We're to turn to the 56th Psalm. Psalm 56. If you look at the statement with regard to this
psalm, it says that he wrote this psalm when he was in the
land of the Philistines. And this is very important. He
had, uh, fled Israel because he was afraid of Saul and he
was in the land of the Philistines at this time. And it's when he
writes this psalm, be merciful unto me. Oh God. for man would swallow me up. He, fighting daily, oppresseth
me. Mine enemies would daily swallow
me up, for they be many that fight against me, O thou Most
High. What time I'm afraid, I will
trust in thee. In God, I will praise his word. In God, I put my trust. I will
not fear what flesh can do unto me. Every day they rest my words. All their thoughts are against
me for evil. They gather themselves together.
They hide themselves. They mark my steps when they
wait for my soul. Shall they escape by iniquity?
In thine anger cast down the people, O God. Thou tellest my
wanderings. Put thou my tears in thy bottle. Are they not in thy book? When
I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back. This I know. For God is for me. In God will
I praise his word. In the Lord will I praise his
word. In God have I put my trust. I'll not be afraid what man can
do unto me. Thy vows are upon me, O God. I will render praises unto thee.
For thou hast delivered my soul from death. Wilt not thou deliver
my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light
of the living? Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for your
word. How we thank you that you've given us a book that you wrote,
that you inspired, that's without error, that teaches us who you
are and who we are and how you saved by your son. Lord, may
your gospel be preached in the power of your spirit and we may
we all be allowed to worship. Speak to each heart here, Lord,
drive the things away that would hinder us in hearing your word. We confess our sins. We're so
thankful for the complete forgiveness of sins. May your grace reign in us and
what we're asking for ourselves, we're asking for all your people,
wherever they meet together. Lord, we pray for our friends
that are not here, that you keep them by your grace. We pray for
those in sickness, those who are going through trial. Bless
them for Christ's sake. Give us grace to love you more
and truly love one another more. May your grace be upon this assembly. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. The title tells us that this
is when David had fled to the land of Gath. He was in the land
of the Philistines, and that's a place where he shouldn't have
been. And I have no doubt that he felt very uncomfortable while
he was there. And this is, you'll remember
when he acted like a madman. and acted like he had spit coming
down his beard, and acted like he was crazy, and he got out
like that. The king of Gath said, what do
I need a madman for? And he went and hid in a cave.
You can read about that in 1 Samuel chapter 22. So David is in a
place where he should not be. He was away from his homeland.
Now look what he says at this time, be merciful unto me. Oh God, for man would swallow
me up. He fighting daily oppressive
me. Now we know with regard to every
Psalm that they're first of all, the words of Christ. And these
are the words of Christ as we can see clearly. Um, when he
left his, home in glory and came down here and dwelt among us. He was away from his father.
He was away from his heaven. Now, as we read this psalm, we
can see it is the word of Christ, but we're going to look at it
as the word of David. It's also the word of David,
just as much as it's the word of Christ. And David is speaking
of his experience. Now, Notice what he says in verse
one. Be merciful unto me, O God, for
man would swallow me up, for I'm no more. He, fighting daily,
oppresseth me. Now, this is interesting. You
wouldn't know this just by reading this passage of scripture, but
the word man is a different word in the Hebrew. with the word
generally translated man, like God created man in his own image. It's the word Adam, man. But
this is the noun form of the Hebrew verb which means desperately
wicked, incurable. It's the same word used in Jeremiah
chapter 17, verse nine, where Jeremiah describes the human
heart. Deceitful above all things, desperately
wicked. That's the word. Desperately
wicked. Incurable. Now this is the daily experience
of every believer with the old man. He would swallow me up. You found that so, haven't you?
He would swallow me up. He, this old man that I deal
with on a daily basis, he daily oppresses me all the time. This is the experience of every
believer. And let me say this, the only way this can be your
experience is if you have a holy nature. Without this new man,
in Christ Jesus that God has made you, you wouldn't really
recognize this. Now, men have problems with sins,
but they don't know anything of what the writer's talking
about here. Sin, a sinful, desperately wicked,
incurable old man that I'm still carrying with me. And he, fighting
daily, would swallow me up. And every believer finds this
the case with them every single day. Sometimes it's more acute
than others, but every single day. man fighting daily would
swallow me up." Now this fight is described in Galatians chapter
5 verse 17, the flesh lusteth against the spirit And the spirit
lusteth against the flesh. And these two are contrary one
to another. They're at odds with one another. And so David says, be merciful,
be gracious unto me. For man fighting daily would
swallow me up. He daily oppresses me, verse
two. Mine enemies would daily swallow
me up. For they be many that fight against
me, O thou most high. Mine enemies, my sins, would
daily swallow me up. There's not a day when this is
not taking place My sins are my enemies in my members, warring
against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin, which is in my members. Now every believer knows
what that means. You might not be able to articulate
it as the scriptures do, but you know what that means. My enemies would daily swallow
me up, for they be many that fight against me, O Thou Most
High. However many sins I have, they
fight against me. And let me remind you, it's only
the new man who sees his sins in this light. The old man understands
the problems sin brings in their life. Ask somebody with a substance
abuse problem how much problem that brings in their life. Any
kind of addiction. But this is talking about more
than this. This is talking about a sinful
nature that produces these sins as armies coming at me seeking
to swallow me up. Is there any day I know there's
not. Is there any day when you're
not tempted to sin? Somebody says, I don't have a
problem with that. I'm glad, but all you demonstrate by that
is you don't have a holy nature. You don't have a new nature.
