Praise is not our natural response in a time of trial. We would sooner complain or get angry with God, or pout. But even though David’s enemy had “fixed” a net to catch him (6, “spread”), David had “fixed” his heart (7, same root word) to praise God. He said, “My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast…” (7).

            That word “steadfast” shows up in Isaiah 26:3 where the prophet said, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you.” David had peace in his cave; that peace caused him to worship God.

            If you don’t feel like praising God, does that make you a hypocrite if you raise your hands and sing anyways? No, it’s obedience. Hypocrisy doesn’t mean doing things you don’t feel like doing. If this is hypocrisy, then I’m a hypocrite every morning, because I don’t feel like getting out of bed. Hypocrisy is trying to present a false impression to others so that you look better than you are. Praising God is obedience and an attitude of giving God what He deserves.

5. David’s Confidence glorified God to others

More than likely, David wrote the content of this Psalm some time after the event occurred. His intention was that others would know what it means to find their confidence in God. David said, “I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies,” (9-10).

            Why share this praise of God with others? Charles Spurgeon wrote, “I think I may say to every person whom I am addressing, if you are yourself saved, the work is but half done until you are employed to bring others to Christ. You are as yet but half formed in the image of your Lord. You have not attained to the full development of the Christ-life in you unless you have commenced in some feeble way to tell others of the grace of God; and I trust that you will find no rest to the sole of your foot till you have been the means of leading many to that blessed Saviour who is your confidence and your hope?”[i]

            David wanted to tell others of his confidence in the glory of God so that they also would glorify God. His love stretches to the heavens; His faithfulness is as great as the sky is broad.

Application

I have focused exclusively on David in briefly examining Psalm 57. What does God-confidence have to do with us? With you? Why do we need this confidence in Christian living?

            We know that faith is the law of God’s kingdom, so as Christians we cannot be spiritually successful if we don’t have faith. But confidence is like the match that ignites the faith fuse. Confidence like this is developed as we spend more time with God. We know that spending time with our spouses or friends develops our confidence in them because we get to know their character through time spent. By constantly fellowshipping with the Lord, meditating on His Word, rehearsing the great things He has done in our lives, and remembering His faithfulness, we develop ultimate trust and confidence in Him. The more confident we become in Him, the more our faith will be activated.

            So as we consider the pattern of David in Psalm 57 we see a similar pattern of God-confidence in the letter to the Philippians.

            1. Paul puts the first principle in negative terms: “Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh…” (Phil. 3:2-3). Paul goes on to say that if anyone had reason to put such confidence in oneself it is him. But before God, what you have done, whatever degrees you have earned, who your family is (your pedigree), your status before people, your religious devotion, whatever prestige you think you have to be confident in…it’s all rubbish. Paul counts it all a loss for the sake of Christ and so should we.

            The only confidence that assures us of anything is the confidence that Christ has gained our mercy before God.

            2. When we think of God’s purposes for us we need to beware the temptation of some vainglory. What I mean is – don’t get all Jeremiah 29:11 on me. God specifically called David to a special task, being the king of Israel. God had a special purpose for Israel too as referenced in Jer. 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you, etc.” That is not for you. If you look at the context you will see clearly that you do not live in Babylon and so on. The principles of this passage can be applied generally, but God does not have some special assignment for you, as He did for David. Get over yourself.

            Today, many preachers speak of God having a purpose for your life. Unfortunately, their teaching pushes that there is only one thing in life God wants you to do, and somehow you have to find out what that is and do it or miss out.

            But hear Paul and know this, “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus,” (Phil. 1:6). That which was begun in you is the work of salvation, and God will not stop working this out in you until Christ comes again. In this you can be confident. You are not yet what you will be, but neither are you what you were before.

            3. God-confidence that is built upon the foundation of knowing Christ Jesus, for whose sake I have lost all things, allows us to do everything that God calls us to do. Paul declared, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength,” (Phil. 4:13). That is quite a claim. Do you and I believe this? I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength?

