WEBVTT 00:00:00.100 --> 00:00:08.380 Well, good evening. As Alistair said, my name is Archie. I'm the pastor in training here and I'm feeling slightly anxious, so let's pray. 00:00:11.140 --> 00:00:14.919 Heavenly Father, I pray that you would still our hearts this evening. 00:00:16.199 --> 00:00:26.980 Would you be present amongst us by your Holy Spirit, helping us to understand your word and helping us to apply your word to our lives today. 00:00:26.980 --> 00:00:29.899 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:00:33.299 --> 00:00:37.579 I wonder, what are you most anxious about? 00:00:39.859 --> 00:00:47.480 This evening, what worries did you bring with you through that door on your way into church? 00:00:48.700 --> 00:00:51.359 It was COP26 just last week, wasn't it? 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:57.600 And we're all told at the moment, aren't we, that we should be really worried about the future of our planet. 00:00:57.820 --> 00:00:59.719 Here are some quotes from COP26. 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:02.600 It's code red for humanity. 00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:05.420 The alarm bells are ringing. 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:10.120 We're dangerously close to spiraling out of control. 00:01:10.120 --> 00:01:19.500 We're told, aren't we, that if we don't act now, it could spell real trouble, like world-ending, catastrophic trouble. 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:21.600 That may well be true. 00:01:22.780 --> 00:01:24.320 Are you worried about it? 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:27.400 Maybe it's COVID. 00:01:28.260 --> 00:01:31.939 As you look back over the last 18 months, have you been worried? 00:01:31.939 --> 00:01:41.939 Are you maybe even worried now about rising COVID cases, about vaccines, about lockdowns? 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:44.900 Have you been worried about coming back to church? 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:48.819 Maybe you're not really worried about those things at all. 00:01:49.060 --> 00:01:58.420 In fact, maybe you're more worried that we're being lied to, or at least that this climate change thing or the COVID pandemic are not nearly as worrying as the trajectory of our culture. 00:01:58.420 --> 00:02:01.040 Worried that the emphasis is all wrong. 00:02:01.180 --> 00:02:03.340 Worried about overreaching governments. 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:06.200 Worried that the church isn't doing enough. 00:02:06.900 --> 00:02:10.020 Worried about the waning Christian influence in our country. 00:02:10.900 --> 00:02:12.180 What are you worried about? 00:02:13.620 --> 00:02:17.840 We're not here this evening to talk about climate change or COVID or our culture. 00:02:18.060 --> 00:02:22.560 Instead, this evening we're going to be thinking about anxiety and about worry. 00:02:23.020 --> 00:02:28.219 And we're going to look and we're going to see what the Bible has to say to us in our anxiety. 00:02:29.339 --> 00:02:38.299 I just want to say before we dive into that, I'm aware that there are those here, maybe those listening to this, who might have been diagnosed by their doctor with anxiety. 00:02:38.299 --> 00:02:44.939 And I want to say that none of what we talk about this evening is intended to be a substitute for that. 00:02:45.699 --> 00:02:57.619 If you're here this evening and you suffer from panic attacks or uncontrollable phobias, post-traumatic stress, debilitating social anxiety, anything like that, 00:02:57.620 --> 00:03:02.620 maybe if you haven't spoken to a doctor, can I encourage you that it might be important that you do. 00:03:03.939 --> 00:03:08.939 Sometimes as Christians, we need to rely on medical help and that's totally okay. 00:03:09.140 --> 00:03:13.159 And so let me encourage you, if you are in that position, do go and do that. 00:03:13.159 --> 00:03:22.400 Having said that, I do also believe that the Bible has something to say to all of us in our anxiety and in our worries of our lives. 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:24.960 Because we all, I think, don't we know the feeling? 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:28.560 Maybe you'll hear this evening, are you a student or a teenager? 00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:33.120 And this used to annoy me so much, constantly being asked, what's next? 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:35.379 What do you want to do with your life? 00:03:35.379 --> 00:03:41.060 Or maybe, again, I found this annoying, my own fault, but maybe you're behind on your coursework. 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:43.719 Or you're worried about upcoming exams. 00:03:45.960 --> 00:03:50.400 Maybe you're at work and the workload is just more than you can bear. 