Thursday
Evening Bible Study
November
12, 2015
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Target 3300 words
Video = 75 wpm
The English word psalm comes from a Greek word that means “a poem
sung to musical accompaniment”, or in particular, “stringed instruments”.
The Hebrew name is tehillim, which means “praises.”
The book of Psalms is the hymnbook of God’s people.
It’s also the “Him” book as well. It’s all about Jesus.
The writer of Hebrews quotes from
Psalm 40:8 when he writes,
(Hebrews 10:7 NKJV) Then I
said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the
volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’ ”
The author was talking about Jesus.
We’re going to see a lot of Jesus
in the Psalms.
Soul Music
Music touches the soul. It’s “soulish” in nature. It touches the emotions.
We’re going to find every kind of emotion possible expressed in the Psalms.
For every sigh there is a Psalm.
For most of us, this is what makes
the Psalms so wonderful. We can identify. We can relate.
If we were honest, even darkest
most depressing Psalms describe the very things we go through day by day.
It is my prayer that as we continue
on this journey through the Psalms, we won’t just look at these songs
academically, with our mind, but that we may also grow as worshippers.
Psalm 24 – What God expects
: A Psalm of David.
This Psalm is very similar to Psalm 15.
(Psalm 15:1 NKJV) Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
One suggestion is that these psalms were written at the time when David was
trying to bring up the Ark of the Covenant up the hill to Jerusalem. (2Sam. 6)
David had become king of the entire nation and wanted to have the Ark of
the Covenant moved to his new capital, Jerusalem.
They put the Ark on an oxcart, but as the oxcart was going up the hill, it
began to wobble, one of the priests reached out to steady the Ark, and the
priest immediately died.
David began to wonder just how safe it was to be around God.
Who was qualified to be in God’s presence?
Eventually David and the people
figured out that they had made a mistake in how they were transporting the Ark.
They shouldn’t have put it on an
oxcart, the Ark was designed to be carried on the shoulders of the priests.
David eventually had the Ark moved
to Jerusalem.
(2 Samuel 6:1–10 NKJV) —1 Again
David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with
him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is
called by the Name, the Lord of
Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. 3 So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of
the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the
sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart. 4 And they
brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill,
accompanying the ark of God; and Ahio went before the ark. 5 Then David and all the house of Israel played music before
the Lord on all kinds of instruments
of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on
sistrums, and on cymbals. 6 And when
they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to
the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 Then the anger of the Lord
was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and
he died there by the ark of God. 8 And David
became angry because of the Lord’s
outbreak against Uzzah; and he called the name of the place Perez Uzzah to this
day. 9 David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, “How can
the ark of the Lord come to me?” 10 So David would not move the ark of the Lord with him into the City of David; but David took it aside
into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite.
For a period of three months the
Ark stayed at the home of Obed-Edom until David figured out what had gone
wrong.
But for a period of time, David
wondered how anyone could be close to God and survive.
:1 The earth is the Lord’s,
and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.
:2 For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters.
David starts off by talking about God’s greatness. The whole earth belongs
to Him. He made it, it’s His.
:3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
:4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul
to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.
:3 Who may ascend
Who can approach God?
God had killed Uzzah the priest for just touching the Ark of the Covenant.
In the book of Esther, we get a glimpse of how ancients had to act before
their king.
When Esther’s cousin Mordecai found out that wicked Haman was plotting to
have all the Jews killed, he asked Esther to ask her husband the king for help.
Esther responded that she was worried it might cost her her life.
If anyone approached the king without being invited, they could be put to
death unless the king held out his golden scepter (Est. 4:11)
What does it take to have God extend His golden scepter of acceptance?
(Esther 4:10–11 NKJV) —10 Then
Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: 11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces
know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has
not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the
one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I
myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.”
:4 clean hands and a pure heart
Lesson
What God expects
Some people will want to know how cool you are, or what kind of car you
drive before you are allowed to hang out with them.
Some politicians want to know how much you will contribute to their
campaign before they give you the time of day.
God is looking for hearts that are right.
Clean hands speak of right actions.
A pure heart speaks of right motives.
If you don’t have clean hands and a pure heart, then you let God cleanse
you.
A person who has not lifted up
their soul to an idol is one who is loyal to following God alone.
