An Urgent Cry

Luke of Psalms and Psalm 61.

Psalm 61.

Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer.

From the end of the earth I call to you.

When my heart is faint, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.

Let me dwell in your tent forever.

Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings.

Now I suppose if anybody popped their head in here tonight and looked around,

they would say, well, this is a very peaceful place.

It would look so calm and peaceful.

But, of course, we have no idea what might be going on personally in everybody's heart here.

Some people, it might be peaceful.

Some people, they might be very contentious now because life is going very smoothly.

But maybe for others it's anything but.

We often don't display just what is going on within our own hearts.

And there might be many personal conflicts and many personal troubles.

We might feel overwhelmed.

Might be filled with doubts and fears and all sorts of things.

And one of the things sometimes that distresses the Christian is that they think that they shouldn't be like that.

They think that it's because their faith must be lacking.

That there's something wrong because they're thinking that as a Christian,

we should have the faith to commit everything to the Lord.

That there should be a settled peace within us.

We remember that Jesus says,

My peace I give you, not as the world gives, give I unto you.

And so there's this sense that there must be something wrong with my faith,

something wrong with me as a Christian,

if I feel troubled and anxious and overwhelmed.

Well, we've got to remember that the man who penned this psalm, David,

was a man termed a man after God's own heart.

And David was a man who enjoyed much fellowship with the Lord,

a man who had great times,

a man who was a man of great praise.

But he was also somebody who knew what it was to be troubled.

And when we go through the psalms, particularly the Davidic psalms,

you will find that there is almost a constant theme.

There are some psalms that are so full of praise,

but this psalm is so typical, it begins with the urgent cry,

and yet it finishes with a sense of triumph and praise.

And that is often where we too will be led

as we go through all the different experiences that we go through in life.

And David knew what it was like to be troubled.

Sometimes he knew that trouble brought about by enemies.

It had nothing to do with anything with himself,

just as the enemies against God and against God's kingdom.

And he as a representative was at the forefront of that assault.

But sometimes also the troubles were brought about by his own sin,

by his own failings.

So he knew what it was like on all different levels to be troubled.

And so we find David here that he is in absolute distress.

And he begins by saying,

hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer.

And when he says that, you can see this,

there's a real urgency in David's prayer here.

Now, I know that you know,

but I know a lot of people think that prayer

is simply just going through a form of repetition.

People think that prayer is just mumbling a few words to God,

that it is something that a Christian has to do,

but it's just part of what they do.

And some people almost have the idea

that if they just say a wee word,

then that's fine.

They say, well, I've spoken to God today.

But you and I know that real prayer comes from the heart.

It is urgent.

It is meaningful.

It's wonderful.

When we really need God,

we really pray.

And I'm sure we've all gone through different times

where we've just gone through the process of prayer.

Christians do that.

There are times that we've maybe lost the edge

and we just go through the motions.

But there are other times

when it's a real cry.

It's an urgent cry.

You listen to a little baby cry.

And whether they're crying for food

or crying because they're uncomfortable

or cry because they're needing change,

they really cry.

Well, that's the kind of cry

that the Lord's people make.

It is a real heartfelt cry.

And so David is here praying

and he's in desperation.

And he's saying,

hear, Lord, listen.

And the idea here,

hear my cry, O Lord,

listen to my prayer.

It's got the idea of attend to it.

Don't just hear my voice.

Listen to my voice in such a way

that you will attend to the matter

that I'm bringing before you.

And if you and I attend to something,

it means that

if we're going to attend to something,

we push other things aside

and we say,

well, I've got to attend to this right now.

And so we're going to give all our attention to it.

And that's like what David is saying.

Lord, I want you to give all your attention

to this right now.

Now, I know we talk about

how some people are able to multitask.

And I believe some people are.

I haven't a clue how you multitask,

but I know that some people are able.

But even the best person who can multitask

cannot give their full attention

to everything at the same time.

There is only really one thing

that you can really focus on.

If you've got a few very important things to do,

you cannot do them all together.

But the Lord can.

The Lord is able to attend

to everybody's needs

at the same time

and to give full attention

to everything that is being required.

So David is saying here,

Lord, give all your attention.

Please hear my cry.

Listen to my prayer.

