Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications

I Will Call Upon the Lord

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2008-01-06

Synopsis: John Weaver preaches on Psalm 18:1-6, focusing on David's distress and his response of calling upon the Lord. He warns that forgetting God through disobedience is a common sin, and that God often uses stressful circumstances to remind us of our need for Him. David's vivid description of being surrounded by death and ungodly men illustrates the depth of his trouble, yet in his distress he cried out to God, who heard him. The sermon emphasizes that God hears and answers prayer, and that believers should cultivate a consistent prayer life so that they are prepared to call upon Him in times of crisis.

[John Weaver] Psalm 18, and we're going to read the first six verses. Now, let me encourage you that if you have not heard the first two messages on this Psalm, that you would please listen to those. The first two messages are entitled, I will love thee, O Lord, or I will love the Lord, part one and part two. Today, I'm going to come to part three. And the title of this message is I will call upon the Lord. And right now, it's just part three. There may be a part four. I'm not sure just yet with that same title, but I'll probably go down through Psalm 18 for a while. But notice Psalm 18 beginning there in verse one, David said, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.

[John Weaver] My God, my strength, in whom I will trust, my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about. The snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God, He heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

[John Weaver] Now, let me take just a few moments to review the first three verses that I've dealt with. First of all, I pointed out David's determination. David's determination is revealed in verse one when he says, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. And I told you that David's determination to love the Lord was first and foremost a response to God's love. No man can love God first. We love him because he first loved us. And then I showed you what real biblical love is. First of all, there are three aspects of it. There is attitude. Affection and action. I pointed out how that real, genuine love is always demonstrable. The Bible says that we know that He loved us. Why?

[John Weaver] Because He laid down His life for us. So when the attitude is right, there will always be a right affection. And when those two things are right and biblical, there will always be, thirdly, a biblical action. And I pointed out how love is obedience because Romans 13, verse 10 says, love is the fulfilling of the law. And then I pointed out in part two the reasons for David's determination. He says in verse one, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.

[John Weaver] And then he begins to show everything that God is. He calls God his strength, his rock, his fortress, his deliverer, his God, his strength, his trust, his buckler, the horn of his salvation, and my high tower. And so I went over each one of those and showed how many were just simply names of God as well as some were just attributes and manifestations of God's character. But with a protection like that and with God being everything like that, certainly you'd want to call upon the Lord. It's important to remember not only who God is, but also how he delivers.

[John Weaver] Now, let me begin today by pointing out that one of our greatest sins as Christians. Is the sin of forgetting God? Do you realize over and over in Scripture we are warned concerning this very regrettable sin? If you would hold Psalm 18 and look back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 11, And I'm not going to multiply scriptures here, I could, but I think this passage is extremely self-explanatory. Look in Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 11. Look what God says, and I want you to see the essence of forgetting God. Deuteronomy 8 verse 11, God says this, beware. So here's a warning. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God.

[John Weaver] in not keeping his commandments and his judgments and his statutes which I command thee this day." Now, what is forgetting God? Is forgetting God, oops, Lord, I just didn't think about you today. Oh no, it's far more than that. Forgetting God is when you fail to obey God. You may have God on your mind, but as long as you disobey Him, you've still forgotten Him. So he says, Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God in not keeping His commandments.

[John Weaver] Now I'll come back to this verse a little bit later. I do want you to turn over to Psalm 77. And look if you would please at verse 10. Psalm 77 verse 10. I'm just simply pointing out that one of our main sins is that we forget God. In Psalm 77 and verse 10. David had committed this sin, and I'll point that out a little bit later, but he makes this statement in Psalm 77 verse 10. Actually, this is ASAP, not David. ASAP wrote Psalm 77, but in Psalm 77, ASAP says this in verse 10, and I said, this is my infirmity, but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. This is my infirmity, but I will remember.

[John Weaver] In other words, he had forgotten. He says, this is my weakness. This is my failing. This is my failure. I will now remember. I'm going to correct that too often. We don't forget God. But we forget his tender mercies and his blessings as well. And, you know, the interesting thing is this. When we forget God. God has a way of reminding us of who he is. and what He does for us.

[John Weaver] Do you realize that God knows exactly what it takes to put our backs against the wall when we can go no further and all of a sudden we have to recall who God is, what He has done for us, and our very desperate need of Him? Now usually, God does that in one of two ways. Sometimes he does it in judgment. Or sometimes he may just simply use conviction.

[John Weaver] Let me show you what I'm talking about in Deuteronomy chapter 24 and verse 9. Listen to what the Word of God says. You remember, well, I'll quote it for you, but you remember how Miriam and Aaron were complaining against Moses and what did God do? God smoked Miriam with leprosy. And then in Deuteronomy 24 verse 9, God says this, remember what the Lord by God did to Miriam by the way when you were come forth out of Egypt. Now God says you want to just call to mind what happened to Miriam.

[John Weaver] In other words, I judged her. I did not let her get away with her sin. And when leprosy Came upon her all of a sudden. She wanted to call upon the name of the Lord and she wanted to repent and do what was right. Then there's that passage in Luke 17 in verse 32. A very simple passage where our Lord just simply said. Remember lots why? Remember lots why you remember what lots why did she turn and look back?

[John Weaver] She'd gotten out of Sodom, but Sodom had never gotten out of her and God turned her into a pillar of salt. And then if you look in your Bibles, whole Psalm 18, but turn to the book of Revelation chapter 2 and verse 5. Revelation chapter 2 and verse 5. And look what God says to the church. Revelation 2 and verse 5. And he says this. Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen and repent and do thy first work Or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick. Now notice what God says. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent. So He tells us we must remember, we must repent, for what? He will remove thy candlestick. So there is judgment. And then if you look back in your Bibles to Psalm 42, Here is what I would call a verse just simply talking about conviction. And you realize that conviction is sometimes an awful lot easier than judgment, but not necessarily always. But in Psalm 42 and verse four. David says this.

[John Weaver] When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me. For I had gone with a multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, and with a multitude that kept holy day." Well, I remember these things. What things? Well, look in verse 1, As the heart panteth after the watered brook, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before my God? My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say to me, Where is thy God? Psalm 42 was written when Saul was chasing David, and David could not get back to the house of God.

[John Weaver] He was in the wilderness. He was cut off. And David says, when I remember these things, when I remember what I had with the Lord and when I worshiped Him publicly and openly, and now because of the anxiety and distress and the persecution, David could not get back there. And David said, when I remember these things, when I'm convicted about them, I pour out my soul within me. Now, if you look back in your Bibles to Psalm 18, I showed you those verses because the second point I want to give today is this, David's distress. Our first point was in verse 1, David's determination. Now we come to verse 4, 5 and 6 and we have David's distress. David now reveals what drove him to remember the Lord at his great deliverance. Now David is resolving in verse 1 and 2 and 3 to call upon the Lord who has proven himself over and over. Look at it in this light. David said, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock.

[John Weaver] my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my strength and whom I trust, my buckler and the hoard of my salvation and my high tower." Now look what he says,"...I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from mine enemies." What is David doing? David is recounting all of the times that God delivered him in the past. Do you realize this point? God's past mercies and God's past deliverances give us hope and encouragement for present problems and future problems. If God has delivered us in time past, we may still call upon His mercy and His grace to deliver us out of these present problems and present distresses. When we are in distress, the surest way to recover is to remember the Lord and his deliverance and his grace.

[John Weaver] Someone has said it very aptly. If you want to be discouraged. Look around you. If you want to be depressed, look within you. If you want to be disappointed, look at others. If you want to be delivered, look up. And that's certainly true.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to listen in Psalm 18, verse four. at the deepness of David's distress. Look what he says. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. David is in trouble. He's in distress. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. Now, the sorrows of death that you see in verse 4 is the same predicament that David was in in 2 Samuel 22 and verse 5, when there you could translate that as the waves of death. When you talk about the waves of death, you understand it to mean, literally, the breakers of death. And the word is translated that way in Hosea 13 and verse 13 when it talks about the breaking forth of children. All of us have witnessed, at one point in our lives, the mighty waves breaking against the rocks and the shoreline. Those of you who have been in the Pacific Northwest, and oftentimes in California as well, you have seen these huge waves come in and just break upon the rocks.

[John Weaver] It looks as if they're going to crush the rocks. They're huge, they're gigantic, they're powerful, and oftentimes they're just simply called breakers. It's these waves that whip and lash and break with deadly force and deadly violence. You've seen huge ships tossed against the rocks by these waves.

[John Weaver] Now, David is simply saying the sorrows of death or the waves of death This same word, saris, which is translated waves, could also be translated as cords. The cords of death compass me. The illusion, therefore, would be to the malefactors who are being led forth to be executed. They are bound with cords. They cannot escape. Their death is certain, and their death is sure. Thus, when you read the sorrows of death, or the waves of death, or the chords of death, all of those are just pictures to show the absolute sureness and certainty of death. Just like the man who is bound with ropes cannot escape, then again, You can see the same thing with the man being dashed against the waves and the sorrows filling his soul. Now, David uses the same expression in Psalm 116 in verse 3 when he said it like this. The sorrows of death compassed me and the pains of hell got hold upon me and I found trouble and sorrow. So what David is saying literally is Psalm 18 in verse 4, is death, like a cruel conqueror, seemed to twist around him with the cords of pain.

[John Weaver] In other words, David was environed. He was hemmed in with threatening deaths of the most appalling sort. He was like a mariner that had been driven by the waves upon the rocks and was in fear of being crushed by the white and powerful foam. He was bound by the cords of death. And so what he's saying is basically his struggling was useless. He couldn't escape. He couldn't get away. Matthew Griffin. In 1634. Wrote these words, listen carefully.

[John Weaver] He said it is heavens peculiar to the land of the living. All this life is at most. But the shadow of death, the gate of death, the sorrows of death, the snares of death, the terrors of death, the chambers of death, the sentence of death, the savor of death, the menstruation of death, and the way of death.

[John Weaver] Now, when you stop and think about what he wrote, you say, well, boy, he was very pessimistic, wasn't he? No. He was speaking in reality. Do you realize the fact is the moment we're born, we begin to die. If you stop to think about that, that's what aging is. The moment we're born, we begin dying. Physical death is inevitable. You remember when David was being chased by Saul and David realized that Saul was set on destroying him and Jonathan didn't want to believe it. David told Jonathan, there's but a step between me and death. Stop and think about that. There's but a step between me and death. You know, one would think. That the reality of death. With each of us facing death.

[John Weaver] that we would do everything within our power to prepare for it. But alas, such is not the case. Do you realize that even though we know we're going to die, and although we know that death is real and genuine and we must pass that way, The truth of the matter is, most of us, each of us, have to be awakened, disturbed, and overwhelmed with the sureness and the immediacy of death

[John Weaver] before we ever really become concerned. I can assure you that the younger you are, the less you think of death. The older you get, The more you realize the brevity and the shortness of your time. The thought hit me the other day. If I live only as long as my father lived. Which I hope to surpass him. That's only 13 more years. You see what I'm saying now? I want you to note, in the context of Psalm 18, David is saying the sorrows of death compassed me about. That is, the waves of death, the chords of death, they compassed me about. So, it was the thoughts and the sureness and the almost certainty of David's death that prompted him to call upon the Lord.

[John Weaver] Let me make a statement. Listen carefully. No one is prepared to live until he's prepared to die. There was at least one time in David's life that he really thought he was going to die. If you would hold Psalm 18, but look in your Bibles to 2 Samuel 21. Now, I'm sure there may have been other times as well, but this is one of those times that not only did David think he was going to die, but some of his men thought so as well. In 2 Samuel chapter 21, look there if you would please at verse 15. 2 Samuel 21 verse 15. Moreover, the Philistines had yet war again with Israel, and David went down in his servants with him and fought against the Philistines, and David waxed faint.

[John Weaver] So he got in a very weakened condition. And Ish-va-bin-Ab, who was one of the sons of a giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David. But Abishai, the son of Zeruriah, succored him and smoked the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David sweared him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou have quenched not the lot of Israel. So David waxed faint. Ish-vabi-nab thought he had killed him. But Abishai helped David and then killed the giant. So here was a real life instance where David probably thought he was about to die. And probably, since he was in battle, it happened more frequently. So he says in verse 4, just pointing out David's distress now, he said the sorrows of death accomplished me. Look at the rest of verse 4, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. And the floods of ungodly men. The Hebrew word for floods indicates rivers, floods, torrents.

[John Weaver] In other words, when you see a swollen, raging stream or a swollen, raging river, that's the word that is being used here. The floods, the torrents of ungodly men made me afraid. David had many enemies. They were surrounding him. And it's not just simply the multitudinous of his enemies that bothered him, but their relentlessness. You know, if you have an enemy, if you can get a little rest every now and then, a little breather, it doesn't bother you. But David was surrounded, and they kept coming at David over and over. David said, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. Now, the phrase ungodly men literally is sons of Belial, sons of the devil. Now the word Belial literally means that which is useless, worthless, and unprofitable. So when he calls these individuals sons of Belial, and you remember Hophni and Phinehas, Eli's two sons, who were extremely wicked and vile, they were called sons of Belial as well. So I want you to note now, he says, these sons of Belial, these worthless, useless, unprofitable men, men who are lawless, without faith in the One True and the Living God, the floods of these men have made me afraid.

[John Weaver] You know, a godly man is restrained by God's law and God's Word, but an ungodly man, Has no regard for God's law and God's Word. So an ungodly man will do what a godly man would never ever think of doing. And so David says is these floods is these torrents of ungodly men who made me afraid now. Look back in Psalm 12 since you're close there. I want you to see verse one. You can see David's cry of distress even involved in this verse. Look in Psalm 12, verse 1. And I can hear David now as he cries, Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

[John Weaver] By the way, we sure better learn to cry this prayer in this country. Go on. Just look. Let me just show you. David cries, Help, Lord, for the godly man seeth, for the faithful fail among the children of men. Well, what's left, ungodly men? What do they do? They speak vanity every one with his neighbor, with a double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips and the tongue which speaketh proud things, who have said, With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are our own. Who is Lord over us?

[John Weaver] And then he goes on and talks about how they oppress and how they destroy. Who are these sons of Elial. They're wicked, ungodly, lawless individuals who fear not God.

