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Psalms 41, 42, 43
Psalm 41:1-13
To
the chief Musician, A Psalm of David
“Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of
trouble. The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and
thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The LORD will strengthen him upon the
bed of languishing: thou wilt make all
his bed in his sickness. I said, LORD,
be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I
have sinned against thee. Mine enemies
speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish? And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity: his
heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he
goeth abroad, he telleth it. All that hate me whisper together against
me: against me do they devise my
hurt. An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him: and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more. Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my
bread, hath lifted up his heal
against me. But thou, O LORD,
be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them. By this I know that thou favourest me,
because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me
before thy face for ever. Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from
everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen,
and Amen.”
Introduction
“Psalm
41 is the last Psalm in the First Book of Psalms, five books within the Book of
Psalms, this is the last of the first book. It is written in the light of great difficulty, it seems there’s
physical suffering and illness. It is
written, no doubt, it seems in the light of Absalom, and more particularly in
the light of Ahithophel. Ahithophel was
David’s gifted and valued counselor, a friend that sticks closer than a brother. It is Messianic, in that the Lord from this
Psalm, and he quotes it at the Last Supper in John chapter 13, and we’ll look
at that. So, part of this strain of all
of that is Messianic, part of that great sense of betrayal that David
felt. Ahithophel, David’s main
counselor, ends up bitter at him, because Ahithophel has a granddaughter named
Bathsheba. And David had violated his
granddaughter and destroyed their marriage, sent her husband Uriah to his death
in battle. And Ahithophel had come to know
that. And I don’t know how good any of
us would have done in that circumstance. I have granddaughters, I have the fourth one showing up any day now. And you mess with them, you mess with
me. I’m an old guy, but there’s enough
Rambo left in me to do some damage, if you mess with my granddaughters. You know, in one sense I understand
Ahithophel. There was another side of
that, where Ahithophel knew David well, he knew that he was God’s anointed,
there was another part of it where his personal bitterness evidently lent
itself to treason, to something that God did not honor. And bitterness can destroy a human
being. David has a great sense of
reaping what he had sown in this Psalm, he admits that he had sinned. But he pleads with God for his mercy.
The LORD Will Bless Those Who Consider
The Poor
It
begins by saying, “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of
trouble.” (verse 1) By the way, that is throughout Scripture, the
LORD looks graciously on those who remember the less fortunate. In fact, he speaks specifically of the orphan
and of the widow. He said if you mess
with the orphan and the widow, like a grandpa, you’re messing with Me, God said ‘I
will smoke you, my wrath will come down on you.’ James, the Lord’s half-brother tells
us that ‘Religion, pure and undefiled is this, that you remember the widow and
the orphan in their affliction.’ So David has a great sense, ‘Yes, I’m a man, I have clay feet, I’ve
sinned, I’ve made mistakes. But I also
know this, that the LORD blesses those who bless
others, particularly the less fortunate.’ And
David’s not phony in that, he’s always been like that. He’s always been like that. At the Cave of Adullam it says that it was
the outcasts, those who were in debt, those who were in discontent that
gathered themselves to David. And David
had the ability to speak to them. Though
he was younger than probably most of them, he says ‘Come ye children, and I will
teach you the fear of the LORD.’ And he had spoken to them and raised up the
greatest army, the greatest government Israel had ever seen. David never overtaxed the people of Israel,
like his son [Solomon] and Jeroboam and those afterwards. David had a consideration for those who were
less fortunate, it was genuine, so he says “Blessed is he that considereth the poor:” good bumper-sticker [yea, politicians use it all the time while robbing the
poor], “the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. The
LORD will preserve him alive; and he shall
be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt
not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of his languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.”
(verses 1-3) It is, “turn his bed,” the idea is, ‘you
will restore health, you bless those that are compassionate, even if this one
is in the bed of languishing,’ which it seems like he is at this point
in time. We are not given great detail
about David’s illnesses from the record of Samuel or the Chronicler, but in the
Songs [Psalms] we find out that David in fact, more than once it seems, was
deathly ill. He says ‘That
the LORD will bless those who consider the poor, those who pour out themselves on their
behalf.’ You know, he says in Isaiah in regards to fasting, the LORD says “Is it not to deal thy bread to
the hungry, that thou bring the poor that are cast out into thy house, when
thou seest the naked that thou cover him, that thou hide not thyself from thine
own flesh? Then shall thy light break
forth as the morning, and thy health shall spring up speedily, and thy
righteousness shall go before thee, the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.”
