Audio Messages:
Pastor Wade Burleson

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Refuge

NEW . . . MP3 format

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Psalm 7:1-2 (KJV)

1. O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:
2. Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

Some of the most difficult times in life are those times when those who should love and respect you falsely accuse you. David was Jonathan's best friend, yet Jonathan's dad, King Saul, received a slanderous report from Cush regarding David. This caused Saul to seek David's life. Psalm 7 is written as an expression of hurt and a song of refuge in God.

1. Notice the enemy identified . . . "lest he tear my soul like a lion" (v.2).
   The pronoun in verse one is plural (they), but the pronoun in verse two is singular (he). Some translations (NIV for instance and NKJV) change the Hebrew plural pronoun in verse two to plural believing it makes the text easier to understand.
   
   When you compare Scripture with Scripture you find that the devil himself is called "a roaring lion" (I Peter 5:8) and he is the soul's great enemy. Spurgeon, in commenting on this verse points out that our struggle is not against flesh and blood (humans who slander), but against principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12). Your enemy is after you.
2. Notice the soul imperiled . . . rending it (my soul) in pieces" (v.2).
   Augustine encouraged conversation at meals -- but with a strictly enforced rule, carved on a plaque, that the character of an absent person should never be negatively discussed. David's conscience did not condemn him. Conscience is that invisible, silent monitor in the soul that convicts of wrong; yet the soul can be ripped regardless of conscience.
   1. A fragmented soul is full of real pain . . .
      The soul that is torn apart by the slander of another feels attacked, abused and ultimately abandoned This picture of a lion tearing apart a carcass is vivid.
   2. A fragmented soul is void of real passion . . .
      A soul that is destroyed by the enemy will seek an anesthetic -- drugs, alcohol, and all other kinds of addictions are often the result of a desire to deaden pain.
   3. A fragmented soul is saddled with problems . . .
      Problems that could be solved if the soul could ever find true deliverance.
3. Notice the divine intercession . . . "My God . . . save me . . . deliver me" (v.1).
   David had only one hope for the healing of his soul due to Cush's actions, just one: "O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust . . ." (v.1). You save me. You deliver me.
   1. In thee do I put my trust . . . not in what God would do, but in who God is.
      This is real worship. This is the heart of worship. It is about God. Not what He gives but who He is. Is your trust in Him? Do you know Him? In Psalm 50:21,22 Israel is "rent" because the people thought of God as being, "altogether such an one as thyself."
   2. In thee do I put my trust . . . it is an active faith, not a passive faith.
      This is not the Sunday School faith of a child, but the active faith of a believer under attack. This faith is "put" through prayer, confession and worship in God.
   3. In thee do I put my trust . . . without this trust it is impossible to please God.
      "Have faith in God. He's on His throne. Have faith in God, He watches o'er His own. He cannot fail, He must prevail. Have faith in God, have faith in God."