Cry Out to God!
Good morning class.
Question of the Day: What do you appreciate about your prayer life?
This mornings lesson is a Psalm. A song. In some ways it is just hanging out here in 2 Samuel. I considered skipping over it and continuing on but then decided there is a reason it is here. I'm thankful I didn't. We will read this is sections. If we don't get through the entire song then we will pick it up next week.
READ: 2 Samuel 22
David’s Song of Praise
22 David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said:
Before we continue I want to point out a couple things here.
1. David sang these words to the Lord!
How many times do we really focus when we are praising God on Him! I know we all do at times, but if I'm honest sometimes I'm thinking about how beautiful the music is, I'm thinking about the harmonies, I'm thinking about how much the music is soothing my soul, opening my heart, etc. (All good things.) This struck me...."sang to the Lord." I want to challenge you today to sing every word and note to the LORD!
2. "When the Lord delivered him from the hand of ALL his enemies."
I'm not sure if the point is that he sang this particular Psalm every time the Lord delivered him, or if it is just toward the end of his life, for ALL the battles that he had won, but I guess it doesn't matter. I want us to focus on the fact that God delivered him from All his enemies.
God did it for David and He has done it for us too! Really if you think about it, all our enemies HE defeated! All that works against us, HE defeated! It might not feel like it, but ultimately the battle is won and we have so much to praise HIM for!
Please know that I am not suggesting if you find yourself in the midst of a battle that it isn't a very real battle. All I am saying is that I KNOW that HE is the one who has promised to deliver us and that HE is the one who already has won the war.
Continue reading:
4 “I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and have been saved from my enemies.
5 The waves of death swirled about me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
6 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
and have been saved from my enemies.
5 The waves of death swirled about me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
6 The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
7 “In my distress I called to the Lord;
I called out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came to his ears.
I called out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came to his ears.
Please excuse the indent... I can't seem to insert text within this passage without it indenting. So sorry!!!!
So this week this passage was a huge comfort to me in a very real way. we had a rough moment in the middle of our week. I was up at Pisgah and in the guest room by myself. I couldn't sleep. I tried everything but the stress and the anxiety kept winning. I had prayed but wasn't finding peace.
Finally, when I faced the weight of the anxiety I just let it all out! I cried out! Literally I was crying out to God. No one was around and so I just let it go. I begged, I pleaded, I complained, and then I praised him, I cried, and then...
Well I wish this next part of the Psalm had happened, because what a picture this is. It is like something out of the movies. But instead, of the earth trembling and quaking, I slept. I was able to finally let go of it all and sleep.
I don't know of any other time in my life where I cried out in such a loud way to God. Oh I have pleaded and prayed and praised a lot, but not "crying out".
Crying out took all the formality, all the stiffness, all the walls out and freed me to really let go of the fear and anxiety.
I highly recommend it! Let's continue on. This next passage reads like a Hollywood movie scene. I can hear the sound track in the background!
8 The earth trembled and quaked,
the foundations of the heavens[c] shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
9 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
10 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
11 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared[d] on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness his canopy around him—
the dark[e] rain clouds of the sky.
13 Out of the brightness of his presence
bolts of lightning blazed forth.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
16 The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
the foundations of the heavens[c] shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
9 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
10 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
11 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared[d] on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness his canopy around him—
the dark[e] rain clouds of the sky.
13 Out of the brightness of his presence
bolts of lightning blazed forth.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.
15 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
16 The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
17 “He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
20 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
he drew me out of deep waters.
18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
20 He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
Can you imagine this actually happening. Wow! This week I imagined this passage, being real. That this God I serve is not just a theoretical God but a real and living God who is a mighty warrior for me! He heard the cry of my heart, (OK the cry from my lungs) and thought I may not see it now, HE IS ALL I NEED! He is the mighty warrior who will annihilate my enemy and he will reach down and take me out of the deep waters, that I am drowning in. He will rescue me and put me into a spacious place because he delights in me!
What a beautiful thought!
Do you KNOW He is your warrior?
21 “The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord;
I am not guilty of turning from my God.
23 All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.
24 I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.
25 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness[f] in his sight.
according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord;
I am not guilty of turning from my God.
23 All his laws are before me;
I have not turned away from his decrees.
24 I have been blameless before him
and have kept myself from sin.
25 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness[f] in his sight.
26 “To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
27 to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
28 You save the humble,
but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
27 to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
28 You save the humble,
but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.
