Turn, if you will, to the passage, part of the Bible that we read together in Psalm 57.
! Psalm 57.
The title of the psalm is,
To the choir master according to Do not destroy a miktam of David when he fled from Saul in the cave.
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge.
In the shadow of your wings I will take refuge till the storms of destruction pass by.
I cry out to God, Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
He will send from heaven and save me.
He will put to shame him who tramples on me.
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness.
Concerts are put on usually in places like the O2 Arena or Wembley or places like that.
And in the past there have been very peculiar venues where concerts, places of praise, have happened.
Places of praise have taken place.
Mumford and Sons, a very famous band, they played a gig on a train at one time.
The Beatles apparently played on a rooftop.
And Johnny Cash famously had a concert in a prison, in Folsom Prison back in 1968.
But the oddest place that I ever heard a concert taking place in was about a band called Queen of the Stone Age.
I never ever heard them.
Maybe you know about them.
Who played a concert in a salt mine in Malta.
And it was two and a half thousand feet below ground.
So they played this concert in a cave to a very, very small audience.
Very, very odd and very, very unusual.
Psalm 57.
In Psalm 57 we have David and it sounds like he is having a concert.
He is having a time of praise in a cave.
He is having this time of praising God in a place that you would never expect.
In a cave.
The title tells us he is fleeing from Saul.
He was trying to kill him.
And he fled to a cave.
How do we know that he is praising?
Because verse 7 to 11 tell us.
My heart is steadfast, O God.
My heart is steadfast.
I will sing.
Remember where he is.
He is in the cave.
He is fleeing persecution.
I will sing and make melody.
Awake my glory.
Awake harp and lyre.
He is calling the musicians to play.
I will awake the dawn.
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples.
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
David is having a concert, as it were, in a cave.
In the most difficult of circumstances.
And my question for us tonight is, how on earth can he do that?
How can he do that?
In the face of trouble and persecution and his life is in danger.
How can he praise the Lord in such a strange place?
Well, verses 1 to 3 give the answer.
And it's very simple.
And it's going to be very simple tonight.
He can do so.
He can concert in a cave because he knows three things.
He believes three things.
He focuses on three things.
Three things.
He reminds himself of three things.
God's protection.
God's purpose.
And God's...
And I've forgotten the third thing.
Promise.
God's protection.
God's purpose.
And God's promise.
And each of these is reflected in the verses.
Each of the verses that we're going to look at tonight.
And what was true for David is true for you and for me.
If it's true for David, it is true for us tonight.
If we have a cave experience.
If we have a challenging experience.
If we're in an experience where life is really tough.
And life is really difficult.
And who isn't in that situation tonight?
Can we praise the Lord?
Yes, we can.
When we follow David's example.
First of all, he reflects on God's protection in verse 1.
Be merciful to me, O God.
Be merciful to me.
For in you my soul takes refuge in the shadow of your wings.
I will take refuge till the storms of destruction pass by.
Where David was in a place of real danger.
In a place of real dilemma.
He focuses on the fact that he is actually safe.
He is safe.
He is safe under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty.
Not that God has wings.
Friends, you know that.
God doesn't have wings.
God is not a bird.
But it's imagery.
It's images that the Bible uses to depict what God does.
And how God is a protector.
Just like a bird protects her young.
So God protects all those who will come and take refuge under his wings.
And I love that image.
I love that image because it's very much a maternal image.
Even though God does not have gender.
You know that.
God is not male or female.
God is spirit.
Infinite, eternal and unchangeable.
But he chooses to describe himself in ways that are both paternal, like a father.
And also maternal, like a mother.
And he uses that imagery particularly when he describes God as having wings under which he can find safety and protection.
And the Bible uses this imagery again and again.
In the image of God's wings and protection and safety under the wings of God.
Under the wings of the Almighty.
In Exodus 19, Moses says,
You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians.
How I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
A beautiful passage.
A beautiful picture of God carrying the Israelites on his wings.
Taking them to safety.
Taking them to a place of safety under a place of protection.
And in Psalm 91, we sang it together there tonight in verses 1 to 4.
The psalmist David talks about being covered under the wings of the Almighty.
Friends, tonight, David was able to sing because he knew God's protection.