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:53.620 You've no idea how you're going to get through this week. 00:03:53.620 --> 00:04:01.159 Or you're looking ahead to a meeting, maybe even tomorrow, with colleagues that you just don't know how you're going to deal with it. 00:04:01.159 --> 00:04:06.560 I wonder if you've ever been invited to a party where you know that you're not going to know anyone. 00:04:07.740 --> 00:04:09.879 You're terrified it's going to be super awkward. 00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:13.139 We know the feeling, don't we? 00:04:13.159 --> 00:04:17.139 Maybe even as you walk into church, if you've ever walked into a church on your own, 00:04:17.699 --> 00:04:20.319 it might even be your own church, and yet we look around, don't we, 00:04:20.360 --> 00:04:23.199 trying to see someone that we might be able to sit next to. 00:04:23.639 --> 00:04:25.019 How does that make us feel? 00:04:26.620 --> 00:04:30.199 In so many ways, and these are all very different scenarios, 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:31.699 but the feeling is familiar. 00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:34.039 I think it'll look different for all of us. 00:04:34.159 --> 00:04:35.879 Different things might trigger it for all of us. 00:04:35.939 --> 00:04:37.180 But that feeling, you know it. 00:04:37.259 --> 00:04:44.480 Sweaty palms, increased heart rate, mind racing from one possible catastrophic outcome to the next. 00:04:45.139 --> 00:04:48.300 That sinking, nauseating feeling in the pit of your stomach. 00:04:49.099 --> 00:04:52.560 It's anxiety as we worry about the future. 00:04:52.560 --> 00:05:00.860 And so when we're feeling like that, and as we prepare for when we do feel like that, 00:05:00.980 --> 00:05:03.120 what does the Bible have to say to us? 00:05:04.139 --> 00:05:07.480 We're not going to spend time asking what the Bible says about anxiety. 00:05:08.199 --> 00:05:13.680 Instead, we're simply going to walk through Psalm 31 together that we've just had read for us, 00:05:13.720 --> 00:05:17.600 and we're going to see what the Bible has to say to us in our anxiety. 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:24.460 We're going to let this Psalm be a balm to our worried and anxious hearts. 00:05:25.720 --> 00:05:28.020 Why are we going towards the Psalms here? 00:05:28.100 --> 00:05:31.080 Well, you'll notice in this Psalm that it's a Psalm of David. 00:05:31.500 --> 00:05:34.060 That almost certainly means that David wrote it. 00:05:34.379 --> 00:05:36.360 And we don't know exactly when David wrote this Psalm, 00:05:36.439 --> 00:05:41.340 because he was just so often in that sort of anxiety-inducing trouble 00:05:41.340 --> 00:05:44.500 that this Psalm was clearly written out of. 00:05:44.500 --> 00:05:49.839 And there's so much that we can learn from this Psalm in our anxiety. 00:05:50.019 --> 00:05:53.920 Three big things I think that this Psalm says to us in our anxiety. 00:05:54.139 --> 00:05:58.560 We can call on God confidently in verses 1 to 8. 00:05:59.060 --> 00:06:04.420 We can talk to God truthfully in verses 9 to 18. 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:09.980 And we can trust God totally in verses 19 to 24. 00:06:09.980 --> 00:06:17.140 Call on God confidently, talk to God truthfully, and trust in God totally. 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:23.220 Firstly, then, we can call on God confidently, knowing that he alone is powerful. 00:06:23.319 --> 00:06:24.960 Have a look at the end of verse 1 with me. 00:06:25.460 --> 00:06:29.259 Deliver me, David prays, in your righteousness. 00:06:30.960 --> 00:06:32.439 This is a bold prayer. 00:06:32.939 --> 00:06:36.819 It's a prayer that David knows only God can answer. 00:06:36.819 --> 00:06:43.399 Why? Because David cannot deliver himself, because he knows that he is not righteous. 00:06:44.219 --> 00:06:50.040 Even in this Psalm, in verse 10, the word that we have in verse 10, translated afflictions, 00:06:50.180 --> 00:06:54.980 it carries this idea of iniquities, of sin, of unrighteousness. 00:06:56.120 --> 00:07:01.800 David knows that he's got to rely on God's righteousness for his eternal deliverance. 00:07:01.860 --> 00:07:02.759 What a place to start. 00:07:02.759 --> 00:07:05.659 This is salvation by faith. 00:07:06.819 --> 00:07:09.879 Maybe you're here this evening, or you're listening to this, 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:16.180 and your anxieties and your worries are significantly existential. 00:07:17.879 --> 00:07:20.879 Worrying, perhaps, about what happens when you die. 00:07:22.060 --> 00:07:26.259 Worried about whether you're good enough, about whether you've done enough 00:07:26.259 --> 00:07:28.839 to satisfy a perfect God. 00:07:28.839 --> 00:07:32.500 Well, let me tell you that you haven't. 00:07:33.599 --> 00:07:35.879 That you can't do enough. 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:39.359 Because the benchmark is perfection. 00:07:40.539 --> 00:07:43.079 But the good news, if you've been in this church at all, 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:47.559 you'll know that the good news is that God has made a way to satisfy his perfect justice. 