Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.meetfaith.org/sermons/39883/when-the-song-returns/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] All right, good morning, everyone. So glad to be here together with you. And if you have your Bibles, we can be turning them to Psalm 59. We're going to be primarily in verses 16 and 17 of Psalm 59.

[0:17] And this is another Psalm of King David as he is lamenting his enemies that have been coming against him. And we know that if you know anything about David and his life, he had many setbacks.

[0:32] And there were those that wanted to end his life. Saul, the king, was one of them. And when we think about it, we all go through trials. We all go through difficult things in our lives.

[0:45] There might be people that want to stab us in the back. There may be people that are talking about us negatively or things just don't work out the way we want them to.

[0:56] And we go through periods of depression sometimes. We go through difficult portions in life. And as David is thinking about this and as he's writing and literally penning a song as he is writing this, we can see in David's writings that he's been through some difficult times.

[1:17] But God has been there for him and he's looking forward to the future. So we all go through trials. We all go through difficult times in our life. And if we're honest, some of us, even here today, have been through periods of time where you feel like giving up.

[1:37] You just feel like throwing in the towel and saying, what's the use? What's the point of even trying? Some have had that experience in school. Some have had that experience in life, at work, or wherever.

[1:51] And David had gotten to that point at times in his life, wanting to give up. If we're all honest, we've been there at one time or another in our lives.

[2:02] But here's the thing. The hope is, don't give up. Let's look up. And that's exactly what David did when he was going through these troubles.

[2:12] He decided to look to God and David expected his song to return. Now, think about this. When you're happy, often what do we do?

[2:23] Now, some of us couldn't carry a tune in a bucket with two handles. Some do a great job. Sometimes, when we're happy, we'll hum, we'll sing, or we will do something that shows that we're happy.

[2:38] When David was down, when David was running from his enemies, he knew that with God's help, he would be able to sing again one day, that his song would return.

[2:52] Let's look at Psalm 59, verses 16 and 17. Verse 16, he says, but I will sing of your power.

[3:03] And if you read the 59th Psalm, David starts it off by saying, deliver me from my enemies. And he talks about, they growl at me like a dog.

[3:17] I mean, think about it. That's some pretty picturesque language. In verse number 6, they growl like a dog. They go all around the city. Indeed, they belch with their mouth.

[3:29] Swords are in their lips. That's some pretty intense language that David's talking about his enemies. But in verse 16, he comes all the way around and says, but I will sing of your power.

[3:43] Yes, I will sing aloud of your mercy in the morning. For you have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. And in verse 17, the next verse, he says to you, or to God, that is, to you, oh, my strength, I will sing praises.

[4:00] For God is my defense, my God of mercy. So the first thing that we see is he expected to sing of God's power.

[4:11] He expected his song to return. And when he did, he was talking or he was going to sing about the power of God. He expected to sing of God's power.

[4:23] Let's take a look at Psalm 59, 16 again. But I will sing of your power. Yes, I will sing aloud of your mercy in the morning. So he would sing of the power that God would show and that God would reveal on his behalf.

[4:39] And here's the thing. God's power is greater than our problems. Think about the worst problem that you could have. It could be a physical problem. It could be a financial problem. It could be a relationship problem.

[4:51] It could be a health problem. Whatever it is. If we believe in the God of the Bible, then we believe in a God whose power is greater than any problem.

[5:03] But then we see, if we've been around in life, we know that sometimes it doesn't seem that God comes through. And it doesn't seem that God takes care of those who need taken care of.

[5:19] But here's the thing. What kind of world do we live in? We live in a world that's cursed by sin. We live in a world that because Adam chose to disobey God in the Garden of Eden, evil is present.

[5:36] And God is allowing. Now, it blows my mind. Why would God do that? But God allows evil. God allows Satan to run its course on the earth today.

[5:52] And what he does is those that follow Jesus, those that are part of his family, even though we may be touched by the evil of others, he is able to comfort us and he's able to take care of us even through what we're going through.