And then we find that David is here,

that he's praying

and he's saying that

it's as if you're at the ends of the earth.

From the end of the earth,

I call to you.

Now, of course,

David was displaced at this time.

We don't know the background to it.

There were two major times in David's life

where he was away from home

and away from his comforts,

away from the throne,

away from the sanctuary,

from the tabernacle.

And we know one of them

was when he was on a run from Saul.

And he spent years

barely escaping with his life.

It could have come from this period.

But people think more than likely

it came from the time

where there was

Absalom's rebellion against him,

where his own son

rose up,

turned the hearts of the people

against David

because he wanted to take over the throne.

And it was one of the most

heartbreaking periods in David's life.

And you cannot but read

when Absalom was killed,

the absolute heartbroken distress

that David was in

because he loved Absalom, his son.

And yet here's his son

wanting to kill him.

So David, remember how he had to run.

He had to leave, as we say,

leave his throne,

leave his home,

leave Jerusalem,

leave the city of God,

as it were,

leave the sanctuary,

the tent of meeting.

He had to leave all that.

So although it is not geographically

the ends of the earth,

it is spiritually speaking,

the ends of the earth.

He's so displaced, as it were,

so far away.

And so David is crying here

with all his heart

that the Lord would hear him.

And we find that David is saying,

from the end of the earth,

I call to you

when my heart is faint.

And again,

the idea here

of the heart being faint

is of being overwhelmed,

of distressed,

depressed.

All these words come into it.

Areas of depression,

areas of just despair,

almost.

And we've got to remember,

Christians go there.

You know,

sometimes people say,

oh, Christians can't be depressed.

Christians cannot be troubled

with anxiety.

Of course they can.

David knew all about these things.

David experienced

the highest of highs,

but he experienced

the darkest of lows as well.

And that's part of what

makes the Psalms,

the book of Psalms,

such a wonderful book.

Because wherever you are tonight,

you will find,

if you go through the Psalms,

you will find there

your experience.

You will find

where you're at.

Because sometimes

when you go through the Psalms,

you will find the Psalmists

speaking with a boldness

that you'd be frightened

to speak with

before God.

Sometimes there's an anger

comes through.

Sometimes there's a confusion

comes through.

Sometimes great questions

come through.

Sometimes when you read them,

you'd say,

you know,

I would be scared

to speak like that.

But it's so encouraging

for us to see

this is a word of God.

And this is a place

where God's people

sometimes are.

That's where David was

at this particular time.

And so David cries,

Lord, he says,

lead me to the rock

that is higher than I.

And you see in verse 3,

he says,

for you have been

my refuge.

Now David is talking here

about something

he wants to happen

and something

that has happened

before.

And that's very much

how David

kind of goes in life.

You remember when David

went out to fight Goliath?

He said to Saul,

look,

it's all right.

God,

in the past,

I have fought the lion

and I have fought the bear

and I defeated both.

And because God

helped me there,

he will help me again.

So David is always

looking back

on what God

has done for him

in the past,

convinced that God

will do for him

in the future.

And we should do that as well.

We should look back

and remember

because, you know,

there are times

if we're down

and distressed,

sometimes we can't

lay hold upon

what God has actually

done for us.

And we need his help.

We need sometimes

to ask the Lord,

Lord, refocus.

Help me to look back

and to see the blessings

that you have actually

blessed me with.

Because sometimes

we lose sight

of these things.

And some of these blessings

even come in the hard times,

even the things that,

the difficult times

that we go through,

we're able to identify

the blessings

that we have actually

received in them.

So David is here saying,

lead me to the rock

that is higher than I.

Now a rock we always

think of as a place

of a stronghold

and somewhere

it's a good viewpoint.

Somewhere safe.

Get up onto a rock.

The first psalm

that we sang,

Psalm 40,

talks about this rock.

And you can never

look on the rock

or read about the rock

without thinking

of the great picture

that the Bible

so often gives

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And in fact,

we even see

the symbolism

of that

in the Old Testament

where Moses

struck the rock

and the water

came out.

And Jesus Christ,

of course,

is the ultimate rock

who was,

he was struck

in order

that we

may live.

But in that psalm,

Psalm 40,

we have the picture

there of

in the fearful pit

and miry clay

and the cry

and being taken

from it

with our feet

put upon a rock

and our way

established.

