When Terror Strikes

[0:00] Please take your Bibles and go to the book of Psalms. If you're visiting with us or you left your phone at home, I need to pull out that Bible in the chair in front of you.

[0:14] Pull out that black Bible. Go right to the middle. Find page 415. Psalm 56 this morning. Psalm 56. Psalm 56, 415 in that black Bible.

[0:30] We're just doing a couple of Psalms for the next couple of weeks and then Grant will come and bring us the word. And then we leave for vacation and we got different men coming to preach God's word, so that'll be good.

[0:48] So today, Psalm 56, 415 in that black Bible. I'm gonna read it, then we'll do our study. I'm starting with the superscript. Psalm 56 for the choir director, according to Adonath Elam Rehokim, a mictum of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

[1:08] Be gracious to me, O God, for man is trampled upon me. Fighting all day long, he oppresses me. My foes have trampled upon me all day long, for they are many who fight proudly against me.

[1:19] When I am afraid, I'll put my trust in you. And God, whose word I praise, and God, I've put my trust.

[1:30] I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? All day long, they distort my words. All their thoughts are against me for evil. They attack, they lurk, they watch my steps as they've waited for my life.

[1:47] Verse 7, Because of wickedness, cast them forth. And anger put down the peoples, O God. You've taken account of my wanderings. Put my tears in your bottle.

[2:01] Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise. In Yahweh, whose word I praise.

[2:12] In God, I've put my trust. I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? The vows are upon me, O God. I will render thank offerings to you.

[2:24] For you have delivered my soul from death, indeed my feet from stumbling, so that I may walk before God in the light of the living. The DSM category, anxiety disorders.

[2:45] The specific phobia is a diagnosis assigned to individuals who suffer from intense fear or anxiety when exposed to specific objects or situations.

[2:56] The DSM, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for or of mental disorders. What do you do when you're overcome with fear?

[3:10] What do you do when you're overcome with anxiety? It's a real question. It needs a real tangible answer. Take for example, a title of an article says this, Living in fear of mass shootings is giving students PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder.

[3:33] It was in an article in Teen Vogue just last month. They live in fear that they may be the next victim of the next mass shooting. And the psychologist that they were interviewing them in the article says, PTSD comes from harboring fear and or anxiety.

[3:57] It's a real thing for these kids. Again, what do we do when we're overcome with fear? What do we do when we're overcome with anxiety?

[4:10] Unfortunately, the DSM just tells you, takes the symptoms and just tells you what you are, what you're dealing with. It doesn't tell you how to deal with it.

[4:26] Well, believe it or not, the Bible's very relevant when it comes to fear and anxiety. Especially the Psalms. See, you don't need to integrate psychology or I'll call it psychology babble with the Bible.

[4:46] You don't need to do that. No, the Bible's sufficient. It's very sufficient. So what do you do when terror strikes? What do you do when trouble hits?

[5:02] As I have it titled here. When terror strikes, you trust God and give thanks. Trust God and give thanks.

[5:16] When terror and trouble hits you, here's an opportunity for you to trust in God and what He's doing and to give Him the thanks for it.

[5:29] I'm going to see this unfold in this Psalm. Here's a statement for you. When terror strikes, God calls us to trust Him and give thanks. And you'll see kind of like a paradox in this Psalm between fear and faith.

[5:48] Terror and trust. And it seems like it's coming from when David was running from Saul in 1 Samuel chapter 21.

[6:02] He made his way to the Philistines. He took up temporary residence in Gath only to escape from them because they were watching his steps.

[6:14] Verse 6. And remember, I told you this last week about how David, he really understands what this is all about.

[6:26] He understands life. You know, because people say, you don't know what it's like what I've experienced. David does. We can flip that around.

[6:40] You've never experienced somebody coming after you the way David has. David knows. David understands what that's like. To live in fear?

[6:52] To live in anxiety? David knew. He lived it, man. So when terror strikes, David will tell us when troubles come, God calls us to trust in His Word, trust His judgment, His compassion, His loyalty to you as His own, really to trust Him alone.

