In this sermon, the speaker encourages the audience to be open and honest with God, just like David was in the Bible. The severity of our troubles should not deter us from approaching God, as He is always ready to extend His mercy and truth. The speaker emphasizes the importance of worshiping God even in the midst of difficult circumstances, acknowledging His control and faithfulness. The secret to David's trust in God is his honesty about his situation, and the speaker reminds the audience that God desires honesty and is fully aware of their needs.

Psalm 57 please. You know, the true doctrinal preaching is very, very practical and not dry, dusty, irrelevant reasonings. And I think perhaps the significant feature of this week with the various speakers who have been so much anointed by the Holy Spirit to bring to us God's Word, the significant feature in all the discourses has been how the truth must affect us. There have been incredible, exalted perspectives unfolded to us. That's why at meetings like last night, we did not want to see the meeting conclude. We wanted it just to linger in the presence of God. And I was reminded, and I mentioned this to one of the brethren, you know, in the Welsh Revival, the 1904 Revival, by the way I wasn't there. In the Welsh Revival, there was that awesome sense of God among them. And very often it would be four o'clock in the morning before the congregation dispersed. Many of them didn't have much time between leaving the churches. Not just the church, it was not just where the revivalist was. In my hometown, David Matthews, who wrote his book on I Saw the Welsh Revival, said that when Evan Roberts came to Aberdare or to the little community about half a mile or three quarters of a mile above the town, a place called Tricana, he said the streets were, people were flocking towards not just where Evan Roberts was, they were filling up the other churches. So they were not following a personality. They were drawn by God's Holy Spirit. And God was doing great and marvelous things. And then at four o'clock in the morning, many of them would be having then to go to their home, get ready to go down to the coal mine and have a hard day's work in the coal mine. But I guess sustained by the strength that God was imparting to them. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew, shall change their strength. Praise the Lord. So thank God this morning for all the enlightenment that we've received and the encouragement we've obtained. And the truth as it has been expounded that has challenged us. And the comfort too that has touched us. Yeah, we need friends to translate all of this into our life situations. So it's not just a week at salt. It's going back to wherever we, where we live and there to be salt and to be light and to share something of the glory of God with others. Here we are in Psalm 57 and verses four to six this morning. My soul is among lions, says David. And I lie even among them that are set on fire, whose teeth are spears and arrows. Even the sons of men and their tongue a sharp sword. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let thy glory be above all the earth. They have prepared a net for my steps. My soul is bowed down. They have digged a pit before me into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Think on that. My heart is fixed. Oh God, my heart is fixed. I will sing and give praise unto thee. Amen. Now it's no life being a fugitive as David was on this occasion. As we pointed out the other morning, the heading of the psalm is to the chief musician. When David fled from Saul in the cave, it was tough. And I guess the best of men can soon be bowed down as we read of David here in that verse six. When the soul is buffeted in adversity. You know David is so glaringly honest, isn't he? He doesn't hide his feelings. And yet by no means does he permit those situations to destroy his faith, to dampen his zeal for the honor of God. Now earlier, you go back a few chapters to chapter 42 of the Psalms. He found himself in a similar predicament and he confessed how he addresses God in the midst of it. He said, I will say unto God, my rock, why has thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? So he's conscious now of this opposition, this great adversity, the pressure that's being brought upon him from those who are taunting him. They were all around him. And he says, with a sword in my bones, he says, this is killing me. My enemies reproach me while they say daily unto me, where is your God? Now I want you not to miss the vital element in that cry, which was the cause of his greatest hurt. And it was that he bore such pain because of the honor of his faithful God, as his enemies taunted him. Where is your God? David's concerned more about God's honor than his own particular comfort. And then hear him chide his own soul. And yet, of course, compose his own soul. In verse 11 of Psalm 42, why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him who is the health, the Yeshua. Interesting, the Hebrew word. Yeshua, the saving health of my countenance and my God. Hallelujah. Now