We're starting our new series this morning.
The series is titled Man on the Run,
and we're going to be looking at a number of the psalms,
songs or prayers that David wrote while he was on the run from King Saul.
The first of which is Psalm 59, which we'll be looking at this morning.
And before we dive into this psalm,
this psalm was written at a very specific time in David's life.
It says right at the beginning that this psalm is about
when Saul had sent men to watch David's house in order to kill him.
So he probably didn't write it at that moment,
but he wrote it about that time or shortly after.
And before we jump into it,
I just want to remind us of what's going on in the story of David and Saul up to this point.
So if you remember, Saul was Israel's first king.
And because Saul was disobedient to the Lord's command,
the Lord told Saul that he was rejected as king of Israel
and that the kingdom would be taken from him and from his family
and given to someone else.
And of course, that someone else was David,
the young man, the shepherd from Bethlehem.
And David was anointed by Samuel, the Lord's prophet,
to be the next king of Israel.
He came and fought Goliath.
The Lord gave him victory over Goliath.
He ended up in service in the king's palace.
He was the musician that was sought to help Saul when he got into his moods.
And everything that seemed to happen to David from the time that he was anointed
until we find him today just seemed to be an incredible working of God.
He had success in battle.
He was taken into the military.
He rose up in the ranks to the point where he became a leader in the army.
And no matter what battle it was, it seemed the Lord gave him success in everything that he did.
He was growing in favor with the people.
The people loved David.
He even had the opportunity to become the king's son-in-law and married into the royal family.
He was best friends with Jonathan, the king's son.
And as far as David could see, everything is going well.
He's been told that he would be the next king of Israel.
And if you look at the trajectory of his life, what a transition.
I mean, he may have wondered,
how am I going to go from being a shepherd boy in my father's house to being a king?
And here the Lord has caused everything to fall into place.
One thing after another to the point where he is where he is today.
But there's a problem.
Saul doesn't see this kingdom as God's kingdom.
He sees it as his own.
And he does not want to let go of his rule, of his throne.
He is bent on hanging on to it right to the bitter end,
even though God has made it clear that he has been rejected as king.
Saul knows that the kingdom will be given to someone else.
The Lord has told him that through Samuel.
And so he's on the lookout for anybody who would try to usurp or take his throne.
He wants his throne when he dies to go to his son, Jonathan.
And as David is seemingly rising up in the ranks and the people are coming to love him,
Saul realizes that this is the man that God has chosen to replace him as the king of Israel.
And he begins to become angry towards David and see him as a threat to his rule.
It says that he was afraid of him to the point where he becomes ready to take David's life.
He tries to kill David one time when they're alone, just he and David and David's playing music.
He tries to hurl his spear and kill him.
But David escapes.
Then he tries to do it through more indirect means, using the military when they're out in battle,
hoping to tweak things a little bit so that David will fall in battle.
But it doesn't work.
The Lord gives him victory anyway.
Then he tries to get to him through his daughter.
Maybe she will distract him and love will get him off his game and he'll fall in battle.
But David's not interested.
And then when he finally is interested in marrying one of Saul's daughters, it's another of Saul's daughters.
And Saul thinks, this is the time.
The bride price, 200 Philistines.
You have to kill them.
Hoping that David would fall in battle.
But of course, the Lord gives David success.
And he's able to pay the bride price in full.
And becomes the king's son-in-law.
No matter what Saul tries, it seems pretty clear that the Lord is thwarting his attempt to take David out.
He has rejected Saul.
And he is with David, his chosen king.
The tensions are rising between David and Saul.
And finally things come to a head.
Again, in a moment when they're alone, Saul decides to try to make another try and pin him to the wall with his spear.
And David just escapes.
And he runs to his home and to his wife, Michal.
And you can imagine this.
Here they are.
They're in his, David's in his home with his wife.
They're talking.
He's probably expressing like, what's going on here?
He just tried to kill me again.
You know, what?
Is he just an angry and violent guy?
Or has he got an issue with me specifically?
Is he after me?
And then all of a sudden, he looks out the window.
And he notices that there's some guys that are watching the house.
Saul had sent men to watch the house with orders to kill David in the morning.
How is David feeling in the midst of all this?
What's he thinking about?
Well, thankfully, this psalm is all about that.