[7:15] And when we get this right perspective, we will give thanks to Him in all things and for all things. That's what happens.

[7:26] That's the psalm in a nutshell, so to speak. So let's walk through this psalm and see what David has to deal with first when terror strikes.

[7:39] Notice what they did to him. They pounded him and they persecuted him. verse 1 and 2. Notice how he begins, Be gracious to me, O God. Show me your undeserved favor.

[7:51] God's undeserved favor, it's not because He did anything wrong. Here's the other part to this whole equation. David did nothing wrong. He was the anointed king of Israel, the next king.

[8:06] He did nothing wrong and if there's anyone who understood that, it was Jonathan, his best bud. As a matter of fact, if you go into 1 Samuel chapter 21, earlier on, I think in chapter 20, Jonathan was vehemently angry with his father because he was going after David.

[8:26] He was so angry with his dad that he was doing this. Why are you doing this? David's done nothing wrong. He's been so faithful to you. David understood what that's like.

[8:37] Be gracious to me. Not because he did anything wrong. But David knew he needed God's help.

[8:49] He didn't deserve it. Yet he was in grave peril. Notice he says, For man is trampled upon me. Fighting all day long he oppresses me.

[9:01] My foes have trampled upon me all day long. For there are many who fight proudly against me. So here he's running from Saul and then he goes to Gath.

[9:13] Notice the words here. Trampled upon me. Fight proudly against me. Oppresses me. Those are military terms. They want to make war. Squeezing him.

[9:24] Pressing him. Afflicting him. He's in big trouble. Trying to escape from Saul and then he goes to Gath. And then they say, Wait, wait. Hold on a second.

[9:35] Isn't this David? They used to sing, Saul has slain his thousands but David has ten thousands? So David went, Uh, yeah, that's me.

[9:49] That's me. Yeah. So now he's running from them. He was trying to escape from Saul and now he's trying to escape from the king of Gath.

[10:03] Talk about fear. Fear. They fight proudly. They're arrogant. They're moving on high. They thought they had cornered David. They thought they trapped him.

[10:18] Friends, we are feeble, weak people who need God to be, we need God to be gracious to us when we're under attack. When trouble strikes, when terror strikes, when trouble's coming to your life, God's doing something.

[10:39] And notice David's response. Verse 1 and 2, he's just mulling over this, what he's dealing with, but then he says in verse 3, when I am afraid, when I am afraid, I will trust.

[10:55] Notice first, I trust in God. These attacks created great fear and anxiety in his life. When I'm afraid, can you identify with David this morning?

[11:09] Can you feel what he feels? The Bible is sufficient. It is relevant to the problems of today.

[11:21] Talk about fear, anxiety, but I will put my trust in you. The proper attitude during these times, proper attitude is to trust God.

[11:38] Cling trustfully to God so that your fear will not come near, so that your fear will not overwhelm you. Have you ever been overwhelmed by fear? Also known as a panic attack.

[11:49] You ever had that happen to you? It's kind of freaky. It's like you lose all sense of control. Notice again, the paradox, the contrast between fear and faith that David's presenting to us.

[12:11] true trust, truly trusting in God is not a feeling that all will work about best. It's a conviction which arises from what God has said about himself and thus a confidence in his gracious promises.

[12:31] because sometimes the feelings aren't there, are they? Martin Luther says this, faith is a living and unshakable confidence, a belief in the grace of God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake.

[12:51] End quote. He says, I trust in God. He says, I trust in his word. In God whose word I praise, verse four, in God I've put my trust.

[13:09] What can man do to me? I will not be afraid. Look at how resolute he is. Look at how confident he is while people are planning to kill him.

[13:23] We can place our dependence in his word. The word of God's promises are on our side so that he can say and we can say, we don't need to be afraid.

[13:37] I will not be afraid. What can people do to me? Look at this. What can people do to me apart from the sovereign plan of God? Nothing.

[13:48] Nothing. You are immortal until God's done with you. People cannot thwart God's eternal purposes for our lives.

