WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.379 Kevin Twitt, who is the campus minister at Belmont University and the founder of the hymn writing group, Indelible Grace, which you might be familiar with, who sing some of their songs from time to time. 00:00:16.379 --> 00:00:26.719 And he tells the story of George Matheson, who wrote the song, Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go. 00:00:27.559 --> 00:00:32.659 And he tells a story about George Matheson, who is a pastor in Scotland in the 1800s. 00:00:33.239 --> 00:00:37.519 And he was training to be a pastor in seminary. 00:00:37.620 --> 00:00:40.519 And while he was in seminary, he started going blind. 00:00:41.080 --> 00:00:54.160 And during that time, in seminary, as he was starting to go blind, he was also engaged to a woman who eventually left him because she didn't want to be married to a blind man. 00:00:54.920 --> 00:00:57.060 And he was incredibly heartbroken. 00:00:57.940 --> 00:01:06.480 And at that time, he was also living with his sister, who helped take care of him as he was going blind, as his eyesight was receding. 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:10.859 And his sister would take care of him. 00:01:10.960 --> 00:01:12.120 And he wrote this hymn. 00:01:12.180 --> 00:01:16.420 He wrote the hymn, Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go, on the night of his sister's wedding. 00:01:17.939 --> 00:01:20.240 Because now she was going off to her own life. 00:01:20.880 --> 00:01:22.320 And she was leaving him alone. 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:30.839 And Matheson said that in the wake of these two events in his life, something like an incredible sadness passed between him and the Lord. 00:01:31.459 --> 00:01:40.780 But as he experienced this sadness, and as he brought it to the Lord in prayer, this hymn, this beautiful hymn came to him all of a sudden, in the span of about 15 minutes. 00:01:41.619 --> 00:01:47.259 And Matheson said it was like the Lord was just dictating to him the words of this hymn. 00:01:47.260 --> 00:01:53.100 And we have this incredible hymn that we sing many years later that we'll come back to again later. 00:01:53.260 --> 00:01:59.180 But I think that something like this may have happened as King David wrote many of the psalms. 00:02:00.320 --> 00:02:04.100 This morning, we're going to be looking at our psalm passage, Psalm 63. 00:02:04.380 --> 00:02:08.099 It's a psalm that's written by King David. 00:02:08.900 --> 00:02:15.659 And if you're unfamiliar with the psalms, it's important to know that originally they were Israel's hymn book. 00:02:15.659 --> 00:02:17.139 They were hymns. 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:19.460 They were songs that were used in the worship life of Israel. 00:02:19.819 --> 00:02:24.139 And you may have noticed if you've been around for a while that we often use them the same way. 00:02:24.219 --> 00:02:27.900 We sing them together as part of our worship life in our church. 00:02:27.979 --> 00:02:30.120 And there are so many things that I love about the psalms. 00:02:30.740 --> 00:02:31.979 There are so many things to say. 00:02:32.060 --> 00:02:35.419 But one of the things I love about the psalms is that they teach us how to pray. 00:02:35.419 --> 00:02:50.419 And they teach us how to pray by giving us these rich images, these rich metaphors, this rich language that describes our rich emotional life, the ups and downs of our inner life. 00:02:50.479 --> 00:02:54.060 And in the psalms, we find both joy and sadness. 00:02:54.859 --> 00:02:57.899 We find both anger and love. 00:02:57.979 --> 00:03:01.500 And we find both despair and hope. 00:03:01.500 --> 00:03:07.840 And as we read in the study of the psalms, they teach us how to bring these broad range of emotions to God in prayer. 00:03:08.939 --> 00:03:12.960 And so before we're going to look at how Psalm 63 teaches us how to pray. 00:03:13.060 --> 00:03:18.240 But before we do that, it's important to understand the backstory behind the psalm. 00:03:18.340 --> 00:03:26.020 If you open your Bibles and turn to Psalm 63 or you see it printed in your bulletin, you'll see that this psalm has a title. 00:03:26.319 --> 00:03:26.920 It has a title. 00:03:27.460 --> 00:03:28.920 And the title reads like this. 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:33.699 It says a psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. 00:03:35.060 --> 00:03:42.939 We know of two different times when David fled to the wilderness and both times his life was in danger. 