(Isaiah 58:7-8) [by the way, “rereward” is a
word in King James 1611 English. Not
sure, but it probably means something like a “double-reward”.] Even as he speaks in Isaiah of fasting, they
were doing it legalistically, they were arguing with one another. God says ‘You think this is what I want? This is not what I want.’ He said, ‘I want you brokenhearted, where you’re
pouring out your heart on behalf of the less fortunate, and the poor and so
forth. When you do that, then your own
health will spring forth speedily, the light of your countenance will return,
and so forth.’ David has a great
sense of that here in these first three verses, that God will bless those who
bless others, particularly the less fortunate.
“Mine Own Familiar Friend Hath Lifted Up His Heal
Against Me”
Now
in verse 4 he begins to talk about
suffering and betrayal. He said, “I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against
thee.” So his affliction he feels deep within, not
just his frame. He admits sin. “Mine
enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish?” (verse 5) That’s what they’re saying. “And
if he come to see me, he speaketh
vanity: his heart gathereth inquity to
itself; when he goeth abroad, he
telleth it.” (verse 6) You know, when they come they pretend their
concern, you know ‘Here’s the king in his
chamber of suffering,’ he says ‘Those who come to visit me, they’re
phonies, they don’t really care. They’re
leaving here saying ‘About time, this guy’s gonna die, we’re going to be rid of
him.’’ And he talks about the
traitors, their conversation, now they’re described in verse 7, “All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt. An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him: and now that he lieth he shall
rise up no more.” (verses 7-8) So
David is definitely sick. “and now that he lieth, he shall rise up no more.” they’re rejoicing, saying ‘This
thing, whatever it is, has struck him down,’ and David is sick enough
that those who observe him say ‘He’s done, you’re not getting back up
again, it’s fatal.’ Verse 9, he
says, “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in
whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heal against me.” We
believe he’s speaking of Ahithophel. Ahithophel is such a wise man, and such an exclusive counselor, that
David leaves Hushei in Jerusalem when he flees, and when Hushei’s counsel was
going to be taken over his, he went out and hung himself. He knew if the nation would have listened to
him, they would have defeated David. He
realized when his counsel was pushed aside that David was going to live, he’s
going to come back, ‘My name is mud.’ So he put his house in order and killed
himself. Here David is saying “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I
trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heal against me.” (verse 9) And I’m sure Ahithophel felt that way, ‘You’re my friend, and you did this to my granddaughter?’ “Yea,
mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath
lifted up his heal against me.” Now the Lord [Jesus] quotes this, in John
chapter 13, he’s at the Communion Table [Christian Passover Table], ah, he says ‘One
of you is going to betray me.’ He says, ‘I speak not of you all, I know whom I have chosen. But that the Scripture might be fulfilled, He
that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heal against me.’ And he quotes this verse from Psalm 41, so
it’s a Messianic Psalm, it’s looking forward to something. Here’s the interesting thing, Jesus when he
quotes verse 9, he doesn’t say “In whom I
trusted.” Because Jesus said ‘Have
not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil.’ He knew who Judas was, he never trusted in
Judas. In fact we’re told he didn’t
trust himself to any man, because he knew what was in man. So it’s very interesting, as the Lord quotes
this Psalm, he knows it well enough that he doesn’t quote that part, “Yea,
mine own familiar friend” he doesn’t say ‘in whom I trusted’ he
says, “which did eat of my bread, he hath lifted up his heal against me.”
(John 13:18) Now David in this
whole process, if you follow him, fleeing from Jerusalem, it’s up the Mount of
Olives, it’s across to Bethany, it’s where Jesus went on the night he was
betrayed. It’s a very interesting
pathway for David. You know, Paul says, ‘That
I might know him, of the power of his resurrection,’ and then he says, ‘and
the fellowship of his suffering.’ And
there’s part of that, we never know, unless we experience betrayal. Anybody here ever been betrayed? Just a few of us? You just get to earth? Betrayal is something that happens between
humans. Somewhere in that, you know, in regards
to remaining bitter, or being hurt, there’s a place where you find fellowship
with Jesus that is sweeter and deeper than the fellowship you would have found
if everything is just going fine. You
know, you sit alone with him and say ‘Lord,
you were betrayed. I’m not going to take
this personally, I know if I was perfect they’d crucify me. Because you were perfect, and you were
betrayed. Even you, Lord, you never did
anything wrong. People that are
betraying me are making these accusations. Lord, you were perfect, you did nothing wrong.’ And you find that he draws close. You find that he speaks to you. You find that there is a fellowship with
Jesus himself in those times of suffering. And no doubt David is taken into the sum of those specific valley’s on
purpose here, ‘mine own familiar friend, he’s lifted up his heal against me.’
