It’s hard to live without hope. Many of the Psalms narrate the psalmists’ renewal of hope in the midst of tragedy and trial. But several of the psalms also point to a broader, more universal hope—the Messianic Hope. God has a solution for all the wickedness, corruption and evil so prevalent throughout the world and its institutions. He will install His King on Zion, His holy hill. We must live in light of His coming, living not for this age and its rulers, but for Him and His coming kingdom.

SERMON POWERPOINT Sunday, November 17, 2019  Brad Barrett David’s Psalms:  Mirror of the Soul–Week 5  To You, O Lord, I Lift Up My Soul 150 years ago, a classic hymn was penned.  What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry Ev’rything to God in prayer! Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry        Ev’rything to God in prayer! Author […]

Where do we go with our faith when God seems absent? How do we maintain faith when prayers seem unanswered, our circumstances all seem to be stacked against us, and we are filled with grief and sorrow and darkness in our hearts? Are we trapped, or is there a way out? We’ll explore what David did during these times and how we can rightly follow his example.

This morning we’re continuing our series on the Psalms of David. On the heels of our series on 1st and 2nd Samuel we thought it would be good to look a little deeper into David’s heart and mind and find out what it was that drove him to be such an inspiring man of faith, such a model for us. Much of his (and others) poetry is recorded for us in the Psalms. The Psalms have served God’s people through the millennia as a prayer book, a song book, teaching us how to communicate with our father in heaven. 

Last week we talked about how to pray when life is hard and we are in distress, how to turn to God in prayer and cast our burdens on him.  But what do we do when it feels that God himself is absent? That is our subject for today, and thankfully, David gives us an example to follow here as well.

Also today, I thought, rather than simply reading the text of the Psalm, which loses some of its flair in the translation from Hebrew, where it has rhyme, meter, and structure, into English which can only preserve the meaning, we’d add some of that flavor back in through song. So turn with me to Psalm 13 in your bible, and let’s meditate on the Psalm here as the band sings it for us.

[Song: Psalm 13 by Brian Doerksen]

Where do we go with our faith when God seems absent? How do we maintain faith when prayers are unanswered, our circumstances all seem to be stacked against us, and we are filled with grief and sorry and darkness in our heart? Are we trapped, or is there a way out?

In Psalm 13 we are going to see a progression of David’s thought through this prayer. First he reveals his soul, he pours out his heart to God in anguish. Then he requests what he feels he needs. Then he remembers what is true and looks to that as the source of hope God provides. He finds the answer to his requests in the promises of God.

And we go through these times too, don’t we? It is in these times especially that it is important reveal our soul, what is really going on inside, to him. He already knows it, but, probably more for our own sake than his, he wants us to tell him about it. In the times when God seems absent and everything seems stacked against us, it is important to request specifically the help we seek. It is important to remember God’s promise that He is near, and that nothing can separate His called and chosen children from him.

Let’s look at the Psalm. In the first two verses we see David revealing his soul:

Reveal your soul: 

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?  How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Psalm 13:1-2 (ESV)

Through he Psalm David deals with three dimensions he is feeling need in:

Spiritual dimension: God seems distantEmotional dimension: SorrowPhysical dimension: Enemy dominating 

I am impressed by the rawness of the prayer. The boldness, near presumption of the demand that God show himself: “Where are you!”

This is a normal part of the human experience, but it is naïveté,  forgetfulness, doubt, or unbelief, and it is important to work through. God is near to every one of us.

Notably: David is asking God, trusting that he is being heard, even though it “feels” that God is not paying attention.

I think we’re also looking at a progression here: God’s seeming absence leads to sorrow in the heart all day, leading to a sense that his enemy is dominating him.

In the next two verses we find his request for help:

Request help:

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. Psalm 13:3-4 (ESV)

His requests …

Life occasionally, or even often, brings us “hits,” that is, intense trials of all sorts. Some of these we bring on ourselves through foolishness or sin. Some of these are brought upon us by others, whether unintentionally or maliciously. And there are some trials that just seem to happen for no apparent reason or cause. David of Israel took many hits in life, and his legacy to us is, in part, the psalms he wrote expressing his anguish, complaints, and a thirst for justice—and he did this by faith as he prayed to the Lord. What can we learn from David’s prayers when life bring us some hits?

