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Psalm 56 “What To Do When You are Afraid” ** Main Idea: In Psalm 56 we
learn from David what to say to God when we are under attack and afraid.
There are five movements in this prayer for help. Think about it: What do we
learn about music from the Psalms? 1.
Our songs should be theological. 2.
Our songs should be singable. 3.
Our songs should be memorable. I. Tell God what you know
(1-2). A.
You have a big problem. B.
You need His mercy. II. Tell God what you feel
(3-4). A.
You are afraid. B.
You are choosing to trust in God.
1. His Word gives you
confidence.
2. His presence gives you
courage. III. Tell God what you want
(5-8). A.
Ask God to deal with your enemies (5-7). B.
Ask God to record your tears (8). IV. Tell God what you believe
(9-11). A.
You affirm that your enemies will fail in the end. B.
You affirm that God is for you.
1. His Word gives you
confidence.
2. His presence gives you
courage. V. Tell God what you expect
(12-13). A.
You expect God to help you. B.
You expect to show God your appreciation.
1. David’s circumstances
have not yet changed.
2. David’s perspective has
changed. Make It Personal: Is God real
in my life? I
will not be afraid. What can man do
to me? Those words from the pen of David, quite frankly, are amazing. How would you answer that question, “What can man do to me?” I can think of a lot of things man could do to me, indeed, a lot of potential reasons for fear. Terrorists kill soldiers and civilians
alike on a daily basis, not only in Closer to home, students feel unsafe on university campuses after the senseless killings at Virginia Tech. Companies get rid of 25-year-employees and replace them with cheaper overseas labor. Inner city violence isn’t just in the inner cities any more. I can remember a day when folks went to bed at night with doors unlocked. To do so today is to sleep at risk in most places. Children are devastated by pain produced by parents who break their marriage vows to each other. The elderly are far too often abandoned in care facilities. Schools now have to have gun policies. Travelers take off their shoes and wait in long lines at airport security checks. I won’t be afraid? Is that what David said? And…what can man do to me? Is he serious? Absolutely. And it’s not because he was living in a protected palace at the time. Actually, he was in custody facing death charges, with two nations intent to kill him. Is it possible to live above your fears in a fearful world? Indeed it is and we’ll find out how this morning from David’s Psalm 56. Last week we began a new series, The Psalms of David: Putting God at the Center of Your Life. I picked the series title based on a comment in the preface to the Psalms in the NIV Study Bible: “At the core of the theology of the Psalter is the conviction that the gravitational center of life …is God.”[1] That’s what God deserves and desires from us, to be the gravitational center of our lives. And that’s what the Psalms help us do, put God right at the center of our every experience, including fearful ones as in Psalm 56. Four Suggestions for Making the Most of this series: 1. Read through the psalms. If you read a psalm a day, you’ll make your way through the entire Psalter in about six months. 2. Study the background of the particular psalm. In our current Wednesday evening Bible study, we’re studying the life of David in 1 Samuel 16-31. David wrote the psalms we’re pondering on Sunday mornings during this period of his life. 3.
Sing the psalms. The
Psalter was 4.
Pray the psalms. The book
of Psalms was also Background to Psalm 56: Notice the heading… For
the director of music. – Even though 2 Samuel 23:1 calls David “ Who was this music director? We’re not told. Nehemiah 12:46 indicates there were several music directors under David’s leadership: “For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there had been directors for the singers and for the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.” 1 Chronicles 15:27 mentions another of David’s worship leaders, the one who led the music when David moved the ark up to Jerusalem: “Now David was clothed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and as were the singers, and Kenaniah, who was in charge of the singing of the choirs.”[2] The fact that David mentions a director of music implies that there were others who would follow
his lead in singing. Not everybody
can direct, but everybody can sing. And
David wanted Don’t miss the words head Levite and skillful. To lead God’s people in worship, both qualifications are vital, spiritual and musical. If a person isn’t spiritually qualified he ought not lead God’s people in worship no matter how gifted he may be musically. Likewise, in order to lead God’s people in song the spiritual individual must possess sufficient musical skill to enable God’s people to worship their excellent God in an excellent way. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” – We don’t know what the tune sounded like but its title was fitting, an innocent lovely bird forced to perch far from his home. That was the psalmist’s predicament, as we’ll soon see. Of David. – Of the 150 psalms David’s name is attached to 73 of them. Six of them were categorized as… A miktam. – This was some sort of literary or musical term.[3] Think
about it: What do we learn about
music from the Psalms? We learn that God wants His people to sing, to sing together, to sing about Him and to sing for Him, and then to live what they sing. I would suggest we find here three good guidelines for church music today—our songs should be theological, singable, and memorable. We need songs that are rich in theology—David doesn’t waste words; each one expresses truth, sometimes about God and at other times to God, but always theologically precise. As far as song lyrics go, simply put, if you wouldn’t say it in a sermon, you shouldn’t say it in a song. We also need songs that are singable. The Jews didn’t go to the house of God to be entertained (there weren’t even seats in the tabernacle or temple), but to give God something (an offering, a prayer, a song, attention to His Word, and so on). They were participants, not spectators. That’s why we need songs that are singable. The purpose of church music isn’t to entertain us but are to enable us to express ourselves rightly to God. And they should be memorable—David’s
uses powerful poetic devices in his psalms, in part, to help his people remember
the words. The songs Thirteen, maybe fourteen of David’s psalms give a historical setting in the heading. Psalm 56 is one of them… When
the Philistines had seized him in It must have been a volatile situation
for David to leave It shows how desperate he was.