00:03:43.060 --> 00:03:47.500 The first time is in 1 Samuel chapter 21 when David was not yet a king. 00:03:48.239 --> 00:03:51.319 Saul was king and King Saul was after him. 00:03:51.399 --> 00:03:54.859 He was after David and he was trying to kill him out of jealousy. 00:03:55.079 --> 00:03:56.179 So he fled to the wilderness. 00:03:56.180 --> 00:04:03.719 The other time that we know David was in the wilderness is in 2 Samuel 15, later on when David was king, when he became king. 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:12.379 And this is the time in David's life when his son Absalom rebelled against him and staged somewhat of a coup against him. 00:04:13.180 --> 00:04:17.280 And so scholars debate which instance provides the better backstory for Psalm 63. 00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:22.759 But I think the second option is more likely because here in this psalm, David refers to himself. 00:04:22.979 --> 00:04:25.819 He refers to himself as the king, as the king. 00:04:26.419 --> 00:04:30.779 So to set the scene in 2 Samuel 15, David is king in Jerusalem. 00:04:30.779 --> 00:04:37.859 But his son Absalom is secretly scheming behind his back to claim the throne for himself. 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:45.539 For four years, Absalom has sowed seeds of discord, convincing people throughout the land that he would make a better king than his father. 00:04:46.379 --> 00:04:54.679 And we read this tragic, we read this tragic line in 2 Samuel 15, 6, that Absalom had stole the hearts of the men of Israel. 00:04:54.680 --> 00:04:59.720 And eventually Absalom gained the followers throughout the land to stage a coup. 00:05:00.459 --> 00:05:07.040 And when David eventually learns about this, he realizes that the tides have turned and he fears for his very life. 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:12.920 And so he and his men flee to the east of the city of Jerusalem. 00:05:13.259 --> 00:05:18.780 And east of the city of Jerusalem is this wilderness between the city and the Jordan River. 00:05:19.720 --> 00:05:23.680 This is the sorrowful backstory behind this psalm. 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:28.120 And in it, David, King David teaches us to pray two prayers. 00:05:28.280 --> 00:05:29.600 And this is what we're going to look at this morning. 00:05:30.459 --> 00:05:34.920 The two prayers that this psalm teaches us to pray are, 00:05:36.120 --> 00:05:38.579 Lord, here I am in my longing. 00:05:40.040 --> 00:05:43.100 And Lord, here I am in my hopelessness. 00:05:43.980 --> 00:05:45.620 Lord, here I am in my longing. 00:05:45.980 --> 00:05:48.379 And here I am in my hopelessness. 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:49.939 Let's look at the first one. 00:05:50.040 --> 00:05:52.660 First of all, the first prayer that this psalm teaches us to pray. 00:05:52.660 --> 00:05:57.540 The first section, verses one through five, is Lord, here I am in my longing. 00:05:58.320 --> 00:06:02.700 David begins the psalm by acknowledging the deep thirst of his soul. 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:03.540 Look at verse one. 00:06:04.180 --> 00:06:06.020 Oh, God, you are my God. 00:06:06.880 --> 00:06:08.240 Earnestly, I seek you. 00:06:09.280 --> 00:06:11.460 My soul thirsts for you. 00:06:12.340 --> 00:06:14.340 My flesh faints for you. 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:17.840 As in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:21.719 And we said just a minute ago, this is what the psalms do. 00:06:21.819 --> 00:06:26.079 They give us this rich language to describe our invisible inner life. 00:06:26.159 --> 00:06:31.259 They help us to articulate the deep desires that all of us have inside. 00:06:31.879 --> 00:06:34.599 And the image that David gives us here is this. 00:06:34.739 --> 00:06:35.419 He says, 00:06:35.420 --> 00:06:39.960 My heart feels like a desert. 00:06:41.800 --> 00:06:45.199 My soul is thirsty. 00:06:45.900 --> 00:06:48.879 And this makes sense when you think about what's going on. 00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:55.660 The backstory, his whole life, the life of Israel, the whole life of the kingdom has been turned upside down. 00:06:55.660 --> 00:07:05.920 And I think this psalm gives us permission to name the fact that sometimes this is how our souls feel. 00:07:06.060 --> 00:07:09.540 Sometimes our hearts can feel like a desolate place. 