WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.820 So let's jump right in and we'll read Psalm 71 through 5, and then we're just going to break them down. 00:00:10.900 --> 00:00:15.300 Make haste, O God, to deliver me. O Lord, make haste to help me. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:18.980 Let them be put to shame and confusion who seek my life. 00:00:19.379 --> 00:00:23.019 Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt. 00:00:23.640 --> 00:00:27.240 Let them turn back because of their shame who say, Aha, aha. 00:00:27.239 --> 00:00:31.239 May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. 00:00:31.820 --> 00:00:36.200 May those who love your salvation say evermore, God is great. 00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:39.579 But I am poor and needy. Hasten to me, O God. 00:00:40.019 --> 00:00:44.039 You are my help and my deliverer. O Lord, do not delay. 00:00:47.459 --> 00:00:50.439 So right in verse 1, we see this. 00:00:50.820 --> 00:00:52.719 Make haste, O God, to deliver me. 00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:56.219 So we see David asking God to deliver him. 00:00:56.219 --> 00:00:58.439 And with haste. 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:03.280 And he's doing this because he's asking for relief from God quickly. 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:06.659 And in any request like that, it's for a reason. 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:12.799 So David's asking that it be done quickly because deliverance might come too late. 00:01:13.939 --> 00:01:18.280 And so David is saying, Come quickly, God, and deliver me. 00:01:18.359 --> 00:01:19.439 And he repeats it again. 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:22.340 And so we see that it's an urgent request for David. 00:01:23.140 --> 00:01:26.899 And David also changes his word, his wording there for God. 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:29.259 First he says, O God, deliver me. 00:01:29.319 --> 00:01:30.599 And then he says, Lord. 00:01:31.219 --> 00:01:35.420 And he uses the word Yahweh there, the covenant name of God. 00:01:35.420 --> 00:01:37.519 So make haste, O God, to deliver me. 00:01:37.859 --> 00:01:39.680 O Lord, make haste to help me. 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:49.740 So in just that short verse, we can see David's urgency and the importance of the plea that he's putting out towards God. 00:01:50.440 --> 00:01:55.680 So one thing that may be helpful to think about is whether or not we pray like that. 00:01:55.740 --> 00:02:01.180 When we are struggling with something that's of urgency and importance to us. 00:02:01.740 --> 00:02:03.880 Do we pray like that to God? 00:02:04.160 --> 00:02:07.920 Do we bring those emotions to God when we pray? 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:09.939 God wants us to pray to him. 00:02:10.259 --> 00:02:12.659 But I think our emotions are also part of that. 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:22.360 He wants to hear, I think, more than just the facts of what we're asking for, but our heart, our true heart. 00:02:22.439 --> 00:02:24.460 And with that, our emotions come along. 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:33.280 So I think when we pray, I would encourage you to allow your emotions to come in your request before the Lord. 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:38.240 They couldn't be requests that are happy, but in this case, they're requests that are troublesome. 00:02:39.240 --> 00:02:44.099 And so there's a deeper connection. 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:48.620 There's more of a realism that's taken place when we pray that way. 00:02:48.620 --> 00:02:51.920 Verse 2 and 3. 00:02:52.460 --> 00:02:55.980 Let them be put to shame and confusion who seek my life. 00:02:56.379 --> 00:03:01.219 Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt. 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:05.840 Let them turn back because of their shame who say, aha, aha. 00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:14.199 So here we see David is praying for his enemies, for those people who are seeking to hurt or to ruin him. 00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:17.520 And he's praying for those. 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:21.080 So the question for us is, do we pray for our enemies? 00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:28.159 Do we pray for those who make fun of us or mock us or cause to do us harm? 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:39.539 And by praying for those, I don't mean selfish reasons, praying that whatever they have would be taken away or maybe they have something that we want. 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:45.199 So we're praying against that favoritism that's going on, but praying that they would know God. 