Saul’s soldiers would never expect him to go there.
It would be like a rabbit running from a snake into a fox’s den for
safety. Whatever his reason for
going to “That day David fled from Saul and
went to Achish king of Don’t underestimate those words, very much afraid. David
was scared out of his mind…literally.
He pretended insanity by scratching the doors and drooling down his beard
until the king of 1 Samuel 21 tells us what David did in I.
Tell God what you know (1-2). Verses 1-2 “Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me; all day long they press their attack. My slanderers pursue me all day long; many are attacking me in their pride.” What do you know if you’re facing treason charges in your home country and are in custody in another country for killing their hero? Here’s what you know, and it’s also what you want God to know that you know! You tell the Lord two things… A. You have a big problem. And I mean big. Notice the intense language David uses to describe the actions of his enemy against him: in verse 1, hotly pursue [lit. ‘pant,’ it’s what an animal does as it’s chasing hard after what it hopes will be it’s lunch; it’s as if David can feel the enemy’s breath on his back[4]]… press their attack [a military term, ‘to launch an aggressive offensive’]; in verse 2 he repeats the same verbs but adds modifiers to them, pursue me all day long…attacking me in their pride. What should you do if you’re facing that kind of human opposition? Tell God what you know, that you have a big problem! And then this… B. You need His mercy. “Be merciful to me, O God,” says David. He doesn’t ask God for what he deserves, but for mercy. The Hebrew title by which David addresses ‘God’ is Elohim.[5] It’s the same title Moses used in recording the first verse of the Bible. “In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.” Elohim is the one without beginning and ending, the one who by merely speaking a word created the sun, moon, and stars, and with another word brought the earth into existence, and by speaking still other words populated the earth with plants, birds, and animals, and finally by scooping up some dirt fashioned a man and breathed life into that man, declaring him to be His image-bearer. You don’t make demands of One so great, especially since we entered this world as His rebels, a condition we inherited from the first rebel, Adam, and willingly expressed ourselves. No, you ask for mercy. When you’re in fearful circumstances, first tell God what you know. Then… II.
Tell God what you feel (3-4). Listen to David in verse 3, “When I am afraid, I will trust in you.” What do you feel when godless men are intent on killing you? Here’s what you feel… A. You are afraid. Do godly people feel fear? David did! David, the man who killed a lion and bear with his hands, Goliath with a slingshot, and countless Philistines in battle, all prior to this moment, now says, “When I am afraid.” Not if but when. Fear is a natural initial response to danger. Sure David felt fear. But he didn’t live by his fear. He didn’t give in to his fear. Nor will you if, like David, you respond in a God-pleasing way to the fear you feel. You say, “What’s the God-honoring response?” It’s this. After telling God you are afraid, then affirm that… B. You are choosing to trust in God. “When I am afraid I will trust in you.” I can read your mind at this point. “Wait a minute. How can I trust God when I’m scared speechless?” I can read your mind because that’s my first thought, too. Thankfully, in the very next verse David shows us two powerful energizers that turn us from fear to trust. Verse 4—“In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?” Notice the two energizers… 1. His Word gives you confidence. “In God, whose word I praise.” Note that David’s reason for trusting is not the shifting sand of some mystical feeling, but the solid ground of God’s Word. What did God’s “word” mean to David? Remember, it’s 1000 B.C. The Scriptures that God had given the world by David’s day would have included only the Pentateuch, maybe Joshua and Judges, perhaps Job. “That is only a portion of our Bible, but it was enough to make God’s character and desires for his people known.”[6] David probably has something else in
mind, too. God had made a promise to
David back in 1 Samuel 16: “You
will be But that’s not all. David mentions a second energizer. His Word gives you confidence. And… 2. His presence gives you courage. “In God,” David begins verse 4 and then repeats himself, “In God I trust.” The reality of Elohim’s presence filled David with courage. Do you trust God? If you are Christian, you trusted Him for salvation by taking Him at His Word. “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved,” His Word declares (Acts 16:31). If you have been saved it’s because you trusted in the Lord and in His Word. If you trusted Him for the salvation of your soul, can you not trust Him with lesser concerns, like material needs (food and housing), or personal needs (like overcoming loneliness or insecurity), or even “those sometimes dangerous circumstances that cause fear and desperation?”[7] Sure, man can hurt God’s servant, but he can’t defeat him.[8] If you want to move from fear to faith, then do what David did. Meditate upon God’s Word and remind yourself of God’s presence. When your mind is filled with God’s Word and fixed upon the reality of His presence you will begin to trust Him. And as Charles Spurgeon wisely observed, “He who can trust will soon sing.”[9] Tell God what you know, and then tell Him what you feel. Thirdly… III.