[14:04] They can't do that. It's all in his plan. I mean, we just were talking about in the first hour in the adult class, our study, about the omniscience of God.

[14:16] You know, God doesn't go, oh man, I forgot about those Philistine guys. Oh man, sorry David. I knew about Saul, but the Philistines, man, what am I going to do? Well, why don't you do this? It's all in God's plan.

[14:34] Struggles, your fears, how you grew up, your background, your history, all of it. It's all part of God's plan.

[14:47] When we exercise faith in God and his word so that our fears are banished and triumph is sure, what can people do to us?

[15:02] True trust in God drives out fear. Oops. True trust in God drives out fear. Would you like to remedy to deal with fear in your life?

[15:17] You don't just pop a pill. David knows. It's a whole change in your thinking. You trust in God and his word.

[15:29] This is what I was going to put up there. When faith turns to God, is revealed in his word, our perspectives will begin to alter how we look at our circumstances. We won't allow circumstances to drive our responses or people, which is so easy to do.

[15:49] Instead, our responses will be governed by truth. We'll be governed by God and his promises and his word.

[16:01] So notice what happens in the next part, verse 5. Terror strikes again. All day long, verse 5, they distort my words.

[16:17] All their thoughts are against me for evil. Notice they distorted his words. The thought comes back to him.

[16:28] The reality of his situation sets in again. He began to let his circumstances drive his responses, his attitude, his feelings, and he began to panic.

[16:42] Now was the perfect time to panic. And he was. Notice he says, they attack, they alert, they watch my steps. They're against him. When he mentions they distorted my words, they gave his words a false meaning.

[16:58] It seems like this was possibly Saul who was twisting David's words saying that he was against the Lord's anointed. He was like, no, I'm not. I'm not against you, Saul.

[17:11] Plus, they devised his harm. They desired his life. Those words that I read off in verse 6, attack, lurk, watch. Again, military terms.

[17:24] They spied out his weaknesses. They observed his footsteps or movement. These Philistines watched his steps ready to take him out because of what he did to them. They remember. So they say, he says, the last part of verse 6, as they waited for my life, they wanted revenge for what he did to their countrymen.

[17:45] Because David had slain the 10,000s, the Philistines. He couldn't go here. Well, now he can't go there. If you read later on in chapter 21 and chapter 22, he goes to his family and he takes his family, takes them to the land of Moab so that they will be protected there because they're coming after his family there.

[18:16] He was a wanderer. Remember, the next king of Israel. Here's the next king of Israel. He's going through this. But notice, all this is happening but now trust begins to come into play once again and now trusting, now he's going to trust in God's judgment.

[18:36] Verse 7, look at verse 7, because of wickedness, cast him forth and anger put down the peoples, O God. Can they escape God's judgment?

[18:50] No way. God sees everything and he protects his people in his time.

[19:02] Not in your time. In his time. Notice, in your anger, cast them down. They will not escape God's righteous wrath against them.

[19:15] They won't. They may think they escape. But in the end, they won't. Look, friends, God is the just judge.

[19:25] Trust him to bring his judgment. Whether it's, you're talking about circumstances or people, in the end, God will make all things right. He will.

[19:38] You trust that. You trust that. not to mention the fact, be sure, your sin will find you out.

[19:49] Numbers 32, 23. I say that to my kids. Remember, your sin will find me out. I know. Use me.

[20:02] I know. I know. Whatever a person sows, that's what they're going to reap.

[20:12] Galatians chapter 6. You can trust in the fact that God sees. God knows everything. And he will recompense them.

[20:26] I mean, you think about the omniscience and the omnipresence of God. It gave David such great comfort as he's running.

[20:40] I mean, he didn't just say, oh, God knows everything. Awesome. Do-do-do. Hey. And then, you know, they slam. He's running for his life. So it's not like you say, well, I know God's taking care of me, so I'm going to walk in front of this car.

[20:54] Oh, hey. No. You're testing God at that point. Something happens. You're running. I'm out of here, says David. But he's going to trust.