God's protection surrounding him like wings surrounding the wings of a bird surrounding her little ones.
Doesn't it echo the words of Jesus outside of Jerusalem?
Where Jesus in Matthew 23, he's looking at this city that's bound for destruction.
And he says,
Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you.
How often I would have longed to protect you.
Longed to save you.
Longed to gather you.
As a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.
But you would not.
But that same protection that the Lord depicts and that David depicts for us is the protection that we are offered tonight.
That we are promised tonight.
That we are provided tonight.
In our cave.
Whatever our cave is.
Whatever our challenge is.
Whatever our difficulty is.
We can be assured of the Lord's protection.
Which is maternal and majestic.
Which is personal and permanent.
You know, recently we'll have heard.
It's been in the news over the last couple of years.
How Prince Harry, when he stood down from his royal duties.
One of the problems with that was that his close protection was removed.
He no longer had the promise and provision of close protection wherever he went.
Because he was no longer deemed to be undertaking royal duties.
And he complained.
And I think he went to court about that.
Because he wanted to be protected.
But he didn't have it anymore.
That will never happen to you or me tonight, friends.
In Christ, we are children of the living God.
And we are children of the King.
We are royal children.
And his protection will never ever be taken from us.
He will never ever remove his close protection.
He will never ever lift off his wings.
So that we are not protected.
That does not mean to say.
That we are not going to go through hard times and difficult times.
It does not mean to say that we will not be hurt either.
But we will not be harmed.
There is a difference.
We will be hurt.
Things will cause us pain.
But they will not be for our harm.
Why?
Because we are under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty.
He has promised never ever to leave us vulnerable in that respect.
It is an amazing story.
You remember that story.
I am sure the kids here tonight will have heard this.
The story of the mother hen.
A farm yard went on fire.
And everything in the farm yard was lost.
The farmer was at his woods end because everything was burnt to a cinder.
And he lost everything.
And all his sheep and cattle and stock and barns and everything else was lost.
And as he was surveying this awful scene of just total devastation.
He hears the chirping of these little chicks.
And he was wondering where is this noise coming from?
And he sees this burnt to death mother hen.
And he realizes the chirping of these chicks is coming from under this hen.
And lifts the dead body of this poor hen.
And finds these little chicks underneath.
The mother hen refused to move.
Even though fire came upon her and upon her chicks.
Refused to move so that she would save her little ones.
You see they knew protection under the shadow of her wings.
And that friends is the protection that you and I have tonight.
We are protected.
It was George Whitefield I think who said that we are immortal until God says otherwise.
Believe that.
We are absolutely immortal.
Nothing can touch us unless God allows it.
And we will never be taken away from this world until God says that is the time.
We know the Lord's protection.
Do you know the Lord's protection tonight?
Do you know the protection of Jesus?
Which has taken away God's judgment from us ultimately and forever.
Because he bore that fire of hell for us.
So that we would never ever suffer that.
And promises to be that protective loving presence for us and to us all the days of our lives.
David could sing concert in a cave because he knew God's protection.
David could sing or concert in a cave because he also believed in God's purpose.
Look at verse 2.
I cry out to God most high.
To God who fulfills his purpose for me.
So David is in this cave and he believes that he's in this cave according to the purpose of God.
Remember what it is friends.
Remember what is chasing him or who is chasing him.
He doesn't dismiss the fact that that is all under the purpose of God.
He attributes this to the purpose of God.
Even where he is at that time.
He doesn't see it as random.
He doesn't see it as accidental.
He doesn't see it as meaningless.
He sees this cave experience.
This fearful experience as part of a loving, sovereign, omnipotent father who chooses motherly imagery to communicate his deep love.
As well as fatherly imagery as well.
To impress upon him,
I love you and I'm going to look after you.
Stuart Townend's hymn, The Perfect Wisdom of Our God, describes this idea of purpose perfectly and wonderfully.
A line goes,
And that's what David is saying.
Lord, I'm choosing your perfect will in your perfect way and I can praise you for that.
I'm choosing to believe that nothing happens by accident and everything happens by design and it's all according to your purpose.
And that gives me stability and strength to be able to praise you in the cave.