A believer is daily fighting this. Verse three, what time
I'm afraid, I will trust. Indeed, now you can't deal with
sinfulness without making you afraid. Your sinfulness, you'll
look at your sin, you'll look at yourself. We're always tempted
to look within. It'll make you afraid. Maybe
I'm not saved. Why am I struggling with sin
like this if I was saved? I'm afraid. The fear of God produces
a fear of sin. It certainly does. But I love
what David says. What time I'm afraid, there's
only one place to trust. I trust in thee. Nowhere else. I have nowhere else to look.
What time I'm afraid, I trust in thee. Verse four, in God. In God. Now this is the only
place of safety. God. Of him are you in Christ
Jesus. That's big in God, isn't it?
In God, verse four, I will praise his word. Now, what I am talking about
right now is the word of God. Aren't you thankful for the scriptures?
Aren't you thankful that the scriptures tell us who God is,
who Christ is, who we are, that you're not dependent upon the
words of a fallible, sinful man, but you can see what God's word
teaches. In God, I will praise his word. In God, I have put my trust. I'm not trusting in myself. I'm
not trusting in men. I'm not trusting in men's thoughts.
I'm not trusting in men's opinions. In God, I put my trust and I
will not fear what flesh can do unto me. Now, what he's talking
about at this point is his own sinful flesh. It's not going
to take me down. It can't. God won't let it. I'm
preserved in God. In God, do I put my trust in
God? Do I praise his word? I will not fear what flesh, your
flesh or my flesh can do unto me. You see, if God is my savior,
my flesh can't bring me to hell. My flesh has been judged. My sins have been put away. Verse five, every day. They rest my words. Now he's
talking about people, I realize that. but in the spiritual meaning
of this. Every day, doesn't your flesh
rest your words and try to convince you to think otherwise than what
God says and to believe otherwise than what God says. Every one
of us are dealing with this thing called the flesh resting our
words, our thoughts, all their thoughts, verse five, all their
thoughts are against me for evil. Now, We can see this as the Lord's
experience with men, particularly the Pharisees, but this is the
world's response to the believer as well. All their thoughts are
against me for evil. Verse six, they gather themselves
together. They hide themselves. They mark
my steps when they wait for my soul. Now, this was the daily
experience of the Lord with his enemies. But this is also the believer's
daily experience with the deceitfulness of his own sin and of his own
flesh every single day. They mark my steps, they wait
for my soul. You know, this is why Paul cried
out, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. He says in verse 7, shall they
escape by iniquity? In thine anger cast down the
people. And this is what we're asking
the Lord to do with the old man. Yes, he's talking about these
people who are fighting him daily that he has to flee from Israel.
But this is what the believer says with regard to his old man,
Lord cast it down. When we're talking about this,
understand this, this is never ever an excuse for sin. This
is never a justification in our sin. This is never, well, it's
okay to sin because I can't help it, that's my old nature. No,
our desire is with David, order my steps in thy word. and let
not any iniquity have dominion over me." If this would make
me think, well, it's okay, I can live in a way that is contrary
to the gospel, I haven't heard. Every believer cries from their
heart. Order my steps in thy word. Don't let me take one step contrary
to your word. Let not any iniquity have dominion
over me. That's the heart cry of everybody
who has this new man. Verse eight, thou tell us my
wanderings. Do you know the hymn, Prone to
Wonder? Lord, I feel it. prone to leave the God I love. And that's exactly what David
is talking about. You see my wanderings. I mean,
you look at all the saints of God in the scripture. Think of
Jacob. Think of all of his wanderings.