we've already noted in this psalm how David is crying upon God in real need. He's beseeching God's mercy. But seeing David not as some hopeless person, that from him comes some vain utterance of pain and fear. No, he states the predicament in the plainest of terms. And yet, all the while, there is with David a song of confidence. And I like the comment of Campbell Morgan, who said, the triumph of trust is most conspicuous. David says to God, if I can paraphrase here in that first verse, I trust in you. I am sheltering beneath the shadow of your wings. I know the calamities are going to pass over. You are going to bring me through. And then he follows on with such a remarkable confession of his knowledge of God in those verses 2 and 3, which we have already been observing in the other session. This is the one, this is the God in whom David places his confidence and such a trust in God as yields such praiseful worship in the strangest place. Because he sees a God who lives. A God who is majestic and towering above all creation. It's El Elyon, the most high God. The one who is transcendent above all his creation. His transcendence, God's transcendence being the pledge of his irresistible might and yet personally caring for us. A God who is actively engaged and participates with us in our concerns. David sees here a God that we can depend upon to sovereignly rise up and in righteousness, vindicate for his own people. A God who acts to accomplish what he has purposed. This is this God we talked about who performs for us. Not a performance. He acts, he works on our behalf. And thank God, this mighty God. There is no one to prevent or to obstruct him, whether men or devils. And it is this one who David knows is the controller of all destinies. It's no wonder, friends, in the strangest of places he can worship. Because worship, friends, is the outgrowth. It is grounded in revelation. A revelation of God, who God is. Not who you think he is. Not a God whom you imagine him to be. Tauza says that's idolatry of the mind. But knowing God for who he is. If you don't know God, you can't worship him in spirit and in truth. Now, David cannot and he does not ignore the unpleasantness of the situation. The goring fact of being pursued to the death. He's being hunted with the hope that they could get rid of him. And yet, whatever be the sense of natural fear and trepidation, here's the incredible reality in the midst of it all. With that felt pressing down of his own soul that he refers to here. You see how human he was? My soul is bowed down and yet he comes up with this glorious demonstration of the ultimate in spiritual desire. And it is that not simply and only that God would be merciful to him, but that God would be magnified. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let thy glory be above all the earth. You know, this is the truest evidence of genuine faith in God. To be able to worship God and trust God in the strangest, most trying of places. Some can't give God praise among lambs, let alone among lions. What did John Bunyan say? He said, I have often thought the best Christians are found in the worst of times. We don't see the best of each other, friends, in this convention. It's in those days when, cheer up, you will have some trials. That's what he told Smyrna, wasn't it? I know, he said, I know, I know exactly what you're going through. And he saw the assault of Satan upon that church in Smyrna. He says, cheer up, you're going to have some more. You will have tribulation ten days. I don't think that was ten literal 24 hour days. It was a period of time that the Lord himself would determine. Because he's in control. He's in control. So then, what truth can we draw from these verses to help us this morning in our peculiar and perplexing situations? How can we, like David in his trouble, see all the events resulting in God being honored and God being glorified? How are we able to maintain a worshipful spirit and not a woeful one, even in the strangest of life's trials? You see, if there's consolation in verse 1, here is David trusting God. And if there is supplication in verses 2 and 3, in these verses we have taken this morning, verses 4 to 6, you will know David's salvation. And this is where he is brutally honest about his situation. And if God desires anything at all, friends, it is honesty. Because he is fully cognizant of our need. He knows exactly where we are at this morning. What we are passing through. And I tell you, he is not, and I probably refer to this on Monday morning, he is not in any way glorified by some kind of philosophic denial of an actual condition under the guise of faith. No, David does not fear to confess it. Some of you might have heard me mention, I think I've mentioned this before sometime, but we were in a British Ascension of God conference and we were going down to breakfast. Everybody met in a big dining hall for breakfast, there were thousands there. And in front of us, there were two ladies. And one, evidently, was quite sick. She was streaming with cold or flu. She was really bad. But she was just