A PLACE TO STAND
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PSALM 40: 1-17
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
AUGUST 26, 2018
MEMORY VERSE
He brought
me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a
rock, and established my goings
-
PSALM 40:2 –
INTRODUCTION:
Our lesson for this month is “Stand Firm! Press on.” How can
we stand firm if our feet stand in the wrong place or direction? When you’re in a
seashore, it’s easy for you to be drifted by the waves because you’re standing
on soft sand. Therefore, where is the
safest place to stand?
In our Christian journey, we are not always strong; sometimes
we feel week and unable to get up. The reasons maybe are the trials and
afflictions come in our way. Jesus told
the disciples to expect trials by stating chapter 16 verses 1-2 of John, “These
things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not offend. They shall put you
out of synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think
that he doeth God service. He ends that chapter in a similar vein (16:33),
“These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the
world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the
world. Yet in
spite of these words and many other similar Scriptures (John 15:18; Acts 14:22; 1 Thess. 3:3-4; 2 Tim. 3:12),
- John 15:18 (KJV)
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before
it hated you.
- 1 Thessalonians 3:3-4 (KJV)
3 That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for
yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.
4 For verily, when we were with you, we told you before
that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.
- 2 Timothy 3:12 (KJV)
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution.
many that profess to know
Christ stumbles and falls away when they get hit with various trials. If you’re
going to persevere with Christ, you must know in advance that you will face
times in this world. We need a strong place to stand. Let’s study our lesson
for today titled, “A Place to Stand!”
LESSON POINTS:
1)
STAND NOT IN AN HORRIBLE PIT, OUT OF
MIRY CLAY (PSALM 40:2)
-
Psalm 40 is a song about the
pits. It falls into two sections. In the first half (40:1-10), David tells how
God got him out of one pit and he sings God’s praise for doing so. But he did
not then live happily ever after. Rather, it is evident from the second half of
the psalm (40:11-17) that he is in another pit, crying out to the Lord to
deliver him from this one. Because David waited intently on the Lord to rescue
him from the first pit, he knew how to wait on the Lord to get him out of the
second pit. So it’s a psalm about what to do when you’re in the pit.
-
What is
“the pit”?
a)
THE PIT COULD BE ANY OF A
Some LIFE’S TRIALS.
David does not specify
exactly what the trials of the first pit entailed. The second pit clearly
involved the consequences of David’s sins (40:12) and many enemies that were trying
to destroy him (40:14-15). But he doesn’t exactly say what the first pit was,
except to describe it as a “pit of destruction” and “the miry clay” (40:2).
Some think that it was David’s enemies, while others think that it could have
been a physical illness or some deep emotional distress. Perhaps as with Paul’s
“thorn in the flesh,” we are not told so that we can relate all our trials to
David’s situation.
-
Your pit could be poor health, the loss of your job, former
friends that turned against you, an unfaithful mate, rebellious children, or
any other overwhelming problem. You may be responsible for being in your pit,
or you may be a victim of the sins of others. David’s situation in the second
pit seems to have been a combination of both. He acknowledges his many sins,
which have overtaken him like a fog so that he can’t see his way clear
(40:12). I think that he is not referring to sins that he was currently
committing, but rather to the consequences of
past sins that were now coming home to roost. But, also, the consequences
involved wicked people who were wrongly intent on destroying David (40:14).
-
I
remember in my early years as a worker of this church, I noticed there’s
something wrong with a sermon of one of the leaders of the church. He preached
with emotional and puzzled preaching. The preaching was a scene like a
preacher was in a dungeon. His last words in the pulpit, “Whatever path you
choose, God will make a way to put your decisions in the right way. The end is
always okay.” When he went down after the preaching, one leader hand shook him
and asked, “How are you.” He replied with somewhat like these words, “Bro. I’m
in a pit and it’s hard for me to get out; I’m almost drowning.” This made me
think that the church was in great danger and a problem. This was the start that
the church had experienced great trials. That’s why we need to pray for our leaders
especially our pastors. If you have known the Lord in any length of time, don’t
be complacent that you’re standing in the right place; any time you would be
driven away from the ministry and stumble.
He
brought me up also out of a horrible pit - Margin: "A pit of noise."
The word used here means a pit; a cistern; a prison; a dungeon; a grave. This
last signification of the word is found in Psalm 28:1; Psalm 30:4; Psalm 88:4; Isaiah 38:18; Isaiah 14:19. It may refer to any calamity - or to trouble, like
being in a pit - or it may refer to the grave. The word rendered
"horrible" - שׁאון shâ'ôn - means properly "noise, uproar, tumult," as
of waters; of a crowd of men; of war. Then it seems to be used in the sense of
"desolation" or "destruction," as applicable to the grave.
