Hope for the Persecuted Soul
Book of Psalms Psalm 143
The phrase it "came to pass" is used 457 times in the Bible which teaches us these things that we are so afraid of may come, but they will not stay, they come, and they will pass on out of our lives.
Most of us can say that every obstacle we have faced in our lives has come to pass on out of our lives.
Some of them may leave scars, but they cannot keep us out of Heaven!
We must completely understand that the faithfulness of God makes it impossible for God to go against the covenant He has made with us.
God has revealed Himself as the God of mercy and forgiveness, and He can never go against these things.
So, we can boldly plead for mercy and if we are living a righteous life, then that mercy will come.
What is the truth?
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
The prayers of every saint today are just as important to God as those prayers David prayed in his day.
*****Psa 143:1 A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.
Psa 143:2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
We see David in another crisis because his life was filled with danger.
We cannot link this Psalm to any one particular thing that happened in David's life.
David knew at this point in his life, that if he did not get God's help he might die, or some terrible thing might happen to him.
I believe every one of us have had this same feeling.
1) David appealed to God to hear his prayer.
2) David appealed to the faithfulness of God.
3) David appealed to the righteousness of God.
David knew he needed a quick answer from God.
It seems that we need to know more about the characteristics of God, and we must never ask God to go against His own characteristics.
We cannot know these things unless we study the Bible!
We should shape our prayers according to God's characteristics, as did David.
We must never ask God to be unfaithful to His Word!
We can plead to God for His help and sometimes we need to pray and fast, to show God that we are serious.
When we are in a real crisis God already knows this.
Prayer is not merely a self-improvement exercise that is good for us, whether God hears our prayers or not.
Prayer is a real plea made to a real God!
God is always faithful to do just as He has written down in His recorded Word.
Our faith in Him, is the key to every answer we get from Him.
We must remember that if we ask for forgiveness of our sins, then there is no record of our sins in Heaven.
Psa 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We will pay for our sins, but God has already forgiven us of our sin, and He will not remember them.
These are the only things God forgets.
God does this because He chooses to do so because our sins are under the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
God's memory is perfect, but He just chooses to forget our sins!
Because God has chosen to forget our sins we have missed out on the judgment for our sin.
Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
David was in the same shape as we are, but sometimes we have a lack of faith, and we will think that God still has something that He will punish us for.
Faith is still the key to a perfect relationship with our Heavenly Father and His Son because they are both the same!
*****Psa 143:3 For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
Psa 143:4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.
We must understand that our enemy is vicious!
Our enemy wants the worst possible evil to happen to us!
Our enemy wants us to die in some evil situation that will make us an embarrassment to God!
David felt like he was just thrown out onto the street to be trampled alive.
We must understand that our adversaries, who are led by Satan, want us dead and useless in the work the Lord has given us to do.
Satan will do everything he possibly can to cause us to lose our testimony!
Satan would kill us in a split second if the Lord allowed him to have access to us.
We may feal like Satan is about to take over our lives, but our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will always save us, as long as it is true faith.
We know from the Book of Job that Satan needs God's permission to attack us and if we think we are in the class of Job, then we are not, but God loves as much as He loved Job.
Certainly, we will face persecution, and certainly, we will call upon the Lord for help, but most of the problems we will face in our lifetime are of our own making and we may need the Lord's to help us in those situations also.
We must understand that our enemy is powerful, and we cannot face him alone, we need the Lord to fight all our battles, and He will, if we remain faithful.
If the Lord permits us to dwell in the darkness of the dead, then He will surely bring us into His Light and cause us to dwell with those who are enjoying eternal life in Heaven.
We should understand that we are already in that realm of eternal life now as we exist here on earth.
We are already on our journey to Heaven because we can never die even though we will shed this useless flesh that we live in today.
Lam 3:24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
We know that King Saul had banished David from Judah, and it was felt by David, and when he thought about these things it broke the heart of David.
We are wrong to sit and mull over our circumstances, when the Lord has shed His light on our future!
We have a marvelous future ahead of us and nothing in this world can change that fact.
God cares too much for us to allow those things that are pressing heavily on us to remain on us.
God does not want us to suffer stress in these crises that come into our lives.
We must remember God has a job for us to do and He wants us to be busy doing this job.
When our burdens are too heavy for us to bear God knows, and He will take those burdens away from us if we ask Him in faith.
Psa 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
God is our Father, and we are his sons and daughters, He will not allow His children to suffer very long.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
God has enough "grace" to see us through every obstacle in our path!
2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
We sometimes wait until we are deep in trouble before we call upon the Lord, but we should call upon the Lord when we first see trouble coming our way!
In fact, we need to be in constant communication with the Lord God!
God has a plan that cannot be altered and if we have a part in that plan, and we do, then we cannot fail and the trouble we are in will cease to exist.
*****Psa 143:5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.
Psa 143:6 I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
I love those worship services when it seems like I can just reach us and touch God.
So, sometimes we just need to think back on what God has already done and know that He is still All Powerful.