[John Weaver] Now, look back to Psalm 18. David says this in verse 4, The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. So verse 4, the cry of David in this passage shows the snares that were laid for his wife, the danger of death that he faced and the anxiety that he possessed on account of it. I want you to see David further clarifies his distress in verse 5. He says the sorrows of hell compass me about. The snares of death prevented me, so it's not just the sorrows of death, but it's the sorrows of hell. Now the Hebrew word for hell. is the word Sheol which occurs in the Old Testament 65 times. It is rendered grave 31 of those times.

[John Weaver] Our King James Bible authorized version renders it hell and talks about it as being the place of disembodied spirits. The inhabitants of Sheol According to Psalm, I'm sorry, according to Proverbs 21 in verse 16 is the congregation of the dead. And Sheol is also noted as the abode of the wicked in number 1633, Job 2419, Psalm 917. When you get to the New Testament, it is the Greek word Hades that has the same scope and signification as Sheol in the Old Testament. But in the New Testament, Hades is a prison with gates and bars and locks, according to 1 Peter 3, 19, Matthew 16, 18, and it is downward, according to Matthew 11, verse 23. So David is saying in verse 5, the sorrows of hell compass me about. So the sorrows of hell could also be translated literally as the cords of the grave indicating the power under which David was being restrained for a period of time.

[John Weaver] Now, John Gill, one of the Baptist commentators of the 1700s, said that this allusion in verse 5 could be an allusion to the way that the Hebrews normally buried their dead. Because in ancient Israel, when you died, You were wrapped, bound, hand and foot, and placed in a grave. You remember, it was Lazarus who was wrapped this way in John 11. And our Lord called and said, Lazarus, come forth. And the Bible says, he that was bound in grave clothes, hand and foot, came forth. And then our Lord said, loose him and let him go. And then our Lord was wrapped that way because you remember how the linen napkin over his face was found in a separate place. So John Gill is just simply pointing out that there could be an allusion here to the way the ancient Hebrews buried people.

[John Weaver] Literally what David is saying, the sorrows of hell or the cords of the grave have compassed me about. In other words, I'm just as surely dead right now as I shall be in the future. In other words, it looked as if for David there was no escape.

[John Weaver] Now look what he said in verse five again. He says the sorrows of death compass me, not the sorrows of hell compass me about the snares of death prevented me.

[John Weaver] Now let me just point out the fact that the word snares. is the Hebrew word for snare, trap, gin, and it has reference to being ensnared or being trapped.

[John Weaver] Now, when David says the snares of death prevented me, the word prevented sometimes is misinterpreted by most folks because when we hear the word prevent, we think about avoiding something. But the way it was used in the 1600s was actually meant preceded or to go before. So literally what he says in verse 5 is the snares of death went before me. They were in front of me. They preceded me. They were beforehand. In other words, all David is saying is the snares had been previously laid for him. And what David is saying is I'm like walking in a minefield where every step could mean sudden and instant death. David is giving you the distress that he's in at this particular point.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to just take a moment and give you a quote by Charles Haddon Spurgeon on this verse. To me, this is one of the most beautiful comments that could be made on verse five. Listen to what Spurgeon said. The sorrows of hell compassed me about. From all sides the hell hounds barked furiously. A cordon of devils hemmed in the hunted man of God. Every way of escape closed up.

[John Weaver] Satan knows how to blockade our coasts with the iron warships of Sauron. But blessed be God, the port of prayer is still open, and grace can run the blockade bearing messages from earth to heaven and blessings in return from heaven to earth. The snares of death prevented me. The old enemy hunts for his prey, not only with the dogs of the infernal kennel, but also with the snares of his deadly craft. The nets were drawn closer and closer until the contracted circle completely prevented the escape of the captive." And then he gives this little couplet,"'About me the cords of hell were wound, the snares of death my footstep bound.

[John Weaver] Then he goes on, thus hopeless was the case of this good man, as hopeless as the case could be, so utterly desperate that none but an almighty arm could be of service. According to the four metaphors which he employs, he was bound like a malefactor for execution, overwhelmed like a shipwrecked mariner, surrounded and standing at bay like a hunted stag, and captured in a net like a trembling bird. What more of terror and distress could meet upon one poor defenseless head? Isn't that beautiful?

[John Weaver] But listen to what he said. So utterly desperate that none but an almighty arm could deliver him. That's why David says in verse 3. I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised. So shall I be saved from my enemies. You know. It is extremely sad. But happily true. That most ignore the Lord. Until they are in desperate straits. I have known people. who constantly and consistently have ignored God, ignored His Word, ignored the preaching of His Word, who in the time of their crisis and in the time of their peril, they come and cry mightily unto the Lord and expect the Lord to give them immediate attention and immediate deliverance.

[John Weaver] It's as if they say, and they are actually saying it by their actions, although they would never say this in their words. It is as if they are saying, OK, Lord. I may safely ignore you and I may safely ignore your word right now because I don't need you. But Lord, you can depend upon me. The minute that I need you, I will pull upon you and you can help me then.

[John Weaver] Such an attitude is utterly blasphemous. But I'm going to tell you something. Having preached for nearly 43 years, I have seen people. Whose child was dying. Had not been in a church, had not read their Bible, could care less about preaching, but I'll tell you what. Boy, they called upon this preacher. Preacher, come pray with us. Oh, pray that God will heal my child. Preacher, God will just heal my child. I'll serve Him. I'll be in church. And by the way, when God healed that child, yes, they were in church for at least one or two Sundays. You talking about using God?

[John Weaver] You know, The sad thing is this, folks. It is not just the ungodly who use the Lord. Unhappily, it's the godly as well. I want you to hold Psalm 18. But please turn in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter 2. Jeremiah chapter 2. Jeremiah chapter 2. And look, if you would, at God's charge and God's complaint in verse 32. In fact, let's read verse 31. Watch this. Jeremiah 2, verse 31. Look what God says. O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Then God asks, have I been a wilderness unto Israel, a land of darkness, No, God has it. God revealed himself.

[John Weaver] Wherefore, say my people, we are Lords. We will come no more into thee. In other words, Lord, we don't need you at this time. Watch verse 32. Can a maid forget her ornaments? Can she forget her jewelry? Can a bride her attire? Can she forget her wedding gown? Yet, says God, my people have forgotten me days without numbers. Yet my people have forgotten me days without number. Is it a sin to forget God? Yes. Is it a sin to ignore God in His Word? Yes. Is this a sin that's committed constantly? Yes. God says my people have forgotten me days without number. How in the world do we recover from such a wicked sin? The answer is God must awaken us. God must give us grace to repent and to seek Him. And you know what God does? God oftentimes uses distress to get our attention.

[John Weaver] He puts our back up against the wall and all of a sudden the bell goes off and the light comes on and we remember, hey, wait a minute. I need the Lord. Only He can deliver me. You know what? We never think that the source of our problems, the source of our dilemmas, the source of our anxiety and distress may be that I've forgotten the Lord. And the Lord is reminding me that I need Him. Without me, you could do how much in our Lord? Nothing. Could it be in our anxiety, in our distress, in our trouble, in our sorrow, in our persecution, could it be that the Lord is using the proverbial two before against our heads?

[John Weaver] The answer is yes. The answer is yes. Go back in your Bibles. To Deuteronomy chapter 8. Whole Psalm 18. But go back to Deuteronomy 8. Look at verse 5. Deuteronomy 8 verse 5. Look what the scripture says Deuteronomy 8 verse 5. Thou shalt also consider in thine heart. That is a man chastened son. So the Lord by God chastened thee. I don't know about you, but I remember as a child when I was disobedient, my father had a unique way of getting my attention. Does God have a new unique way of getting our attention? Yeah. He chases us. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 50. Psalm 50, verse 22. Psalm 50, verse 22. Oh. You know that's something plain, look at it, Psalm 50, verse 22. Now, consider this, ye that forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver." Wow. God says, now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you into pieces. You know, my father had an expression, probably yours too, and I even use this with my children.

[John Weaver] I warned them if they did wrong, I'll tear you up. That's what God says. You consider this. You forget God, I'll tear you up. And there will be none that will deliver. Can't stop me. Go back in your Bibles to Job. Job chapter 34. Job 34. And I want us to begin reading at verse 23. I'm just showing you how God can use the proverbial to before get our attention. Job 34 beginning there verse 23. Eli who is speaking for God in this chapter and he says this Job 34 verse 23. For he that is God will not lay upon man more than right. that he should enter into judgment with God. In other words, whatever God does to you, it's going to be right and you're not going to have anything to complain about. OK, now watch this.

[John Weaver] He shall break in pieces mighty men without number and set others in their stead. God knows how to replace us. Therefore, he knoweth their works.

[John Weaver] Now look, and he overturneth them in the night so that they are destroyed. He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others, because they turned back from Him and would not consider any of His ways." Have you talked about it too before? God knows exactly what size to use. He knows where best to apply it. Now, when you go back, to Psalm 18. I want you to understand something. I am not saying that in the instance of Psalm 18 that David was ignoring and forgetting God. But we do know that David did ignore and forget God at other times.

[John Weaver] The context does not prove that right here. But in fact, let me just remind you of Deuteronomy 8 and verse 11. I quoted that verse at the beginning. Listen carefully. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God in not keeping his commandments. Did David forget God in the matter of Bathsheba? And Uriah? Yes. Did David forget God and not discipline his children? Yes. There were times when David forgot the Lord. That is true.

[John Weaver] The point I'm trying to make is this. That could have been part of David's distress. I don't know. I would imagine David's distress at this particular time in Psalm 18 was the very fact that he was surrounded by his enemies and he thought he was going to die. There are numerous reasons why we get into distress. Do you realize we can get into distress just based upon our own ignorance?

[John Weaver] How many of you have ever done something absolutely stupid? And then after you've done it, you thought, man, that was stupid. Why did I do something like that? We do things without thinking. We had a good friend who was a builder. He was mechanical. He could do anything. He had a swimming pool in his backyard, and he was putting something down in the concrete by a swimming pool, and he had an electric drill. He was drilling into the concrete right by the pool, and the bit got hot. Without thinking, he dipped the tip of that bit in the pool to cool it off.

[John Weaver] It burst his heart and he was killed instantly. It doesn't take but a second.

[John Weaver] Now, what I'm saying is this, you know, we can ignorantly do something or we can stupidly do something and get ourselves in more trouble than you can shake a stick at. That doesn't count sin, Satan, the flesh and the world. I mean, that's enough in and of itself. I usually tell people, I've heard Christians say, well, boy, Satan's really attacking me. I usually tell people, he doesn't usually have to attack you. I mean, we're ignorant enough, we bring most of it on ourselves. And when you get reading Galatians 5, drunkenness, adultery, and all of those things, those are sins of the flesh. They're not sins of the devil, those are sins of the flesh.

[John Weaver] But there's another area that I want to just point out. There can be a source and cause of our distress. And I'll have to explain it. That's the sovereignty of God.

[John Weaver] Now, you can understand the sovereignty of God in the sense that You do something wrong or you continually ignore him and forget him and he can bring his judgment upon you. And yes, that is an aspect of God's sovereignty. But I want you to hold Psalm 18 and turn in your Bibles to John 9. I just want you to see this. I love this passage in John 9.

[John Weaver] It's one of my favorite passages. But I want you to look at this and here's what I mean. By the sovereignty of God, sometimes you and I can be in a stressful. State. Not because of our ignorance, not because of sin, not because of Satan. Not because of the flesh in the world, but just out of the sovereignty of God. Here's what I mean by that. Look in John 9 verse one.

[John Weaver] And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth. You don't have to sin when you're born blind. You don't have to have an attack of Satan. It's not the flesh. It's not the world. Here's a man who's born blind. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin? This man or his parents? And he was born blind. What's the cause of this? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. And what did Jesus do? He healed him. Did the man sin to be born blind? No. Satan attacking? No. Flesh, world, self? No. Our Lord said, this man was born blind. Why? For the purpose of the works of God should be made manifest in him.

[John Weaver] Now, the point I want to make is this. It really and truly doesn't matter what the cause of our distress is. It doesn't matter if it's self, it doesn't matter if it's sin, it doesn't matter if it's Satan, it doesn't matter if it's flesh, the world. It doesn't matter if it's sovereignty of God. The point I'm trying to make is this. God uses that to get our attention. And He really got David's attention in Psalm 18. Go back to Psalm 18 and look if you would at verse 6. Psalm 18 verse 6. Look at this. God uses distress now. David says in my distress.

[John Weaver] I called upon the Lord. And I cry and cried unto my God. He heard my voice out of his temple and my cry came before him even into his ears.

[John Weaver] Now the word for distress. refers to trouble, anxiety, affliction, sorrow, and is also used for the persecution of the enemy. David, according to Psalm 18 and many other times in his life, was on the very precipice of destruction. He was on the edge of death. That's why he said, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The snares of death preceded me. The sorrows of death God hold upon me.

[John Weaver] I want you to take note of something. No matter how serious the situation, no matter how dangerous the situation, nothing can stand in the way of the believer and prayer to his Heavenly Father. Nothing can stand in the way. There is no calamity so great, no trouble so oppressive, and no persecution so horrible that it can deter us from prayer. The child of God never has an aversion to prayer.

[John Weaver] Now let me explain that. There may be times that we don't feel like praying. I'm going to tell you folks, I've been down with sinus so bad, I was so low I'd have to reach up to touch bottom. I mean, I couldn't think, I couldn't control my thoughts. That's just from sinus. There may be times when you don't feel like praying. There may even be times that you may not want to pray.

[John Weaver] Yet you never have an aversion to prayer. You know you need to pray and you know it's a duty and you know it's a privilege as well as a necessity. David, hemmed in and hunted by the hounds of death, prayed. By the way, when we don't feel like praying and when we don't want to pray, that's when we need to pray. I want you to look at what David said. I love this. David said in verse six, in my distress, I called upon the Lord. Look at the next phrase and cried unto my God.

[John Weaver] Notice, if you would please, there is a progression in intensity and vehemence. The more he recognized and realized his danger, the more he cried. By the way, the Hebrew word is Shabbat and it is translated as cried, cried out to cry aloud and to shout. David said, I called and then I cried. I shouted unto my God.

[John Weaver] Now let me show you. I want you to hold Psalm 18. I'm coming right back there, but turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 14. Let me just give you an illustration of what I'm talking about, crying and shouting. I don't know about you, For there's been times in my life that I've cried, and I've shouted, and I've screamed. And not out of anger, but just out of absolute helplessness. Look, if you would please, in Matthew 14. You know the story.

