Preaching Through the Psalms -- Psalm 17 -- Savior, Savior Hear My Humble Cry

SAVIOR, SAVIOR, HEAR MY HUMBLE CRY

TEXT:  Psalm 17:1-15

Psalms 17:1-15 (KJV)  A Prayer of David. Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.  2  Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.  3  Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.  4  Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.  5  Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.  6  I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.  7  Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.  8  Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,  9  From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.  10  They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.  11  They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;  12  Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.  13  Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:  14  From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.  15  As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

I.               INTRODUCTION—THE OLD SONG

-I would hope that all of us have at least heard if not sung one of the old classics of bygone years.  It was a song that was frequently sung by those who were under some of the greatest burdens and sorrows of life.  In fact, it was not just a song it was something of an anthem for the weary and pressured.

Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior

Verse 1:  Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
hear my humble cry; while on others thou art calling, do not pass me by.

Verse 2:  Let me at thy throne of mercy find a sweet relief,
kneeling there in deep contrition; help my unbelief.

Verse 3:  Trusting only in thy merit,
would I seek thy face; heal my wounded, broken spirit, save me by thy grace.

Verse 4:  Thou the spring of all my comfort, more than life to me,

Whom have I on earth beside thee?  Whom in heaven but thee?

-This psalm has the same tone of voice that this song has.

Preaching Through the Psalms -- Psalm 16 -- The Preservation of a Godly Man

THE PRESERVATION OF A GODLY MAN

TEXT:  Psalm 16:1-11

Psalms 16:1-11 KJV  Michtam of David. Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.  [2]  O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;  [3]  But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.  [4]  Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.  [5]  The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.  [6]  The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.  [7]  I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.  [8]  I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.  [9]  Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.  [10]  For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.  [11]  Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

I.               INTRODUCTION—THE NECESSITY OF PREACHING

-This is a personal confession of sorts in that I know that we have been tracking through the Psalms for several months now.  While I have not preached from the Psalms every time I have preached, I know that I am going against the typical Pentecostal tradition by doing this. 

-Yet, I feel like the Lord has been dealing with me for quite some time now to change the direction of my preaching.  I recently read an analogy that likened expository preaching, which is the method that I have been doing in the Psalms series, the life of David series, the Acts messages, the 1^st John series, and the Sermon on the Mount, to reading a book all the way through from start to finish. 

Preaching Through the Psalms -- Psalm 15 -- The Portrait of a True Worshipper

A PORTRAIT OF A TRUE WORSHIPPER

TEXT:  Psalm 15:1-5

Psalms 15:1-5 KJV  A Psalm of David. LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?  [2]  He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.  [3]  He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.  [4]  In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.  [5]  He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

I.                 INTRODUCTION—TRUE WORSHIP IS CONNECTED WITH HOLINESS

-This Psalm needs to be one of the most regularly visited psalms in our Bibles.  We often look to various psalms to encourage us, ones like Psalm 23, 42, 91, and 119, but Psalm 15 is one that needs to resonate with every child of God. 

-Psalm 14 is about a polluted man, a sinner. . . the fool has said in his heart.  Psalm 15 is about a perfect man, the saved. . . who will abide. . . who will dwell?

Preaching Through the Psalms -- Psalm 14 -- The Folly and Future of a Fool

THE FOLLY AND FUTURE OF A FOOL

TEXT:  Psalm 14:1-7

Psalms 14:1-7 KJV  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.  [2]  The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.  [3]  They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.  [4]  Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD.  [5]  There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous.  [6]  Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge.  [7]  Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

I.                 INTRODUCTION—PSALM 14

-There are certain patterns in Scripture that it helps to look out for.  When there are words that are repeated, they should get our attention.  There were times when the Lord would say, “Verily, verily” (Truly, truly) and then He would launch into a lesson.  What is notable about the use of that phrase is that it is only used in the Gospel of John.  In fact, it appears twenty-five times.  Some of the most powerful doctrinal issues that are raised in Scripture when the Lord used those words. 

-But it is extremely rare when you find a portion of Scripture that appears three times.  This is one of the passages that is linked to two others.  Psalm 14 is almost identical to Psalm 53 (only verses 5-6 are different) and it is used again in Romans 3:10-12 by Paul.

Preaching Through the Psalms -- Psalm 12 -- When the Faithful Vanish

WHEN THE FAITHFUL VANISH

TEXT:  Psalm 12:1-8

Psalms 12:1-8 KJV  To the chief Musician upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David. Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.  [2]  They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.  [3]  The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:  [4]  Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?  [5]  For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.  [6]  The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.  [7]  Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.  [8]  The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.

I.                 INTRODUCTION—ORIGIN OF THIS PSALM

A.               Where The Psalm Came From

-This psalm is another one where there isn’t a clear event in the life of David that is pointed to.  Some scholars seem to think that is it one where he has faced deceit and dishonesty in his court after he was the king.   In fact from historical study, we could derive the fact that he probably had to deal with more deception and dishonesty than we could even imagine. 

-Our world today is filled with liars and false flatterers and there are times that the righteous hardly know who to trust. 

Preaching Through the Psalms -- Psalm 11 -- Stay and Fight

STAY AND FIGHT

TEXT:  Psalm 11:1-7

Psalms 11:1-7 KJV  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?  [2]  For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.  [3]  If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?  [4]  The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.  [5]  The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.  [6]  Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.  [7]  For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

I.                 INTRODUCTION—A MAN WHO WAS DETERMINED TO STAY AND FIGHT

On June 26, 1949 there was a funeral in Tel Aviv, Israel, like none that world had ever seen or known before.  The newspapers reported there were tens of thousands of people present in and around the Great Synagogue on that day.  In the main hall of the synagogue a glass box that was five feet long held thirty porcelain urns.  The newspapers reported that inside of these thirty urns were the ashes of an estimated 200,000 Jews who had been murdered in the Holocaust. 

Preaching Through the Psalms -- Psalm 10 -- A Prayer of Justice for the Wicked

Psalms 10:1-18 KJV  Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?  [2]  The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.  [3]  For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.  [4]  The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.  [5]  His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.  [6]  He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.  [7]  His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.  [8]  He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.  [9]  He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.  [10]  He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.  [11]  He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.  [12]  Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.  [13]  Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.  [14]  Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.  [15]  Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.  [16]  The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.  [17]  LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:  [18]  To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

I.                 INTRODUCTION—THE MATTER OF INJUSTICE

-When Paul made mention of something that we may have overlooked in our rapid, hurried, and sometimes desperate look at the Scriptures.  But if Paul had the stature of one of the greatest saints and preachers who has ever lived, I think that what he may have spoken should warrant our attention.