What Are We Afraid Of

 Fear in the Midst of Trials

Book of Psalms 56

We must remember we live in a cursed world because of sin.

We must remember sin is everything that goes against the Word of God.

The greatest sin of all is to not believe in the work that the Lord Jesus Christ has completed for our salvation.

When do we have the most fear? When we are in the midst of our daily trials.

Things that devastate us can come to us at any moment. 

The death of a loved one.

A terrible sickness, such as cancer or a heart attack.

Today it seems like half the world is trying scam us out of the things we have no one really cares as they say they do.

A car wreck can set us backwards financially and I could go on because there are so many problems that come upon us, just unexpectedly.

In the Book of Job we see these words: Job 14:1  Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

This still describes our world today. This still describes humanity today but even worse.

Most of our hardships are the result of trouble finding us.

Many of our hardships are of our own making.

We know the Job was the most upright man on earth in his day and all his children died in one day because of a tornado like wind.

Robbers came and stole many of his animals.

Lightning killed the rest of his animals.

Job got up one morning as usual and was a rich man, at the end of that day Job was heartbroken and a poor man and he had done nothing to cause all these things to happen.

But it is still a fact that many of our problems come from our own actions.

We are still our own worst enemy.

David did this very thing.

When David was on the run from King Saul, who was trying to kill him.

David was innocent of any wrongdoing toward Saul but this did not stop Saul from trying to kill him.

David had gone to the Philistine city of Gath to seek refuge from Saul.

David thought that Saul would never look for him there.

The Philistines were Israel's sworn enemy.

Saul had declared David to be his enemy.

David hoped that the King of Gath would help him because they were both the enemies of King Saul.

Keep in mind that David had been the one to kill Goliath and Goliath had family members who still lived in Gath.

Goliath had four brothers and many family members there.

David was even carrying the sword of Goliath.

We can only imagine his thought process at this time.

The truth is that David's logic was flawed. He went to the world when he should have gone to Jehovah.

After all he was a man after God's own heart.

It is certain that we all make mistakes that can cause us harm!

The advisors of King Achish were convinced that David was still a threat to the Philistines so suddenly David was in grave danger.

We know from previous lessons that David put on a show of being crazy and it saved his life.

1Sa 21:10  And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 

1Sa 21:11  And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 

1Sa 21:12  And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 

1Sa 21:13  And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. 

Unwise decisions will most always get us into trouble!

If we are close to God, then we will find it easier to go to Him when trouble comes to us!

*****Psa 56:1  To the chief Musician upon Jonathelemrechokim, Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath. Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me.

Psa 56:2  Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. 

We know that trouble is usually accompanied by more trouble and we know we need help, but we forget that we are a child of God and we think the world can solve our problems, when the world is the cause of most of our problems.

This world is a wicked and evil place, and has no intention of solving anybody’s problems, but the rich who simply want more riches.

We should be crying out to the Lord and we should be crying out for His mercy even if we have to beg God for mercy, because we know God is merciful or we would not know anything about Him.

That phrase "would swallow me up" simply means that this world will walk all over us, trample on us, or crush us and we all know this is true because we live it every day and we see it getting worse, especially for the child of God, but we have a merciful God who will remove some of these things or He will go through them with us.

How did God describe Himself to Moses?

Exo_34:6  And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

Deu_4:31  (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

God does not change, so He is the same God to all those who love Him today.

God will not allow our enemies to swallow us up or walk all over us, if we go to Him in prayer trusting in Him.

David was under daily attacks so much so, that he could not find rest.

David explained these things to the Most High God, Jehovah, and he realized he needed God more than ever and just as we all do.

*****Psa 56:3  What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. 

Psa 56:4  In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. 

This is the only place in the Bible where we read that David might be afraid of any man.

The way this verse reads is "When the day comes that I feel fear stealing over me, by an act of will, I will put my trust in thee".

We must be more like David and never be afraid of what man can do to us! 

We already know that if we die today, we will wake up in Heaven and will be far better off.

In all danger, in all trouble, whatever happens, whatever we think is going to happen, we can always trust the Lord for the right outcome.