[John Weaver] But let's begin reading in verse 24. Matthew 14, verse 24. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit. And they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid.

[John Weaver] And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried, Lord, save me! And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you the truth. I want to ask you this question. Do you think that when Peter was walking in the water, and he saw the waves boisterous, and the wind howling, do you think that Peter very calmly muttered an inaudible prayer? You think that's what Peter did? I want to tell you what I believe he did. I believe he cried as loud as he could, Lord, save me! You've got to remember, there's the wind, there's the waves. He wanted to make sure the Lord heard him. You know what made Peter cry? I'm going to tell you. Because he realized if the Lord did not save him, he was a goner.

[John Weaver] It's all over for me. You know what made David cry? He realized he was in a desperate situation. If God didn't help him, he was a goner. He said, I called and I cried.

[John Weaver] Now look at this in Psalm 18. Go back to verse 6. Oh, listen to this. I love this. Psalm 18, verse 6. David said, in my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God. Are you listening? He heard my voice out of his temple. You know, a thought came to me when I read that. I'd really like to preach a whole message on this sometime. Here's my question. David said, look at it again in verse six, he heard my voice out of his temple. Here's my question. Does God recognize your voice? David said he heard my voice. Have you called, cried, and prayed often enough that God knows your voice? You know how David prayed? Hold Psalm 18, look in your Bibles of Psalm 55, and I know that you can be in prayer innumerable times a day I pray. I try to pray without ceasing. I try to pray all day long. It doesn't mean I'm down on my knees all day long, but when I'm driving I pray. When I'm sitting, I pray.

[John Weaver] When I'm studying, I pray. Just wherever I am. But look what David said in Psalm 55 and verse 17. David said, Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud. He shall hear my voice. David said at least three times a day, I'm going to cry aloud and God's going to hear my voice. He's going to recognize my voice. Let me tell you something, folks.

[John Weaver] I know that God is omniscient. I know that God hears and God knows everything. I know that. But I want to tell you, I still. Want to be like David. I want him to recognize my voice. And I want him to say, well, that's my son down there. I recognize I want to stop and listen to him. Because he needs me. Look what David said in Psalm 18 verse 6. In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God. He heard my voice of the temple and my cry came before him even unto his ears. Wow. By the way. I will tell you how to pray effectively. When you're in trouble. If you want to make sure that God hears you, When you're in trouble. Here is how to pray effectively when you're in trouble. Be used to praying before you get into trouble.

[John Weaver] I'll give you scripture for that. You remember old Daniel, Daniel chapter 6? When those presidents had that writing signed that whoever offered any prayer to any god but the king for 30 days would be thrown in the den of lions? Listen to this, Daniel 6 and verse 10. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house, his windows being opened in his chamber toward Jerusalem, and he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before God as he did a four times.

[John Weaver] He was used to praying before he ever got in trouble. And therefore, we could pray effectively when he got into trouble.

[John Weaver] Now, David said, My cry came before him, even unto his ears, God heard him. You don't have to turn to these passages. I would encourage you to write them down. But let me quote it for you. I love Jeremiah 33 in verse 3. God said, Call on Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. Call unto Me. Praise God. Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and I will show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. Write down Isaiah 65 in verse 24. Isaiah 65 verse 24, And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. Before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. I do want you to turn to 1 John 5. Look at this last passage, 1 John 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 14. 1 John 5, verse 14. Look what Scripture says. 1 John 5, verse 14.

[John Weaver] And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He's here with us. Watch. And if we know that He hears us, we know. We know that He hears us. Whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions we desire of Him. If you and I genuinely believe that God answers prayer as David believed, we need to learn to cry to Him daily, yea, even hourly if need be. We need to learn to pray as we ought. Are you listening? Distress will not distress us if we know how to pray. Three quick applications.

[John Weaver] The first one is this. God often uses stressful incidents to impress upon us our need of Him and of His grace. When we forget God, God has ways of reminding us that we need Him. To be honest, I'd rather remember Him on my own than have to be reminded that I need Him.

[John Weaver] Secondly, God is a God who hears and answers prayer It should be an encouragement to us to pray when we realize we have such a God who is ready to supply our needs, hear our prayers, and take care of our needs. Here's the third one. David said, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. And that's why he prayed. We should know that we're surrounded by floods of ungodly men in this country. We're in danger. Neither life nor property are safe when such men of Belial are in control of this country. We need to realize the danger that we are in and in that sense become distressed so that we will cry unto God for deliverance. David said, the sorrows of death compassed me. Oh, yes. And the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of death, the sorrows of hell got a hold upon me.

[John Weaver] And in my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried unto And he heard my voice out of the temple. David's prayer came into him and entered into his ears. And God delivered David. And God will deliver us if we cry for deliverance. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we do bow to Thee this day. We're so thankful that You've delivered Your people in times past. And it gives us such encouragement to cry to Thee in our present distress and believe Thee even in future distresses, Lord. Give us, Lord, faith and trust in Thee. Make bare Thy mighty arm, O God. Show Thyself strong on behalf of Thy people. May, Father, we not forget Thee, but obey Thee and bring our lives into greater conformity to Your Word. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray, Amen.

I Will Call Upon the Lord

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	3408119300
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications
Genre	Sermon
Date	2008-01-06
Dictation Name
Book	Book 141: Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications — Chapter 5
Source Timed Segments	82

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Review

Weaver introduces the sermon as part three on Psalm 18, reviewing David's determination to love the Lord and the names of God that reveal His character and protection.

Psalm 18, and we're going to read the first six verses. Now, let me encourage you that if you have not heard the first two messages on this Psalm, that you would please listen to those. The first two messages are entitled,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 18:1-6

"I Will Love Thee, O Lord,"

or "I Will Love the Lord," part one and part two. Today, I'm going to come to part three. And the title of this message is

Scripture Reading — Psalm 18:1-6

"I Will Call Upon the Lord."

And right now, it's just part three. There may be a part four. I'm not sure just yet with that same title, but I'll probably go down through Psalm 18 for a while. But notice Psalm 18 beginning there in verse one, David said,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 18:1-6

"I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer."

"My God, my strength, in whom I will trust, my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about. The snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God, He heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears."

Now, let me take just a few moments to review the first three verses that I've dealt with. First of all, I pointed out David's determination. David's determination is revealed in verse one when he says, "I will love thee, O Lord, my strength." And I told you that David's determination to love the Lord was first and foremost a response to God's love. No man can love God first. We love him because he first loved us. And then I showed you what real biblical love is. First of all, there are three aspects of it. There is attitude, affection, and action. I pointed out how that real, genuine love is always demonstrable. The Bible says that we know that He loved us. Why?

Because He laid down His life for us. So when the attitude is right, there will always be a right affection. And when those two things are right and biblical, there will always be, thirdly, a biblical action. And I pointed out how love is obedience because Romans 13, verse 10 says, love is the fulfilling of the law. And then I pointed out in part two the reasons for David's determination. He says in verse one, "I will love thee, O Lord, my strength." And then he begins to show everything that God is. He calls God his strength, his rock, his fortress, his deliverer, his God, his strength, his trust, his buckler, the horn of his salvation, and my high tower. And so I went over each one of those and showed how many were just simply names of God as well as some were just attributes and manifestations of God's character. But with a protection like that and with God being everything like that, certainly you'd want to call upon the Lord. It's important to remember not only who God is, but also how he delivers.

Now, let me begin today by pointing out that one of our greatest sins as Christians is the sin of forgetting God. Do you realize over and over in Scripture we are warned concerning this very regrettable sin? If you would hold Psalm 18 and look back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 11, and I'm not going to multiply scriptures here, I could, but I think this passage is extremely self-explanatory. Look in Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 11. Look what God says, and I want you to see the essence of forgetting God. Deuteronomy 8 verse 11, God says this, "Beware." So here's a warning. "Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God."

The Sin of Forgetting God

Forgetting God is defined not merely as a lapse of thought but as disobedience to His commandments, as seen in Deuteronomy 8:11.

"in not keeping his commandments and his judgments and his statutes which I command thee this day." Now, what is forgetting God? Is forgetting God, oops, Lord, I just didn't think about you today? Oh no, it's far more than that. Forgetting God is when you fail to obey God. You may have God on your mind, but as long as you disobey Him, you've still forgotten Him. So he says, "Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God in not keeping His commandments."

Now I'll come back to this verse a little bit later. I do want you to turn over to Psalm 77. And look if you would please at verse 10. Psalm 77 verse 10. I'm just simply pointing out that one of our main sins is that we forget God. In Psalm 77 and verse 10. David had committed this sin, and I'll point that out a little bit later, but he makes this statement in Psalm 77 verse 10. Actually, this is Asaph, not David. Asaph wrote Psalm 77, but in Psalm 77, Asaph says this in verse 10, "And I said, this is my infirmity, but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. This is my infirmity, but I will remember."

In other words, he had forgotten. He says, this is my weakness. This is my failing. This is my failure. I will now remember. I'm going to correct that too often. We don't forget God. But we forget his tender mercies and his blessings as well. And, you know, the interesting thing is this. When we forget God, God has a way of reminding us of who he is and what He does for us.

God's Methods of Reminding Us

God uses judgment or conviction to remind His people of their need for Him, illustrated by Miriam's leprosy, Lot's wife, and the church in Revelation.

Do you realize that God knows exactly what it takes to put our backs against the wall when we can go no further and all of a sudden we have to recall who God is, what He has done for us, and our very desperate need of Him? Now usually, God does that in one of two ways. Sometimes he does it in judgment. Or sometimes he may just simply use conviction. Let me show you what I'm talking about in Deuteronomy chapter 24 and verse 9. Listen to what the Word of God says. You remember, well, I'll quote it for you, but you remember how Miriam and Aaron were complaining against Moses and what did God do? God smoked Miriam with leprosy. And then in Deuteronomy 24 verse 9, God says this, "Remember what the Lord thy God did to Miriam by the way when you were come forth out of Egypt." Now God says you want to just call to mind what happened to Miriam.

In other words, I judged her. I did not let her get away with her sin. And when leprosy came upon her, all of a sudden she wanted to call upon the name of the Lord and she wanted to repent and do what was right. Then there's that passage in Luke 17 in verse 32. A very simple passage where our Lord just simply said, "Remember Lot's wife." Why? Remember Lot's wife? You remember what Lot's wife did? She turned and looked back.

She'd gotten out of Sodom, but Sodom had never gotten out of her and God turned her into a pillar of salt. And then if you look in your Bibles, hold Psalm 18, but turn to the book of Revelation chapter 2 and verse 5. Revelation chapter 2 and verse 5. And look what God says to the church. Revelation 2 and verse 5. And he says this, "Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen and repent and do thy first work. Or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick." Now notice what God says. "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent." So He tells us we must remember, we must repent, for what? He will remove thy candlestick. So there is judgment. And then if you look back in your Bibles to Psalm 42, here is what I would call a verse just simply talking about conviction. And you realize that conviction is sometimes an awful lot easier than judgment, but not necessarily always. But in Psalm 42 and verse four, David says this.

David's Distress Described

David's distress is depicted as being compassed by the sorrows of death and the floods of ungodly men, using imagery of waves, cords, and snares to convey the certainty of death.

"my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my strength and whom I trust, my buckler and the horn of my salvation and my high tower." Now look what he says, "...I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from mine enemies." What is David doing? David is recounting all of the times that God delivered him in the past. Do you realize this point? God's past mercies and God's past deliverances give us hope and encouragement for present problems and future problems. If God has delivered us in time past, we may still call upon His mercy and His grace to deliver us out of these present problems and present distresses. When we are in distress, the surest way to recover is to remember the Lord and his deliverance and his grace.

Someone has said it very aptly. If you want to be discouraged, look around you. If you want to be depressed, look within you. If you want to be disappointed, look at others. If you want to be delivered, look up. And that's certainly true.

Now, I want you to listen in Psalm 18, verse four, at the deepness of David's distress. Look what he says. "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid." David is in trouble. He's in distress. "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid." Now, the sorrows of death that you see in verse 4 is the same predicament that David was in in 2 Samuel 22 and verse 5, when there you could translate that as the waves of death. When you talk about the waves of death, you understand it to mean, literally, the breakers of death. And the word is translated that way in Hosea 13 and verse 13 when it talks about the breaking forth of children. All of us have witnessed, at one point in our lives, the mighty waves breaking against the rocks and the shoreline. Those of you who have been in the Pacific Northwest, and oftentimes in California as well, you have seen these huge waves come in and just break upon the rocks.

It looks as if they're going to crush the rocks. They're huge, they're gigantic, they're powerful, and oftentimes they're just simply called breakers. It's these waves that whip and lash and break with deadly force and deadly violence. You've seen huge ships tossed against the rocks by these waves.

Now, David is simply saying the sorrows of death or the waves of death. This same word, sorrows, which is translated waves, could also be translated as cords. The cords of death compass me. The illusion, therefore, would be to the malefactors who are being led forth to be executed. They are bound with cords. They cannot escape. Their death is certain, and their death is sure. Thus, when you read the sorrows of death, or the waves of death, or the cords of death, all of those are just pictures to show the absolute sureness and certainty of death. Just like the man who is bound with ropes cannot escape, then again, you can see the same thing with the man being dashed against the waves and the sorrows filling his soul. Now, David uses the same expression in Psalm 116 in verse 3 when he said it like this. "The sorrows of death compassed me and the pains of hell got hold upon me and I found trouble and sorrow." So what David is saying literally in Psalm 18 in verse 4, is death, like a cruel conqueror, seemed to twist around him with the cords of pain.

In other words, David was environed. He was hemmed in with threatening deaths of the most appalling sort. He was like a mariner that had been driven by the waves upon the rocks and was in fear of being crushed by the white and powerful foam. He was bound by the cords of death. And so what he's saying is basically his struggling was useless. He couldn't escape. He couldn't get away. Matthew Henry, in 1634, wrote these words, listen carefully.