In Light Of Betrayal, David’s Prayer
Verse 10 now gives us David’s prayer,
in regards to this great, what he perceives an injustice and betrayal. “But
thou, O LORD,
be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them.” (verse 10) Look back in verse 8 which this refers to, “An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him: and now that he lieth he shall
rise up no more.” [To that] David
says, “But thou, O LORD,
be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite” or repay, “them.” (verse 10) “By this I
know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.”
(verse11) ‘This is how I know, LORD, that your favour is upon me,
because mine enemy does not triumph over me, I’m still alive, I’m not
dead. I may not be happy in the
circumstance I’m going through, but obviously you’re preserving me.’ “And as for me,
thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.”
(verse 12) ‘LORD, I’m always within your view,
you never forget about me.’
Closing Doxology For The 1st Book Of
Psalms
Verse 13 says, “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.” Verse 13 is not part of the Psalm. Verse 13 is the proper conclusion of all of
the first 41 Psalms, it is the doxology. You have the very similar phrase in Psalm 72, verses 19 and 20, which is
the end of the 2nd Book, you have “Amen, and Amen.” And Psalm 89, verse 52 you have a similar
statement thing, talking about the LORD’s glory, “Blessed be the LORD for evermore. Amen, and Amen.” Psalm 106, verse 48, Psalm 145, verse 21, and
Psalm 150, verse 6. Those are all
doxologies of those sections of the Book and they’re very similar as you read
through them. So this ends the first
section of the Psalms, primarily Davidic Psalms, the Psalms of David.
Psalm 42:1-11
To
the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah
“As the hart
panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living
God: when shall I come and appear before
God? My tears have been my meat day and
night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? When I remember
these things, I pour out my soul in
me: for I had gone with the multitude, I
went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a
multitude that kept holyday. Why art
thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within
me: therefore will I remember thee from
the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar. Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy
waterspouts: all thy waves and thy
billows are gone over me. Yet the LORD will command his
lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my
prayer unto the God of my life. I will
say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression
of the enemy? As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they
say daily unto me, Where is thy
God? Why art thou cast down, O my
soul? and why art thou disquieted within
me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and
my God.”
Introduction
Psalm
42 begins the second book of the Book of Psalms, and 42 and 43 were either
written one right after the other, because they’re speaking the same
thing. Some scholars feel 42 and 43 are
one Psalm. Either way, it seems they
were sung together. And as we go into
this Second Book of Psalms we’re going to hear of others than David. This first Psalm 42 here, you’re probably
familiar with, it says “To the chief Musician,” so we know it was sung publicly, it says “Maschil” which means it’s a
Psalm of instruction, we’re to learn from it, it’s an instruction that’s given
in this Psalm. And it says “Maschil, for
the sons of Korah.” The Hebrew can as
easily be “of the sons of Korah”, scholars go back and forth there. You remember Korah, Dathan and Abiram in the
Book of Numbers, betrayed Moses and Aaron, and God judged them. Remember the earth opened up and swallowed
them. But God still blessed the lineage
of Korah, and the Korahites are one of those who were in charge of the
Tabernacle itself in the wilderness, they carried, they had wagons, they were
part of the Levites that had a specific responsibility for the Tabernacle. And in this Psalm it mentions the Temple, so
again, scholars are not agreed exactly on the timing, but this seems to be a
Psalm that’s after David’s life, that’s up for debate. But the Temple itself is mentioned, which
wasn’t built until after David had gone to be with the Lord. And this then would be a Psalm of the sons of
Korah, which [who] remained in the Levitical priesthood. And it’s very much in the heart of this
Levite, whose used to ministering in the precincts of the Temple, and now has
been driven out, it could be through one of the dispersions, it could be
through a different circumstance, and he’s longing to come back. You’re familiar with this. As we go in, you’re going to hear God, God,
God, God instead of LORD. In fact, in 42 and 43 we’ll hear that 20
times. 16 times it’s the word Elohim, 4
times it’s the word El, and we’re only going to hear Yahweh one time, Jehovah,
which is the predominate name of God in the First Book of Psalms. Second Book of Psalms it’s Elohim, 188 times
he’s just called God, Elohim in this Second Book.