00:07:10.320 --> 00:07:16.460 And all the great spiritual teachers throughout church history who have written about prayer have known this. 00:07:16.540 --> 00:07:21.400 They often describe the heart as a barren place or as a desert. 00:07:21.399 --> 00:07:26.699 All of the great Christian masters on prayer have learned what David has learned. 00:07:27.579 --> 00:07:30.479 That it's in the desert that we learn how to pray. 00:07:31.319 --> 00:07:33.319 It's in the desert that we learn how to pray. 00:07:33.859 --> 00:07:38.179 And notice where David directs his thirsty soul. 00:07:38.279 --> 00:07:40.919 He directs his thirsty soul to God. 00:07:41.039 --> 00:07:41.439 He says, 00:07:41.919 --> 00:07:44.379 My soul thirsts for you. 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:47.839 My flesh faints for you. 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:53.279 And knowing the backstory actually provides a lot of depth into what David is saying here. 00:07:53.359 --> 00:07:57.060 Because David is in an actual, he's in an actual physical desert. 00:07:58.159 --> 00:08:01.759 And I don't know about you, but I probably would not have been as spiritual as him. 00:08:01.779 --> 00:08:06.579 I probably would have been asking God to provide me with actual, literal food and water. 00:08:07.339 --> 00:08:09.459 And that necessarily wouldn't be a bad prayer. 00:08:09.459 --> 00:08:15.819 But David is recognizing that there is a thirst underneath all his thirst. 00:08:16.899 --> 00:08:18.439 And that it is a thirst for God. 00:08:19.139 --> 00:08:23.479 That there is a hunger underneath all of his hungers. 00:08:24.180 --> 00:08:25.719 And that it's a hunger for God. 00:08:25.819 --> 00:08:34.519 And he knows, based on past experience, he knows that his hunger and thirst for God is satisfied in worship. 00:08:35.059 --> 00:08:35.600 In worship. 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:42.879 He's in the desert, but he's recalling past experiences in the sanctuary with God's people. 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:46.320 Where God met him in his longing. 00:08:46.980 --> 00:08:48.259 Look at verses 2 and 4. 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:54.680 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 00:08:55.480 --> 00:08:58.840 Because your steadfast love is better than life. 00:08:59.480 --> 00:09:01.000 My lips will praise you. 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:04.740 He's saying, God, I have had experiences with you. 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:07.259 I've had experiences with you in worship. 00:09:07.539 --> 00:09:09.960 Where you have shown me your power. 00:09:10.120 --> 00:09:11.340 You've shown me your glory. 00:09:11.720 --> 00:09:12.759 Where you've shown me. 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:15.139 And I've experienced that your love. 00:09:15.980 --> 00:09:19.259 Is even more satisfying than life itself. 00:09:19.899 --> 00:09:20.559 Verse 5. 00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:22.539 My soul will be satisfied. 00:09:22.860 --> 00:09:24.440 As with fat and rich food. 00:09:24.580 --> 00:09:27.600 And my mouth will praise you with joyful lips. 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:40.300 David knows that the deepest, most hidden, most invisible desires of his soul aren't satisfied with mere physical food. 00:09:41.159 --> 00:09:47.139 But with the spiritual food that God makes available to his people in worship. 00:09:47.139 --> 00:09:51.259 And the same, brothers and sisters, the same is true for us. 00:09:51.399 --> 00:09:53.860 Friends, why do we gather every Sunday for worship? 00:09:55.019 --> 00:09:58.139 I mean, there's, why do we gather, why do we gather this morning? 00:09:58.199 --> 00:10:00.980 There's a lot of reasons we could say, you know, for fellowship. 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:03.319 To spend time with one another. 00:10:03.399 --> 00:10:04.100 To be encouraged. 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:06.039 To learn from God's word. 00:10:06.139 --> 00:10:07.340 All of those things are true. 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:08.899 All of those things are good. 00:10:08.899 --> 00:10:11.799 But if we look at what David is saying here in this psalm. 00:10:11.899 --> 00:10:15.959 One of the primary reasons that we gather for worship week in and week out. 00:10:17.939 --> 00:10:18.860 Is our longing. 00:10:20.459 --> 00:10:21.379 Our desire. 