00:07:48.239 --> 00:07:50.299 He's made a way for you to know him forever, 00:07:50.299 --> 00:07:53.899 because Jesus took the penalty of our unrighteousness, 00:07:53.899 --> 00:07:56.179 which means that if we trust in his righteousness, 00:07:56.179 --> 00:07:58.259 we can live with him forever, 00:07:58.259 --> 00:08:04.759 which means that we can start tonight by being confident about our eternal relationship with God. 00:08:05.859 --> 00:08:12.479 It's by faith that we can call on God confidently to deliver us eternally. 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:17.000 Just as it's by faith that David, see in verse 2, 00:08:17.620 --> 00:08:19.020 he calls on God. 00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:21.480 Turn your ear to me. 00:08:22.220 --> 00:08:24.000 Come quickly to my rescue. 00:08:24.220 --> 00:08:26.420 Be my rock of refuge, 00:08:26.520 --> 00:08:29.620 a strong fortress to save me. 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:32.460 Turn your ear to me. 00:08:32.620 --> 00:08:35.039 Think perhaps of someone very ill in bed, 00:08:35.100 --> 00:08:37.460 a person too weak to speak. 00:08:37.460 --> 00:08:39.460 And so to hear the whispered words, 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:42.279 you need to lower your ear to them. 00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:45.700 See, in our weakest moments, 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:50.159 when we are crippled by fear and anxiety, 00:08:50.740 --> 00:08:53.340 when we can barely think or speak, 00:08:55.500 --> 00:09:02.320 our God lowers his ear to us to hear our even whispered requests. 00:09:03.159 --> 00:09:06.060 And so for David, as he whispers, 00:09:07.659 --> 00:09:11.820 his words are calling confidently for rescue. 00:09:11.820 --> 00:09:13.480 Down in verse 21, 00:09:13.660 --> 00:09:16.760 David describes himself as in a city under siege. 00:09:17.379 --> 00:09:22.940 And yet here he's calling for God to be his strong fortress. 00:09:23.920 --> 00:09:25.200 But more than that, 00:09:25.260 --> 00:09:26.520 because in verse 3, 00:09:26.860 --> 00:09:28.040 he confidently proclaims, 00:09:28.620 --> 00:09:32.379 you are my rock and my fortress. 00:09:33.080 --> 00:09:38.920 He asks in verse 2 for something that he knows in verse 3 is already true. 00:09:38.919 --> 00:09:41.459 And we can do that too. 00:09:41.819 --> 00:09:42.959 Isn't that wonderful? 00:09:43.099 --> 00:09:46.279 To pray God's promises to us back to him, 00:09:46.360 --> 00:09:49.579 to call on him confidently in that way. 00:09:51.219 --> 00:09:52.339 Then in verse 5, 00:09:52.439 --> 00:09:54.599 we get some potentially familiar words. 00:09:54.759 --> 00:09:56.139 Into your hands, 00:09:56.519 --> 00:09:57.699 I commit my spirit. 00:09:57.799 --> 00:09:58.959 These are the words, 00:09:59.039 --> 00:09:59.299 aren't they, 00:09:59.339 --> 00:10:02.279 of Jesus as he breathes his last on the cross. 00:10:02.279 --> 00:10:05.519 We saw actually just this summer in Acts chapter 7, 00:10:05.620 --> 00:10:07.240 that they were also the words of Stephen, 00:10:07.659 --> 00:10:09.059 as he was stoned to death. 00:10:09.939 --> 00:10:10.860 And I don't know about you, 00:10:10.919 --> 00:10:13.600 but when I've read those words in the past in the Old Testament, 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:15.339 I've always sort of, 00:10:15.399 --> 00:10:16.699 and definitely wrongly, 00:10:16.860 --> 00:10:19.220 thought of them as a sort of weak resignation. 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:23.980 But do you see how those words are followed here in this psalm? 00:10:23.980 --> 00:10:29.360 You see, 00:10:29.680 --> 00:10:30.759 David knows, 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:32.039 Jesus knew, 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:33.000 Stephen knew, 00:10:33.779 --> 00:10:35.659 that God will deliver him, 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:37.159 for he is Lord. 00:10:37.240 --> 00:10:38.920 You see that's in capitals. 00:10:39.139 --> 00:10:40.360 He is Yahweh. 00:10:40.560 --> 00:10:43.200 It's the covenant name of the God of Israel, 00:10:43.340 --> 00:10:47.399 the God who has proved himself to be faithful in their history. 00:10:47.740 --> 00:10:49.659 And so David calls, 00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:53.259 confident that he will continue to be faithful. 00:10:53.980 --> 00:10:56.300 In verse 6, 00:10:56.820 --> 00:10:59.860 it's only this God who is faithful. 00:11:00.879 --> 00:11:01.060 See, 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:05.159 David hates those who cling to worthless idols. 00:11:06.740 --> 00:11:07.060 Instead, 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:08.740 he trusts this God, 00:11:09.680 --> 00:11:13.360 this God who knows him intimately in verse 7. 