A person who has not sworn
deceitfully is someone who you can trust, someone who tells you the truth.
God is looking for men and women with integrity.
(2 Chronicles 16:9a
NKJV) For the eyes of the Lord
run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those
whose heart is loyal to Him.
:5 He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
:6 This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek
Your face. Selah
:7 Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting
doors! And the King of glory shall come in.
:7 the King of glory shall come in
This would make sense if David is talking about the Ark entering into the
gates of Jerusalem.
In a sense, when the Ark passed through the gates, the “King of glory” was
coming through.
There was a day when the King of Glory literally came through the gates of
Jerusalem.
We celebrate it as Palm Sunday (John 12:12-15)
Zechariah foretold it:
(Zechariah 9:9 NKJV) “Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O
daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your
King is coming to you; He is
just and having salvation, Lowly and
riding on a donkey, A colt,
the foal of a donkey.
This was fulfilled
on Palm Sunday when Jesus came to Jerusalem, yet His own people didn’t
recognize Him.
(John 12:12–15 NKJV) —12 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when
they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried
out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!” 14 Then
Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 15
“Fear not,
daughter of Zion; Behold,
your King is coming, Sitting on
a donkey’s colt.”
It will happen again one day soon.
Ezekiel wrote that the Eastern Gate in Jerusalem would be closed until the
second coming, when the prince will come through it. (Eze. 44:1-4)
(Ezekiel 44:1–4 NKJV) —1 Then He
brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east,
but it was shut. 2 And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be
shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it;
therefore it shall be shut. 3 As for the
prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread
before the Lord; he shall enter
by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.” 4 Also He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the
temple; so I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord; and I fell on my face.
:8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord
strong and mighty, The Lord
mighty in battle.
:8 The Lord strong and
mighty
The Lord – the Hebrew
here is God’s name, Yahweh.
:9 Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the
King of glory shall come in.
:10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord
of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah
:10 Who is this King of glory?
It’s not David, it’s Yahweh
Lesson
Who’s on your throne?
Even though David was a king, God was David’s King.
Not the guy named Paul that sells
big screen TVs (“I am the king”), not Elvis, not that fellow named Don that
promoted fights (Don King).
When I was in college we used to use a tract called the “Four Spiritual
Laws”. In the tract there was a place at the end where there were two circles.
The circles represented your heart. In
each circle there was a chair or a “throne”.
When you shared the tract with a friend, you would ask the question,
“Who’s sitting on the throne in your heart?” Is it you or is it God?
If God is your king, then you are a person who is learning to do what He
says.
Jesus said,
(Luke
6:46 NKJV) “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I
say?
He also said,
(John 14:15 NKJV) “If
you love Me, keep My commandments.
David gives us a progression in this psalm leads to God being your king.
Get your heart to the right place – “clean hands and a pure heart” (v.4)
Open the door – “lift up your heads” (v.7,9)
Let the King come in. (v.9)
D C
Who shall ascend
G D
To the hill of the Lord
C
Who shall stand
G D
In His holy place
G D
He who has clean hands
G D
And a pure heart
G D
He shall receive
C A
Blessings from the Lord
G D
He who has clean hands
G D
And a pure heart
G D C A
He shall receive righteousness
D
From His God
Who Shall Ascend
Ps.24/ Author Unknown / ©
Unknown / Ascend.doc
G D
We bow our hearts, we
bend our knees
C
G D
Oh spirit, come make
us humble
G D
We turn our eyes from
evil things
C
G
Oh Lord, we cast down
our idols
G
So give us clean hands,
D
And give us pure hearts
Em D C
Let us not lift our souls to another
G
So give us clean hands,
D
And give us pure hearts
Em D C
Let us not lift our souls to another
G D
O God, let us be a generation that seeks
Em D C
That seeks Your face, O God of Jacob
G D
O God, let us be a generation that seeks
Em D
C
That seeks Your face, O God of Jacob
Give Us Clean Hands / Words and Music by Charlie Hall /
© 1997 Generation Music / Give Us Clean Hands.doc
Psalm 25 - Repentance
: A Psalm of David.
This is the second of the “Penitential Psalms”, or, a psalm of repentance.
It is thought to have been written
later in David’s life, perhaps even during the period of Absalom’s rebellion.
David refers to the “sins of my youth” (vs.7).