            I am confident that what Paul means includes the prospect of failure. I can do all things, and even if I fail, God can use it for His glory (Ro. 8:28). I can confidently fail knowing that God can do more than I can imagine. I confess that my God-confidence quotient has not risen to that challenge yet, but I’m working on it.

            4. Finally, David rejoiced in God even while he lingered in the cave waiting for deliverance. You know what Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4). This requires God-confidence so that we rejoice even when we don’t yet see the results.

            Someone asked me the other day how the ministry was going. My response surprised me, a melancholy type, as I replied, “Can’t complain,” and then said, “God is good.” I wondered who said that. Me? God is changing me. God can change you too if you put your confidence in His work in you.

                                                            AMEN

I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath--these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely--these are my native air.[ii]

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[i] Spurgeon, Charles " Instruction In Soul Winning "

[ii] Dr. E. Stanley Jones

Psalm 32

IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS…

Sin is a burden we all bear. Even as Christians we struggle with the constant reality that we sin. If we deny our sinfulness we deceive ourselves.

            We also know the joy of forgiveness. Christians of all people should know that sin has no chain that God’s grace cannot break. Sin has been defeated and the confession of our sin makes it roll off of our backs.

            The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan illustrates this beautifully. This is an old classic story that I encourage you to read. The Pilgrim’s Progress has been largely forgotten in our time. But the dramatic picture of forgiveness speaks to our hearts today even still.

            Pilgrim leaves his wife, children, and village to seek out the calling of his soul. He is restless and keenly aware that his life is headed for destruction. So Pilgrim sets out with a large burden on his back to find the truth that will set him free.

            Through a series of adventures on his long journey to find redemption while carrying this burden on his back, Pilgrim finally comes to a cross on a hill. There Jesus appears and Pilgrim hears him say, “Father forgive them.” Pilgrim realizes his sin put Jesus on the cross and says, “Forgive me.” Immediately the burden on his back loosens and rolls down the hill. Jesus tells Pilgrim his name is now Christian.

            The joy we know in the confession of our sins, the freedom of forgiveness that we experience ought to compel us to run to Jesus whenever we sin. Sadly, we carry our sin around with us like Pilgrim’s burden for various reasons.

            David wrote Psalm 32 with both of these perspectives in mind: the joy of forgiveness and the pain of unconfessed sin. We are going to study the first five verses of David’s maskil. A maskil is a term of instruction meaning that David wanted his readers to learn from his own experience how wonderful it is to know God’s forgiveness and to seek it for themselves.

1. The Power of Forgiveness

Two decades ago a nationally-known pastor in the US resigned, explaining to his congregation “Along the way I have stepped over the line of acceptable behavior with some members of the congregation. He added that “he tried on his own to face unspecified childhood issues and had been involved in years of denial and faulty coping techniques.”[i]

            David does not say, “Blessed is he whose unspecified childhood issues are forgiven and whose denial and faulty coping techniques are covered…” David uses direct language to tell us about his moral failing. Psalm 32 is a companion piece to Psalm 51, both expressing David’s remorse over his sin with Bathsheba. He felt his sin deeply and names it pointedly.

            “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit,” (1-2).

            David uses four words for sin and four concepts for forgiveness to make his point. Hebrew is very much a picture language and so the words need unpacking:

a) Transgression is a word that means “to step over the boundaries.” We know that God has set up laws for human behavior, a code of ethics for right living, but we choose to go against those laws even though we know better. Transgression refers to human defiance of God’s good and perfect will.

            David says that his transgressions are forgiven. Forgiven means “to bear, carry off, or take away a burden.” Our sin is a burden which God bears and takes away through Christ on the cross. Christ is our scapegoat, an animal designated in Hebrew Scriptures to take the blame while everyone goes free.

b) Sin means “to miss the mark” and is an archery term referring to an arrow missing the target altogether. Sin is coming short of what God intended for us in terms of righteousness.