00:11:14.139 --> 00:11:19.360 He has seen his affliction and the anguish of his soul. 00:11:20.940 --> 00:11:21.580 Friends, 00:11:21.639 --> 00:11:23.159 whatever it is that you're facing, 00:11:23.159 --> 00:11:25.740 whatever worries you've brought here with you this evening, 00:11:26.679 --> 00:11:27.799 God sees you. 00:11:28.379 --> 00:11:30.419 He knows what you're worrying about. 00:11:31.019 --> 00:11:34.459 He knows the deepest anguish of your soul. 00:11:35.740 --> 00:11:37.000 And he loves you. 00:11:38.519 --> 00:11:39.919 He really loves you. 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:41.319 For David, 00:11:41.319 --> 00:11:41.339 for David, 00:11:41.419 --> 00:11:42.339 in verse 8, 00:11:42.500 --> 00:11:45.299 he has set his feet in a spacious place. 00:11:45.379 --> 00:11:49.759 I think that just means giving him freedom and security and safety, 00:11:50.759 --> 00:11:54.360 significantly confidence in his relationship with God. 00:11:54.479 --> 00:11:58.439 And so knowing that this is what God has done for him, 00:11:58.699 --> 00:12:00.860 he can call on God confidently. 00:12:00.860 --> 00:12:03.519 And we can do the same. 00:12:04.120 --> 00:12:04.919 The temptation, 00:12:05.159 --> 00:12:05.460 I think, 00:12:05.500 --> 00:12:06.399 in our anxiety, 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:08.120 certainly for me, 00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:10.659 is to numb the pain of our worries, 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:16.240 to drown it out with whatever distractions suit us best. 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:17.620 For me, 00:12:17.620 --> 00:12:20.879 it often looks like binging the latest Netflix series, 00:12:21.460 --> 00:12:24.480 or going and spending a couple of hours in the gym, 00:12:24.820 --> 00:12:26.620 or being busy, 00:12:26.860 --> 00:12:29.960 busy even with good church ministry things. 00:12:29.960 --> 00:12:32.580 I wonder what it is for you. 00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:37.360 Not necessarily inherently bad things, 00:12:37.920 --> 00:12:41.100 but they offer no real comfort. 00:12:41.879 --> 00:12:43.420 Whatever it is that we turn to, 00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:46.320 just like the idols of verse 6 in this psalm, 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:48.860 they might numb the pain for a little while, 00:12:49.980 --> 00:12:53.440 but all they're really able to do is distract us. 00:12:55.100 --> 00:12:56.259 And so instead, 00:12:56.400 --> 00:12:59.340 would we call on our God confidently, 00:12:59.340 --> 00:13:01.840 the only one who is really able to help, 00:13:02.580 --> 00:13:05.160 the one who gives us strength in our suffering, 00:13:06.800 --> 00:13:07.600 would we pray? 00:13:08.600 --> 00:13:10.540 And would we pray like David, 00:13:10.899 --> 00:13:11.480 confidently, 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:13.240 save me, 00:13:13.780 --> 00:13:15.639 because you have saved me. 00:13:17.160 --> 00:13:18.660 Be my refuge, 00:13:19.460 --> 00:13:22.220 because you are my refuge. 00:13:23.860 --> 00:13:27.519 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 7 says this, 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:30.159 cast all your anxiety on him, 00:13:30.759 --> 00:13:33.079 because he cares for you. 00:13:34.120 --> 00:13:38.559 So often feels like the last thing that we want to do with our anxieties, 00:13:38.779 --> 00:13:39.439 and our worries, 00:13:39.579 --> 00:13:40.319 and our fear. 00:13:41.779 --> 00:13:43.279 But he knows us. 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:45.600 He cares for us. 00:13:46.120 --> 00:13:47.500 He knows what we're facing. 00:13:47.720 --> 00:13:49.059 And so would we call on him? 00:13:49.139 --> 00:13:51.899 Would we turn our cares into prayers? 00:13:51.899 --> 00:13:54.659 Because as Sinclair Ferguson writes, 00:13:54.860 --> 00:14:02.019 anxiety cannot continue to breathe easily in an atmosphere suffused with prayer. 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:04.639 He's very articulate, Sinclair Ferguson. 00:14:04.779 --> 00:14:06.559 I had no idea what suffused meant, 00:14:06.659 --> 00:14:07.579 but according to Google, 00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:09.399 it simply means covered. 00:14:11.079 --> 00:14:16.799 Would we suffocate our anxiety and our worry with prayer? 00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:18.459 Suffocate it, 00:14:18.579 --> 00:14:20.839 confident that God is faithful, 00:14:22.139 --> 00:14:27.799 confident that God is a safe refuge in the storms of our lives. 00:14:29.699 --> 00:14:31.799 We can call on God confidently. 00:14:32.839 --> 00:14:36.899 We can also talk to God truthfully in verses 9 to 18. 00:14:37.019 --> 00:14:39.839 Do you see how honest David is in these verses, 00:14:39.959 --> 00:14:41.139 verses 9 to 10? 00:14:41.139 --> 00:15:03.980 David isn't holding back here. 00:15:04.039 --> 00:15:06.620 He tells God exactly how he feels. 00:15:07.620 --> 00:15:09.819 It's not that God doesn't know how he feels. 00:15:09.820 --> 00:15:13.640 We've just seen that God knows exactly David's pain, 00:15:13.800 --> 00:15:15.960 that he sees and that he cares. 