A Song of Triumph, Part 1

From Chuck Swindoll resisted the delights in calamity and strong stress, troubling destruction and violence, but we don't really believe that the Lord delights in us but he says he does. That's grace and message of grace, the Lord dispatches his angels will hold and help because he finds delight writer today on insight from Chuck Swindoll describe such a season. David Stern was lonely. He felt abandoned and even betrayed in this season of suffering the spirit of God moved upon David to write one of our favorite songs. Chuck titled today's message a song of triumph.

David was many things in his life. He was a shepherd leader. He became a warrior. He was also a musician and when I say that I would include. He was a composer. He was an instrumentalist and much of the lyrics he would use would come from a journal that he kept privately and he often wrote beautiful poetry, some of which is found its way into the Scriptures and we know that today is the Psalms. He especially wrote such poetry in times of deep distress also wrote great songs of triumph, we come to one of those songs today and I want to read some excerpts from this particular song recorded in second Samuel 22 from the new living translation so you listen and enjoy the writings.

The composition of David, the songwriter in this song of triumph. David sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul, he saying, the Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my Savior. My God is my rock, in whom I find protection, he is my shield the power that saves me and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my Savior, the one who saves me from violence.

I called on the Lord who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies. He reached down from heaven and rescued me. He drew me out of deep waters.

He rescued me from my powerful enemies from those who hated me and were too strong for me. They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress but the Lord supported me. He led me to a place of safety. He rescued me because he delights in me. The Lord rewarded me for doing right. He restored me because of my innocence, for I have kept the ways of the Lord. I have not turned from my God to follow evil. I followed all his regulations. I've never abandoned his decrees. I am blameless before God.

I have kept myself from sin. The Lord rewarded me for doing right. He has seen my innocence to the faithful. You show yourself faithful to those with integrity. You show integrity to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the wicked. You show yourself hostile you rescue the humble but your eyes watch the proud and humiliate them all. Lord, you are my lamp the Lord lights up my darkness. God's way is perfect. All the Lord's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. The Lord lives.

Praise to my rock. May God the rock of my salvation be exalted for this overlord. I will praise you among the nations, I will sing praises to your name you give great victories to your king, you show unfailing love to your anointed David and all his descent forever.

The Bible with Chuck Swindoll. Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures. Studies by going to insight.org/studies and now the message from title song of triumph. I'd like us to bow in prayer as we close our eyes who was sufficient her father for the things that you have set aside for us. Take away your grace, and not one of us can participate.

Alleluia. What a Savior guilty and vile and helpless. We and yet spotless Lamb of God, was he full atonement can it be what a Savior. Our only claim is the blood of Christ. Our only hope is his life. His death his resurrection and we meet and all the beauty of your holiness tonight. Our father, longing for the day when we shall do it face-to-face in his kingdom. Make this a meaningful experience as we turn our thoughts to the written word and then ultimately to the living word may there be a splendid experience that's ours to enjoy in this intermediate time as we await your son's return. It is in his name that we offer these requests and these expressions of praise a man in the 22nd chapter of the book of second Samuel, we come upon a very important experience in the life of David.

We are beginning to detect the long shadows of age, and pressure falling across his life. He's lived a full life that isn't dead yet and as long as there is breath in the Christian's lawns, God's purpose for us to continue. That's certainly true in David as well as the rest of us, but things have occurred rather recently to put them on his knees.

Seems as though David spent most of his days there. Just being forced to trust God and impossible circumstances. Let me name three of that serve as a preliminary period of preparation before he composed the song I'm convinced the last song that he ever wrote in chapter 19 which I'd like you to turn for just a moment, he has lost his son and at the end of chapter 18 verse 33. He expresses these words of anguish and grief. 00. My son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom. Would I die instead of you all. Absalom, my son, my son is favored precious son has been killed by Joab and that David is in mourning and can hardly recover from the anguish, the heartache of his experience. We have a couple in our church that's gone through of the murder of their own daughter and they are doing their best to stay on their feet and to keep body and mind and soul together during the anguish of their lives and in the awful tragedy that is cross their steps, they find themselves awake in the middle of the night crying out, as it were. Oh, our daughter, our daughter would God we had died instead of you tragedy upon tragedies and soul loss. It's a it's a breaking experience for this dear couple chapter 19 in chapter 21 verse one there was a famine. The second of blowing David's life keep count of the now he's lost a son and now he is beginning to lose his nation. It says there was a famine in the days of David for three years.

Year after year as anguish Costs in the first verse. There's a feeling of loss.

There, I'm sure that the cattle of the field began to dive the rivers dried up Jerusalem lost its blossoms and the heavens were brass as people prayed in vain for the reins to come three years.

There is drought there is famine in the land. And finally, in the midst of this of the series of problems. Verse 15 of chapter 21. They are back at war with their age-old enemy. The felicity when the Philistines were at war again with Israel. David went down in his servants with them as they fought against the Philistines. David became weary, but I would say it's about time. He's only human. You can take only so much the loss of a son.

The beginning to loss of of the land and finally the weary experience of that. It all begins to wear on and begins to crack and he falls before God. No, I'm not a composer of songs. I think if there were something I really would love to be able to do it would be that I've written a few poems but they never got into print and the reason is not that great in fact the that said another reminder to me that I better stick with my gifts and leave the other things alone and I wish I had the ability to compose music and put feelings into melody and words that was one of David's best abilities. In fact, long before he was a king. He was a composer and I understand from those that compose that they often those songs are often born out of times of either elation or depression times in which we are the one is is really high and delighted or is low and that at the bottom.

