When Things Fall Apart

We're starting our new series this morning.

The series is titled Man on the Run,

and we're going to be looking at a number of the psalms,

songs or prayers that David wrote while he was on the run from King Saul.

The first of which is Psalm 59, which we'll be looking at this morning.

And before we dive into this psalm,

this psalm was written at a very specific time in David's life.

It says right at the beginning that this psalm is about

when Saul had sent men to watch David's house in order to kill him.

So he probably didn't write it at that moment,

but he wrote it about that time or shortly after.

And before we jump into it,

I just want to remind us of what's going on in the story of David and Saul up to this point.

So if you remember, Saul was Israel's first king.

And because Saul was disobedient to the Lord's command,

the Lord told Saul that he was rejected as king of Israel

and that the kingdom would be taken from him and from his family

and given to someone else.

And of course, that someone else was David,

the young man, the shepherd from Bethlehem.

And David was anointed by Samuel, the Lord's prophet,

to be the next king of Israel.

He came and fought Goliath.

The Lord gave him victory over Goliath.

He ended up in service in the king's palace.

He was the musician that was sought to help Saul when he got into his moods.

And everything that seemed to happen to David from the time that he was anointed

until we find him today just seemed to be an incredible working of God.

He had success in battle.

He was taken into the military.

He rose up in the ranks to the point where he became a leader in the army.

And no matter what battle it was, it seemed the Lord gave him success in everything that he did.

He was growing in favor with the people.

The people loved David.

He even had the opportunity to become the king's son-in-law and married into the royal family.

He was best friends with Jonathan, the king's son.

And as far as David could see, everything is going well.

He's been told that he would be the next king of Israel.

And if you look at the trajectory of his life, what a transition.

I mean, he may have wondered,

how am I going to go from being a shepherd boy in my father's house to being a king?

And here the Lord has caused everything to fall into place.

One thing after another to the point where he is where he is today.

But there's a problem.

Saul doesn't see this kingdom as God's kingdom.

He sees it as his own.

And he does not want to let go of his rule, of his throne.

He is bent on hanging on to it right to the bitter end,

even though God has made it clear that he has been rejected as king.

Saul knows that the kingdom will be given to someone else.

The Lord has told him that through Samuel.

And so he's on the lookout for anybody who would try to usurp or take his throne.

He wants his throne when he dies to go to his son, Jonathan.

And as David is seemingly rising up in the ranks and the people are coming to love him,

Saul realizes that this is the man that God has chosen to replace him as the king of Israel.

And he begins to become angry towards David and see him as a threat to his rule.

It says that he was afraid of him to the point where he becomes ready to take David's life.

He tries to kill David one time when they're alone, just he and David and David's playing music.

He tries to hurl his spear and kill him.

But David escapes.

Then he tries to do it through more indirect means, using the military when they're out in battle,

hoping to tweak things a little bit so that David will fall in battle.

But it doesn't work.

The Lord gives him victory anyway.

Then he tries to get to him through his daughter.

Maybe she will distract him and love will get him off his game and he'll fall in battle.

But David's not interested.

And then when he finally is interested in marrying one of Saul's daughters, it's another of Saul's daughters.

And Saul thinks, this is the time.

The bride price, 200 Philistines.

You have to kill them.

Hoping that David would fall in battle.

But of course, the Lord gives David success.

And he's able to pay the bride price in full.

And becomes the king's son-in-law.

No matter what Saul tries, it seems pretty clear that the Lord is thwarting his attempt to take David out.

He has rejected Saul.

And he is with David, his chosen king.

The tensions are rising between David and Saul.

And finally things come to a head.

Again, in a moment when they're alone, Saul decides to try to make another try and pin him to the wall with his spear.

And David just escapes.

And he runs to his home and to his wife, Michal.

And you can imagine this.

Here they are.

They're in his, David's in his home with his wife.

They're talking.

He's probably expressing like, what's going on here?

He just tried to kill me again.

You know, what?

Is he just an angry and violent guy?

Or has he got an issue with me specifically?

Is he after me?

And then all of a sudden, he looks out the window.

And he notices that there's some guys that are watching the house.

Saul had sent men to watch the house with orders to kill David in the morning.

How is David feeling in the midst of all this?

What's he thinking about?

Well, thankfully, this psalm is all about that.