The organization of this Psalm is something to take note of.
There are twenty-two verses in this Psalm, just as there are twenty-two
letters in the Hebrew alphabet.
The first verse begins with a word that starts with the letter “aleph”
(like our letter “a”) and each subsequent verse starts with a word that begins
with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Some have suggested that this was
to be a way of either teaching the Hebrew alphabet or as a way to help remember
the Psalm.
Either way, it shows that there can
be design in songs.
Sometimes we get the idea that
songs just “come out of nowhere”. Perhaps this happens with a few songs, but
with most songs, at least with the better ones, there’s a lot of work that goes
into placing the words, the melody, the content of the song.
:1 To You, O Lord, I lift up
my soul.
:2 O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies
triumph over me.
:2 Let not my enemies triumph over me
It has been suggested that David is writing this in a time when his enemies
are after him, and perhaps when his own son Absalom had risen up in rebellion
against him.
:3 Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who
deal treacherously without cause.
:4 Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
:4 Show me Your ways … paths
Lesson
Choosing paths
When you have decisions to make, you want to know if one of your choices is
a path that God wants you to take.
I think that there are times when God is open to us taking several paths
and He will be on each of those paths.
There are also times when there is a right path and a wrong path.
Sometimes when we listen to the wrong voice, we can get ourselves into
trouble.
The right path is always with
Jesus.
(John 14:6 NKJV) Jesus said to him, “I
am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
Me.
Yet this can be kind
of vague at times. Which path is Jesus
on?
One of the best ways to make sure you’re on the right path is to make sure
the path is well lit.
If you’re driving on a dark road, make sure your headlights are working.
(Psalm 119:105
NKJV) Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
Stay in the book
:5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my
salvation; On You I wait all the day.
:6 Remember, O Lord, Your
tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old.
:6 tender mercies – racham – womb; compassion
:6 lovingkindnesses – checed – goodness, kindness,
faithfulness
:7 Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; According
to Your mercy remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.
:7 the sins of my youth
Lesson
Baggage
When you are going through a difficult time, and especially when your
enemies are giving you grief, one of the things we often do is ask ourselves,
“What did I do to deserve this?”
Sometimes as we ask that question, we go back to our youth to think of
things we’ve done that deserve our trouble.
Sometimes asking those questions is justified because indeed something we
did in the past continues to reach into our present with continued bad
behaviors.
If your problem goes back to your youth, you may need to take some time to
work on this.
When we don’t deal with changing our behaviors, we’re like
the guy driving down the freeway with junk coming off the back of his truck
causing others great damage.
If it’s a behavior you continue to repeat, you are going to need to figure
out the root causes and work at changing your behavior.
Sometimes all that’s needed is forgiveness.
We may not continue to do those bad things, but the guilt and regret never
seem to go away.
We need to find God’s free gift of forgiveness
(Psalm
103:10–12 NKJV) —10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished
us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is
His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our
transgressions from us.
The Bible says that if we confess our sins, He will
forgive us (1John 1:9)
Just be careful you don’t fool yourself by only asking for
forgiveness when you also need to learn to change your behavior.
God will forgive you, but God would rather that you learn
to turn from your sins than just forgive.
:8 Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
:9 The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.
:10 All the paths of the Lord
are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.
:11 For Your name’s sake, O Lord,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
:12 Who is the man that fears the Lord?
Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.
:13 He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit
the earth.
:14 The secret of the Lord is
with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.
:14 The secret of the Lord
secret – cowd
– council, counsel, assembly; secret counsel
David has been asking God for guidance (vs. 4-5)
Lesson
God’s Advice
People pay good money to their stock brokers to get good advice, even
“secret counsel” for their investments.
We like getting good advice.
Illustration
Here’s some Good Advice:
The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart
attacks than the British or Americans.
On the other hand, the French eat a lot of fat and also
suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer
heart attacks than the British or Americans.