We cannot say we are Christians and then, not trust that God will always do the right thing for us.

This is the only way we will ever overcome our fears.

If we stay close enough to the Lord in our lifestyle and prayers, we will seldom fall into the traps of this world.

David was going to be the next King of Israel and he needed to learn on God's training ground.

God's training ground can be tough most of the time.

God will fulfill every promise He makes to us.

We can be secure in God's plans for our life! There are no human beings who can overrule God's purpose for our life!

*****Psa 56:5  Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. 

Psa 56:6  They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.

To me this sounds just like our own government today. 

In verse five we see one of the things that happens so much today.

Evil people take our Constitution and twist the words that we have had for many years into another meaning that was never intended by its writers.

In fact, people are listening just to see if we say something that can be twisted into some other meaning, things we never intended to say.

They will use these twisted meanings to plot against us.

This happened to David.

This happens to good politicians today.

These things happen to us.

If you are a Christian, people will try to twist your words to have an evil meaning because this is what they do to the Word of God every day.

These are what can be called a verbal ambush.

Our news sources do this all day long so that we cannot get the real truth but only someone's twisted version of their political views.

It should be alright to have a different point of view from someone else without it causing a war between them.

No matter our circumstances, we can trust the Lord to help us if we love Him and trust Him.

When we cry out to the Lord, He will hear us!

We must understand that no one makes us sin! No one can be the cause of our sin but us!

We have a sin nature that cannot be overcome without the help of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God went to great lengths in order to rescue us from our sin nature!

Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 

Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 

Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 

It is true that fear is one of the most powerful emotions we face today, but it should not be that way.

What are we afraid of?

Fear can cause us to act differently than we normally act.

Many just run off and hide when they should just go to the Lord.

God is certainly greater than any force upon this earth.

The way to defeat fear is by faith in the promises of the Word of God!

Heb 13:6  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

No one can escape the "judgment" of God especially those who try to use sin to defeat Him.

*****Psa 56:7  Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God. 

The problem with most sinners is that they think they can escape the wrath of God.

They do not believe in Hell and they do not think the Bible is a Divine book.

Isa 28:14  Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. 

Isa 28:15  Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: 

Again I can only think of the America of today when I read those words "for we have made lies our refuge and under falsehood have we hid ourselves".

We have the lies of our own government.

We have the lies of Meta and Google and other tech suppliers.

We have the lies of our financial services.

We have the lies of our News Sources.

Isa 28:18  And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. 

David was bold enough to ask God to deal with His enemies.

We can be sure that all the enemies of God will see His wrath at a time of His choosing, but sometimes we need God to do something sooner and He promises us His help on a daily basis, after all we have Heavens Angels with us at all times.

Psa 55:23  But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee. 

Another thing David did was to ask God to keep a record of all these things.

We should know that God keeps a record of all our doings!

Psa 139:2  Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 

David certainly did not realize that so many things of his life would be placed in the Bible for us all to read.

I am sure there are many things that he would rather not be made so public.

*****Psa 56:8  Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? 

Psa 56:9  When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.

We can be sure that the Lord will not allow His enemies to get by with their evil deeds. His enemies are also our enemies!

There is no one upon the face of this earth that can escape the "judgment" of God!

We can be sure that the Lord is angry at those who cause harm to God's people, but it is a righteous anger.

God does see our pain!

We might ask ourselves, why would God display the life of David before us?

We are not very old before we learn that bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people.

Mat_5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Human life is described as a form of wandering and tears.

Life is represented is a scene of unending struggle. 

Life can be more than just wandering and tears!

We know that that are some pleasures in this life, such as a good marriage, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

The knowledge of God and our Savior makes this life a whole lot better and there are no words to describe our future life for eternity.

The same Bible that tells us of the sorrows of this life also tell us of the wonderful things that are going to happen after this life is over.

The Bible does speak of these problems David had in his life, but the Bible also keeps a very accurate record of all those things and I believe that it is true that God puts our tears in a bottle.

These things are told to us to show that our God is a caring God. He cares about us and what we are going through.