Even when Saul was trying to kill him,
He was able to praise God because of his purpose.
So what is God's purpose?
What are we to remember when we're in this cave?
When we're in this place of challenge and difficulty?
How are we?
What are we to remember so that we too can maybe even move?
Sometimes it can't happen immediately.
Sometimes we take a time to get to that place.
But to, like David, concert in that cave.
Praise from that prison.
What is God's purpose in each of our circumstances and situations?
There's three things.
The first is God's glory.
Everything is for God's glory.
That's the supreme purpose of our lives.
Remember the shorter catechism opens with what is the purpose of our lives?
Or it's actually what is the chief end of man?
Man's chief end.
Our purpose in life is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
That's the whole reason for our living.
Everything God does, therefore, is ultimately to display his glory.
And that means to display who he is.
His holiness.
His majesty.
His wisdom.
His justice.
His love.
So that in all that God does in creation or in redemption or in providence,
which just means how our lives work out,
we need to have God's glory in mind.
So when David says,
praying to God who fulfills his purpose for me,
for me rather,
David isn't saying that God's,
God's going to help me achieve my goals in life.
But what he is saying is,
God is going to achieve his glory through my life.
Even in a cave.
Even through a cave,
God is going to achieve his glory.
Creation displays the glory of God, doesn't it, friends?
The heavens, God's glory, do declare.
The cross displays God's glory.
There's no greater place, I don't believe,
that the glory of God is seen than in the cross,
where God's justice and love kiss together,
where Jesus takes the justice of God,
and through that, taking our sins upon himself,
we can know the love of God,
being kissed by God in mercy and love.
What glory is seen upon the cross?
And your life and my life in the cave,
our cave experience shows the glory of God.
How can your cave experience tonight reflect God's glory?
What is it about that experience
that's going to show who God is
and show how wonderful he is?
He works in the cave,
and he works through the cave at all times.
And what we need to do is reflect on that
and remember that it is all for God's glory.
So God's purpose is his glory.
Secondly, it's our good.
God's purpose is for our good.
David knew that.
We know that.
We know Romans 8 and 28,
that in all things God works.
God works all things together
for the good of those who love him.
It's not that all things are good.
Certainly Saul seeking to kill David,
you couldn't say that was good.
Certainly wasn't good.
But he works all things for good.
God takes the worst things of life,
the cave experiences of life,
the awful things of life,
and he will work them out for our good.
Everything.
Not just some things or even most things,
but all things.
God's purposes, friends,
are never bare sovereignty,
but they are fatherly sovereignty,
loving sovereignty.
He loves us.
He cares for us.
And he will work all of our cave-like experiences,
like he did with David,
for his glory and for our good.
Think of Joseph in prison.
Joseph had a tough deal.
I mean, he was in a pit with his brothers
who were going to kill him,
and then he went to Egypt,
and then he was thrown into another pit
through no fault of his own.
He was faithful.
And for years and years,
he was in a cave,
in a pit-like experience.
He was struggling,
not just day after day or week after week,
but year after year.
And at the end of it,
what was the good in that?
What was the good in that?
Well,
Joseph's experience meant
that he was risen to prominence,
and he then fed the world.
Remember that song,
Feed the World.
Well,
Joseph literally did feed the known world
because it was in famine.
But that was for his good.
That was the experience for his good eventually.
Or think of Paul and Silas in prison.
Paul and Silas.
David is running away.
Paul and Silas couldn't run away.
They were in Philippi,
and they were preaching the gospel,
and they were arrested,
and they were flogged.
And friends,
listen,
flogging is not beating somebody up.
Flogging was horrendous.
You could be flogged
to within an inch of your life.
They were flogged,
and mocked,
and beaten,
and put in the inner stocks,
in this most,
most,
you know,
high security part of a prison.
Couldn't get any worse.
And what are they doing?
They're singing hymns,
and praising God.
And we might look in this scenario,
and say,
what are you doing singing hymns,
and praising God?
You're in a terrible cave-like experience.
Well,
look at the good that came out of that.
What good came out of that experience,
friends?
The jailer was saved.
It was through that experience,
through Paul and Silas,
going into that jail,
that the Philippine jailer said,
what must I do to be saved?