And we get a beautiful picture of exactly what kind of things David is thinking and feeling.
Let me read it for you.
Deliver me from my enemies, O God.
Be my fortress against those who are attacking me.
Deliver me from evildoers.
And save me from those who are after my blood.
See how they lie in wait for me.
Fierce men conspire against me for no offense or sin of mine, Lord.
I have done no wrong.
Yet they are ready to attack me.
Arise to help me.
Look on my plight.
You, Lord, God Almighty.
You who are the God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations.
Show no mercy to wicked traitors.
They return at evening, snarling like dogs.
And prowl about the city.
See what they spew from their mouths.
The words from their lips are sharp as swords.
And they think, who can hear us?
But you laugh at them, Lord.
You scoff at all those nations.
You are my strength.
I watch for you.
You, God, are my fortress.
My God on whom I can rely.
God will go before me.
And will let me gloat over those who slander me.
Down to verse 14.
They return at evening, snarling like dogs.
And prowl about the city.
They wander about for food and howl if not satisfied.
But I will sing of your strength.
In the morning, I will sing of your love.
For you are my fortress.
My refuge in times of trouble.
You are my strength.
I sing praise to you.
You, God, are my fortress.
My God on whom I can rely.
David knows that he's in big trouble.
He describes his troubles throughout the psalm.
More at the beginning.
In verse 1, he says,
Verse 2,
Verse 4,
They're ready to attack me.
They're like dogs prowling about the city,
looking for their prey.
And the words, the things that they're saying
are sharp and deadly.
They slander me.
They're spreading lies about me.
But what's even more difficult about this
you can just hear the angst in David's voice.
Why?
Why are they doing this?
Why is this happening to me?
Verse three, fierce men conspire against me
for no offense or sin of mine, Lord.
What have I done that they're hunting me down like this,
like a criminal?
Verse four, I have done no wrong,
yet they are ready to attack me.
Do you hear the angst in David's heart?
Why are they doing this?
I've done nothing to deserve this.
Three times he asks for the Lord
to give his attention to his troubles,
to the situation that he's in.
In verse three, he says,
see how they lie in wait for me.
See?
Do you see this, Lord?
Do you see these guys lurking around outside the house?
In verse four, he says,
look on my plight.
God, look.
Give your attention to my troubles.
See them.
In verse seven, he says,
see what they spew from their mouths.
Lord, do you hear the words that they are speaking about me?
The lies that they are saying about me?
He calls for God to give his attention to his troubles.
But he goes beyond that.
Not only does he ask for the Lord's attention,
but he asks the Lord to intervene
and to do something about his troubles.
Right at the beginning in verse one,
he says,
deliver me from my enemies.
Again, in verse two,
deliver me from evildoers
and save me from those who are after my blood.
He asks God to come and get him out of this situation,
to rescue him from these guys.
The second half of verse one,
he says,
be my fortress against those who are attacking me.
I need a safe place to go.
I'm in my own home and I'm not even safe here.
God, be my fortress.
Protect me.
Verse four, he says,
arise to help me.
Don't just sit and watch as this unfolds.
Arise and come and help me.
Lord, I'm in trouble.
David goes on from there
to ask the Lord to come
and punish his enemies.
In verse five,
rouse yourself to punish.
And then again in verses 11 to 13,
he goes on to ask God
to consume his enemies
in his wrath.
We didn't read that part.
I'm not going to say a lot
about those parts this morning,
but I do want to point out
that this is not
sheerly revenge for David.
This is not just a personal desire
for revenge.
Notice what he says in verse 13.
He says,
consume them in your wrath.
Consume them till they are no more.
Then it will be known
to the ends of the earth
that God rules over Jacob.
That's almost another way of saying,
hallowed be thy name.
Consume my enemies in your wrath
so that throughout the world,
everybody will see
that Israel is different,
that they have a God
who doesn't allow this kind of garbage
to go on in his kingdom.
It's a very honoring way
to pray to the Lord,
an honoring reason to give.
And yet,
I don't think that we should
follow David's example
and pray for God
to bring judgment on our enemies.
Jesus tells us
that we should go
beyond the law of justice
to the place
where we love our enemies
and pray for those
who persecute us.
