WHERE DOES MY HELP COME FROM? - Psalm 54

All right, if you have a Bible or an

app, let's open it up. We're going to be

in Psalm 54 this morning. Psalm 54.

We are coming to a close of our Summer

in the Psalms series. We'll pick right

back up with Psalm 55 next summer, but

we're concluding our series this summer

by looking at Psalm 54. Now, you may

have noticed that throughout our journey

from Psalm 50 specifically to Psalm 54,

we've been dealing with this theme of

trouble, valley, darkness, betrayal, and

judgment.

And all of that is on purpose

because it's bringing us to a place

where we understand what it means to

pursue God in genuine faith and in

desperation in the midst of all of that.

Because here's the reality about the

life that we live, particularly in the

sinful world that we live.

That we will at some point, if not

already, we will deal with dark valleys.

We'll deal with deep and dark seasons.

We'll deal with pain and suffering.

And how, as a child, as a son and

daughter of God, do we navigate that

with faith?

You know, I'm entering into my 24th year

of pastoral ministry.

And one of the things that I often just

not struggle with, but that I often go

to the Lord with and just in desperate

prayer asking for the salvation of

people

is when I see people endure pain and

suffering.

I mean, deep, dark seasons

of trial.

And they don't have faith in the Lord.

They don't have hope that things will

get better.

One of the reasons as Christians we are

called the most hopeful people on Earth

is because we know that even when

circumstances are not ideal,

even when comforts are lacking, even

when our life is required of us, that

there is still something better at the

end.

And this is what makes the hope so

incredible, because God has given us a

picture, he's given us a preview of what

awaits the children of God.

And what awaits us is glory.

A kingdom that is eternal.

Where all that is wrong, all the

limitations of this earth, all the pain

and the suffering

finds its greatest focus in Christ.

Finds its completion.

Its fulfillment. And you ask, "Well,

Rowan, how can pain and suffering find

fulfillment?

How can it find completion?

I want it to be done away with.

It has created bitterness in my life. It

has created anger in my life." But God

is so purposeful, God is so sovereign,

God is so mighty and so glorious, that

this is what Paul argues in his letter

to the church in Rome.

That all things

all things God will use for the glory of

his name and the good of his people.

That doesn't mean that all things we

face are going to be good.

But God in his perfect plan to establish

his glory forever and ever will use pain

and suffering, betrayal, darkness,

trial, valleys, will use it to mold in

us a deeper affection for his name and a

greater desperation for him.

I was having this conversation just this

past week with Crystal.

And we were talking about just what it

means

to have faith and trust in the Lord.

And how often, if you know me, I'll

often use the phrase I wish I had an

easy button.

>> [clears throat]

>> There was a commercial for some office

company way back when where you press an

easy button and all your dreams would be

met.

As a pastor and a shepherd, I wish I had

that for people.

Because throughout my time in ministry,

I've I've had the honor and the

privilege

of coming alongside people in some of

their most the darkest moments.

And some of their most painful moments.

And to simply be present with them.

And to simply love on them.

And to remind them of the hope that we

have.

And in my mind, I'm like I I wish I had

an easy button to make the pain go away.

To make everything better.

Cuz I've discovered

I can say all the right things. I can do

all the right things.

But the only thing that

people in those moments of pain and

betrayal need

is just the assurance that Christ is

with them.

That God is there.

And many of us, we've walked in here

with some burdens. We've walked in

walked in here with some weight. And I

want to let you know, I want to implore

you

to a deeper understanding

that Christ is with you.

Even if you don't feel him,

Christ is with you.

Don't live a life strictly based on

feelings because feelings will come and

go.

They'll ebb and flow.

But what we can trust in, who we can

trust in is

the Lord. And this is where Psalm 54

speaks.

Psalm 54 has a subtext

that tells us the context in which David

is writing this Psalm.

David has experienced deep betrayal.

And in his betrayal, he does the only

thing a man who is called a man after

God's own heart can do.

He goes after God.

He pursues God. He cultivates a deeper

desperation for

God. And that's what happens

when we don't know the answer to why.

When we don't know what the next step

is,

that's what it cultivates in us.