He said, "It is heaven's peculiar to the land of the living. All this life is at most but the shadow of death, the gate of death, the sorrows of death, the snares of death, the terrors of death, the chambers of death, the sentence of death, the savor of death, the menstruation of death, and the way of death." Now, when you stop and think about what he wrote, you say, well, boy, he was very pessimistic, wasn't he? No. He was speaking in reality. Do you realize the fact is the moment we're born, we begin to die. If you stop to think about that, that's what aging is. The moment we're born, we begin dying. Physical death is inevitable. You remember when David was being chased by Saul and David realized that Saul was set on destroying him and Jonathan didn't want to believe it. David told Jonathan, "There's but a step between me and death." Stop and think about that. "There's but a step between me and death." You know, one would think that the reality of death, with each of us facing death,

that we would do everything within our power to prepare for it. But alas, such is not the case. Do you realize that even though we know we're going to die, and although we know that death is real and genuine and we must pass that way, the truth of the matter is, most of us, each of us, have to be awakened, disturbed, and overwhelmed with the sureness and the immediacy of death before we ever really become concerned. I can assure you that the younger you are, the less you think of death. The older you get, the more you realize the brevity and the shortness of your time. The thought hit me the other day. If I live only as long as my father lived, which I hope to surpass him, that's only 13 more years. You see what I'm saying now? I want you to note, in the context of Psalm 18, David is saying the sorrows of death compassed me about. That is, the waves of death, the cords of death, they compassed me about. So, it was the thoughts and the sureness and the almost certainty of David's death that prompted him to call upon the Lord.

Let me make a statement. Listen carefully. No one is prepared to live until he's prepared to die. There was at least one time in David's life that he really thought he was going to die. If you would hold Psalm 18, but look in your Bibles to 2 Samuel 21. Now, I'm sure there may have been other times as well, but this is one of those times that not only did David think he was going to die, but some of his men thought so as well. In 2 Samuel chapter 21, look there if you would please at verse 15. 2 Samuel 21 verse 15. "Moreover, the Philistines had yet war again with Israel, and David went down in his servants with him and fought against the Philistines, and David waxed faint."

So he got in a very weakened condition. And Ishbi-benob, who was one of the sons of a giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David. But Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, succored him and smote the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David sware him, saying, "Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel." So David waxed faint. Ishbi-benob thought he had killed him. But Abishai helped David and then killed the giant. So here was a real life instance where David probably thought he was about to die. And probably, since he was in battle, it happened more frequently. So he says in verse 4, just pointing out David's distress now, he said "the sorrows of death compassed me." Look at the rest of verse 4, "and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid." And the floods of ungodly men. The Hebrew word for floods indicates rivers, floods, torrents.

In other words, when you see a swollen, raging stream or a swollen, raging river, that's the word that is being used here. The floods, the torrents of ungodly men made me afraid. David had many enemies. They were surrounding him. And it's not just simply the multitudinous of his enemies that bothered him, but their relentlessness. You know, if you have an enemy, if you can get a little rest every now and then, a little breather, it doesn't bother you. But David was surrounded, and they kept coming at David over and over. David said, "the floods of ungodly men made me afraid." Now, the phrase ungodly men literally is sons of Belial, sons of the devil. Now the word Belial literally means that which is useless, worthless, and unprofitable. So when he calls these individuals sons of Belial, and you remember Hophni and Phinehas, Eli's two sons, who were extremely wicked and vile, they were called sons of Belial as well. So I want you to note now, he says, these sons of Belial, these worthless, useless, unprofitable men, men who are lawless, without faith in the One True and the Living God, the floods of these men have made me afraid.

The Sorrows of Hell and Snares of Death

David further clarifies his distress with the sorrows of hell (Sheol) and the snares of death that preceded him, emphasizing his hopelessness apart from God.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 21:16

Our King James Bible authorized version renders it hell and talks about it as being the place of disembodied spirits. The inhabitants of Sheol, according to Proverbs 21 in verse 16, is the congregation of the dead. And Sheol is also noted as the abode of the wicked in Numbers 16:33, Job 24:19, Psalm 9:17. When you get to the New Testament, it is the Greek word Hades that has the same scope and signification as Sheol in the Old Testament. But in the New Testament, Hades is a prison with gates and bars and locks, according to 1 Peter 3:19, Matthew 16:18, and it is downward, according to Matthew 11:23. So David is saying in verse 5, "the sorrows of hell compass me about." So the sorrows of hell could also be translated literally as the cords of the grave indicating the power under which David was being restrained for a period of time.

Now, John Gill, one of the Baptist commentators of the 1700s, said that this allusion in verse 5 could be an allusion to the way that the Hebrews normally buried their dead. Because in ancient Israel, when you died, you were wrapped, bound, hand and foot, and placed in a grave. You remember, it was Lazarus who was wrapped this way in John 11. And our Lord called and said, "Lazarus, come forth." And the Bible says, "he that was bound in grave clothes, hand and foot, came forth." And then our Lord said,

Scripture Reading — John 11:44

"loose him and let him go."

And then our Lord was wrapped that way because you remember how the linen napkin over his face was found in a separate place. So John Gill is just simply pointing out that there could be an allusion here to the way the ancient Hebrews buried people.

Literally what David is saying, the sorrows of hell or the cords of the grave have compassed me about. In other words, I'm just as surely dead right now as I shall be in the future. In other words, it looked as if for David there was no escape. Now look what he said in verse five again. He says "the sorrows of death compass me," not "the sorrows of hell compass me about, the snares of death prevented me."

Now let me just point out the fact that the word snares is the Hebrew word for snare, trap, gin, and it has reference to being ensnared or being trapped. Now, when David says "the snares of death prevented me," the word prevented sometimes is misinterpreted by most folks because when we hear the word prevent, we think about avoiding something. But the way it was used in the 1600s was actually meant preceded or to go before. So literally what he says in verse 5 is "the snares of death went before me." They were in front of me. They preceded me. They were beforehand. In other words, all David is saying is the snares had been previously laid for him. And what David is saying is I'm like walking in a minefield where every step could mean sudden and instant death. David is giving you the distress that he's in at this particular point.

Now, I want to just take a moment and give you a quote by Charles Haddon Spurgeon on this verse. To me, this is one of the most beautiful comments that could be made on verse five. Listen to what Spurgeon said. "The sorrows of hell compassed me about. From all sides the hell hounds barked furiously. A cordon of devils hemmed in the hunted man of God. Every way of escape closed up."

"Satan knows how to blockade our coasts with the iron warships of sorrow. But blessed be God, the port of prayer is still open, and grace can run the blockade bearing messages from earth to heaven and blessings in return from heaven to earth. The snares of death prevented me. The old enemy hunts for his prey, not only with the dogs of the infernal kennel, but also with the snares of his deadly craft. The nets were drawn closer and closer until the contracted circle completely prevented the escape of the captive." And then he gives this little couplet, "'About me the cords of hell were wound, the snares of death my footstep bound.'"

The Purpose of Distress

God uses distress to awaken His people from forgetting Him, whether the cause is sin, ignorance, or divine sovereignty, as seen in the man born blind in John 9.

He puts our back up against the wall and all of a sudden the bell goes off and the light comes on and we remember, hey, wait a minute. I need the Lord. Only He can deliver me. You know what? We never think that the source of our problems, the source of our dilemmas, the source of our anxiety and distress may be that I've forgotten the Lord. And the Lord is reminding me that I need Him. Without me, you could do how much in our Lord? Nothing. Could it be in our anxiety, in our distress, in our trouble, in our sorrow, in our persecution, could it be that the Lord is using the proverbial two-by-four against our heads?

The answer is yes. The answer is yes. Go back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 8. Hold Psalm 18. But go back to Deuteronomy 8. Look at verse 5. Deuteronomy 8 verse 5. Look what the scripture says Deuteronomy 8 verse 5.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 8:5

"Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee."

I don't know about you, but I remember as a child when I was disobedient, my father had a unique way of getting my attention. Does God have a unique way of getting our attention? Yeah. He chastens us. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 50. Psalm 50, verse 22. Psalm 50, verse 22. Oh. You know that's something plain, look at it, Psalm 50, verse 22. "Now, consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver." Wow. God says, now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you into pieces. You know, my father had an expression, probably yours too, and I even use this with my children.

I warned them if they did wrong, I'll tear you up. That's what God says. You consider this. You forget God, I'll tear you up. And there will be none that will deliver. Can't stop me. Go back in your Bibles to Job. Job chapter 34. Job 34. And I want us to begin reading at verse 23. I'm just showing you how God can use the proverbial two-by-four to get our attention. Job 34 beginning there verse 23. Elihu is speaking for God in this chapter and he says this Job 34 verse 23. "For he that is God will not lay upon man more than right, that he should enter into judgment with God." In other words, whatever God does to you, it's going to be right and you're not going to have anything to complain about. OK, now watch this.

"He shall break in pieces mighty men without number and set others in their stead." God knows how to replace us. "Therefore, he knoweth their works." Now look, "and he overturneth them in the night so that they are destroyed. He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others, because they turned back from Him and would not consider any of His ways." Have you talked about it too before? God knows exactly what size to use. He knows where best to apply it. Now, when you go back to Psalm 18, I want you to understand something. I am not saying that in the instance of Psalm 18 that David was ignoring and forgetting God. But we do know that David did ignore and forget God at other times.

The context does not prove that right here. But in fact, let me just remind you of Deuteronomy 8 and verse 11. I quoted that verse at the beginning. Listen carefully. "Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God in not keeping his commandments." Did David forget God in the matter of Bathsheba and Uriah? Yes. Did David forget God and not discipline his children? Yes. There were times when David forgot the Lord. That is true.

The point I'm trying to make is this. That could have been part of David's distress. I don't know. I would imagine David's distress at this particular time in Psalm 18 was the very fact that he was surrounded by his enemies and he thought he was going to die. There are numerous reasons why we get into distress. Do you realize we can get into distress just based upon our own ignorance? How many of you have ever done something absolutely stupid? And then after you've done it, you thought, man, that was stupid. Why did I do something like that? We do things without thinking. We had a good friend who was a builder. He was mechanical. He could do anything. He had a swimming pool in his backyard, and he was putting something down in the concrete by a swimming pool, and he had an electric drill. He was drilling into the concrete right by the pool, and the bit got hot. Without thinking, he dipped the tip of that bit in the pool to cool it off.

It burst his heart and he was killed instantly. It doesn't take but a second. Now, what I'm saying is this, you know, we can ignorantly do something or we can stupidly do something and get ourselves in more trouble than you can shake a stick at. That doesn't count sin, Satan, the flesh and the world. I mean, that's enough in and of itself. I usually tell people, I've heard Christians say, well, boy, Satan's really attacking me. I usually tell people, he doesn't usually have to attack you. I mean, we're ignorant enough, we bring most of it on ourselves. And when you get reading Galatians 5, drunkenness, adultery, and all of those things, those are sins of the flesh. They're not sins of the devil, those are sins of the flesh.

But there's another area that I want to just point out. There can be a source and cause of our distress. And I'll have to explain it. That's the sovereignty of God.

Now, you can understand the sovereignty of God in the sense that you do something wrong or you continually ignore him and forget him and he can bring his judgment upon you. And yes, that is an aspect of God's sovereignty. But I want you to hold Psalm 18 and turn in your Bibles to John 9. I just want you to see this. I love this passage in John 9. It's one of my favorite passages. But I want you to look at this and here's what I mean by the sovereignty of God. Sometimes you and I can be in a stressful state, not because of our ignorance, not because of sin, not because of Satan, not because of the flesh and the world, but just out of the sovereignty of God. Here's what I mean by that. Look in John 9 verse one.

"And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth." You don't have to sin when you're born blind. You don't have to have an attack of Satan. It's not the flesh. It's not the world. Here's a man who's born blind. "And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" What's the cause of this? "Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." And what did Jesus do? He healed him. Did the man sin to be born blind? No. Satan attacking? No. Flesh, world, self? No. Our Lord said, this man was born blind. Why? For the purpose that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Now, the point I want to make is this. It really and truly doesn't matter what the cause of our distress is. It doesn't matter if it's self, it doesn't matter if it's sin, it doesn't matter if it's Satan, it doesn't matter if it's flesh, the world. It doesn't matter if it's sovereignty of God. The point I'm trying to make is this. God uses that to get our attention. And He really got David's attention in Psalm 18. Go back to Psalm 18 and look if you would at verse 6. Psalm 18 verse 6. Look at this. God uses distress now. David says "in my distress."

David's Cry and God's Response

In his distress, David called and cried aloud to the Lord, and God heard his voice out of His temple, demonstrating that nothing can hinder the believer's prayer.

"I called upon the Lord. And I cried unto my God. He heard my voice out of his temple and my cry came before him even into his ears." Now the word for distress refers to trouble, anxiety, affliction, sorrow, and is also used for the persecution of the enemy. David, according to Psalm 18 and many other times in his life, was on the very precipice of destruction. He was on the edge of death. That's why he said, "the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The snares of death preceded me. The sorrows of death got hold upon me."

I want you to take note of something. No matter how serious the situation, no matter how dangerous the situation, nothing can stand in the way of the believer and prayer to his Heavenly Father. Nothing can stand in the way. There is no calamity so great, no trouble so oppressive, and no persecution so horrible that it can deter us from prayer. The child of God never has an aversion to prayer.

Now let me explain that. There may be times that we don't feel like praying. I'm going to tell you folks, I've been down with sinus so bad, I was so low I'd have to reach up to touch bottom. I mean, I couldn't think, I couldn't control my thoughts. That's just from sinus. There may be times when you don't feel like praying. There may even be times that you may not want to pray.

Yet you never have an aversion to prayer. You know you need to pray and you know it's a duty and you know it's a privilege as well as a necessity. David, hemmed in and hunted by the hounds of death, prayed. By the way, when we don't feel like praying and when we don't want to pray, that's when we need to pray. I want you to look at what David said. I love this. David said in verse six, "in my distress, I called upon the Lord." Look at the next phrase "and cried unto my God."

Notice, if you would please, there is a progression in intensity and vehemence. The more he recognized and realized his danger, the more he cried. By the way, the Hebrew word is shava and it is translated as cried, cried out, to cry aloud and to shout. David said, I called and then I cried. I shouted unto my God.

Now let me show you. I want you to hold Psalm 18. I'm coming right back there, but turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 14. Let me just give you an illustration of what I'm talking about, crying and shouting. I don't know about you, for there's been times in my life that I've cried, and I've shouted, and I've screamed. And not out of anger, but just out of absolute helplessness. Look, if you would please, in Matthew 14. You know the story.