God may have placed the life of David in the Bible for us to see, but God keeps complete records of each and every one of us with Him at all times.

God knows what we are going through!

We may not understand why bad things happen to us, but the Lord promises to open our eyes to the truth once we get to Heaven and we will understand the reasons why.

Some of these things are a test of our faith and our patience.

Those who reject the Lord but have their own gods believe that we are supposed to suffer.

We must realize that even today, none of us have suffered as our Savior did to provide our means for salvation.

Almost the entire life of the Lord Jesus was filled with sorrow.

The Lord Jesus also shed tears, but He did not shed tears at His crucifixion! 

He shed tears for us!

The Lord Jesus Christ also sheds tears for those who do not believe Him!

As Christians, we must realize that we have enemies in this world and even enemies that we do not know about.

Our own government has placed us on the terrorist lists.

The white Christian has become the enemy because those true to the Lord will fight against abortion, will fight against the LBGTQ movement, and will fight against immorality of all kind.

The Lord is on our side.

The Lord sees our pain.

The key to success is faith in the truth of God!

The truth is when we suffer the Lord suffers with us.

God will never forget the suffering of His people!

Our tears surely are God's treasures.

Psa 126:5  They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 

Psa 126:6  He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. 

We have so many things that we need to give God the praise for!

*****Psa 56:10  In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word. 

Some say, "just what is so important about the Bible"?

Let us first put it bluntly.

Pro 13:13  Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded. 

Those that reject any part of the "Word of God" bring destruction upon themselves!

The unbeliever cannot escape his future tragedy unless they accept the Word of God as the truth of life!

The unbeliever cannot escape the truth of God by ignoring the Word of God or by despising the Word of God.

They will suffer throughout eternity for neglecting the Messiah who came to this earth to save them!

Pro 14:9  Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour. 

Those who choose to go their own way will end up in destruction!

Pro 14:12  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. 

What we see in this Psalm is that David's faith had conquered any fear that he had.

God gave us His Words so that we could know right from wrong!

As loving and merciful as God is, He will not tolerate disobedience!

The Word of God allows us to see the true meaning of righteousness and points to the fact that God will always be faithful to His Word!

When we give praise to the Word of God we are giving praise to Elohim the triune God.

When we give praise to the LORD we are praising "YAHWEH" (Jehovah) the great "I AM" of the Bible.

We know of many false gods and not a single one of them show the mercy and love that Jehovah shows to those who believe Him.

In this passage we see the government of Jehovah combined with the Elohim of our creation!

Only Elohim does whatever He wants to, anytime He wants to, and in any way that He wants to do it.

But it is only His mercy that brings His "grace" to those that believe Him!

We should be more like David here when he says in the attribute of the "Justice of God", I will praise His Word and in the attribute of the "Mercies of God" will I praise His Word.

It does not matter if we are suffering adversity or living in prosperity, whether we receive evil of good things at the hand of the Lord, we should praise Him because He is the Almighty Living God.

It is the Word of God that denotes the "Grace" and the "Goodness" of the covenant that God makes with us because of Jesus Christ!

*****Psa 56:11  In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. 

David knows his deliverance is forthcoming so he praises God in advance for this deliverance.

Since we know the promises of God, we should all do this!

Sometimes we forget to offer thanksgiving to our God. We take Him for granted.

It is our duty to offer thanksgiving to the Lord!

1Th 5:18  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

It is our duty to pray with thanksgiving!

Php 4:6  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 

Php 4:7  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

It is our duty to offer thanksgiving to God for our victory in Jesus.

2Co 2:14  Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

It is our duty to thank God for His Word!

1Th 2:13  For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

As David was suffering in his misery and pleading with God for help, he was also praising God for the vows God has made to each believer.

The Lord has made certain promises to us about the things that cause us trouble.

Psa 50:14  Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: 

Psa 50:15  And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. 

*****Psa 56:12  Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee. 

When the Lord gives us victory then how can we not praise Him?

We must understand that because God is in control the things that happen to us then whatever comes to us must be included in the plan of God for us, and it will be good for us in the end.

This being true and it is, then we have no cause to fear the problems that come before us.

