The Child of God
Walking in Darkness - Psalm 55
King David wrote Psalm 55 when he was betrayed by his son Absalom
Focusing on V22 "Cast thy burden
upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous
to be moved." What is this psalm
about? What experiences does this psalm
delineate and explain to the child of God?
"Betrayed".. This psalm
was written by King David when he was betrayed by his son Absolom. It was written at the time of rebellion among
God's covenant people in Jerusalem. We
see in this psalm an expression of the broken heart of King David. We see the great anxiety and stress and pain
which David's heavy burden thrusts upon him.
"The child of God walking in darkness." How relevant is this, because God's people do
not live every day in sunshine.
Sometimes the sun of the Christian life is hidden by the clouds of a
storm. This psalm helps those who are at
the extremities of experience. This man
of God is in extreme anguish of soul.
Have you ever felt like this?
1. Condition of God's child. V1 "Give ear to my prayer, O God; and
hide not thyself from my supplication."
God's child wants to be listened to..not primarily talked to, but
listened to by God.
2. V2 "Attend unto me, and hear
me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise" Mourn means overcome, restless. Make a noise means distraught. Moral is very low, he is overcome and driven
to distraction. Serious anxiety and
depression.
3. V4-5 "My heart is sore pained
within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me,
and horror hath overwhelmed me." He
has inward emotional pain. Fearfulness
has come upon him. Depression has come
upon him. Deep emotional pain,
overwhelming feelings have come upon him.
4. V6-8 "And I said, Oh that I
had wings like a dove! for then would I
fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would
I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness.
Selah. I would haste my escape
from the windy storm and tempest."
I wish I was a bird, I would fly away from all problems, a desire to
avoid the burden of the trial. These
verses teach that the psalmist wants to flee from the problem he was faced
with. It doesn't bring peace, the
problem is still there.
5. V12-15 "For it was not an
enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that
hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from
him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked
unto the house of God in company. Let
death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is
in their dwellings, and among them."
The psalmist is feeling betrayed, it was an equal, an acquaintance,
someone he went to the house of God with, someone he took advice from that
betrayed him. This has caused grief,
sadness and anger as well. That is what
happens when someone is betrayed by someone they know and love.
That is a child of God walking in
darkness. If you have ever felt any of
these things, or many of these things, do not feel isolated or strange because
King David felt the same way and he was a man after God's own heart..
What were the circumstances
that led to this condition? A special
kind of enemy. His enemy is casting
iniquity upon him. "tipping over" iniquity upon him. He is implicating the man of God, setting him
up. Slandering the man of God, accusing
him of sin. A good friend betrayed him,
someone he trusted. David's trusted
advisor and counselor betrayed him, and also his son betrayed him, whom he
loved.
What led to these
circumstances? V20-21 “He hath put forth
hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant. The words of his mouth were smoother than
butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they
drawn swords.” A covenant breaker, those
who betrayed King David were smooth talkers to his face, their words were
smoother than butter but they were deceitful.
War was in their hearts. Their
words were drawn swords. That would lead
any brother or sister in Christ to depression. A deceitful backbiting person, a
person who whispers behind your back but puts on a show when they see you face
to face. These are hurtful
circumstances, burdensome things.
But we do not have to
experience the same things.. anything
could lead to the child of God walking in darkness. Death, grief, sickness
could lead to an anxious, fearful, depressed time, a desire to escape, grief, sadness
and anger and mixed emotions. Crisis
events lead to that.
What to do about
it? V16-17 “As for me, I will call upon
God; and the LORD shall save me.
Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he
shall hear my voice.” Three times a day
seems to be a regular pattern that David committed himself to in times of
crisis. Daniel did the same, three times
a day in prayer. This is the first course
of action. David is calling on God,
difference between saying your prayers and crying to God.. an almighty God who can change the
situation. Not vain repetition that the
"religious" do. David was
calling on God from his heart.
When you go to your
closet to pray, pray until you really pray..
What is the child of
God to do? V22 “Cast thy burden upon the
LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be
moved.” Cast your burden? What does that
mean? Whatever is appointed to you in your life, cast that on the LORD. Jehovah Yahweh, all powerful God. How do you do that? Spurgeon gives three stages:
1. Trace your burden back to God, the one who
has ordered the events of your life. God
planned for you to bear this burden and until you admit that it was God that
planned that you, you must bear it, and then when you see that;
2. Wait, be patient, see if God will remove
it. As the Lord wills, I will bear
it. When it is his time to deliver me I
will be delivered. But until then I will
bear it.
3. Accept that it is for your good. That is hard sometimes. It is from the loving hand of God and it is
his will that you bear this burden for your good and for his glory. We know that “all things work together for
good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Some say they have
left it with God and then they fret about it.
Is that trusting the God and leaving it with him? If you truly love God, it will be proof of
your love to rest your care upon Him without question. If you do so you will be unburdened and your
heart will be at rest.
Sustenance: God will
sustain you, he will feed you, he will nourish you. To keep you in existence. He will not carry you,, he will sustain you. You will not be moved away from God. Like a tree in the wind, the storm comes but
the tree’s deep roots keep it to not be moved out of its place though leaves
and twigs might fall..
There is no cheap fix
remedy for problems and burdens. You
know that God is sovereign, he is in control, he planned this for you specifically,
and he planned that you would be in darkness for this moment, the only comfort
is in God's sovereign power and his good heart towards those that are his, for
our good..
added by me.. V23 "But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee." Harsh words, but David knows that " ......vengeance is mine; I will repay, sayeth the Lord." Romans 12:19 and he is trusting in God.
This
post is based on notes from a sermon by Rev. Paul Dowling of Whiteabbey
Congregational (Reformed). Here is a link to the original sermon:
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