Psalm 17 - Saviour, Saviour, Hear My Humble Cry Series

SAVIOR, SAVIOR, HEAR MY HUMBLE CRY

TEXT: Psalm 17:1-15

Psalms 17:1-15 (KJV) A Prayer of David. Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips. 2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal. 3 Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. 4 Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. 5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not. 6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech. 7 Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them. 8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings, 9 From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about. 10 They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly. 11 They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth; 12 Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places. 13 Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword: 14 From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes. 15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

I. INTRODUCTION—THE OLD SONG

-I would hope that all of us have at least heard if not sung one of the old classics of bygone years. It was a song that was frequently sung by those who were under some of the greatest burdens and sorrows of life. In fact, it was not just a song it was something of an anthem for the weary and pressured.

Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior

Verse 1: Pass me not, O gentle Savior,

hear my humble cry; while on others thou art calling, do not pass me by.

Verse 2: Let me at thy throne of mercy find a sweet relief,

kneeling there in deep contrition; help my unbelief.

Verse 3: Trusting only in thy merit,

would I seek thy face; heal my wounded, broken spirit, save me by thy grace.

Verse 4: Thou the spring of all my comfort, more than life to me,

Whom have I on earth beside thee? Whom in heaven but thee?

-This psalm has the same tone of voice that this song has.

II. KINDS OF PSALMS

-Anyone who reads the Psalms finds them to be a very majestic group of songs that can literally help us to experience the voice of God. If the Word of God is “God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16) then we take in that breath to our souls when we read the Psalms.

-Perhaps no other book in the Bible shows the variety of human emotions that a man will feel in his walk through life. When we can see them as a group of songs, it opens them up to us even more. That is why that serious Bible study is important as a spiritual discipline for saints of God. To think deeply about Scripture is to pull it into your life and let it shape you.

• Hymn Psalms—Begin with a call to worship. All through these kinds of psalms it tells us of the reasons that we ought to worship God.

• Lament Psalms—They have a tone of distress, weariness, struggle, and pain in them. The psalmists are facing problems or calamities or sometimes it is even the confession of a sin that he speaks that has taken him low. But there is something compelling about the lament psalms; they express a sense of confidence that the Lord will come to their rescue.

• Thanksgiving Psalms—They express thanks for a blessing or some crucial need that has been met.

• Remembrance Psalms—These look back at a place or an instance when God intervened. They speak to heritage points, they are anniversaries of God’s power, and they help us to remember that there are some great things that are in the past also.

• Wisdom Psalms—These psalms will take two contrasting ways of life—one to be followed and another to be shunned.