God is our fortress! – Psalm 31
God is our fortress! – Psalm 31
By Pastor Lee Hemen
August 20, 2017
When you hear the word “fortress” what do you think of? Perhaps a castle built high on a cliff made of strong stone, a thick concrete-reinforced bunker deep in the ground bristling with barb wire, or an impenetrable stockade with massive cannons. The word “fortress” conjures up thoughts of safety, security, or protection for those faced with an enemy that seeks to destroy them. The Christian lives in a world where we face such an enemy and where we need to find a strong and secure fortress.
David in his distress seeks to find such a fortress and he does in the arms and strength of the Lord. It is a fortress every believer can reach and find safety in a world of darkness and sin. It is a place of quiet rest in a restless world and shelter from the windswept storms of life. David describes for us such a fortress; therefore let’s find out what he writes concerning the fact that God is our fortress…
READ: Psalm 31
As a boy we built tree houses and dugout bunkers that were strictly for “boys only”. Each had a myriad of alarms and traps just in case some wily girl found her way even near them. Of course this never happened because the girls we defended against never cared a thing in the world about our fortresses. David shares with us the fact that…
I. God is our fortress where we find shelter! (Vv. 1-8)
In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth. I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the LORD. I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.
1. Here is another one of David’s Psalms sung during a time of being despised, defamed, and persecuted. David desired others know that they too could turn to God during these times. So David sings, “In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness.” And notice how often David refers to God as his safe haven or stronghold: “Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge.” David does so at least six times using terms such as “refuge, fortress, rock, or rescue”. David wanted God to listen to his prayer; he wanted to be delivered from his sin, and he wanted to be protected and guided through life’s entrapments. It was “Into” God’s protective “hands” that David “committed” his spirit. Sound familiar? It should. Jesus used these words as well when he gave himself up as our Sacrifice. David saw God as his redeemer, the truth in a world full of “worthless idols”, and one he could completely trust. This is why he sang, “I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.” David felt protected: “You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place” where he could see the enemy coming at him from far away and thereby make preparations. David knew that God is our fortress where we find shelter!
EXAMPLE: There was only one place to run to and that was to a huge bunch of blackberry bushes. When you decide to take a shortcut across a farmer’s field and discover that there are several large bulls on the other side of some bushes you run as fast as you can to any shelter you can find. My friend and I had been out shooting, our vehicle got stuck, and we needed to hike back to town. And the shortest distance between us and town was through this field; with a few obstacles (angry bulls) in our way. Scratched, cut, and bleeding we came out of the safety of the blackberries on the other side. God is our fortress where we find shelter!
There was nothing better in the world when things like your big brother picked on you to find comfort in a parent’s understanding and sympathetic arms, which I never did because both of them usually asked immediately, “Now what did you do to provoke your brother?” In this Psalm David shares with us the fact that he found that…
II. God is our fortress of compassion! (Vv. 9-13)
Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends-- those who see me on the street flee from me. I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life.
1. When David needed understanding, even if he had sinned, he knew he could go to the Lord. This is why he sings, “Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.” In his sin David felt like he was ill and indeed he was sin-sick. And of course when you are caught in sin or you know you are wrong you feel like everyone is against you; whether they are or not. David felt like he was literally a leper and lamented that “Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends-- those who see me on the street flee from me. I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery.” Cast aside, dust in the wind, and forgotten David turns to God. He pleaded for grace because his life was in “distress”, in “sorrow, “grief, and anguish”. David was so distressed he was at the point of becoming paranoid, “For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life.” Sin will do that but in God one finds mercy and David reminds us that God is our fortress of compassion!
EXAMPLE: “No one understands me!” is the battle cry of most adolescents. Teenagers over the centuries have lamented the misunderstanding of the adults around them. We find it in the love story of Romeo and Juliet to the selfish demands of Samson demanding his parents do what he wanted done concerning a girl. I am so glad I skipped that in my life, aren’t you? Right? We may think or feel that there is no one who understands us or cares for us but there is. We learn, as we mature, that there is always one who cares no matter how we may feel and David reminds us that God is our fortress of compassion!
Revenge was good but trust is better especially when your big brother is seeking revenge on you and you have to trust him not to punch your lights out like he promised. How good to know then what David realized that…
III. God is our fortress that keeps us safe! (Vv. 14-18)
But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I have cried out to you; but let the wicked be put to shame and lie silent in the grave. Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous.
1. In his self-induced sin condition David longed for relief and he finds it in God. “But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my God.’” David realized what many have forgotten in our day and age that his “times”, his entire life was “in” God’s “hands”. God knew David’s life from its beginning to its end and therefore it was God alone who could “deliver [David] from [his] enemies and from those who” pursued him! David had been chased first by Saul and later in his fractured reign by his own son so he understood what it meant to trust in God and sang “Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I have cried out to you; but let the wicked be put to shame and lie silent in the grave. Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous.” Wow, he just sang for the death of his enemies and anyone who would “speak arrogantly against the righteous”! In our day where many live politically correct lives instead of what Scripture actually teaches this may seem harsh, old fashioned, or out-of date, but David had come to understand completely that God is our fortress that keeps us safe!
