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Sermon Scripture

Psalm 12:1-2

Sermon

Over the past month we have seen the need and recognized the battle of godly living.

Oh how we need Jesus, to overcome our inborn selfishness, to overcome our twisted world views, to overcome our own how too’s and to truly hear the cry of God lest we be found deaf with our Savior standing right before us.

Let us be clear in this… I am not saying that we sit alone in our homes coniving some way to live selfishly, and purposley coming up with a world view that is in opposition to God’s truth, or that we would label ourselves as intentionally closing our ears to the Words of Christ…what I am saying or rather what scripture is crying out, is that we all like sheep go astray, we all seek our own way - no one is righteous - no one seeks God.

But we must and thus we need God.

We live, just as every generation of believers has amoungst a wicked generation.

As if overcoming self was not enough, living godly is so counter cultural that the war for godliness within becomes numerous battles and trials without.

What do we do?

I believe the Psalmist words hold for us some great spiritual insight and encouragment for living in a godly way in a godless generation.

As a matter of fact the beauty of these two Psalms is that it breaks the survival of the godly down into two words.

Faith - That is trust, this is what you must have and what you must do.

It is a faith that is alive and working.

Word - That is the Word of God.

The who of who God is and the power of what God has spoken.

If you put those two things together then you have all that you need for the finding and sustaining of life period.

But if you have either one without the other, then you have nothing.

If you have faith, but not faith in the Word which God has spoken and thus changed you by then your faith is good for nothing, and if you have the Word of God but not the faith to surrender to and live by it then the Word becomes of no benefit to you but rather stands as your judge.

However these two Psalms shed a great light on the wonderful marriage of faith and the Word.

David is the author.

David is one who in his life was placed in almost every situation that any believer will come across.

Wether rich or poor, thriving at the top or barely hanging on at deaths door, beloved by all or a hunted enemy, faithful child of God or adulteourous, murdering, liar; David faced the trials that come upon believers from various life circumstances.

These Psalms are believed to be during a time at which David was hunted and under persecution from Saul.

That is to say Saul wanted David dead.

David has “friends” who counsel him to flee, to cower and the Psalm reads:

The first temptation in faith is to distrust God.

It is what corrupted man in the garden and still seeks to kill you and I today.

David states, “In the LORD I take refuge”.

.. That is to say, “In God I Trust”

Now in these first three verses David demonstrates the contradiction between the counsel of his peers and taking refuge in the LORD.

Or...

Then word of God shows the contrast in trusting in God and seeking your own preservation

It could be seen here that if David were to flee then he would be found in breach of his duties, that he would be found in cowerdice, perhaps a similar situation to Nehemiah who recieved counsel to escape for his life and found that counsel was given in hope to entrap him.

In the LORD I take refuge…that is to say that I trust in the protection of the LORD.

If this is true, then, “how can you say to my soul, ‘flee like a bird to your mountain’

To opperate in this manner would be to leave the reffuge of the LORD and go to your own mountain.

It would be to say that you have assesed the situation and find the LORD lacking.

As Spurgeon states,

“When Satan cannot overthrow us by presumption, how craftily will he seek to ruin us by distrust!

He will employ our dearest friends to argue us out of our confidence, and he will use such plausible logic, that unless we once for all assert our immovable trust in Christ, he will make us like the timid bird which flies to the mountain whenever danger presents itself.”

Listen David puts the case so clearly.

The bird has a refuge, but the counsel of the friends is to leave that refuge to seek another, but what happens when the bird leaves the tree for the mountain?

He is exposed.

Exposed to what?

“The wicked bend the bow; the arrow is fitted to the string”

In following God the only power that darkness can be given is when the child of God gives credience to the threat and moves in cowerdice rather than trust.

Trusting in God for the preservation of His people had been the foundation of David’s life.

With a sling and a stone He took down Goliath, not by his might but by trust in God.

It is in the Lord that David has taken refuge and listen friends, it is in the Lord that we must take refuge.

The word or phrase for refuge here gives the idea of fleeing to.

Thus David cannot flee to the Lord and flee to the mountain.

If David and if we flee from the Lord to another, then as David puts it:

“If the foundationas are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

In the foundation of the Lord the righteous have a stregnth, but as the righteous cease to abide in the Lord then their stregnth is God, and they become vulnerable to the assults of the enemy.

However, “What can the righteous do?” when in the Lord becomes, “what cannot they do?”

When prayer is given the open door to God and we engage Him as on our side, and our faith stands us upon the foundations of His promises then we have no cause to flee.

We do not flee from the Lord.

This is beautifully demonstrated by Ann Askew who was burned at Smithfield in 1546.

Listen to what she wrote and sang:

“Like as the armed knight

Appointed to the field,

With this world will I fight

And Faith shall be my shield.

Faith is that weapon strong

Which will not fail at need.

My foes, therefore, among

Therewith will I proceed.

As it is had in strength

And force of Christes way

It will prevail at length

Though all the devils say nay.

Faith in the fathers old

Obtained rightwisness

Which make me very bold

To fear no world's distress.

I now rejoice in heart

And Hope bid me do so

For Christ will take my part

And ease me of my woe.

Thou saist, lord, who so knock,

To them wilt thou attend.

Undo, therefore, the lock

And thy strong power send.

More enmyes now I have

Than hairs upon my head.

Let them not me deprave

But fight thou in my stead.

On thee my care I cast.

For all their cruel spight

I set not by their haste

For thou art my delight.

I am not she that list

My anchor to let fall

For every drizzling mist

My ship substancial.

Not oft use I to wright

In prose nor yet in rime,

Yet will I shew one sight