OUR EVER PRESENT COMFORT WHEN WE NEED IT

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In Christ, Mark

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

I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out before Him my complaint; before Him I tell my trouble.

When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who watch over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me. Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me.
I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.

I cry to you, Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”

Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Set me free from my prison, that I may praise Your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of Your goodness to me.

Psalm 142

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

Have you ever been in a place where you felt troubled to the point of despair bordering on hopelessness? If so, you probably found yourself unsure of how you were going to get out of your circumstances and unsure about what the future held for you. You may have even found yourself crying out to God for help and relief from your difficulties.

I know this place well as I have been there on more than one occasion in my life. Maybe you can relate too. If so, then our scripture has a valuable lesson for us both.

As we read the 142nd Psalm, we find that David is definitely in that place. You’ll recall that David was the youngest of the eight sons fathered by Jesse. After rejecting Saul as king, God sent Samuel to find Saul’s replacement. This search took him to Jesse of Bethlehem who paraded seven sons before Samuel but none of them was the one God had selected. It was then that Samuel asked Jesse if he had any other sons and Jesse revealed that his youngest was in the fields shepherding the sheep. Samuel had Jesse bring David to him and upon seeing him, he knew David was the one God had chosen to be the next king of Israel. He had Samuel anoint David in the company of his family.

David would end up in Saul’s court first as an armor bearer and later as a commander over his armies following David’s bold display of courage as he defeated the Philistine giant, Goliath. As commander, David had exceptional success, so much so that Saul became concerned that David might become more popular in the kingdom than he was.

And so Saul attempted to assassinate David several times, but each time he was unsuccessful. Finally, warned by Saul’s son Jonathan about his father’s latest plot, David fled into the wilderness with a band of supporters and found himself hiding from Saul and his murderous ambitions in the cave of Adullam. It was in this place, on the run from a king who wished him dead, that David wrote these words from today’s psalm:

I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out before Him my complaint; before Him I tell my trouble.

When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who watch over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me. Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.

I cry to you, Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”

Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Set me free from my prison, that I may praise Your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of Your goodness to me.

There’s little doubt that David is in distress here. Think about how you would feel if the powerful king of Israel was hunting you down like an animal. You would be crying out to the Lord too for His help, pouring out your laments and seeking His help. He had no one else he could turn to as no one cared for his life as the Lord did. And so David hid in a cave as he had no other refuge and turned to the only One he knew could save him.

Friends, we can find ourselves like David, forced to flee into our personal caves of life away from matters that endanger us physically or emotionally. In those places of difficulty and uncertainty, we can find ourselves without anyone else to turn to, without anyone who is willing to help us in times of trouble, without anyone who truly understands what we’re going through. And so like David, we cry out to God for help and rescue.

Whether looking in biblical times or current days, we need to give thanks that we serve a God who cares for us and is always just a prayer away, a God who has promised to always be with us, never leaving or forsaking us. David obviously knew this as he said these things about the God that he served and trusted:

1. “When my spirit grows faint within me, it is You who watch over my way.”

David knew where his source of hope and strength was. No matter how difficult things got in life, he knew he could make it, not by his own power but rather by way of the power of God living and abiding within him. The apostle Paul, writing several of his letters from prison, felt the same way particularly evident when he said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” as he wrote to the Philippian church (Philippians 4:13). It was through this trust in the power of the Lord to take him through anything that led Paul to also testify that he knew the way to be content in whatever his circumstances. Good or bad, Christ was always ready to give him the strength he needed. He’ll do the same for us.

2. “I cry to you, Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”

We all need protection in a world that has evil elements operating within it. David took great comfort in knowing he had a refuge in God, an ever present help in times of trouble. The Lord was all he needed to get by day by day. It was true for David then and it’s true for us today. We only need to believe and trust in the safety, security, and shelter we find in the Lord.

3. “Rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.”

David had taken a band of followers with him but they were no match for King Saul and his soldiers. Yet, David wasn’t waving the white flag of surrender. Instead, he called on the Almighty, Omnipotent God, the One who could rescue him from anyone, no matter their power. No one is a match for God’s authority and clout. He is for us so who can stand against us? David knew that the answer was nobody, not even a king.

4. “Set me free from my prison, that I may praise Your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of Your goodness to me.”

David not only saw the Lord’s rescuing him as a chance to escape Saul’s murderous plans but also as a renewed chance to worship and praise the Lord God Almighty, the Maker and Keeper of us all. God has done so much for us already, more than enough to fuel our praise and worship for the rest of our lives but we should always be acknowledging and giving thanks for each and every new thing He does for us and for others. For God and God alone is worthy of all our honor and glory and praise, now and forever.

Brothers and sisters, is this psalm not good news for us? Can we not see as David did that hope springs eternal through the Lord, no matter what we’re going through? It’s clear that the Lord is our ever present comfort whenever we need it. Let us never forget this as we deal with the challenges that life might bring before us.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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