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:52.899 A popular Christian theologian and teacher, James Boyce, says this, 00:03:53.419 --> 00:03:58.139 The kindest thing we can pray for people who do wrong is that their plans will fail. 00:03:58.919 --> 00:04:05.280 For it may be that in their frustration they will see the folly and true end of evil and be reached for God. 00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:14.339 So we see that what David is asking for, for those who are trying to harm him, is that they would be turned back. 00:04:14.340 --> 00:04:18.519 That they would be stopped in their progress in bringing him harm. 00:04:19.220 --> 00:04:23.160 That they would be brought to shame and they would be turned back. 00:04:23.240 --> 00:04:27.819 And ultimately to be turned back to God and away from the evil that they're in. 00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:32.660 I was thinking of like driving a car somewhere. 00:04:32.819 --> 00:04:35.439 Somewhere that you're not really comfortable with going. 00:04:36.139 --> 00:04:39.980 And on the way there just suddenly a roadblock is just there in your path. 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:41.939 There's no easy detour. 00:04:41.939 --> 00:04:47.279 And the only thing left to do is just to turn around and come up with some other plan. 00:04:47.660 --> 00:04:49.279 And that's really what David is praying for. 00:04:49.399 --> 00:04:51.160 Is that these people that are against him. 00:04:51.259 --> 00:04:56.000 That God would just stop them where they are and turn them back. 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:59.220 And leave them with no plans of their own. 00:05:01.060 --> 00:05:03.740 Because God is the one who controls all things. 00:05:03.819 --> 00:05:06.199 And this we know to be true. 00:05:06.199 --> 00:05:07.860 Psalm 33.10 says, 00:05:08.539 --> 00:05:11.039 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. 00:05:11.740 --> 00:05:13.819 He frustrates the plans of the peoples. 00:05:15.659 --> 00:05:17.180 Proverbs 19.21 says, 00:05:17.300 --> 00:05:20.259 Many are the plans in the mind of a man. 00:05:20.599 --> 00:05:23.620 But it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. 00:05:24.919 --> 00:05:26.339 So we know this to be true. 00:05:26.419 --> 00:05:33.560 We know that God's plan trumps anything that we or any person could set in place. 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:36.939 So we pray to that end. 00:05:37.060 --> 00:05:39.360 When those are coming against us. 00:05:39.439 --> 00:05:42.720 When things are causing harm to us. 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:46.959 We pray against those knowing that God is ultimately in control. 00:05:49.379 --> 00:05:50.500 In verse 4. 00:05:51.500 --> 00:05:57.319 He changes from prayers to a section of praise here. 00:05:57.399 --> 00:05:57.699 He says, 00:05:57.699 --> 00:06:12.039 In calling other people to praise God. 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:21.779 What is happening is David must first be able to see God and rejoice and be glad in him. 00:06:21.860 --> 00:06:25.339 He can't call other people to do something that he isn't there yet. 00:06:25.339 --> 00:06:28.079 And he's doing this in the midst of his trial. 00:06:28.259 --> 00:06:32.060 So that's encouraging to know that David is going through this. 00:06:32.119 --> 00:06:34.419 And yet he's still calling other people to praise the Lord. 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:39.579 He says, 00:06:39.719 --> 00:06:43.839 May those who love your salvation say evermore God is great. 00:06:44.179 --> 00:06:47.839 Another translation for that is let God be magnified. 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:49.179 Now, 00:06:50.179 --> 00:06:58.199 Our saying that let God be magnified or that God is great doesn't make God any greater or any more magnified than he is. 00:06:58.339 --> 00:07:00.579 It's what happens in us. 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:01.039 Right? 00:07:01.139 --> 00:07:07.359 It's we're making God more magnified in us by saying these things. 00:07:07.699 --> 00:07:11.279 Making him more magnified to those who are witnesses around us. 00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:26.119 And it's really something that's important for us as Christians to be doing on a regular basis because we lose track of that. 00:07:26.899 --> 00:07:31.519 So we need to be able to say that God is great. 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:38.339 We need to be able to say that he should be magnified forever because it's our words. 00:07:38.979 --> 00:07:40.339 It's our actions. 00:07:40.519 --> 00:07:47.120 It's where we set our mind that affects our walk with the Lord. 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:59.680 And the more we stop talking about God's greatness, the more we stop focusing on how great God is, then our focus starts to shift. 00:07:59.860 --> 00:08:02.800 And by default, it comes back on us. 00:08:03.379 --> 00:08:07.519 I mean, that's creatures of sin. 00:08:07.620 --> 00:08:10.220 Our habit is that we look more on ourselves than anybody else. 00:08:10.300 --> 00:08:14.699 So if we stop looking at God, it automatically starts to fall back on us. 00:08:14.699 --> 00:08:19.939 And John 3.30 says he must increase and we must decrease. 00:08:20.060 --> 00:08:24.659 So in order for that to happen, then we need to talk about God's greatness with ourselves. 00:08:25.099 --> 00:08:26.800 Not just other people, but with ourselves. 