            David says his sins are covered. We might use the common colloquialism today, “I’ve got you covered,” when we think of someone taking care of our debt. But God puts our sins out of His sight; as far as East is from West, so far has He removed our transgressions; we are covered by the blood of Christ.

c) Iniquity as a term is not used in the NIV here but KJV and NASB do. It means “bent or twisted.” Iniquity is the result of our twisting or perverting that which is good and using it for wickedness.

            David’s iniquity, he says, was not counted against him. It was not charged to his account, in other words. Romans 4:1-8 tells of how Abraham believed God and it was credited to him, or counted or reckoned to him as righteousness. Paul goes on to explain that a man’s wages are not a gift but an obligation, but a man who trusts in God to forgive his sin is credited with or gifted with righteousness apart from works.

d) Deceit is the deliberate cover-up of sinfulness. We present a false front to look good even though you know you are not. “If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves…”[ii]

            David says “happy is the one in whose spirit is no deceit.” There is no guile, no pretence, no falseness before God. The person who is happy is the one who comes before God and says “I sinned” and does not cover it up with psychological terminology such as “faulty coping techniques.”

            We live in a time when we are afraid to call sin what it is – “Sin.” Sexual promiscuity is sin; pornography is sin; gossip is sin; adultery is sin; lying is sin; slander is sin; rebelling against your parents is sin…and we are all guilty. But there is joy in forgiveness. David tells us that these burdens can be rolled away the moment we come to the cross of Christ and confess that for these sins Jesus died.

2. The Problems Associated with Concealed Sin

David tried to go on living with his sin, ignoring it, pretending it was not a thing, and discovered three problems with hiding his sin. David’s disavowal of sin led to three results:

a) Physical Effects – David discovered that concealing his sin from God produced physical problems in his body so that he felt like an old man. “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long,” (3). Sin takes a physical toll on us. When I withheld a confession that I wrecked my car from my parents I lost my appetite till I confessed.

            Charles Spurgeon wrote, “When through neglect I failed to confess, or through despair dared not to do so, “my bones,” those solid pillars of my frame, the strongest portion of my bodily constitutions, “waxed old,” began to decay with weakness, for my grief was so intense as to sap my health and destroy my vital energy. What a killing thing sin is!”

b) Spiritual Effects – David also discovered a spiritual price to pay in concealing his sin. “For day and night your hand was heavy upon me,” (4a). Guilt can lie like a stone on your chest. David felt as though God were pressing down on him so that he could not sleep. The truth is that sin creates a barrier between us and God; sin hinders our relationship with God.

c) Emotional Effects – David tells us that he has dried up! “My strength was sapped as in the heat of summer,” (4b). I enjoy warm summers but humidity always gets me. When we were in SD it was 40 degrees and humid; I nearly fainted because of my high blood pressure issues. David’s concealed sin was leading to depression; his emotional well-being was at risk the longer he denied any wrong-doing.

            These verses remind us that when we don’t fully confess we will experience physical, spiritual, and emotional distress. Anger and bitterness can come as a result of unconfessed sin and will eat your insides out. Ulcers, high blood pressure, migraine headaches, and lower back pain can come from concealing our sins. Karl Menninger, the famed psychiatrist, once said that if he could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75% of them would walk out the next day!

            One famous atheist said, "The one thing I envy about you Christians is that you have someone to forgive you." Indeed, why carry sin and sin’s effects when God is so willing to forgive you?

3. The Pattern for Confronting Sin

David knew that holding on to his sin was “killing” him. He also knew that the cure for the effects of sin was personal confession of sin. He said, “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.’ And you forgave the guilt of my sin,” (5).

a) Don’t cover it up – Note that there is a difference between God “covering” our sins (1b) and when we try to cover our sins (5a). Adam and Eve realized they were naked in the garden following their sin, so they tried vainly to cover their shame with leaves. This futile attempt at disguising sin is as bad as trying to cover one’s nakedness with a washcloth. It just can’t be done.

            Blessed is the one…whose sins are covered…by God. When confess our sins and accept the work of Christ on our behalf on the cross we are covered. “…for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ,” (Gal. 3:27).

b) Confess your sins – David said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD…” In Hebrew, “confession” means “to throw down or to cast down.” The Greek word for confession means “to agree, or to say the same thing.” Put these concepts together and we get what God wants us to do with our sins. He wants us to say the same thing that He says about our sins. He wants us to agree that sin is wicked, to admit they are wrong. Then He wants us to cast down our sins. Throw them down. Stop carrying them around.