Tell God what you want (5-8). If your mind is saturated with His Word and your gaze fixed on His presence, then what you want will be His honor in your current circumstances. So tell Him what you want, as David did in verses 5-8: “All day long they twist my words; they are always plotting to harm me. They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, eager to take my life. On no account let them escape; in your anger, O God, bring down the nations. Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll— are they not in your record?” I get the sense that the slander seemed to bother David more than the danger did. Sure his enemy wants to kill him, but to justify it they keep attacking David’s character, misrepresenting David’s intent, and twisting David’s words. So David told God exactly what he wanted. And like David, if we’re being attacked we can bring two requests to God. A.
Ask God to deal with your enemies (5-7).
“On no account let them escape,” David says.
This is no small predicament for David.
It’s not just a few out of sorts individuals who are after him, but the
nation of Do you hear the irony in that request? David has been captured by the Philistines but he says to God, “Don’t let them escape.” Or to paraphrase, “God, I’ve got my enemies right where I want them, they’re all together in one place, right around me and out in the open. You can’t miss them. Now don’t let them get away!” Now that’s confidence in God! Are you seeking to live for God only to take it on the chin? Are you being hurt by people who don’t love Jesus? You have the privilege to tell God about it. Ask Him to deal with those who are attacking you. Also… B. Ask God to record your tears (8). David was no stoic when it came to pain. His enemy’s hating and hunting resulted in great discouragement at times, even tears. “Record my lament,” he says to God. “List my tears on your scroll.” Now the fourth movement. After telling God what you know, feel, and want, then… IV.
Tell God what you believe (9-11). At this point in the psalm David makes two affirmations. Once again, let’s personalize his example. I urge you to do what David did. First… A. You affirm that your enemies will fail in the end. Verses 9 begins, “Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help.” How did David know his enemies would turn back? Because he asked God to turn them back, and he asked God to turn them back because he knew it was God’s plan for him to be king some day. He’s asking for God’s will to be done and he can therefore affirm that it will be done. His enemies will fail. So will yours, child of God. True, your enemy the devil is a roaring lion. But his days are numbered. He will fail in the end. You have God’s Word on it. And on this… B. You affirm that God is for you. David concludes verse 9 with these words, “By this I will know that God is for me.”[10] God is for me. That thought causes David to repeat what is apparently the refrain of the song introduced back in verse 4, affirming in verses 10-11, “In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise— in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Once again, David affirms that… 1. His Word gives you confidence. And…
2. His presence gives you
courage. This cannot be overstated.
The key to trusting God is to trust His Word.