So far in this psalm,
we've seen
how David calls
God's attention
to his troubles,
how David describes
his troubles
and tells them to God,
and how David asks
for God to intervene
and to do something
about his troubles,
to get him out of this situation,
to help him.
And then we see a shift
happen in this psalm
as David moves
from talking about
and describing his troubles
to describing his God.
The shift begins
in verse 5.
He says,
You,
Lord,
God Almighty,
You who are
the God of Israel,
You,
Lord,
Yahweh,
God Almighty,
literally,
God of hosts,
or as another translation
puts it,
God of armies.
God of Israel,
it's interesting
that David's mind
goes to that name
of God
in this situation.
Here he is
trembling in his house
with his wife
while there's men
lurking around,
watching him,
looking for a chance
to get him.
Who's going to come
to his defense?
not the military.
He's in the military.
Perhaps some of these
henchmen
are even in the military.
Saul probably sent people
who could get the job done.
Who's going to come
to his defense?
The God of heaven's armies.
He's the one
that these guys
are no match for,
that Saul
is no match for.
In verse 8,
the shift happens
full strength
and everything
that follows
is describing
who God is.
And David's expressing
his confidence
in him.
He says,
verse 8,
back in verse 7,
I guess,
see what they spew
from their mouths,
their words
from their lips
are sharp as swords
and they think,
who can hear us?
But verse 8,
but you laugh
at them,
Lord.
You scoff
at all those
nations.
David widens
it to nations.
Probably this was
adapted later on
for use as a song
by the whole people
of Israel.
But you laugh
at my enemies,
Lord.
You scoff
at them.
You scoff
at them.
When David's mind
and heart
becomes filled
with the reality
that his God
is the God
of heaven's armies,
the Lord of hosts,
things start
to take perspective
and he sees them
for what they really are.
King Saul
and his henchmen,
you laugh
at them,
Lord.
they're like
a guy
that's coming
towards you
with a little stick
and you're driving
a tank,
an armored vehicle.
They're no match.
The whole scenario
is laughable
that they would
try to oppose
you.
David goes on
and he says,
you are my strength.
I watch for you.
You, God,
are my fortress,
my stronghold,
the place
where I am
so safe
that I can relax,
I can rest
because they can't
get me.
You are my God
on whom
I can rely.
Notice how David
has shifted
from verse 5.
You who are
the God of Israel.
now he's saying,
you are
my God.
You are my strength.
You are my fortress.
My God
on whom
I
can rely.
The end of verse 10.
Even though
my enemies
are spreading
lies about me,
they're
slandering me,
I trust
that you will
go before me
and that you
will bring about
the day
when there's
a reversal here
and I'm able
to gloat
over them
for the terrible
things that
they're saying
about me.
In the final
stanza of the
psalm,
David continues
with just
expressing his
confidence in God
and who he is.
He says
some of the same
things.
He says,
you are my
fortress,
verse 16.
He says in
verse 17,
you are my
strength,
my God
on whom
I can rely.
But then he
adds something
new,
adds something
different.
Verse 16,
he says,
but I will
sing
of your
strength.
In the
morning,
I will
sing
of your
love.
Verse 17,
you are my
strength,
I sing
praise
to you.
what would
you be
doing if
you were
being hunted
by someone
who was
trying to
kill you?
I don't
know about
you,
but singing
would probably
be at the
bottom of
my list.
I'd be,
my heart
would be
racing,
I would be
fearful,
I'd be
anxious,
I'd be
panicked,
I'd be
wondering
what to
do,
and I'm
sure that
David was
experiencing
all of
those
things
too,
but he
doesn't
stay
there.
He goes
beyond
that as
he takes
time to
call out
to God
and to
think about
and express
his faith
and trust
in God
and who
he knows
God to
be,
he comes
to the
place
where he
can sing.
Literally
in verse
16,
I will
sing
joyfully
of your
love is
the kind
of singing
that's
referred to
there.
He comes
to the
place
where he's
ready
to praise.
It's
amazing.
The truth
that this
psalm
communicates
to us
is that
God is
everything
that we
need
in times
of trouble.
He is
everything
that we
need
in times
of trouble.
that's
what David
has found
in the
past.
That's
what he
knows
is
true.
That's
what he
is
reassuring
himself
of.