And we get a beautiful picture of exactly what kind of things David is thinking and feeling.

Let me read it for you.

Deliver me from my enemies, O God.

Be my fortress against those who are attacking me.

Deliver me from evildoers.

And save me from those who are after my blood.

See how they lie in wait for me.

Fierce men conspire against me for no offense or sin of mine, Lord.

I have done no wrong.

Yet they are ready to attack me.

Arise to help me.

Look on my plight.

You, Lord, God Almighty.

You who are the God of Israel.

Rouse yourself to punish all the nations.

Show no mercy to wicked traitors.

They return at evening, snarling like dogs.

And prowl about the city.

See what they spew from their mouths.

The words from their lips are sharp as swords.

And they think, who can hear us?

But you laugh at them, Lord.

You scoff at all those nations.

You are my strength.

I watch for you.

You, God, are my fortress.

My God on whom I can rely.

God will go before me.

And will let me gloat over those who slander me.

Down to verse 14.

They return at evening, snarling like dogs.

And prowl about the city.

They wander about for food and howl if not satisfied.

But I will sing of your strength.

In the morning, I will sing of your love.

For you are my fortress.

My refuge in times of trouble.

You are my strength.

I sing praise to you.

You, God, are my fortress.

My God on whom I can rely.

David knows that he's in big trouble.

He describes his troubles throughout the psalm.

More at the beginning.

In verse 1, he says,

Verse 2,

Verse 4,

Verse 4,

They're ready to attack me.

They're like dogs prowling about the city,

looking for their prey.

And the words, the things that they're saying

are sharp and deadly.

They slander me.

They're spreading lies about me.

But what's even more difficult about this

you can just hear the angst in David's voice.

Why?

Why are they doing this?

Why is this happening to me?

Verse three, fierce men conspire against me

for no offense or sin of mine, Lord.

What have I done that they're hunting me down like this,

like a criminal?

Verse four, I have done no wrong,

yet they are ready to attack me.

Do you hear the angst in David's heart?

Why are they doing this?

I've done nothing to deserve this.

Three times he asks for the Lord

to give his attention to his troubles,

to the situation that he's in.

In verse three, he says,

see how they lie in wait for me.

See?

Do you see this, Lord?

Do you see these guys lurking around outside the house?

In verse four, he says,

look on my plight.

God, look.

Give your attention to my troubles.

See them.

In verse seven, he says,

see what they spew from their mouths.

Lord, do you hear the words that they are speaking about me?

The lies that they are saying about me?

He calls for God to give his attention to his troubles.

But he goes beyond that.

Not only does he ask for the Lord's attention,

but he asks the Lord to intervene

and to do something about his troubles.

Right at the beginning in verse one,

he says,

deliver me from my enemies.

Again, in verse two,

deliver me from evildoers

and save me from those who are after my blood.

He asks God to come and get him out of this situation,

to rescue him from these guys.

The second half of verse one,

he says,

be my fortress against those who are attacking me.

I need a safe place to go.

I'm in my own home and I'm not even safe here.

God, be my fortress.

Protect me.

Verse four, he says,

arise to help me.

Don't just sit and watch as this unfolds.

Arise and come and help me.

Lord, I'm in trouble.

David goes on from there

to ask the Lord to come

and punish his enemies.

In verse five,

rouse yourself to punish.

And then again in verses 11 to 13,

he goes on to ask God

to consume his enemies

in his wrath.

We didn't read that part.

I'm not going to say a lot

about those parts this morning,

but I do want to point out

that this is not

sheerly revenge for David.

This is not just a personal desire

for revenge.

Notice what he says in verse 13.

He says,

consume them in your wrath.

Consume them till they are no more.

Then it will be known

to the ends of the earth

that God rules over Jacob.

That's almost another way of saying,

hallowed be thy name.

Consume my enemies in your wrath

so that throughout the world,

everybody will see

that Israel is different,

that they have a God

who doesn't allow this kind of garbage

to go on in his kingdom.

It's a very honoring way

to pray to the Lord,

an honoring reason to give.

And yet,

I don't think that we should

follow David's example

and pray for God

to bring judgment on our enemies.

Jesus tells us

that we should go

beyond the law of justice

to the place

where we love our enemies

and pray for those

who persecute us.