[6:10] It's like when a child goes out and goes out into the dangerous world. Maybe you're riding their bicycle or going out and maybe they get beat up by the neighborhood bully or they fall and scrape their knee or break their leg or something.

[6:26] You know what? Pain happens in life. It's a given. But as parents, we don't always... Think of the commercial where this...

[6:39] I think it might even be a... I don't even forget what the commercial is about. But everything in this guy's room is wrapped in bubble wrap. His kitchen table, even his dog is wrapped in bubble wrap. The thing about it is, we're not wrapped in some protective bubble wrap that protects us from all hurts and pains and ills in our life.

[6:57] So sometimes, even as parents, our children are going to be hurt. It doesn't mean we're bad parents. But when they do hurt, we're there to comfort, we're there to take care of them, and there to do whatever it takes to get them to be better.

[7:17] And so David, even though David is going through all these difficulties in life, he realizes that evil abounds on the earth. But God, ultimately, eventually, will come through because God is a God of justice.

[7:30] justice. And sometimes, we don't always see justice on earth. But in heaven, one day, God will mete out justice to those who choose not to surrender their will to Him.

[7:43] And so David is saying, God's power is greater than our problems. God is stronger than our adversaries. And we can rest in God's power to deliver us.

[7:56] And the way God delivers us isn't always the way we think it is. Sometimes, He delivers us out of a problem. But sometimes, He delivers us through it. Sometimes, we just have to see it take its course.

[8:09] And He holds us up. He keeps us going. He gives us hope as we're going through whatever the situation is. But here's the key. In David's mind, he could remember where God took care of him in the past.

[8:23] So here he is in the middle of a dire situation. And he's hurting. He's depressed. Matter of fact, it's so bad, he says his bones are aching. He can't sleep at night.

[8:34] He has insomnia. And he thinks back, well, God, you've taken care of me back when that happened. And back when this took place, you took care of me.

[8:45] And eventually, it worked itself out. Or you worked it out. So God, I guess this time, you're going to work this out as well. So I'm looking forward to singing of your power.

[8:58] He's been, David has gone through a lot of different things. Let's look at 1 Samuel 17, 32 to 37. He had been protected while watching the sheep.

[9:09] Then David said to Saul, let no man's heart fail. Because of him, your servant will go and fight with this Philistine. He's talking about Goliath. Verse 33, And Saul said to David, you are not able to go up against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.

[9:30] But David said to Saul, your servant used to keep his father's sheep. And when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it and delivered the lamb from its mouth.

[9:43] And when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard struck it and killed it. Verse 36, Your servant has killed both lion and bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.

[10:02] Moreover, David said, the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. That was guts, wasn't it? No, that was confidence in God.

[10:14] That was confidence that God's power would help David to be victorious against the giant Goliath, just like he had been victorious against the lion and the bear when he was taking care of his father's sheep as a shepherd.

[10:33] So, God had taken care of him in the past. He had provided deliverance. He had provided victory. He had also been given power by God to defeat this mighty warrior Goliath.

[10:45] And we see in verses 32 to 37, and Saul said to David, go and the Lord be with you. And if you ever think that the Bible is a book for sissies, it's not.

[10:59] Look at verse 45. Then David said to the Philistine, you come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. I mean, this would make a good movie. Oh, wait a minute. There have been movies made of this.

[11:10] But I came to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you.

[11:22] And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

[11:35] Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hands.

[11:47] Now it sounds like this is a, you know, this is a making of a good war film. But the thing about it is, he said, yes, you might use sword, you might use spear, you might use all of these human methods of warfare.

[12:01] But he said, think about it. It's God's power. That's going to deliver this Philistine into my hand. Let's go on. For the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hands.

[12:16] So it was when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to me, David, that David hurried and he ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead so that the stone sank into his forehead and he fell on his face to the earth.

[12:38] So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, struck the Philistine and killed him but there was no sword in the hand of David.

[12:49] So this is David when he's spinning this song and he says, my song will return, I will sing of the power of God. He's thinking back when God had delivered him in the past.

