The Cry From The Caves
Psa 142:1-7
The book of Psalms it a book that deals with practically every human emotion. If you’re dealing with an emotional problem, you’ll probably find something in the Psalms that you can identify with. It is an extremely honest book revealing the inter thoughts, struggles, and needs of Godly men such as David.
Tonight I want us to look at David’s cry from the caves.
I. The Condition Of David
V1 shares with us the circumstances surrounding this Psalm. It was a prayer that David prayed while in the cave hiding from King Saul who was seeking to kill him ! David was inside a physical cave, but he was also in a spiritual cave as well !
a. His Spirit Was In Darkness. V3
When my spirit was overwhelmed..............
The word "overwhelmed" means clothed or shrouded. David was in a literal cave where the light was limited !
Yet, the greater darkness was in his spirit ! He was overwhelmed inside !
The fact that the man of God, David, he that had been chosen to be the future King of Israel was overwhelmed reminds us of his humaness. It reminds us that anyone is subject to periods of darkness, despair, discouragement, or despression !
Can you identify with David ? Overwhelmed with pressure ? with problems ? with just life in general ?
How do we escape the darkness which permeates our soul at times ?
Illust. It had long been noticed in European countries that people developed depression during the long dark days of winter. Back in the early 1980s, a handful of experts at the National Institute of Mental Health had an idea: If people get depressed when the days get darker, why not just give them more light?
They tested their theory on Herb Kern, a 63-year-old research engineer who fell into a deep depression every autumn. They asked Kern to sit in front of a large box fitted with fluorescent tubes for three hours before dawn and three hours after sunset every day.
It worked. Three days later, Kern was smiling again. In the 15 years since then, further studies have shown the effectiveness of light therapy for patients with winter depression, known medically as seasonal affective disorder or SAD.
Let me use this for a spiritual application........how can we overcome being overwhelmed with darkness ! Get more of the Light ! Get closer to the Light ! Spend more time in the LIGHT !
b. His Steps Were In Danger V3
David, had been nothing but loyal, to Saul ! He had done nothing to deserve the jealous rage that Saul felt for him. David’s steps are in danger because Saul is seeking to kill him !
c. His Soul Was Deserted. V4
In all of the Bible there are few words that are sadder than these.......V4 I looked on my right hnd, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta said......."Loneliness and the feeling of being uncared for and unwanted are the greatest poverty."
Is there a more empty feeling in the human heart than to be lonely, and feel that no one cares !
Most of us have gone through times in our life of loneliness, and we’ve probably all had some times when we wondered if anyone cared.
Perhaps, you need to be reminded tonight that you are loved, and cared for !
Perhaps you need to tell or show someone else that we care...that God indeed cares !
You go through a big city such as Atlanta at night, and you see all the lights, and the activity, and everything seems to be so alive.......but somewhere in that city........someone sits in darkness........someone feels deserted............someone feels that no one cares !
The world we live in needs to know that we care....that God cares !
Sara Teasdale was an American Poet. She won numerous awards for her poetry including the Columbia University Poetry Society Award, the Pulitzer Price for Poetry, and the Poetry Prize from the American Poetry Society.
My soul is a dark ploughed field
In the cold rain;
My soul is a broken field
Ploughed by pain. - Sara Teasdale (1884-1933).
Sara Teasdale died of a overdose of sleeping pills !
Illust. A few years ago, the press carried a heartrending story of a young father who shot himself in a tavern telephone booth. James Lee had called a Chicago newspaper and told a reporter he had sent the paper a manila envelope outlining his story. The reporter frantically tried to trace the call, but was too late. When the police arrived the young man was slumped in the booth with a bullet through his head. In his pockets they found a child’s crayon drawing, much folded and worn. On it was written, "Please leave in my coat pocket. I want to have it buried with me." The drawing was signed in childish print by his daughter, Shirley Lee, who had perished in a fire just five months before. Lee was so grief-stricken he had asked total strangers to attend his daughter’s funeral so she would have a nice service. He said there was no family to attend, since Shirley’s mother had been dead since the child was two. Speaking to the reporter before his death, the heartbroken father said that all he had in life was gone and he felt so alone. He gave his modest estate to the church Shirley had attended and said, "Maybe in ten or twenty years, someone will see one of the plaques and wonder who Shirley Ellen Lee was and say, ’Someone must have loved her very, very much."’ The grieving father could not stand loneliness or the loss so he took his own life. He felt it better to be dead than live in an impersonal world.
How many James Lees are there in this world? They don’t wear signs saying "I’m lonely--will you help me?"
Illust. I once read about an elderly Christian lady who had lived all alone. Partly crippled, she had to rely primarily on the good will and help of her neighbors. She spent some of her weary hours keeping a diary, although no one knew why; for she had precious little to record. Finally, the Lord called her to himself to enjoy the blessings of His better Land. It is reported that she lay dead for several days before anyone missed her! In looking through her few belongings, someone discovered her diary. Most of the book contained nothing of interest. In fact, near the end of her life, as one monotonous day followed another, she wrote only three pathetic words of page after page: No one came! NO ONE CAME!
II. The Cry Of David
From within that cave of darkness, despair and depression comes the cry of a man in need ! He cries out to the one who can meet the needs of his heart !
a. His Cry Of Dissatisfaction. V 2
"I poured out my complaint before him; I showed before him my trouble."
What are your feelings tonight ? Got any complaints ? Feeling alone........sad.........discouraged ? Then, cry out to the Lord, and pour out your complaints to him ! God is strong ! He can take it !
Too often we turn our pity into a party, and we just bathe ourselves in it rather than pouring our hearts out before the Lord !
b. His Cry Of Declaration V 5
David prays what he knows, and not what he feels at this time ! He feels all alone ! He feels that no one cares, but in spite of that he prays to the Lord what he knows ! He declares, and proclaims that God is his refuge !
David is in a cave trying to conceal him from Saul........yet David knows that ultimately his refuge is in the Lord !
c. His Cry For Deliverance. V 6-7
Attend means to "prick up the ears".
V7 Bring my soul out of prison............
God can deliver us ! He has the power to do it !
He can deliver us from our sins........through our sorrows........in our solitude !
Cry out to God tonight ! Pour out your heart to the Lord !
Ask God for deliverance !
III. The Confidence Of David. V7
V7 is a great statement of faith from a man in low estate !
Though the feelings may not be there, keep faith in God, exercise faith in God !
a. He has confidence that he will be shouting praise to God.
"Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: "
b. He has confidence that he will be surrounded by people of God.
".......the righteous shall compass me about;"
All alone..........David shows a remarkable faith in God in spite of his circumstances ! He is alone now, but he believes that God will deliver him, and that he will be able to worship again surrounded by the righteous people of God !
c. He has confidence that he will be shown the promises of God.
".......thou shalt deal boutifully with me !
There is a story of a hassidic rabbi, renowned for his piety. He was unexpectedly confronted one day by one of his devoted youthful disciples. In a burst of feeling, the young disciple exclaimed, "My master, I love you!" The ancient teacher looked up from his books as asked his fervent disciple, "Do you know what hurts me, my son?" The young man was puzzled. Composing himself, he stuttered, "I don’t understand your question, Rabbi. I am trying to tell you how much you mean to me, and you confuse me with irrelevant questions". "My question is neither confusing nor irrelevant," retorted the rabbi. "For if you do not know what hurts me, how can you truly love me?"
How can God know what truly hurts us, and what we truly need ?
He knows because he became flesh !
God knows our condition tonight ! He knows where we are ! Our needs do not go unnoticed by the Living God ! Will you cry out to him tonight ?
(several illustrations borrowed from messages on Sermon Central)
