Thursday
Evening Bible Study
May
19, 2016
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 61 Overwhelmed
: To the Chief Musician. On A Stringed Instrument. A Psalm of David.
A Psalm of David
Even though there is no mention of the historical background in the title,
Spurgeon suggests (and I agree) that there is a good chance that this Psalm was
written during the time when David was fleeing from his own son Absalom. Why?
David is king at the time (vs. 6)
(Psalm 61:6 NKJV) You will
prolong the king’s life, His years as many generations.
David seems separated from the Tabernacle (vs. 2)
(Psalm 61:2 NKJV) From the end
of the earth I will cry to You…
Absalom was a beloved son of David.
He was also a dangerous man. When
word got to David that Absalom had decided to make himself king and was
marching on Jerusalem:
(2 Samuel 15:14
NKJV) So David said to all his servants who were with him at
Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee, or we shall not escape from Absalom. Make
haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring disaster upon us, and
strike the city with the edge of the sword.”
Some of David’s friends went with
him, others stayed behind.
(2 Samuel 15:18–22 NKJV) —18 Then all
his servants passed before him; and all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites,
and all the Gittites, six hundred men who had followed him from Gath, passed
before the king. 19 Then the king said to
Ittai the Gittite, “Why are you also going with us? Return and remain with the
king. For you are a foreigner and also an exile from your own place. 20 In fact, you came only yesterday. Should I make you wander
up and down with us today, since I go I know not where? Return, and take your
brethren back. Mercy and truth be with you.” 21
But Ittai answered the king and said, “As the
Lord lives, and as my lord
the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether in
death or life, even there also your servant will be.” 22
So David said to Ittai, “Go, and cross over.” Then
Ittai the Gittite and all his men and all the little ones who were with
him crossed over.
Note “mercy and truth”, this will
come up later in our Psalm.
This wasn’t a happy time. It was a
time filled with fear and despair.
(2 Samuel 15:23
NKJV) And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people
crossed over. The king himself also crossed over the Brook Kidron, and all the
people crossed over toward the way of the wilderness.
(2 Samuel 15:30
NKJV) So David went up by the Ascent of the Mount of Olives, and
wept as he went up; and he had his head covered and went barefoot. And all the
people who were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as
they went up.
What made it worse was finding out that one of David’s closest friends had
betrayed David and was marching with Absalom:
(2 Samuel 15:31
NKJV) Then someone told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among
the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, I pray, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into
foolishness!”
:1 Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer.
prayer – tephillah
– prayer
:1 Attend to my prayer
If you look at the grammar of the Psalm, there are only three verbs that
are in the “imperative”, or “commands”, and when it comes to prayer to God, the
imperative is used to express requests, the things that we are asking God to
do.
Two of those imperatives are in this verse.
David is asking God to “hear” and “attend”.
David wants God to listen to his prayer.
Lesson
Pray
What do you do when everything seems to be going sour, when someone in your
family wants you dead, and even your friends (like Ahithophel) are turning
against you?
You must learn to pray.
Prayer isn’t your last resort, it’s your best resort.
Mathew Henry wrote, “Weeping must quicken praying, and not deaden it.”
David was a man of prayer.
All through the various stages of his life, you see David “enquiring” of
the Lord, asking God for direction, seeking God’s face.
The Psalms themselves are mostly songs of prayer.
Jesus was a man of prayer.
Even at the beginning of His ministry, Jesus was a man of prayer.
(Mark
1:35 NKJV) Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He
went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
His followers were so impressed with His prayer life that they asked Him to
teach them to pray, and He taught them, “Our Father, who are in heaven …”
Before choosing His twelve disciples, Jesus spent the night in prayer (Luke
6:12-13)
In His greatest time of difficulty, as He was about to be betrayed and put
to death, He prayed.
(Luke
22:41–46 NKJV) —41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt
down and prayed, 42
saying,
“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My
will, but Yours, be done.” 43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in
agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of
blood falling down to the ground. 45 When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He
found them sleeping from sorrow. 46 Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you
enter into temptation.”