Now, of course,

that is a once

and for all

that happens

when we're converted.

And that will

never,

in a sense,

be

replicated

again in our life.

But the experiences

will go on

over and over

and over again.

We will constantly

be crying

to the Lord

to deliver us

from the different pits

that we find

ourselves in

and to

give us

a sense

again

of our feet

of being

upon the rock

that is Christ.

Because everything

else in this life,

it doesn't matter

what philosophies

or strategies,

it doesn't matter

what plans

or people,

it doesn't matter,

everything ultimately

will fail.

Everything else

will give up

or give in.

except Christ.

And so there's

this great

sense of the rock.

You know,

sometimes at a

human level,

maybe when you

go through a,

you may be going

through a particularly

difficult time

and you look back

and you'll remember

one or two

or a few people

and they stuck

with you

through thick

and thin.

they didn't

shift,

they didn't

flinch,

they were there

and so often

you'll say,

you know,

he or she,

he was a rock

to me.

She was a rock

to me.

In that time

where I was

going through

so much trouble,

they were there

for me

just like a rock.

Well,

that's a picture

of the supreme

rock

who is Jesus Christ

and he and he

alone can give us

what nobody else

can and so he is

this rock of defense

and this rock

of refuge.

But when we see

here,

David says,

lead me to the rock.

In other words,

he's asking for help.

I can't,

I can't get there

myself and you

and I know that.

We can't,

we can't work

that up ourselves.

We are dependent

upon his grace

and his help.

Then he says,

for you have been

my refuge

and it's interesting,

David is then

starting to move

as it were

into a greater

degree of personalness.

You have been

my refuge,

a strong tower

against the enemy.

He used this

strong tower

and gets the idea

that not only

is it a defense

but that strength

is being imparted

as well.

That's what the Lord

does to you

and to me,

isn't it?

He gives us

strength.

His strength

is made perfect

in our weakness

and many a time

we've felt weak

facing what we've

had to face.

Every day

there's a sense

of our inability

to walk the walk.

There are times

when we feel

we're being overcome

by temptation.

Times we feel

we're being overcome

by sin.

sometimes we think

how am I going

to make it on?

But you know this,

the Lord keeps us

going.

So they from strength

and weary

go,

still forward

unto strength.

That's how the Lord

takes us.

His strength

being made perfect

in our weakness.

But then

the psalmist

moves in verse 4

and he says

he's moving now

into the place

of fellowship.

Let me dwell

in your tent

forever.

And again

that's so often

the prayer

of David.

You think of

Psalm 27

and it's just

this delight

to be in God's house.

This is the place.

And you know

that's one of the

wonderful things.

It's wonderful

like in a midweek

meeting

because as I say

maybe some of you

came in here tonight

and you were

distressed in heart.

Nobody else

could see it.

And you know

sometimes when we're

sometimes when we're

distressed

and when we're

almost

our thinking

is all kind of

displaced

it's hard to pray

because we're

kind of

we're all over

the place.

But you know

there's something

wonderful when we

come to God's house

because God

has a way

of dealing with us

when we come

together like this.

If Asaph

who wrote

Psalm 73

was here

with us tonight

he would say

you know

there's no place

like God's house.

I was all over

the place

Asaph would say.

I was in a

terrible state.

My mind

was

turning cartwheels.

I was envying

the godless.

I was here

there and everywhere

until I went

to God's house.

And when he went

there

the Lord

restored his focus.

and he began

to see that

the very people

that he was

envying

he actually

should be

pitting them.

That they were

on a slippery

slope heading

to destruction.

And that's why

he goes on to say

whom have I

in the heavens

high but

thee O Lord

alone

and in the

earth whom I

desire

besides thee

there is none.

There's the

therapy

of God's

house.

God is a

great work

of restoration

in his house.

And so

you can understand

why David

is saying

here I am

I'm crying

as it were

from the

end to the

earth.

Oh I

long to get

back

to dwell

in your tent.

And then he

goes then

it's even more

it's closer

still let me

take refuge

under the

shelter of

your wings.

It's that

picture that

we often

find in

the Bible

as the

Lord speaks

to us

in the

beautiful

imagery

in different

ways of

just like

the mother

bird

sheltering

the chicks.