00:15:16.940 --> 00:15:19.700 And yet David speaks specifically here. 00:15:19.780 --> 00:15:22.100 He's detailing exactly how he feels. 00:15:22.180 --> 00:15:24.180 He talks to God truthfully. 00:15:25.680 --> 00:15:28.540 But this isn't just about the way that David feels. 00:15:29.560 --> 00:15:30.620 Because in verse 11, 00:15:30.740 --> 00:15:33.500 he also begins to tell God about his circumstances, 00:15:34.380 --> 00:15:38.000 the enemies that have caused people to flee from him, 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:41.980 even his neighbors and friends want nothing to do with him. 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:44.539 Forgotten in verse 12, 00:15:44.620 --> 00:15:45.700 as though he were dead, 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:49.320 discarded like a piece of broken pottery, 00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:52.700 like you've just smashed a mug on the kitchen floor, 00:15:52.820 --> 00:15:53.620 straight in the bin. 00:15:55.200 --> 00:15:56.000 These friends, 00:15:56.139 --> 00:15:57.840 they whisper and plot against him. 00:15:57.899 --> 00:15:58.059 Again, 00:15:58.100 --> 00:16:01.080 it's not as though God doesn't know all of this. 00:16:01.080 --> 00:16:07.300 And yet David talks to him truthfully about what is going on in his life. 00:16:07.379 --> 00:16:11.160 He speaks specifically about all of his circumstances. 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:15.220 And so it's worth asking ourselves, 00:16:16.400 --> 00:16:18.639 in our anxieties and our worries, 00:16:18.740 --> 00:16:19.759 do we do the same? 00:16:20.820 --> 00:16:21.800 We've already said, 00:16:21.860 --> 00:16:22.160 haven't we, 00:16:22.160 --> 00:16:23.800 that we can call on God confidently, 00:16:23.980 --> 00:16:25.800 that we've just got to get praying. 00:16:25.799 --> 00:16:27.479 But when we do, 00:16:28.379 --> 00:16:29.639 are we honest with him? 00:16:30.919 --> 00:16:33.879 Do we talk to God truthfully about how we feel? 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:36.979 Do we speak specifically about our circumstances? 00:16:37.899 --> 00:16:40.179 What we're learning here is godly lament, 00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:42.599 not simply a good grumble, 00:16:43.399 --> 00:16:48.359 but an honest complaint to the only one who has the power to help. 00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:51.439 In Philippians chapter four, 00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:52.019 verse six, 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:52.479 Paul says, 00:16:52.719 --> 00:16:54.419 do not be anxious about anything. 00:16:54.419 --> 00:16:57.740 But in every situation, 00:16:58.019 --> 00:16:59.659 by prayer and petition, 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:01.099 with thanksgiving, 00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:03.179 present your requests to God. 00:17:04.259 --> 00:17:04.700 Again, 00:17:05.019 --> 00:17:08.420 would we turn our cares into prayers? 00:17:08.779 --> 00:17:08.980 Friends, 00:17:09.059 --> 00:17:11.639 there's nothing we can't take to our God. 00:17:13.180 --> 00:17:16.220 No pain too painful for his love. 00:17:17.180 --> 00:17:20.659 No sin too sinful for his grace. 00:17:20.660 --> 00:17:24.900 No situation too trivial for his care. 00:17:25.040 --> 00:17:26.040 He loves you. 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:33.740 He wants you to talk to him truthfully about how you feel and about your circumstances. 00:17:35.340 --> 00:17:38.000 Having talked to God truthfully about his situation, 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:44.940 David actually then goes on to talk to God truthfully about what he'd like God to do in his situation. 00:17:44.940 --> 00:17:47.840 Check out verse 14 and the start of verse 15. 00:17:47.940 --> 00:17:48.860 I love this. 00:17:49.360 --> 00:17:50.559 David trusts God. 00:17:50.660 --> 00:17:50.820 Again, 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:54.059 this is the Yahweh covenant name for a faithful God. 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:57.440 He trusts him because of what he has already done, 00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:00.259 but he also knows God. 00:18:00.539 --> 00:18:01.059 Do you see that? 00:18:01.140 --> 00:18:03.519 You are my God. 00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:03.559 God. 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:09.000 This is not some impersonal pie in the sky kind of God. 00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:14.299 This is a God who knows and who desires to be known. 00:18:15.220 --> 00:18:16.339 But more than that, 00:18:16.460 --> 00:18:20.940 this loving personal God has David's times in his hands. 00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:23.519 My times are in your hands. 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:24.180 In other words, 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:25.599 he is in control. 