The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and also
suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
Conclusion:
Eat and drink what you like. It’s speaking English that
kills you
Illustration
A man set out to
do some ice-fishing on a frozen lake. Carefully having carrying his gear to a
favorite spot, he proceeded to carve out a hole on the ice to drop his line,
and settled into his mission. As he was waiting for the fish to bite, he
noticed a young boy waddling onto the ice with a fishing pole, with a
determined look on his face. The man smiled at the kid’s tenacity, but after a
while, his expression turned to surprise as the boy kept pulling fish after
fish out of the lake. After about an hour, the man slipped and slided across
the ice to the boy and said to him, “Young man, I’ve been here for a while and
haven’t caught anything, yet I see that you keep catching fish one after
another. Do you mind if I ask what your secret is?” The young boy mumbled, “Mm
mm mm mm mm mm mmmm!” “What did you say?” asked the puzzled man. “Mm mm mm mm
mm mm mmmm!” “I’m sorry, son, I can’t understand you,” the man replied. The boy
spit into his hand and said, “Mister, you gotta keep your worms warm!”
God gives advice to those who fear and honor Him.
God is not obligated to share His secrets to those not committed to obeying
Him.
If you’ve wondered why God isn’t answering your prayers or
giving you the guidance you’ve been asking for, perhaps you ought to ask
yourself the question, “Have you obeyed the last thing that God told you to
do?” If you haven’t, perhaps you need to
go back and do that thing.
:15 My eyes are ever toward the Lord,
For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.
If David did write this during the
time of Absalom’s rebellion, it would be an interesting insight to think of how
David trusted that God would take care of him, even though Absalom had chased
David out of Jerusalem and had sent a huge army out to put David to death.
:16 Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and
afflicted.
:17 The troubles of my heart have enlarged; Bring me out of my distresses!
:18 Look on my affliction and my pain, And forgive all my sins.
:19 Consider my enemies, for they are many; And they hate me with cruel
hatred.
:20 Keep my soul, and deliver me; Let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust
in You.
:21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You.
:22 Redeem Israel, O God, Out of all their troubles!
:21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me
integrity – tom –
integrity, completeness; innocence, simplicity
uprightness – yosher
– straightness, uprightness; what is right, what is due
David wasn’t just resting on cheap forgiveness. He was also reminding God that he was a man
of integrity.
Unto Thee O Lord - Psalm 25
D
Unto Thee O Lord
Em A Em
Do I lift up my soul
A
Unto Thee O Lord
D
Do I lift up my soul
D7 G
Em
O my God I trust in Thee
D
Let me not be ashamed
Em A D
Let not my enemies triumph over me
Yea let none that wait
On Thee be ashamed...
Show me Thy ways, Thy ways O Lord
Teach me Thy paths
Thy paths O
Lord...
Remember not
The sins of my youth...
Unto Thee O Lord - Psalm 25/ Words & Music by
Charles F. Monroe / ©
1971 Maranatha! Music / UntoThee.doc
Psalm 26 – Falsely Accused
: A Psalm of David.
I’ve seen several suggestions as to when David might have written this
Psalm.
Some have suggested that it was written by David during the time that he
was fleeing from Saul.
Some had suggested that David deserved all the trouble he was getting
because he must have been in rebellion against Saul.
Another suggestion was that it was written by David after he was made king
over the tribe of Judah, but before the whole nation made him king and he was
at war with Saul’s descendants, and then some guys secretly killed Saul’s son
and brought his head to David without David knowing anything about it.
Another has suggested that it was David’s prayer during the time of a
famine in the land, when the Gibeonites had been crying out to God for justice
over King Saul’s atrocities against them. (2Sam. 21:1)
(2 Samuel 21:1 NKJV) Now there
was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David
inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, “It is because of
Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
It wasn’t David’s fault, it was because of Saul.
Yet David still needed to work to make things right and correct Saul’s sin.
When a leader sins, those he leads are affected.
When a father sins, the family is affected. When a pastor sins, a church is
affected. When a king sins, the nation
is affected.
No matter what the actual circumstances where, this is a Psalm written to
describe a time when David has apparently been accused of something and he
doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong.
In light of the accusations against him, David makes an appeal. He appeals to God.
:1 Vindicate me, O Lord, For
I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the Lord; I shall not slip.
:1 Vindicate me
vindicate – shaphat – to judge, govern, vindicate
David is asking the Judge of the universe to hear his case.
:2 Examine me, O Lord, and
prove me; Try my mind and my heart.
