Psalms 142: Distress and God
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Distress and God
Distress and God
It is a misconception to think that Just because we follow Christ that we wont have troubles in our lives:
I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
Tribulation- Suffering:
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 22.2 θλῖψις, εως
trouble involving direct suffering
We are promised troubles, But we are also promised that we can have hope
Peaces- It isn’t the absent of Troubles
In the midst of Hardship and suffering all believers can have “peace” in fellowship with Christ
The word peace mean:
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 22.42 εἰρήνη, ης
a set of favorable circumstances involving peace and tranquility
The ESV Study Bible Chapter 14
The expression peace (Hb. shalom) had a much richer connotation than the English word does since it conveyed not merely the absence of conflict and turmoil but also the notion of positive blessing, especially in terms of a right relationship with God (e.g., Num. 6:24–26; cf. Ps. 29:11; Hag. 2:9, and also, as a result, the idea that “all is well” in one’s life). This may be manifested most clearly amid persecution and tribulation; see also John 15:18–19; 16:33.
Peace is seen most clearly in tribulation and persecution
Think of the stories we read in the bible of persecution-
Daniel and the Lions den: you have to have peace with God in order to do what he did
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego- They had to have peace with their relationship with God in order to say “God can rescue us from the fire, but even if he doesn’t we wont bow”
Think of where their Hope was.
It is to have no Worries- Tranquility
Jesus tells the disciples to be courageous
Why? Because Jesus has overcome.
Why? Because Jesus has overcome.
Our hope isn’t in anything or anyone this side of heaven
Our Hope is in the one who has overcome
The one who is returning as the conquering King who says “take heart I have overcome.”
When I think of Peace and tranquility I think of Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4
On that day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”
He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”
Still Have no Faith
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 31.85 πιστεύω; πίστις, εως
to believe to the extent of complete trust and reliance—‘to believe in, to have confidence in, to have faith in, to trust, faith, trust.’
The problem is that when we go through the hard times in life we forget the promises of God:
When things don’t go the way we want them to
when home life is hard
when depression starts to creep in
when doubt who we are in Christ
when we loose sight of what God has done for us
Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Trial put muscle on our Faith
Job- went through many trial the worst anyone could imagine- He loses all of His possessions and while Hi servant is still telling Him about all of the loss, another servant comes running over to tell Him a house fell on his Children.
What does he say?
“Naked I came in this world and naked I will Leave, the Lod gives and He takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
Next Job is stuck with boils and he scrapped them off with a piece of broken potery
Then His wife tells Him to curse God and Die
“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said.
And if you Look at Jobs life what you find is Job was a man of complete integrity that turned away from evil and feared God. God even brags about His servant- “There is no one like him”
But yet calamity struck, and Job never blamed it on anything.
There is an entire book of the bible called Lamentations-
Two types of Psalms:
Lament and Praise:
Psalms 142 in a lament:
Song expressing anguish to God for trouble caused by God, external forces, or personal weaknesses.
It is a complaint of cry
Is there more lament (or crying Psalms) or more Psalms of Praise?
A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer.
I cry aloud to the Lord;
I plead aloud to the Lord for mercy.
I pour out my complaint before him;
I reveal my trouble to him.
Although my spirit is weak within me,
you know my way.
Along this path I travel
they have hidden a trap for me.
Look to the right and see:
no one stands up for me;
there is no refuge for me;
no one cares about me.
I cry to you, Lord;
I say, “You are my shelter,
my portion in the land of the living.”
Listen to my cry,
for I am very weak.
Rescue me from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong for me.
Free me from prison
so that I can praise your name.
The righteous will gather around me
because you deal generously with me.
A Maskil - a contemplative poem
David is reflecting on His life and the situation he is going through
Can you relate to any of this Psalm?
I would guarantee that at some point we have all felt like the begin of this Psalm
Context could be 1 Sam 22:1
What is happening in David’s life?
David fled that day from Saul’s presence and went to King Achish of Gath. But Achish’s servants said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Don’t they sing about him during their dances:
Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands?”
David took this to heart and became very afraid of King Achish of Gath, so he pretended to be insane in their presence. He acted like a madman around them, scribbling on the doors of the city gate and letting saliva run down his beard.
“Look! You can see the man is crazy,” Achish said to his servants. “Why did you bring him to me? Do I have such a shortage of crazy people that you brought this one to act crazy around me? Is this one going to come into my house?”
So David left Gath and took refuge in the cave of Adullam. When David’s brothers and his father’s whole family heard, they went down and joined him there. In addition, every man who was desperate, in debt, or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
3 things to do when in distress:
3 things to do when in distress:
Cry-
David says “ I Pour out my Complaint before the Lord”
“I cry out plead for mercy”
“tell my trouble”
Each of these terms are given to the Lord, showing who David depends on.
He has no one else. “I have none to trust but you.”
His only Hope is God
God is big enough for us to unload everything to Him
When we are Helplessness: we hope in the One who able to do all that He has promised:
We can cry out to God:
I waited patiently for the Lord,
and he turned to me and heard my cry for help.
He brought me up from a desolate pit,
out of the muddy clay,
and set my feet on a rock,
making my steps secure.
We are called to live by faith:
Faith is helplessness reaching out in to dependence upon God
We are called to Trust in God
God hears our cries and says
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
Cling-
“you know my way”
Getting back to the truth-
Cling to the promises of God
dependance on God
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding;
in all your ways know him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Get back to the word
No one left
Verse 4- military term: the person to my right, his shield is a protective interment for me- soldiers would line up and in your right hand you would hold your weapon and the person to the right would be your defense
“I’m all by myself”
No one cares for my life
Yet I call this to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord’s faithful love
we do not perish,
for his mercies never end.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness!
I say, “The Lord is my portion,
therefore I will put my hope in him.”
Continue to praise
Though he slay me, I will hope in him;
yet I will argue my ways to his face.
CSB “Even if he kills me, I will hope in Him.”
Sounds similar to three Hebrew boys when they faced certain death for not bowing to a Golden image
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Verses 5-7 “Deliver Me from MY Persecutors”
You are my refuge- He has come to his senses
Verse four he said “I have no refuge”
Trust that God will deliver you
“The lord is my portion , therefore I will hope”
“Great is your faithfulness!”
When we return to our senses we cant help but Praise God for all he done
He is faithful
He is our help
He is our strength
He is our salvation!
Just like the writer of Psalms 142- we need to recognize how we should respond when we see the answers, “Blessed be the name of the Lord forever?”
David here expected all the righteous to rejoice with him “The righteous will surround me”
William Cowper:
His mother died when he was just 6 years old and his father sent him immediately to boarding school
There he would be beat on and bullied by a 15 year old
After he got out of school he struggled with server anxiety and it made Him unable to work as a lawyer like His father had wanted.
He also Struggled with depression and tried to commit suicide on 3 different occasions.
it was in an insane asylum where He found God through a bible on a bench and a believer who was a counselor
but still struggled with depression all his life
He became friends with a famous Pastor who dedicated his time and energy to minister to Cowper even though it was very taxing
John Newton- a former slave ship captain now become Minister who also lost His mother at the age of 6, and wrote many beautiful Hymns such as amazing grace.
He encourage Cowper to write Hymns and the came out with a Hymnal
Newton wrote about 200 and Cowper wrote 68
One of His most Famous “God Moves in a Mysterious way”
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sov’reign will.Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow’r.Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.