We sang

about it

in Psalm

91

about his

feathers

and it's

a place

of warmth

the place

of protection

the place

of nearness

the place

of love

that's what

the Lord

does with

us.

He shelters

us and

keeps us

close to

himself.

And so

as David

is working

his way

through

by the

time he's

come to

this stage

you can

see that

he's moved

from the

desperation.

Yes he's

still in

desperation

but you

know this

is what

happens when

we're in

touch with

God

really

praying

to the

Lord.

The

Lord

is lifting

us up

little by

little by

little along

the way.

And so

we find

that David

is you

can almost

feel the

different

spirit within

him as

he's becoming

more convinced

of God's

goodness and

God's

faithfulness

and of

God's love

towards him.

And then

we find

that as

it moves

on in

the

focusing

upon

Christ

because

nobody

else.

Now we

know that

from a

human

point of

view

when we

follow the

genealogy

the human

genealogy

Christ came

through the

Davidic line

and so

this prayer

of David's

is fulfilled

in Jesus

Christ.

But then

we see him

finishing

so will I

ever sing

praises to

your name

what a

difference to

the start.

And you

know it

will be the

same for

you and

for me as

well.

Even if

tonight we're

in the

depth when

we start

out the

Lord will

take us

on and

he'll take

us up so

that that's

how we will

finish that

we will so

will I ever

sing praises to

your name.

And you

know that's

how it's going

to be for the

Christian at the

end of the

day because

us we're all

moving on

that journey

to where we

will forever

sing praises to

his name.

This world

is it is

a veil of

tears.

We have our

good times and

we have our

sad times but

we're moving

on to this

world of

eternal praise

and how

wonderful that

that is the

end of our

journey.

So we pray

that tonight

we will have

this sense

of God's

goodness,

God's ear

open to

us,

of God's

willingness to

answer,

of his

faithfulness to

us and his

abundant love

in all the

different situations.

Let us pray.

Lord our God

we give thanks

for your word

to us.

We give thanks

for your

unfailing love.

We give thanks

oh Lord that

you are the

God who hears

our cry,

that you

attend to

our need.

And yet

Lord we have

to confess

that we're

not worthy

of the

least of

your

mercies.

And so

often as we

begin to

pray and

as we get

a greater

awareness of

who you

are we

begin to

feel less

within ourselves

and we

feel that we

are nothing

but poor

creatures.

But Lord we

pray that

like the

psalmist said

when I am

poor and

needy yet

the Lord

will think

upon me.

and how

wonderful

that the

Lord would

think upon

us realizing

that his

thoughts are

beyond numbering

his thoughts

of good to

his people.

So we pray

to bless us

tonight.

Pray for

those who

are struggling,

those who

are going

through difficult

times,

those maybe

who have

anxieties

and worries

that they

haven't been

able to share

with anybody

else.

Give them

the faith

to pour out

their hearts

to you

that they

might be

able to

share with

you and

do them

good we

pray.

Lord we

pray for

those who

are nursing

broken hearts.

Pray Lord

for those who

are recovering

from illness.

We pray for

those who

are ill.

We pray for

all in

hospital,

those who

are in

need.

Tonight we

remember again

your servants

Reverend Duncan

MacLeod and

Moraghan.

We think of

the funeral of

their daughter

Katie and

Tuesday.

Lord be

near to

them.

There are

so many

mysteries in

life,

so many

harrowing

pains and

sorrows.

So many

can follow

and understand

where they

are.

Many

cannot.

We pray

then that

you will

help them,

grant them

a great

sense of

your peace.

Watch over

us tonight

then we

pray.

We give

thanks for

the prayers

offered,

for the

words sung,

for your

word that

has been

read.

And we

pray that

you will

bless us,

taking every

single one

of us home

safely.

Lord we

give thanks

for this

congregation.

We give

thanks for

the witness

and testimony.

Lord we

give thanks

for everybody

who does.

So much

is done

here for

you.

And we

pray Lord

that you

will indeed

as we

heard open

the windows

of heaven

and pour

out a

blessing upon

us.

Not because

of our

deserving,

but Lord

that we

might be

an ever

growing

witness in

this

community

to your

power,

to your

grace,

and to

your love.

Take away

then from

us our

sin in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.

We're going

to conclude

singing.