Psalms Through the Summer 13: A Psalm In Days of Trouble - Psalm 86

 Psalms Through the Summer 13:

A Psalm In Days of Trouble - Psalm 86 

 In the past I used keep a clipping file for illustrations, first in a real file folder, old school analog, then later on digitally on the computer. One of the things I clipped were stories of tragedies, global ones, local ones. Tragedies that affected thousands like earthquakes or 911 and tragedies that affected just a few like the church van filled with children that was involved in highway accidents. I didn’t have to clip the personal tragedies that I knew firsthand, pain and sorrow that come to my family, my church, my friends.

Years ago then I would go to my file for a sermon like today, A Psalm In Days of Trouble, and I would find that clipping and use it to introduce the sermon. Or I would go back in time in my own mind and find something in my own life and use it. I was going to do that for this sermon and I went to my folder on my computer and selected several, place them here in the introduction to my sermon, read through them and then deleted them all.

Do any of you today need to be reminded of the pain, suffering and trouble that is in the world today? If you do then just go to the internet and read any newsfeed or digital newspaper and you will be flooded with the worst kind of trouble. The older I have gotten the easier it is for my to recall trouble and pain in my own life. The Lord has spared LeeOra and I from so much, but no one is spared entirely. Some of you my brothers and sister, my church family have gone through tragedies that I’m afraid might break me if I had to endure what you have. And yet as a pastor a part of the pain of every member is carried in my heart and soul. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11:28-29 “Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?”

The Day of Trouble, we all dread it, and we all know we have to face it, but praise our great God and Savior we don’t have to face it alone. David faced many Troubling Days and what he learned during those times the Holy Spirit inspired him to record in his Psalms. One such Psalm is our text today, Psalm 86.

 O Lord, Hear and Help - Psalm 86: 1-5

Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy. Preserve my soul; for I am holy (sanctified to you) : O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily. Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

David Prays To The Lord He Knows

In these petitions we see a child of God who is helpless and has no ability, no answers, no hope within himself. He knows he needs the mercy of God to save him and to return him to the joy he once had.

David in these opening verses asks for 5 things. 1) God’s Condescension - Bow down, Lord, hear me, 2) God’s Protection - preserve my soul, 3) God’s intervention - Save thy servant, 4) God’s reconciliation - be merciful unto me, 5) God’s restoration - and rejoice the soul of thy servant.

Along with his need, David gives 6 foundations of his prayer. 1) His helplessness - I am poor and needy, 2) His sanctification- I am holy, (set aside, sanctified to thee) 3) His faith -I trust in thee, 4) His persistence - I cry unto thee daily, 5) His offering - I lift up my soul to thee, 6) And finally, and most important to David, God’s character - For you are good, ready to forgive and full of mercy to those that call upon you.

Finding God’s Help

You can see why this prayer is seen by so many as a universal prayer during times of crisis, pain or loss in our lives, family, our community or our nation. Like David, when we don’t have any answers, or any ability to overcome or even to understand, it is at those times that we must make our plea for help to God. We must call out to God, asking Him to bow down, to condescend from heaven and to turn a listening ear to our prayer. We ask him to reach down, to hear us and bring us back to a place of joy in our lives.

David cried out to God believing that God would hear and that God would act. He believed this because of His covenant and his personal relationship to the Lord.

When we come to our own days of trouble and turn to God for help, we must trust that our Lord will help and we can only have that faith if we like David, have a relationship with Him. This is fundamental, it is foundational to every prayer we pray.

How many times have we watched a movie where the hero gets in trouble and then prays like this. “Lord, you know I’m not real religious (He always looks up to heaven) and I know I don’t really pray or go to church and such, but if you’ll just help me out right here. I promise I’ll never ask you for anything else. Amen Oh and I’ll try to start going to church.”

Now in Hollywood, a place that is as far from knowing God as Pluto is from the Sun, that kind of prayer might make sense, but in the real world of broken people, broken hearts, broken families and broken nations it is useless. Such a prayer has no power, no foundation upon which to put our faith upon. That’s not a prayer, its an attempt to bargain. You might as well be on the game show “Let’s Make A Deal.” I should say it is better than no prayer, but it is not the prayer of a David or a faithful child of God.

