Where to Go in Time of Trouble - Psalm 61:2
- we're studying favorite Bible verses
- we're coming down to the end of this series - we'll be
starting something new in the next couple of weeks, but in
these last few weeks I want to be sure we review the verses
we've learned so far
- let's review the way we did last week again tonight -
- sometimes I'll give the reference-you give the verse
-sometimes I'll give the verse, you give the reference:
-let me encourage you again to jot down the reference of the
ones you don't know, and work on them this week
- Zech. 4:6 -Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit,
saith the Lord
- Phil. 1:21 - For to me to live is Christ, to die is gain
- Isa. 40:31 - They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their
strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they
shall run and not be weary. they shall walk and not faint
- Rom 8:28-29a - And we know that all things work together
for good to them who love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose, for whom he did foreknow, them
he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of
His Son
- Prov. 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and
lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways
acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths
- Phil. 4:4 - Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say
rejoice
- Gal. 2:20 - I am crucified with Christ and I no longer
live, but Christ lives in me, and the life that I now
life in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who
loved me and gave himself for me
- Eph. 4:22-24 - That ye put off concerning the former manner
of life the old man which is corrupt according to the
deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your
mind, and that ye put on the new man which after God is
created in righteousness and true holiness
- John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should
not perish, but have everlasting life
- Matthew 28:19-20 - Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit, Teaching them to observe all
things, whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am
with you always, even unto the end of the age
- Isa. 26:3 - Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind
is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee
- Phil. 2:5 - Let this mind be in you which was also in
Christ Jesus
- throughout this series we've been saying that we have
different favorites Bible verses for different reasons
- we said some were our favorites because of their simplicity
(John 3:16, Phil. 1:21)
- others are favorites because of the promises they contain
(Isa. 40:31, Isa. 26:3)
- some are favorites because they communicate very clearly
what we ought to be doing (Matt. 28:19-20)
- tonight's verse is a favorite for another reason - that is
- it tells us what to do in time of trouble
- read Psalm 61:2
- let's talk about what this verse tells us about handling
times of trouble
- first, let's see:
I. My Location In Times Of Trouble
David says "from the ends of the earth will I cry unto
thee"
- let's think about that phrase for a minute
- I'm sure you know some things about David's life, some
of us studied his life in quite a bit of detail a
couple of years ago
- INPUT - what are some events from David's life that
might cause him to make the statement - "I'm crying
unto unto from the end of the earth"
- being chased by Saul
- after sin with Bathsheba
- when Absalom was chasing him
- let me suggest three ways where you and I might "feel"
like we're at the end of the earth
A. Literal location
- many Bible scholars believe that this Psalm was
written when David's son Absalom led a revolt
against him and David had to flee into Mahanaim
- the point isn't that he was so far away from home
- in fact he wasn't that far away at all
- but he was away from home, he was away from his
normal surroundings
- he was also in a sense away from God
- you might remember that as they were fleeing,
the priests came out with the ark of the
covenant - David said, no - leave that here
- if God is pleased to bless me, I'll see both
this city and the tabernacle again
- so the point is - sometimes we're in a "from the
ends of the earth" situation because of the literal
location
- we're away from our natural surroundings and we're
in trouble
- have you even been in a situation like that when
you were trouble away from home?
- illus. - moving to New Jersey
- moved the day after Christmas, left in the
afternoon - planned to drive all night
- but we were anxious to get into our new apartment
and get everything fixed up and ready to go
- truck wasn't working well - had been in an accident
so the door didn't close properly, heater didn't
work - but we were thinking about that new
apartment
- started raining and snowing - but we pressed on
- arrived there the next afternoon, the apatment
manager looked surprised to see us
- took us to our apartment
- trash all over the place
- filthy, hadn't been cleaned
- final straw - walked in the bathroom - shower in
the apartment above had been leaking, ceiling had
fallen in - you could look right up into the
apartment above
- manager said - go ahead and move your things in -
we'll get these things fixed as soon as we can
- I remember looking over at Kris, I had brought her
out to this strange state, everything we owned was
in a truck...I can remember the feeling in the pit
of my stomach
- we're alone in a strange place, we don't have
have any place to live
- in trouble - "from the end of the earth will I cry unto
thee"
- sometimes that situation comes from:
B. Circumstances brought on by others
- that was true of David's situation as well
- he was in trouble because of what someone had done
to him
- when I talk about a "from the end of the earth
situation", maybe this is the category that comes
to your mind
- a situation that you had little or no control over,
just out of the blue someone decides to mistreat
you for no apparent reason
- all of a sudden your job's taken away
- your landlord decides to up the rent
- a family member spreads false gossip about you
- you're in trouble - you feel like you're "at the
end of the earth" -- because of circumstances
brought on by others
sometimes, its because of:
C. Circumstances brought on by our own sin
- you might be here tonight, and you'd say - I've been
in some of those "from the end of the earth
situations", but its because of sin I got involved in
- I can't blame it on somebody else
- the way of the transgressor is hard
- he that covers his sin shall not prosper