And Paul said,
believe in the Lord Jesus,
and you will be saved.
You might have thought,
what was the good in that?
And here's the answer.
A jailer was saved.
And ultimately,
I think,
think of Jesus.
You look at his experiences,
a man of sorrow,
acquainted with suffering,
who plumbed the deepest cave,
the deepest depths,
who went to hell itself,
friends.
That's what he did.
The darkness on the cross
is hell.
It's been banished
from the presence of God forever.
He went there.
And you might look at that
and think,
what was the point in that?
What was the good in that?
Well,
so that you could be saved
and that I can be saved.
You see,
God does work
all things together
for our good.
And he works our cave experiences
together
for our good.
He does so
so that we can,
through time,
also,
with David,
concert
in the cave.
His purposes
are his glory
and his good,
our good rather,
and then
our growth.
He takes us
into these caves
as he did with David
to transform our lives,
to grow us.
Basically,
I think it's
to save
and to sanctify us.
That's really why.
How many people
have come to know Christ
through the most difficult
and challenging
of circumstances?
Cave-like.
Very often,
he takes us
to fearful pits
and mighty clay.
He takes us
to Woodsen Corner
to take us
to an end of ourselves.
And often,
that is where
we cry out to the Lord.
Psalm 107
says it again and again
as he depicts
the experiences
of these people.
They cry out to the Lord.
The Lord uses
cave-like experiences
to save us.
Maybe tonight
you're in a cave,
an awful cave,
a dark cave,
a terrible cave,
and you're not saved.
And the reason is,
that's what God
is going to use
for his glory
and for your good
and ultimately
for your growth,
for you to come
to Christ
and to believe in him
and to rest in him
and to know peace
and joy
in following him
and living for him.
He uses these caves
like experiences
to save us
but also to sanctify us.
Those of us here tonight
who are grey-headed
or getting there,
you know more than any
that the hard experiences
of life
are the ones
that have matured
and refined
and grown us up
in ways
that we wouldn't
otherwise choose.
Life experience
with the Lord
teaches us
that.
And the Lord
in cave-like experiences
for us
is actually,
the ultimate purpose
for us
is to become
Christ-like.
that we will become
conformed
to the likeness
of Jesus
who himself suffered
like no man suffered.
So that he not only
walks with us
in suffering
but he begins
to make us like him
in suffering.
In suffering
in ways
we would not choose
and we would not ask for
but the Lord
chooses
in his sovereign purpose
to bring us
to them.
So,
how can David
sing
or concert
in that cave?
How can he do that?
He can do that
by knowing God's protection
by knowing God's purpose
by reflecting
on God's purpose
in that experience
and I ask us all
tonight
to reflect
on God's purpose
for us
where we are
that we might also
like David
be able
to move forward
in praise.
So it's God's
protection
and God's purpose
and the third
and final reason
that David
is able to concert
in the cave
is because he trusted
in God's promise
in verse 3.
He will send me
from heaven.
He will send from heaven
and save me.
He will put to shame
him who tramples on me.
God will send out
his steadfast love
and his faithfulness
and he uses these words
steadfast love
and faithfulness
again throughout the psalm.
These are very,
very important words.
David knew
and could sing
God's praise
because he believed
that God was going,
God's promise was
he was going to save him
from the cave-like experience.
He says,
he will send from heaven.
He will save me.
There's no may
or might
or perhaps
90% sure
he will save.
How does he believe that?
Because that
is God's promise.
God always promises
to save.
God always promises
to redeem.
And he does so
as David says,
sending from heaven
his steadfast love
and his faithfulness.
These are two very important words
in the Bible.
Chesed and Emet.
Two words that describe
they're variously translated.
But when Jesus
comes into the world
full of grace
and truth,
that's what's been echoed.
David is looking forward
to the time
when God is going
to send forth
his steadfast love
and faithfulness
in the person of Jesus
to save us,
to redeem us,
to take us
from a fearful pit
and from the mighty clay
as Psalm 40 says.
And to set our feet
upon a rock
establishing
my way.
And so David
could sing
in a cave
because he knew
and trusted
God's promise
that this cave
is temporary.
It's not going to last
forever.