A deeper desperation for the Lord. We

can stand here and we can preach.

And we can listen and we can study and

we can yes and amen to the spiritual

reality that for the child of God, for

the son and daughter, one day will be

with him in glory forever and ever.

And all that's wrong with with the world

will find its completion in him. Sin

will be gone, evil will be eradicated,

it will be judged, no more rebellion

with the Lord forever and ever. A new

heaven, new earth as it was supposed to

be. We know that. But what about the

in-between?

What about all the issues that we face?

Health, financial, work, relationships,

marriage, family, and everything in

between. How do we deal with the pain of

it all, especially when it's the pain of

betrayal? Psalm 54 comes to us

from an event that took place in David's

life, and you can read about it in 1

Samuel 23.

As we know about David, David was

crowned king at a very young age. He had

not ascended the throne, Saul was still

in power over the nation of Israel.

Saul, through rebellion, pride, and

evil,

God stripped the kingdom away from him

and was in the process of raising up

David. And here's what's incredible.

This can be an entire sermon series.

What do we recognize about the life, the

ministry

of David, especially when he was on the

run from King Saul. In Psalm 54, he's on

the run from King Saul.

In 1 Samuel 23, the context of

Psalm 54, he's on the run from King

Saul. Why is he on the run? Cuz King

Saul is envious. He's jealous. He know

David is going to be the next king. He

doesn't want anybody to take his throne.

So, he is on this path, this journey to

annihilate and kill David.

And so, what does David do? He praises

the Lord. And part of David's journey is

the betrayal. Is the pain. Is the

suffering. It's part of your journey.

It's part of my journey.

This is the journey that we walk as

Christians.

This is why time and time again we see

thematically, specifically in the New

Testament,

that we are called to rejoice in our

trial.

How can someone rejoice in pain and

suffering?

Not because pain and suffering is

particularly joyful, it isn't,

but because of what it can produce.

A desperation for Jesus.

A greater devotion for the Lord. Now,

that doesn't mean we go out and seek

pain and suffering.

That's not what the text tells us,

but the text gives us a paradigm. It

constructs this framework for it.

So, that we can know how to deal with

betrayal, pain, and suffering. Because

here's what happens. If we take the

world's way, we deal, and this is

cyclical, we deal with with betrayal,

pain, and suffering,

and we try the things of the world. This

is why people become addicted to all

sort of sinful behaviors.

Because that sinful behavior numbs the

pain.

It mutes the voices.

It takes away the worry and the care for

a moment.

And then what happens?

It comes back, often times stronger.

More difficult.

Harder.

And so we go back to it again.

But this time, it's not one bottle, it's

two, it's three.

It's not one drug, it's a harder drug.

It's a different type of drug. And we're

seeking what the soul seeks, we're

seeking rest, we're seeking deliverance,

but we're seeking it in the wrong

things. And what Psalm 54 does is points

us to the right person

who can give us what the soul

desires.

And this Psalm gives us a pattern

for walking through it. So, enough

talking, Psalm 54,

let's read it. It'll be up on the

screen.

Beginning in verse 1.

God, save me by your name. I love how

David immediately starts there.

And vindicate me by your

might. Here's what I believe.

I believe for some of us this has been

our prayer of recent.

God, save me by your name.

And vindicate me by your

might.

God, hear my prayer.

Listen to the words from my mouth.

For strangers rise up against me.

And violent men intend to kill me. They

do not let God guide them.

God is my

helper.

The Lord is the sustainer of my life. He

will repay my adversaries for their

evil.

Because of your faithfulness,

annihilate them.

I will sacrifice a freewill offering to

you. I will praise your name, Lord,

because it is good. We'll get to this in

just a moment, but I think it's worth

pointing out that verse six, David is

already declaring what he will do in the

future.

And David has not even been delivered

yet.

But his faith, his trust, his devotion,

his desperation is so deep and so

abiding in the Lord that he recognizes

and knows without a doubt that God will

come through.

And because God will come through, he is

already setting himself up

on the journey of praise and worship and

sacrifice.

Verse seven.

For he has rescued me from every

trouble.

And my eye has looked down on my

enemies. And all God's people said,

Lord Jesus, would you bless your word?