- I've been in situations, I'm in a situation, where I
feel like I'm at the end of the earth because of my
own sin
- Psalm 119:67 - Before I was afflicted, I went astray
- you might be here tonight and you'd say what a
counselee said to me recently - I've been sinning
against God and it feels like He's a million miles
away-because I've gone astray
- see, from the end of the earth will I cry unto thee
- in trouble, upset, my equilibrium has been
disturbed
- sometimes that comes from my literal location
- I get in trouble and I'm away from home and
my regular support structure
- sometimes its because of circumstances brought on
by others
- sometimes its because of circumstances brought on
by myself
- but David would want us to see that regardless - you
don't have to stay there - you don't have to stay in
that condition
- there's a place to turn
- we'll look at that in a minute, but first let's quickly
look at:
II. My Condition
- David says, "From the end of the earth will I cry unto
thee, when my heart is overwhelmed"
A. Definition
- literally means, "be feeble, be faint"
B. Other uses
- some other uses of this word illustrate that point
1. Gen. 30:42
- perhaps you remember that passage
- thats where Jacob makes a deal with his uncle
Laban, that his pay will be all the livestock
born that is speckled
- Jacob worked it out where the strong animals
came, he would be sure they would conceive
- but when the feeble animals came, he would make
sure they didn't
- do you know which word in that story is
translated "overwhelmed" in Psalms 61:2
- the word "feeble" - or weak
another place is:
2. Lam. 2:11, 12, 19
- this word is used twice in this passage
"My heart is poured out on the earth, because of
the destruction of the duaghter of my people,
when little ones and infants faint in the streets
of the city. They say to their mothers "where is
grain and wine? As they faint like a wounded man"
- INPUT - what word do you think was used there
that is translated overwhelmed in our passage?
(faint)
3. Jonah 2:7-8
- (after Jonah had been swallowed by the fish -
said "The wtaers compassed me about, even to the
soul. the depth closed me round about, the weeds
were wrapped about my head. I went down to the
bottoms of the mountains, the earth with its
bars, was around me forever, yet thou hast
brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my
God. When my soul fainted within me, I
remembered the Lord"
- David says - I recognized my location - "from the end
of the earth"
- I also recognized my condition, "when my heart is
overwhelmed"
- when its feeble, weak, faint
- we'd say it this way - when "I just can't take it
anymore"
- and we've all been there, for thousands of different
reasons
- now, I need to ask you a very important question
- INPUT - what are some of the wrong things we might go
to or trust in or find refuge in during those
troubled times?
- drink - drugs
- sinful habits
- ungodly counsel
- Jeremiah said - "For my people have committed two
evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living
waters, and hewed out cisterns, broken cisterns, that
can hold no water"
- see, I must have the wisdom to know when I'm in that
location, and when I'm in that condition - but I also
have to have the wisdom to know where to go
- David says - let me tell you about that place
- from the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my
heart is overwhelmed - lead me to the rock that is
higher than I
- I've told you about my location, my condition, now let me
tell you about my destination (about where I go in those
times)
III. My Destination In Times Of Trouble
- now obviously we believe we ought to be praying without
ceasing
- we're not advocating a "only go to God in times of
trouble" attitude
- but we, like David, have had times we've gone the wrong
direction in times of trouble
- so he reminds us that, especially in those times - I
need to be led to the rock that is higher than I
- now that’s an unusual metaphor, especially for those of
us who live in Indiana
- we don't think of rocks as being up, or being higher
- we think of rocks as something you hit when you're
plowing, or when you're mowing the ground
- or something you mine out of the ground when you're
building a parking lot
- of course David is calling up a different metaphor
completely
A. Meaning of the metaphor
- in those days, when you being pursued by someone,
or chased by someone, where would you want to get
to if you possibly could?
- you would want to get to a high place in the
mountains
INPUT (if time) - Why is that true?
- because that’s where you could have the right vision
of the enemy that was coming after you,
- you could be most protected from their attacks,
- you could defend yourself by the strength of that
position
- you could provide protection for those in your care
- David, drawing from that image, is saying – that’s
what our God is like
- like a rocky place that is higher than us
1. gives the right perspective of the battle and the
enemy
- down here, on the battlefield, my vision and
perspective can get skewed
- I start thinking - I can't take it, I'm going
to lose, the enemy's all around me
- but up there, with the Rock that is higher than
I
- my perspective clears
- I see the enemy as it really is
- maybe not small, but small compared to the
rock
- I start thinking
- I can do all things throught Christ..
- There hath no temptation taken you...
- see, when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock
that is higher than I so I can have the right
perspective
- lead me there so I can I also have:
2. gives protection from the attacks
- down here on the battlefield, I'm so vulnerable
and unprotected
- but up there - in the rocky place that is
higher than I, there's great protection
- With the songwriter we can say:
"He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry thirsty land
He hideth my life in the depths of His love
And covers me there with his hand (repeat)
3. provides strength because of the strategic
position
- before I felt weak and faint
- but now I'm in the right position
- I'm in the rock
- that strategic position provides strength
4. Provides protection for those under my care
- David had several hundred people with him in
Mahaniam
- he was responsible for their care
- he knew his response to Absalom wouldn't just
affect him - it would affect everyone in his
care of course that in and of itself made the
situation more overwhelming
- but he had been led to the rock that was higher
than he was
- that position would provide protection not just
for him, but for everyone in his care