[21:08] He's going to trust in God's judgment. But notice verse 8. He trusts also in God's compassion. This is a good verse.

[21:22] Though I take account of my wanderings. I mean, David wandered with his band of men all over Judea. And he knew that God had taken note of all he had suffered as an exile.

[21:38] Away from his family. Away from his friends. Driven here and there without any home. His little band of misfits running for his life because of Saul's jealousy.

[21:59] Saul's wicked obedience. Disobedience, excuse me. Notice what he says. Next part of verse 8. Put my tears in your bottle.

[22:12] Are they not in your book? Take intimate notes of each one. Keep them with care as a precious deposit.

[22:25] Are you in pain today? Dear Christian. Are you in anguish my brother or sister?

[22:38] Do you see how God is there? He sees your tears and cares for you. He takes note of your tears and catches every one of them.

[23:02] We are good reformed people. We believe in the decretive will of God. Do we not? Yes. And yet this sovereign God actually puts himself in time steps into time and feels what we feel and is involved.

[23:33] He's not removed. He's close catching every tear. He hears. He listens. For those of us who are in Christ Jesus He loves us.

[23:52] Notice are they not written in your book? God writes them down. You see David's confidence in Yahweh God that he really did care about him while he's running for his life.

[24:09] How about you? Every sorrow we feel and every occasion of grief is stored in heaven for God's action.

[24:23] He regards us. He considers us. He thinks of us not because we're worthy but because He is worthy. Because He is gracious and kind.

[24:39] we can trust. We can trust in God's judgment. We can trust in God's compassion. And then notice we can trust in God's loyalty as well.

[24:49] Verse 9 Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. The day he called upon God to hear him. He's praying. And though His answers we trust in God's loyalty but though His answers God's answers are not always quick, visible or what we expect prayer is efficient because God loves us as people.

[25:16] Notice the next part of verse 9 This I know that God is for me. Because it's not about what I want No God it's about what you want and this I know look at David again of this I am certain here's the backbone of the confidence of everything that David did in his life God is for me.

[25:47] What can separate us from the love of God? Persecution? Peril? What does Paul write for us in Romans chapter 8?

[25:58] For I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor height nor death nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[26:12] And that's why he says we're more than conquerors because God is for me. Christian do you believe this? It's when we lose sight of this that fear overwhelms.

[26:32] It's when we lose sight of this that anxiety takes over. Depression fear anxiety terror panic sets in when we lose sight of this hope we lose sight of this truth.

[26:51] So he says I'm going to trust in God's judgment His compassion He's loyal to me.

[27:05] And then he repeats what he said earlier in God whose word I praise so he's going to say I trust in God's word again. But notice the change here the next part of verse 10 in God's word I praise in Yahweh Yahweh that's the name of God Yahweh or Yahweh the covenant keeping God the covenant keeping word of God is the word He praised God is faithful to His people He'll always keep His promises to us because He's going to be faithful to Himself Friends God loves Himself most of all and that's the most loving thing He can do for you He loves Himself He's going to glorify Himself He's going to magnify Himself so everything that happens to you is going to be the best so that He gets the glory and guess what it's good for you you get in on that trust in God's word

[28:09] God's promises He's always going to be faithful to His promises always and then He says here in verse 11 in God I've put my trust and then once again He says trust God when it's all said and done at the end of the day when you lay your head down we come to the place where we say I've put my trust in you I will not be afraid what can anyone do to me?

[28:43] I will trust in you I will trust you I just don't know what's going on here I am running for my life running from Saul now I'm running from the Philistines now I've got to take my family and hide them and then Saul comes and slaughters the priests because they gave David and his buddies bread great now I'm responsible for those guys getting killed this guy really understood what it meant to have fear guilt shame anxiety can you identify with David?

[29:25] David no I'm going to trust you you again do you see the meta-narrative of the Bible once again here?

