TOOL: There are different types of Psalms TO HELP US TO RELATE TO GOD in all the different experiences of life:

“Whatever your particular need or trouble, from this same book you can select a form of words to fit it, so that you do not merely hear and then pass on, but learn the way to remedy your ill… In fact, under all the circumstances of life, we shall find that these divine songs suit ourselves and meet our own souls’ need at every turn” (Athanasius)

When you learn how to recognise the different types of Psalms you will learn where to go and what to use at different times.

Walter Brueggemann (OT professor)

• Psalms of Orientation: whenthings make sense and are going well in life e.g. PRAISE
• Psalms of Disorientation: whenthings go wrong or become hard in life e.g. LAMENT or CONFESSION
• Psalms of New Orientation: when God answers our prayers, comforts us, delivers us and helps us gain a new God-perspective on our circumstances e.g. TRUST or THANKSGIVING

PSALM 139: A PSALM OF TRUST

(1) Go through each of the three stanzas answering these questions:

(a) As David considers God, what pictures or concepts come into his mind?

(b) Summarise the central truth he concludes about God?

(c) How might this truth make him think or feel differently?

1. God knows everything about me (v.1-6) - omniscience
2. God is everywhere with me (v.7-12) - omnipresence
3. God has a plan for every day of my life (v.13-18) - omnipotence

(2) Looking at v.19-24 – Why did David write this Psalm? So when might we also find it useful?

• David feels threatened by enemies who hate God and God’s king. He has “anxious thoughts” about them.
• Book 5 of Psalms: time of insecurity and instability after return from exile. David doesn’t trust in army against enemies… Israel has no army in Book 5. Rather throws self in trust on God.

TEACHING

We’re Christians using the Psalms, so to apply this Psalm to ourselves need to have Christ in our minds. You can do this simply by simply putting “Jesus” in the place of “God".

1. Jesus knows everything about me
2. Jesus goes everywhere with me
3. Jesus has a plan for every day of my life
4. Jesus is worthy of my trust

Jesus would have known and used Psalm 139 in His own life. Jesus knows what it’s like to be human (not abstractly but empirically)… Jesus has walked where we walked and faced what we face. From womb to tomb He faced troubles and anxieties, but knew His life in His Father’s hands and the companionship of the Holy Spirit. All His days were literally written in God’s book before He was born! Today we can come to Jesus who not only knows everything about us, but also has experienced what it is like to be us! From the womb to the tomb. He proved God’s trustworthiness. And He invites us to trust Him today, because the God who knows everything about you also LOVES you:

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16)

APPLICATION

We’ve seen that David is confronted with circumstances that trouble him with stress and anxiety. We have a lot in common with him – because all humans experience these realities. What we now want to think about is how this Psalm of Trust can help us relate to God when we’re feeling troubled and worried.

We all get scared! The key question is what do we do with these feelings and thoughts? Where do we turn for help?

“In the middle of trouble, when you are in the heart of the battle, you will run somewhere for refuge. You will run somewhere for rest, comfort, peace, encouragement, wisdom, healing and strength….Perhaps in trouble you run to other people, hoping they can be your personal messiah. Perhaps you run to entertainment, hoping to numb your troubles away. Maybe you run to a substance hoping to numb your troubles away. Maybe you are tempted to run to food or sex, fighting pain with pleasure. Since none of these things can provide the refuge that you seek, putting your hope there tends only to add disappointment to the trouble you’re already experiencing” (Paul David Tripp)

We need to train ourselves to RUN TO GOD IN PRAYER. When we do that we will get a NEW ORIENTATION, a new perspective on what is troubling us.

There’s something important to notice about the proportions of the material in the psalm.

How many stanzas are reflecting on God?

How many are reflecting on David’s problems?

What order are they in?

There are three stanzas reflecting on God and one stanza reflecting on David’s problems. And he looks to God before he looks at his circumstances. This teaches us an important principle: when we meditate on the truths about God and pray to God, then our circumstances are put into their proper perspective.

Often our stresses, anxieties and troubles dominate our thinking and we cannot be free of them. You just cannot switch them off. Instead, you need to bring something else into your thinking that pushes them out. *Object illustration of removing all the air from the glass – not by extraction but by displacement. Filling with true and good things of God.

Case studies: How could you use this Psalm (read with Christ in mind) to help…

• Sam fears being in situations where his safety isn’t guaranteed
• Caroline fears being rejected and judged by people
• Chris is struggling with depression and feels that no one understands enough to help
• Tom has just been diagnosed with treatable cancer
• Anne feels inadequate and unimportant

APPLICATION

How can we relate to and find help from God for our stresses, anxieties troubles…Psalm 139 shows us how:

(1)   Remember some truth e.g. God is omnipresent

(2)   Process/Meditate on it for your situation e.g. God is with me even here (new orientation happens)

(3)   Pray to God about the situation: entrusting it to Him!

1. Invites God into your experience: to guide, teach and work in us
2. Imbeds abstract truth into your experience

PRAYER:

Let’s pray through Psalm 139, picking out the phrases that standout to us personally: Thanking God for who He is, and asking Him to help us this week