This section causes me to pause. Seriously, I'm not as excited about what this is saying. Look, we all know David. This man was not "righteous." So what do we take away from this. The key here is in verse 25. The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight." NOTICE, "in his sight."
This is not about a perfect life, but about a heart that is for God. When we give our hearts to Him then we are His! When we are his, we are His adopted kids. We are His children. As His children, he looks at us a father does to His kids.
God sees you through His love glasses. Actually through His JESUS glasses. When we accept him, then it is JESUS he sees. We can sing this song with confidence, that our Lord will reward us according to our righteousness. What a gift that is!!!!
Do you believe that God sees you as righteous?
Do you believe he sees you as His kid?
29 You, Lord, are my lamp;
the Lord turns my darkness into light.
30 With your help I can advance against a troop[g];
with my God I can scale a wall.
"The Lord turns my darkness into light." Do you believe that. He turns the darkness that is in your heart into light. He turns the darkness around you into light. He turns the darkness that you fear into light. He turns the darkness in your marriage into light. He turns the darkness in our church into light!
Do you believe that? Do we believe that?
This week there were times I felt surrounded by darkness. Some of it was the darkness of the situations I was facing. Some of it was the darkness in others that I can't do anything about. Some of it was a darkness of not knowing! The darkness of waiting.
Is there darkness around you?
How is He our lamp. If you are in place of darkness, how is He our lamp?
This week when I thought about the waiting being a form of darkness, I thought about waiting in a pitch black place and realized that in darkness we are completely alone. Do you know what I am talking about. Even if there are others around, when you are in a completely dark place you instantly feel alone. Just putting on a really good blind fold can bring on a sense of lonesomeness or being alone.
Bring a lamp into the space of waiting and it all changes. Take off the blindfold and once again you are in a space with others.
So if we find ourselves in darkness what do we do?
I would suggest we not only cry out to God but reach out to one of His kids. So last night Sam and Didi invited us over for dinner. It had been quite a week, and when we arrived all four of us seemed a bit beaten down by the week. I wasn't sure if I had it in me. I love Sam and Didi and was looking forward to spending time with them, but the rough week had taken it's tole and my neck and back were hurting, my pep was gone. HOWEVER, by the end of the evening I realized how much I needed to get outside of my pit of darkness, and I needed to sit with His kids and bask in the light.
If you find yourself alone, cry out to someone. If God is telling you to invite someone over, DO IT!!!! Maybe they need to sit and bask in the light too!
Spend time in His word! "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." If we need light, spend time in His word.
What darkness have you be struggling with?
What do you need to illuminate the darkness?
31 “As for God, his way is perfect:
The Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
32 For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
33 It is God who arms me with strength[h]
and keeps my way secure.
34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
35 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 You make your saving help my shield;
your help has made[i] me great.
37 You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
The Lord’s word is flawless;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
32 For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
33 It is God who arms me with strength[h]
and keeps my way secure.
34 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he causes me to stand on the heights.
35 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 You make your saving help my shield;
your help has made[i] me great.
37 You provide a broad path for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.
38 “I pursued my enemies and crushed them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
39 I crushed them completely, and they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
40 You armed me with strength for battle;
you humbled my adversaries before me.
41 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.
42 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
to the Lord, but he did not answer.
43 I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth;
I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
39 I crushed them completely, and they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
40 You armed me with strength for battle;
you humbled my adversaries before me.
41 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.
42 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
to the Lord, but he did not answer.
43 I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth;
I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.
44 “You have delivered me from the attacks of the peoples;
you have preserved me as the head of nations.
People I did not know now serve me,
45 foreigners cower before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
46 They all lose heart;
they come trembling[j] from their strongholds.
you have preserved me as the head of nations.
People I did not know now serve me,
45 foreigners cower before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
46 They all lose heart;
they come trembling[j] from their strongholds.
47 “The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior!
48 He is the God who avenges me,
who puts the nations under me,
49 who sets me free from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from a violent man you rescued me.
50 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.
Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior!
48 He is the God who avenges me,
who puts the nations under me,
49 who sets me free from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from a violent man you rescued me.
50 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing the praises of your name.
51 “He gives his king great victories;
he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.”
he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.”
This is quite a song. I wish we had it put to music. When we all get to heaven, we will have to gather around David and ask for him to sing for us, to lead us in singing his song to God. No matter where you are I challenge you to sing a song to the Lord. Today in church, sing to Him. This afternoon sing to Him.
Sing to Him, because:
You fill it in!
I had to add a song to this lesson! Seems necessary! Enjoy!
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