We must rest upon the promises of God and we must trust in God's timing.

We must offer sacrifices of praise to God consistently!

When we make vows to the Lord, we are creating debts that must be paid.

Many times when a serious problem comes before us, we will go to the Lord and make great promises to the Lord, if He will solve that issue before us, but when He has done what we ask Him to do, we forget to keep our promises which is the same as a vow.

David promised God that he would never forget.

David promised to be a vessel of praise especially in the worship services.

Since this thing happened to David while he was young, we can also see in the Book of Psalms and God used David to write so many of them.

We must never forget to give God the glory and the praise for the things we know He has done for us especially since God has delivered our soul from death.

*****Psa 56:13  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? 

When we have genuine faith, we can certainly thank God even before He acts.

We can consider something done although it has not been done yet.

Heb 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

For instance we know we are saved and the Lord has already built us a home in glory but He has not placed us in it yet.

We know the rapture is a true event, but it just has not taken place yet.

We know we are saved; we do not have to ask to be saved again.

We know we have been delivered; we do not have to ask God to be delivered again.

We know we are a child of God and we know that God puts His children first, we do not have to ask for the favors of the redeemed, they are already ours.

We are in the family of God.

As far as those vows are concerned, we should never make a promise that we cannot keep or we do not intend to keep.

Ecc 5:4  When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. 

Ecc 5:5  Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. 

Ecc 5:6  Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? 

God is faithful to us, even when we act foolishly or make unwise decisions.

When we walk in the wisdom of the Word of God which was given to us by God the Holy Spirit, we can avoid these mistakes that our flesh makes.

Even when we fail to follow the Lord, He is still faithful to us and He still keeps His promises to help us.

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

When that path to escape comes, we need to take it simply because God provided it!

2Ti 2:13  If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. 

God can only be God, He cannot be something He is not like we humans do.

It is simply not in His character and the more we learn about Him from the Book we call the Bible, which is actually the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the better we will know Him.

Joh_14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Amen

Cry Out To The Lord

Cry To The Lord

Psalms 18

We should never forget that even the Psalms are the inspired Word of God.

2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

So not only is this the praise of David but this Psalm should also be the praise of each of us that know the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior.

We know from our past studies that David was a sinner but he had a very personal relationship with the Lord just as we are to have.

We will never improve our walk with the Lord unless we get as close to Him as we possibly can!

God wants us to get close to Him!

Jas 4:8  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

How do we get closer to God?

First and foremost when God calls us by the Holy Ghost we must return God's call!

Rom 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Then we must do these other things:

**Then we must present ourselves in His house.
Those that say they do not have to go to church are not in agreement with the Word of God.

**Then we must walk in His ways.
Those that have one foot in the world and one foot in the church are wasting God's time.

**Then we must obey His commands.
Those that think the Bible is a book of suggestions are in the wrong.

**Then we must humble ourselves in prayer.
Those that do not stay in daily contact with Our Father, through Jesus Christ, will have no power at all.

**Then we must exercise our faith toward Him!
Without faith we cannot please God.

BUT, we should never have the feeling that we must draw nigh to God before He will draw nigh to us because it is God that made the first move.

Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and "hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us";

If we say when did God do this thing?

Mar 15:37  And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
Mar 15:38  And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.

God sent His only begotten Son to pay our sin debt with His own death and this one thing opened the doorway to the throne room of God in Heaven.

David had found an even closer personal relationship with the Lord in his later days.

We need to begin our own personal relationship with God as soon as He calls!

Let's begin:

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul:

*****18:1 And he said, I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.

And David said: "I love thee, O Lord".

We must realize that human love is preceded and generated by the love of God!

God did not wait for us to make some feeble attempt to clean ourselves up before He decided to love us!

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  "Even when we were dead in sins", hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

God's love is shown fully by His mercy and His amazing grace!

We should begin each day by saying "I love you Lord" because we would have no strength to begin our day without Him!

How should we express our love for God?

Mar 12:30  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

This is a commandment and not a suggestion!

How does the Lord defend us in all our troubles in order to fulfill the purpose He has for each of us?