Suppose you were having severe financial problems, in fact, you were about to lose your home. Quite understandably, you were feeling great anxiety and fear as the payment deadline approached. Now suppose that, on the day before being evicted from your house, you received a phone call from someone who said, “I’ve deposited $100,000 in your checking account.” Would those words affect how you felt? It depends, doesn’t it? If you didn’t know the person, you might consider his offer a cruel joke and merely add anger to your anxious and fearful heart. What if you did know the person but your knowledge was limited only to one casual conversation you’d had with him when standing in the check out line at Wal Mart, at which time you learned his name and that he was retired and lived alone. In that case, his words might cause some initial excitement but feelings of doubt would likely kick in shortly after you hung up the phone. Now suppose you did know the person on the telephone and knew him well. It was Mr. Jones, not only the wealthiest man in the county but also a dear friend of yours since childhood, a man that you have breakfast with on a weekly basis whose son is named after you. How would his words affect your anxiety and fear? They would chase them away, and quickly! What made the difference? In order to trust someone’s word, you must know that person, that the person is trustworthy. The more fully you know that trustworthy person the more fully you will be able to trust his word. And, to borrow from Lane again, when his word is trusted he is trusted. David trusted God’s Word because David knew God well. And David knew God well because David knew God’s Word well and therefore trusted God fully, no matter how desperate the situation. But notice something. David goes a step further. He not only trusts God’s Word. He praises it. He extols it by calling attention to it, reflecting on it, singing it, and, as we’ll see momentarily, living as if it had already come true. Are you struggling with negative feelings? Then do what David did, pray. Psalm 56 is a prayer-song, and prayer is a God-ordained means of overcoming feelings of anxiety.[11] That’s what Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” And now the end of the song. After telling God what know, feel, what, and believe… V.
Tell God what you expect (12-13). Verses 12-13 “I am under vows to you, O God; I will present my thank offerings to you. For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.” Did you notice how David is now talking about what will happen in the future? He’s looking beyond his captivity to the time when he will be delivered. In other words he’s stating his expectations. Because God is in control David expects two things to occur, and so should we, if we know Him. A.
You expect God to help you. “For
you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling.”
David speaks of his prison experience in But God doesn’t deliver us from trouble so we can live an easy, comfortable, self-absorbed life, but so we can do something. Do what? He says he’s going to do two things, one in verse 12 and the other in verse 13… Verse 12—I will present my thank offerings. That’s the appropriate response when God does something in your life, to express thanksgiving. And then this… Verse 13—I
will walk before God in the light of life.
God delivers us from problems so we can walk
before Him. To walk before Him
means to go where He wants you to go and to do what He wants you to do with your
life. In other words, you expect God to help you, and consequently when He does… B. You expect to show God your appreciation. By giving thanks and by living before God in the light of life. Again, David is still in danger when he states these resolves. This is what I am going to do, he says, once God intervenes. To put it plainly… 1. David’s circumstances have not yet changed. But something has changed and it’s happened while David has been singing this psalm…
2. David’s perspective has
changed. It’s worth noting that Psalm 56 is quoted elsewhere in the Bible. We find verses 4 & 11 in Psalm 118:6 and in Hebrews 13:6. Paul refers to verse 9 in Romans 8:31. Jesus seems to have the last words of verse 13 in mind in John 8:12 when He says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” That’s the ultimate fulfillment of Psalm 56, of course, as is the case with all of Scripture. It points to Jesus, as Alexander Maclaren says, “The really living are they who live in Jesus, and the real light of the living is the sunshine that streams on those who thus live, because they live in him.”[12] Yes, Psalm 59 points us to Jesus. So look at Jesus. See Him as His enemies are plotting to kill Him. He’s not afraid. He knows that His enemy will not take His life for He plans to give it, as a ransom payment for sinners like you and me. And He knows that the prison doors of His grave will not hold Him, for on the third day He will conquer death. That’s His Father’s plan and He knows that His Father’s plan cannot fail. Nor did it fail! So let’s make it personal… Make It Personal:
Is God real in my life? God was real in David’s life.
Real.
So ask yourself… Is God real in my life? Be
honest. What needs to change so that
God is indeed real to you?
Let the changes begin today with a
song, David’s song. Take heed
to Psalm 59 and make God the gravitational
center of your life. **Note:
This is an unedited manuscript of a message preached at [1] NIV Study Bible, p. 776. [2] KJV. ‘company of them that gave thanks’; lit. a “thanksgiving company”—a great perspective for a choir! [3] Other psalms called “a miktam”: Psalm 16, 57, 58, 59, & 60. [4]
[5] It’s worth noting that in contrast to Psalm 59 where David uses many titles for God, in Psalm 56 he uses only two: Elohim (verses 1, 4, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13) and Yahweh (verse 10). [6] James Boice, p. 471. [7] James Boice, Psalms, Vol. 2, p. 471. [8] Observation by Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72, p. 203. [9] Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1, p. 465. [10] KJV and NKJV state, “This I know because God is for me.” [11] Lane, p. 256. [12] Alexander Maclaren, quoted by James Boice, Psalms, Vol. 2, p. 472.
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