00:18:27.059 --> 00:18:28.960 I find that so comforting. 00:18:29.079 --> 00:18:32.900 Isn't that so comforting to know both of these things to be true? 00:18:33.740 --> 00:18:37.400 Imagine if our God was only one of these things and not the other. 00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:38.620 We often think like that, 00:18:38.680 --> 00:18:39.140 don't we? 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:43.019 Imagine if we had a loving God who wasn't in control, 00:18:43.900 --> 00:18:45.600 desperately wanting our best, 00:18:45.720 --> 00:18:47.019 but unable to help. 00:18:48.080 --> 00:18:51.180 Or a God who was absolutely in control, 00:18:51.580 --> 00:18:54.960 but who didn't love us and so was unwilling to help. 00:18:56.759 --> 00:18:57.240 Friends, 00:18:57.300 --> 00:19:00.200 we need to know this evening that God is a loving, 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:01.660 faithful God. 00:19:01.660 --> 00:19:06.060 that even when we feel completely out of control, 00:19:06.440 --> 00:19:08.000 he is in control. 00:19:08.620 --> 00:19:10.380 And so whatever I am anxious about, 00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:12.200 whatever worries I bring through the door, 00:19:12.259 --> 00:19:14.279 I can trust this God. 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:20.540 God who knows and is involved in every step that David takes. 00:19:20.539 --> 00:19:26.940 And so David can talk to him truthfully about what he'd like him to do. 00:19:27.500 --> 00:19:28.740 And what is that? 00:19:29.539 --> 00:19:32.159 In the rest of verse 15 and following, 00:19:32.379 --> 00:19:34.819 deliver me from the hands of my enemies. 00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:38.460 He wants God to physically rescue him from his enemies. 00:19:38.460 --> 00:19:42.480 He then echoes the priestly blessing from Numbers chapter six. 00:19:42.600 --> 00:19:45.019 Let your face shine on your servant. 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:47.500 He wants to know God's presence, 00:19:47.500 --> 00:19:50.640 just like he knows the sun shining on his face. 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:54.100 And in verses 17 and 18, 00:19:54.100 --> 00:19:54.800 what does he want? 00:19:54.880 --> 00:19:54.980 Well, 00:19:54.980 --> 00:19:55.360 he says, 00:19:55.360 --> 00:19:57.320 let me not be put to shame. 00:19:58.280 --> 00:20:01.100 Let the wicked be put to shame. 00:20:01.780 --> 00:20:02.920 Being put to shame here, 00:20:02.980 --> 00:20:07.100 it carries the idea of hopes being deflated like a burst balloon. 00:20:08.060 --> 00:20:08.860 Instead of that, 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:13.380 David wants his trust in God to be proven effective. 00:20:13.380 --> 00:20:19.940 And for the wicked who trust in idols to be let down in their false hope. 00:20:21.060 --> 00:20:23.940 Let their lying lips be silenced, 00:20:24.080 --> 00:20:24.760 he says. 00:20:25.760 --> 00:20:27.820 He wants them to face God's judgment. 00:20:28.840 --> 00:20:31.760 For them to be silent in the realm of the dead. 00:20:31.860 --> 00:20:34.060 Sometimes we can find that language quite difficult, 00:20:34.180 --> 00:20:34.460 can't we? 00:20:34.520 --> 00:20:39.800 There's lots that we could say about this sort of cursing enemies in the Psalms. 00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:41.960 You may well have come across it before. 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:43.259 But I think for now, 00:20:43.360 --> 00:20:49.740 it's just important to notice that David isn't seeking to execute justice and judgment himself. 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:56.799 He's simply telling God truthfully that he'd like God to deal with the wicked justly. 00:20:57.960 --> 00:21:01.240 He's just coming to God truthfully with his anxiety, I think. 00:21:02.019 --> 00:21:03.960 And why does he want God to do that? 00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:07.120 Well, again, he talks to God at the end of verse 18, 00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:13.059 For with pride and contempt they, that is his enemies, speak arrogantly against the righteous. 00:21:14.500 --> 00:21:17.919 Again, David is speaking so specifically to God here, 00:21:18.399 --> 00:21:23.459 telling him exactly what is affecting him and asking him to step in. 00:21:25.019 --> 00:21:29.059 And so for us, would we make room for this sort of prayer? 00:21:29.059 --> 00:21:39.779 Very often we're told that the answer to suffering and anxiety and worry in this life is simply to get excited about that future where there is no suffering, 00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:42.779 to praise God for all he's done in Jesus, 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:48.259 making a way for us to live forever in a place where anxiety and worry is done away with. 00:21:48.779 --> 00:21:52.319 We're told, aren't we, to simply meditate on that glorious future 00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:56.980 and allow then the pains of this world to fade into insignificance. 