And
that's
what we
are meant
to learn
from this.
God
has given
us this
psalm as
an example
of what
to do
in times
of trouble.
We may
not be,
and I
hope none
of us
ever will
be,
hunted
by someone
who wants
to kill
us.
But this
psalm is
not really
just about
that.
It's about
what do
we do
in any
time of
trouble.
Look at
verse
16
at the
very end.
David
says,
you are
my refuge
in times
of trouble.
Or literally
in the day
of trouble.
The sense
that we
get there
is that
this is
not just
the only
situation
that we
should do
what David
did.
this is
how David
sees God
in all
of his
times
of trouble.
As the
God who
is his
help,
the God
who is
his
refuge,
the God
who is
whatever
he needs
in that
situation,
who takes
care of
him,
who watches
over him.
And so
the question
that I
want to
ask you
this morning
is what
kind of
troubles
are you
facing
right now?
What kind
of troubles
have you
got in
your
life?
Financial
troubles?
Troubles
with the
crops?
Troubles
with
relationships?
Troubles
with your
spouse?
Troubles
with your
children?
Troubles
with your
parents?
Troubles
with your
parents?
Troubles
with your
parents?
What kind
of troubles
have you
got in
your
life?
Troubles
with your
health?
Sickness?
But the
question that
this psalm
really asks
us is what
are you
going to
do about
your
troubles?
What have
you been
doing about
your
troubles?
people?
Most of
us in
this room
think we
are pretty
good.
We do
well when
it comes
to telling
God that
we are in
trouble and
asking for
his help.
But the
thing that I
was really
challenged
with in
this psalm
is that we
need to
move beyond
that to
that place
of expressing
our faith
in God
and who
he is.
We need
to move
beyond just
telling and
asking to
that place
where we
ask,
Lord,
what can
you do
in this
situation?
Who are
you?
And what
about you
makes all
the difference
in my
specific
troubles?
And sometimes
that's hard
to do in
prayer.
We're so
bogged down
and weighed
down by
them and
this week
I was
thinking just
I tried
it myself
and it's
really helpful.
A simple
way to
do this
get alone
with the
Lord,
piece of
paper and
a pen,
put a line
down the
middle of
the paper
on one
side write
my troubles
and list
them out
and on the
other side
write my
God
and think
about what
you know
about God
open the
Bible
pray
until you
come to
that place
where your
heart
is at
peace
that place
where you're
ready to
sing
joyfully
to praise
the Lord
because he
is everything
we need
in our
times of
trouble
and more
he is mighty
to save
there's no
situation
that's too
difficult
for him
this entire
psalm almost
can be
summed up
in the
words of
Asaph
in Psalm
50
verse 15
I've been
thinking about
that verse
a lot this
week
it says
simply this
call on
me
in the
day of
trouble
I will
deliver you
and you
will honor
me
that's God's
invitation here
call on
me
with the
troubles
in your
life
I will
deliver you
and you
will honor
me
you will
sing
joyfully
to me
you will
praise
me
but what's
amazing is
that at
this point
in David's
life
this is just
the beginning
of his
troubles
this is just
the beginning
of things
falling apart
but we don't
have to wait
until the
help arrives
the solution
gets there
before we
can rest
before we
can trust
before we
can sing
joyfully
and praise
David shows
us through
his example
that that's
possible
by faith
even
in the
midst
of the
greatest
of
troubles
God is
everything
we need
in our
time of
trouble
and he
is mighty
to save
let's pray
father in
heaven
thank you
so much
for these
words
and we
admit
and confess
right now
that we
often do
poorly at
this
we get
into the
moment of
trouble
and we
turn to
everything
but you
and when
we finally
do turn
to you
we
we just
want your
help
we often
just wallow
in it
forgive us
lord for
that
teach us
to do
like David
did
and to
find strength
in you
remind us
of who
you are
that makes
all the
difference
in each
of our
specific
situations
and troubles
that we're
facing
lord you
know exactly
what they
are
bring that
word of
encouragement
and hope
to us
that will
make all
the difference
lord we
don't want
to be
taken down
by discouragement
we don't want
to be people
who fret
and worry
about all
kinds of
things
as if we
had no
god
you are
our god
so teach
us
to follow
this example
of David
we ask
this in
christ's name
amen