Holy Spirit, would you stir our hearts

this morning?

So much happening.

Again, in 1 Samuel 23, we discover the

context in which Psalm 54 was written.

David, again, he's on the run from King

Saul.

And he finds himself

among his people.

David was from the tribe of any Bible

nerds in the room?

From the tribe of Judah.

And inside each tribe, we read about

this throughout Deuteronomy and

Leviticus, each tribe was divided into

clans.

And David

went to the area of Ziph. Ziph was one

of the clans in the tribe of Judah.

He thought they were his people. They

were his kinsmen. They were his family.

Surely, if there's anyone that he can

trust to protect him from the very

person who desires his life, it would be

his own people. But in 1 Samuel 23 23,

we read that the Ziphites,

his own people, betray him.

They go to King Saul, who is seeking

David's life, and they tell King Saul

exactly where David is.

And David feels the proverbial stab in

the back.

I've been betrayed.

I've not been betrayed by any random

person or a stranger off the street.

I've been betrayed by my own people. Can

we see the gospel parallels here?

Have you ever been betrayed

by someone you trusted?

By someone you loved?

By someone you thought was your person,

and then they betray you? There's no

betrayal

that feels darker and deeper than a

betrayal from someone we love and trust.

And this is what David is experiencing.

But here's the big idea. Here's what we

learn from Psalm 54, particularly this

pattern of prayer

and praise that David lifts up. We learn

that when trouble comes,

not if,

in a fallen world, we don't bank bank on

if,

we prepare for when.

When trouble comes, where you look is

going to determine how you respond.

And so many of us, we look inside, we

look to the world,

we look to sin, we look to evil, we look

to ungodly patterns,

and that becomes the foundation by which

we respond to betrayal, pain, and

suffering in our life.

But Psalm 54 shows us not just a better

way.

Psalm 54 shows us the way.

So, let's go back.

Let's look at some of the movements here

in the Psalm, and and I believe that

we're going to learn

how we can respond to these sort of

moments in our life, not through the

ways of the world, but through ways of

faith. If you're taking notes, here's

the first movement that we see.

That when we endure

pain, suffering, and in particular,

betrayal, we are to focus on God

before addressing the problem.

So many of us, we have it backwards.

We address the problem first, and when

things don't work out our way, then we

turn to God.

You know, one of my favorite verses, and

I bring it up quite often, is Matthew

Matthew 6:33

6:33.

Seek first the kingdom of God and His

righteousness, and everything else will

be added to you. That's the pattern that

Christ has given us.

We seek God first. We seek His kingdom

and His righteousness. Here's what it

means in lay terms. God's way, not mine.

If I try to go my own path, if I try to

blaze my own trail, it may look good for

a season, it may even feel good for a

moment, but it's always going to end in

the same place. Jesus talked about it

this way. A wide road and a narrow road.

There's a wide road that seems

convincing. It feels good, it looks

good, therefore we think it must be

good, but it always ends in the same

place, death, separation from God. But

there is a road that Jesus laid out

before us.

He doesn't stand far and away,

uninvolved from our life and say this is

what you should do, but he walks THAT

PATH

AS THE greatest example of what we

should do.

He says there are few who find it.

Not because God desires few people to be

saved, rather God desires that all would

be saved, but there are few that find it

because there are few

who actually realize that there are sin,

evil, and addictive patterns and

rebellious ways in my life, and the only

way that I can be forgiven from those

things is to seek after the Lord.

And not just receive his forgiveness,

but walk as his servants. Let me throw

it out this way, in a way that might

shock us, to live as his slave.

In America, we

hear the word slavery, and it's

understandable. There's a lot of

negative

attitudes connected to it.

Cuz we often equate slavery with what

took place in early America.

The evil travesty of dehumanizing people

and seeing them nothing more as

property, but when the Bible talks about

slavery, the Bible talks about a deep

devotion

and desire to serve a master.

And that's what it means to walk as a

child of God, to know that he's in

control. God's way, not mine. And what

happens is when we deal with a problem,

we don't seek God first, we seek

ourselves first, and we address the

problem before we focus on God.