EXAMPLE: Now the reason my brother want to “punch my lights out” was simply over peanut butter. He liked it and I gave him some of mine. Of course what happened was that I had set him up in the first place by making myself a peanut butter sandwich with lots and lots of peanut butter on it. I knew my brother would want it and thereby take it from me so when he came into the kitchen and saw what I was making he demanded that I give it to him. I did this by way of smooshing it into his face. (Yes, “smooshing” is a word; my word.) I had to run like crazy. Unlike David I discovered I had no place to hide. David discovered that God is our fortress that keeps us safe!
Being rescued is a wonderful thing whether it is being rescued from the rocks at the beach by the Coast Guard; being rescued from the bad guys by the police; or being rescued in the midst of life’s struggles and pain. But sometimes, there is no immediate rescue, what then? David teaches us that…
IV. God is our fortress of hope! (Vv. 19-24)
How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you. In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues. Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city. In my alarm I said, "I am cut off from your sight!" Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.
1. In reading David’s Psalms one comes away with a good picture of a man who struggled with his own sin, relationship with God and others, and how he worked through these things. Kind of like us! He comes to the realization that God has his best interests in mind and responds, “How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.” In a world of fear, doubt, and personal struggle he began to understand that those who trusted in God that “In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues.” And this was no esoteric moment for David but a harsh reality a spiritual wake up call for him! David had sometimes doubted God still loved him. I believe it was because like a lot of us he sinned and knew it and knew he did not deserve God’s unfailing love; but God gave it anyway. The word here for “besieged” can also mean “strong”. So David cries out, “Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged (strong) city. In my alarm I said, ‘I am cut off from your sight!’” That was David’s fear and doubt talking. “Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.” How often has that been true in your life and if not, to whom do you go to for spiritual protection? David learned this life lesson and shouts to anyone who would hear, “Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.” God is our fortress of hope!
EXAMPLE: I began this sermon by asking, “When you hear the word ‘fortress’ what do you think of? Perhaps a castle built high on a cliff made of strong stone, a thick concrete-reinforced bunker deep in the ground bristling with barb wire, or an impenetrable stockade with massive cannons.” For me it is none of these things. For me it is a picture of hope. Hope not in the “wish-I-may-wish-I-might” kind of hoping but in the security and certainty faith brings. As Hebrews reminds us, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” (Hebrews 11:1-2 NIV) This is what David reminds us of that God is our fortress of hope!
Conclusion:
God is our fortress where we find shelter! God is our fortress of compassion! God is our fortress that keeps us safe! God is our fortress of hope!
----
This article is copyrighted © 2017 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
August 20, 2017
When you hear the word “fortress” what do you think of? Perhaps a castle built high on a cliff made of strong stone, a thick concrete-reinforced bunker deep in the ground bristling with barb wire, or an impenetrable stockade with massive cannons. The word “fortress” conjures up thoughts of safety, security, or protection for those faced with an enemy that seeks to destroy them. The Christian lives in a world where we face such an enemy and where we need to find a strong and secure fortress.
David in his distress seeks to find such a fortress and he does in the arms and strength of the Lord. It is a fortress every believer can reach and find safety in a world of darkness and sin. It is a place of quiet rest in a restless world and shelter from the windswept storms of life. David describes for us such a fortress; therefore let’s find out what he writes concerning the fact that God is our fortress…
READ: Psalm 31
As a boy we built tree houses and dugout bunkers that were strictly for “boys only”. Each had a myriad of alarms and traps just in case some wily girl found her way even near them. Of course this never happened because the girls we defended against never cared a thing in the world about our fortresses. David shares with us the fact that…
I. God is our fortress where we find shelter! (Vv. 1-8)
In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth. I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the LORD. I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.
1. Here is another one of David’s Psalms sung during a time of being despised, defamed, and persecuted. David desired others know that they too could turn to God during these times. So David sings, “In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness.” And notice how often David refers to God as his safe haven or stronghold: “Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge.” David does so at least six times using terms such as “refuge, fortress, rock, or rescue”. David wanted God to listen to his prayer; he wanted to be delivered from his sin, and he wanted to be protected and guided through life’s entrapments. It was “Into” God’s protective “hands” that David “committed” his spirit. Sound familiar? It should. Jesus used these words as well when he gave himself up as our Sacrifice. David saw God as his redeemer, the truth in a world full of “worthless idols”, and one he could completely trust. This is why he sang, “I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.” David felt protected: “You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place” where he could see the enemy coming at him from far away and thereby make preparations. David knew that God is our fortress where we find shelter!
EXAMPLE: There was only one place to run to and that was to a huge bunch of blackberry bushes. When you decide to take a shortcut across a farmer’s field and discover that there are several large bulls on the other side of some bushes you run as fast as you can to any shelter you can find. My friend and I had been out shooting, our vehicle got stuck, and we needed to hike back to town. And the shortest distance between us and town was through this field; with a few obstacles (angry bulls) in our way. Scratched, cut, and bleeding we came out of the safety of the blackberries on the other side. God is our fortress where we find shelter!