:2 Examine … prove … try
examine – bachan
– to examine, prove; to test, try (of gold, persons, the heart, man of God)
prove – nacah
– to test, try, prove, tempt, assay, put to the proof or test
try – tsaraph
– to smelt, refine, test; to test (and prove true); smelter, refiner,
goldsmith (participle)
Lesson
Open to examination
I remember a Sunday evening about 35 years ago and our pastor at the
Baptist church was teaching on this.
I believe he had just had a colonoscopy, and he was using that as an
illustration of David asking God to examine him.
A few years ago I had a mysterious intestinal bleed. While I was in the hospital they ran all
kinds of tests on me. I had two
colonoscopies, two endoscopies, a radiological test, and I even got to swallow
one of those fancy pill cameras.
Even with all that testing, they were unable to locate the
source of my bleeding. But it wasn’t for
any lack of trying on our part.
The bigger question with God is this – are you willing for Him to examine
you?
If God points something out to you, would you pay attention to it?
Illustration
A woman brought a very limp parrot into a veterinary clinic. As she lay her
pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird’s
chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, “I’m so sorry,
Polly has passed away.” The distressed
owner wailed, “Are you sure? I mean, you haven’t done any testing on him or
anything. He might just be in a coma or something.” The vet rolled his eyes, shrugged, turned
and left the room, returning a few moments later with a beautiful black Labrador. As the
bird’s owner looked on in amazement, the dog sniffed the dead parrot from top
to bottom. He then looked at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet took the dog out, but returned a few
moments later with a cat. The cat jumped up and also sniffed delicately at the
ex-bird. The cat sat back, shook its head, meowed and ran out of the room. The vet looked at the woman and said, “I’m
sorry, but like I said, your parrot is most definitely, 100% certifiably dead.”
He then turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill,
which he handed to the woman. The
parrot’s owner, still in shock, took the bill. “$150?” she cried, “$150 just to
tell me my bird is dead?!!!” The vet shrugged.
“If you’d taken my word for it, the bill would only have been $20, but
what with the Lab report and the Cat scan...”
David is willing to let God fully and completely examine him.
(Psalm 139:23–24
NKJV) —23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there
is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
Are you open to God’s correction?
:3 For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in
Your truth.
:4 I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, Nor will I go in with
hypocrites.
:5 I have hated the assembly of evildoers, And will not sit with the
wicked.
:6 I will wash my hands in innocence; So I will go about Your altar, O Lord,
:7 That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, And tell of all Your
wondrous works.
:8 Lord, I have loved the
habitation of Your house, And the place where Your glory dwells.
:9 Do not gather my soul with sinners, Nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
:10 In whose hands is a sinister scheme, And whose right hand is
full of bribes.
:11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful
to me.
:12 My foot stands in an even place; In the congregations I will bless the Lord.
:10 In whose hands is a sinister scheme
Lesson
Accusers
Even when you walk uprightly, even when you are doing all that God wants
you to do, there will be some people who will find some way of accusing or
slandering you.
What’s worse is that there will be people who will believe them.
This is one of the problems with
our democratic form of government.
You will hear all sorts of
accusations being thrown at the various politicians running for office.
Some accusations will be true,
others will be false.
It’s hard to know
what to believe.
Be careful that you are not one of the “accusers”.
There is one person in the universe who is particularly good at accusing
others:
Satan is called the “Accuser of the brethren”
(Revelation
12:10 NKJV) …the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day
and night…
Be careful you are not following in his footsteps.
Psalm 27 – Surviving Fear
: A Psalm of David.
Sometimes life can seem pretty intense and scary.
Though the title doesn’t tell us specifically when this Psalm was written,
there are a couple of clues in the Psalm that give us some ideas.
David is being pursued by his enemies.
He is being shut out from the Tabernacle. There’s a parting from his parents. He is being troubled by slander.
The circumstances in 1Sam. 19-22 seem to fit this best – when David was
running from King Saul who was trying to kill him simply over jealousy.
I’d suggest that it seems to fit
the circumstances of 1Sam. 19-22. After David’s latest victory over the
Philistines, David’s father-in-law and boss, Saul becomes so jealous and angry
that David winds up being a man on the run.
Saul is out to kill David. David tries running to the Tabernacle of God
and gets some help there, but only for a few days before he has to get back on
the road. He tries hiding with the
Philistines for a while, but that proves to be too risky. He hides for a while in a cave, where he
begins to collect his ragtag bunch of losers and forms them into his famous
Mighty Men. He has to take his parents
to the land of Moab so they aren’t killed by Saul and even the priests are
attacked and killed for having helped David.