So far in this psalm,

we've seen

how David calls

God's attention

to his troubles,

how David describes

his troubles

and tells them to God,

and how David asks

for God to intervene

and to do something

about his troubles,

to get him out of this situation,

to help him.

And then we see a shift

happen in this psalm

as David moves

from talking about

and describing his troubles

to describing his God.

The shift begins

in verse 5.

He says,

You,

Lord,

God Almighty,

You who are

the God of Israel,

You,

Lord,

Yahweh,

God Almighty,

literally,

God of hosts,

or as another translation

puts it,

God of armies.

God of Israel,

it's interesting

that David's mind

goes to that name

of God

in this situation.

Here he is

trembling in his house

with his wife

while there's men

lurking around,

watching him,

looking for a chance

to get him.

Who's going to come

to his defense?

not the military.

He's in the military.

Perhaps some of these

henchmen

are even in the military.

Saul probably sent people

who could get the job done.

Who's going to come

to his defense?

The God of heaven's armies.

He's the one

that these guys

are no match for,

that Saul

is no match for.

In verse 8,

the shift happens

full strength

and everything

that follows

is describing

who God is.

And David's expressing

his confidence

in him.

He says,

verse 8,

back in verse 7,

I guess,

see what they spew

from their mouths,

their words

from their lips

are sharp as swords

and they think,

who can hear us?

But verse 8,

but you laugh

at them,

Lord.

You scoff

at all those

nations.

David widens

it to nations.

Probably this was

adapted later on

for use as a song

by the whole people

of Israel.

But you laugh

at my enemies,

Lord.

You scoff

at them.

You scoff

at them.

When David's mind

and heart

becomes filled

with the reality

that his God

is the God

of heaven's armies,

the Lord of hosts,

things start

to take perspective

and he sees them

for what they really are.

King Saul

and his henchmen,

you laugh

at them,

Lord.

they're like

a guy

that's coming

towards you

with a little stick

and you're driving

a tank,

an armored vehicle.

They're no match.

The whole scenario

is laughable

that they would

try to oppose

you.

David goes on

and he says,

you are my strength.

I watch for you.

You, God,

are my fortress,

my stronghold,

the place

where I am

so safe

that I can relax,

I can rest

because they can't

get me.

You are my God

on whom

I can rely.

Notice how David

has shifted

from verse 5.

You who are

the God of Israel.

now he's saying,

you are

my God.

You are my strength.

You are my fortress.

My God

on whom

I

can rely.

The end of verse 10.

Even though

my enemies

are spreading

lies about me,

they're

slandering me,

I trust

that you will

go before me

and that you

will bring about

the day

when there's

a reversal here

and I'm able

to gloat

over them

for the terrible

things that

they're saying

about me.

In the final

stanza of the

psalm,

David continues

with just

expressing his

confidence in God

and who he is.

He says

some of the same

things.

He says,

you are my

fortress,

verse 16.

He says in

verse 17,

you are my

strength,

my God

on whom

I can rely.

But then he

adds something

new,

adds something

different.

Verse 16,

he says,

but I will

sing

of your

strength.

In the

morning,

I will

sing

of your

love.

Verse 17,

you are my

strength,

I sing

praise

to you.

what would

you be

doing if

you were

being hunted

by someone

who was

trying to

kill you?

I don't

know about

you,

but singing

would probably

be at the

bottom of

my list.

I'd be,

my heart

would be

racing,

I would be

fearful,

I'd be

anxious,

I'd be

panicked,

I'd be

wondering

what to

do,

and I'm

sure that

David was

experiencing

all of

those

things

too,

but he

doesn't

stay

there.

He goes

beyond

that as

he takes

time to

call out

to God

and to

think about

and express

his faith

and trust

in God

and who

he knows

God to

be,

he comes

to the

place

where he

can sing.

Literally

in verse

16,

I will

sing

joyfully

of your

love is

the kind

of singing

that's

referred to

there.

He comes

to the

place

where he's

ready

to praise.

It's

amazing.

The truth

that this

psalm

communicates

to us

is that

God is

everything

that we

need

in times

of trouble.

He is

everything

that we

need

in times

of trouble.

that's

what David

has found

in the

past.

That's

what he

knows

is

true.

That's

what he

is

reassuring

himself

of.

