Sermon Tone Analysis

Public Reading

(ESV)

To the choirmaster.

A Psalm of David.

1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

2 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?

3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,

4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

6 I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

(PRAYER)

We are going to talk about “How to Overcome Crisis in Your Life.”

INTRODUCTION

We are going to confront 2 different crises this morning, and the 1st is personal crisis.

and the 1st being personal crisis is the type that can hit you at any point in life.

Personal crisis come in the form of a financial hardship, poor health, straying loved ones, difficult work situations, or hateful people.

Often times, a personal crisis will become all-encompassing, having a theological, psychological, and sociological dimension.

The crisis will eventually take over your life and transform who you are.

If you can relate to any of the above, you will love .

begins with a sigh and ends with a song.

It moves from despair in crisis, through prayer, to confident hope that God will handle the situation.

Theme: begins with a sigh and ends with a song.

It moves from despair in crisis, through prayer, to confident hope.

The distress is

Context:

BODY

When you find yourself in an all-encompassing crisis like the psalmist, it will eventually have a theological, psychological, and sociological dimension that will wreak havoc in your life.

To the choirmaster.

A Psalm of David.

Notice 3 things that will help you overcome personal crisis in your life:

I. Description of the Crisis: Cry Out to God (1-2)

4 “how longs”

A. Description of the Crisis: Be Honest with God (1-2)

1. Abandonment (1)

1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever (passively forgotten)?

How long will you hide your face from me (actively forgotten)?

It is to be noted that in his distress his first concern is for his relationship with God.

For any troubled soul, this is a good place to begin!

2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day (Internally - depressed)?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me (suffering externally - oppressed)?

( Internally - depressed)?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me (suffering externally)?

2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day (trying to figure it all out, but suffering internally)?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me (suffering externally)?

He is less concerned with why and more concerned about his relationship with God.

You may explain to a child all the medical reasons why he must have a shot in the arm, but when the nurse gets ready to plunge that needle into his arm, he runs to Mommy.

Comfort comes not in always knowing the reason why, but in knowing the comforter.

In (context of concern for worldly existence) we find God’s promise, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

How many times have you perceived your crisis as a lack of relationship with God, or his general lack of concern for you?

In we find God’s promise, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Which do you do in crisis: (1) question God, (2) find comfort in God?

When you are in crisis, focus first on your lack of perceived relationship with God

II.

Prescription for the Crisis: Call out to God (3-4)

3 Consider (look) and answer me, O Lord my God (Yahweh; Covenant God); light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,

4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

And so his cry, How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

It is to be noted that in his distress his first concern is for his relationship with God.

For any troubled soul, this is a good place to begin!

Even Jesus, on the cross, would cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ().

Yet this same Jesus, who knew the agony of the cross, knew also the glory of the resurrection.

In we find God’s promise, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Do you cry out to others or God?

When in crisis, do you call out to God or cry out to your friends?

Call out to God amid your crisis, and your agony will turn to glory!

II.

Devotion in Crisis: Confidence in God (5-6)

A. Trusting in God’s Loyal Love Brings Confidence (5)

5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

B. Remembering God’s Past Blessings Brings Confidence (6)

6 I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

When Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, there were many people buried in the ruins.

Some were found in cellars, as if they had gone there for security.

Some were found in the upper rooms of buildings.

But where was the Roman sentinel found?

Standing at the city gate where he had been placed by the captain, with his hands still grasping his weapon.

There, while the earth shook beneath him there, while the floods of ashes and cinders covered him—he had stood at his post.

And there, after a thousand years, was this faithful man still to be found.

Trust game of falling back

Green, M. P. (Ed.).

(1989).

Illustrations for Biblical Preaching: Over 1500 sermon illustrations arranged by topic and indexed exhaustively (Revised edition of: The expositor’s illustration file).

Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

God has never left his post.

Look back at what he has done, and have confidence in what he will do.

CONLCUSION

This Psalm clearly teaches us that we can overcome personal crisis in our lives by crying out to God, calling out to God, and trusting God to take care of our crisis, but the 2nd crisis I want to tell you about is a universal crisis.

The universal crisis that you are facing now is that even though God created you and loves you, you have done things to other people that violates God’s Word, which leaves you guilty of death and eternal separation from God.

But God loves you so much that he wants to save you.

You may be asking yourself, “What must I do to be saved?”

(repentance and faith).

RESEARCH SECTION

Theme: David’s trials were such that he wondered how long he could hold on.

But trials produce endurance, and the outcome is joy and singing (WBC).Theme: The Cry of the Afflicted (Ross).

The psalm is an individual lament, in which the worshiper comes to God with a desperate inquiry—“How long?”—and concludes on a note of hope and confidence.

The distress which the worshiper laments is probably the fear and proximity of death, brought on perhaps by grave illness (see further the Comment).

The psalm begins with a series of lamenting and nagging questions, but eventually the psalmist calms down and is able to look forward to a time of deliverance and joy.

Craigie, P. C. (2004).

(2nd ed., Vol. 19, p. 141).