Our pain in this sinful world is real, our sorrow, our trouble, our hurts are overwhelming and if we hope to survive them, to overcome them then we better have more than a Hollywood idea of prayer and the God we are praying to.

Like David we must have a covenant and a personal relationship with God. Our covenant is the new covenant based upon the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Our personal relationship must be built on repentance and faith and built, like all relationships, by time spent with God.

We call out to God’s not because we haven’t prayed before, haven’t asked him for anything before but because we have asked Him for everything and we do it all the time.

I’ve asked God for eternal life. I’ve asked God to forgive me sin and my guilt for putting Jesus, His son upon the cross. For my family, church and friends, I ask God for providential and supernatural protection and guidance. I pray daily, I pray multiple times a day. I pray ceaselessly believing God is always near, always aware and always listening. I seek God’s voice through his Word daily and try to see God in all things all around me. And because I’ve walked with Him and talked with Him, I have that personal relationship with Him and when I need the Lord, I know He will hear and He will help.

Paul put it this way in Romans 8:14-17 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

You and I are the children of God in our day of trouble we will call out to our Heavenly Father. You and I are not under bondage from sin or from fear, we have been given the Holy Spirit. We are adopted into the family of God, and we cry out “Abba, Father.” I believe God will hear and God will work because we are heirs of God. Yes, we will at times suffer but rest assured by the promise of god that we shall be glorified.

Oh Lord, Hear And Answer - Psalms 86:6-10

6 Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. 7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me. 8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works. 9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. 10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.

David Prays In Faith and Hope

After David asks to listen, he then prays in faith. Once again, he asks God to hear him, “Give ear, O Lord, (O Jehovah) to my payer and attention to my supplications, my most intimate, innermost needs are brought before You.”

I think vs 7 is the key verse for the Psalms, it was the reason this passage spoke to me, “In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee, for you will answer.”  That is a statement of David’s unwavering faith. In the terrible times of my trouble, I will call upon the Lord for he will answer me.”

He knows God will answer him, He has always answered him both as the shepherd boy fighting the lion, the young warrior fighting the giant Goliath and as the King of building Jerusalem. God has heard the prayers of David and David knew to pray to His God because God who has told His people from the beginning, “Call unto me and I will answer.” The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was not distant, not removed or hidden from His people. The Lord who spoke to Moses from a burning bush was also the Lord who heard the desperate cry of Hagar and Ishmael.

Asaph, one of David’s Chief musicians wrote Psalms 50:1-3 ​ The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence:  Psalms 50:15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

David, Asaph, all the saints and children of God, base their hope upon their Lord. He is their God, they know Him and they know that there is none other like Him. David knows that God has made all the nations and that one day they will all worship him and glorify His name. His hope is a future reality because of God’s greatness. The Lord is a God who does miraculous things. He is God alone, and therefore He can give hope with all seems hopeless. This is David’s faith in the Lord and in the Lord he then finds the hope he needs in the day of trouble.

Finding God’s Hope

Like David we will all face our own day of trouble. I wish it would be only one, but it wasn’t that way for David and it won’t be that way for us. Most of you already have known and have experienced many days of trouble. As long as we are in this sinful, evil, hateful world that is under the power and influence of the Wicked One, we will see many days of trouble.

When our own day of trouble dawns upon us, whether it be my life, my family, my church, my nation or world, we really only have two choices. We can face it on our own or we can turn to God and face it with the Lord. Depending on that choice we will either grow bitter, disillusioned and hopeless trying to deal with problems too great and too overwhelming or we will learn humility, see with heavenly perspective and find the hope that overcomes because we went to God in prayer and faith.

Psalms Survey of Overcoming through prayer and faith. The book of Psalms is filled with this reality of prayer and faith in God that brings the child of God to undefeatable hope. Look at this quick survey of hope from Psalms.

Psalm 34:4–6 4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

Psalm 107:13–16 13 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. 14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder. 15 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 16 For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.

Psalm 116:1 I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.

Psalm 138:3 In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.

Psalm 31:24 Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

Psalm 38:15 For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.

Psalm 39:7 And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.

O Lord, Hear and Teach - Psalms 86:11-15

11 Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. 12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. 13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. 14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them. 15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

David Prays for Guidance and Strength

Finally, as David closes his prayer, he asks for guidance from His God and knows that as God works in his life, and answers his prayer, he will be drawn closer to God and find the peace and joy his soul so desperately needs in the day of trouble.

