Title: Peace (Psalm 57:1-5)
Contents
Expository Preaching
Subject peace
Text: Psalm 57:1-5
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1 Have mercy on me, O God, and have mercy on me; my soul takes refuge in you, under the shadow of your wings, until this calamity passes by. 2 I cry to the Most High God, to God who does all things for me. 3 He He is sent from heaven to save me from the reproach of those who seek to devour me. (Selah) God will send his love and truth. 4 My soul dwells among lions, and I lie down among those who are set on fire, even among men, whose teeth are spears and flesh. Their tongues are like sharp swords. 5 May you, O God, be exalted above the heavens, and your glory be exalted above the whole world.
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David serious but not serious
The situation in today's text is very serious. David now faces the threat of death. If you look at the Bible, there are additional explanations. It says, “David was in a cave from Saul.” We do not know which cave David was in. We don't know for sure whether it was the cave of Adullam or the cave of En-gedi, but what is clear is that David's situation is very dire.
You guys think about it. King Saul of the early monarchy with absolute power. This is the one King Saul had declared to be killed. So even if you are in the cave now, you never know when the soldiers will come. To sleep is not to sleep, and to live is not to live. In a dark cave, he falls asleep thinking about the moment of death, and then suddenly wakes up at the slightest sound.
By the way, in such an urgent and serious situation, this poem he wrote is too bright when I meditate on it. I'm too optimistic. So hopeful. So, in fact, in this situation, the cigar is not well connected.
Everyone, look at verse 5. ‘O God, I want you to be exalted above the heavens, and your glory to be exalted above the whole world.’ Now, this is not the case now. “Well, the glory of the Lord has been set.” This is not a situation like this, but his life is at stake right now.
Look at verse 7. ‘My heart is set, my heart, O God, I will sing and I will sing’. I'm in danger of dying right now. What song or hymn is played?
Verse 8 is more. “Awake, my glory, awake, lyre, harp, I will wake up the dawn.” What will you do when you wake up at dawn in that dark cave? Aren't you supposed to wake up in a seeker cave?
See verse 9. It's amazing. “Lord, I give thanks to you from all peoples, and I will praise you from all the nations.” In a situation where the king with absolute power rushes to kill him, he embraces the world, gives thanks and praises him.
Verse 11 is truly overwhelming. “O God, I want you to be exalted above the heavens, and your glory to be exalted above the whole world.” The situation is so serious right now, David is not serious at all.
I've been asking this question in my mind. ‘What kind of power is this that can not succumb in the face of such difficult realities? I was curious.
Peter
However, a similar situation is presented in Acts. Peter is now in prison. Also, the situation is not serious. If you look at Acts 12:1, you can see the background. “At that time King Herod stretched out his hand to harm some of the church, and killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw the Jews rejoicing in this, he tried to arrest Peter as well, and it was the Feast of Unleavened Bread.”
How scary is this trend of public opinion to you politicians? King Herod killed the Christian leader James. And looking at the public opinion, the public opinion is good. The atmosphere is nice and it's a good kill. So, gaining strength from the public opinion, they even arrested Peter and put him in prison. He wants to kill Peter too. It is such an urgent situation right now.
But looking at Peter, he doesn't look like a man of this earth at all. He slept comfortably in prison, not just sleeping, but sleeping so deeply that an angel had to come and slap Peter on the side. It's really unstoppable Peter. A light flashes in the prison, the prison doors open, an angel appears, and the situation is just insane. However, he is not aware of it and is deeply asleep. Looking at Peter like this, what on earth does Peter have to have this power to overcome situations?
Like any other person, he suffers from depression and is anxious, so he is likely to fall into a nervous breakdown. What kind of energy is this amazing power that transcends this environment and situation where he has fallen into a deep sleep that needs to be shaken up?
power of peace
What I meditated on is this. This is the ‘power of peace’. It is the power of peace bestowed upon those who have faith. May this specific energy of faith, this power of peace, rest among you.
there is conflict
But what is important is that there was no conflict within David? He's a human too, wasn't he really insecure? no. There was.
Look at verse 4. 'My soul lives among lions, and I lie among the burning ones, among the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and flesh, and their tongues are like sharp swords.' ? Not that there were no conflicts. There were conflicts, there was anxiety, and because of the unfair pain, they are groaning in unbearable pain.