Going through a difficult time? Don’t sleep. Pray.
:2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is
overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
:2 From the end of the earth
David feels he’s as far away from God as you can get.
:2 When my heart is overwhelmed
overwhelmed – ‘ataph – to
be feeble, be faint, grow weak; “covered over with darkness”
Lesson
Discouraged
If you are overwhelmed tonight, you are not alone. You are not unique.
We know that David went through times of deep depression:
(Psalm 6:6 NKJV) I am weary
with my groaning;
All
night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears.
Moses was used to write God’s Law, but became despondent over his position
of leading the nation:
(Numbers 11:14
NKJV) I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is
too heavy for me.
Elijah was used to do great miracles, yet fleeing from Jezebel he became
greatly depressed and wanted to quit (1Ki. 19).
(1 Kings 19:4 NKJV)
But
he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down
under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough!
Now, Lord, take my life, for I am
no better than my fathers!”
Charles Spurgeon wrote,
“Fits of depression come over most of us.
Usually cheerful as we may be, we must at intervals be cast down. The strong are not always vigorous, the wise
not always ready, the brave not always courageous, and the joyous not always
happy. There may be here and there men
of iron, but surely the rust frets even these.”
We all get overwhelmed by so many things.
For some of us it might be problems in our relationships. For others it’s troubles at work. For some it might be finances. Some of us have lost a loved one. Some may be struggling with illness.
:2 Lead me to the rock that is higher than I
Lesson
Look up
In David’s language, there actually IS a Rock that is higher than you are.
There is a place of safety, and it’s higher than where you are at.
There is a “higher power”, and He’s the only one who can get you out of
your mess.
When you are feeling overwhelmed, it seems that it’s hard to take your eyes
off your circumstances.
Jesus had sent His disciples across the Sea of Galilee one night in their
boat when a storm overtook them.
(Matthew 14:24–32
NKJV) —24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves,
for the wind was contrary. 25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on
the sea. 26 And when the
disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a
ghost!” And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It
is I; do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to
come to You on the water.”
Peter saw that the Lord wasn’t bothered by the storm, and
he wanted to try walking on water with Him.
29 So He said,
“Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to
go to Jesus. 30 But when he
saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink
he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
I think there’s a connection between Peter beginning to
sink and the fact that he was no longer looking up at Jesus, but was looking at
how bad the storm was.
It’s what we do all the time.
31 And
immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to
him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the
wind ceased.
Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days. His deliverance didn’t come until he looked
up and prayed (Jonah 3:1)
(Jonah 3:1 NKJV) Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time,
saying,
Nebuchadnezzar was a great king who became swallowed up in pride. It led to a time of madness where he began to
act like a cow, living outside and eating grass. It ended when he looked up.
(Daniel 4:34 NKJV) And at the
end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my
understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and
honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His
kingdom is from generation to generation.
Nebuchadnezzar needed to realize that there was a God who
was “higher” than he was.
Jesus said to look up when difficult times came:
(Luke 21:25–28
NKJV) —25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars;
and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves
roaring; 26 men’s hearts
failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on
the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they
will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when
these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your
redemption draws near.”
Illustration
In a far country lived a band of minstrels who traveled from town to town
presenting music to make a living. They had not been doing well. Times were
hard; there was little money for common folk to come to hear the minstrels,
even though their fee was small. Attendance had been falling off, so early one
evening the group met to discuss their plight. “I see no reason for opening
tonight,” one said. “To make things even worse than they may have been, it is
starting to snow. Who will venture out on a night like this?” “I agree,”
another disheartened singer said. “Last night we performed for just a handful.
