A Prayer From The Pit Series

Summer in the Psalms

Psalm 40: How to Pray When You Are In a Pit (Part 2)

Pastor Jefferson M. Williams

Chenoa Baptist Church

9-06-2021

Summer in the Psalms

[Slide] What an amazing summer we’ve had studying the Psalms together! We dove deep into ten Psalms over these past weeks - Psalm 1, 15, 19, 20, 40, 42, 95, 96, 131, and 139. If you weren’t able to be here for some of these sermons, you can watch them on our YouTube channel or our website. This morning, we are going to be finishing our look into Psalm 40.

Turn with me to Psalm 40.

Prayer

[Read Psalm 40:1-10]

Recap from Last Week

[Slide] In 2010, 33 miners in Chile were trapped three miles underground. The whole world watched and waited and prayed. It took 69 days to rescue them and when the last miner came out of the pit, the government official credited “Divine Providence” and said that faith had moved mountains. Being rescued leads to rejoicing!

A Prayer from the Pit

In music, when a composer wants to add a haunting element to the score, a change to a minor key will do the trick.

[Slide] That’s what happens in Psalm 40 at verse 11. David switches to a minor key. He is in trouble again and needs God’s help.

[Slide] “Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord; may your love and faithfulness always protect me. For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Be pleased to save me, Lord; come quickly, Lord, to help me.” (v. 11-13)

David has proclaimed that God has rescued him in the past but doesn’t presume upon God’s mercy in the future.

He begins with a plea to not withhold mercy from him. In the Hebrew, this is more of a confident statement - I know you will not withhold your mercy.

The same love and faithfulness that David promised to publicly proclaim, he now asked for God’s love and faithfulness and truth to continually protect him and preserve him.

Why? Because there are internal threats to his peace. He is overwhelmed with troubles, they surround him. Just like in Psalm 32, the guilt and shame of his past sins have overtaken him.

It a picture of standing in the pounding surf. You get hit by a wave and before you get up, another wave takes you under.

David’s eyes grow dim out of exhaustion and suffering. He can’t even “look up.”

He is losing hope. His heart has literally “left him.” He has felt like this many times. David writes in Psalm 69:

“Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.” (Psalm 69:1-3)

David cries out, “Be pleased to save me, Lord.” What a beautiful prayer. Because of God’s love and mercy, we can pray that God would take pleasure in saving us, forgiving us, healing us, providing for us, and guiding us.

There is still a confident expectation but now there is an urgency. David’s troubles are overwhelming him. Before he waiting patiently but now he prays, “come quickly.”

He says the same thing in Psalm 22:

“But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me.” (Psalm 22:19)

Have you been there? I have friends that have cried out this prayer to God from the “rock bottom” of their addiction. Or from the verge of their marriage falling apart. Or when their depression takes them to a dark place. Or when they got the diagnosis. Or lost a spouse or a child. Or their praying for a child to come back.

In those moments, we can chose to run toward God or run away from Him. But if you run away from God you are running away from hope. Ran toward His open arms. Cry out to him for help.

[Slide] A Plea for His Enemies

[Slide] “May all who want to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” be appalled at their own shame.” (v. 14-15)

Before we move on, turn with me and let’s look at Psalm 70, which David also wrote.

[Slide] I’ve been watching a Netflix documentary called “1,2,3 McCartney.” It’s the producer Rick Rubin and Sir Paul sitting at a soundboard talking about different Beatles songs. Sometimes, Paul would have a song and then John would have a song and they would end up combining their two songs into one, like on “A Day in the Life.”