00:10:22.059 --> 00:10:24.899 The deep desires and longings of our hearts. 00:10:24.899 --> 00:10:32.299 Because we have a longing in our souls that only the presence and love of God can satisfy. 00:10:32.299 --> 00:10:39.979 And we long to experience God satisfying the hunger underneath all of our hungers. 00:10:41.539 --> 00:10:46.859 In his memoir, The Confessions, St. Augustine puts it like this. 00:10:46.979 --> 00:10:49.299 You have made us for yourself, O Lord. 00:10:50.439 --> 00:10:55.039 And our hearts are restless until they rest in you. 00:10:56.439 --> 00:11:01.219 Many centuries later, another theologian named Bruce Springsteen would put it like this. 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:04.339 Bruce Springsteen would sing these words. 00:11:04.899 --> 00:11:06.179 Everybody's got a hungry heart. 00:11:08.139 --> 00:11:09.219 Everybody's got a hungry heart. 00:11:09.299 --> 00:11:10.579 Whether you've heard that song or not. 00:11:10.659 --> 00:11:11.359 I hope you have. 00:11:12.139 --> 00:11:13.519 But whether you've heard that song or not. 00:11:13.579 --> 00:11:14.459 We all know what that means. 00:11:14.500 --> 00:11:16.299 That all of us have a longing in our souls. 00:11:18.139 --> 00:11:19.079 That bread alone. 00:11:20.500 --> 00:11:22.039 Even the best meal. 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:23.539 The best restaurant in the whole world. 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:25.099 Cannot satisfy. 00:11:25.099 --> 00:11:25.819 Do you know? 00:11:27.179 --> 00:11:30.199 Do you know that we acknowledge this every time we come into worship? 00:11:30.200 --> 00:11:35.840 We acknowledge this reality every time at the very beginning of our service. 00:11:35.940 --> 00:11:37.320 We just prayed it a few minutes earlier. 00:11:37.460 --> 00:11:38.620 It's called the Call It for Purity. 00:11:39.800 --> 00:11:42.620 And the first couple lines of the Call It for Purity go like this. 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:48.680 Almighty God, to you all hearts are open. 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:52.740 And all desires are known. 00:11:52.740 --> 00:11:55.860 Worship begins with desire. 00:11:56.060 --> 00:11:57.639 And our liturgy reflects that. 00:11:58.180 --> 00:11:59.060 We say it briefly. 00:11:59.200 --> 00:12:01.879 But if we slow down, what are we actually saying? 00:12:02.220 --> 00:12:04.879 We're saying, oh God, my heart is hungry. 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:08.620 My desires run deep. 00:12:09.340 --> 00:12:10.840 My soul is thirsty. 00:12:11.860 --> 00:12:12.679 And you know this. 00:12:12.860 --> 00:12:14.259 You made me like this. 00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:16.799 You made me with these deep desires. 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:20.659 And not only did you make me this way, but you know me. 00:12:20.840 --> 00:12:23.539 You know the deep desires of my heart. 00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:26.039 To you all hearts are open. 00:12:26.580 --> 00:12:28.820 All desires known. 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:31.559 It's a prayer of longing. 00:12:31.559 --> 00:12:37.959 It's a prayer and we're asking God to quench our thirst and to satisfy our souls and worship. 00:12:38.119 --> 00:12:40.599 And David understands in this psalm that it's through worship. 00:12:41.199 --> 00:12:48.639 It's through the ordinary means of word and sacrament and prayer and singing that God has promised to meet with us. 00:12:48.719 --> 00:12:54.559 And he has promised to satisfy our hungry and thirsty souls with himself. 00:12:57.259 --> 00:13:00.500 When is the last time you prayed a prayer like this? 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:03.099 Honestly and freely. 00:13:04.379 --> 00:13:06.579 Lord, here I am. 00:13:07.319 --> 00:13:08.819 Here I am in my longing. 00:13:10.219 --> 00:13:13.659 Here I am in the honest desires of my soul. 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:16.419 My heart feels like a desert. 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:20.839 My heart feels like a desolate place. 00:13:21.619 --> 00:13:25.219 When's the last time that you poured out your heart to God and you said, Lord, here I am. 00:13:25.220 --> 00:13:28.360 In all of my honest desires. 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:29.180 Good or bad. 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:34.340 And I need you to satisfy me with yourself. 