Fewer will come tonight. Why not give back their meager fees and cancel the
concert? No one can expect us to go on when just a few are in the audience.” “How
can anyone do his best for so few?” a third inquired. Then he turned to another
sitting beside him. “What do you think?” The man appealed to was older than the
others. He looked straight at his troupe. “I know you are discouraged. I am
too. But we have a responsibility to those who might come. We will go on. And
we will do the best job of which we are capable. It is not the fault of those
who come that others do not. They should not be punished with less than the
best we can give.” Heartened by his words, the minstrels went ahead with their
show. They never performed better. When the show was over and the small
audience gone, the old man called his troupe to him. In his hand was a note,
handed to him by one of the audience just before the doors closed behind him.
“Listen to this, my friends!” Something electrifying in his tone of voice made
them turn to him in anticipation. Slowly the old man read: “Thank you for a
beautiful performance.” It was signed very simply—“Your King.”
Are you overwhelmed?
Look up. Your King is watching.
:3 For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy.
:3 You have been a shelter for me
Lesson
Remember faithfulness
David looks back to how God has helped him in the past.
God had delivered David from lions and bears.
God had delivered David from Goliath.
God had delivered David from King Saul.
God had delivered David from enemy armies like the Moabites, Edomites, and
Ammonites.
I think that sometimes I’ve developed “faithfulness Alzheimer’s”.
I seem to quickly forget the times when God has been faithful to deliver
me.
One of the things I worry about is the stability of the church and the
security of a place we can call our home.
As renters, there is always the possibility that one day we might not be
able to call this place home. That’s one
of the reasons why we are trying so hard to save in hopes of one day purchasing
our own property.
In case you were concerned, we did just exercise another
five-year option on our lease, so we should be okay for a while.
Yet if I were to take a moment and remember what God has done in the past,
I could go back in my mind to November of 2004, when we had been meeting at the
Fullerton Ice House for six years, and due to a change of heart, our landlord
gave us six weeks to move.
God had a place for us then. He had this place.
One of our elders last night reminded us of God’s promise to Jeremiah:
(Jeremiah
29:11 NKJV) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of
evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Paul tells us:
(Romans 8:32 NKJV) He who did
not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with
Him also freely give us all things?
God knows what He’s doing.
He’s proven Himself in the past and He will prove Himself again.
:4 I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of
Your wings. Selah
:4 the shelter of Your wings
The “wings” might refer to the wings found in the tabernacle, the wings of
the cherubim on the Ark.
They were over the mercy seat – the throne of grace. This was the place where
God would meet with man. (Ex. 25:20-22)
(Exodus 25:20–22 NKJV) —20 And the
cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat
with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall
be toward the mercy seat. 21 You shall
put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the
Testimony that I will give you. 22 And there
I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from
between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about
everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.
:5 For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the
heritage of those who fear Your name.
:5 have heard my vows
David has seen God answer his prayers before. He’s seen God’s work in his life.
:6 You will prolong the king’s life, His years as many generations.
:6 You will prolong the king’s life
David is expecting that God will keep him alive.
:7 He shall abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which
may preserve him!
:8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may daily perform my
vows.
In response to God’s answer, David will be praising God.
:7 He shall abide before God forever
It may be that David is talking about himself, and God preserving his
life.
It might be that David is talking about eternal life. But it might go further than that.
God had earlier made promises to David that he would have a descendant with
an eternal kingdom.
(2 Samuel 7:13
NKJV) He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne
of his kingdom forever.
And now David is being chased by his own son, but not the son of the
prophecy. Solomon would partially
fulfill this prophecy, but ultimately it would be Jesus, the Son of David, who
would fulfill this.
(Luke 1:30–33 NKJV)
—30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have
found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son,
and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be
great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give
Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His
kingdom there will be no end.”
:7 prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him
preserve – natsar – to guard,
watch, watch over, keep
David is talking about the things that will protect him.
prepare – manah – to
appoint, prepare.
This is the third imperative, a command, this is the actual main request
David is asking God to do.