Not Having The Reality Of The Presence Of Jesus
Christ, The Risen Saviour, In My Life Is Futile
Familiar
to us, it begins like this, and we sing this song, we sing it “As
the deer panteth after the waters, so my soul panteth after thee.” It says here “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after
thee, O God.” (verse 1) “the hart”
it’s feminine, the female deer, “as the
deer panteth, brayeth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O
God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the
living God: when shall I come and appear
before God? My tears have been my meat
day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?” he’s being taunted, “When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone
with the multitude, I went with them to the house [the Temple] of God, with the
voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.” the Holy Days, the Festivals. [Comment: What are the Holy Days that ancient Israel were given by God, and what
did they mean for the Early Church, the greater Body of Christ in the 1st Century AD? see, http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/Holydayshadows.htm Did the early Christian Church keep
them? see, http://www.unityinchrist.com/history2/earlychurch1.htm]. So, the idea here, ‘as the deer panteth after the
water-brook, so my soul panteth after thee, O God.’ That is what we want written over our heads
for the rest of our lives, Lord, give me a heart like the Psalmist, like David,
like one of the sons of Korah, you know, that could say that, ‘LORD, as the deer panteth after the
water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God, I am thirsty for you LORD.’ Not
for Calvary Chapel, not for crusades, not for work, I don’t need more work,
I’ve been in the work for 40 years, I’m worked out. I’m glad to be part of the work [of
God]. But to be involved in all of that
ministry, and not have the reality of the presence of Jesus Christ, the risen
Saviour, in my life is futile. “As the hart panteth after the water
brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” The water brooks, not the ponds, not the pools,
this is living water, it’s running water, as the deer panteth after that water
that’s running, that’s bubbling, it’s pure, it satisfies. That’s how my soul, he says, is panting after
thee, O God. Unlike the camel, which
carries around its own drinking fountain, the deer, and the deer-saint doesn’t
have its own resource, and is dependant on the LORD to satisfy that thirst. You know, he will through Jeremiah rebuke the
nation, and say ‘Whose ever heard of this, you have living waters, and you’ve gone and
you’ve hewed out cisterns for yourself that can’t hold water, instead of coming
to me, the fountain of living waters. Whose ever heard of such a thing?’ You know, the still waters, the cisterns, you
go there in Israel, they’re still there, many of them, you don’t want to drink
out of them. If you take water out of a
cistern, and I have, and you look at it, especially if it’s like a white
Styrofoam cup, there’s all kinds of activity in there [the wrong kind of living water], there’s all kinds of
little things swimming and moving around. When I was a kid, in Boy Scouts, went to Philmont, New Mexico, you had
to take water purification tablets, because sometimes you were pretty good
drinking out of a stream, but sometimes we were drinking out of a pond or a
lake, it was the same thing. You saw all
that stuff, man, there’s a lot of activity in there. And you put the water purification tablets
in, and after awhile everything slows down, and finally everything dies and
sinks to the bottom, and then you can drink it, you get water and protein at
the same time. But this is a much
different circumstance, this is running, it’s living water, it’s cold, it’s
bubbling, you know, ‘As the deer panteth after the water brooks,’ plural, ‘the
living water, so panteth my soul after thee O God.’
‘Where’s Your God Now?’---I Long For The Presence
Of God
“My soul
thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” (verse1) “When
shall I came and appear before God” (verse 2) there’s a heart-cry in all of
this. “My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say
unto me, Where is thy God?” (verse 3) It’s not good to feed on your tears, “while they” evidently his adversaries, ‘continually
say to me, Ya, where’s thy God now, Bible thumper?’ You know, they always take the
opportunity, don’t they? You’re going
through a terrible thing, you’re weeping, you’re broken down, ‘Oh ya, where’s your God now, where’s your
God now? Where’s your God when this
happens, where’s your God when that happens?’ It always goes like that, doesn’t it? He says, “When
I remember these things, I pour out
my soul in me:” inside of myself, in me, the reason, “For I had gone” I know the experience, “with the multitude, I went with them to the temple of God, with the
voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday” ‘that kept the Festival.’ That’s his thirst. He said ‘The reason I’m so thirsty is I know this
experience, I have been satiated with this cold stream before that I’ve been
able to drink of, I’ve gone to the house of God, I’ve been there and I’ve seen
the incense rising, I’ve heard the instruments, I’ve watched the multitudes
worship there in the Temple, the Holy of Holies, the presence of God, I’ve been
able to sacrifice’ he’s going to go on and say, ‘and enjoyed the presence of the
LORD,’ and he said, now for some
reason he’s separated from all of that, and he said, ‘I’m thirsting for that, I need
that again, I’m thirsting for that, I want to go back to church, I want to
worship, I want to be in the multitude again, I want to be there, I miss that
so bad.’ He said, ‘I
know that experience.’