00:13:35.779 --> 00:13:36.800 That is a prayer. 00:13:36.920 --> 00:13:40.899 That is a beautiful prayer that this psalm gives us permission to pray. 00:13:41.700 --> 00:13:44.320 That's the first prayer that we see in Psalm 63. 00:13:44.500 --> 00:13:46.000 Lord, here I am in my longing. 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:49.559 The second prayer I think that this psalm teaches us to pray is this. 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:53.240 Lord, here I am in my helplessness. 00:13:53.759 --> 00:13:55.440 Here I am in my helplessness. 00:13:55.860 --> 00:13:59.519 In the first section of the psalm, we see David looking to God to satisfy his longing. 00:13:59.960 --> 00:14:04.500 In the second section, we see him clinging to God for help. 00:14:04.500 --> 00:14:10.039 And given the story behind the psalm, I think that makes a lot of sense. 00:14:11.019 --> 00:14:21.679 And in the second section, verses 5 through 11, though, we see him reaching out to God, clinging to God for help with this kind of confident expectation. 00:14:22.179 --> 00:14:24.840 I want you to see what I mean as we look at verses 5 through 11. 00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:54.820 He says, 00:14:54.840 --> 00:15:05.420 That sounds like a pretty confident prayer, doesn't it? 00:15:06.700 --> 00:15:16.860 But the thing I want to say about David's confident expectation in this prayer is that we shouldn't misunderstand the fact that David was confident. 00:15:16.860 --> 00:15:23.639 We shouldn't misunderstand David's confidence to mean that he also wasn't experiencing his own weakness. 00:15:24.840 --> 00:15:27.700 We see this in a couple ways. 00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:31.780 First, look at when David is reaching out to God for help. 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:34.460 We see this phrase, in the watches of the night. 00:15:35.340 --> 00:15:36.440 In the watches of the night. 00:15:36.800 --> 00:15:43.420 Old Testament scholar Derek Kidner points out that this is a Hebrew phrase that stresses what it feels like. 00:15:43.419 --> 00:15:53.159 When time passes slowly by when you are awake in the middle of the night when you should be sleeping. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:55.799 That's the weight of this phrase. 00:15:55.799 --> 00:16:00.199 And if you've ever struggled with insomnia, this makes a lot of sense to you. 00:16:01.879 --> 00:16:04.519 It's probably not insomnia why David is awake. 00:16:04.599 --> 00:16:05.299 People are awake. 00:16:05.439 --> 00:16:08.219 He's awake because people are trying to kill him. 00:16:08.539 --> 00:16:11.779 That's something that would make anybody anxious enough not to sleep. 00:16:11.779 --> 00:16:21.399 But you don't have to be in David's exact situation to appreciate a midnight cry for help. 00:16:22.059 --> 00:16:23.620 A midnight cry for help. 00:16:24.179 --> 00:16:27.839 If you think back to the last time you couldn't sleep. 00:16:29.059 --> 00:16:30.279 Hopefully it wasn't last night. 00:16:30.439 --> 00:16:34.720 But if you think back to the last time you couldn't sleep, what was going through your mind? 00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:39.980 If you're like anything like me, it was probably things that you were anxious about. 00:16:40.340 --> 00:16:41.820 Probably things that you were worried about. 00:16:41.980 --> 00:16:44.779 Probably things that were mostly outside of your control. 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:52.740 It's often in the middle of the night when we can't sleep that we are most aware of our frailty. 00:16:54.440 --> 00:16:55.379 Our weakness. 00:16:56.320 --> 00:16:58.300 And our helplessness. 00:16:58.759 --> 00:17:01.680 During the day we can busy ourselves with work and other tasks. 00:17:02.019 --> 00:17:04.420 They can distract us from things that make us truly anxious. 00:17:05.720 --> 00:17:08.200 But in the middle of the night there is nothing to be done. 00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:12.480 Whatever makes us feel useful or helpful during the day is gone. 00:17:12.600 --> 00:17:15.660 And we are alone with whatever is in our hearts. 00:17:16.660 --> 00:17:17.519 Our worries. 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:18.460 Our anxieties. 00:17:19.579 --> 00:17:20.339 Our fears. 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:22.460 Our questions. 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:24.100 Our doubts. 