Introduction

Sin is an awful thing. It destroys people, families, churches. It grieves God and brings his displeasure upon the sinner. Sin is so awful and so serious that it took God in the flesh dying on the cross to eliminate the eternal consequences of sin for his people.

Yet, in his wisdom and sovereignty, God chose not to eliminate the temporal struggles and consequences of sin in the lives of his people. As Christians, our lives are marked by, what at times seems to be, a constant struggle with sin:

Romans 7:18-24 – For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

I find the struggle with sin so powerful and tiring that, at times, I just want to give up. At times I am overwhelmed by the feeling that there isn't one once of grace in my body with which to please the Lord. The feeling that no matter what I cannot measure up to what God requires of me and the overwhelming sensation comes upon that it would be better to curse God and die.

Yet, all of these thoughts, all of these ideas and emotions come from making God to be after our own imagine. That is how we would react if somebody wronged us. Paul ends his discourse with the only thought that can take us from the bottom of the pit of despair and set our minds aright:

Romans 7:25 – I thank God -- through Jesus Christ our Lord!

It is Christ and Christ alone who can deliver us from sin and please God. The psalmist before us recognize that it is not in him to please God, so he throws himself recklessly, as it were, upon the mercy of God.

I. Title

A. The Psalm is a song to be sung in the worship of God.

1. Prescribed to be accompanied by stringed instruments

2. Directed to the chief musician

3. The word translated "eight-stringed instrument" would be better translated by the word octave.

a. It would mean, then, that it was to be sung by bass voices.

b. This matches the tone of the psalm.

B. It was written by David.

1. It is impossible to figure out the occasion for the writing of this psalm.

2. It is also impossible to figure out when in David's life this psalm was written.

a. Because of the similarities with the two psalm of repentance written after his sin with Beth-Sheba some have suggested that David is referring to the same sin.

b. However, David lived long enough and wild enough to have committed other sins that are not recorded in the OT historical books.

II. A Prayer for God's Grace, 1-3

A. Although sin is not explicitly mentioned in this psalm, it becomes evident that David is asking for God's mercy as God deals with his sin when we compare the language used here with Psalm 38:1-3

Psalm 38:1-3 – A Psalm of David. To bring to remembrance. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure! For Your arrows pierce me deeply, and Your hand presses me down. There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin.

1. Although it sounds like David is talking about being healed from a sickness, he is actually talking about sin.

2. Thus, we must understand the language of pain and healing metaphorically.

B. David had sinned and was experiencing the discipline of the Lord, which was geared to drive him to repentance.

C. Notice that David doesn't ask God not to bring upon the consequence, or the chastisement for his sin, rather he asks God to do so in mercy, 1-2.

1. It is not the rebuke that David is asking God to remove, but his anger.

2. It is not the chastening that David wants God to withdraw, but doing it according to his wrath.

3. There are two reasons for what David asks here:

a. He knows that God chastens those whom he loves; therefore, the absence of chastening would show that God didn't care about him.

Hebrews 12:5-10 – And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives." If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.

1) Interestingly enough is the fact that verses 5 and 6 quote the words of Solomon, David's son. Perhaps he learned this lesson from his father.

2) Now, being chastened by the Lord is not pleasant to be sure.

3) But, not being chastened is much less pleasant in the eternal scheme of things.

b. The wrath of God is reserved for those who are not his and David understood that if God dealt with him in wrath David would be outside of God's people.

"There is a chastisement which proceeds from God's love to the man as being pardoned and which is designed to purify or to prove him, and a chastisement which proceeds from God's wrath against the man as striving obstinately against, or as fallen away from, favour, and which satisfies divine justice…Accordingly David…does not pray for the removal of the chastisement but of the chastisement in wrath…" Kiel and Deliztch

D. Notice also that David's prayer for grace and mercy is based on God's character, not his, 2.

1. He pleads for God's mercy, which is an acknowledgement that he does not deserve anything good that comes from God.

a. The word translated "have mercy" means "deal graciously"

b. So, asks for what he doesn't deserve.

Hos. 6:1 – Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up.

2. This is further evidenced by what he says about himself

a. He is weak and sickly.

b. He doesn't come before God demanding that God forgive him because of how good and deserving he is.

c. It is the exact opposite.

E. Thirdly, notice how David cannot bear the fact that God may be dealing with him in wrath, 3.

1. His soul is greatly trouble with the prospect of God being displeased with him in the same way he is displeased with his enemies.

2. He asks how long this is going to last.

3. Being in sin annihilates any confidence and assurance that God is our God.

a. David is greatly trouble about it.

b. We should be too.

1 Jn. 2:3-6 – Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

F. Here David's question, "How long?" relates to God's displeasure with his sin, but we often feel like asking this question about other areas of life.