walking in front of us and saying to a friend, I'm not sick. I'm not sick. And she was trying to deny the fact that she was really sick. Didn't make her any better, friends. We've got to be honest. And David does not fear to confess his fears to tell of his situation because it's not the confession of fear. Someone has rightly said, an eye that hath seen God sees little terror in the most terrible things. Remember one of the old songs we used to sing? Go, tell him plainly, just how you feel, Jesus will pardon, Jesus will heal. What a lovely thing to be able to be open and honest and frank before the Lord and before others, knowing that God will help us. Why don't you do that today? But do so like David, with God's love and God's mindfulness of you, uppermost in your heart, anticipating that he will, as mercy and his truth. So look at these verses and observe three things that I trust will help and inspire our worship, even in the strangest place this morning. One is the severity of his trouble. We can't overlook this. The severity of his trouble. My soul, he says, is among lions and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword. Now what David is saying here is truly remarkable. He admits that his precarious state is real and he exposes the ferocious, the beastly nature of his enemies and he does so actually with such poetic language as he describes their innate character. He talks about being among lions, raging against him, hungry for his life. They would tear him apart. He says them that are set on fire, they were burning with fury. They are full of evil intent. He says whose teeth are spears and arrows. They are set on destroying him and devouring him and their sharp, their tongue is a sharp sword. They were so cruel, they were so malicious. You'd feel quite comfortable in that kind of company, wouldn't you? I don't blame David for retreating to some cave for refuge, but more for David goes on to reveal the steps that they had taken to dispose of him. There in verse 6, they have prepared a net for my steps. They have digged a pit before me, like hunters that lay a snare for their prey. His enemies were planning his complete downfall. They would be sufficed only with his death and his burial, getting rid of him and for Saul's sake. Is it a wonder then that David says my soul is bowed down? Wouldn't yours be? One can conclude from this that even good men may be cast down. So don't chastise yourself. But like Paul in 2nd Corinthians 4 and verses 8 and 9, he says we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, yet not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. We are cast down, but not destroyed. Hallelujah. David in Psalm 145 and verse 14, again he is extolling his God. He says the Lord upholds all that fall and raises up all those who are bowed down. Psalm 146 and verse 8, the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord raises them that are bowed down. The Lord loves the righteous. In other of his Psalms he says God hates the wicked. But here he confesses he loves the righteous. What a comforting truth this morning. The Lord loves the righteous. This becomes the foundation for David's praise. Notice in verse 6 of Psalm 146, happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help. Praise the Lord. Not just the God of Israel, it comes right down to the God of Jacob, which would of course encapsulate the people of Israel. But I was thinking about what we heard in our previous session through dear Pastor Werner when he mentioned Jacob having met with God and then was able to face Esau. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help. I wonder if you feel that you were there this morning where David was. Not necessarily the same situation, the same perils, the same predicament, but the same awareness of an enemy stalking your every step, designing your downfall, intent on your utter spiritual collapse. But before I make further comment on that, let's be honest here friends. There are some whose situations are the result of personal folly, the lack of wisdom, sometimes the neglect or the despising of godly counsel. There are a lot who are in trouble this morning of their own making, consequences of their own folly. God is still merciful. But as David says in the opening psalm, blessed is the man who does not stand in the counsel of men, but his delight is in the law of the Lord. In that law he meditates day and night. You know, there can be self-induced situations because we fail to abide by God's word when we are what Paul describes as being wise in our own conceits. And let's know this, when we ignore God's word, then we'll be in big trouble. That's why it's important, this matter of obedience. Ephesians 5 verses 15 to 17, see then, says Paul, that you walk circumspectly not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Something I picked up in the morning prayer times, the occasions that this has been raised, not only that we've received knowledge from the Lord, but understanding, understanding. We need to be understanding of what the will of the Lord is. But we do, we do have a real