What to Do in The Evil Day!
Psalm 41
Introduction:
Look: v.1 – Underline: 4 words: “in time of trouble.”
“Time” = a season – season of trouble
“Trouble” = more than a trial or difficulty – (lit) day of evil or evil day.
“Evil Day” = when the enemy comes in like flood – seeks to overwhelm and overpower us… swallow us up.
Psalm 41 = David facing an evil day.
- Fearful for his life (2)
- Weak & helpless (3,4)
- Conspired against (5-8) – story behind Psalm – rebellion of Absalom. 2 Sam. 15-19
- Betrayed (9) – Ahithophel
Lord Jesus = had His evil day.
Psalm 41 – Messianic in nature – reached beyond David to the Lord Jesus.
Lord = quoted (v.9) – to Judas the night he betrayed Him… handed the Lord over to His enemies… condemn and crucify Him!
Times = we face our evil day.
Eph. 6:13 – “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
Christian = warfare – forces of evil.
Truth = none of us are immune from facing an evil day – man after God’s own heart faced them… God’s own Son faced more than one evil day.
- Internal foe = flesh.
- External foe = world.
- Infernal foe = Devil – destroyer! Bent on your destruction.
1Pet. 5.8 – “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
“Devour” = to swallow up – devour our testimony, marriage, family, future, this church.
Good News = David survived his evil day; the Lord Jesus survived His and Christian you and I can survive ours.
Preach: “What to Do in The Evil Day!”
1. Determine to Be a Blessing to Others!
Look: v.1
First word in the Psalm is not trouble or evil, but blessed.
We can have God’s blessing in times of trouble.
God’s blessing is greater than our burdens, brokenness.
God = blesses us when we become a blessing to others.
“Poor” = not materially, poverty – (lit) weak ones… hurting, struggling emotionally and spiritually.
Connection = bet Psalm 40 & 41 – look back Ps.40:17 – David = “poor & needy” – the LORD helped him. Now he is to help others who are poor and needy.
Enemy = wants us to become self-absorbed… focus on how we feel, our problems, struggles, weakness… paralyzes and neutralizes us… keep us from functioning spiritually… keep us from being a force for God.
Best way to overcome the enemy is to take the fight, battle to the enemy. Make it your business to be blessing!
Lord, make me a blessing!
Phil. 2:4 – “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
David = fled from Absalom – host of people that fled with him… wilderness of Judea… King - cared for them.
Lord Jesus = looked away from Himself to Others.
• Women weeping = weep not for me but for yourselves and for your children …
• Mother = Woman behold thy son. Son, behold thy mother.
• Thief = Today shalt thou be with me in paradise
It’s when we look away from ourselves to others that the blessing comes! It’s the person who becomes a blessing that gets the blessing!
Jesus = blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.
2. Depend on The Lord to Help You!
Look: v.10 – “But Thou, O Lord”
All these things might be against us… but God is for us! If God be for us… who can be against us!
Neh. 4:20 – “in what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.”
“Battle is the Lord’s!”
A. Preserve You (2)
“Preserve” = to watch over, guard, protect.
Psalm 34:7 – “The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”
Same God that preserved…
~ Noah through the flood.
~ Children of Israel through the Wilderness
~ Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego through the fiery furnace
~ Jonah through the belly of the whale
~ Disciples through the storm
~ You and me through the tough times of life… see us to glory!
Psalm 97:10 – “Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.”
B. Strengthen You (3)
v.3 – “bed of languishing” = weak or feeble; to droop or fade away… David’s sickness not just physical but emotional and spiritual…
Languishing = he is struggling with his emotions
Fighting demons of his past failures (v.4)
Times of trouble = we can become a victim of our emotions.
Man = triune being.
1 Thess. 5:23 – “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Interrelated - Sick = in one part it affects the other 2.
David = sick in his soul (v.4)
2Sam.15:30 – “And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.”
v.3b – “thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness” = like a nurse God comes to us… cares for us… brings healing to our hurting heart… strengthens us!
2Cor. 12 – Paul’s thorn in the flesh… my grace is sufficient for thee… my strength is made perfect in weakness.
C. Fight for You (5-11)
“Triumph over me” = war cry, victor’s shout – God you have given me the victory!
1John 4:4 – “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
D. Sustain You (12)
“Upholdest” = to stand upright, to sustain.
“In mine integrity” = uprightness of heart.
David = still a man of integrity in spite of his failures.
Diff between Saul & David:
David = owned his sin and failure.
Saul = always blaming someone else.
v.12b – “and settest me before thy face for ever.” = place of blessing!
Christian = you may face the snarl of the world but you can still have the smile of God upon your life.
3. Don’t Forget to Bless the One Who Blesses You!
Look: v.13
Psalm 41 = ends as it began – with a blessing!
Psalm 41 = last Psalm in the 1st Book of the Psalms.
Psalms = divided into 5 sections of books of Psalms – correspond to the 1st 5 books of the Bible… Gen – Deut.
Book One = Genesis Psalms – because every good thing begins with God.
Each Book or section of the Psalms ends with a doxology or hymn of praise.
**Not without significance that Psalm begins and ends the same way the 1st section or book of Psalms begins and ends – with a blessing!
Psalm 1:1 – “Blessed is the man”
Psalm 41:13 – “Blessed by the Lord God of Israel”
Begins = God blessing us.
Ends = Us blessing God.
When God blesses, us we ought to bless God in return.
Share = the blessing within the blessing – God’s blessings not just limited to the good times of life … even in the valley times of life, time of trouble still can have the blessing of God upon your life!
Conclusion:
What do you do in the evil day…
1. Be a Blessing
2. Depend on the Lord’s Help
3. Remember to Bless the Blesser!