The Psalmist, Counseling Himself “Why Art Thou
Cast Down? Hope Thou In God”
So
now he’s going to council himself, verse
5, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in
God: for I shall yet praise him, for the help of his countenance.” He’s talking to his soul, I’m not sure who he
is, it’s not just his body, there seems to be body-soul, and there’s somebody
talking to the soul. [Comment: Biblically, when you do a careful study of
what the soul is, it’s a combination of the human body and mind coupled to the
“spirit in man” which gives human beings their intellect and human reasoning
power. See http://www.unityinchrist.com/plaintruth/battle.htm for a decent Biblical explanation of that.] Did you ever talk to yourself, just kind of help yourself out? You know, ‘What
is wrong with you, you’re attitude stinks, why do you always do this? I can’t believe this.’ You know, sometimes I’m great company with
myself. [laughter] This is good self-talk, just kind of working
it out. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” now look, if you look there in
verse 5 you’ll see “why? why?” If you
look down in verse 9 you’re going to see “why? why?” If you look in verse 11 you’re going to see
“why? why?” If you look in the next Psalm in verse 2
you’re going to see “why? why?” If you’re going to look in verse 5 you’re
going to see “why? why?” So, I don’t
know, are you a why-er? Some people are
why-ers. There’s a way that’s ok to be a
why-er, and there’s a way that’s not ok to be a why-er. Sometimes ‘Why?’ is a genuine thing that’s put before God, you’re working something out in your
own heart, and sometimes it’s unbelief, ‘Why
is he doing this? Why did he let that
happen? Why is this happening? Why’s that happening?’ sometimes it’s a
live-wire and you just can’t shut it down, you know. And people do that, and I listen and think ‘You know, I don’t think any of those
things, I don’t ask any of those questions, I’m not trapped where you
are.’ But David [or whoever wrote
this Psalm] here, in a much different way I think “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet
praise him, for the health of his
countenance.” (verse 5) ‘I know I’m going to thank him, it’s going
to come, so soul, what’s wrong with you, why are you so depressed, why are you
so bummed out? God’s going to be
faithful, I know I’m going to yet praise him for the health of his
countenance.’ “O my God, my soul is
cast down within me: therefore will I
remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill
Mizar.” (verse 6) “therefore will I remember thee from” this is giving us location, “I will
remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites,” he’s
up north of Galilee, “from the hill
Mizar.” he’s away from the Temple precincts, this Psalmist, whoever it
might be. And he says “Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy
waterspouts:” literally “the waterfalls, very difficult to translate and
understand, “all thy waves and thy
billows are gone over me.” (verse 7) Certainly up there in the northern part of Israel, I’ve been there 18,
19 times, I’ve been there a number of times in the summer when it’s raining,
and the water, the snow on Hermon is melting, water’s coming down, and there
are these places where the water is just shooting off the cliff, you know,
where normally there’s just a trickle stream. And it’s thunderous, you can’t believe it’s that loud, and it seems to
be David, or whoever the Psalmist is, is up there, his heart is broken. And he says ‘LORD, when my soul gets like this,
I remember you LORD, from here, up in the land of
the Jordan, where the Hermonites are and Mizar,’ and he says, ‘the
deep calleth unto deep, the noise of the thundering of the waterfalls,’ he says, ‘it stirs something in me, thinking of the deer, just thirsty, want to
drink out of some running waters. And
when I’m up here and hear these waterfalls thundering, it does something inside
of me, that much life, that much water moving,’ and then, “all thy waves and billows” which seems
to speak of the ocean or a storm on the Sea of Galilee, not so much what would
happen there unless you’re trying to cross or ford the river when the wadi
begins to swell. The idea is, “all thy waves and billows are gone over
me”, ‘LORD, I’m drowning it seems in one
thing, and not able to take a drink of the thing that I want to drink
from. I’m in a circumstance, LORD, here that’s so difficult,
it’s my soul LORD, something internally, I’m
overwhelmed.’ And then in verse 8 now, a wonderful thing happens,
it's the only time he uses the word Jehovah [Yahweh], he says, “Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.” Notice, “the
