Offerings for July, $178. Total 2024 of $1,545. Thank you for giving the BFM. We'll continue our series on the first half of the Book of Psalms. Psalms and hymns for worship and praise. The aim for the quarter is that we'll learn that singing songs of worship and praise will help us through the good times and the bad times. Today's lesson, A Prayer When Overwhelmed, Psalm 57 through 61, and we'll be focusing on Psalm 61. Hi, Garrett. We can't hardly hear you. No, Bruce is not up there. Okay, all right, I'll speak up. Okay, the pitman's up there, we'll go with it here soon. Psalm 61, verse eight, so will I sing praise unto thy name forever that I may daily perform my vows. In the application for today's lesson, the student will find comfort in patient obedience to the Lord, trusting Him for answer prayers. Next, we'll look at seeking the context for our lesson. The Psalms in this section, 57 through 61, are psalms and prayers which David spoke to God. Some were psalms of praise for the greatness and the love of God. Others were psalms which David pleaded with God for his help in times of trouble. And today's lesson is one of those, the second group. As was usually the case, David recognized the only help in times of trouble was God. He was the shelter and the defense that David needed and the nation needed. David knew God intimately. 1 Samuel 13, 14 says David was a man after God's own heart. And he prayed to the Lord no matter what the situation was. A lot of these psalms are some of David's prayers. They lift up the name of God and present him as the only God that's worthy of worship. Psalm 61 that we're going to look at today is one of David's many psalms written for the chief musician who was to lead Israel in singing the psalm in worship. You'll see that in Bibles before verse one. It's kind of like the title. Spurgeon called it the title of this psalm. It says, to the chief musician upon Negena, a psalm of David. Negena refers to an instrument, a stringed instrument that was used in the, and also has reference to the tune that accompanied this psalm. But the most important feature of this psalm is the prayer that we find within it. Many of the psalms are prayers, and we can use those in our prayer life also by reading them to God as our prayer to Him, or our request to Him, as David did. Many of the psalms Well, in cases like that, when we're trying to express our feelings to God and can't really find the words to express what we want to get across, our need to God, when we don't know what to say or how to say it, a song or a psalm can fill that void. What is a song that speaks to the depths of your heart? Anyone, a lot of times we have prayer requests, or not prayer requests, but kind of open singing, where Brother Pittman asks for requests that we can make, maybe a song that we don't normally sing, but that you know from your past. Anyone have a song that comes quickly to mind when we're asked for In your study guide, the author talks about a song entitled, I Need Thee Every Hour. Maybe you've heard that one or sung that one. Okay, several. I remember that from a young boy hearing that, our church that I grew up in singing that song. And it, I was lost and to hear that song sung, it was a, It was like the whole church singing that to me, or God through the whole church singing that to me, that I needed God also. I'll just read one. A lot of times we skip the third verse in Psalms. We sing the first last or the first second last. I'll read verse three of that psalm. It says, I need Thee every hour in joy or pain. Come quickly and abide, for life is vain. I need in the chorus, I need Thee, oh, I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee. Oh, bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee. And I knew I was under conviction at that time, and I knew what come to thee meant, and I knew what my need was. So, that one has a special place to me. Searching the text, the outline for our lesson. Lead me to the rock, you are my shelter, and I will sing praise. Kind of a progression there. So lead me to the rock. Psalm 61 and verse, I'm gonna read verse one and two together. It says, hear my cry, O God, attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. This psalm has a lot of metaphors in it. where God uses, or the writer uses one word to describe what's going on. And a lot of references to God's covenant, covenants, plural, with Israel. This psalm is a prayer uttered in time of trouble by David. It says, hear my cry, attend my prayer, And then he says, from the end of the earth will I cry. So, from that we get that David is an Exile. A couple of these phrases kind of help us figure out what the time period is and what the occasion is that David is going through at the time. He says, from the end of the earth will I cross. So that tells us he was in exile. Secondly, if we drop down to verse 6, I'm not going to go there on the screen, but it begins, thou wilt prolong the king's life. Now this is David writing, but he's still talking about the king, which is himself. And so that tells us that this is after he ascended to the throne. He was the king at this time. And if we put those