And the pattern is to seek first the

kingdom of God and his

righteousness. Go back with me to verse

one.

God save me by your name

and vindicate me by your might.

God, hear my prayer. Listen to the words

from my mouth. Let me make clear, that's

not a prayer of entitlement, that's a

prayer of confidence. There's a

difference.

For strangers rise up against me,

and violent men intend to kill me. They

do not let God

guide them. Selah.

What do we recognize about this pattern

David is establishing?

He is seeking God first. He's focusing

on God first. That order matters. That

order is important because before he

even mentions

his enemies in verse three,

he first addresses God.

And this is a challenge for some of us

here today. Some of us, you're walking

through it, you're dealing with it, but

are you focusing on God before you

address anything else?

Cuz it is

with God that we gain strength,

that we gain comfort, gain comfort, that

we gain clarity.

And even if we don't see the end of the

road, even if we don't have the answer

to why there is a trust that is

cultivated in us when we are focusing on

God before addressing our problems. And

this is what I love. What does David say

here in verse one? This is important. I

want us to catch this.

Save me by your name. Isn't that

powerful?

What does Proverbs 18:10 say?

Proverbs 18:10

Your name is a strong tower.

There is something so incredibly

miraculous that takes place throughout

the scriptures when we invoke the name

of God in our life.

Are you calling upon the name of the

Lord

in your life or are you quick to post

about it, to text a friend about it, to

complain about it, to go and spread

gossip and rumors about it or do you

genuine- genuinely in desperate

affections seek after God? Cuz I tell

you what, if we seek after God more than

not, what will take place is you won't

post about it.

You won't slander someone about it. You

won't create gossip chains about it.

Why? Because you've turned to the Lord

through [snorts] it.

Focus on God before addressing the

problem. And let me just say this cuz

this is important to clarify.

Faith in the Lord

doesn't mean that we pretend everything

is okay. That's not what we're talking

about here.

It doesn't mean that we don't ever

address the issue or the so-called

elephant in the room. We confront the

reality of it, but we do it through

what?

Through our view of who God is.

Cuz often times

your view of the situation

will shift once you understand it

through the lens of

faith. Or let me just say it this way.

Biblical faith doesn't begin by

measuring the size of your circumstance.

It begins by remembering the character

of

God.

Because none of the realities of your

betrayal, pain, and suffering are

greater than the reality of who our God

is.

Our God is greater.

Before you address betrayal, seek God.

Before you address the pain, seek God.

Before you make a decision. Seek God

before you try to fix what is broken.

Seek after

God.

Here's the second thing that we see.

We see that worship rests

on God's character, not our comfort.

Did you pick up on that?

David recognizes God's character and

views his circumstance in light of God's

character.

Which means that my comfort or lack

thereof should not dictate the devotion

and worship I have before the Lord.

I worship God because of who he who he

is, not because of what I experience.

And if all we ever did was depend on

circumstance to dictate our confidence

and devotion to the Lord, then what

would happen is we would have this

up-and-down relationship with God.

And you say, "Well, Rowland, that that

exactly

demonstrates my kind of relationship

with God." So, then could it be

that you praise God when things are

well? Amen.

But your faith dwindles when things are

not well.

It's right here in verse 4.

God is my helper.

The Lord is the sustainer

of my

life.

Notice what David is not saying.

He's not saying everything is fine.

He's not saying you things are good.

He's still in hiding.

He's still experiencing the pain of

betrayal from those he loved and

trusted. The king is still pursuing him

to kill him. And yet, in the midst of

all that,

he says, "God is my helper."

He is the sustainer of my life. His

praise doesn't shift. His worship

doesn't shift. Why? Because while

experience and life circumstances will

shift, what remains constant and the

same is who my God is.

And if my God is steady, firm, and true,

then regardless of shifting

circumstances, I have a sure, solid rock

a foundation that I can build my

life on.

And so he recognizes these two truths.

God is my helper and God is a sustainer

of my

life. Now, notice something powerful

that happens here in verse six. We

talked about it earlier.

He says, "I will sacrifice

a free will offering to you."

No one's forcing me to do it.