The more you think about it, the more regretful it becomes. I can't sleep and I get angry. No matter how much I think about it, there is nothing wrong with me. In the moment of crisis, King Saul had nothing but to take the initiative to defeat Goliath in the name of God. The only thing that saved him from a military crisis is why he is treating me like this. But God seems to want to let go of even that heart.
However, on the other hand, David struggles with the fact that it is very difficult to let go of his anger.
the power to suppress the instinct peace
By the way, what makes David so great is that despite this inner instinctive anger, he's holding it down with another energy.
That's right. Dear all! It doesn't matter whether we have this instinct or not. That's not the problem, it's all instinct. But the question is whether I have the ability to press it.
Like David, we also have anger, wounds, fear, and frustration. There is no difference between having it and not having it. The difference is whether I have the power to press it or not. But do you know what that pressing force is? Peace of mind, that is peace. It is pressed by the power of peace. It is the power of peace that turns all these uncomfortable hearts, unhappy hearts, anger, worries, hate, and worries within us and turns them into nothing.
Today, I hope that this kind of peace from God will come to all of you without exception. So I hope that all your trials, worries, and troubles will be gone. So, I pray in the name of the Lord that this brightness of David, this optimism, this song, and this praise of David that overcomes even the difficult and difficult circumstances come to you.
He must have sang this praise, waking up in that dark place, I think. “Peace, peace, descending from heaven. Let the waves of love cover my soul forever. Let me dig out my treasure and take it away. Who is safe?”
You, no one in the world can take this peace. Why not take it away? Because it is not of the earth. It is something that the people of the earth can never take away.
Although Saul could take away all that David had, the only thing he could not take away was peace. To all of you who are in the midst of suffering and many difficulties, I hope the Holy Spirit will give you this energy of peace today. I wish that David was not taken from Saul, that Peter was not taken away, and that this peace that cannot be taken away from us.
When I see David like this, I think of us adults. Even though it is a little difficult now, we are desperate and do it, but look at our forefathers of faith. The difficulties we are experiencing right now are not difficulties. The children were born profusely. Every day I cry for tuition and lay down. There is no rice in the rice dock. The clothes are all torn, and this is absurd.
What was the hymn you sang every day in such a situation? “Is there any other heart for me that is in the Lord? He went to the bottom of the cross and unpacked my burdens.” It is about overcoming that difficult environment with enough strength to get out. “Praise the Lord, hallelujah, hallelujah, even though the road ahead of me is long and rough, I will only follow the Lord”
It's not without difficulties, the road ahead is rough. The way to live is tough. But it is going out with praise. Why? Because you have received the peace that God has given you. Yesterday was scary. But today it became a prayer, and yesterday I sighed. But today we are going to sing. May this power, this faith, this peace come to you.
So, what is the specific content of this peace? Let us look at verse 1 again. “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me; my soul will take refuge in you, under the shadow of your wings I will take refuge until this plague is over.”
What does this mean? To put it simply, this is it. “The end of suffering is steadfast.” This is the concrete blessing of peace that God has given you. To borrow David's expression, "This calamity will pass quickly." “There must be an end to this calamity.” It is an optimistic attitude in life that these times of suffering must come to an end.
According to legend, there is a story about David. It's a solid story that's almost credible. One day David went to visit a ringsmith. And I made a request. It was to make a ring and then write a phrase on it. I was told to write a phrase that would give me strength and hope to live again when I saw this phrase when I was so desperate for something to do with it. The smith was a wise man. The phrase he wrote was this.
“This too shall pass soon”
I didn't have the money to buy a ring, so I planted these words in the field of my heart. Today, I hope that this phrase will be firmly established in the field of your heart.
So, let's bless those who stand by us. “This pain too will pass soon” begins.
Take out this ring of your heart when you are faced with something too difficult and painful. And meditate on those words deeply. “This too shall pass soon” Each of you buy a ring, and I hope that God will give this gift to all of you today. Buy the ring when you have the money and I hope God will give you this phrase as a gift.
“This will pass soon. This suffering will soon be over.” I don't know which cave this was in that dark cave, but it was a concrete blessing of peace I received in that cave.
This was the strength that made David overcome and sustain David's practical difficulties and pains. “This too will soon pass.” With these words today, overflowing in your hearts, you are victorious until the day when the Lord will one day wipe the tears from my eyes, strengthen my weak heart like dust, and turn all my suffering into blessings. Bless you all in the name of the Lord.