Scripture:
Psalm 17:8-9,15 & 46:1
Background:
Ps:17:8: Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
Ps:17:9: From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.
Ps:17:15: As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
Primary:
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Theme:
Where Will You Go?
Introduction:
- The story of “The Hill” in Ooltewah, Tennessee when I was growing up as a place of refuge for the young boy and the older man.
- The love of my grandparents covered us
- There was safety from the realities of the outside world – trouble, consequences, struggles
- There you found rest and peace in being one of the Powell boys and on Powell land.
- When times got rough, I went to “The Hill”
- David and the Psalms:
The Psalms from which the text is taken is believed to be the prayer and praise book developed by David, the King of Israel anointed by God. These hymns are hallowed cries of God’s servant, David, as he struggled to serve God in spite of his shortcomings. David life was a plethora of varied experiences: reared as a faithful shepherd of his father’s sheep, the slayer of the gargantuan Goliath, the leader of the victory over the Philistines, the one anointed by God as King of Israel, a “son” of God in his appointment to establish Jerusalem as the center of God’s Kingdom, his son appointed to build God’s House in Jerusalem, the Temple, while at the same time, David committed murder numerous times, had an affair with another man’s wife, Bethsheba, participated in many scandalous activities as King to preserve the establishment of his kingdom in the face of many adversaries. David knew what it meant to be human, fallible, sinful, weak, stained, tainted, marred, guilty, and ashamed before God but what overshadowed all of the former adjectives was the fact that David was HUMBLE before God and saw God as his only source of strength and refuge. As he writes in Psalms 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” David knew who he was and whose he was. David knew that he was a sinner living only by God’s grace and that he was God’s child. When all else fails, who else could he go to but his creator…the one who created his life and his living.
- As I got older, “The Hill” was not enough to take care of my problems or my fears. The man I grew to be needs more. Our text relays the answer that I was given as to where I would go. In Psalms, David depicts the Christian’s predicament in the metaphysical elements of our background text. In other words, David tells us how to go, where to go, why to go, and the result of going.
Body:
HOW TO GO:
“Keep me as the apple of the eye”
As it says in 1John 4:16 “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” A prerequisite for God to receive us as His own is our humble acceptance of God as our Father. Here David is acknowledging his continued acceptance and appreciation for God’s love towards him. KEEP ME tells us plainly that David was in God’s love, is in God’s love, and wants to remain in God’s love.
WHERE TO GO:
“hide me under the shadow of thy wings”
HIDE ME – conceal me where others can’t see me AND I can’t see them – this is the expression of David’s disregard for all that is not of God. Where the child of God goes is to GOD, HIMSELF!!
THE SHADOW OF THY WINGS –
- Wings are the strength of the bird.
- Wings cover the baby birds as a means of protection
- If it is in the SHADOW and not the WING then David is acknowledging the breadth of God’s protection being infinitely greater than he is or his situation is. The old song said that “He’s got the whole world in His hands.” David sang and earlier version in this psalm. God can hide the whole world under His wings so David just humbly asks to be caught up in the shadow of the wings. David isn’t asking for it all…just enough to answer his prayer.
WHY TO GO:
“From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about”
David is specific in his request of refuge. David wants refuge from 1)the wicked that oppress me (or all the hell that he stumbles upon in his life, and 2)his deadly enemies who compass him about (or his enemies plotting and acting against him knowingly who seem to be all around him. David had diligently worked to oppose the adversaries, but he just got TIRED. Have you ever gotten tired?
You can tell who is trying by who knows what they want refuge from…David knew!
THE RESULT OF GOING:
“As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.”
The rewards of God being your refuge are:
- BEHOLDING GOD’S FACE IN RIGHTEOUSNESS – The eyes of the soul can see the essence of God in the righteousness of your own existence. God is in me; so, when you see me, you see God! Oh what a radical statement, but also what sound metaphysical transitioning. As it says in Matthew, “So let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” Light kills all darkness. So can’t you see God in the face of a child of God whose light is shining “before men”. We aren’t God, but through us others can see God and a foretaste of His Glory through our attributed righteousness.
- BE SATISFIED – Paul said in Philippians 4:11 “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” In God we have a source of peace that allows there to be satisfaction or contentment in the midst of any adversity. Knowing that God has and will provide our every need is enough to overshadow the wants of our human existence.
- AWAKE – Oh the power of being able to rest in God’s protection. The consummate expression of the Christian’s faith in God’s protection and care is the ability to sleep. Total dependence upon God is experienced during sleep.
- Dependence on the senses is relinquished
- Awareness of surroundings is relinquished
- The closest one comes to death during life
God, in essence, raises us from this near death when we awaken from sleep. David refers to how God raises us from our fearful state to a new day…one filled with the fruits of His Spirit. Oh the miracle of resting…sleeping… and then awaking all within God’s protection.
- WITH THY LIKENESS – We awaken with His likeness exemplifying the significance that God is the author and finisher of our faith and the maker and creator of our very lives. Just as Jesus rose from the dead, we also are raised from the death of our sins AND fear. As the old hymn, the only one not documented in the hymnal, says, “Lord I come to thee a sinner all defiled. Please take the stain of guilt away and own me as thy child. For I cannot live in sin and feel my Savior’s love, but that thy blood can make my spirit clean and write my name above.”
Conclusion:
Finally our primary text is David’s time to get his “shout on”. When David thought of the goodness of God and ALL that He had done for him, David’s soul cried out “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
Not only is God our REFUGE, He is also our STRENGTH in how he helps us to realize our power through Him.
Not only is God our STRENGTH, but He is also our HELP in trouble…our only true and eternal help!
Not only is God our HELP in trouble, but He is also a PRESENT help in trouble in how he is there whenever we need Him.
Not only is God our PRESENT help in trouble, but He is also a VERY present help in trouble in that He is
more real than our fear
more real than our adversary
more real than our weakness
MORE REAL THAN OUR LIFE ITSELF!!
