Psalms 56
Psalms 56 is
such a wonderful chapter in Psalms! From my research and study of when this
chapter was written, it seems to me to have been written during an event in
David’s life that was very difficult. A time when it seemed that the world was
falling apart around him. David had made his temporary home in Ziklag, a city
in the Philistines. When he returned home one day after being gone for awhile,
he found the city had been burned to the ground and his family had been taken
captive. How sad! How would you feel if something like that happened to you?
Ellen White says, “David
seemed to be cut off from every human support. All that he held dear on earth
had been swept from him. Saul had driven him from his country; the Philistines
had driven him from the camp; the Amalekites had plundered his city; his wives
and children had been made prisoners; and his own familiar friends had banded
against him, and threatened him even with death.”
What a
situation! These would have been circumstances that are very easily calculated
to make someone discouraged. And it
seems that during this time, David wrote Psalm 56. So turn with me in your
Bibles to Psalms 56 and we’ll read verse 1 and 2:
“Be merciful unto me, O
God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me. Mine enemies
would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O
thou most High.” (Problem)
Here we see the problem
or persecution that David was facing and what he feared. He had trials and
problems. Do you ever have problems in your life? Problems that seem
overwhelming? Homework that never seems to end? Work beyond your capability to
keep up with? Difficulties that seem too great to pass through? David understands what you might be feeling.
But instead of yielding to the discouraging circumstances, let’s take a look at
what David did from the next verse. This is the most common verse from this
chapter.
“What time I am afraid,
I will trust in thee. “ (Promise)
Isn’t that a great
verse? A great promise? “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” When we
are fearful of the future and of what will happen to us, let’s remember this
promise! Today we’re going to be looking at 8 key points that start with “P” (I
tried to make it 7, but there was one too many) and these will help us know
what we can do when we have problems or persecution. And we just looked at the
first one – the Promise. The first “P” is the Promise.
Is this the only
promise God has given us when we have problems or trials? Oh, no! The Bible is
full of promises. 2 Peter 1:4 says, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great
and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
There is no lack in the
Bible for promises. If you don’t know very many or hardly any, I would
encourage you to read the Bible, to study to find those promises. Memorize them
and put them in your mind. So read the Bible and look for the promises that you
can use when you run into problems and trials. So the first key point, the
first “P” we learned is what? The Promise – claim the promises.
Now let’s move
on to verse 4 and discover 2 more key points from that verse.
“In God I will praise
his word (Praise), in God I have put
my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.” (Peace)
Did you see the next
two “P’s” from that verse? “In God I will… praise His Word…” I will praise God.
When we are going through difficult times, what do we generally feel like doing?
Praising God? We should, but unfortunately, many times, we find ourselves
complaining or grumbling about our circumstances, which we find ourselves in.
So how do I praise God
when I’m going through difficult times?
Look for the blessings that God has given to you. Ellen White says, “We
have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord
has led us, and His teaching in our past history.” We don’t have to fear the
future, because we can look back and see how God has been with us.
For the second “P”,
we’ll put down Praise or in other
words, singing. Sing when you’re having a bad day! They may be the last time
you want to do at the moment, but it’s the right thing to do! Have you noticed when you sing that it
generally lifts your spirits and makes you happy? Sing cheerful, happy songs
like “Let our hearts be always cheerful” or “Tis love that makes us happy” or
something like that, just to give you an example.
Ellen White says, “Song
is a weapon you can always use against discouragement.” So when in difficulty
and trials, sing and you will be encouraged and inspired to press onward and
keep going!
Well, that was the
second “P”. What is the third “P” from also that verse? “…in God I have put my
trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.” If I do not fear what flesh
(man) can do to me, what is that called? It is another way of saying I have
peace, right? So the 3rd “P” is Peace.
Hebrews 13:6 says, “The
Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Paul is
probably echoing the psalmist when he wrote these words. Can you have peace in your heart, even when
the world is falling apart around you? One of my favorite verses is from Isaiah
26:3 which says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on
thee because he trusteth in thee.” “Whatever
burdens lay heavily, cast them on the Lord. He that keepeth Israel neither
slumbers nor sleeps. Repose in God. He is kept in perfect peace whose mind is
stayed on God. The unfailing promises
of God will keep your heart in perfect peace.”
So, my friends, even if
the world is seemingly falling apart around you and the difficulties and trials
are more than you can bear, remember that God can keep you in perfect peace.
Surrendering 100% to Christ is what brings perfect peace. Let’s go on in the
chapter to verses 5-7: “Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. They gather
themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait
for my soul. Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God.”
Here David is
describing more problems and persecutions. He’s distressed with what the wicked
have done to him.
Verse 8 is well-known
and it says, “Thou tellest my wanderings
(Providence): put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?” (Perfect
care) Here we find 2 more “P’s” from this passage that can help us with our
problems and perplexities. “Thou tallest
all my wanderings…” What’s that?
