RESCUED by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC

Introduction:  Someone said, “Dads keep you in line, but it’s the moms that come to the rescue.” It’s Mother’s Day Weekend. So, here are a couple of videos of moms coming to the rescue in the nick of time. #1. Mom catches her baby falling headfirst. #2. Mom saves her child from being buried under a slab of snow. #3. Mom catches her child from falling from a stairwell. I’ve even heard of stories of moms lifting up cars to get their child out. I’m sure many of you have similar stories about your mom. In this message, we are going to look at the first half of Psalm 34, where David not only thanks God for coming to his rescue, but also, reminds others around him to do the same. This is still part of our series through 1 Peter, but since Peter quoted from Psalm 34, we are studying it in detail. Here’s the main point: Just like moms know us at our worst and still love us and come to our rescue, God also knows at our worst and still loves us and comes to our rescue. In fact, the primary way we encounter God is in times of trouble when he comes to our rescue. Worship and praise are a natural outcome of a people who have been overawed by God’s rescue in their life.

Psalm 34 A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.

Context: The literal translation of the title is “A Psalm of David when he changed his tastebefore Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.” As you’ve heard me say repeatedly, more scholars now believe that these titles were original to the author. In other words, David wrote Psalm 34 in response to the situation we looked at last weekend in 1 Samuel 21. For the benefit of those who may not be familiar with that passage, it is the description of a very low and embarrassing moment in David’s life, when he had to change his taste, do things contrary to his nature. After saying goodbye to Jonathan at Gibeah because it was confirmed that Saul wanted to kill him, he went to the priest Ahimelech at Nob for spiritual advice. Unfortunately, the priest was more afraid about the curse on his family than helping David. In fact, he transferred his fear over to David, and, before long, David was scared and lying left and right. Important principle: You become like the people you hang around with. If they are full of fear, you will be full of fear. If they are full of Christ, you will be full of Christ. In his newly acquired fear, this giant killer, anointed king, the one they sang about “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands,” ran for help but in the wrong direction towards Gath into the Philistine territory. By the way, he was carrying their slain heroes sword! Remember, the priest had offered him Goliath’s sword. Another important principle: Fear will sabotage your perception and your reasoning, causing you to lose your spiritual GPS. At Gath, they recognized him right away and reported him to Achish, the king of Gath. 1 Samuel 21:12 says, “Now David took these words to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 So he changed his behavior before them, pretended madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard.” What a sad sight it must have been…the future King of Israel, through whose lineage would come the Savior of the World, acting like a fool before a Philistine King. As you know, Achish dismissed what his men were saying and 1 Samuel 22:1 “David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam.” By the way, he had to come right through the Elah Valley, the place where he had fought against the giant Goliath. How do you think he was feeling? Keep in mind that he was much more than just some brute warrior. He was also very artistically wired. He is a ball of fear, embarrassment, doubt, and hopelessness. He captured these emotions in Psalm 142 “A Contemplation of David. A Prayer when he was in the cave. 1 I cry out to the LORD with my voice; With my voice to the LORD I make my supplication. 2 I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble. 3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, Then You knew my path. In the way in which I walk They have secretly set a snare for me. 4 Look on my right hand and see, for there is no one who acknowledges me; Refuge has failed me; No one cares for my soul. 5 I cried out to You, O LORD: I said, ‘You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living. 6 Attend to my cry, For I am brought very low;Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I. 7 Bring my soul out of prison,That I may praise Your name; The righteous shall surround me, For You shall deal bountifully with me.’”

Application: Have you come out of a traumatic experience at your Gath? Have you had to walk by your Valley of Elah and see how good it was at one time? Are you sitting by your Cave of Adullam afraid, humiliated, and hopeless? Sometimes, people get hung in these caves. They feel afraid. They feel all alone. They feel utterly humiliated and ashamed. They lose their praise. David called upon God. How about you?

Did God answer David? Of course! 1 Samuel 22      1 “…So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him.” I am sure David must have felt wonderful that God was answering his prayers. 2 And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him…” Can you imagine the mood of the place? The Cave was dark, but it must have gotten darker as all the distressed, indebted, and discontented people crowded in! David through the Holy Spirit must have quickly realized that this experience was not just about him. It was also meant to help others. So, he wrote another psalm, Psalm 34. This was not like Psalm 142. This was an “Acrostic Psalm” where each verse begins with a Hebrew Alphabet in order. There are about 8 in the Bible, of which Psalm 119 is the most famous and extensive “Alphabetic Psalm” in the Bible. Why did he write this psalm acrostically? Several suggestions: Memorization, Order, Completeness, Ease in Teaching, Aesthetic value. The best suggestion I found was by a South African scholar (Ignatius Gous):

“The author seems to help his audience to cope with adversity and suffering which they experience, contrary to what they as faithful and righteous believes expected. He reassures them that God cares for them even though things may look chaotic and out of hand. On the surface their experiences seem to indicate that things are out of control. However, if they look beyond the immediate, there is an underlying order, namely God’s care. This order gives structure to their existence, like the alphabet gives structure to the poem.”

Something else, David went back and forth between his experience and the experience of the distressed, indebted, and the discontented who came to him. This was not an individual song, but a community song. This was not a song about the justification of his fear or his momentary lapse in judgment. Neither was it about his quick thinking and amazing acting skills. Instead, he wrote it to turn the attention of the people from their fears to God’s rescue. He wanted them to glorify God.

Application: Have you realized that your trials are not about you? They are for others. What are you doing at your cave?

With that in mind, let’s walk through the first 10 verses:

1 I will bless (posture) the LORD at all times; his praise (words) shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. 3Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. 4 I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed. 6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heardhim, and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. 8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessedis the man who trusts in Him! 9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. 10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.

We may look at this psalm more carefully next week.

Invitation: Every step of the way, David glorified God for rescuing him and he encouraged others to do the same. Do you? Have you been truly ultimately rescued? Are you saved?

• Matthew 1:21 “you shall call his name Jesus, for he will rescue his people from their sins”
• Luke 2:11 “unto you is born…a Rescuer, who is Christ the Lord”
• Luke 19:10 “the Son of Man came to seek and to rescue the lost”
• Acts 4:12 “there is rescue in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be rescued.”