While David was weary. Verse one of chapter 22. He declared his feelings in a song in a him called in those days, a song or later days a song and this song which covers 51 verse is almost 51 verses of chapter 22.

He expresses his feelings to God and to the surprise of many who would read this on the heels of what we have just read about his tragic life. It is a song of praise: daily teacher noted German scholars of past generations and they write this about this song David praises the Lord as his deliverer out of all dangers during his agitated and conflict thing life. Good comment. Beginning in chapter 22 is agitated and conflict thing life. These things give birth to a song that I observed in verse one that the words of this song that David spoke were words spoken to the Lord so you he spoke the words of this song to the Lord. He addressed the hymn to Jehovah God what what were his times.

Look at verse three we ready to mark some words the last part of the third verse thou dost save me from violence. They were violent time verse five. They were days of death that encompassed in torrents of destruction overwhelmed and verse seven. They were days of distress and finally they were verse 19 days of calamity. They confronted me, that is, the enemies in the day of my calamity. These were hard times for David, but out of them all the Lord delivered what is he doing the song. Well, I think that he sums up his life in four themes for expressions that sort of weave their way through this song that he wrote it is great song of praise. I want you to see. As I unveiled a four themes of his life. Here is the first one when times are tough.

The Lord is our only security that's verses two through 20 when times are tough. The Lord is our only security. Let's see how they how they appear.

These words are written. He said verse two Lord is my rock and my fortress, my deliverer, these are poetic expressions but they each one carry different unique meanings.

If you are going through times in which there are tough days upon you this song should encourage David was a melancholic and he wrote some of his best works while he was down really low. He says my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, these are all words of security. The horn of my salvation, my stronghold, my refuge and all these words David is describing the Lord as a secure heavenly father. Times are tough lost my son I'm losing my nation.

I am watching the disintegration of my Army. I am seeing the again another reminder of warfare is the Philistines come upon me, and yet I find that the Lord continues to be a shield, my stronghold and my refuge picture versus seven and following.

Just feel it. As I read the words, songs are written not to be analyzed to be experienced and felt this follow along in my distress I called upon the Lord. I cried to my God, I cried.

From his temple he heard my voice my my cry for help came into his ears. Now watch God move. Just watch him in the movement of this song my cry came into his ears, then the earth shook and quaked the foundation of heaven were trimmed and were shaken because he was angry so went up out of his nostrils and fire from his mouth, devoured calls were kindled by the bow the heavens and came down with thick darkness under his feet. He rolled the cherub and flew eloquent words or he appeared on the wings of the wind, he made darkness canopies around in a mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky, what you doing is bringing rain he's answering the call for help in the drought. The famine from the brightness before him coals of fire kindled. The Lord thundered from heaven, the most high under his voice. He sent out arrows and scattered them lightning rounded them the channels of the sea appeared the foundations of the earth were laid bare by the rebuke of the Lord of the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

He said from on high heat took me through me for a out of many waters delivered me from my strong enemy from those who hated me for they were too strong for me.

They confronted me in the day of my calamity is just like an enemy down, beaten, broken an enemy comes and confronts deals harshly without feeling, without tenderness, but the Lord was my support a look at this. Look at the reprieve in the song he brought me into a broad place.

He rescued me because he delighted in me. Isn't that fantastic. We don't believe that 20th verse. We believe the business about calamity and strong enemies in distress, trouble and death and destruction and violence, but we don't really believe that the Lord delights in us but he says he does. That's grace. That's the whole message of grace, the Lord dispatches his angels uphold and help because he finds delight in us. He cares for us. He feels are a he feels a deeply even though we resisted. It's true he delights in us times hard. Are there trouble days upon you. Believe me from this song. You have the assurance that the Lord takes delight in you and your need. The psalmist says he brought me to a broad place because he delighted when times are tough.

The Lord is our only security. The second theme begins in verse 21 and carries us down into 3031 when days are dark, the Lord is our only light look for example at verse 29 will remind you another song for thou art my lamp Lord, the Lord illumines my darkness was a little boy. My dad and I used to flounder. I don't know too many people out here that are familiar with floundering, but it's very popular on the on the Gulf Coast and you you have a lantern and you you walk about knee-deep our not much deeper than that in shallow water along the shore and you have a gay man so two-pronged sphere sort of a broomstick on the end of it. And as you swing the lantern along you you look for the flounder that have come up close to the shore and they flutter their little fins and they sink down in the sand and the sand comes over the flounder and of course it's about the color of sand already is. It's perfectly camouflaged in this flounder that's built sideways as a mouth that just was wide open and it's there to capture the shrimp for the mullet come in close in the evening here in the in the nighttime and the cool shallow waters of the Gulf and I remember walking along with the with a lamp or a lantern Coleman lantern would swing along and would stop and we would see one in my dad would say, you want to get inward. You want me to getting. I remember first time I said I'll get him and I get my total. I just knew I could get him and I was right over him went right down in the Thomas sneakers and right there just grazed alongside my great Joe on their on foot there and I am at the end. The lantern is a result of the flounder court and slashed all this water blew the lantern out every word complete dark's hiring.

I recall how that little lantern. What gave you just enough light to see into the water and see just a step or two ahead of you saw the light you need and that's all the light. The Lord needs to give the land. There are times we are floundering our way along, and we cannot see much further then that's that. And that's all the light required to give and it's all the light he plans to give is gracious to hold back some of the jokes. Windows illustration helps us personalize the truth in this passage in the dark and foreboding moments of our lives. God provides a light source. It reminds me of David's words recorded in Psalm 119. David said your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

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