00:17:25.500 --> 00:17:29.980 And so I think a question that the psalm raises for us is how can we pray with confidence? 00:17:30.140 --> 00:17:32.880 How can we pray with confidence like David in these moments? 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:39.000 David's confident expectation in this prayer doesn't mean that he wasn't experiencing his own helplessness. 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:42.560 It means that he knew where to direct it. 00:17:43.100 --> 00:17:44.240 He knew where to direct it. 00:17:44.340 --> 00:17:47.680 Look at how he describes his experience of God in verse 7. 00:17:47.800 --> 00:17:52.920 He describes himself as seeking refuge in the shadow of God's wings. 00:17:52.920 --> 00:18:02.220 This is a beautiful powerful image of a baby bird who finds refuge in the wings of its mother. 00:18:03.060 --> 00:18:06.300 As the mother bird wraps her wings around her young. 00:18:06.299 --> 00:18:10.980 It's a beautiful image of dependence amid weakness. 00:18:12.500 --> 00:18:17.680 We see the same in verse 8 where David prays, my soul clings to you. 00:18:18.680 --> 00:18:21.480 How is David's soul clinging to God? 00:18:21.579 --> 00:18:24.519 Well, David's soul is clinging to God through this prayer. 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:30.299 His soul is clinging to God through prayer amid his own weakness and helplessness. 00:18:30.299 --> 00:18:35.099 But notice, notice what makes David's clinging possible. 00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:41.759 He says, my soul clings to you and your right hand upholds me. 00:18:41.899 --> 00:18:43.799 Your right hand upholds me. 00:18:43.899 --> 00:18:48.159 Why does David pray with such confident expectation? 00:18:50.139 --> 00:18:54.740 Because his confidence isn't in his grasp of the Lord. 00:18:54.740 --> 00:18:59.599 David's confidence is in the Lord's grasp of him. 00:19:01.140 --> 00:19:10.099 It's not in the strength of his clinging, but in the strength of the Lord's upholding that makes his clinging possible. 00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:20.720 An image that came to mind for me as I was reflecting on this psalm is a child who is reaching out to their mom or dad for help. 00:19:21.559 --> 00:19:22.620 They're anxious. 00:19:23.380 --> 00:19:24.380 They're upset. 00:19:24.740 --> 00:19:27.259 Tears streaming down their face. 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:32.420 Helpless reaching out their arms to their mom or dad. 00:19:34.460 --> 00:19:43.039 But they're doing all of this at the exact same time that their mom or dad is already holding them in their arms. 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:55.559 How often, how often do parents of young children have to console the one who is already firmly within their grasp? 00:19:55.559 --> 00:20:02.079 Friends, this is what the Lord is always doing with us. 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:11.799 Psalm 63 and all of the psalms show us that when we reach out to God, we are reaching out to God. 00:20:11.879 --> 00:20:17.720 Who is already holding on to us. 00:20:17.720 --> 00:20:23.140 We are reaching out to God who is already holding on to us. 00:20:23.140 --> 00:20:26.740 And that is why we can pray prayers like this. 00:20:26.740 --> 00:20:27.839 Lord, here I am. 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:30.359 Here I am. 00:20:30.359 --> 00:20:31.359 Here I am in my weakness. 00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:35.399 Here I am in my helplessness. 00:20:36.519 --> 00:20:38.119 Lord, here I am in my worry. 00:20:39.559 --> 00:20:41.299 Here I am in my doubt. 00:20:42.799 --> 00:20:44.399 Here I am in my fear. 00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:46.200 My questions. 00:20:48.040 --> 00:20:49.920 Here I am in my lack of control. 00:20:51.560 --> 00:20:53.420 My inability to solve. 00:20:54.400 --> 00:20:57.440 I don't have all the answers, but I don't know what to do. 00:20:57.480 --> 00:20:58.759 And I don't know where to turn. 00:21:00.220 --> 00:21:01.280 But turn to you. 00:21:03.300 --> 00:21:05.240 When's the last time you prayed a prayer like that? 00:21:06.860 --> 00:21:10.320 Lord, here I am in my helplessness. 00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:17.980 For what or for who do you need that prayer in your life right now? 00:21:19.879 --> 00:21:25.779 It's not in our strength that we experience God as our refuge, but it's in our weakness. 