00:08:29.659 --> 00:08:33.799 I don't know if anybody, a few years back, there was a show called Extreme Makeover. 00:08:34.139 --> 00:08:35.179 I don't know if anybody watched that. 00:08:36.740 --> 00:08:37.960 Has everybody seen that? 00:08:37.960 --> 00:08:48.580 It was basically, they would pick a family that they were going to make over their home for them. 00:08:48.620 --> 00:08:52.220 And it was usually a family that could have been poor. 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:56.860 They could have been going through something just really tragic. 00:08:57.460 --> 00:08:59.780 And it's usually people who wanted to help other people. 00:08:59.779 --> 00:09:02.579 So they may be taking in kids. 00:09:02.699 --> 00:09:09.259 They may be dealing with a family where there's handicapped children or their parents died. 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:11.480 And they're trying to do good, but they're just struggling. 00:09:11.699 --> 00:09:16.759 So they come in and basically find out what kind of house this family would want. 00:09:17.639 --> 00:09:19.959 And then they would send them away somewhere. 00:09:20.120 --> 00:09:24.179 And then they would just, like, make this house awesome for them when they came back. 00:09:24.179 --> 00:09:35.459 And, you know, when the family came back and they saw the house, it was, they loved the house. 00:09:35.620 --> 00:09:45.259 But what they felt for the show and the people and the producers was so much more than it was before. 00:09:45.259 --> 00:09:54.259 They were grateful for the house, but they were thinking how awesome the Extreme Makeover show was to them. 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:57.860 You know, they weren't saying, this is a nice house. 00:09:58.319 --> 00:09:59.340 Didn't I deserve this? 00:09:59.899 --> 00:10:06.360 And didn't I do such a good job to, didn't I do such a good job that I should have gotten this? 00:10:06.600 --> 00:10:13.720 But rather they thought Extreme Makeover and, you know, whatever TV station was on and all the workers, like, they are so great. 00:10:13.720 --> 00:10:22.279 And they would, in a way, magnify their thoughts about the show and the people by saying that. 00:10:22.360 --> 00:10:28.500 And in a way, that's what it is, but a much larger scale about our salvation, right? 00:10:28.620 --> 00:10:33.899 We've been given salvation that's going to last for eternity, and it is truly priceless. 00:10:33.899 --> 00:10:45.059 And so we talk about God to remind ourselves of what we've been given, and we continually praise him because of the salvation that we have. 00:10:46.139 --> 00:10:51.139 And so that's why all through the Psalms you'll see David continually calling us to praise the Lord. 00:10:51.399 --> 00:11:01.120 Because we just get down, life gets us down, life gets hard, and we don't often, even in our trials, just praise the Lord for what we have. 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:08.340 And that, in and of itself, is something that helps pick us up out of the struggles that we're going through. 00:11:10.620 --> 00:11:16.200 And then verse 5, the last verse, we see that David goes back to a prayer to the Lord. 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:16.919 He says, 00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:29.019 David says that he's poor and needy, but why? 00:11:29.139 --> 00:11:31.519 David has money, he has possessions. 00:11:32.899 --> 00:11:45.279 The reason why he says that is because not of money or possessions, but because he has no ability, he has no resources to save himself in this trial that he's going through. 00:11:46.919 --> 00:11:51.939 He has nothing, so he's asking God for what he needs. 00:11:51.979 --> 00:11:55.240 He's poor and needy and has no way of fixing this. 00:11:55.779 --> 00:11:56.399 And he says, 00:11:56.819 --> 00:11:58.479 Please, Lord, quickly save me. 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:01.620 You are the only one that can provide a way out. 00:12:03.479 --> 00:12:05.019 And please do it fast. 00:12:06.139 --> 00:12:07.240 This is hard. 00:12:07.240 --> 00:12:15.560 And, you know, there are many areas in our life where we realize that we don't have control. 00:12:15.980 --> 00:12:19.360 I think more areas than we think we realize we don't have control. 00:12:20.560 --> 00:12:27.440 And so, thinking of that, we should be all the more in prayer than we actually are. 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:37.200 Prayer for asking for God's help, for God to move more quickly when we need it. 00:12:38.620 --> 00:12:44.840 Asking with emotion and sincerity and not just feeling like it's something out of rope that we're asking for. 00:12:44.840 --> 00:12:55.560 And through all of it, loving our salvation and saying that God is great, all the while asking for his help. 00:12:57.259 --> 00:13:03.780 So I hope that is thinking of our prayers to God and our praise to God. 00:13:03.860 --> 00:13:05.899 I hope that's something that's helpful. 00:13:05.899 --> 00:13:12.120 Think, Be Thou My Vision, Brian. 00:13:12.179 --> 00:13:13.439 If you want, we can sing that. 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:19.279 Just thinking of how much God should be our vision as we seek him in prayer.