1. "How long, Lord, will you make me stay in this awful marriage? How long, Lord, will you be distant from me? How long, Lord, will you let my children rebel? How long, Lord, will you make me go through life alone? How long, Lord?"

2. I think the words of another psalm are often our words.

Ps. 13:1-2 – How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, havingsorrow in my heart daily? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

3. The answer is this: as long as it takes for you to be driven to Jesus Christ!

4. There are two vital lessons to remember at such a time:

a. God never forgets his people; therefore, he has not forgotten you!

Is. 49:14-15 – But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me. Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you."

Is. 43:2-3a – When you pass through the waters, I will bewith you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…

1) You may suffer for years, but that is not because God forgets you.

Heb. 13:5...He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

2) But God does seemingly forget some of His choicest servants, as we have seen.

a) Joseph, Paul, David – all of them were shut up in unpleasant circumstances for years during which it seemed that God had forgotten.

b) Do you know what was happening during that time?

c) God was building maturity into those men as they learned to trust Him.

d) Just as it takes years to grow a sturdy oak tree, so it takes years to build the godly character qualities needed to be an effective servant of the Lord.

e) That's the second lesson:

b. There is no such thing as instant godliness.

1) We have instant everything in our society, but there is no instant godliness.

a) David was anointed as king in his teens.

i. He had a strong faith at that time, as seen in his victory over Goliath.

ii. Did God put him on the throne when he turned twenty-one? No. Twenty-five? No. Twenty-six? Twenty-seven? Twenty-eight? Twenty-nine? No.

iii. Through all those years of running from Saul and living in caves, David learned to wait upon God.

iv. God was developing His man.

b) That's so out-of-sync with our rush-rush world, but that's how God works.

i. If God has placed you in some frustrating circumstances; and you have racked your brain trying to figure a way out, but nothing has worked;

ii. and you see the godless prospering while you suffer; and it seems like God is far away; hang on!

iii. Let God do His perfect work in you.

iv. He hasn't forgotten you.

v. Learn to wait on Him.

III. A Prayer for God's Deliverance, 4-7

A. David is so troubled that he asks God to save him, 4.

1. One important thing for us to notice here is that David keeps on reminding God of his covenant of grace.

a. He keeps on using God's covenantal name – 5x in 4 verses.

b. He pleads with God to save him as display of his covenantal love.

1) The word translated "mercies" is the word for "loving kindness" or "steadfast love" and it finds its origins in God's covenant of grace with his elect.

2) The ESV does a good job translating this verse – "Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love."

c. Again, David asks God to look at himself not at David for the basis of his forgiveness.

B. David really understands the seriousness of his sin and how devastating it would be if God didn't forgive him, 6-7

1. He has cried so much that he is super tired.

2. He has cried so much that his bed in floating on his tears (hyperbole).

3. He has cried so much that his eyes are so swollen that he can't see.

4. David is at the bottom of the depression pit because of his sin.

a. Often depression is caused because of sin in our lives.

b. And sin should depress us.

c. However, we must deal with depression caused by sin in our lives by repenting and turning to God. Like David did here.

C. The most difficult verse in the psalm, 5

1. How does this verse jive with what Paul says about death being gain to the Christian?

2. Several answers have been offered and of the five commentaries I checked, I found different ways of interpreting this verse.

3. So, I would like to offer you a sixth interpretation that I think fits this context better.

a. I think that David was really in doubt whether he was going to heaven.

b. He had been so caught up in his sin that there was no assurance of salvation left in his soul.

c. So, he brings up the possibility of going to hell, or sheol, the place of the dead.

d. Remember that dying is gain only when living is Christ.

1) When living is not Christ, there is no confidence that dying will be gain.

2) I believe that this is the predicament that David found himself in.

IV. Confidence in the Lord's Answer, 8-10

A. There is a sudden change in the mood of the psalm here, which led some scholars to think that these verses were written at a different time by another person.

B. However, the change of mood can be easily accounted for by God's answering David's prayer, 8b-9

C. There are two ways to understand verse 10:

1. David prays for repentance for his enemies – NKJV translation

a. In this case David is asking God to grant to his enemies what he just went through.

b. That means he is praying for their salvation.

2. The verse could be read as a statement of what God is going to do to David's enemies – ESV: "All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment."

3. Although it is impossible to be grammatically certain which one is the correct interpretation, I think that contextually the second one is best.

a. Here we see David as the type of Christ.

b. God has heard the prayers of his Christ and all his enemies will be put to shame.

c. As a matter of fact, Christ quotes this verse when dealing with his enemies in judgment.

Mt. 7:21-23 – Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

Conclusion

This psalm is lament psalm where we see the devastating results of sin. But this psalm points us to the only one who forgives sins. It is Christ and Christ alone who can deliver us from sin and please God. David recognized that it is not in him to please God, so he throws himself recklessly, as it were, upon the mercy of God. And so must we.

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