[29:43] meta-narrative the overarching story of the Bible God's people will suffer and yet they'll trust him and he'll exalt them in the end that's the meta-narrative that's the overarching story of the Bible and you see that you see how David depicts the son of man I brought this up last week our savior Jesus he also faced adversity but he trusted the father he suffered let me talk about someone who's never done anything wrong Jesus was perfect and yet he sacrificed himself as a substitute for sinners he died on the cross and God exalted him vindicated him when terror struck what did Jesus say?

[30:41] Father if it's possible let this cup pass from me but not my will your will be done I'm gonna trust you and he went through it I will die I'll face your wrath Jesus not only saves us from our rebellion and brings us to God he also stands as our example on how to respond to the trials the sufferings the terrors of this life he entrusted himself to the father and he trusted the father and God will exalt you maybe in this life definitely in the life to come so he has this when terror strikes we trust but notice what also happens he doesn't trust he gives thanks that's the next couple verses there 12 and 13 and give thanks your vows are upon me oh

[31:45] God I will render thank offerings to you look once we have the right perspective we realize that everything we have is a gift from God it's all his grace so we thank him his vow he was devoted to give thanks and praise God and he did David promised to give thanks to God amid terror it's like he had to do it he knew he deserved nothing from God God didn't have to do this God didn't have to save him I mean but what was David that's why when he committed that sin with Bathsheba the Lord said to David I plucked you out from nothingness and I brought you to be the shepherd of my people Israel that's all grace now wait a second here he says verse 13 excuse me for you've delivered my soul from death indeed my feet from stumbling you see something here though he was not yet delivered wait a second he wasn't delivered no he was running for his life still

[33:13] God didn't take it away yet though he was not yet delivered he claimed he achieved these great promises based upon a sturdy faith rest assured that God would never fail but he wasn't delivered he was still running for his life do you see that but he has the confidence of what God's going to do in the end and it happened years later I think it was like 13 14 15 years later David was anointed the king of Israel I mean 15 years that's like almost two decades what confidence what certainty may we be like David I mean no matter what circumstances David resolved to offer thanks to God what about us well we offer thanks to God no matter the circumstances we find ourselves do you see how the

[34:20] Psalms deal with the real issues of life it speaks to real things in your life God is no fool I say this truthfully God is not an idiot he knows what he's doing the more the world and others threaten us the greater should be our commitment to give thanks not because we're trying to bargain with God but because we're determined to advance spiritually to know that we're satisfied in him and we can endure through these difficult experiences and troubles because we have him we have God that's why he says here again in verse 13 you deliver my soul from death my feet from stumbling so that I may walk before God in the light of the living not only in this life but also in life to come in your right hand there are pleasures forever

[35:22] Psalm 16 11 he enjoyed God's presence he found joy in God and God alone that's because in our great God we have contentment composure calmness amid the distressing terrors of this life fears anxieties the troubles the trials the pains the sufferings because when terror strikes God calls us to trust him and give thanks when terror strikes when troubles come God calls us to trust in his word trust his judgment his compassion his loyalty to us as his owner really to trust God himself and when we get this right perspective we will give thanks to him in all things and for all things right let's pray together you are a good father the father's compassion on his children you take our tears and you put them in your bottle you record them you write them down you care about those that belong to you those who are in Christ

[36:55] Jesus I know dear friend if you're here today and you don't know Jesus God is not your father he's your enemy he can be your father I encourage you I implore you repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ who lived and died for sinners and God will become your father and he'll be a perfect father perfect in all his ways father we give you the praise and the thanks that you deserve and it is our heart prayer whatever my

[37:58] God ordains is right you have ordained these fears anxieties these struggles these pains these sufferings these difficulties and hardships we are weak we admit that so we need you help us to trust you help us to cling to you and lean upon you and to give thanks that you know what you're doing and in your time in your own way he will deliver us so I encourage you to take this time a few moments a few moments of silence for you to think to let your mind mull through the passage that we've gone through this morning in

[39:09] Psalm 56 thanks and after a few moments we'll worship by giving we'll worship by singing and praying one more time then we'll worship by conversations after our service but this time it's between you and the Lord let your heart think and ponder what his truth has told you how he has spoken from his word today you you you