            John seems to reflect Psalm 32 when he said, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness,” (1 John 1:9).

c) Receive and Leave – The last thing David says in v. 5 is that God forgave the guilt of his sin.

            Some people have trouble accepting that they have been forgiven. They apologize to you but then are still wracked with guilt and continue to apologize and beg your pardon. You said, “I forgive you,” but they continue to seek peace and assurance from you.

            Here we need to trust the Word of God. What John said in 1 John 1:9 is true – if you confess, God will forgive. Peter told Cornelius, “All the prophets testify about (Jesus) that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name,” (Acts 10:43). So BELIEVE it, RECEIVE it, and LEAVE it.

So why don’t we confess our sins to God? Thinking on this I believe that there is an element of fear involved. We are afraid of what God will do; we are afraid of what He might ask us to do; we are afraid of what people will say when they find out.

            We may also feel that we have not suffered enough for our sins and we need to do more penance for what we have done. Like we could ever really pay for our sins?

            David left us Psalm 32 to relieve such fears and feelings concerning sin. He left us a testimony of what a sinner feels like when forgiveness comes showering down like a refreshing rain on a thirsty land.

            What does the joy of forgiveness look like?

            [Play clip: The Mission (1986): Redemption (Redencion) on Youtube]

            In the film, “The Mission” Robert DeNiro plays a mercenary who has taken asylum in the local church after killing his brother in a fit of jealous rage. He eventually leaves the church and heads to a mission post located above the waterfalls in a South American jungle. Because of what he has done, and how bad he feels, he ties himself to a heavy bundle of armor, swords, and other weighty objects. The bundle represents his sinful life. He feels compelled to drag this sack of sin around with him as a way to do penance for what he has done.

            Inexplicably, one of the natives of the jungle has enough of this and cuts Rodrigo Mendoza (DeNiro) loose. A flood of emotion overwhelms Mendoza as he receives this act of mercy and forgiveness from God through the native’s knife.

            If you feel like Mendoza this morning, you are carrying an unnecessary burden around. God’s forgiveness in Christ is graciously free and there for the asking.

            If we confess our sins…

                                                            AMEN

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[i] (Los Angeles Times [2/22/93], p. B1)

[ii] 1 John 1:8

Psalm 27

WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?

We are all afraid of something at some point in our lives. Fear can paralyze us; fear can be an obsession; fears may be based on real or imagined threats; fear can cripple healthy living. If fear is allowed to run wild in our hearts and minds it can even mess with our faith.

            Several years ago I was in a poor state of mind. I was filled with anxiety over many things. Even the phone ringing gave me cause to panic and send my heart racing. One of the worst things about anxiety and panic is when your imagination tells you that the pain in your side is some disease. A person who is overly sensitive to fears and effects will run to the computer and look up diseases on WebMD. This is a bad thing to do because you will find that your symptoms match many medical issues, or so you think.

            One day, after a having given a blood sample, the doctor’s office called me for a special consultation. I thought, “Here we go,” and my fears led me to the worst place. I was sure the doctor was going to give me bad news. Sure enough, the doctor told me I had Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). My immediate thought was, “How long do I have?” I must have started babbling about how I knew this day would come and so on. But the doctor just mumbled that antibiotics would take care of it. I thought, “Huh?” He said, “It’s just ulcers.”

            We don’t have enemies to fear like David did, men who want to take our lives. Our enemies have more to do with our health and threats to our livelihood. But fear is fear. How do we deal with those things that cause us to be afraid?

            Psalm 27 was the Bible’s answer to my own personal fears. David’s struggle with fear and the answer to it is found in this Psalm. The answer is so simple you might scoff at it. David basically says: To overcome fear, seek the LORD.