[13:03] Memory enables us to draw on God's faithfulness. When we remember what he's done for us, when we remember, then we can draw on God's faithfulness and faithfulness enables us to expect God to come through.

[13:20] So David expects to sing of God's power. Second, David expected to sing of God's mercy. We see that in verse number 16.

[13:33] Singing of God's mercy. So we have power and we have mercy. Verse 16, but I will sing of your power. Yes, I will sing aloud of your mercy in the morning, for you have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble.

[13:49] So David says he would sing aloud not only of God's power, but of God's mercy. C.H. Spurgeon says, the greater our present trials, the louder our future songs, and the more intense our future gratitude will be.

[14:04] Let me read that again. The greater our present trials, the worse things get, the louder our future songs, and the more intense our future gratitude will be.

[14:16] In his commentary, Matthew Henry says this of David, he would praise his power and his mercy. Both should be the subject matter of the song.

[14:28] Power without mercy is to be dreaded. Mercy without power is not what a man can expect much benefit from.

[14:39] But God's power by which he is able to help us, and his mercy by which he is inclined to help us, will justly be the everlasting praise of all saints.

[14:51] And here's the thing, God has been merciful to all of us. If we take the time to read what the Bible says about us as human beings, the reality is, no matter how good we think we are, as I had a college professor one time, I used to say, he says we're nothing but dirty, rotten, stinking sinners.

[15:15] That's all we are. Because we're like Paul in Romans chapter seven. You know, the more I try to do good, the worse I am. The more I try not to do bad, then that's when I do bad.

[15:27] The more I try to do good, that's when I fall flat on my face and do something that's horrible. And so that's the reality of human existence. You know, we try to be good, but we're not.

[15:39] And so if we stop and think about what we deserve, deserve, you know, you ever heard someone say something and they move away and step away and go, oh, wait a minute, you're about ready to be struck by lightning.

[15:56] You know what? If we got what we deserve, we probably would be. God would zap us every time we do something that's bad. But God's merciful. As a matter of fact, the Bible even talks about the mercy of God, that God is merciful to us as sinners, in that he keeps us alive so that we will ultimately one day turn back to him.

[16:23] He gives us time. He gives us enough time for us to get to the end of our proverbial rope to where we get to the point and say, God, I need you.

[16:38] I've got nothing left. I've hit rock bottom. And I need to turn to you because you're all I've got. And so God is merciful to us as sinners. And David knew that.

[16:49] He knew that God had power, but that God had mercy. See, power without mercy is something that we should be afraid of. Because there are despots around the world that wield power all the time but have no mercy.

[17:05] And there are those who have mercy but have no power, and that's not much help either. because when I need to get out of a jam, I don't care how much you have mercy. I need help.

[17:16] And so power and mercy is what God can provide to us, and David knows that as he says his song is going to return. The cross, what we think about, mercy and power reminds me of the cross upon which Jesus died.

[17:36] Titus chapter 3 verse 5, the Bible says, not by works of righteousness which we have done. You know, there are many people that says, you know what, I think I'm good, I think I'm okay, I've lived my life based on the golden rule, I try to be good to others, I try to do good unto others just like I would have them do good unto me, I try to live by the ten commandments, and you know what, I'm a pretty good person, I'm a pretty decent person.

[18:03] Well, how do we get right with God? Well, Paul, as he was writing to Titus, said, not by works of righteousness which we have done. So what Paul is saying is, we don't get right with God by being good.

[18:15] We don't get right with God by doing good. We're not made right with God by being in church or praying or doing whatever.

[18:25] He says, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit.

[18:37] So when Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary, he who knew no sin, the Bible says, took our sin upon himself and the wrath of God towards sin was poured out on Jesus.

[18:50] And it's just like if someone were convicted of a crime and were given the death penalty. They did the crime and they deserve the punishment.