foe hunting our souls. We are like the psalmist, we are among lions. He knew it, and we know it. And sometimes it can be very severe. Peter, when he writes his letter, he talks about the fiery trial as though some strange thing happened unto you. But of course, he goes on to exhort us because he is the one who himself had been rescued when he had failed, when he had fallen, when he had denied his Lord. Remember what Jesus said to him, when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren. And having passed through that experience, he is able to write as in his letter, be sober, be vigilant because your adversary, your opponent, the devil, as a roaring lion, he walks about seeking whom he may devour, swallow up. In what ways does the enemy beset us? Well, he comes as the accuser, he comes as the divider, he comes as the slanderer. This is what David found. It's like a killing in my bones when they are saying, where is your God? Spurgeon said, no weapon is so terrible as a tongue sharpened on the devil's grindstone. That's why Paul is right when he is exhorting there in Ephesians to walk carefully, to walk circumspectly, giving no room for the devil, for the enemy. And yet, let us not fear him. Thank God for, as David puts it, a refuge in the shelter of God's wings. Praise the Lord. That marvellous Psalm 91. My dad, you know, we used to kind of tease him a little bit when he got to 70. He'd say, well dad, you know, you've got your three score years and ten now. He'd say, I'm not in Psalm 90. I'm in Psalm 91. With long life will I satisfy you and show you my salvation. Well, that Psalm opens up with this incredible revelation of God. The glory of God is seen here and the God of glory is seen here. In the first two verses, there is encompassed the principal names of God. What a revelation. He that dwells in the secret place of El, Elion, shall abide under the shadow of El, Shaddai. I will say of Yahweh, he is my refuge and my fortress, my Elohim. In him will I trust. Praise the Lord. And so we not only do not dwell for too long, but it was necessary on the severity of David's trouble. We must observe now the surety of his triumph. This is what he says there as you follow with me in verse 6 of Psalm 57. They have digged a pit before me into the midst whereof they have fallen themselves. They have dug a pit for themselves. Selah. Think on that. It's a confident David who can lie down even among those who are as lions who are set on fire. He can lie down. I said he can lie down. Friends, not only is he able to make us lie down in green pastures, he can make us to lie down among the lions. Praise the Lord. What an expression of faith is here as David. And mark it, he is still being hunted. He is hiding in that cave. He is apprehensive about even those that he was among. And yes, he speaks as though El, Elion had already dealt with his murderous pursuers. They digged a pit before me in the midst whereof they have fallen. He knows that God will never fail him. He has seen God vindicate for him in the past and he is going to do it again. I can trust God. He says I know him. I know him. I know him. This God of glory is with me. In Psalm 9 verse 15, the heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made. In the net which they hid is their own foot taken. So now as far as David is concerned, it's as good as done. And so in the midst of that predicament, there is a peace. And so David is just like Daniel in the den of lions. He is confident of God's mercies. He is reclining. He is reposing in anticipation of salvation. As God assures us through Isaiah, no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper. And every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment, you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of God. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. In a prior Psalm, you know as David says, I will both lay me down in peace and sleep. For thou Lord, only makest me dwell in safety. Hallelujah. You know the God always comes to the rescue of believers. His eyes are upon the righteous as we have already quoted from the Psalms. The Lord loves the righteous. Isn't it good to know? He marks your every step. He registers your every need and desire. And as in the context of this Psalm 57, the reassurance is this, that he is aware of all injustices. He is aware of all failures, those wrongs that you have suffered, and the grievous hurts that have bowed down your soul. Well, what are we going to do? Remember a few years ago, I was slandered, libeled in a book that was written by a leader of one of the Pentecostal fellowships in this country. I didn't know anything about it until my son sent me the scanned pages through the internet. He said, Dad, read this. Absolute lies. I could have taken that person for everything in a court of law. I would never have done that, of course. I went to God and said, God, what should I do? He says, do nothing. His days are numbered. And they weren't just numbered, friends, in the place where he was actively in ministry. It wasn't long before he was gone. It's solemn. It's serious. You