            I found that the 14 verses of this Psalm are like an inflatable life raft: once you pull the cord it’s bigger than you thought. So we are going to look at four thoughts – fear, seek, pray, and wait.

1. What is there to fear?

David had faced bears and lions when tending his father’s flocks. As a teenager he had faced down Goliath and killed him with a mere stone. Scholars suggest that David was being pursued by Saul at this stage of his life due to several notes in this Psalm: David is away from home, far from the Tabernacle in Jerusalem, far from mom and dad, while being pursued by enemies. Despite his successes, the absence of these familiar comforts could add to his anxiety. Plus, his successes may have caused him to trust in his own reputation, but in his time of fear David turns to the Lord.

            “The LORD is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” (1).

            When our fears grip us, our tendency is find our own way out. We put our trust in our own devices and try to figure out our own solutions. Fear, however, has a way of muddling our senses and logic. Our decisions can become knee-jerk reactions instead of thoughtful and reasonable.

            David recognized that God was his light, his point of reference while darkness closed in on him. He saw his salvation, his deliverance, was in God alone. David could run to God, no matter the circumstances, and God would be like fortress walls surrounding him, protecting him.

            Salvation can be seen in two ways: There is the ultimate salvation we receive in Christ who died for us and forgives us our sins which we will realize fully when He comes again; then there is the “deliverance” we experience in the day-to-day experiences. We might wonder about this second aspect because we are still waiting for deliverance from some fear we are wrestling with. But consider this: If the Lord has saved us apart from our own efforts, will He not defend us and help us and save us in the here and now until He comes again? As Paul put it, “…those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Ro. 8:30-31).

            What can be against us? What is there to fear?

            Martin Luther made this interesting observation in his Table Talk: "God and the devil take opposite tactics in regard to fear. The Lord first allows us to become afraid, that he might relieve our fears and comfort us. The devil, on the other hand, first makes us feel secure in our pride and sins, that we might later be overwhelmed with fear and despair."

            Fear can go two ways. It will either drive us to the Lord or away from the Lord. David took fear as a signal to run to the Lord.

2. Seek the Presence of God

If you and I were writing this Psalm we might have written v. 4 differently: “One thing I ask from the LORD, this is what I seek: GET ME OUT OF HERE!”

            “One thing…” How would you finish that sentence? If you could ask God for one thing, what would it be?

            David puts his finger on the one thing that matters to a believer – the only deliverance that matters comes from seeking the presence of God.

            In verses 4-6, David writes about dwelling in “the house of the LORD all the days of my life,” seeking Him in His temple, being safe in His dwelling, hiding in the shelter of His tabernacle. These are all synonyms for the same thing. David was not talking about literally living in a church building; he was talking about living in God’s presence, knowing God’s presence daily in his life. This is the singleness of desire that he was talking about. This is the ONE THING that a person afraid needs to desire.

            How does seeking the beauty of the LORD quell my fears? A few years ago my family visited Bear Country USA in SD. In one compound they had the big and lazy bears that you could drive through and observe. In another compound they had the cubs who were full of life and fun. One cub was being picked on by the other cubs, so he ran to the ranger and wrapped his paws around her legs for protection.

            David wasn’t just looking for an escape from his fears and troubles, but for an ongoing experience of God. He used his fears to drive him to a deeper relationship with the God who loved him and could protect him. To behold the beauty of the LORD is to be emotionally caught up with the very being of God. This is the ONE THING David sought.

            This may remind you of another story. Jesus and his disciples stopped at the home of some friends in the midst of their journeys. Martha and Mary opened their home to the men and Martha set to work preparing food while Mary sat and listened to Jesus. Martha was upset that Mary did not help her, but Jesus replied, “Martha, Martha…you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her,” (Lk. 10:41-42).

            Oh, to sit at the feet of Jesus. Let the worries and fears be what they are, just let me sit at the feet of Jesus. That is the ONE THING.

3. Pray when Fear threatens again

Even so, seeking the presence of the LORD can be interrupted by our human tendencies. In other words, we are easily distracted. Fear will try to get back into our minds. Someone said that if we close the door on fear it will try to come in the window. When fear returns, we need to seek the LORD by redirecting our focus to Him through prayer.