And

that's

what we

are meant

to learn

from this.

God

has given

us this

psalm as

an example

of what

to do

in times

of trouble.

We may

not be,

and I

hope none

of us

ever will

be,

hunted

by someone

who wants

to kill

us.

But this

psalm is

not really

just about

that.

It's about

what do

we do

in any

time of

trouble.

Look at

verse

16

at the

very end.

David

says,

you are

my refuge

in times

of trouble.

Or literally

in the day

of trouble.

The sense

that we

get there

is that

this is

not just

the only

situation

that we

should do

what David

did.

this is

how David

sees God

in all

of his

times

of trouble.

As the

God who

is his

help,

the God

who is

his

refuge,

the God

who is

whatever

he needs

in that

situation,

who takes

care of

him,

who watches

over him.

And so

the question

that I

want to

ask you

this morning

is what

kind of

troubles

are you

facing

right now?

What kind

of troubles

have you

got in

your

life?

Financial

troubles?

Troubles

with the

crops?

Troubles

with

relationships?

Troubles

with your

spouse?

Troubles

with your

children?

Troubles

with your

parents?

Troubles

with your

parents?

Troubles

with your

parents?

What kind

of troubles

have you

got in

your

life?

Troubles

with your

health?

Sickness?

But the

question that

this psalm

really asks

us is what

are you

going to

do about

your

troubles?

What have

you been

doing about

your

troubles?

people?

Most of

us in

this room

think we

are pretty

good.

We do

well when

it comes

to telling

God that

we are in

trouble and

asking for

his help.

But the

thing that I

was really

challenged

with in

this psalm

is that we

need to

move beyond

that to

that place

of expressing

our faith

in God

and who

he is.

We need

to move

beyond just

telling and

asking to

that place

where we

ask,

Lord,

what can

you do

in this

situation?

Who are

you?

And what

about you

makes all

the difference

in my

specific

troubles?

And sometimes

that's hard

to do in

prayer.

We're so

bogged down

and weighed

down by

them and

this week

I was

thinking just

I tried

it myself

and it's

really helpful.

A simple

way to

do this

get alone

with the

Lord,

piece of

paper and

a pen,

put a line

down the

middle of

the paper

on one

side write

my troubles

and list

them out

and on the

other side

write my

God

and think

about what

you know

about God

open the

Bible

pray

until you

come to

that place

where your

heart

is at

peace

that place

where you're

ready to

sing

joyfully

to praise

the Lord

because he

is everything

we need

in our

times of

trouble

and more

he is mighty

to save

there's no

situation

that's too

difficult

for him

this entire

psalm almost

can be

summed up

in the

words of

Asaph

in Psalm

Psalms 50:15

50

verse 15

I've been

thinking about

that verse

a lot this

week

it says

simply this

call on

me

in the

day of

trouble

I will

deliver you

and you

will honor

me

that's God's

invitation here

call on

me

with the

troubles

in your

life

I will

deliver you

and you

will honor

me

you will

sing

joyfully

to me

you will

praise

me

but what's

amazing is

that at

this point

in David's

life

this is just

the beginning

of his

troubles

this is just

the beginning

of things

falling apart

but we don't

have to wait

until the

help arrives

the solution

gets there

before we

can rest

before we

can trust

before we

can sing

joyfully

and praise

David shows

us through

his example

that that's

possible

by faith

even

in the

midst

of the

greatest

of

troubles

God is

everything

we need

in our

time of

trouble

and he

is mighty

to save

let's pray

father in

heaven

thank you

so much

for these

words

and we

admit

and confess

right now

that we

often do

poorly at

this

we get

into the

moment of

trouble

and we

turn to

everything

but you

and when

we finally

do turn

to you

we

we just

want your

help

we often

just wallow

in it

forgive us

lord for

that

teach us

to do

like David

did

and to

find strength

in you

remind us

of who

you are

that makes

all the

difference

in each

of our

specific

situations

and troubles

that we're

facing

lord you

know exactly

what they

are

bring that

word of

encouragement

and hope

to us

that will

make all

the difference

lord we

don't want

to be

taken down

by discouragement

we don't want

to be people

who fret

and worry

about all

kinds of

things

as if we

had no

god

you are

our god

so teach

us

to follow

this example

of David

we ask

this in

christ's name

amen