But let's begin reading in verse 24. Matthew 14, verse 24. "But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit. And they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid." "And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried, Lord, save me! And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"

Now let me ask you the truth. I want to ask you this question. Do you think that when Peter was walking in the water, and he saw the waves boisterous, and the wind howling, do you think that Peter very calmly muttered an inaudible prayer? You think that's what Peter did? I want to tell you what I believe he did. I believe he cried as loud as he could, "Lord, save me!" You've got to remember, there's the wind, there's the waves. He wanted to make sure the Lord heard him. You know what made Peter cry? I'm going to tell you. Because he realized if the Lord did not save him, he was a goner.

The Importance of Consistent Prayer

Weaver urges believers to pray regularly so that God recognizes their voice, citing Daniel's habit of praying three times a day as preparation for crisis.

It's all over for me. You know what made David cry? He realized he was in a desperate situation. If God didn't help him, he was a goner. He said, I called and I cried.

Now look at this in Psalm 18. Go back to verse 6. Oh, listen to this. I love this. Psalm 18, verse 6. David said, "in my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God." Are you listening? "He heard my voice out of his temple." You know, a thought came to me when I read that. I'd really like to preach a whole message on this sometime. Here's my question. David said, look at it again in verse six, "he heard my voice out of his temple." Here's my question. Does God recognize your voice? David said he heard my voice. Have you called, cried, and prayed often enough that God knows your voice? You know how David prayed? Hold Psalm 18, look in your Bibles of Psalm 55, and I know that you can be in prayer innumerable times a day I pray. I try to pray without ceasing. I try to pray all day long. It doesn't mean I'm down on my knees all day long, but when I'm driving I pray. When I'm sitting, I pray.

When I'm studying, I pray. Just wherever I am. But look what David said in Psalm 55 and verse 17. David said, "Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud. He shall hear my voice." David said at least three times a day, I'm going to cry aloud and God's going to hear my voice. He's going to recognize my voice. Let me tell you something, folks.

I know that God is omniscient. I know that God hears and God knows everything. I know that. But I want to tell you, I still want to be like David. I want him to recognize my voice. And I want him to say, well, that's my son down there. I recognize I want to stop and listen to him. Because he needs me. Look what David said in Psalm 18 verse 6. "In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God. He heard my voice out of his temple and my cry came before him even unto his ears." Wow. By the way, I will tell you how to pray effectively when you're in trouble. If you want to make sure that God hears you when you're in trouble, here is how to pray effectively when you're in trouble. Be used to praying before you get into trouble.

I'll give you scripture for that. You remember old Daniel, Daniel chapter 6? When those presidents had that writing signed that whoever offered any prayer to any god but the king for 30 days would be thrown in the den of lions? Listen to this, Daniel 6 and verse 10. "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house, his windows being opened in his chamber toward Jerusalem, and he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before God as he did aforetime." He was used to praying before he ever got in trouble. And therefore, he could pray effectively when he got into trouble.

Applications and Conclusion

Three applications: God uses stress to remind us of our need for Him; God hears and answers prayer; and we should cry out to God in the face of ungodly men and danger.

"And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us." Watch. "And if we know that He hears us, we know. We know that He hears us. Whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions we desire of Him." If you and I genuinely believe that God answers prayer as David believed, we need to learn to cry to Him daily, yea, even hourly if need be. We need to learn to pray as we ought. Are you listening? Distress will not distress us if we know how to pray. Three quick applications.

The first one is this. God often uses stressful incidents to impress upon us our need of Him and of His grace. When we forget God, God has ways of reminding us that we need Him. To be honest, I'd rather remember Him on my own than have to be reminded that I need Him. Secondly, God is a God who hears and answers prayer. It should be an encouragement to us to pray when we realize we have such a God who is ready to supply our needs, hear our prayers, and take care of our needs. Here's the third one. David said, "and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid." And that's why he prayed. We should know that we're surrounded by floods of ungodly men in this country. We're in danger. Neither life nor property are safe when such men of Belial are in control of this country. We need to realize the danger that we are in and in that sense become distressed so that we will cry unto God for deliverance. David said, "the sorrows of death compassed me. Oh, yes. And the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of death, the sorrows of hell got a hold upon me."

"And in my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God. And he heard my voice out of the temple." David's prayer came into him and entered into his ears. And God delivered David. And God will deliver us if we cry for deliverance. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we do bow to Thee this day. We're so thankful that You've delivered Your people in times past. And it gives us such encouragement to cry to Thee in our present distress and believe Thee even in future distresses, Lord. Give us, Lord, faith and trust in Thee. Make bare Thy mighty arm, O God. Show Thyself strong on behalf of Thy people. May, Father, we not forget Thee, but obey Thee and bring our lives into greater conformity to Your Word. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray, Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Sin of Forgetting God

Summary: Forgetting God is equated with disobedience to His commandments, not merely a mental lapse, and is a common sin among believers.

Evidence: Weaver cites Deuteronomy 8:11: 'Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God in not keeping his commandments.'

God Uses Distress to Awaken Us

Summary: God employs stressful circumstances, whether through judgment or conviction, to remind His people of their dependence on Him.

Evidence: Weaver references Miriam's leprosy (Deuteronomy 24:9), Lot's wife (Luke 17:32), and the church in Revelation 2:5 as examples of God's reminders.

The Certainty of Death and Human Helplessness

Summary: David's imagery of waves, cords, and snares of death illustrates the inevitability of death and the futility of self-deliverance.

Evidence: Weaver explains that 'the sorrows of death compassed me' means David was hemmed in with no escape, like a bound malefactor or a shipwrecked mariner.

The Power of Prayer in Distress

Summary: No calamity can prevent a believer from praying, and God hears the cries of His people when they call upon Him.

Evidence: David said, 'In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple.'

Consistent Prayer as Preparation

Summary: Regular prayer habits prepare believers to pray effectively in times of trouble, as exemplified by Daniel's thrice-daily prayers.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Daniel 6:10: 'he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.'

God's Faithfulness to Hear and Answer

Summary: God promises to hear and answer prayer, giving believers confidence to approach Him in any situation.

Evidence: Weaver cites Jeremiah 33:3, Isaiah 65:24, and 1 John 5:14-15 to affirm God's responsiveness to prayer.

Key Arguments

Forgetting God is disobedience, not just neglect

Summary: True forgetting of God is manifested in failing to keep His commandments, not merely in not thinking about Him.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 8:11 warns, 'Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments.'

Distress is a divine tool for remembrance

Summary: God uses distress to bring His people back to reliance on Him, whether through judgment or conviction.

Evidence: Weaver points to Psalm 50:22: 'Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces.'

David's distress was absolute and inescapable

Summary: David's language of cords, waves, and snares shows he was completely trapped and facing certain death.

Evidence: Spurgeon's comment: 'From all sides the hell hounds barked furiously. A cordon of devils hemmed in the hunted man of God.'

Prayer is the believer's unfailing recourse

Summary: No situation is so dire that it can block the believer's access to God through prayer.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'There is no calamity so great, no trouble so oppressive, and no persecution so horrible that it can deter us from prayer.'

Intensity of prayer matches recognition of need

Summary: David progressed from calling to crying aloud as his danger became more apparent, showing that desperation fuels fervent prayer.

Evidence: Weaver notes the Hebrew word shava means to cry aloud or shout, and David 'called and then I cried. I shouted unto my God.'

God recognizes the voice of those who pray regularly

Summary: Consistent prayer leads to a relationship where God knows and responds to the believer's voice.

Evidence: David said, 'Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice' (Psalm 55:17).

Preparation in prayer enables effective crisis prayer

Summary: Those who pray habitually before trouble can pray effectively when trouble comes, as Daniel did.

Evidence: Daniel 6:10 shows Daniel prayed three times a day 'as he did aforetime,' even after the decree was signed.

God's promises assure answered prayer

Summary: Scripture promises that God hears and answers prayer according to His will, giving believers confidence.

Evidence: 1 John 5:14-15: 'if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us... we know that we have the petitions.'

Scripture References

Psalm 18:1-6

Context: The primary text of the sermon, describing David's love for God, his distress, and his cry for deliverance.

Deuteronomy 8:11

Context: Used to define forgetting God as disobedience to His commandments.

Psalm 77:10

Context: Asaph acknowledges his infirmity of forgetting and resolves to remember God's works.

Deuteronomy 24:9

Context: God's judgment on Miriam as a reminder to remember His acts.

Luke 17:32

Context: Jesus' command to remember Lot's wife as a warning against looking back.

Revelation 2:5

Context: The church in Ephesus is told to remember, repent, or face removal of their candlestick.

Psalm 42:1-4

Context: David's thirst for God and remembrance of past worship during his distress.

2 Samuel 22:5

Context: Parallel passage where 'waves of death' is used, similar to Psalm 18:4.

Hosea 13:13

Context: Reference to the breaking forth of children, illustrating the word for 'waves' or 'breakers.'

Psalm 116:3

Context: David uses similar language of sorrows of death and pains of hell.

2 Samuel 21:15-17

Context: An instance where David waxed faint in battle and was nearly killed by Ishbi-benob.

Psalm 12:1-4

Context: David's cry for help because the godly cease and the wicked prevail.

Proverbs 21:16

Context: Sheol is the congregation of the dead.

Numbers 16:33, Job 24:19, Psalm 9:17

Context: Sheol as the abode of the wicked.

1 Peter 3:19, Matthew 16:18, Matthew 11:23

Context: New Testament references to Hades as a prison with gates, bars, and downward direction.

John 11:44

Context: Lazarus came forth bound hand and foot with grave clothes, illustrating burial customs.

Jeremiah 2:31-32

Context: God's complaint that His people have forgotten Him days without number.

Deuteronomy 8:5

Context: God chastens His people as a father chastens his son.

Psalm 50:22

Context: Warning to those who forget God: He will tear them in pieces.

Job 34:23-27

Context: God overturns the wicked because they turned back from Him and would not consider His ways.

Historical References

Matthew Henry (1634)

Context: Quoted on the various aspects of death: 'It is heaven's peculiar to the land of the living. All this life is at most but the shadow of death...'

John Gill (1700s Baptist commentator)

Context: Suggested that the allusion in Psalm 18:5 could be to the Hebrew burial custom of wrapping the dead hand and foot.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Context: Provided a vivid commentary on Psalm 18:5, describing the hell hounds and the hopelessness of David's case.

Important Quotes

It is heaven's peculiar to the land of the living. All this life is at most but the shadow of death, the gate of death, the sorrows of death, the snares of death, the terrors of death, the chambers of death, the sentence of death, the savor of death, the menstruation of death, and the way of death.

Significance: Matthew Henry's comprehensive description of life's constant proximity to death.

The sorrows of hell compassed me about. From all sides the hell hounds barked furiously. A cordon of devils hemmed in the hunted man of God. Every way of escape closed up.

Significance: Spurgeon's vivid depiction of David's total entrapment and desperation.

Satan knows how to blockade our coasts with the iron warships of sorrow. But blessed be God, the port of prayer is still open, and grace can run the blockade bearing messages from earth to heaven and blessings in return from heaven to earth.

Significance: Spurgeon's encouragement that prayer remains accessible even in the worst trials.

In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

Significance: The central verse of the sermon, showing David's prayer and God's attentive response.

Discussion Questions

What does it mean to 'forget God' according to Deuteronomy 8:11, and how does this differ from simply not thinking about God?

Context: Weaver emphasizes that forgetting God is equated with disobedience to His commandments.

How does God use distress or judgment to remind His people of their need for Him? Can you think of biblical or personal examples?

Context: Weaver cites Miriam, Lot's wife, and the church in Revelation as examples of God's reminders.

In what ways does David's description of his distress (waves, cords, snares) help us understand the depth of his desperation?

Context: Weaver explains the imagery of being bound, overwhelmed, and trapped as pictures of certain death.

Why is it significant that David progressed from 'calling' to 'crying' to the Lord? What does this teach us about the intensity of prayer?

Context: Weaver notes the Hebrew word shava indicates crying aloud or shouting, showing increased fervency.

How does the example of Daniel praying three times a day 'as he did aforetime' challenge our own prayer habits?

Context: Weaver uses Daniel as a model of consistent prayer that prepares for crisis.

What does it mean that God 'heard my voice out of his temple'? How can we cultivate a prayer life that God recognizes?

Context: Weaver asks whether God recognizes our voice, based on David's statement and Psalm 55:17.

How should the reality of being surrounded by 'floods of ungodly men' in our culture affect our prayer life?

Context: Weaver applies David's fear of ungodly men to the current danger in the country.

What are some practical ways to 'be used to praying before you get into trouble'?

Context: Weaver emphasizes that effective prayer in crisis comes from habitual prayer beforehand.

Applications

Recognize and repent of forgetting God

Summary: Believers should examine their lives for areas of disobedience that indicate they have forgotten God, and repent.

Evidence: Weaver warns that forgetting God is a sin of disobedience, citing Deuteronomy 8:11 and Jeremiah 2:32.

View distress as a divine wake-up call

Summary: When facing trouble, consider that God may be using it to draw you back to dependence on Him.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'God oftentimes uses distress to get our attention,' and cites Job 34 and Psalm 50.

Cry out to God in desperate prayer

Summary: In times of crisis, follow David's example by calling and crying aloud to the Lord with intensity.

Evidence: David said, 'In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God,' and Peter cried, 'Lord, save me.'

Develop a consistent prayer life

Summary: Pray regularly, even multiple times a day, so that prayer becomes a natural and effective response in trouble.

Evidence: Weaver points to David's thrice-daily prayer (Psalm 55:17) and Daniel's habit (Daniel 6:10).

Trust in God's faithfulness to hear and answer

Summary: Have confidence that God hears prayer according to His will, as promised in 1 John 5:14-15.

Evidence: Weaver quotes 1 John 5:14-15 and other promises to encourage boldness in prayer.

Pray for deliverance from ungodly influences

Summary: Recognize the danger of living among those who reject God's law, and cry out for God's protection and intervention.

