Psalm 143.

 It is not often that I preach on the Psalms.  This is not because they
are not worth preaching but rather because they do not regularly show up
in the readings appointed for the seasons of the Church year.  It's true,
we regularly sing or read a Psalm during our worship service, but I
refrain from preaching on them simply because there are so few of them
printed in our Hymnal and it just wouldn't take that long to cover all of
them.  So I try and save the Psalms for that special occasion.  I guess
today we'll consider the circumstances special.
 What is special is that I need a sermon for tonight and a sermon for
Sunday, but not this Sunday.  Because of the way our vacation needed to
be scheduled, I am here for tonight and then we will have a guest
preacher on Sunday.  Next Thursday you will have a guest preacher and
then that Sunday I will be back in the pulpit.  It is because of this
that I determined that I would preach on this Psalm, actually the Psalm
reading for next Sunday.  I hope that next Thursday when you go through
the Psalm you will appreciate it more.
 Psalm 143 is what has been designated church as a penitential psalm.  I
not sure how much attention we should pay to this particular designation
since it is fairly late in history (about 250 a.d.).  But at least I will
tell you that there were seven penitential Psalms appointed by the early
church: 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and then Psalm 143.  As you read all
these Psalms you can see (for the most part) that each Psalm has the
topic of sin and the difficulties that sin can bring, along with an
appeal to the Lord for help and deliverance.  What is most interesting is
the many ways in which sin is described.  Even our psalm for today speaks
of the troubles of sin in the sense of being delivered from an enemy.
Yet the spiritual message is wonderful to behold.
 Let's then begin our Psalm.  Like our People's Bible Commentary we
consider the theme of this Psalm to be "Do Not Bring Your Servant into
Judgment."
 Note how our Psalm starts.  First we are told that this is a Psalm of
David.  You know David.  He is the one who was a shepherd boy and with
the Lord's help defeated the giant Goliath.  He is the one who would
later become the King of Israel in the place of Saul's family.  We admire
David and with good reason.  David was a faithful believer in the Lord.
Notice I said he was faithful.  He was not perfect or sinless, for the
Bible records many of David's faults and sins.  What David was, was a
faithful believer in the Lord's grace and mercy.  That truth is certainly
brought up in the next verses.
 Verse one continues, "Lord, hear my prayer; give ear to my cry for
mercy; in your faithfulness, answer me in your righteousness.  And do not
enter into judgment with your servant, for no one living can be just
before you."
 Here is the marvel of what our faith is about.  Note that while David is
pleading or praying to the Lord his prayer is not based on his goodness
or righteousness but rather on the Lord and His grace and mercy.  He
says, "In your faithfulness, in your righteousness answer me."  David's
confidence that the Lord will hear him is based on God's promises and
God's perfect holiness.  David realizes he is unworthy before the Lord
and he highlights that all the more with his next line.  "And do not
enter into judgment with your servant, for no one living can be just
before you."
 If there is any line that shows what David understands about his
relationship with God it is this one.  He asks that God not judge him.
He makes it clear that he understands he is not worthy to be before the
Lord and that no one living can be just before God.
 Here is a truth and revelation that we surely need to grasp and not
forget.  We receive bounty and goodness from the Lord not because we earn
or deserve it but rather because God is so gracious.  David is quite
correct when he says that no one living can be just before God.  Isaiah
stated this truth in these words, "All of us have become like one who is
unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rages; we all shrivel
up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away (64:6)."  Titus
in the New Testament says, "He saved us, not because of righteous things
that we had done, but because of his mercy (3:5)."
 But I think this is the most difficult of God's teachings for us to
grasp.  We look at ourselves and we think that we aren't that bad or that
we have many good and wonderful qualities about us.  We look at our lives
and we think, God should be happy with me.  But that is only because we
have nothing to compare ourselves against but other sinners and when you
do that there is a tendency to overlook some of our greatest faults.
What we must remember to do is to compare ourselves to the Holy and just
God, He who is perfect and without flaw of any kind.  Then we will
realize our need for God's grace and mercy.  Then we will be a people who
always rest on God's goodness and grace, because we will see our
sinfulness and realize how short of God's glory we really are.
 Now comes the next section which lays out the reasons for David turning
to the Lord.  Verses 3-4 say, "For the enemy pursues my soul, he crushes
my life to the ground; he makes me dwell in dark places like those long
dead.  So my spirit grows faint within me; within me my heart is
dismayed."
 The first thing that many try to do is to place this psalm into an
historical event of David's life.  Some say it may have been written
while Saul was pursuing him and others say it may have been during the
rebellion of his son Absalom, either way it is clear that David is
troubled by the difficulties of his life.  But more important than a
specific trouble of history is what is behind that trouble and I think
that is made clear because David does not mention a specific enemy or
problem.  I believe the trouble he is speaking about is the attacks and
troubles that Satan himself brings to our lives.  I believe David has
more in mind the spiritual battles and difficulties we face.  Look at the
words.  It is Satan who is out to destroy our soul.  It is Satan who
would like nothing more than to crush us and cause us to despair of God's
love.  It is Satan who wants us to think that there is no hope and no
reason to trust in God.  The one enemy we all have in common is Satan.