Things are horrible for David. He’s
being pursued. He’s being slandered. His life doesn’t make sense.
Perhaps it’s in a context like this that David gives us this wonderful
counsel on what to do when we are going through fearful times.
There are many things to draw from in this psalm, I’m going to just pick
out a few.
:1 The Lord is my
light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be
afraid?
:1 The Lord is my
light
When I was a kid, I was afraid of the dark.
I always had a night light in my room to be able to sleep.
Lesson
Turn on your night Light
light – ‘owr
– light; day-break, morning light; light of lamp
The times that we don’t understand, the times we are fearful, these are the
times of darkness. And for David, God
was his light.
The Bible tells us that
(1 John 1:5b NKJV)
…God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
David tells us that God wasn’t just “a light” or even “the
light”. He says that God was “my
light”.
Dwight Moody said,
Remember, a small light will do a great deal when it is in a very dark place. Put one little tallow candle in the middle of
a large hall, and it will give a good deal of light.
Illustration
Charles Colson and several other
Christian leaders once met with President Borja of Ecuador to discuss Prison
Fellowship International’s ministry in Ecuadorian penitentiaries. They had no
sooner been seated in luxurious leather chairs when the President interrupted
the conversation with the story of his own imprisonment years before being
elected to the presidency.
He had been involved in the
struggle for democracy in Ecuador. The military cracked down, and he was
arrested. Without trial, they threw him into a cold dungeon with no light and
no window. For three days he endured the solitary fear and darkness that can
drive a person mad.
Just when the situation seemed
unbearable, the huge steel door opened, and someone crept into the darkness.
Borja heard the person working on something in the opposite corner. Then the
figure crept out, closed the door, and disappeared.
Minutes later the room suddenly
blazed with light. Someone, perhaps taking his life into his hands, had
connected electricity to the broken light fixture. “From that moment,”
explained President Borja, “my imprisonment had meaning because at least I
could see.”
What are you doing about the
darkness? How are you lighting up your
prison cell?
David found that the answer to his fears was to let the Lord be his light.
Go to God with your questions. Ask
and trust Him to guide you.
:2 When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
:3 Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though
war may rise against me, In this I will be confident.
:4 One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.
:4 One thing I have
desired of the Lord
To be in God’s presence.
Lesson
One Thing Necessary
(Luke 10:38–42 NKJV) —38 Now it
happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman
named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she
had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached
Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?
Therefore tell her to help me.” 41 And Jesus
answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about
many things. 42 But one thing is
needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from
her.”
There are a lot of important things
in life, but only one is necessary.
Spend time every day at Jesus’ feet
and listening to His Word.
:4 To behold the beauty of the Lord
Lesson
Real Beauty
beauty – no‘am – kindness,
pleasantness, delightfulness, beauty, favor
We live in a society obsessed with the search for beauty.
In the
U.S. we spend $56.63 billion dollars a year on cosmetics.
Our hair is never quite right so we
either add to it, remove it, color it, grease it, cut it, grow it or blow-dry
it. We make the mistake of looking at the models in the magazines who are slim,
buff, half our age, and most certainly digitally altered. We look in the mirror and decide we’re either
too tall, too short, too fat, or too skinny.
We get Botox treatments and work on our tans. We diet.
We workout. We get liposuction in
one spot and implant silicone in another.
And that’s just what guys do.
Peter writes to wives and talks about a different kind of beauty, but I
can’t help but think that this applies to all of us, guys included:
(1 Peter 3:3–4
NKJV) —3 Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the
hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—4 rather let
it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty
of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
God is more concerned about the shape of your heart than
the shape of your body.
Jesus’ beauty is not quite like the beauty of Madison Avenue.
(Isaiah 53:2–3
NKJV) —2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a
root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was
despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Illustration
Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy
decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry
to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes,
socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he
swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.
His mother in the house was looking out the window saw the two as they got
closer and closer together. In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to
her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became
alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother. It was too late. Just as he
reached her, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her
little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an
incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the
mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to
drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the
alligator. Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy
survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal,
and on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother’s fingernails dug into
his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved. The newspaper reporter
who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars.