God will do whatever it takes to fulfill the glorious plan He has for us!
God had anointed David to be the King of Israel and David would soon be the next King of Israel.
1Sa 16:11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.
1Sa 16:12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.
1Sa 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
This is God's plan not David's plan and God's plans never fail!
David had a burning desire to know that God would answer his prayer.
Nothing would satisfy David, but the presence of the Lord!
We must keep in mind that there is nothing too hard for God.
Jer 32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?
There is nothing that God cannot do but go against His character.
God rescued Israel once long ago and God's plan for Israel is not yet complete.
God had called Abraham and made a covenant with Him.
God had placed Joseph into Egypt so Israel could be fed during a drought.
God had raised up Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt.
God had caused a great miracle at the Red Sea.
God had brought Israel through the wilderness.
God had led Israel into the Promised Land.
For David, God had already given Him victory over Goliath.
God had anointed David to be the next King of Israel.
We can see that God's plans simply do not fail!
We can be sure that God will rescue Israel again so, His plan can be completed as He has it written down.
David had said that His soul was thirsting after God as a thirsty land.
David's distressing situation had drained every last drop of life out of Him.
His soul was parched and cracked like dry earth that was in a drought.
We simply need to get our mind off of our own circumstances and remember God's power and God's faithfulness to obey His promises.
What God has already done for us is nothing compared to what God is going to do for us!
When we dwell upon things that seem to be impossible, we must know that the word "impossible" is not a word that God uses because nothing is impossible for God!
Isa 40:25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
Isa 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
Isa 40:27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
Isa 40:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
There is nothing that God cannot do, if He so chooses.
God did not give us the Bible to show His failures because there are no failures of God in it!
David kept praying:
*****Psa 143:7 Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
Psa 143:8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.
After expressing his thirst for God David resumed praying about his crisis.
David had pressed the Lord to answer quickly, and David was becoming more desperate because David was afraid God would be too late answering his prayer.
God will not fail when our spirits fail!
God does not know how to fail; failure is not part of God's agenda!
The truth is, if we have God's countenance we live, but if God turns His back on us, we will die!
When the Lord looks with favor upon our efforts we prosper, but if God refuses to look upon them, we labor in vain.
God will not look upon sin!
We cannot cause God to rush because God always knows what is going on in our lives and the Holy Spirit has already told Him, He just knows.
Psa 139:4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
Psa 139:5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
Psa 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Psa 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
We should understand that Divine loving kindness is the root of which all other blessings come.
We could say that God's love is the fountain from which all blessings flow!
We all desire to walk in the way that the Lord has chosen for us.
Psa 5:8 Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
David would worship Jehovah daily but in the morning hours and many times God spoke with David in that time and here David desires that the Lord would speak to him as He did in those morning worship services.
David was desperate to hear from God, but we cannot make demands of God.
Why was David so desperate? Look again at verse three.
"For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead"
David felt like he could lose his life at any time!
We know that it is God that knows when our life will end, no one else.
What was the best thing David could do?
*****Psa 143:9 Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.
Psa 143:10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
Psa 143:11 Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.
Psa 143:12 And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.
At the first sign of trouble, we need to flee unto God to hide us from our enemy.
**Psa_17:8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
Psa_27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
Psa_64:2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:
All these Psalms were attributed to David, so we see David had prayed for Jehovah's help many times.
What does God teach us? God teaches us that sometimes we need to sort of pester Him to get an answer from Him.
God wants to know how sincere we are.
Luk 11:5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
Luk 11:6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
Luk 11:7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
Luk 11:8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
Importunity means persistence, especially to the point of annoyance.
David prayed that God would keep him out of the hands of his enemies.
What prayers will God surely answer?
God will teach us His will for us!
God will also deliver us for His namesake!
The Lord is glorified when it is proved that He is true to His Holy Name!
One of the reasons people are powerless in prayer is because they do not pray specifically.
When we pray in general terms and not specific terms, we are thoughtless and effortless.
God already knows why we are praying we need to be specific.
God already knows our needs we need to be specific, describing them to God.
God knows how desperate we are to evade our enemies, and He will answer in time, but He knows exactly what the right time is!
We know that in David's early life King Saul was trying his best to kill David or have him killed and we know David needed the Lord to rescue him and He did.
Again, we need to make specific requests in our prayers!
Most of the time in our prayers we just need God to show us His love!
We cannot be fervent in our prayer life if our requests are general and not our specific needs.
If we put ourselves in David's shoes, we would have panicked far more than David did.
When we desire God's help, we need to cry out passionately to Him.
We must clearly understand that God wants to answer our prayers!
We would like to think that God would only answer those prayer that are good for us but I believe He will allow us to get some things that are bad for us so we can learn some valuable lesson.
His will for us is for us to do His will for us and most all of it is written down and all we have to do is study the Bible to know His will.
In the end God wants us to be obedient to His Word, live godly lives, and spread the Gospel and enjoy the life He has given us.
Amen