LORD will command lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.” ‘Yet the LORD, yet Jehovah,’ when he remembers the
covenant-keeping God hope springs to life again. It’s been Elohim all through this Psalm, and
then when he gets to the lowest point, and all the waves and billows, it feels
like he’s drowning. You get to that
place where you’re going through something where it’s so hard, you feel like
you’re drowning, you can’t get your head up above water, he gets to that point,
and he turns from Elohim, this Psalmist, whoever he might be, to Jehovah
[Yahweh], the covenant-keeping God. “Yet the LORD,
Jehovah,” notice,
he “he will command” because there’s
a covenant, “his lovingkindness in the
daytime,” and then “in the night his
song shall be within me, and my prayer” it will rise “unto” notice, “the God of my life.” “And I will say unto God my rock, Why hast
thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” (verse 9) ‘I’m going to say to him, instead of my own
soul,’ “why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the
oppression of the enemy?” ‘You’re a covenant-keeping God, why do I feel
that you’ve abandoned me?’ “As with a sword in my bones, mine
enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?” (verse 10)
There Is No Human That Can Satisfy What Needs To
Happen Inside Of Us---What Will Satisfy Me Is Your Presence, LORD
Again, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and
why art thou disquieted within me? hope
thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance,
and my God.” (verse 11) “Hope thou in God” or the Hebrew is “Wait on God,” but the Hebrew is always
waiting in the sense of hoping, the idea is there’s faith attached to it. “Hope
thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance,
and my God.” So, you’re here
tonight, you’re going through a situation that’s terrible, you can come up with
all kinds of suggested solutions. But
this Psalmist has been through enough where he says ‘There have been times when I
have experienced his presence. And I
realize in these worst of times, God’s allowing all these waves and billows to
go over me, while I constantly hear the voice of my adversary saying ‘Where’s
your God, oh ya, where’s your God now?’ he says ‘The thing that I realize in the
middle of all this, is what will satisfy me is not necessarily just
circumstances changing, what will satisfy me is your presence,’ he
said, ‘as the deer panteth after the water-brook,’ an animal that’s
thirsty in a thirsty place, David talks about a thirsty land where no water is, ‘As
the deer’ he says, ‘so panteth my soul after thee O LORD, there’s something in my soul
that is so thirsty for your presence, all the religious stuff’s great, but the
reality of who you are, you need to be in my life now, I am broken down. My soul thirsteth for God, the Living
God. When shall I come and appear before
you again?’ and he related that again to going to the Temple, the experience he had there
of the LORD’s presence. So, a great song, Maschil, a song of instruction, the instruction is, there
are those times in all of our lives when we are so broken down that there is no
human that can satisfy what needs to happen inside of us, that there is no
human that can satisfy what needs to happen inside of us. There is no circumstance that can do it. He’s saying ‘I need to get back to the
Temple,’ then he’s saying, ‘No, LORD, it’s your presence, I
realize, it isn’t that, LORD, it’s you, in the middle of
that, that’s so satisfied me before, and LORD it’s you that I need again.’ Hey, it’s him that the Church [greater Body
of Christ] needs again. If we don’t see
a revival in this country, we are dead in the water [we’re past dead, we’re
sinking like the Titanic, and don’t know it yet]. And there is something about the LORD’s presence, not just in the
light of an individual, but when the church is gathered, when his presence is
real, and it’s overwhelming, when it staggers us and brings us to our knees,
that it revives and answers something, it brings life. And certainly we need that individually, and
certainly we need that corporately, a great Psalm here for those who are going
through difficulty.
Psalm 43:1-5
“Judge me, O God,
and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou
cast me off? why go I mourning because
of the oppression of the enemy? O send
out thy light and thy truth: let them
lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto
God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp
will I praise thee, O God my God. Why
art thou cast down, O my soul? and why
art thou disquieted within me? hope in
God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and
my God.”