have to let God vindicate for you. Now, there are times when we may have to stand. But there are other times when we need the wisdom of God. God has a word for us on this this morning, I think, in Romans 12, verse 17 through 21. He says, repay to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, don't you carry out justice. That is, don't you be the punisher. But rather, give place unto God's wrath. For it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. Therefore, if your enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirsts, give him drink. For in so doing, you will reap heap, you will heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. We must rest in that. The severity of our trouble is addressed by the surety of the triumph that God secures for us as we put our trust in him. And when this is so, friends, what is the result of that? Worship ascends to him. Even in the strangest place, we begin to worship the God who is in control. El Elyon, the Most High, praise the Lord. Elohim, the Covenant-keeping God, praise his name. The Lord who keeps the covenant cannot deny his word. The God who will never fail any promise that he has given. The God who is with us, praise the Lord. Let's see a final truth then as it concerns the secret of David's trust. There in verse 5, and it's repeated in verse 11. Right in the heart of this prayer, as David pours out his bowed down soul, he breaks forth into the most sublime expression of praise. So much so, this verse 5 seems, it looks to be like an abrupt, illogical change of subject. But it's not. It's true, is it not, that the character of believers is so often puzzling to the unsaved. We had testimony this morning of Werner's friend back there many years ago, where he worked. And had come to know Christ. And this man who had had a vile temper, and now he was put on trial by other workmates who thought, okay, we'll test him. And the wickedness of their act. And yet this man with seared hands, skin that had come off in that hot rod that he had picked up, that they had placed there, begins to worship and to magnify God, and pray for those who were against him. Oh, praise the Lord. You know, the character of believers is so often puzzling to the unsaved. Back in my boyhood days, we had a man in our church there in Wales by the name of Jack Richardson. He and his mother had had miraculous conversions. His mother, as well as Jack, were alcoholics. They didn't just take a jug of beer to drink. They would lie in bed with a cask and drink straight from the cask until they were just gone. But God took hold of him, this old prized mountain fighter, and changed him completely. And he had a friend. I think his name was Billy Williams. And there was a convention in Crosskeys, a well-known church in South Wales. And Jack was going along to the convention. And Willie Burton was one of the speakers there. It was a missionary day. And Mr. Salter was there, James Salter, another great missionary. What marvelous men they were, men of God. And so Jack Richardson said, I think I'll take Billy Williams. Maybe he'll get saved. So this rough diamond, he couldn't read or write. He was totally illiterate, was Jack, Jack Richardson. So he called on his friend, Billy Williams, and said, not, will you come? He said, you're coming with me to the convention in Crosskeys. Well, Billy Williams knew Jack in his old days, and he dared not say no. So he went along, and between the services, Jack Richardson was talking to Mr. Salter, and said, this is my old friend, Billy. He said, he is an old sinner. And Billy lost his cool and hit Jack down to the ground. And Billy knew then, uh-uh, I'm finished. I'm gone. When he gets up, I'm dead. And Jack gets up and puts his arm around Billy, just embraces him. And Billy knew there was a real change in Jack. It could only be God. And that day, Billy did find Christ as his saviour. Yes, the character of believers is so often puzzling to the unsaved. Because the human reaction in times of trouble is so entirely opposite to that of unbelievers. That's why your neighbours and friends that you work with who are not Christians are amazed when they know what you may be passing through. And yet, your whole response to it is so different. Oh, if that was me, they'd say, I know, you know. But there's a difference. They're amazed. What are they seeing? They're seeing something of the glory of God. The glory of God. Taurus said, through the leading and the power of the Holy Spirit, the Christian is involved in a daily life and habit that cannot be explained. A Christian should have upon him an element that is beyond all natural laws and into spiritual laws. That's why we do believe. We agree with Brother Werner when he said that, you know, when any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things become new. Brand new. Thank God, friends, for that change that takes place in us when we come to know Christ. So that worship then is the natural expression of the true believer in whatever be the situation, in the strangest of places. Not just when things are seemingly pleasant and trouble-free. Not just when we are in a CWN conference and we are basking in the glory of God's presence and God's power and the unfolding of God's truth to our hearts. It's easy to praise God here. But in the hour of adversity, when it is as though, as in Psalm 46, the earth is removed and the mountains are carried into the midst of the sea. Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled. Though the mountains are shaking with the swelling thereof. There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God. God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God shall help her. And that right early, that is at the appearing of the morning. Praise the Lord. There's a morning coming. It may be tomorrow morning. It may be another morning some months down the road. It may be the morning when that trumpet sounds. That one feast that we have yet to celebrate. That blowing of the trumpet. And Christ shall come. It may be that morning. But we will trust him never the less. You see, David knows and we know that he is there all the time. And there, wherever we are, we prove God to be so true and faithful. The dark places of trial, they do not obscure the God of glory or the glory of God. Rather, friends, the eye of faith sees him who is transcendent. And therefore, by that, we know that all our need is covered in God's divine and infinite fullness. Praise the Lord. Here's the secret of David's trust. He lifts up his thoughts to God. He believed in the sovereignty of God. He knew that God reigns and that God is higher than what men can naturally conceive. And that's why, as we've already intimated, both Daniel and David can lie down among lions. They put God where he belongs. And I tell you, friends, there'll be no peace unless and until we do so. Put God where he belongs. Let thy glory be above the heavens. Hallelujah. Let that glory be made manifest in the earth. So David's worshipful prayer is one that should be ours. Be thou exalted, O God. Get God into focus this morning. And then it matters not who or what comes to trouble you, because when you desire him to be rightly glorified, you summon his merciful help. Listen to David in his worshipful mood, Psalm 8 and verse 1. He says, O Lord, our Lord, Yahweh our Adonai, our rightful sovereign Lord, the one upon whom we depend, O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth, who has set thy glory above the heavens. Is that how you see him today? I think you are getting to see him more like that through these gatherings that we've had together, because this surely is the secret of our effectual trust. You see this with the great saints of old. You see this in our blessed Lord Jesus himself. You see this with the Apostle Paul. Knowing God for who he is, we can trust him. What kind of a view of God do you have this morning? Well, I'm sure if you've been in all the sessions, then that view of God has become even greater, grander, more majestic to us, and we worship him. Tozer well observes, in some circles, God is abridged, reduced, modified, edited, changed, and amended until he is no longer the God whom Isaiah saw high and lifted up. Let's know this this morning, friends, that the church can only be the church when God has his rightful place. I think that was something of the part of the burden that Brother Pastor Jeff Whitaker brought to us last night, that God wants us not to be brought down to room temperature. He doesn't want it to be ordinary, mediocre, mundane, where we are lost. We are lost into our surroundings. That's that word that Paul uses in Romans 12, when he says, be not conformed to this world. That word conformed, the root of that is the word schema, from which we get our word scheme. See, in this hall this morning, there is a particular color scheme. There is nothing that particularly stands out that shocks you. And Paul says, listen, don't you get schemed into the world where you lose your identity, room temperature. He wants us to come up higher. He wants us to be there to behold him, to be with him, to be different, to be the church that he wants us to be. And when we live our lives bereft of that chief purpose, to glorify him, when we lack that care for God's honour above everything else, we cannot expect to rise in triumph. We might put on a show, but in the end, friends, it means nothing. Oh, to see him this morning for who he is, and to see him where he is. He is enthroned above the heavens and his glory is above all the earth. As we conclude this morning, we are going to be singing that hymn we sang on Sunday night. Lord of all being, throne of fire, thy glory flames from sun and star, centre and soul of every sphere. And yet, to each loving heart, how near. He is the Lord of all actual existence. There is none that is greater or higher than your God, than my God this morning. Oh, may the Holy Spirit enable us to catch a glimpse of him amidst any and every pressing circumstance. Such a glimpse of him that will cause us to worship him in what seems to be the strangest place. Isn't he wonderful? Isn't he wonderful? Let's worship him as we sing. Stand with me, please.