 I know that this sounds simple and real backward in today's "modern"
world.  Yet I want to warn you of the danger of Satan.  He is a roaring
lion seeking whom he may devour.  We are warned that he will even
disguise himself like an angel of light in order to deceive us.  Satan
will do anything he can to pull you away from the Lord.  He will beat you
with your sins, accuse and condemn you for your transgressions.  If that
doesn't work he will lead you to think that things are fine and dandy and
that you don't really need the Lord anyway.  And should you still persist
in believing he will even ridicule your service to the Lord and make you
doubt God's Spirit within you.  He is a deadly enemy and we should be
alert.
 Yet we have reason to hope.  That reason is given in verses 5-6.  The
Psalm says, "I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your
works, and I consider what your hands have done.  I spread out my hands
to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land."
 Again what beautiful words.  David again focuses on what the Lord has
done.  He remembers God's goodness and love to his people.  He thinks of
how God so far in history has given his promises and the hope of
salvation and then has worked to bring those very promises true.  David
relys on the Lord's past grace and mercies to understand his future
grace.  As the Lord has been faithful so David knows that God will
continue in that faithfulness.  So sure is David of this hope in grace
that he makes two startling statements.  He says, "I spread out my hands
to you."  This phrase is speaking of the prayer and worship life that
David has.  The natural result of realizing God's grace and love is to
return that grace and love with prayer and in worship.  And then he
reveals the very attitude of his heart in doing this, the very attitude
of the heart of faith.  He says, "My soul thirsts for you like a parched
land."
 What wonderful poetic thought.  God is the living water and David is the
desert land that needs that water.  It is the water of God that brings
and sustains life, that animates the soul to marvel in the grace of God.
When I read this line, I am ashamed.  Could I say that my soul thirsts
for God?  Could I say that my attitude and life expresses the importance
and need of God?  Is my thirst for God reflected in my prayer life and my
worship of the Lord?  These words give great pause for thought.
 But more than that these words remind me to look on God's work and to
think about what God has done for me.  As a Christian today, I look back
and I see the cross of Jesus reminding me how the loving God became a man
that he might offer himself for my sins.  I see Jesus hanging there
crying out with the agony of hell, taking my punishment for my sins, all
done just so I can be God's redeemed child.  And more.  I see the empty
tomb of He who died and now lives.  The empty tomb that proclaims victory
and salvation for our souls.  Here is a God, our God, our Savior Jesus
who has given everything for us.  He knew we could not reach up to him
and so he came to us to bring life.  How true that Jesus is like falling
rain on a parched land.  What God has done is soaked up by his children
to bring them the comfort and marvel of eternal life.  Yes, these words
make me think of what God has done for me.
 And then we go on to David's concluding prayer.  He says, "Hurry, answer
me, O Lord; my spirit faints.  Do not hide your face from me or I will be
like those who go down to the pit.  Let me hear of your mercy in the
morning for I have put my trust in you.  Make me to know the way that I
should go, for to you I lift up my soul.  Rescue me from my enemies, O
Lord, for I hide myself in you.  Teach me to do your will, for you are my
God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.  For your name's sake,
O Lord, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.
 In your mercy, wipe out my enemies, and destroy all who threaten my
life, for I am your servant."
 I realize this last section is quite long, but it really does form the
prayer of David for deliverance.  It is clear in these words that David
realizes that he is nothing and has nothing without the power and wonder
of God and so he then pleads and petitions the Lord with heartfelt words
for help and deliverance.  These words speak of being strengthened as
only the Lord can.  They speak of a willingness to yield to whatever the
Lord might bring because David trusts that the Lord will do only what is
good and right.  These words speak of the confidence and hope that David
has because of God's gracious goodness and love.
 By the way, have you ever heard of an imprecatory prayer?  You have an
example here.  An imprecatory prayer is one where you ask that God would
punish your enemies and bring His justice to bear.  Go back and read
those lines again and you will see what I mean.  It is a reminder to us
that we may seek the Lord's justice and help.  We may even ask the Lord
to "take out" our enemies but we always do this with the confidence that
God will do only what is best for us and for the soul of our enemy.
 Now I realize that there is really much more that can be said of this
Psalm.  I choose to take the whole last section as one lump and yet you
must realize that there is much to be learned just by looking phrase to
phrase.  Yet I think you grasp the marvel and joy of the words before us.
 God's love is boundless for his children.  His grace and mercy is there
before us, demonstrated in his works and in his history of salvation.
May your confidence and trust in God's help and deliverance be just like
that of David.  Amen.