No one's manipulated me to do it, but

even in the midst of my betrayal, I will

praise your name, Lord, because what it

is good. His praise to God is not

because things are good, but because the

praise of the name of the Lord is good,

which is why in verse one, David says,

"Save me by your name."

Not by your bank account. Not by your

gifts.

Not by the things that you do well.

Praise God for all of that, but we are

saved by the name of Jesus. And here's

the thing, if our worship depends on

comfort, and this is going to hit home.

If your worship depends on comfort, then

suffering is going to silence your

worship.

And maybe that's why there's not this

abiding devotion in the Lord because you

let your experience, you let the things

of this world dictate your devotion and

your faith.

And that's not the way it

should be.

We know this. It's It's easy to worship

God when prayers are answered. It's easy

to worship God

when things are going well.

But what happens when they're not?

Can we still proclaim like Psalm 54 that

God is my helper?

There will be seasons. There will be

moments when you do not understand what

God is doing.

When there are more questions about your

walk with Jesus than there are answers,

but you can always praise God because

you know who God is.

Here's the last thing that we see here

in Psalm 54.

Which I think is my favorite.

Remembered faithfulness

fuels present confidence.

When we remember the faithfulness of

God,

then it's going to fuel the confidence

in God that we have. And so many of us

have short-term memory.

Because we have forgotten how God has

moved and how God has worked.

And how God has saved you. David has

history with God.

God has saved him from

Goliath. God was with him on the run.

God was with him as a shepherd boy. He

is fleeing Saul's army. And every time

David looks backwards,

he doesn't look backwards to see his sin

and his past failures. He looks

backwards to remember God's

faithfulness.

And some of us need to flip the script

that way.

We look back and we're reminded of all

the

horrid and sinful things that we've

done.

But let's look back and remember that

God saved us from that. That God has

been faithful to call us his

own. Go with me to verse seven and we'll

close here.

For he has rescued me from every

trouble.

And my eye has looked down on my

enemies.

Again, this is not entitlement from

David. This is confidence in God. Now,

have you recognized the biblical

parallels here?

Cuz the greatest helper, the greatest

sustainer in life was made manifest

as God gave his son Jesus to you and I.

And for us on this side of the cross,

we're able to look back and remember

God's faithfulness in his son Jesus

Christ.

On how he fulfilled the law of God on

our behalf, how he died on the cross

for the sins of your life and my life,

how he rose from the grave in victory

over sin, death, and evil, and how he

ascended and right now sits at the right

hand of the Father interceding on our

behalf, calling you and I his own,

anyone who would call upon his name. We

get to remember the faithfulness of our

God knowing knowing this, he has rescued

me from every trouble. David is

presently in trouble, but he declares a

future promise. He has rescued me from

every trouble. Not just the troubles of

my past, but my troubles now and my

troubles tomorrow. He is faithful to

rescue me.

I pray

that when we face something difficult,

when we experience

betrayal, that we, like David in Psalm

54, we would focus on God

before addressing our problem. That we

would worship God because his character

is unchanging.

The ebb and flow of our emotions and our

whims

change, but God does not.

And we can remember his goodness and in

what he's done by giving his one and

only son. And to know that whatever you

are facing today is not beyond

God's mercy and grace and faithfulness.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for your word.

And we thank you just for the gathering

of this place

to worship you, to sing,

to join together

as the church.

And I pray, Holy Spirit, that you would

move now, as you've been moving.

That there would be soft hearts,

receptive minds

to repent of sin and walk in salvation.

Lord, we thank you

that even in betrayal

we can find peace in you. In Christ's

name we pray. All God's people said,

amen. Would you stand to your feet with

me?

Let's close our service. Let's sing

together. Not just because the words are

on the screen, but because this is the

prayer of our heart. We're going to

enter into a time of response.

And so our altar is going to be open.

If the Holy Spirit is stirring you and

calling you to faith in Jesus Christ,

Pastor Eric and myself, we'd love to

pray with you, celebrate with you, come

alongside [music] you in your new

journey.

If you just need a moment just to have

some one-on-one time with God, that is

what this is for. The school year is

starting.

So dads, if you want to bring your

family up here and just just pray God's

blessing and direction over them, this

is what that opportunity is for. I love

you, church.