*****Psa 18:2  The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

In last weeks lesson we learn what the title LORD means.

These things are written about Jehovah, the self-existing, Eternal Living God!

**The Lord is our rock. It is the Lord who is my hiding place. The Lord is my cleft in the rock.

What did God tell Moses?

Exo 33:21  And the LORD said, Behold, "there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock":

And who is this Rock?

Dan 2:34  Thou sawest till "that a stone was cut out without hands", which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

This the same rock on which the Bride of Christ is founded.

Psa 118:22  The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, "Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone";

Jesus Christ is our hiding place, our cleft in the rock.

**The Lord is our fortress. The Lord is our place of safety.

Pro 18:10  The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

**The Lord is our deliverer. The Lord will deliver us our of all affliction, from all temptations, out of the hands of all our enemies, but more important the Lord will deliver us from a body of sin, eternal death, and His wrath that is soon coming.

It is the Lord who rescues our soul!

Joh 10:28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

**The Lord is our strength.

Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

**The Lord is our God. The Lord is all good things in One God!

God says that every Atheist is a fool.

Psa 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

The Atheist is a fool by his nature and having denied God he also becomes a fool in practice.

Pro 1:7  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

**The Lord is my buckler. A buckler is a portable shield.

Psa 91:4  He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

**The Lord is the horn of our salvation.

Luk 1:69  And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

This "horn of salvation" is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

**The Lord is our high tower. It is the Lord who can place us so far out of reach that no evil can touch us. He will do this on the day of the Rapture of the Church.

Rev 21:10  And "he carried me away in the spirit" to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

Rev 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

But the Lord can be none of these things unless we do the first thing ourselves.

*****Psa 18:3  I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

To call is to cry for help. To call is to pray and to pray is to be in conversation with God. To be in conversation with the Lord is to believe that He has the answers we need and that first prayer should be about salvation.

Act 2:21  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Why, because it is the Lord who is worthy of our praise.

Rev 5:12  Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

How did our Lord suffer just to become worthy?

*****Psa 18:5  The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
Psa 18:6  In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

We know that David suffered greatly at the hands of Saul but these things are about Our Lord.

What were these sorrows that encompassed our Savior?

Eph 4:9  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

The Bible says that Our Savior tasted death for every believer.

Heb 2:9  But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; "that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man".

We know that the Lord Jesus suffered the death of His flesh.

But the Lord Jesus also suffered the (spiritual) death of His soul because for a very brief moment He was forsaken by the Father because he bore all our sin.

Mat 27:46  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Mat 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth

Just as Our Savior had victory over sin in the flesh.

He also had victory over death because after 3 days he arose.

Act 2:27  Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

This was the reason our Messiah had to die. It was our sin that Our Savior bore on the cross that day!

Col 2:14  Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, "nailing it to his cross";
Col 2:15  And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

This was the reason God came down from Heaven, to take the sting of death away!

1Jn 3:8  He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. "For this purpose" the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

It was our Savior who saw the sorrows of Hell for us. We will never see this place called Hell.

It was our Savior who escaped the snares of death that we could never have escaped from.

It is our Savior who teaches us by example that if we call upon the name of Lord we can be saved.

Peter said it like this:

Act 2:24  Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

At the time these things were written these were all prophesy but they were all fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ.

As David described them, the fear of death is like an overwhelming flood.

Verses 7-15 gives us a vivid picture of the turmoil on this earth that is called the flood of Noah's day.

*****Psa 18:7  Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
Psa 18:8  There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
Psa 18:9  He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
Psa 18:10  And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
Psa 18:11  He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
Psa 18:12  At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
Psa 18:13  The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
Psa 18:14  Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
Psa 18:15  Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

These verses give us a word picture of the convulsion of nature at the time of the flood.

But they also tell us many of these same things that happened when Our Lord arose from the death of the grave.

Just as Noah was delivered.

Just as David was delivered.

And because Lord Jesus Christ was delivered.

Then every believer will also be delivered!

*****Psa 18:16  He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.

Those same waters that brought death to the world of that day, raised up the Ark of Salvation.