two things together, the only time that David, after he became king, was in exile was when he was fleeing from his son, his rebellion of his son Absalom. So we're pretty sure that's the point in time, that's what's going on when David wrote this prayer. While David faced many difficult days, this was probably his experience was the worst. He was rejected by his own son and nothing more difficult for a parent than that. But not only did he seek to replace Absalom seeked to replace David as the king, he also wanted his father to die. And this whole relationship with Absalom was a difficult, well, a strange relationship for many years. David had not handled things well in his family and God himself told David that he would suffer family troubles later on because he had violated the family of Uriah and Bathsheba. David was no stranger to troubles, but he was overwhelmed with sorrow and guilt because of that relationship with Absalom. He was exiled from Jerusalem and This verse tells us he felt like he was at the end of the earth, that far from his homeland. And being absent from his homeland just made the things worse. His discouragement and exhaustion from fleeing from Absalom. So what did David do when he felt overwhelmed? This says, from the end of the earth will I cry unto thee when my heart is overwhelmed? Well, first he says, he goes to God. He wants to get God's attention. And he says, God, hear my cry, hear, attend to my prayer. And then he says, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. He asked God to lead him to a rock that was higher than he was. Rock denotes a place of safety. I remember as a kid watching cowboy movies, especially the Lone Ranger. In fact, I remember hearing the Lone Ranger on radio before I saw him on TV, but I'm dating myself. I always remember him and Tonto hiding behind these big rocks when bad guys were shooting at them. So a rock, a big rock was a place of safety for them. It was a place of... David looked upon it as a place of safety. But here, God or Christ was the rock he was talking about. It could have been capitalized there. So it's a place of safety. But it was a place he couldn't reach by himself, so he's asking God to lead him to the rock that is higher than himself. How has the Lord helped you overcome being overwhelmed? I'm going to ask for a show of hands of how many have been in a situation where you felt overwhelmed, but probably all of us, at one time or another. How will the Lord help us to overcome feelings of being overwhelmed? He gives us of His peace. Say it again real loud. He gives us of His peace. Okay. Well, everything, almost anything we could list, is going to come back to reading His Word, finding out what God says about different situations and what we need to do. And then we need to take that request, we need to pray, we need to take that request to Him, even though He already knows it. We acknowledge that these things are weighing on us and ask, for his help, and then as we read God's word, we need to think about it, not as a categorical reading, but to think about it more deeply than that. Secondly, the second point is, he will say to God in these verses, you are my shelter, Look at verse 3, "...for thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy." For David to make that statement sounds like he's been thinking about his past history, about all the times that God has protected him from troubles. He probably thought back to the escape from Saul when Saul was chasing him. Probably those times when he was fighting with the Philistines, how God helped him there. And he probably, or should have, I'm sure he did, conclude from thinking about those times that God hadn't failed him in the past, as long as he was obedient, and he wouldn't fail him now either. So he had experienced the sheltering protection of the Lord. Shelter is a pretty simple word. There's not a number of definitions for it, but it's just any structure that's going to provide us safety in a time of storm. But a strong tower is a little more to that, a strong tower from the enemy. The cities back in that time built walls around them as a way of protection from their enemies. And for further strengthening of those walls, every so often there was a tower. It had multiple purposes. It would, first of all, establish, make the walls more stable and stronger. But secondly, it was also a place where they stationed soldiers to look out for, it was a lookout where they could see incoming dangers and defend the city from them. And by the same token, God's our shelter in the time of storms, when we're going through difficult times. God wants us to run to Him because He will provide stability, just like the tower, will provide stability and strength to us. And He also warns us, as the soldiers did, warns us of incoming dangers and defends us from them. He will, through his word, tells us of what things are a danger to us, and we need to be wise in our actions. Verse four says, I will abide in thy tabernacle forever. Here David is in exile, many miles away from Jerusalem, but he's still thinking about the tabernacle and worshiping there. I will abide in thy tabernacle