OUR RESCUE FROM THE MIRE

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God. Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal.

You, God, know my folly; my guilt is not hidden from You.

Lord, the Lord Almighty, may those who hope in You not be disgraced because of me; God of Israel, may those who seek You not be put to shame because of me. For I endure scorn for Your sake, and shame covers my face. I am a foreigner to my own family, a stranger to my own mother’s children; for zeal for Your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult You fall on me. When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn; when I put on sackcloth, people make sport of me. Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of the drunkards.

But I pray to You, Lord, in the time of Your favor; in Your great love, O God, answer me with Your sure salvation. Rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink; deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters. Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me.

Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of Your love; in Your great mercy turn to me. Do not hide Your face from Your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. Come near and rescue me; deliver me because of my foes.

You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before You. Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

May the table set before them become a snare; may it become retribution and a trap. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever. Pour out Your wrath on them; let Your fierce anger overtake them. May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents. For they persecute those You wound and talk about the pain of those You hurt. Charge them with crime upon crime; do not let them share in Your salvation. May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.

But as for me, afflicted and in pain — may Your salvation, God, protect me.

Psalm 69:1-29

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, many today are left to try and piece together lives that were more intact before the destructive winds and rain crashed down upon the eastern seaboard. With homes lost and dreams shattered in many instances, many today are hoping to be taken from the mire of their circumstances.

A friend in the Lord is awaiting prognosis from a specialist this week regarding a long standing affliction. In the midst of the suffering and uncertainty, I am sure they are praying and hoping to be removed from the mire of their sickness and suffering.

And somewhere right now, someone is struggling with an addiction of sometime. Whether alcohol, drugs, eating, pornography, or any other number of addictions we fall prey too, they yearn to be free from temptation and released from the mire of enticement.

Maybe you are reading this today and in the midst of any other number of circumstances that shackle us down in life and bring us hardship. Possibly you’re struggling financially in a tough economy or out of work like so many others who are unemployed these days.

Possibly you’re in the middle of relationship troubles. Your marriage is in trouble and the love and magic you once had together has slipped away. You’re trying to keep things afloat but it the prospects for reconciliation seem bleak.

Yes, life has a way of dragging us down into the pits sometimes and we wonder if it will ever end.

David could relate to what we go through and indeed he did. As we read the words of the 69th Psalm, this is very evident.

Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God. Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal.

You, God, know my folly; my guilt is not hidden from You.

Lord, the Lord Almighty, may those who hope in You not be disgraced because of me; God of Israel, may those who seek You not be put to shame because of me. For I endure scorn for Your sake, and shame covers my face. I am a foreigner to my own family, a stranger to my own mother’s children; for zeal for Your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult You fall on me. When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn; when I put on sackcloth, people make sport of me. Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of the drunkards.

But I pray to You, Lord, in the time of Your favor; in Your great love, O God, answer me with Your sure salvation. Rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink; deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters. Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me.

Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of Your love; in Your great mercy turn to me. Do not hide Your face from Your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. Come near and rescue me; deliver me because of my foes.

You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before You. Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

May the table set before them become a snare; may it become retribution and a trap. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever. Pour out Your wrath on them; let Your fierce anger overtake them. May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents. For they persecute those You wound and talk about the pain of those You hurt. Charge them with crime upon crime; do not let them share in Your salvation. May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.

But as for me, afflicted and in pain — may Your salvation, God, protect me.

David was in the midst of what we might call a double whammy. For as we read his words, we discover that he was in the center of judgment from God for some committed sin. David confesses, “You, God, know my folly; my guilt is not hidden from You.” He prays to God that his transgressions might not be passed onto others saying, “Lord, the Lord Almighty, may those who hope in You not be disgraced because of me; God of Israel, may those who seek You not be put to shame because of me. For I endure scorn for Your sake, and shame covers my face.”

It’s definitely not a fun place to be, to be in the hands of God’s correction and punishment. It’s even less fun when others slander you while you’re under going that discipline.

David shared the following about his experience:

“The insults of those who insult You fall on me. When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn; when I put on sackcloth, people make sport of me. Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of the drunkards.”

Maybe you have been where David is. In the heart of troubles, it seems that people want to ridicule you or distance themselves when you need help most. David longed for someone to be there for him but even to his own family he was a “foreigner” and “a stranger to his own children.

It was in this place that David cried out to the only One who was there for him, the only One He could rely on. He called out for God:

“Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.”

“I pray to You, Lord, in the time of Your favor; in Your great love, O God, answer me with Your sure salvation. Rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink; deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters. Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me.”

“Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of Your love; in Your great mercy turn to me. Do not hide Your face from Your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. Come near and rescue me; deliver me because of my foes.”

David was truly up against it, up to his neck in his adversity, gasping for breaths of hope while sinking deeper into the midst of despair.

And yet, he never questioned or cursed God for his circumstances. Instead, he sought Him and His favor, love, and salvation. The God who had delivered His people Israel over and over and over again was the only One who could rescue David from the mire. And he knew it.

Friends, like David, we need to ever keep our focus on the only One who can deliver us from pain and difficulty as well. We need to pray without ceasing unto the God who rescues and delivers His people from the mires of life. He did it in Old Testament times. He did it in New Testament times. And He has continued to do it ever since.

Keep that in mind wherever you are today and always remember as David did that you have a rescue from the mire of life and He is the Lord.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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