DeWette understands it here of a pit, a cavern, or an abyss that roars or is
tumultuous; that is, that is impassable. Perhaps
this is the idea - a cavern, deep and dark, where the waters roar, and which
seems to be filled with horrors. So Rosenmuller understands it. The Septuagint
renders it: ἐκ λάκκου ταλαιπωρίας ek lakkou talaipōrias, "a lake of
misery." It is a deep and horrid cavern, where there is no hope of being
rescued, or where it would seem that there would be certain destruction.
Let me ask you, can you
stand in the pit out of miry clay? We know we have just studied last time about
the life of Jeremiah and let’s read one of the things happened to Jeremiah, I was
not mentioned this last Sunday. Jeremiah 38:6 “Then took
they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech,
that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And
in the dungeon, there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.” Out of the miry clay - At
the bottom of the pit. Where there was no solid ground - no strong place on
which to stand. See Jeremiah 38:6; Psalm 69:2, Psalm 69:14
B) WHEN YOU’RE IN A PIT, YOU’LL BE TEMPTED TOWARD PRIDE OR
FALSEHOOD TO GET OUT OF THE PIT.
In verse 4, David writes, “How blessed is the man who has
made the Lord his trust, and has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse
into falsehood.” When you’re in a pit, it’s very easy, even if you profess to
trust in the Lord at other times, to grab onto any seeming way of escape, even
if it means compromising your faith. The proud are those that boast in their
own abilities. They don’t recognize or admit any personal weakness. Rather, by
their own ingenuity and effort, they will get out of their crisis on their own.
Or, if you’re in a jam and it looks like a little “white” lie will get you out
of the jam, you can be tempted to use it. You justify it by thinking, “Well,
it’s just this once and I do need to get out of this pit.” But you’re trusting
in your lie, not in the Lord.
King Asa was a classic
example of a good man who fell into this trap. He was a good king who
instituted many reforms in Judah. When a million-man Ethiopian army invaded
Judah, Asa called out to God and affirmed his trust in God alone to deliver
them (2 Chron. 14:2-12). But many years later, after a long
reign that God had blessed, when the king of Israel came up against him, Asa
sent tribute to the king of Syria and enlisted his help against the enemy.
Interestingly, his ploy worked. The king of Israel had to abandon his invasion
of Judah to defend his northern flank.
But, a prophet rebuked
Asa for relying on the king of Syria instead of relying on the Lord (2
Chron. 16:7-9).
Asa’s final days were plagued with painful gout. But 2
Chronicles 16:12 reports,
“yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.” It’s
not that it’s wrong to go to doctors, but it is wrong
to trust in doctors if your primary trust is not in
the Lord. The lesson is, it is always wrong to trust in anything or anyone other
than the Lord to get out of your pit, even if it works.
C) THE WAY OUT OF THE PIT IS TO WAIT INTENTLY ON THE LORD.
David says (Ps.
40:1), “I
waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry.” Waiting
on the Lord is a common theme in Scripture. For example, Psalm
37:7: “Rest
in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers
in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.” Again, Psalm
37:9: “For
evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit
the land.” And again, Psalm 37:34: “Wait for the Lord and
keep His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are
cut off, you will see it.”
2)
SET YOUR FEET UPON A ROCK (PSALM 40:2)
-
The days in which we live can feel as
turbulent as the high seas. Like sailing ships of old, we need stability to
help us navigate our way through the storms of life. David faced danger as
well, and he celebrated the character of God for providing him with stability
after he had endured a desperate time. He declared, “He lifted me out of the
slimy pit; out of the mud and mire, he set my feet on a rock and gave me a
firm place to stand” (Ps. 40:2). David’s experience was one of conflict,
personal failure, and family strife, yet God gave him a place to stand. So
David sang “a hymn of praise to our God” (v. 3)
In times of difficulty, we too can look to our powerful God for the
stability only He brings. His faithful care inspires us to say with David,
“Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for
us” (v. 5). When the world around us is crumbling, Christ is the Solid Rock on
which we stand.
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’s blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’s name. On Christ, the solid rock, I stand—all other ground is sinking sand. Edward Mote
Conclusion:
When you set your feet on a rock there is a firm
standing. If we are in the pit, out of miry clay, there is no solid ground – no
rock in which to stand. Christ is the solid Rock on which to stand. And established my goings
- Or, fixed my steps. That is, he enabled me to walk as on the solid ground; he
conducted me along safely, where there was no danger of descending to the pit
again or of sinking in the mire. If we understand this of the Redeemer, it
refers to that time when, his sorrows ended, and his work of atonement done, it
became certain that he would never be exposed again to such dangers, or sink
into such a depth of woes, but that his course ever onward would be one of
safety and of glory.
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