forever. I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Salah. So even though he was miles away, that didn't keep him from wanting to be there. He looked forward to the day when he would be able to get back there to the tabernacle to worship God. And this says, to take cover, it's just another word for shelter, to take shelter under his wings. Covert, we speak of our CIA and people in that business. Sometimes that's called covert intelligence. There's overt, which is out in the open, and there's covert, which is hidden. Those people that are in the intelligence business are, a lot of times, undercover. But then he talks about the wings. Take cover under his wings. Probably referring to the cherubim that were on each end of the mercy seat that led to the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle. Probably referring to their wings because that area between the two cherubim were where the presence of God was. And that's where he was really hiding, was in under the, in the presence of God. Verse five says, first part says, for thou, O God, has heard my vows. David mentioned the vows that he had made to the Lord. He may have made these when he was, this time period when he was in exile from Jerusalem. Doesn't tell us, scripture doesn't tell us what he vowed, but just that he made vows. But we can be certain he kept those vows, whatever they were. Because he knew, David knew the Old Testament scriptures. He knew what Ecclesiastes said, chapter five, verse four and five. It says, when thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it, for he hath no pleasure in fools. Pay that which thou hast vowed. He goes on, better is it that thou shouldest not vow than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. And he goes on in verse five, thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name. So God had given David, says thou, God has given, thou has given me the heritage. So it's God he's speaking about. God has given him a heritage, a possession or inheritance. And he goes on to say this was, for those who fear God's name. David was thankful for this. He was thankful that his parents raised him to fear God, to respect God, to have a respect for God. And so that was a special heritage. And just like it was important for families then, it's important for families today. Children need a spiritual heritage to build on. And even when our kids are grown and out of the house, we need to continue establishing, making that spiritual heritage for them in the way that we live. Because even though they're out of the house, they're still looking back to how we're living our lives. Verse 6 goes on, Thou wilt prolong the king's life and his years as many generations. So, the immediate context that David is praying in is, he's praying for himself in his struggle against Absalom. But he's also looking down the road, he says, in his years and in many generations, he's thinking of the eternal inheritance that each one of us who have trusted Christ have, and those who fear the Lord. All believers have that inheritance. 1 Peter 1 verse 4 says, it's an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away and it's reserved in heaven for you, speaking to a believer. Verse 7, the first part says, he shall abide before God forever. So if God decides in this case with Absalom, Absalom's rebellion, if God decides to be merciful to David and to preserve his life, then great, praise the Lord. But if not, what if he doesn't, what if he loses his life in this battle, which we know didn't happen, if we were back then, when he prayed this prayer. He knew, though, even if his life, his physical life was taken, he still would abide forever before God, because he knew where he would go. And he knew he had this promise from God, this covenant with God, the Davidic covenant that said his offspring would sit on the throne of Israel forever. And then he closes out verse seven by talking about asking for mercy and truth. He says, oh, prepare mercy and truth, prepare them for me, which may preserve him, or David speaking about himself, just like he was in verse six there. So he's saying, give me, for my reign, as long as I'm king, give me mercy and truth, and may they be instrumental in my life so that my line of succession will be preserved according to God's plan, according to the covenant God had made with him. So he was looking at long-term and eternal life. Do you have a guarantee of eternal life? You're saved, you do, don't you? Why is that? Because we can have eternal security because we didn't have any part in getting the security and getting salvation in the first place. Whether we have nothing to offer God, we didn't deserve it, we didn't earn it, it's all grace, it's all God's price, God sending Christ to die for our sins and to shed His blood. Then the last point, I will sing praise. Verse eight says, so will I sing praise unto thy name forever, that I may daily perform my vows. So David ends his prayer here with praise to God. He says that he would continually sing praises to God. Singing praises, praising God was a central part of David's life purpose. He knew God was worthy of worship and he wanted