He asks God to teach him and in that guidance he will walk in truth and his heart will be united as he walks with God. His heart will be not be divided by the wickedness around him trying to take his eyes of God and only seeing the difficult time he faces. But instead his united heart will focus through faith on God.

David contrasts the Lord with the troubles and violence around him, “vss 12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. 13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. 14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them. 15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.”

David says when I go to God and I walk with God, He shows me, He teaches me there is a path through the Day of Trouble. There is a way when he can walk as God guides him, a way that will bring him through the valley of the shadow of death to the table God has prepared for him.

When you think about it isn’t Psalm 23 David looking back upon all those days of trouble and seeing how God brought him through them all?

Psalms 23 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Finding God’s Way

Our final understanding, our final faith if you will is to accept that suffering can bring us to God and help us see our way through by walking closer to Him. Closer than we did before our Day of Trouble came.

Listen again to what David says in that last verse, Psalm 86:15 “But you, O Lord, are full of mercy and grace and truth.” The world, David knows, is unreliable, wicked, seeking only to hurt and harm, but God is the exact opposite of that wickedness. With God there is mercy and forgiveness when our day of trouble comes even from our own sin and bad choices. With God there is grace, the undeserved, unmerited love that God is so willing to pour out to us. With God there is unfailing, unshakeable truth. I can find in God all that this world, with its sin, sorrow and suffering has tried to take from me.

I don’t believe that God arbitrarily or randomly sends suffering and trouble into our life. I think most times we do a good enough job of that ourselves, but I do believe with all my heart that no matter why I stand under the glaring sun of another Day of Trouble, I can go to my Lord, he will hear me, he will help me, he will give me hope and he will guide me through.

One day our prayers will be answered with the ultimate answer from God. God will answer our prayer with the word, “My child, come home.” Our hope will become reality, our faith shall become sight and we will be guided from this world of wickedness with all its Days of Trouble, to that haven of rest. That will be the greatest answer to prayers that you and I will ever receive, but until then we have a path to walk and I want to walk it with the Savior hand in mine.

The Path I Feared by George MacDonald

I said, "Let me walk in the fields.
He said, "No; walk in the town."
I said, "There are no flowers there.
He said, "No flowers but a crown."

 I said, "But the skies are black,
There is nothing but noise and din."
And He wept as He sent me back;
"There is more," He said. "There is sin."

 I pleaded for time to be given.
He said, "Is it hard to decide?
It will not seem hard in Heaven
To have followed the steps of your Guide."

 I cast one look at the fields,
Then set my face to the town.
He said, "My child, do you yield?
Will you leave the flowers for a crown?"

 Then into His hand went mine;
And into my heart came He;
And I walked in a light divine,
The path I had feared to see.

Conclusion - Psalms 86:16-17

16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid. 17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.

David repeats his plea and restates his faith

I see vss. 16-17 as a repetition and summary of the preceding verses. David’s conclusion to his prayer in the Day of Trouble.

Here again he pleads for God’s presence, love and strength, “O turn unto me and have mercy upon me, give me thy strength.” He declares himself a "son of thine handmaid," he means one born into the service of God and pledging himself as a lifelong servant to his Lord and Master.

The last thing he asks is for God to make him a token, a symbol for good in order that those who hate will see it and be ashamed of their hate because the Lord God, Jehovah has helped and comforted David.

I want you to notice that in all the prayer, David does not ask for deliverance, or for God to stop or prevent evil and violence. There are many Psalms in which David does ask for those things but not here in Psalm 86. Instead, he asks for God to give to him those things that will draw him closer to his Lord, make him a stronger servant and in overcoming, he wants to be seen as proof of God’s goodness, and bring glory to the Lord.

Facing Our Day of Trouble

What will we pray in our own Day of Trouble? Will we go to God as His own, saved by grace through faith? Our will we come as aliens and strangers? Will we come in faith and find hope. Will we see that suffering brought us closer to the Lord we love? Will we walk through the ruins with Him and find that He guided us safely and surely to our through?

If Psalm 86 teaches us anything, it teaches us that in the Day of Trouble what I need more than answers or deliverance is just for my Lord to be with me.