            In verses 7-12 David says five things about prayer.

a) Prayer is my needing God – David acknowledged his need of God through prayer. He cried out, “Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me,” (7). We really are dependent on God for all our needs. God is good and all good things come from Him. If we want to know the source of all the good we desire, Col. 1:17 tells us that all things hold together in God. He sustains all things.          

b) Prayer is my seeking His help – David desired mercy; he desired God’s help, so he asked God. He was not too proud to ask. Sometimes we don’t ask because we think we won’t get what we desire. Other times we may think that what we ask for is too insignificant. A woman approached the well-known Bible teacher, G. Campbell Morgan, after one of his talks and asked, “Dr. Morgan, should we pray about everything in our lives, or just the big things?” In his formal, British manner Dr. Morgan stiffened up and said, “Madam, can you think of anything in your life that is big to God?” David said, “Your face, LORD, will I seek,” (8). To seek His face is to get lost in His mercy.

c) Prayer is my acknowledging my best relationship – David’s parents did not abandon him, as we read v. 10. He said, “Though my mother and father forsake me…” (10). What he meant was that even if the most basic, intimate, earthly relationships should fail, he knows that he still has access to God. There is nothing that will cut us off from prayer as our link to our Heavenly Father.

d) Prayer is my obedience – David understood that nothing hinders prayer like disobedience. Conversely, when we commit ourselves to doing what pleases God, we open up the possibilities in what we seek from God. “Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path…” (11).

e) Prayer is my way of seeking God’s protection – That’s what we are looking for when our fears overwhelm us, right? We want God’s protection from what scares us. But the whole process of what I just described is a package of prayer: we need God – so we seek His help – because it is my best relationship – so I will obey God – and out of that love relationship with God I find my divine protector. David prayed, “Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence,” (12). One thing I love about David’s prayers is his honesty. He just lays it out before God. This is what I fear – this is what I’m up against – please deliver me. That’s prayer.

4. Wait for God

David concludes this psalm with a confident note. “I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living,” (13). This is biblical proof that our “salvation” is not just a future hope but also a present reality. God does care about the present difficulties we face and He does deliver us.

            The key for David is to wait, “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD,” (14). But what does it mean to wait?

            Let the Bible answer that question:

Proverbs 20:22 says, “Do not say, ‘I’ll pay you back for this wrong!’ Wait for the LORD and he will deliver you.” Scholars figure that Ps. 27 is based on 1 Sam. 23:26ff where David and his men are on one side of a mountain and Saul and his army are on the other side. They are about to collide in a bloody battle at the end of the mountain when a messenger comes to Saul and says the Philistines are raiding the land. Saul leaves and David is spared a possible defeat. Strange huh?

            Lamentations 3:25-26 reads, “The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” Waiting implies a confident trust in God rather than in human means. Waiting takes patience and faith when the enemy is closing in but it also shows that certain trust in the Lord and His will.

            And for those who are infirm or feeling weak, we turn to the famous Isaiah passage in the KJV, “They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles…” (Is. 40:31).

            Wait for the LORD. That’s a tough prescription in an instant society. It’s tough when our fears, our worst fears look to be winning and coming true. But we cannot lose hope. We must believe that “The Lord is my light and my salvation…the stronghold of my life.”

Many years ago a number of people in the jungles of Central Africa came to know Jesus through gospel preaching. Since they had no church building where they could gather for prayer, they cleared a central spot in the jungle for this purpose. Soon individual trails from many different directions converged there as believers walked through the grass to that place of meeting with God. Whenever a Christian seemed to be losing his first love, the others would admonish him by saying, “Brother, the grass is growing on your path.”

            Mary discovered that only one thing is needed: to sit at the feet of Jesus. Nothing else mattered. David preceded her in discovering that the one thing that mattered in his life was hiding in God, not just when fears and enemies assaulted him, but always.

            How grows the grass on your path?

            Wait for the LORD. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ…” (Titus 2:11-13).

                                                            AMEN