There was nothing better in the world when things like your big brother picked on you to find comfort in a parent’s understanding and sympathetic arms, which I never did because both of them usually asked immediately, “Now what did you do to provoke your brother?” In this Psalm David shares with us the fact that he found that…
II. God is our fortress of compassion! (Vv. 9-13)
Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends-- those who see me on the street flee from me. I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life.
1. When David needed understanding, even if he had sinned, he knew he could go to the Lord. This is why he sings, “Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.” In his sin David felt like he was ill and indeed he was sin-sick. And of course when you are caught in sin or you know you are wrong you feel like everyone is against you; whether they are or not. David felt like he was literally a leper and lamented that “Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends-- those who see me on the street flee from me. I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery.” Cast aside, dust in the wind, and forgotten David turns to God. He pleaded for grace because his life was in “distress”, in “sorrow, “grief, and anguish”. David was so distressed he was at the point of becoming paranoid, “For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life.” Sin will do that but in God one finds mercy and David reminds us that God is our fortress of compassion!
EXAMPLE: “No one understands me!” is the battle cry of most adolescents. Teenagers over the centuries have lamented the misunderstanding of the adults around them. We find it in the love story of Romeo and Juliet to the selfish demands of Samson demanding his parents do what he wanted done concerning a girl. I am so glad I skipped that in my life, aren’t you? Right? We may think or feel that there is no one who understands us or cares for us but there is. We learn, as we mature, that there is always one who cares no matter how we may feel and David reminds us that God is our fortress of compassion!
Revenge was good but trust is better especially when your big brother is seeking revenge on you and you have to trust him not to punch your lights out like he promised. How good to know then what David realized that…
III. God is our fortress that keeps us safe! (Vv. 14-18)
But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I have cried out to you; but let the wicked be put to shame and lie silent in the grave. Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous.
1. In his self-induced sin condition David longed for relief and he finds it in God. “But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my God.’” David realized what many have forgotten in our day and age that his “times”, his entire life was “in” God’s “hands”. God knew David’s life from its beginning to its end and therefore it was God alone who could “deliver [David] from [his] enemies and from those who” pursued him! David had been chased first by Saul and later in his fractured reign by his own son so he understood what it meant to trust in God and sang “Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I have cried out to you; but let the wicked be put to shame and lie silent in the grave. Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous.” Wow, he just sang for the death of his enemies and anyone who would “speak arrogantly against the righteous”! In our day where many live politically correct lives instead of what Scripture actually teaches this may seem harsh, old fashioned, or out-of date, but David had come to understand completely that God is our fortress that keeps us safe!
EXAMPLE: Now the reason my brother want to “punch my lights out” was simply over peanut butter. He liked it and I gave him some of mine. Of course what happened was that I had set him up in the first place by making myself a peanut butter sandwich with lots and lots of peanut butter on it. I knew my brother would want it and thereby take it from me so when he came into the kitchen and saw what I was making he demanded that I give it to him. I did this by way of smooshing it into his face. (Yes, “smooshing” is a word; my word.) I had to run like crazy. Unlike David I discovered I had no place to hide. David discovered that God is our fortress that keeps us safe!
Being rescued is a wonderful thing whether it is being rescued from the rocks at the beach by the Coast Guard; being rescued from the bad guys by the police; or being rescued in the midst of life’s struggles and pain. But sometimes, there is no immediate rescue, what then? David teaches us that…
IV. God is our fortress of hope! (Vv. 19-24)
How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you. In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues. Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city. In my alarm I said, "I am cut off from your sight!" Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.
1. In reading David’s Psalms one comes away with a good picture of a man who struggled with his own sin, relationship with God and others, and how he worked through these things. Kind of like us! He comes to the realization that God has his best interests in mind and responds, “How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.” In a world of fear, doubt, and personal struggle he began to understand that those who trusted in God that “In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues.” And this was no esoteric moment for David but a harsh reality a spiritual wake up call for him! David had sometimes doubted God still loved him. I believe it was because like a lot of us he sinned and knew it and knew he did not deserve God’s unfailing love; but God gave it anyway. The word here for “besieged” can also mean “strong”. So David cries out, “Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged (strong) city. In my alarm I said, ‘I am cut off from your sight!’” That was David’s fear and doubt talking. “Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.” How often has that been true in your life and if not, to whom do you go to for spiritual protection? David learned this life lesson and shouts to anyone who would hear, “Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.” God is our fortress of hope!
EXAMPLE: I began this sermon by asking, “When you hear the word ‘fortress’ what do you think of? Perhaps a castle built high on a cliff made of strong stone, a thick concrete-reinforced bunker deep in the ground bristling with barb wire, or an impenetrable stockade with massive cannons.” For me it is none of these things. For me it is a picture of hope. Hope not in the “wish-I-may-wish-I-might” kind of hoping but in the security and certainty faith brings. As Hebrews reminds us, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” (Hebrews 11:1-2 NIV) This is what David reminds us of that God is our fortress of hope!
Conclusion:
God is our fortress where we find shelter! God is our fortress of compassion! God is our fortress that keeps us safe! God is our fortress of hope!
----
This article is copyrighted © 2017 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
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