David wants God to prepare two things that will protect him.
mercy – checed – goodness,
kindness, faithfulness
truth – ‘emeth – truth;
reliability; stability
These two Hebrew words are paired together over 30 times in the Old
Testament.
(Psalm 61:7 The Message) …post
Steady Love and Good Faith as lookouts,
One example is seen with the two
spies talking to Rahab before Israel conquered Jericho:
(Joshua 2:14 NKJV) So the men
answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours.
And it shall be, when the Lord
has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.”
This was not a new concept for
David. When fleeing Absalom, this is
what David had wished for his friend Ittai:
(2 Samuel 15:20b NKJV) …Return,
and take your brethren back. Mercy and truth be with you.”
God’s ultimate demonstration of kindness and faithfulness, mercy and truth,
are found in Jesus.
(John 1:17 NKJV) For the law
was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
There was no greater act of kindness and mercy, of truth
and faithfulness, than when Jesus laid down His life for us on the cross,
paying the penalty for our sins with His own death.
Lesson
Protection
David is looking for God’s mercy and truth to protect him – this is what
David is asking for in his future.
There may be a prophetic sense in which David is praying for the kings to
come after him, but I think that in a very real sense, David is praying for
himself.
He’s asking God for protection. He’s
asking God to protect him with mercy and truth.
How do we protect stuff?
If it’s your house, you might keep it painted or have it inspected for
termites.
Video: Orkin Couch Commercial
If it’s your car, you probably take it in to the garage for regular
maintenance, maybe wash and wax it.
Protecting stuff isn’t the same as doing maintenance when
things break down. Protecting stuff
keeps you from having to do so much maintenance.
Video: Fram Oil Filter 1972 – Pay
me now or pay me later
We are preserved/protected by mercy and truth.
This might speak of God’s mercy and truth towards us.
I wonder if it might also speak of us cultivating mercy and truth in our
own lives.
Mercy
I’ve been noticing in our daily Bible reading how judgment worked in
David’s life.
As a king, he was required to judge things that happened
in his kingdom. He was sort of a one-man
supreme court.
Sometimes people would “trick” David into making a
judgment on a certain situation, when they were really trying to get David to
judge his own life.
When Joab (2Samuel 14) wanted David to bring his son
Absalom back from exile, he asks a wise woman of Tekoa to tell David a story
about her two sons, one having killed the other, and the other now being
threatened with revenge. When David
promised to protect the remaining son, she pointed out that David should
protect his own son who had killed his brother.
It was a similar situation when Nathan confronted David
over his sin with Bathsheba. Nathan told
David a story about two neighbors and the rich man killing the poor man’s
sheep. (2Samuel 12).
Jesus said,
(Matthew
7:2 NKJV) For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the
measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
David wrote,
(Psalm
18:25 NKJV) With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful…
How are you doing on the “mercy” front?
Are you treating others the way you would want to be
treated? Are you harsh in your judgment
of them, or are you kind and merciful?
What if people talked about you behind your back the way
you talk about others behind theirs?
Protect your future with mercy.
Truth
We also protect our future with the truth.
This can be talking about our eternal future and the truth about Jesus, but
I think it goes further than that.
The opposite of “truth” is “deception”.
To others
When you live your life by concealing the truth and
deceiving others, there will be a day when it will all come out.
It may not happen until the day you die and you face God.
It’s more likely to happen sometime before that.
When the truth comes out, you will be in trouble.
Relationships are held together by trust.
When you deceive others, you are breaking that trust.
One of the ways I see trust broken is in the area of
money.
One spouse decides they are going to go out and buy some
big ticket item without ever consulting the other spouse.
When you have the urge to splurge, don’t hide it from your
spouse until it’s too late – talk about it ahead of time.
Learn to set a dollar limit on what each of you can spend
without needing to talk to the other person.
Sometimes our deception towards others is done to
intentionally hurt the other person.
Sometimes we deceive others because we’ve done something
that we’re ashamed of, and even though it might not directly affect the other
person, we don’t want to admit it.