to exalt Him for all time. He says, so will I sing praise to thy name forever. If we look back in verse 5, where David spoke about vows, making vows to God, here he brings up the vows again. And it may just be general promises he made about, or vows about worshipping God. Whatever the vows were, David said he wanted to keep them daily, that I may daily perform my vows. And he knew if he was not on the throne, if God didn't preserve his life in this battle with Absalom, that he for sure would not be keeping his vows. So he believed he was going to be returned to the throne and he lifted his praise to God for that. So how can you give praise and thanks to the Lord? Prayer, just like our lesson today, just like God, just like David did. These are psalms that are our songs. We can sing psalms of praise, the whole section in our hymnal. If you've probably looked already, but in our hymn, all the songs are in groups of different topics, and one of them is praise. And then we can give, give praise to God by giving of ourselves, giving our time, talents, and treasure. And then, can you trust the Lord to take care of your problems? Yes. And you can do that because He cares about you. He wants the best for you if you belong to Him. I'm going to close with a devotion here that I read. This is written by Jennifer Rothschild, who's with Proverbs 31 Ministries. And it's written to women, but men, you can make, you can substitute your own examples for the ones that she uses. But just think about the topic and what she's talking about just in general. This is not just for women. We would all at one time or another probably feel overwhelmed. So she starts out speaking to women. She says, you skip breakfast, you're late for work, you forgot to pack little Joey's lunch, your laundry basket is a Mount Everest of dirty clothes, your loved one is in the hospital, you can't seem to get to the store to buy groceries, you still haven't returned that girl on the list of phone calls and text messages, Your mother needs you, your friend needs you, your husband needs you, your kids need you, your boss needs you. You need to be cloned, or counseled, or consoled, or caught up in the air to meet the Lord." And then she says, "...raptured to meet the Lord." You feel stressed, guilty, inadequate, overwhelmed. Overwhelmed. We feel it for all sorts of reasons, and I don't know about you, but when I feel overwhelmed, I want to run away. I want to run from what feels too big and unfixable. I want to run to my closet with some dark chocolate and hide. Thankfully, God wants us to run when we're feeling overwhelmed, but instead of running away from what overwhelms us and turning to dark chocolate, He wants us to run to Him, to run to His Word which settles us and shelters us. So, she's going back to Psalm 61. Sometimes we can't change all the stuff in our lives that feels bigger than we can handle. But whatever feels bigger than you is still puny compared to the rock, capital R, that is higher than you. When I feel flat out, overwhelmed, and underqualified, and out of sorts, I'm learning not to run away from my stress. I'm also learning not to run to a bag of chocolate. Instead, I'm learning to run to God, to His Word, in the overwhelming middle of my stress. That's a key point, in the middle of my stress. When I run to God's Word, even just one verse, I find that God is my refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46. When I run to Him, I find that my refuge isn't an escape from my stress. God is my refuge. I'm reminded once again that my strength doesn't come from me and my stamina or drive. My strength comes from the Lord. He is the rock that is higher than I am. When I run to His Word, I discover that His law is my delight and it protects me and keeps me from totally freaking out or giving up or falling apart. Psalm 119, 92. He really is the rock that is stronger and higher than anything you and I face. If you feel the need to run away, lace up your cutest running shoes and go for it. Run into the strong arms of Jesus. He is your strength. He is your rock. He is your refuge. And when you find yourself sheltered in the truth of His Word, in the sanctuary of His presence, all the stress that overwhelmed you and felt bigger than you suddenly shrinks down to the pebble size it really is. God's Word gives you the perspective you need. God's presence gives you the peace you need. So run away, sister, run to the rock who is waiting to shelter and settle you. And with that, I'll close. Father, we thank you for this psalm. We thank you for when we're overwhelmed, when we're just up against the wall, seeing that you're there and you want us to run to you, to take refuge in you, to speak to you and flee to the rock, the one that's higher than us and stronger than us. make what seems like a mountain into something small. I pray that through your strength, you'll help us to be what we ought to be for you, help us to be a witness to others, and draw them to you. And just pray that we will bless this lesson, bring to remembrance the things that we've learned, and help us to apply them as we go forward. And we ask all this in Christ's name.