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:33.240 These are two prayers that Psalm 63 teaches us to pray. 00:21:33.419 --> 00:21:34.879 Lord, here I am in my longing. 00:21:36.079 --> 00:21:38.299 Lord, here I am in my helplessness. 00:21:38.299 --> 00:21:46.039 And our confidence in praying prayers like this is even further helped by knowing more of the backstory behind the Psalm. 00:21:46.139 --> 00:21:53.579 So if we go back to 2 Samuel chapter 15, we see that Absalom and his followers are on their way into the city. 00:21:54.440 --> 00:21:58.940 As David and his men are on their way out of the city east of Jerusalem. 00:21:58.940 --> 00:22:06.059 And as they go out of the city, David tells Zadok, the priest, to carry the Ark of the Covenant back into Jerusalem. 00:22:06.779 --> 00:22:12.120 The Ark of the Covenant was the place of God's presence, the place where God's glory dwelled among his people. 00:22:12.119 --> 00:22:23.399 And as the Ark heads back into Jerusalem, we read that David heads east out of the city towards the wilderness. 00:22:24.259 --> 00:22:28.239 And as he does, he passes through a hill called the Mount of Olives. 00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:31.739 2 Samuel 15 verse 30 says this, 00:22:31.740 --> 00:22:50.339 It's a moving scene. 00:22:50.339 --> 00:22:52.779 You can imagine the different layers to David's weeping. 00:22:53.159 --> 00:22:57.980 He's weeping over having to flee for his life amid the chaos of his kingdom. 00:22:58.720 --> 00:23:03.399 He's weeping over his own son, who's currently in rebellion against him and trying to kill him. 00:23:03.959 --> 00:23:10.299 He's weeping over having to depart from the Ark of the Covenant, the very symbol of God's presence with his people. 00:23:10.299 --> 00:23:24.119 And we can only imagine, as we imagine David weeping up the Mount of Olives, we can imagine that this is what eventually leads David to the desolate place that he describes at the beginning of the psalm. 00:23:25.460 --> 00:23:36.399 And ultimately, we can pray with the same confidence that David has in this psalm because of who David ultimately points us to. 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:52.460 Centuries later, there would be another Davidic king who would head east out of the city of Jerusalem and who would also climb the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went. 00:23:54.620 --> 00:24:02.960 And this other Davidic king would climb the Mount of Olives and not being able to sleep, he would lay awake all night praying on that hillside. 00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:06.880 Because like David, there were men who were coming to take his life. 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:11.860 And because like David, he knew that he would be separated from God's presence. 00:24:13.220 --> 00:24:18.019 And like David, he would pour out his heart to God and he would say, God, here I am in my longing. 00:24:19.180 --> 00:24:23.440 And like David, he would say to God, here I am in my helplessness. 00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:30.340 But God would not quench his thirst and God would not come to his help. 00:24:32.039 --> 00:24:35.779 God would not console him and he would not escape those who came to kill him. 00:24:36.779 --> 00:24:41.380 Instead, Jesus would be left utterly alone and helpless. 00:24:42.660 --> 00:24:49.740 Before those who would arrest and betray him on the Mount of Olives and who would eventually beat and crucify him. 00:24:49.740 --> 00:24:53.980 And friends, we did this. 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:55.240 He did this. 00:24:56.420 --> 00:25:05.120 He did this so that we, like David, could behold his power and glory. 00:25:06.980 --> 00:25:17.000 He did this to show you what David knew that his steadfast love for you is better than life. 00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:18.980 That's why he did it. 00:25:18.980 --> 00:25:28.079 And he did this so you and I can pray Psalm 63 with the same confidence and even greater confidence that David had. 00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:39.299 Thursday afternoon, I was just come out of a meeting and I walked out of a coffee shop and I headed towards the metro. 00:25:39.460 --> 00:25:44.680 And as I walked towards the metro, I noticed that there were dark clouds looming in the sky. 00:25:44.680 --> 00:25:49.539 And in that moment, I did what any spiritual person would do. 00:25:49.820 --> 00:25:53.240 I checked the weather app on my phone and saw the radar. 