Either way, deception destroys trust, and that will
destroy a relationship.
To ourselves
One of the most damaging types of deception takes place
when we deceive ourselves.
It’s when we don’t even want to admit to ourselves that we
have a problem.
(1
John 1:8 NKJV) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth
is not in us.
I hear folks tell me all the time, “I’m okay, I can handle
this. I can stop drinking any time I
want.” Really?
Let me ask you this: If it’s so easy to stop that activity
that is causing so much trouble in your life, why don’t you stop it?
Because by yourself you are powerless. You need help.
You protect your future when you learn to cultivate truth.
Songs
Hear My Cry O God (Ps. 61)
Em
Hear my cry O God
Attend unto my prayer
From the end of the earth
A B7
I will cry unto Thee
Em Am
When my heart is overwhelmed
Em
Lead me to the Rock
B7 Em
That is higher than I
Em Am
1)For You have been a shelter for me
Em
B7
A strong tower from the enemy
Em Am
I will abide in Your house forever
Em
I will trust
B7 Em
In the cover of Your wings
Em Am
2)For You O God have heard my vows
Em
B7
You have given me the heritage
of Your sons
Em
I will abide
Am
In Your presence forever
Em B7 Em
And so will I ever sing Your praise
Hear My Cry O God (Ps. 61)/ Author Unknown / © Unknown / HearMyCr.doc
D
Hear my cry O God
C G D
Attend unto my prayer
From the end of the earth
C G
D
Will I cry unto Thee
A
And when my heart is overwhelmed
G D
Lead me to the Rock
A G
That is higher than I
D
That is higher than I
For Thou hast been
A shelter for me
And a strong tower
From the enemy
Hear My Cry (Ps. 61)/ Words & Music by Rick Founds,
Todd Collins / © 1977,
1982 Maranatha! Music / HearMyD1.doc
Lead Me To The Rock (Psalm 61)
Tran I: G A D Bm7
(2x)
G A
Hear my cry
D Bm7
Listen to my prayer
G A
When my heart's faint
D Bm7
I will call to You
G A
Lead me to the Rock
Bm7 F#m7
G
That is higher, higher than I
A Bm7
You have been my refuge
F#m7
A strong tower
G A
Bm7 F#m7
Against the enemy
G A
(G)
Against the enemy
Tran I: (G) A D Bm7
(2x)
G A
Let me live forever
D Bm7
In Your midst
G A
Safe beneath the
shelter
D Bm7
Of Your wings
G A
Lead me to the Rock
Bm7 F#m7
G
That is higher, higher than I
A Bm7
You have been my refuge
F#m7
A strong tower
G A
You are my Rock
Bm7 F#m7
G
And You are higher, higher than I
A Bm7
You have been my refuge
F#m7
A strong tower
G A Bm7
F#m7
Against the enemy
G A
(G)
Against the enemy
Tran II: G D A (4x)
G D
A
So I'll forever sing your praises
G D
A
Giving glory to your name
G D
A
I'll forever sing your praises
G D
A
Day after day
G D
A
So I'll forever sing your praises
G D
A
Giving glory to your name
G D
A
I'll forever sing your praises
G D
A
Day after day
G D
A
Day after day
G A
You are my Rock
Bm7 F#m7
G
And You are higher, higher than I
A Bm7
You have been my refuge
F#m7
A strong tower
G A
You are my Rock
Bm7 F#m7
G
And You are higher, higher than I
A Bm7
You have been my refuge
F#m7
A strong tower
G A Bm7
F#m7
Against the enemy
G A
(G)
Against the enemy
Tran I: (G) A D Bm7
G A D
You are higher
Bm7 G A
Higher than I
D
You’ve been a refuge
Bm7 (G)
And a strong tower to me
(G) A D Bm7
G
You’ve been a refuge
A D
And a strong tower to me
Words & Music by David Dunagan
© 2016
by David Dunagan