He believed that God
would bring him out
into a spacious
place
because he always
and inevitably
does.
Do you remember
that awful
incident
way back
in 2018?
The young boys,
the Thai soccer team,
this soccer team,
these boys,
12 boys
of age 11
to 16,
they were training
football,
doing football training
and they went
into this cave
and the caves
in that part
of the world
go kilometers
down and deep.
And they went
in there
and then there
was this awful
flood
and they got
trapped.
They got trapped
in this cave
about four kilometers,
I think it was,
below ground
or into the rock
and they couldn't
get out.
There was no way
that they could
get out.
They were truly
trapped in a cave
and then through
amazing ingenuity
and incredible
bravery.
They were there
for nine days.
They were brought
out one by one.
One by one
in the most amazing
way.
Check it out
for yourselves
how it happened.
But they were
brought out
one by one
to safety,
much to the praise
and thankfulness
of the world
around them.
But it's a wonderful
picture of what
God does.
We're like these
boys.
We cannot save
ourselves.
We need a rescuer.
We need somebody
to carry us
out one by one.
And that is
Jesus
who does that.
He saves us
individually
in our cave-like
experiences.
He touches our
heart individually
in our cave-like
experiences.
He speaks to us
generally
and corporately
but he will always
deal with us
individually.
Take us
one by one
out of this
cave that we're
in.
and into
a spacious
place.
And one day
one day
he will lead us
into the most
spacious place
of all.
Into that place
without boundary.
Into that place
without time.
Into that place
which is the new
heavens
and the new
earth.
When Jesus
died
he went into
the ground.
He died.
He suffered for
our sins.
He went down
into the grave
and then he
came up again
and he says
just as I have
died and risen
again so you
too when you
die you will
rise again
and you will
go and be
with me
forever
and forever.
And so
tonight on this
Lord's Day
evening as we
begin another
week there's one
thing for sure
friends tonight.
We are all
either in or
going to experience
a cave-like
experience at
some point in
time.
And through
Christ and in
Christ we need
to learn that
we can
concert in
that cave.
We can sing.
We can rise
above what the
world and the
flesh and the
devil is pressing
in on us to
think and to
feel and to
focus our minds
and our hearts
on the Lord
on his
protection
and on his
purpose
and on his
promises to
us all
in Christ.
And so our
Father in
heaven we thank
you that your
word remains
true to us
tonight.
Thank you that
though these
words of David
were written
thousands of
years ago
they reflect
our own
experiences
tonight and
we recognize
that your
word speaks
to us for
that reason
life does not
change and
the Lord does
not change and
therefore we
can trust in
you.
Will you help
us Lord?
Will you help
us to like
David reflect
his attitude?
Will you teach
us and help
us to encourage
one another so
to do as well
so that in
Christ and
through Christ
we might all
grow in
maturity.
We might all
be led to
help others
to lift up
our eyes to
God to lift
up our eyes
to heaven
and to
even in
the worst
cave-like
experience to
know that
we can
praise your
name for
your steadfast
love and
your faithfulness.
We ask
these things
in Jesus'
name.
Amen.
We're going
to sing our
final item of
praise now and
this is Psalm
23 in the
Scottish Psalter.
Psalm 23.
We're singing
the whole of the
psalm and the
tune is Amazing
Grace.
Page 229.
Page 229 in
our psalm
books.
Psalm 23.
The Lord's my
shepherd I'll
not want.
And it
ends in
verse 6.
Goodness and
mercy all my
life shall
surely follow
me and in
God's house
forevermore my
dwelling place
shall be.
Psalm 23.
If you can't
stand, let's
stand and we'll
sing this to
God's praise.
The Lord's my
shepherd I
not want.
He
makes me
down to
lie.
In
pastor
drink
he
e
Again, I need to walk just there
Within the paths of righteousness
In far his own things say
Yet though I walk in death's dark air
Yet when I fear the death
For thou art with me on thy wall
Has thou become for still
My table high has furnished
In presence of my cross
My day blower does
With oil anoint
And mine above her cross
Goodness and mercy all my life
Shall surely follow me
And in God's eyes forevermore
My dwelling place shall be
And now may grace and mercy and peace
From Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Be with you all. Amen.
Okay.
Thank you.