00:21:57.639 --> 00:21:58.740 What are we saying this morning? 00:21:59.759 --> 00:22:01.399 Turn your eyes upon Jesus. 00:22:02.679 --> 00:22:07.659 Look full on his wonderful face and the things of the world. 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:15.559 That's how worries and our anxieties will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. 00:22:16.019 --> 00:22:18.980 And that glorious future is true. 00:22:18.980 --> 00:22:22.880 It's definitely a great thing to think about, 00:22:23.099 --> 00:22:27.640 an eternity and a personal relationship that we should take great joy in. 00:22:29.099 --> 00:22:33.259 But we should not emphasize that future at the expense of this, 00:22:34.120 --> 00:22:36.579 giving a voice to the hurting today, 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:40.299 allowing ourselves to come to God, 00:22:40.380 --> 00:22:43.220 to experience that personal relationship, 00:22:43.819 --> 00:22:46.860 to be able to talk to him truthfully about how we feel, 00:22:46.859 --> 00:22:51.859 to be able to speak specifically about what is making us anxious 00:22:51.859 --> 00:22:56.819 and asking him to step in, to take our time in his hands, 00:22:56.819 --> 00:22:59.519 as we know that he already has. 00:23:00.719 --> 00:23:02.839 Friends, we can call on God confidently 00:23:02.839 --> 00:23:05.559 and we can talk to him truthfully. 00:23:06.399 --> 00:23:09.359 And finally, we can trust him totally. 00:23:10.139 --> 00:23:12.240 In verses 19 to 24. 00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:16.480 I think the tone of the psalm shifts at this point. 00:23:17.120 --> 00:23:20.220 Whereas David before has clearly been very anxious, 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:23.079 calling on God and telling him about his anxieties, 00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:27.380 there seems to be a shift in these verses to a sense of contentment. 00:23:28.420 --> 00:23:30.480 And not because God has waved a magic wand 00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:32.240 and all of David's troubles have disappeared. 00:23:33.079 --> 00:23:36.720 We know that David faced enemies right up to his dying day. 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:40.920 And yet in verse 19, David praises God. 00:23:41.700 --> 00:23:46.339 How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you. 00:23:47.180 --> 00:23:51.880 Them you bestow in the sight of all on those who take refuge in you. 00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:56.100 David trusts in God totally, 00:23:56.680 --> 00:24:01.360 knowing that through him, David has everything that he could possibly need. 00:24:01.880 --> 00:24:05.319 And he knows that he is a refuge for an anxious soul. 00:24:05.319 --> 00:24:09.819 We had Matthew chapter 6 read for us just at the start of our service. 00:24:10.159 --> 00:24:12.779 A wonderful encouragement not to be anxious. 00:24:14.039 --> 00:24:14.339 Why? 00:24:15.079 --> 00:24:18.539 Because if God gives plants and birds all that they need, 00:24:18.639 --> 00:24:22.139 how much more can we, made in God's image, 00:24:22.839 --> 00:24:24.899 trust that he will give us all that we need? 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:26.859 That he is sufficient. 00:24:28.039 --> 00:24:31.259 And so seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. 00:24:31.259 --> 00:24:36.720 Seeking him for he is in Psalm 31 a refuge. 00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:43.720 In verse 20, a refuge where God's people can hide from human intrigues. 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:48.700 From the plots of men as other translations perhaps more helpfully have it. 00:24:49.700 --> 00:24:53.740 Where God's people will be kept safe from accusing tongues. 00:24:53.740 --> 00:25:01.900 Because in verse 21, he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege. 00:25:02.460 --> 00:25:07.900 Because even when David was most anxious, I mean imagine being in a city under siege. 00:25:08.019 --> 00:25:12.940 Can you hear the thud, thud, thud of the battering ram on the gates? 00:25:13.579 --> 00:25:15.720 And the whiz of the arrows in the air. 00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:19.779 I mean I just can't imagine something as more anxiety inducing than that. 00:25:19.860 --> 00:25:27.519 And yet in that place, having called on God confidently, having told him truthfully, 00:25:28.019 --> 00:25:29.980 David knows God's love. 00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:31.740 Even in that place. 00:25:31.860 --> 00:25:36.519 And so now whatever he faces, he can trust in God totally. 00:25:37.180 --> 00:25:39.380 And he can praise him properly. 00:25:39.380 --> 00:25:46.080 See in verse 23 and 24, he even asked God's people to join him in that praise. 