And David said, you count, you see, you tell my wanderings. Put thou my tears in thy bottle,
are they not in thy book? Tears. Tears of frustration. Tears of
sorrow over sin. Didn't the Lord say, blessed
are they that, what? Mourn. There is a true mourning
over sin. That's the second beatitude. Blessed are they that mourn. Tears of awe at his greatness. Tears of joy of the greatness
of his salvation. Do you remember when Paul said
to Timothy, he said, I'm mindful of your tears. Now, I'm not asking
you how often you shed a tear. People express their innermost
feelings in different ways, but tears are an expression of a
relationship with a person, the Lord Jesus Christ and his glory. And tears of joy, Tears of the
awesomeness of being justified before God, the awesomeness of
His greatness, the sorrow over sin. Thou tellest my wonderings, put
thou my tears in thy bottle. Are they not written in thy book? Every tear shed, whether it's
a One that you can feel running down your cheek or the crying
of the heart, it's all written down in his book. Every thought. Verse nine, when I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn
back. And here's why. This I know,
for God is for me. Here's how I know how my enemies
will turn back. Now that can mean, listen, anybody
that's my enemy is the Lord's enemy. That's true of every believer. Anybody who's my enemy is the
Lord's enemy because I belong to him. If God be for us, who
can be against us? But I'm talking right now that
yes, it's talking about anybody who hates the believer, but this
is also talking about the enemy of my sins. They'll be turned
back. They'll be put away. They'll
be no more. How do I know that? This I know because God is for
me. If God be for us, who can be against us? Think of the whole passage of
Scripture, Romans 8, 28, and we know that all things work
together for good. All things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are thee called according to his
purpose for whom he did foreknow. Then he also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his son. That's what God has
predestinated for you and it must take place that he might
be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called. And whom he called, them he also
justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. What shall we say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us? My sins, they're
gonna be turned back. they're going to be made not
to be. Verse 10, he repeats himself. You know, there's repetitions
of good in the gospel. I always Probably one of the
things that, as a preacher, one of the things I struggle with
the most is just people getting tired of hearing me talk. I mean,
who wouldn't do you? You preach so much, you say the
same things. But you know what? The repetition of the gospel
is always right. To write the same things, for
me to you, is safe. is safe. The only safe thing
is the same thing, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
continual repetition of the gospel. So he repeats himself in God. Well, I praise his word. I praise God for his written
word. I'm so thankful for this. You
know, this is what gives me confidence in preaching. I'm not trying
to convince anybody of anything. All I do is preach the Word and
trust God, the Holy Spirit, to bless it as He sees fit. It's not up to me to convince
anybody of anything. No, in God, I'll praise His Word.
I praise the living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. I praise His
message, His Word. In God, I will praise His Word. And he repeats himself again
in the Lord. I think he's talking about being
in God. And I saw my being in Christ, in Jehovah, in the Lord. Will I praise his word? Same thing again, verse 11 in
God. If I put my trust, I love what
Paul said in Philippians three, three, we are the circumcision.
who worship God in the Spirit. And I know the only way me or
you can worship is through the Holy Spirit. Flesh can't worship
God. It's only the new man who worships
God. It's only the new man that has communion with God. It's
only the new man who loves God. In God have I put my trust. I, uh, we're the circumcision,
which worship God in the spirit, rejoicing Christ Jesus. We only
have confidence in Christ. Amen. And we have no confidence in
the flesh, no confidence, none, nada, zero, my flesh or your
flesh. In God have I put my trust. I
will not be afraid what man can do unto me. Now, I will not be
afraid what man can do unto me. I want you to think about this.
The scripture says in Proverbs, the fear of man bringeth a snare.
The fear of man. The fear of man is seeing men
too big. and being too concerned about
what they think and craving their approval. And that's the fear
of man. Man's too big when there's a
fear of man. And that comes from a diminishing of the fear of
God. If my heart is filled with the
fear of God, what's man? What's flesh? Whose breath is
in his nostrils? God can take it away like that.
To be so concerned about what some son of Adam thinks of you,
who cares? Now, along with this fear of
man that makes you see men too big, you know what else it does?
It makes you see other men too little. Well, I'm not afraid
of them. They can't hurt me. and you are dismissive of other men. You fear some men in arrogance,
I mean in fear, and you're dismissive of other men where they can't
hurt me. One goes with the other. Where
you have too much fear of men, you'll also be dismissive of
other men and not love them. You just dismiss them. You see
what a problem the fear of man is? It makes you see men as too
little, and I'm too big, and also too little. Both ways are
evil, and it all comes from a lack of the fear of God. But what
does he say? He says, in God have I put my trust. I'll not
be afraid what man can do unto me. You know, the Lord said,
fear not them that kill the body, and after that, that's all they
can do. Fear him who, after he's killed the body, has power to
cast your soul into hell. Yea, I say unto you, fear him. Verse 12, thy vows are upon me,
O God. I know exactly what he's saying.
He said it over in his dying words, although my house be not
so with God, yet hath the Lord made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things and sure. That's his vows. His vows, his
promise, his covenant is upon me. I love it that way. He doesn't say we made an agreement. I've agreed to receive this or
accept this, he's agreed to do, nothing like that at all. Although
my house be not so with God, yet hath he made with me an everlasting
covenant. One that had no beginning, one
that'll never end. Ordered in all things, and it's
your, this is the one sure thing, his covenant. And this is all
my salvation. all my desire, though he maketh
it not to grow. Thy vows are upon me. I will
render praises unto thee, for thou hast delivered my soul from
death." There'll be no death, eternal
death for me. And that's true of every believer.
He's already delivered. But I love what he says next.
Wilt thou not deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk
before God in the light of the living? Now, I've been delivered
from eternal death. I also want to be delivered from
my feet from falling, that I might walk with God in the light of
the living. The only light there is, is the
light of the living. Isn't that a wonderful song?
They all are. What a blessing. Okay, thank you.