[19:02] punishment. If it were possible for someone to say, I want to take their place, I want to die in their stead, I want to die in their place. And if it were possible to do that and someone did it and the judge was was was amenable to that, then that person would die and the person who was guilty would go free and you think, well, where's the justice in that?

[19:25] My point exactly. Jesus Christ didn't deserve to die for us. Jesus, because God, because he loves you and me so much, sent Jesus to the cross of Calvary who was eternal, sinless, became a human being, died on the cross in our place so that we could have a relationship with him because salvation comes through the gift of God, not through our works.

[20:03] And that's just the way it is because we can never deserve it. So not by works of righteousness that we can do, that we can offer God, but it's by his mercy that he saves us and it's through the washing of regeneration because of what Jesus did on Calvary, excuse me, and the renewing of the Holy Spirit.

[20:24] That's God's mercy. So those of us who have trusted Christ as our Savior, those of us who are following Jesus, it doesn't mean we're perfect, it doesn't even mean we're good.

[20:35] It just means we're trusting in his righteousness. It ought to, that ought to encourage us to service. Let's take a look at Romans chapter 12, verse number one.

[20:47] What is the mercy of God? Or how does the mercy of God affect us? Or how should it? Paul says, the apostle Paul in verse one says, I beseech you, therefore, I urge you, therefore, brethren, by what?

[21:01] The mercies of God. Because God is merciful to us, it ought to urge us, it ought to compel us to present ourselves, our bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

[21:17] God created us, we disobeyed him, Jesus died on the cross in our place because he loves us. What does he deserve? He simply deserves our life.

[21:31] He deserves us to come to him and surrender to him and say, I'm yours. And that's really all salvation is. That we admit that we're a sinner, we admit that we've disobeyed God and we trust what Jesus did on the cross of Calvary to be the full payment for our sin and then accept that free gift of eternal life.

[21:56] Accept his righteousness. It's like a bank account. We're bankrupt. He takes his righteousness and he puts the righteousness of Christ into our account.

[22:08] So we were bankrupt and now we have the riches of Christ, Jesus' righteousness. So that's salvation.

[22:20] And go back to David. David expected the protection of God to arrive in time. When did he say that would be? Verse 16.

[22:30] But I will sing of your power. I will sing aloud of your mercy in the morning. It would arrive in time, fresh for the brand new day. He says, I will sing aloud of your mercy in the morning.

[22:45] He believed that God would protect him. Verse 16. For you have been my defense. He trusted God to hide him from his enemies.

[22:57] He said in verse 16, and my refuge in the day of trouble. So here's David trusting God that he would take care of him.

[23:09] He would receive the protection of God in time, in the morning. He believed that God would protect him. He was his defense and he trusted God to hide him in his refuge from his enemies.

[23:25] So God, David is expecting to sing of God's power. He's expecting to, his song to return and sing of God's mercy. And then thirdly, David is expecting to sing of the strength of God.

[23:39] And we see that in verse number 17. Expecting to sing about the power of the strength of God. Verse 17. To you, oh my strength, I will sing praises for God is my defense.

[23:55] My God of mercy. So David would sing of God's strength. Here is his confidence in God's protection.

[24:05] Here is a man convinced of deliverance. He knew that God would take care of him. He knew that God would deliver him. So he had confidence in God's power, confidence in God's mercy, and confidence in God's strength.

[24:21] So if we're a follower of Jesus, if we call ourselves a Christian, we have no business living under the circumstances. Ever hear everybody say that? Well, under the circumstances.

[24:35] No. God's power allows us to live above the circumstances. Meaning, it doesn't mean we don't have to go through bad times. You know, we're not naive to the point where we think that, you know what, for a Christian, we follow Jesus, we won't have problems, we won't go through difficulties, we won't get sick, and people won't, you know, people, everybody will just treat us nice because, you know, we're following Jesus.

[25:04] No, we're not Pollyannish about it. We know that we will go through difficult times. But as David, he's going through it, through the problem, he says, when the time comes, when the time is right, I will sing again of God's mercy, God's power, and God's strength.