The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the
reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them
because my Mom wouldn’t let go.”
The little boy wasn’t ashamed of his scars.
His scars were a reminder of the love His mother had for him, a love
strong enough not to let go.
It’s just like Jesus, except He’s not only the one who has
saved us, He’s the one with the scars as well.
The nail prints in His hands, His wounded side, the scars
on His feet – are all reminders of just how much He loves us.
They remind us that He wouldn’t let go of us. He was willing to pay the ultimate price for
us, to even take our place in death, all to pay for our sins.
If you’re looking to put beauty into your life, perhaps you ought to start
by looking to Jesus.
:5 For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the
secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a
rock.
:6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I
will sing praises to the Lord.
:7 Hear, O Lord, when
I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
:8 When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
:8 Your face, Lord, I will
seek
When God says “Seek My face”, it’s a command in the second person
plural. God is speaking to a group, to a
congregation, and He says, “You all seek My face”.
David takes this to include himself.
He isn’t thinking about how it applies to the person next to him. David responds and says that HE will seek
God’s face.
Lesson
Respond when He prompts
Do you answer every call that makes your home phone or cell phone ring?
I don’t.
There are some people that I might answer from time to
time.
When my wife or my sons call, I will always answer.
David is saying that whenever God calls, he will answer.
Jesus said,
(John 3:8 NKJV) The wind
blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it
comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
The word “wind” is the same word for “Spirit”. God’s Spirit will go wherever it wants to go,
but the person who is “born of the Spirit” will move in the same direction as
the Spirit.
Video: Mr. W
Like “Mr. W”, we need to understand and follow the
prompting of the Spirit.
Surviving tough times requires that you learn to respond when God is
prompting you to respond.
When God prompts you to worship, worship. When God prompts you to pray,
pray. Don’t put it off.
:9 Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation.
:10 When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the Lord will take care of me.
:10 When my father and my mother forsake me
Even if your parents fail you, God won’t.
(Romans 8:31–32
NLT) —31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is
for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all,
won’t he also give us everything else?
Lesson
Others will, God won’t
You would think that the last
people in the world who would turn their back on you would be your parents.
But even parents will fail at
times.
Illustration
Students involved
in a research project at the University of Illinois called 2000 homes at random
between midnight and 2 A.M. on a Friday night in the city
of Chicago to see if parents knew where their children were. In 75% of the homes called, a child answered
and didn’t know where the parents were.
-- Dr. David L. Hocking
:11 Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
:12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses
have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.
:13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see
the goodness of the Lord In the
land of the living.
:13 unless I had believed
David would have quit if it weren’t for his faith.
Faith is trusting God even when you don’t see how it’s going to work out.
David trusted that God wasn’t done with him yet, and he would still see
God’s work in his life while he was alive.
:14 Wait on the Lord; Be of
good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!
:14 Wait on the Lord
Isaiah wrote,
(Isaiah 40:31 NKJV)
But
those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their
strength; They shall
mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
One Thing Have I Desired (Ps. 27:4)
Esus E
One thing have I
F#m
Desired of the Lord
A B7
That will I seek after
Esus E
That I may dwell
F#m
In the house of the Lord
A B7 E
All the days of my life
C#m G#m
To behold the beauty
F#m E
The beauty of the Lord
C#m G#m
To inquire in His temple
F#m E
The temple of the Lord
(2x)
One Thing Have I Desired (Ps. 27:4)/ Words & Music
by Stuart Scott / ©
1984 Maranatha! Music / OneThing.doc
A G
Lord you are my light
D
And my salvation
A G
Lord you are the strength
D
The strength of my life
A G
Lord you are my light
D
And my salvation
A G
Lord you are the strength
A Asus A
The strength of my life
Bm A
D
There is one thing I ask
Bm A
G
One thing that I desire
Bm A Bm
That I may dwell
E7 A
Asus A
In the house of the Lord
D G
All of my life (all of my life)
D G
All of my life (all of my life)
D G A D
All of my life (all of my life)
Lord you keep me safe
Safe in your shelter
Lord you set my feet
Upon a rock
Lord you keep me safe
Safe in your shelter
Lord you set my feet
Upon a rock
Psalm 27/ Words & Music by Danny Daniels / © 1991 Mercy Publishing /
Psalm27.doc