That’s providence. That’s the 4th “P”
– Providence or God’s guidance. Psalms 32:8 says, “I will instruct thee and
teach thee in the way which thou shalt go, I will guide thee with mine eye.”
Ellen White says, “In everything we need to move along the line of God's
providence” and in another place, “God's providence is the school in which we
are to learn the meekness and lowliness of Jesus. The Lord is ever setting
before us, not the way we would choose, which seems easier and pleasanter to
us, but the true aims of life. It rests with us to co-operate with the agencies
which Heaven employs, in the work of conforming our characters to the divine
model.” So follow God’s providence (His guidance) and remember that “all things
work together for good to them that love God.”
The 5th “P”
is from the last part of the verse – “Put thou my tears into thy bottle: are
they not in thy book?” This one is Perfect
Care. Ellen White says, “In the book
of God's providence, the volume of life, we are each given a page. That page
contains every particular of our history; even the hairs of the head are
numbered. God's children are never absent from His mind.” In your difficult
moments or when you have problems and perplexities, remember God’s perfect
care. You are valuable to God! He loves you with an everlasting love and He cares
for you! Christ would have come to our earth just to save one of you. That’s
how much He values you! Remember that when it seems that your problems are
bigger than your God. God is bigger than the biggest problems you face, my
friends!
Let’s go on to verse 9:
“When I cry unto thee (Prayer), then shall mine
enemies turn back (Protection): this
I know; for God is for me.” (Promise) Here we find the 6th
and 7th “P’s.” The verse says, “When I cry unto the…” what’s that?
That’s Prayer. So the 6th “P” is Prayer. This is one of the
best things you can do in your perplexities and troubles and it really fits
with the 5th “P” – Perfect Care, because when we remember that God
loves and cares for us, then we will love to tell Him everything that troubles
us. Steps to Christ says this, “Through
nature and revelation, through His providence, and by the influence of His
Spirit, God speaks to us. But these are not enough; we need also to pour out
our hearts to Him. In order to have spiritual life and energy, we must have
actual intercourse with our heavenly Father.”
My friends, talk to God
as you talk to your best friend. He loves you and wants to help you in all your
difficulties and loves to hear you call to Him for help and strength! When the
problems and difficulties in your life are mounting up and you feel overwhelmed
and discouraged, remember this “P” – Prayer. God says, “Call upon me in the day
of trouble; I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify Me.” Call to God and He
promises to hear you and help you.
Now let’s find the 7th
“P.” Verse 10: “In God will I praise his
word: in the LORD will I praise his
word.” (Proclaim) The 7th
“P” is Proclaim. How do I get that? It’s not so obvious!
The word “praise” here in the original Hebrew means to shine, to celebrate, to
share. What am I proclaiming or sharing? His Word and what His Word has done in
my life. This is so important. When we have troubles or perplexities and it
seems that everything is going wrong, if we share to others something
encouraging or something we’ve found from God’s Word, it will make our problems
much smaller! So often people are focused on themselves, but when we are
focused on helping others (soul-winning, for example), it helps us take our
minds of ourselves and on to something better. Remember that for our own souls
to grow, we must share with others what we’ve learned.
And the last 3 verses
say, “In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.”
(Peace) That’s peace again. “Thy
vows are upon me, O God: I will
render praises unto thee.” (Praise) And there’s praise again. Last
verse – “For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver
my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?” (Prayer)
The psalmist ends with
a prayer. It’s a prayer of supplication, asking God to deliver him from falling
so he can walk before God in the right way.
My friends, those are
the 8 “P’s” from that chapter.
- Promise
- Praise
- Peace
- Providence
- Perfect Care
- Protection
- Prayer
- Proclaim
Remember those “P’s”
when you are going through difficult times.
The story is told about a man named Spafford who lived in Chicago. His
only son died in 1871 at the age of four and shortly afterward came the great
Chicago Fire which ruined him financially as he had been a successful lawyer.
Then in 1873, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the SS Ville du Havre, but sent the family ahead while he was delayed on
business concerning zoning problems following the Great Chicago Fire. While
crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a
sailing ship, the Loch Earn, and all four of Spafford's daughters died. His
wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, "Saved
alone…" Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving
wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his
daughters had died. Bliss called his tune Ville du Havre, from the name
of the stricken vessel.
My friends, I don’t
know what difficult you might be going through right now, but God does. He
knows every trial you face and how to help you through each one. He doesn’t
want us to give in to our doubts or discouragements, but to use these 7 simple
keys that David used to rise above our difficulties and trust Him fully. How
many of you want to have God’s perfect peace in your heart as you work for Him?
When peace
like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though
Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin,
oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
For me, be
it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
But Lord,
'tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.
And Lord,
haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
Horatio
Spafford