00:25:46.980 --> 00:25:49.180 Love the Lord, all his faithful people. 00:25:50.220 --> 00:25:52.540 The Lord preserves those who are true to him. 00:25:53.460 --> 00:25:55.240 But the proud he pays back in full. 00:25:55.660 --> 00:25:58.480 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. 00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:04.020 Trust in the Lord totally, he says, and praise in him properly. 00:26:04.019 --> 00:26:09.319 For he preserves his people, even through and in their anxieties. 00:26:09.480 --> 00:26:13.579 He keeps his people strong and he is where hope is found. 00:26:14.579 --> 00:26:16.220 Trust in him totally. 00:26:16.879 --> 00:26:19.579 And in that, so praise him. 00:26:21.000 --> 00:26:24.779 I wonder how we're doing at this, praising God for deliverance in this way. 00:26:25.099 --> 00:26:30.319 Not just praising God for our eternal deliverance from sin, though that is a very good thing to do. 00:26:30.319 --> 00:26:37.480 But when we find ourselves delivered from our worries and our anxieties or any other small thing in life, 00:26:38.019 --> 00:26:44.679 or even a bigger thing in life, when God graciously moves us from worry to contentment in him, 00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:49.240 how often do we turn to him and praise him specifically for that? 00:26:51.019 --> 00:26:54.659 And perhaps most important of all, as we finish this evening, 00:26:54.779 --> 00:26:58.259 I wonder if you are trusting in God totally. 00:26:58.259 --> 00:27:05.819 Do we really believe that he is completely sufficient, that he is all that we need, 00:27:06.519 --> 00:27:08.000 in all of our anxiety? 00:27:08.879 --> 00:27:12.859 Do we trust that God has our times in his hands? 00:27:14.680 --> 00:27:17.140 Friends, if everything else was stripped away, 00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:21.599 if God was all that we had left, 00:27:22.379 --> 00:27:26.140 do we know this evening that he would be more than enough? 00:27:26.140 --> 00:27:30.280 For he is absolutely sufficient. 00:27:31.500 --> 00:27:35.360 Sufficient to carry us in and through our anxiety. 00:27:36.440 --> 00:27:41.880 And of course, he is ultimately sufficient to save us unto eternity. 00:27:41.880 --> 00:27:50.180 And so, whether you're here this evening and you're worried about COVID cases rising, 00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:54.300 or you're worried about overreaching governments, 00:27:55.500 --> 00:27:57.320 whether you're worried about climate change, 00:27:57.420 --> 00:27:59.620 you're worried that the emphasis is all wrong, 00:28:00.760 --> 00:28:03.240 whatever your Monday looks like, 00:28:03.240 --> 00:28:06.599 in all the anxieties of life, 00:28:06.599 --> 00:28:08.940 in all our worries about the future, 00:28:09.440 --> 00:28:11.120 as our heart rate increases, 00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:12.839 as our palms begin to sweat, 00:28:12.920 --> 00:28:16.940 as we feel that heavy, nauseating feeling in our stomachs, 00:28:17.740 --> 00:28:19.839 would we call on our God confidently? 00:28:21.019 --> 00:28:23.140 Would we talk to him truthfully? 00:28:23.859 --> 00:28:26.940 And would we trust in him totally? 00:28:26.940 --> 00:28:30.039 Let's pray together. 00:28:35.100 --> 00:28:41.320 Heavenly Father, I pray that whatever we have walked through the door with this evening, 00:28:42.080 --> 00:28:45.799 whatever worries we face, 00:28:47.600 --> 00:28:49.860 whatever anxieties we harbor, 00:28:49.859 --> 00:28:56.379 would I pray that we would seek refuge in you? 00:28:58.479 --> 00:29:01.299 Would you be our refuge, 00:29:01.859 --> 00:29:05.419 even as we know that you are our refuge? 00:29:07.479 --> 00:29:08.779 Lord, would you help us, 00:29:08.839 --> 00:29:11.740 even when we barely know what to think, 00:29:11.819 --> 00:29:12.879 let alone speak, 00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:16.179 would you help us to call on you with confidence, 00:29:16.379 --> 00:29:19.419 knowing that our salvation is secure in Christ, 00:29:19.859 --> 00:29:26.699 Lord, would you help us to come to you honestly, 00:29:27.699 --> 00:29:29.899 and truthfully, 00:29:30.339 --> 00:29:35.639 to talk to you about every little circumstance of our life, 00:29:35.719 --> 00:29:37.559 though we know that you already know it. 00:29:38.199 --> 00:29:40.959 Would you help us to understand how much you care, 00:29:41.199 --> 00:29:42.779 and how much you love us? 00:29:45.979 --> 00:29:48.539 And Lord, as we look to the cross, 00:29:48.539 --> 00:29:53.539 and as we see what you have already done for us, 00:29:54.379 --> 00:29:58.299 would you help us to trust you totally this evening? 00:29:58.299 --> 00:29:58.419 Amen. 00:30:01.139 --> 00:30:02.680 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:04.159 Amen. 00:30:04.159 --> 00:30:04.319 Amen. 00:30:04.319 --> 00:30:04.379 Amen. 00:30:04.379 --> 00:30:04.419 Amen. 00:30:04.419 --> 00:30:04.440 Amen. 00:30:04.440 --> 00:30:04.480 Amen. 00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:06.419 Amen.