Evidence: Weaver applies David's fear of 'floods of ungodly men' to the current cultural context.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T13:55:12Z

Clean Transcript

I Will Call Upon the Lord

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Psalm 18, and we're going to read the first six verses. Now, let me encourage you that if you have not heard the first two messages on this Psalm, that you would please listen to those. The first two messages are entitled, "I Will Love Thee, O Lord," or "I Will Love the Lord," part one and part two. Today, I'm going to come to part three. And the title of this message is "I Will Call Upon the Lord." And right now, it's just part three. There may be a part four. I'm not sure just yet with that same title, but I'll probably go down through Psalm 18 for a while. But notice Psalm 18 beginning there in verse one, David said, "I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer."
#1 | 0:02 to 0:57 | cleaned
"My God, my strength, in whom I will trust, my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about. The snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God, He heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears."
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Now, let me take just a few moments to review the first three verses that I've dealt with. First of all, I pointed out David's determination. David's determination is revealed in verse one when he says, "I will love thee, O Lord, my strength." And I told you that David's determination to love the Lord was first and foremost a response to God's love. No man can love God first. We love him because he first loved us. And then I showed you what real biblical love is. First of all, there are three aspects of it. There is attitude, affection, and action. I pointed out how that real, genuine love is always demonstrable. The Bible says that we know that He loved us. Why?
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Because He laid down His life for us. So when the attitude is right, there will always be a right affection. And when those two things are right and biblical, there will always be, thirdly, a biblical action. And I pointed out how love is obedience because Romans 13, verse 10 says, love is the fulfilling of the law. And then I pointed out in part two the reasons for David's determination. He says in verse one, "I will love thee, O Lord, my strength."
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And then he begins to show everything that God is. He calls God his strength, his rock, his fortress, his deliverer, his God, his strength, his trust, his buckler, the horn of his salvation, and my high tower. And so I went over each one of those and showed how many were just simply names of God as well as some were just attributes and manifestations of God's character. But with a protection like that and with God being everything like that, certainly you'd want to call upon the Lord. It's important to remember not only who God is, but also how he delivers.
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Now, let me begin today by pointing out that one of our greatest sins as Christians is the sin of forgetting God. Do you realize over and over in Scripture we are warned concerning this very regrettable sin? If you would hold Psalm 18 and look back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 11, and I'm not going to multiply scriptures here, I could, but I think this passage is extremely self-explanatory. Look in Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 11. Look what God says, and I want you to see the essence of forgetting God. Deuteronomy 8 verse 11, God says this, "Beware." So here's a warning. "Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God."
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"in not keeping his commandments and his judgments and his statutes which I command thee this day." Now, what is forgetting God? Is forgetting God, oops, Lord, I just didn't think about you today? Oh no, it's far more than that. Forgetting God is when you fail to obey God. You may have God on your mind, but as long as you disobey Him, you've still forgotten Him. So he says, "Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God in not keeping His commandments."
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Now I'll come back to this verse a little bit later. I do want you to turn over to Psalm 77. And look if you would please at verse 10. Psalm 77 verse 10. I'm just simply pointing out that one of our main sins is that we forget God. In Psalm 77 and verse 10. David had committed this sin, and I'll point that out a little bit later, but he makes this statement in Psalm 77 verse 10. Actually, this is Asaph, not David. Asaph wrote Psalm 77, but in Psalm 77, Asaph says this in verse 10, "And I said, this is my infirmity, but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. This is my infirmity, but I will remember."
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In other words, he had forgotten. He says, this is my weakness. This is my failing. This is my failure. I will now remember. I'm going to correct that too often. We don't forget God. But we forget his tender mercies and his blessings as well. And, you know, the interesting thing is this. When we forget God, God has a way of reminding us of who he is and what He does for us.
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Do you realize that God knows exactly what it takes to put our backs against the wall when we can go no further and all of a sudden we have to recall who God is, what He has done for us, and our very desperate need of Him? Now usually, God does that in one of two ways. Sometimes he does it in judgment. Or sometimes he may just simply use conviction.
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Let me show you what I'm talking about in Deuteronomy chapter 24 and verse 9. Listen to what the Word of God says. You remember, well, I'll quote it for you, but you remember how Miriam and Aaron were complaining against Moses and what did God do? God smoked Miriam with leprosy. And then in Deuteronomy 24 verse 9, God says this, "Remember what the Lord thy God did to Miriam by the way when you were come forth out of Egypt." Now God says you want to just call to mind what happened to Miriam.
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In other words, I judged her. I did not let her get away with her sin. And when leprosy came upon her, all of a sudden she wanted to call upon the name of the Lord and she wanted to repent and do what was right. Then there's that passage in Luke 17 in verse 32. A very simple passage where our Lord just simply said, "Remember Lot's wife." Why? Remember Lot's wife? You remember what Lot's wife did? She turned and looked back.
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She'd gotten out of Sodom, but Sodom had never gotten out of her and God turned her into a pillar of salt. And then if you look in your Bibles, hold Psalm 18, but turn to the book of Revelation chapter 2 and verse 5. Revelation chapter 2 and verse 5. And look what God says to the church. Revelation 2 and verse 5. And he says this, "Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen and repent and do thy first work. Or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick." Now notice what God says. "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent." So He tells us we must remember, we must repent, for what? He will remove thy candlestick. So there is judgment. And then if you look back in your Bibles to Psalm 42, here is what I would call a verse just simply talking about conviction. And you realize that conviction is sometimes an awful lot easier than judgment, but not necessarily always. But in Psalm 42 and verse four, David says this.
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"When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me. For I had gone with a multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, and with a multitude that kept holy day." Well, I remember these things. What things? Well, look in verse 1, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before my God? My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say to me, Where is thy God?" Psalm 42 was written when Saul was chasing David, and David could not get back to the house of God.
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He was in the wilderness. He was cut off. And David says, when I remember these things, when I remember what I had with the Lord and when I worshiped Him publicly and openly, and now because of the anxiety and distress and the persecution, David could not get back there. And David said, when I remember these things, when I'm convicted about them, I pour out my soul within me. Now, if you look back in your Bibles to Psalm 18, I showed you those verses because the second point I want to give today is this, David's distress. Our first point was in verse 1, David's determination. Now we come to verse 4, 5 and 6 and we have David's distress. David now reveals what drove him to remember the Lord at his great deliverance. Now David is resolving in verse 1 and 2 and 3 to call upon the Lord who has proven himself over and over. Look at it in this light. David said, "I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock."
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"my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my strength and whom I trust, my buckler and the horn of my salvation and my high tower." Now look what he says, "...I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from mine enemies." What is David doing? David is recounting all of the times that God delivered him in the past. Do you realize this point? God's past mercies and God's past deliverances give us hope and encouragement for present problems and future problems. If God has delivered us in time past, we may still call upon His mercy and His grace to deliver us out of these present problems and present distresses. When we are in distress, the surest way to recover is to remember the Lord and his deliverance and his grace.
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Someone has said it very aptly. If you want to be discouraged, look around you. If you want to be depressed, look within you. If you want to be disappointed, look at others. If you want to be delivered, look up. And that's certainly true.
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Now, I want you to listen in Psalm 18, verse four, at the deepness of David's distress. Look what he says. "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid." David is in trouble. He's in distress. "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid." Now, the sorrows of death that you see in verse 4 is the same predicament that David was in in 2 Samuel 22 and verse 5, when there you could translate that as the waves of death. When you talk about the waves of death, you understand it to mean, literally, the breakers of death. And the word is translated that way in Hosea 13 and verse 13 when it talks about the breaking forth of children. All of us have witnessed, at one point in our lives, the mighty waves breaking against the rocks and the shoreline. Those of you who have been in the Pacific Northwest, and oftentimes in California as well, you have seen these huge waves come in and just break upon the rocks.
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It looks as if they're going to crush the rocks. They're huge, they're gigantic, they're powerful, and oftentimes they're just simply called breakers. It's these waves that whip and lash and break with deadly force and deadly violence. You've seen huge ships tossed against the rocks by these waves.
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Now, David is simply saying the sorrows of death or the waves of death. This same word, sorrows, which is translated waves, could also be translated as cords. The cords of death compass me. The illusion, therefore, would be to the malefactors who are being led forth to be executed. They are bound with cords. They cannot escape. Their death is certain, and their death is sure. Thus, when you read the sorrows of death, or the waves of death, or the cords of death, all of those are just pictures to show the absolute sureness and certainty of death. Just like the man who is bound with ropes cannot escape, then again, you can see the same thing with the man being dashed against the waves and the sorrows filling his soul. Now, David uses the same expression in Psalm 116 in verse 3 when he said it like this. "The sorrows of death compassed me and the pains of hell got hold upon me and I found trouble and sorrow." So what David is saying literally in Psalm 18 in verse 4, is death, like a cruel conqueror, seemed to twist around him with the cords of pain.
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In other words, David was environed. He was hemmed in with threatening deaths of the most appalling sort. He was like a mariner that had been driven by the waves upon the rocks and was in fear of being crushed by the white and powerful foam. He was bound by the cords of death. And so what he's saying is basically his struggling was useless. He couldn't escape. He couldn't get away. Matthew Henry, in 1634, wrote these words, listen carefully.
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He said, "It is heaven's peculiar to the land of the living. All this life is at most but the shadow of death, the gate of death, the sorrows of death, the snares of death, the terrors of death, the chambers of death, the sentence of death, the savor of death, the menstruation of death, and the way of death."
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Now, when you stop and think about what he wrote, you say, well, boy, he was very pessimistic, wasn't he? No. He was speaking in reality. Do you realize the fact is the moment we're born, we begin to die. If you stop to think about that, that's what aging is. The moment we're born, we begin dying. Physical death is inevitable. You remember when David was being chased by Saul and David realized that Saul was set on destroying him and Jonathan didn't want to believe it. David told Jonathan, "There's but a step between me and death." Stop and think about that. "There's but a step between me and death." You know, one would think that the reality of death, with each of us facing death,
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that we would do everything within our power to prepare for it. But alas, such is not the case. Do you realize that even though we know we're going to die, and although we know that death is real and genuine and we must pass that way, the truth of the matter is, most of us, each of us, have to be awakened, disturbed, and overwhelmed with the sureness and the immediacy of death
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before we ever really become concerned. I can assure you that the younger you are, the less you think of death. The older you get, the more you realize the brevity and the shortness of your time. The thought hit me the other day. If I live only as long as my father lived, which I hope to surpass him, that's only 13 more years. You see what I'm saying now? I want you to note, in the context of Psalm 18, David is saying the sorrows of death compassed me about. That is, the waves of death, the cords of death, they compassed me about. So, it was the thoughts and the sureness and the almost certainty of David's death that prompted him to call upon the Lord.
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Let me make a statement. Listen carefully. No one is prepared to live until he's prepared to die. There was at least one time in David's life that he really thought he was going to die. If you would hold Psalm 18, but look in your Bibles to 2 Samuel 21. Now, I'm sure there may have been other times as well, but this is one of those times that not only did David think he was going to die, but some of his men thought so as well. In 2 Samuel chapter 21, look there if you would please at verse 15. 2 Samuel 21 verse 15. "Moreover, the Philistines had yet war again with Israel, and David went down in his servants with him and fought against the Philistines, and David waxed faint."
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So he got in a very weakened condition. And Ishbi-benob, who was one of the sons of a giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David. But Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, succored him and smote the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David sware him, saying, "Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel." So David waxed faint. Ishbi-benob thought he had killed him. But Abishai helped David and then killed the giant. So here was a real life instance where David probably thought he was about to die. And probably, since he was in battle, it happened more frequently. So he says in verse 4, just pointing out David's distress now, he said "the sorrows of death compassed me." Look at the rest of verse 4, "and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid." And the floods of ungodly men. The Hebrew word for floods indicates rivers, floods, torrents.
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In other words, when you see a swollen, raging stream or a swollen, raging river, that's the word that is being used here. The floods, the torrents of ungodly men made me afraid. David had many enemies. They were surrounding him. And it's not just simply the multitudinous of his enemies that bothered him, but their relentlessness. You know, if you have an enemy, if you can get a little rest every now and then, a little breather, it doesn't bother you. But David was surrounded, and they kept coming at David over and over. David said, "the floods of ungodly men made me afraid." Now, the phrase ungodly men literally is sons of Belial, sons of the devil. Now the word Belial literally means that which is useless, worthless, and unprofitable. So when he calls these individuals sons of Belial, and you remember Hophni and Phinehas, Eli's two sons, who were extremely wicked and vile, they were called sons of Belial as well. So I want you to note now, he says, these sons of Belial, these worthless, useless, unprofitable men, men who are lawless, without faith in the One True and the Living God, the floods of these men have made me afraid.
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You know, a godly man is restrained by God's law and God's Word, but an ungodly man has no regard for God's law and God's Word. So an ungodly man will do what a godly man would never ever think of doing. And so David says it is these floods, it is these torrents of ungodly men who made me afraid. Now, look back in Psalm 12 since you're close there. I want you to see verse one. You can see David's cry of distress even involved in this verse. Look in Psalm 12, verse 1. And I can hear David now as he cries, "Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, for the faithful fail from among the children of men."
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By the way, we sure better learn to cry this prayer in this country. Go on. Just look. Let me just show you. David cries, "Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, for the faithful fail among the children of men." Well, what's left, ungodly men? What do they do? "They speak vanity every one with his neighbor, with a double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips and the tongue which speaketh proud things, who have said, With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are our own. Who is Lord over us?"
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And then he goes on and talks about how they oppress and how they destroy. Who are these sons of Belial? They're wicked, ungodly, lawless individuals who fear not God.
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Now, look back to Psalm 18. David says this in verse 4, "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid." So verse 4, the cry of David in this passage shows the snares that were laid for his life, the danger of death that he faced and the anxiety that he possessed on account of it. I want you to see David further clarifies his distress in verse 5. He says "the sorrows of hell compass me about. The snares of death prevented me," so it's not just the sorrows of death, but it's the sorrows of hell. Now the Hebrew word for hell is the word Sheol which occurs in the Old Testament 65 times. It is rendered grave 31 of those times.
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Our King James Bible authorized version renders it hell and talks about it as being the place of disembodied spirits. The inhabitants of Sheol, according to Proverbs 21 in verse 16, is the congregation of the dead. And Sheol is also noted as the abode of the wicked in Numbers 16:33, Job 24:19, Psalm 9:17. When you get to the New Testament, it is the Greek word Hades that has the same scope and signification as Sheol in the Old Testament. But in the New Testament, Hades is a prison with gates and bars and locks, according to 1 Peter 3:19, Matthew 16:18, and it is downward, according to Matthew 11:23. So David is saying in verse 5, "the sorrows of hell compass me about." So the sorrows of hell could also be translated literally as the cords of the grave indicating the power under which David was being restrained for a period of time.
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Now, John Gill, one of the Baptist commentators of the 1700s, said that this allusion in verse 5 could be an allusion to the way that the Hebrews normally buried their dead. Because in ancient Israel, when you died, you were wrapped, bound, hand and foot, and placed in a grave. You remember, it was Lazarus who was wrapped this way in John 11. And our Lord called and said, "Lazarus, come forth." And the Bible says, "he that was bound in grave clothes, hand and foot, came forth." And then our Lord said, "loose him and let him go." And then our Lord was wrapped that way because you remember how the linen napkin over his face was found in a separate place. So John Gill is just simply pointing out that there could be an allusion here to the way the ancient Hebrews buried people.
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Literally what David is saying, the sorrows of hell or the cords of the grave have compassed me about. In other words, I'm just as surely dead right now as I shall be in the future. In other words, it looked as if for David there was no escape.
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Now look what he said in verse five again. He says "the sorrows of death compass me," not "the sorrows of hell compass me about, the snares of death prevented me."
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Now let me just point out the fact that the word snares is the Hebrew word for snare, trap, gin, and it has reference to being ensnared or being trapped.
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Now, when David says "the snares of death prevented me," the word prevented sometimes is misinterpreted by most folks because when we hear the word prevent, we think about avoiding something. But the way it was used in the 1600s was actually meant preceded or to go before. So literally what he says in verse 5 is "the snares of death went before me." They were in front of me. They preceded me. They were beforehand. In other words, all David is saying is the snares had been previously laid for him. And what David is saying is I'm like walking in a minefield where every step could mean sudden and instant death. David is giving you the distress that he's in at this particular point.