00:25:53.240 --> 00:25:58.400 And sure enough, there was a line of thunderstorms just a few miles away coming towards me. 00:25:58.980 --> 00:26:05.000 And so I walked as fast as I could towards the metro to try to get on the train before it started the storm. 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:16.319 And thankfully, before a few minutes before it got here, before the storms came, a train came and it stopped at the station and the doors opened. 00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:32.939 And I walked onto the train and I sat down and I breathed a sigh of relief because I knew that whatever happened, whatever happened next, I knew that I was safe from the rain, from the storm, from the lightning, from the thunder. 00:26:32.940 --> 00:26:40.480 And as the train went through the next few stops on the red line, I could see the dark storm clouds getting closer and closer and closer. 00:26:41.480 --> 00:26:43.180 I could see the wall of rain. 00:26:43.299 --> 00:26:44.500 I could see the flash of lightning. 00:26:45.259 --> 00:26:49.940 But I knew that even if the storm swept over me, that I was safe. 00:26:50.880 --> 00:26:57.059 Because the train was my shelter and my refuge and it was eventually carrying me along towards my destination. 00:26:59.340 --> 00:27:01.480 And friends, I think prayer is a lot like that. 00:27:01.480 --> 00:27:05.440 Prayer doesn't keep the storms from coming our way. 00:27:06.339 --> 00:27:15.620 But it does allow us to experience Jesus as a refuge and as a shelter in the midst of the storm. 00:27:16.039 --> 00:27:24.839 When we come to Jesus with our longing, we can have confidence in his promise to satisfy us because he is our bread and he is our living water. 00:27:24.839 --> 00:27:44.039 And when we come to Jesus with our hopelessness, our weakness, our inadequacy, we can have this amazing confidence that he is already holding on to us because he is our shepherd who will never, ever, ever let us go. 00:27:44.039 --> 00:27:50.619 Our confidence in prayer is not in our grasp of Jesus. 00:27:51.899 --> 00:27:54.399 But in his grasp of us. 00:27:55.399 --> 00:28:00.539 As the Lord of Psalm 63, who upholds us with his right hand. 00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:04.159 And shelters us in his wings. 00:28:04.899 --> 00:28:08.879 And satisfies us with his love. 00:28:08.880 --> 00:28:15.620 I began earlier with the story of George Matheson who wrote this hymn, this beautiful hymn. 00:28:16.340 --> 00:28:17.860 A love that will not let me go. 00:28:18.540 --> 00:28:23.280 And it reminds me, these words remind me a lot of the words of Psalm 63. 00:28:23.960 --> 00:28:25.180 Matheson penned these words. 00:28:25.180 --> 00:28:30.299 O love that will not let me go. 00:28:31.340 --> 00:28:35.480 I rest my weary soul in thee. 00:28:36.660 --> 00:28:39.480 I give thee back the life I owe. 00:28:40.940 --> 00:28:48.160 That in thine ocean depths, its flow may richer, fuller be. 00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:52.000 O light that follows all my way. 00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:55.360 I yield my flickering torch to thee. 00:28:56.560 --> 00:28:59.640 My heart restores its borrowed ray. 00:29:00.580 --> 00:29:07.000 That in thy sunshine blaze, its day may brighter and fairer be. 00:29:07.560 --> 00:29:08.660 Let's pray together. 00:29:09.440 --> 00:29:15.900 Father in heaven, we thank you that we can come before you with these prayers. 00:29:15.900 --> 00:29:18.780 Lord, here we are in our longing. 00:29:19.860 --> 00:29:21.900 Here we are in our helplessness. 00:29:22.860 --> 00:29:26.860 And we thank you that as we reach out to you in these prayers, thank you that we can be confident. 00:29:28.220 --> 00:29:31.259 That you are already holding on to us. 00:29:32.280 --> 00:29:34.840 And that you promise to be our refuge. 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:36.480 You promise to satisfy us. 00:29:36.800 --> 00:29:39.680 No matter what situations we're facing in life. 00:29:40.360 --> 00:29:42.360 Lord, give us the confidence to pray this prayer. 00:29:42.580 --> 00:29:44.240 The prayers that King David prayed. 00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:49.240 And Lord, would we experience you as the shepherd of our souls. 00:29:49.880 --> 00:29:53.059 And we pray all this in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 00:29:53.500 --> 00:29:53.700 Amen.