Because the Lord ascended back to His throne in Heaven, He can now rescue everyone that calls on His name.

This is why we can "Cry Out To The Lord".

Noah and his family were drawn out of deaths chilly waters.

Moses and Israel were drawn out of deaths chilly waters brought on by Pharaoh.

David said he was drawn out of deaths chilly waters brought on by Saul's death grip.

Our Savior was also baptized in the chilly waters of agony and ascended back to His throne in Heaven.

Heb 5:7  Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
Heb 5:9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

By His own blood He has redeemed all who believe because the Lord had victory over death, hell, and the grave!

*****Psa 18:17  He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.

David knew the joy of being delivered.

Just as David was delivered from Goliath, and from Saul, we have also been delivered from Satan's power.

It would do us good to occasionally look back from where we came and remember that joy on the day that we were delivered from our sin.

Satan is our strong enemy and he is much too powerful for us to challenge alone but Satan's hold on us was broken through the cross!

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

*****Psa 18:18  They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.

Calamity is distress. The enemies of Jesus Christ are our enemies and the enemies of the church.

What did they do to the Lord Jesus?

They met Him, they laid hold on Him they insulted Him, they condemned Him, and they crucified Him.

But they could not "prevent Him" from fulfilling the will of God!

When David was greatly distressed, he encouraged himself in the Lord, his God!

Why should we do any different than David did?

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

*****Psa 18:19  He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

Just as God brought Joseph from the prison cell to be governor of Egypt and David from the caves of Adullam to throne of Israel, God will also bring us into a large place!

God does not just liberate us from the pangs of sin and stop at that point. Sin is Satan's prison but the Lamb of God brings true freedom.

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, "ye shall be free indeed".

Why? Because He delights in saving all those that love Him.

When we cry out to the Lord, He wants to do everything we ask of Him but we hold that power within our own selves.

We must be obedient to the things He says!

Our rewards come from doing things the right way!

*****Psa 18:20  The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
Psa 18:21  For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
Psa 18:22  For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.
Psa 18:23  I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
Psa 18:24  Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

The Bible says it will be our righteousness if we observe to do all God's commandments.

We must keep our hands clean.

We must walk by God's standards.

We must study the Word of God.

We must abstain from even the appearance of doing evil.

We must realize that the Lord always has His eyes on us, not for punishment but always ready to give a reward for doing things right.

What is God's rule of thumb for rewards?

*****Psa 18:25  With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
Psa 18:26  With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
Psa 18:27  For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.

God will render to everyone according to their own works!

*****Psa 18:28  For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

Darkness is a place where evil goes to hide but evil can never hide from God.

Darkness is also seen as a curse, so death then is also in the land of darkness.

In the time of David many people would burn a lamp all through the night time because they dreaded a dark house.

But the Bible says it is the spirit of man that is God's candle.

Pro 20:27  The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

The question is then are we a lighted candle burning for the Lord or are we in darkness?

We must have that light within ourselves.

It is the Lord Jesus who must light up our souls so that we can give light to others.

Do you have enough light in your candle to light the light of some one else's candle?

We should ask ourselves this question and work on our walk with the Lord until we can be a shining light.

Those that reject the Word of God and look to this world for answers will forever be in outer darkness.

Isa 8:22  And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.

Jesus Christ is our only light in this dark world!

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Jesus Christ is the only light than can light our candle!

*****Psa 18:29  For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.

The reality of our world is that Satan has a large army of his followers. We should never under value the strength of the enemies of God.

There are many that look upon the death of Jesus Christ as some weakness on the part of God but we know that Christ Jesus rose through that occasion to be our place of strength.

Jesus did not die for Himself, He died for us. His sufferings were made short and He marched right through His enemies and our enemies.

Eph 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, "he led captivity captive", and gave gifts unto men.

Satan shuts the sinner up into a deep ditch of sin and a high wall of immorality.

When Christ comes into our heart, He leaps over these walls and carries each one to safety.

Satan cannot overcome the plan of God because God's plan is perfect.