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Now, I want to just take a moment and give you a quote by Charles Haddon Spurgeon on this verse. To me, this is one of the most beautiful comments that could be made on verse five. Listen to what Spurgeon said. "The sorrows of hell compassed me about. From all sides the hell hounds barked furiously. A cordon of devils hemmed in the hunted man of God. Every way of escape closed up."
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"Satan knows how to blockade our coasts with the iron warships of sorrow. But blessed be God, the port of prayer is still open, and grace can run the blockade bearing messages from earth to heaven and blessings in return from heaven to earth. The snares of death prevented me. The old enemy hunts for his prey, not only with the dogs of the infernal kennel, but also with the snares of his deadly craft. The nets were drawn closer and closer until the contracted circle completely prevented the escape of the captive." And then he gives this little couplet, "'About me the cords of hell were wound, the snares of death my footstep bound.'"
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Then he goes on, "Thus hopeless was the case of this good man, as hopeless as the case could be, so utterly desperate that none but an almighty arm could be of service. According to the four metaphors which he employs, he was bound like a malefactor for execution, overwhelmed like a shipwrecked mariner, surrounded and standing at bay like a hunted stag, and captured in a net like a trembling bird. What more of terror and distress could meet upon one poor defenseless head?" Isn't that beautiful?
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But listen to what he said. "So utterly desperate that none but an almighty arm could deliver him." That's why David says in verse 3, "I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised. So shall I be saved from my enemies." You know, it is extremely sad, but happily true, that most ignore the Lord until they are in desperate straits. I have known people who constantly and consistently have ignored God, ignored His Word, ignored the preaching of His Word, who in the time of their crisis and in the time of their peril, they come and cry mightily unto the Lord and expect the Lord to give them immediate attention and immediate deliverance.
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It's as if they say, and they are actually saying it by their actions, although they would never say this in their words. It is as if they are saying, "OK, Lord. I may safely ignore you and I may safely ignore your word right now because I don't need you. But Lord, you can depend upon me. The minute that I need you, I will call upon you and you can help me then."
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Such an attitude is utterly blasphemous. But I'm going to tell you something. Having preached for nearly 43 years, I have seen people whose child was dying. Had not been in a church, had not read their Bible, could care less about preaching, but I'll tell you what. Boy, they called upon this preacher. "Preacher, come pray with us. Oh, pray that God will heal my child. Preacher, God will just heal my child. I'll serve Him. I'll be in church." And by the way, when God healed that child, yes, they were in church for at least one or two Sundays. You talking about using God?
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You know, the sad thing is this, folks. It is not just the ungodly who use the Lord. Unhappily, it's the godly as well. I want you to hold Psalm 18. But please turn in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter 2. Jeremiah chapter 2. Jeremiah chapter 2. And look, if you would, at God's charge and God's complaint in verse 32. In fact, let's read verse 31. Watch this. Jeremiah 2, verse 31. Look what God says. "O generation, see ye the word of the Lord." Then God asks, "Have I been a wilderness unto Israel, a land of darkness?" No, God has it. God revealed himself.
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"Wherefore, say my people, we are lords. We will come no more into thee." In other words, Lord, we don't need you at this time. Watch verse 32. "Can a maid forget her ornaments?" Can she forget her jewelry? "Can a bride her attire?" Can she forget her wedding gown? "Yet," says God, "my people have forgotten me days without numbers." Yet my people have forgotten me days without number. Is it a sin to forget God? Yes. Is it a sin to ignore God in His Word? Yes. Is this a sin that's committed constantly? Yes. God says my people have forgotten me days without number. How in the world do we recover from such a wicked sin? The answer is God must awaken us. God must give us grace to repent and to seek Him. And you know what God does? God oftentimes uses distress to get our attention.
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He puts our back up against the wall and all of a sudden the bell goes off and the light comes on and we remember, hey, wait a minute. I need the Lord. Only He can deliver me. You know what? We never think that the source of our problems, the source of our dilemmas, the source of our anxiety and distress may be that I've forgotten the Lord. And the Lord is reminding me that I need Him. Without me, you could do how much in our Lord? Nothing. Could it be in our anxiety, in our distress, in our trouble, in our sorrow, in our persecution, could it be that the Lord is using the proverbial two-by-four against our heads?
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The answer is yes. The answer is yes. Go back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 8. Hold Psalm 18. But go back to Deuteronomy 8. Look at verse 5. Deuteronomy 8 verse 5. Look what the scripture says Deuteronomy 8 verse 5. "Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee." I don't know about you, but I remember as a child when I was disobedient, my father had a unique way of getting my attention. Does God have a unique way of getting our attention? Yeah. He chastens us. Look in your Bibles to Psalm 50. Psalm 50, verse 22. Psalm 50, verse 22. Oh. You know that's something plain, look at it, Psalm 50, verse 22. "Now, consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver." Wow. God says, now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you into pieces. You know, my father had an expression, probably yours too, and I even use this with my children.
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I warned them if they did wrong, I'll tear you up. That's what God says. You consider this. You forget God, I'll tear you up. And there will be none that will deliver. Can't stop me. Go back in your Bibles to Job. Job chapter 34. Job 34. And I want us to begin reading at verse 23. I'm just showing you how God can use the proverbial two-by-four to get our attention. Job 34 beginning there verse 23. Elihu is speaking for God in this chapter and he says this Job 34 verse 23. "For he that is God will not lay upon man more than right, that he should enter into judgment with God." In other words, whatever God does to you, it's going to be right and you're not going to have anything to complain about. OK, now watch this.
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"He shall break in pieces mighty men without number and set others in their stead." God knows how to replace us. "Therefore, he knoweth their works."
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Now look, "and he overturneth them in the night so that they are destroyed. He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others, because they turned back from Him and would not consider any of His ways." Have you talked about it too before? God knows exactly what size to use. He knows where best to apply it. Now, when you go back to Psalm 18, I want you to understand something. I am not saying that in the instance of Psalm 18 that David was ignoring and forgetting God. But we do know that David did ignore and forget God at other times.
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The context does not prove that right here. But in fact, let me just remind you of Deuteronomy 8 and verse 11. I quoted that verse at the beginning. Listen carefully. "Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God in not keeping his commandments." Did David forget God in the matter of Bathsheba and Uriah? Yes. Did David forget God and not discipline his children? Yes. There were times when David forgot the Lord. That is true.
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The point I'm trying to make is this. That could have been part of David's distress. I don't know. I would imagine David's distress at this particular time in Psalm 18 was the very fact that he was surrounded by his enemies and he thought he was going to die. There are numerous reasons why we get into distress. Do you realize we can get into distress just based upon our own ignorance?
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How many of you have ever done something absolutely stupid? And then after you've done it, you thought, man, that was stupid. Why did I do something like that? We do things without thinking. We had a good friend who was a builder. He was mechanical. He could do anything. He had a swimming pool in his backyard, and he was putting something down in the concrete by a swimming pool, and he had an electric drill. He was drilling into the concrete right by the pool, and the bit got hot. Without thinking, he dipped the tip of that bit in the pool to cool it off.
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It burst his heart and he was killed instantly. It doesn't take but a second.
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Now, what I'm saying is this, you know, we can ignorantly do something or we can stupidly do something and get ourselves in more trouble than you can shake a stick at. That doesn't count sin, Satan, the flesh and the world. I mean, that's enough in and of itself. I usually tell people, I've heard Christians say, well, boy, Satan's really attacking me. I usually tell people, he doesn't usually have to attack you. I mean, we're ignorant enough, we bring most of it on ourselves. And when you get reading Galatians 5, drunkenness, adultery, and all of those things, those are sins of the flesh. They're not sins of the devil, those are sins of the flesh.
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But there's another area that I want to just point out. There can be a source and cause of our distress. And I'll have to explain it. That's the sovereignty of God.
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Now, you can understand the sovereignty of God in the sense that you do something wrong or you continually ignore him and forget him and he can bring his judgment upon you. And yes, that is an aspect of God's sovereignty. But I want you to hold Psalm 18 and turn in your Bibles to John 9. I just want you to see this. I love this passage in John 9.
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It's one of my favorite passages. But I want you to look at this and here's what I mean by the sovereignty of God. Sometimes you and I can be in a stressful state, not because of our ignorance, not because of sin, not because of Satan, not because of the flesh and the world, but just out of the sovereignty of God. Here's what I mean by that. Look in John 9 verse one.
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"And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth." You don't have to sin when you're born blind. You don't have to have an attack of Satan. It's not the flesh. It's not the world. Here's a man who's born blind. "And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" What's the cause of this? "Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." And what did Jesus do? He healed him. Did the man sin to be born blind? No. Satan attacking? No. Flesh, world, self? No. Our Lord said, this man was born blind. Why? For the purpose that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
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Now, the point I want to make is this. It really and truly doesn't matter what the cause of our distress is. It doesn't matter if it's self, it doesn't matter if it's sin, it doesn't matter if it's Satan, it doesn't matter if it's flesh, the world. It doesn't matter if it's sovereignty of God. The point I'm trying to make is this. God uses that to get our attention. And He really got David's attention in Psalm 18. Go back to Psalm 18 and look if you would at verse 6. Psalm 18 verse 6. Look at this. God uses distress now. David says "in my distress."
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"I called upon the Lord. And I cried unto my God. He heard my voice out of his temple and my cry came before him even into his ears."
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Now the word for distress refers to trouble, anxiety, affliction, sorrow, and is also used for the persecution of the enemy. David, according to Psalm 18 and many other times in his life, was on the very precipice of destruction. He was on the edge of death. That's why he said, "the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The snares of death preceded me. The sorrows of death got hold upon me."
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I want you to take note of something. No matter how serious the situation, no matter how dangerous the situation, nothing can stand in the way of the believer and prayer to his Heavenly Father. Nothing can stand in the way. There is no calamity so great, no trouble so oppressive, and no persecution so horrible that it can deter us from prayer. The child of God never has an aversion to prayer.
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Now let me explain that. There may be times that we don't feel like praying. I'm going to tell you folks, I've been down with sinus so bad, I was so low I'd have to reach up to touch bottom. I mean, I couldn't think, I couldn't control my thoughts. That's just from sinus. There may be times when you don't feel like praying. There may even be times that you may not want to pray.
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Yet you never have an aversion to prayer. You know you need to pray and you know it's a duty and you know it's a privilege as well as a necessity. David, hemmed in and hunted by the hounds of death, prayed. By the way, when we don't feel like praying and when we don't want to pray, that's when we need to pray. I want you to look at what David said. I love this. David said in verse six, "in my distress, I called upon the Lord." Look at the next phrase "and cried unto my God."
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Notice, if you would please, there is a progression in intensity and vehemence. The more he recognized and realized his danger, the more he cried. By the way, the Hebrew word is shava and it is translated as cried, cried out, to cry aloud and to shout. David said, I called and then I cried. I shouted unto my God.
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Now let me show you. I want you to hold Psalm 18. I'm coming right back there, but turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 14. Let me just give you an illustration of what I'm talking about, crying and shouting. I don't know about you, for there's been times in my life that I've cried, and I've shouted, and I've screamed. And not out of anger, but just out of absolute helplessness. Look, if you would please, in Matthew 14. You know the story.
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But let's begin reading in verse 24. Matthew 14, verse 24. "But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit. And they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid."
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"And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried, Lord, save me! And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"
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Now let me ask you the truth. I want to ask you this question. Do you think that when Peter was walking in the water, and he saw the waves boisterous, and the wind howling, do you think that Peter very calmly muttered an inaudible prayer? You think that's what Peter did? I want to tell you what I believe he did. I believe he cried as loud as he could, "Lord, save me!" You've got to remember, there's the wind, there's the waves. He wanted to make sure the Lord heard him. You know what made Peter cry? I'm going to tell you. Because he realized if the Lord did not save him, he was a goner.
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It's all over for me. You know what made David cry? He realized he was in a desperate situation. If God didn't help him, he was a goner. He said, I called and I cried.
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Now look at this in Psalm 18. Go back to verse 6. Oh, listen to this. I love this. Psalm 18, verse 6. David said, "in my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God." Are you listening? "He heard my voice out of his temple." You know, a thought came to me when I read that. I'd really like to preach a whole message on this sometime. Here's my question. David said, look at it again in verse six, "he heard my voice out of his temple." Here's my question. Does God recognize your voice? David said he heard my voice. Have you called, cried, and prayed often enough that God knows your voice? You know how David prayed? Hold Psalm 18, look in your Bibles of Psalm 55, and I know that you can be in prayer innumerable times a day I pray. I try to pray without ceasing. I try to pray all day long. It doesn't mean I'm down on my knees all day long, but when I'm driving I pray. When I'm sitting, I pray.
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When I'm studying, I pray. Just wherever I am. But look what David said in Psalm 55 and verse 17. David said, "Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud. He shall hear my voice." David said at least three times a day, I'm going to cry aloud and God's going to hear my voice. He's going to recognize my voice. Let me tell you something, folks.
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I know that God is omniscient. I know that God hears and God knows everything. I know that. But I want to tell you, I still want to be like David. I want him to recognize my voice. And I want him to say, well, that's my son down there. I recognize I want to stop and listen to him. Because he needs me. Look what David said in Psalm 18 verse 6. "In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God. He heard my voice out of his temple and my cry came before him even unto his ears." Wow. By the way, I will tell you how to pray effectively when you're in trouble. If you want to make sure that God hears you when you're in trouble, here is how to pray effectively when you're in trouble. Be used to praying before you get into trouble.
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I'll give you scripture for that. You remember old Daniel, Daniel chapter 6? When those presidents had that writing signed that whoever offered any prayer to any god but the king for 30 days would be thrown in the den of lions? Listen to this, Daniel 6 and verse 10. "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house, his windows being opened in his chamber toward Jerusalem, and he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before God as he did aforetime."
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He was used to praying before he ever got in trouble. And therefore, he could pray effectively when he got into trouble.
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Now, David said, "My cry came before him, even unto his ears," God heard him. You don't have to turn to these passages. I would encourage you to write them down. But let me quote it for you. I love Jeremiah 33 in verse 3. God said, "Call on Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not." Call unto Me. Praise God. Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and I will show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. Write down Isaiah 65 in verse 24. Isaiah 65 verse 24, "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." Before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. I do want you to turn to 1 John 5. Look at this last passage, 1 John 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 14. 1 John 5, verse 14. Look what Scripture says. 1 John 5, verse 14.
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"And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us." Watch. "And if we know that He hears us, we know. We know that He hears us. Whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions we desire of Him." If you and I genuinely believe that God answers prayer as David believed, we need to learn to cry to Him daily, yea, even hourly if need be. We need to learn to pray as we ought. Are you listening? Distress will not distress us if we know how to pray. Three quick applications.
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The first one is this. God often uses stressful incidents to impress upon us our need of Him and of His grace. When we forget God, God has ways of reminding us that we need Him. To be honest, I'd rather remember Him on my own than have to be reminded that I need Him.
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Secondly, God is a God who hears and answers prayer. It should be an encouragement to us to pray when we realize we have such a God who is ready to supply our needs, hear our prayers, and take care of our needs. Here's the third one. David said, "and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid." And that's why he prayed. We should know that we're surrounded by floods of ungodly men in this country. We're in danger. Neither life nor property are safe when such men of Belial are in control of this country. We need to realize the danger that we are in and in that sense become distressed so that we will cry unto God for deliverance. David said, "the sorrows of death compassed me. Oh, yes. And the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of death, the sorrows of hell got a hold upon me."
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"And in my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God. And he heard my voice out of the temple." David's prayer came into him and entered into his ears. And God delivered David. And God will deliver us if we cry for deliverance. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we do bow to Thee this day. We're so thankful that You've delivered Your people in times past. And it gives us such encouragement to cry to Thee in our present distress and believe Thee even in future distresses, Lord. Give us, Lord, faith and trust in Thee. Make bare Thy mighty arm, O God. Show Thyself strong on behalf of Thy people. May, Father, we not forget Thee, but obey Thee and bring our lives into greater conformity to Your Word. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray, Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:20:08Z