Introduction
Now
the question is, was Psalm 43, was that originally part of the last Psalm
[Psalm 42], because it quotes similarly, or was it written immediately
afterwards? It doesn’t matter. So it’s given to us here, so that we can look
at it that way. It says, “Judge me, O God,” verses 1 to 4 he’s
talking to God, verse 5 he talks to himself again. “Judge
me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation:” Now, the judging he’s asking for is justice
here. He’s not asking God to destroy his
life or to ruin, and again it seems, a Levite, one who serves in the course of
the LORD. “Judge
me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust
man.” (verse 1) there were times, you know, in regards to the era of the
kings, when there were those who had to flee, because there were ungodly people
in charge. He says “Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust
man.” you know, Paul says in 1st Corinthians, when he’s talking
about church discipline in regards to a man who was in sexual sin with his
step-mother, and the church wasn’t doing anything about it, he says ‘I
wrote unto you an epistle not to keep company or fellowship with fornicators,
yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world,’ he says ‘I’m
not talking about unbelievers, or with covetous or extortioners or idolaters,
for then you must needs go out of the world,’ he says you’d have to
leave the planet. And here, the Psalmist
is saying ‘O deliver me from deceitful and unjust men,’ we have to leave
earth for that to happen. So they’re
here, there are unjust and deceitful and ungodly men around us. I’m not sure always what to do with the
parable of the tares and the wheat, but look, we live in a world where that
happens to be a fact. But look, consider
ourselves, before 1972, that’s where I was. I was a dog, I’m a sheep now. I’m
not a sheepdog, I’m a sheep now. But I
was what I don’t want to be and what you don’t want me to be, and I don’t want
my kids to be what I was, and here I am saved. I was deceitful and unjust. And
the reason that the Lord hasn’t come yet, the only way to get away from this crew
[of deceitful and unjust people] is to leave earth, and that’s when the Trumpet
blows (cf. 1st Corinthians 15:49-54), but there’s so many of them that God loves, and he’s still
going to save, that that’s why we’re here [and not up there]. In fact, Jesus said emphatically, ‘You
alone are the light of the world, you alone are the salt of the earth.’ The only reason the earth hasn’t been
destroyed in a full-scale nuclear war is because we’re here, we’re the
preservative. As Abraham said, God’s not
going to judge the just along with the unjust. So as long as we’re here there’s hope. The Harvest Crusade is coming, and perhaps a revival to America before,
one more great ingathering, before God moves. So you know, as we’re optimists, that’s how we should pray. But here, the Psalmist says, ‘O
God, exercise justice in regards to my life, plead my cause in regards to an
ungodly nation, O deliver me from deceitful and unjust men, from mankind like
that.’ He says, “For thou art the God of my strength:” literally, ‘You are my refuge,’ “why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression
of the enemy?” (verse 2) And he’s
saying ‘LORD, you’re my refuge, the world
is filled with unjust men, it’s an ungodly nation, and LORD, you are my refuge, if that’s
true, then why does it seem like you’re abandoning me, casting me off, why do I
go on mourning with the oppression of the enemy all day long, if you are my
refuge, my strength?’
‘O LORD, Send Forth Thy Light In A
Dark Place’---“Anything That Doth Make Manifest Is Light”
“O send out thy
light and thy truth: let them lead me;
let them bring me unto thy holy hill,” Zion, geographically, where the Tabernacle, Temple
was, “and to thy tabernacle. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto
God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp
will I praise thee, O God my God.” (verse 3-4) So, ‘O LORD, send forth thy light in a
dark place,’ struggling, you know. Wonderfully I love
the verse in Ephesians chapter 5 where it says “Anything that doth make manifest
is light.” Listen, are you convicted tonight about some compromise in
your life? Are you convicted about the
way you’ve treated your spouse, your husband or your wife? Are you convicted tonight about things you
know that need to change in your life? Well
Paul said “Anything that doth make manifest is light.” Unbelievers can even see that. The only reason you can be convicted about
the way you treat your spouse, the only way you could be convicted about
something that needs to change in your life, the only reason you can see any
level of compromise in your life is because the One who loves you has sent
forth his light, the Word, the light of his Spirit, and he’s brought that into
the open so that you can deal with it. Not that he’s casting you off, not because he wants to get rid of you,
it’s because he wants to change you, he’s conforming you into the image of his
Son, and “anything that doth make manifest is light.” And the wonderful thing is that God
always calls us to repentance, it’s an invitation, he puts it out there, it is
a lifestyle, it is something we do when we come into the Kingdom [in the
spiritual sense of being called and receiving of God’s Holy Spirit indwelling
us] and we’re saved, and it says ‘If we confess our sins,’ John says, ‘the
blood of Christ continually cleanses us from all sin. If we say we don’t have sin, we’re a
liar.’ But if we confess our
sins…that he is faithful, and wonderfully is just to forgive us, to cathorize
us, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, to take out of our system what we
can’t take out ourselves. David here, or
the Levite, or whoever it is, I’m stuck with David, you can tell, not knowing
all of that, says, “O send out thy light
and thy truth: let them lead me; let
them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.” (verse 3) Isn’t that wonderful, a lamp unto my
feet, a light unto my path. “to thy
tabernacles” plural, “LORD to your presence, to the place
of your presence, “Then will I go to the
alter of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.” (verse 4) He understands sacrifice and so
forth. It’s God himself who is his
exceeding joy. Some people ask ‘Will there be animals in heaven?’ Well we know there’s going to be cats,
because there’s harps [laughter]. Just a
thought. So, he’s pouring out his heart
to God.