*****Psa 18:30  As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
Psa 18:31  For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?
Psa 18:32  It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
Psa 18:33  He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places.

To the sinner God's ways may not seem to be perfect.

And when we are suffering we sometimes forget the promises of God.

The roads in the wilderness of sin are always crooked!

Disappointment most always causes doubt!

The "Gospel" is sometimes a stumbling block to many that want more from this life but do not know how to achieve it.

But pain comes from this world when we refuse to accept the "perfect" Word of God.

The Bible has stood the test of time!

2Pe 3:8  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

There is no other God besides Jehovah the Tri-Une God no matter what the world tries to say!

The girdle in the time of David was a necessary part of clothing. It strengthened the loins, it kept the other garments close to the body, and it gave a place to tuck in the long robe when it was time to move quickly.

The strength of God is to our soul, what the girdle is to the body.

Isa 45:5  I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

That girdle for the soul is the Lord Jesus Christ.

A hind is a female deer or a doe.

It is the Lord that gives us swiftness to avoid trouble but also strength, protection, and a firm footing in this world.

All our strength will come from the Lord if we accept His plan of salvation!

*****Psa 18:34  He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
Psa 18:35  Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.
Psa 18:36  Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.
Psa 18:37  I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
Psa 18:38  I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.
Psa 18:39  For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
Psa 18:40  Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.

God's way is the perfect way and when our walk in this life is in step with the Lord Jesus Christ then He will make our walk perfect also.

We will be swift and sure footed when our path is slippery.

We will be strong in all our battles.

He will give us the shield of His Salvation.

But we must put on the whole armor of God because there should be no doubt that as Christians we  are living in the war zone.

God will not always strive with the enemies of Jesus Christ!

*****Psa 18:41  They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.

Our prayers are such a great weapon in this world that even the wicked will try call out for help in desperation but to no avail.

The Bible says:

Psa 66:18  If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

It is a fact that bad men have called out to God to go against His own children but God will never answer that prayer!

Remember the story of Balaam?

When a sinner refuses to hear the Holy Spirit then God will refuse to hear when they cry out to Him.

Zec 7:13  Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts:

In fact God will laugh and mock at these request.

Pro 1:24  Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
Pro 1:25  But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
Pro 1:26  I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

*****Psa 18:42  Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
Psa 18:43  Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.
Psa 18:44  As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
Psa 18:45  The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.

King David had defeated the enemies of Israel in such a way that they were powerless. God had subdued all his enemies under his feet.

This gives us the example of the Lord during the Millennial Kingdom. It is the Lord Jesus Christ who will sit on David's Throne.

Psa 22:27  All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
Psa 22:28  For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations.
Psa 22:29  All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.

Even Israel will worship King Jesus at this time.

But even during the 1000 years of the Millennial Kingdom will everyone willingly serve the Lord. There will also be some, such as strangers who are too afraid not to!

All nations must now serve Him because He will reign with a "rod of iron".

Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and "he shall rule them with a rod of iron": and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

*****Psa 18:46  The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
Psa 18:47  It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.
Psa 18:48  He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
Psa 18:49  Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
Psa 18:50  Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.

We do not serve an inanimate, imaginary, or an old dying god. We serve the Living God!

Heb 10:31  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of "the living God".

The topics of our conversation should be about our own calling by God the Father.

The topics of our conversation must include the redemption by the Son of God.

The topics of our conversation must include the washing and regeneration by the Holy Spirit of God.

It is only the individual Christian that can know these things!

This must be the beginning of our testimony to others!

What is the Psalm we will all sing in Heaven?

Rev 1:5  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,"

Vengeance is to never in our hands, vengeance belongs to the Lord!

It is the Lord Jesus Christ that has delivered us from all our enemies, especially Satan, the Devil.

Though this world we live in tries to stop our mouths from praising the Lord, we must sing out to our God whether they like it or not!

David wrote this Psalm, by the Holy Spirit, because he had been delivered.

If you know the Lord Jesus Christ as you Savior, then you have been delivered!

We should show our happiness in our singing of praises to the Lord!

We should have no problem crying out to the Lord!

Questions?

Let's Pray!