I Will Call Upon the Lord

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver preaches on Psalm 18:1-6, focusing on David's distress and his response of calling upon the Lord. He warns that forgetting God through disobedience is a common sin, and that God often uses stressful circumstances to remind us of our need for Him. David's vivid description of being surrounded by death and ungodly men illustrates the depth of his trouble, yet in his distress he cried out to God, who heard him. The sermon emphasizes that God hears and answers prayer, and that believers should cultivate a consistent prayer life so that they are prepared to call upon Him in times of crisis.

Introduction and Review

Weaver introduces the sermon as part three on Psalm 18, reviewing David's determination to love the Lord and the names of God that reveal His character and protection.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 18:1-6

"I Will Love Thee, O Lord,"

or "I Will Love the Lord," part one and part two. Today, I'm going to come to part three. And the title of this message is

Scripture Reading — Psalm 18:1-6

"I Will Call Upon the Lord."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 18:1-6

"I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer."

The Sin of Forgetting God

Forgetting God is defined not merely as a lapse of thought but as disobedience to His commandments, as seen in Deuteronomy 8:11.

God's Methods of Reminding Us

God uses judgment or conviction to remind His people of their need for Him, illustrated by Miriam's leprosy, Lot's wife, and the church in Revelation.

David's Distress Described

David's distress is depicted as being compassed by the sorrows of death and the floods of ungodly men, using imagery of waves, cords, and snares to convey the certainty of death.

The Sorrows of Hell and Snares of Death

David further clarifies his distress with the sorrows of hell (Sheol) and the snares of death that preceded him, emphasizing his hopelessness apart from God.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 21:16

Our King James Bible authorized version renders it hell and talks about it as being the place of disembodied spirits. The inhabitants of Sheol, according to Proverbs 21 in verse 16, is the congregation of the dead. And Sheol is also noted as the abode of the wicked in Numbers 16:33, Job 24:19, Psalm 9:17. When you get to the New Testament, it is the Greek word Hades that has the same scope and signification as Sheol in the Old Testament. But in the New Testament, Hades is a prison with gates and bars and locks, according to 1 Peter 3:19, Matthew 16:18, and it is downward, according to Matthew 11:23. So David is saying in verse 5, "the sorrows of hell compass me about." So the sorrows of hell could also be translated literally as the cords of the grave indicating the power under which David was being restrained for a period of time.

Scripture Reading — John 11:44

"loose him and let him go."

The Purpose of Distress

God uses distress to awaken His people from forgetting Him, whether the cause is sin, ignorance, or divine sovereignty, as seen in the man born blind in John 9.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 8:5

"Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee."

But there's another area that I want to just point out. There can be a source and cause of our distress. And I'll have to explain it. That's the sovereignty of God.

David's Cry and God's Response

In his distress, David called and cried aloud to the Lord, and God heard his voice out of His temple, demonstrating that nothing can hinder the believer's prayer.

The Importance of Consistent Prayer

Weaver urges believers to pray regularly so that God recognizes their voice, citing Daniel's habit of praying three times a day as preparation for crisis.

It's all over for me. You know what made David cry? He realized he was in a desperate situation. If God didn't help him, he was a goner. He said, I called and I cried.

Applications and Conclusion

Three applications: God uses stress to remind us of our need for Him; God hears and answers prayer; and we should cry out to God in the face of ungodly men and danger.

I Will Call Upon the Lord

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	3408119300
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications
Genre	Sermon
Date	2008-01-06
Dictation Name
Book	Book 141: Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications — Chapter 5
Source Timed Segments	82

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Review: Weaver introduces the sermon as part three on Psalm 18, reviewing David's determination to love the Lord and the names of God that reveal His character and protection.
The Sin of Forgetting God: Forgetting God is defined not merely as a lapse of thought but as disobedience to His commandments, as seen in Deuteronomy 8:11.
God's Methods of Reminding Us: God uses judgment or conviction to remind His people of their need for Him, illustrated by Miriam's leprosy, Lot's wife, and the church in Revelation.
David's Distress Described: David's distress is depicted as being compassed by the sorrows of death and the floods of ungodly men, using imagery of waves, cords, and snares to convey the certainty of death.
The Sorrows of Hell and Snares of Death: David further clarifies his distress with the sorrows of hell (Sheol) and the snares of death that preceded him, emphasizing his hopelessness apart from God.
The Purpose of Distress: God uses distress to awaken His people from forgetting Him, whether the cause is sin, ignorance, or divine sovereignty, as seen in the man born blind in John 9.
David's Cry and God's Response: In his distress, David called and cried aloud to the Lord, and God heard his voice out of His temple, demonstrating that nothing can hinder the believer's prayer.
The Importance of Consistent Prayer: Weaver urges believers to pray regularly so that God recognizes their voice, citing Daniel's habit of praying three times a day as preparation for crisis.
Applications and Conclusion: Three applications: God uses stress to remind us of our need for Him; God hears and answers prayer; and we should cry out to God in the face of ungodly men and danger.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Forgetting God is disobedience, not just neglect

True forgetting of God is manifested in failing to keep His commandments, not merely in not thinking about Him.

Deuteronomy 8:11 warns, 'Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments.'

Distress is a divine tool for remembrance

God uses distress to bring His people back to reliance on Him, whether through judgment or conviction.

Weaver points to Psalm 50:22: 'Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces.'

David's distress was absolute and inescapable

David's language of cords, waves, and snares shows he was completely trapped and facing certain death.

Spurgeon's comment: 'From all sides the hell hounds barked furiously. A cordon of devils hemmed in the hunted man of God.'

Prayer is the believer's unfailing recourse

No situation is so dire that it can block the believer's access to God through prayer.

Weaver states, 'There is no calamity so great, no trouble so oppressive, and no persecution so horrible that it can deter us from prayer.'

Intensity of prayer matches recognition of need

David progressed from calling to crying aloud as his danger became more apparent, showing that desperation fuels fervent prayer.

Weaver notes the Hebrew word shava means to cry aloud or shout, and David 'called and then I cried. I shouted unto my God.'

God recognizes the voice of those who pray regularly

Consistent prayer leads to a relationship where God knows and responds to the believer's voice.

David said, 'Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice' (Psalm 55:17).

Preparation in prayer enables effective crisis prayer

Those who pray habitually before trouble can pray effectively when trouble comes, as Daniel did.

Daniel 6:10 shows Daniel prayed three times a day 'as he did aforetime,' even after the decree was signed.

God's promises assure answered prayer

Scripture promises that God hears and answers prayer according to His will, giving believers confidence.

1 John 5:14-15: 'if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us... we know that we have the petitions.'

Scripture References

Psalm 18:1-6: The primary text of the sermon, describing David's love for God, his distress, and his cry for deliverance.
Deuteronomy 8:11: Used to define forgetting God as disobedience to His commandments.
Psalm 77:10: Asaph acknowledges his infirmity of forgetting and resolves to remember God's works.
Deuteronomy 24:9: God's judgment on Miriam as a reminder to remember His acts.
Luke 17:32: Jesus' command to remember Lot's wife as a warning against looking back.
Revelation 2:5: The church in Ephesus is told to remember, repent, or face removal of their candlestick.
Psalm 42:1-4: David's thirst for God and remembrance of past worship during his distress.
2 Samuel 22:5: Parallel passage where 'waves of death' is used, similar to Psalm 18:4.
Hosea 13:13: Reference to the breaking forth of children, illustrating the word for 'waves' or 'breakers.'
Psalm 116:3: David uses similar language of sorrows of death and pains of hell.
2 Samuel 21:15-17: An instance where David waxed faint in battle and was nearly killed by Ishbi-benob.
Psalm 12:1-4: David's cry for help because the godly cease and the wicked prevail.
Proverbs 21:16: Sheol is the congregation of the dead.
Numbers 16:33, Job 24:19, Psalm 9:17: Sheol as the abode of the wicked.
1 Peter 3:19, Matthew 16:18, Matthew 11:23: New Testament references to Hades as a prison with gates, bars, and downward direction.
John 11:44: Lazarus came forth bound hand and foot with grave clothes, illustrating burial customs.
Jeremiah 2:31-32: God's complaint that His people have forgotten Him days without number.
Deuteronomy 8:5: God chastens His people as a father chastens his son.
Psalm 50:22: Warning to those who forget God: He will tear them in pieces.
Job 34:23-27: God overturns the wicked because they turned back from Him and would not consider His ways.

Historical References

Matthew Henry (1634): Quoted on the various aspects of death: 'It is heaven's peculiar to the land of the living. All this life is at most but the shadow of death...'
John Gill (1700s Baptist commentator): Suggested that the allusion in Psalm 18:5 could be to the Hebrew burial custom of wrapping the dead hand and foot.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon: Provided a vivid commentary on Psalm 18:5, describing the hell hounds and the hopelessness of David's case.

Important Quotes

It is heaven's peculiar to the land of the living. All this life is at most but the shadow of death, the gate of death, the sorrows of death, the snares of death, the terrors of death, the chambers of death, the sentence of death, the savor of death, the menstruation of death, and the way of death.

Matthew Henry's comprehensive description of life's constant proximity to death.

The sorrows of hell compassed me about. From all sides the hell hounds barked furiously. A cordon of devils hemmed in the hunted man of God. Every way of escape closed up.

Spurgeon's vivid depiction of David's total entrapment and desperation.

Satan knows how to blockade our coasts with the iron warships of sorrow. But blessed be God, the port of prayer is still open, and grace can run the blockade bearing messages from earth to heaven and blessings in return from heaven to earth.

Spurgeon's encouragement that prayer remains accessible even in the worst trials.

In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

The central verse of the sermon, showing David's prayer and God's attentive response.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does it mean to 'forget God' according to Deuteronomy 8:11, and how does this differ from simply not thinking about God?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes that forgetting God is equated with disobedience to His commandments.

[Question]

How does God use distress or judgment to remind His people of their need for Him? Can you think of biblical or personal examples?

[Context]

Weaver cites Miriam, Lot's wife, and the church in Revelation as examples of God's reminders.

[Question]

In what ways does David's description of his distress (waves, cords, snares) help us understand the depth of his desperation?

[Context]

Weaver explains the imagery of being bound, overwhelmed, and trapped as pictures of certain death.

[Question]

Why is it significant that David progressed from 'calling' to 'crying' to the Lord? What does this teach us about the intensity of prayer?

[Context]

Weaver notes the Hebrew word shava indicates crying aloud or shouting, showing increased fervency.

[Question]

How does the example of Daniel praying three times a day 'as he did aforetime' challenge our own prayer habits?

[Context]

Weaver uses Daniel as a model of consistent prayer that prepares for crisis.

[Question]

What does it mean that God 'heard my voice out of his temple'? How can we cultivate a prayer life that God recognizes?

[Context]

Weaver asks whether God recognizes our voice, based on David's statement and Psalm 55:17.

[Question]

How should the reality of being surrounded by 'floods of ungodly men' in our culture affect our prayer life?

[Context]

Weaver applies David's fear of ungodly men to the current danger in the country.

[Question]

What are some practical ways to 'be used to praying before you get into trouble'?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes that effective prayer in crisis comes from habitual prayer beforehand.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T13:55:12Z