[25:19] Because he knew that he didn't have to live under the circumstances. He could allow God to take care of him. And that's hope. That's hope.

[25:30] If we don't have hope, we're of all people most miserable. Because that's where we get into trouble, when we lose hope. When we lose hope, we give up.

[25:43] When we give up, we make choices that may and probably will negatively affect the rest of our lives. So we need our hope in God.

[25:55] Faith brings a song before deliverance arrives. Think about it. Faith brings a song before deliverance arrives. We're able to thank God, just like Jehoshaphat in the Old Testament, coming before three enemy armies.

[26:14] They know that they're vastly outnumbered. And there's no human way, there's no way of even thinking about, you know what, we're going to be victorious.

[26:25] And so what, Jehoshaphat being led by God, he takes the singers and he sends them out with the trumpets. He sends them out in front of the army, thanking God for the victory before they even meet the enemy.

[26:38] So he thanked God for the victory before they even met the enemy. And what does God do? God takes and he confounds the enemy armies.

[26:49] He has them fighting against one another and he provides the victory because the victory is God's, not ours. Because the power doesn't come in.

[27:00] We could have tanks and missiles and you name it. If God's not on our side, we're not going to win.

[27:11] Think about Israel. Think about Israel's recent history. When I say recent, I'm talking back the last century. Think about the Seven Day War.

[27:23] Think about the times Israel has gone against vastly outnumbering enemies and decisively won.

[27:37] We're not talking like some protracted, you know, engagement. We're talking about decisively winning a battle in days. Winning a war in days.

[27:49] That's when God's on your side. We can see the difference. So David is realizing that his song will come before he sees the deliverance.

[28:02] And we can be triumphant in trials because of God's love for us because he is also alive. Our living Lord will make our song return.

[28:13] Let's close with this with 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 57 and 58. When it seems like things are not going well, when you're tired, when you're ready to give up, verse 57 says, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

[28:36] And this is what the apostle Paul was able to say to those people in the church in Corinth. He says, therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

[28:54] So what is Paul saying? Don't give up. Because whatever we do for God is not in vain. Whatever we do for God is not wasted.

[29:05] Not time wasted. We do something good for someone out of love. We pray for our enemies. The Bible teaches us how to do. Now, yes, we protect ourselves. Yes, we defend ourselves.

[29:17] But when it comes to the point of someone doing something to hurt you, talking behind your back, if we do as Jesus says to do, we can, as the Bible says, heap coals of fire on their head.

[29:33] I mean, if someone's out to get you and you turn around and do good to them, how does that make them feel? Makes them feel about that big.

[29:46] And so the God says, you know what, if someone's out to get you, someone wants to hurt you, with their words and someone is doing something like this, he says, to treat them right.

[30:00] And so what we're seeing with this is, don't give up. Our work in the Lord is never in vain. David was confident his song would return.

[30:13] He would be able to sing of God's power, he would be able to sing of God's mercy, and he would be able to sing of God's strength. And no matter what we're going through this morning, no matter what you may be going through today, you can trust in God to get you through it.

[30:31] But we first need to be a part of God's family. So I trust this morning you've come to the point in your life where you've done business with God and said something like, God, I know I'm a sinner.

[30:44] I know I don't deserve to be with you in heaven. But I know that Jesus died on the cross in my place and I'm trusting him completely to forgive my sin and to make me a part of your family.

[31:00] And I'm following Jesus. And that's all it takes. The Bible says, all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved or delivered. And it's as simple as that.

[31:12] For by grace that we're saved through faith, not of ourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Let's pray. Father, this morning as we've come together and as we've been talking about our song returning, I pray, dear God, this morning that we would be able to trust in you and to be able to be confident that you will give us the victory no matter what and to be able to sing of the victory even before the victory comes.

[31:45] Be with each one today. We ask that we would be able to honor you and glorify you in everything that we do. And Lord, we pray for those who are not feeling well.

[32:02] We pray for those who are not able to be here because of work. protect them, guide them, Lord, be with us today.

[32:14]  I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.