SERMON POWERPOINT

Sunday, November 3, 2019  Brad

Barrett

David’s

Psalms:  Mirror of the Soul

Week 3—Cast

Your Burdens—Psalm 55

All

of us at some point in our lives will encounter a severe trial, and have before

us an opportunity to pray to God… OR… to ignore him. 

Our

Lord, Jesus Christ, knows what it’s like to suffer, and then to pray. 

In

the last hour before Jesus’ arrest, mock trial, and torture:

Mark 14:33–35 ESV … he took with him Peter and

James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.  And he said to them, “My soul is very

sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.”  

And going a little farther, he fell on the ground

and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

Facing

the great evil of both Jews and Romans intent on killing him, as well as the

weight of the world’s sins that would be placed on his back, Jesus prayed in

his agony and distress.

I

find it remarkable that Jesus actually prayed that, if possible, he could

escape this severest trial any human had ever encountered.  This trial—taking the world’s sin on his own

back—was the only reason he came to earth. 

His entire earthly life was pointing to this moment.  Yet he asks his Father, “If it’s possible,

let me escape this moment.”

And

the author of Hebrews tells us,

Hebrews 5:7 ESV  In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers

and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him

from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.

Jesus

Christ,  the Creator of the world, our

Savior….. understands suffering and agony. 

And he showed us how to cast burdens in prayer…. upon our heavenly

Father.

We

are in Week 3 of a six-week series on the Psalms written by David.  These psalms have such a variety.  Some have a theme dominated by praise and

thanksgiving.  Others have a theme of

penitence.  Crying out for forgiveness.  Some have a theme of seeking justice, calling

on God to judge people. 

A

high percentage of them have a theme of lament. 

Expressing sorrow and pain and distress.

Today

we will focus on a Psalm where David is encountering an enemy who is violently opposed

to him and causing great havoc not only toward him but in the whole city. 

Crimes

of violence and oppression and fraud are tearing up the people of God. 

David

is in agony and distress.  First, he

needs help in his own soul from his fears and the horrors around him.   Second,

he wants justice.  He wants God to do

something to those who are causing great harm. 

As

we read this Psalm—Psalm 55—many of us will discover that we relate to David.  As we endure heavy trials—or even everyday

small trials— I hope that David’s words can become our words.  His

prayer can become our prayer…. That in the end, we will find God’s

sustaining power. 

Review

So

as a review… In my study of the Psalms in general (not just David’s psalms),

I have run into a regular theme.  That

theme is prayer.  For many, many

centuries, the Psalms have been like a prayer book.  First, to the people of Israel.  And then to the church. 

Psalms

are a prayer book to express our wide-ranging emotions to God.  Our joys. 

Praises.  Thanksgivings.  Fears. 

Anger.  Confusion.   Prayers

to help us be honest with God.

It

seems to me that there is no situation or emotion we can experience that is not

reflected somewhere in the Psalms.  The

Psalms are like a mirror to our souls. 

When we read them and pray them, we find they reflect back and we see

ourselves in them. 

One

author said,

“Immersing ourselves in the Psalms and turning them

into prayers teaches our hearts the ‘grammar’ of prayer.”

The

Psalm give us language to pray.  The end

result is to know God more intimately, trust him more…

In the Psalms we see the heart of a man of God. King David was a man of passion, yet humble and faith-filled. His passion drew Him to seek God’s person and His will. He desperately wanted more than just to know about God, He wanted to experience God through the ups and downs in life. Each of us is designed for spiritual experience, whether we know it or not. Those who have been united with Christ ought to experience Him. No one will be satisfied with a dead creed. In this message we will look at King David’s passion for God and Pastor Dave will share aspects of His journey to experience God in our modern world.

Having completed 1-2 Samuel which largely looks at David’s life, we are beginning a series on the Psalms that David wrote. Psalms is a unique book in the Scriptures, teaching us to pray, becoming like a mirror that reflects back to our souls. We learn from David (and other psalmists) how to be honest with God in prayer with all our praise, joy, sorrow, grief, anger, needs, and confusion. Today our focus is learning to praise God for who he is and what he has done. And the more we know the Lord, the more our hearts will find praise to be fitting and satisfying.