‘Hope Thou In God, He Will Yet Be The Health Of
Your Countenance---Just Hope, Wait, And Receive’
In
verse 5 again, this Levite, it seems to himself, again, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet
praise him, who is the health of my
countenance, and my God.” (verse 5) Why about these wonderful things? Now he’s asking rightly, there’s no reason [to be disquieted], “hope in God” always make that part of
the equation. My Pastor always said “Never trade away what you do know for what
you don’t know.” You’re going
through a difficult situation, and it doesn’t seem like God’s there, like he’s
not caring. You should never trade away
what you do know for what you don’t know. Whenever you don’t know what God’s doing, fall back on what you do
know. You know he sent his Son to die
for us on the cross. We know that he’s
not going to deny us anything else, but give us all things freely, Paul tells
us. So whenever we don’t know, we fall
back on what we do know. Here is seems
so clearly, “Why art thou cast down, O
my soul? and why art thou disquieted
within me? hope thou in God:” again
it’s “wait” in the Hebrew, but the idea is, “wait and receive” it’s a
hopeful waiting. “hope thou in God: for I shall
yet praise him, who is the health of
my countenance, and my God.” Now the question is clear “why are you cast
down?” Why art thou cast down? Anybody need to ask themselves that question
this evening? Anybody cast down this
evening? Thank you for being honest, I
see that hand. Anybody else? Ya, some of us, right? Some of us, brokenhearted, struggling, asking
ourselves “Why are you cast down?” ‘hope
thou in God, he will yet be the health of your countenance,’ you know,
try it instead of trying to squeeze another Psalm in, in ten minutes.
In Closing
Let’s
take this time, let’s sing several songs, and we’ll have the musicians
come. But this is a great time to deal
with that. Look, let’s in fact, let’s do
this, if you want, if you’re cast down this evening, and you’re struggling, why
don’t you stand, why don’t you let us pray for you. I think we had more hands go up than
standers. Guys, why don’t do this, if
you see somebody standing, and the Holy Spirit puts it on your heart, just go
and stand next to them, don’t ask what the deal is, go pray for them. Go put your hands on them right now, tell
them you’re going to remember their face for the rest of this week, and you’re
going to be praying for them. I’ll pray,
then Carlos will lead us, let’s worship. ‘Father, this is your Word, Lord, these are the songs that were given to
the chief Musician, that were to be sung when your people were gathered
together, and there was instruction in them. And Lord, how wonderful, and I think about how it must please you to
have sons and daughters that say that they’re thirsting after your presence,
like the deer panteth after the water-brooks, and there’s huge questions, ‘Why Lord, why are you allowing this to
happen? Why do I feel that you’ve
forsaken me, why is my soul cast down? Why these waves and billows gone over my head, O Lord?’ And yet, Lord, in the proper light, it seems
that we can say to ourselves, ‘Why are
you doing this? Trust God, hope in
him. He shall yet be the health of thy
countenance.’ Lord, we pray all of
us, for all of those who have stood, Lord, whose hearts this evening are
overwhelmed. Lord they walk in here this
evening, and Lord, these songs written 27 hundred years ago for that, and this
evening, Lord, their broken hearts, and these songs, your Word, have crossed
paths. And Lord we don’t believe that
happens by coincidence, Lord. We believe
in our journey through the Bible, Lord, that takes years, that we’ve come this
evening to these truths, Lord, to this instruction. And that these folks who have walked in, your
sons and daughters, with broken hearts that are cast down, they’re struggling,
they’ve walked in Lord, and there has been, as it were, a head-on collision
with the love and the truth and the mercy of your Word, Lord, we pray that
you’d minister to them, Lord, just your presence would be real, Lord. It wouldn’t just be church or wouldn’t be,
Lord, something in a routine, or something that is just habit, or some
spiritual rut, Lord. Let your power be
manifest, Lord Jesus, we are all dependant on you Lord. These are your sons and daughters,
blood-bought, Lord. We have no resource,
we have nothing in and of ourselves, Lord, to give, but to care for one another
to pray for one another. But you alone,
Lord, are the source of living water, of renewal, of refreshing, of health and
of strength, you alone, our refuge. Lord
we put all of this before you, and ask that you would be the one who would glorify
the name of Jesus, as we lift our voices in song now, that you would inhabit
our praises, that you would move in our midst. Lord we trust you to do that, Lord. Let his song, now Lord, let this be a sweet savour before your throne,
move among us, Lord, and touch and heal and strengthen, hear the prayers that
are being offered, Lord…’ [transcript of
a connective expository sermon on Psalms 41, 42 and 43, given by Pastor Joe
Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia,
PA 19116]
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