THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: Living By Faith In God

LXI. Relief For Those Overwhelmed By Oppression

(Psalm 61:1-8)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

It is very easy for us to feel overwhelmed by the oppression that exists in today’s world:

(1) We face it with the stifling pressures of wokeism that occurs even among minority groups: Black American Tabia Lee’s March 31 Compact Magazine piece, “A Black DEI Director Canceled by DEI” (“Quotable,” Republican-American, April 4, 2023, p. 6A) noted, “‘(My) simply attempting to set an agenda for meetings caused my colleagues to accuse me of ‘whitespeaking,’ ‘whitesplaining,’ and reinforcing ‘white supremacy’ – accusations I had never faced before,’” and “‘I repeatedly encountered a presentation slide titled ‘Characteristics of White-Supremacy Culture’ that denounced qualities like ‘sense of urgency’ and ‘worship of the written word.’’”

(2) We face it with the left’s drive to award “favoritism by race” to end “racial disproportions.” (Chris Powell, “Racial politics threatens road safety, Ibid., April 11, 2023, p. 8A) Mr. Powell noted that the actual cause of racial disproportions “is largely . . . poverty, which has been racially disproportionate since the country’s founding.” (Ibid.)

(3) We face it with Connecticut’s progressive “state Supreme Court” on its “decision . . . that the Constitution forbids capital punishment even as the Constitution always had explicitly provided for it. The court held that public opinion on the issue had changed so much in recent years that the provision for capital punishment should be void” though “the most recent legislation enacted by the state legislature and the governor had confirmed capital punishment.” (Chris Powell, “Let all run for attorney general,” Ibid., March 30, 2023, p. 12A)

(4) We face it from the taxing folly of climate alarmism: The U. N.’s “Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change” just gave a “‘call to . . . fast-track climate efforts by every country . . . on all fronts . . .’” (“Climate alarmism heats up,” Ibid., April 6, 2023, p. 6A) It comes amid “whale and dolphin deaths” likely from “sonar equipment being used” to create “offshore wind farms,” the “need for vast, destructive mining operations to convert . . . to electric power,” reports “of child slave labor” being “rampant . . . in the Congo, where cobalt” for “the ‘green’ revolution, is mined,” and the waste industry’s lack of readiness “‘for the deluge of waste’” to come from used solar panels, Ibid.

(5) We face it from the vast irresponsibility of many officials: Though “(Bridgeport’s) former Harding High School . . . was closed five years ago, it remains packed with furnishings and equipment as if it is still operating.” (Chris Powell, “For once, New Haven shows what Connecticut should do,” Ibid., April 8, 2023, p. 6A) News of this “shocked city officials” who “thought the school board had relocated the furnishings and equipment for further use . . . What’s more shocking is that state officials still seem to consider Bridgeport capable of self-government.” (Ibid.)

(6) We face it with the left’s absurd push to redefine truth: Vincent R. Vurchio’s op-ed, “Sacrificing truth in the name of revenge” (Ibid., April 5, 2023, p. 8A), wrote: “Whatever your definition of reality is, the very concept is under attack and” is “becoming whatever the politically correct minions say it is . . . (C)hildren in my family . . . are experiencing peer pressure in public school to declare themselves to be something they are not or face ostracism, at an age where they are too young to appreciate the difference to begin with . . . (D)oesn’t truth mean anything today?”

(7) We face it with the push for communism in the West: Dennis Prager, whose field of study in grad school at the Russian Institute of Columbia’s School of International Affairs was communism, in his column, “It’s already here” (Ibid., April 12, 2023, p. 8A) wrote, “Communism – or if you will, left-wing fascism and totalitarianism” is coming to the West, and “more than two hundred years of unprecedented and unrivaled liberty and commitment to Judeo-Christian values and reason, and all the unparalleled achievements of Western civilization have come to mean nothing to about half of the American people and to virtually every one of its major institutions.” He added that the influence of communism in academia has reached the level where “lunacy has replaced reason,” for in “Canada’s most populous province, the provincial agency in charge of education” and the “Oregon Education Department” have “announced that the notion that there is only one correct answer in mathematics is an expression of white supremacy.”

Need: So we ask, “How should we function if we feel like we are overwhelmed by oppression today?!”

I. In Psalm 61:1-2, David called unto the Lord for help when he was overwhelmed by oppressive enemies.

II. David found comfort in recalling how God had been his Refuge and Strong Tower against past foes, and he longed to dwell in God’s tabernacle forever and figuratively take refuge under His wings, Psa. 61:3-4.

III. Encouraged by recalling God’s past deliverances, David then prayed for protection from his current enemies based on God’s promises that involved such protection for him, v. 5-7 (B. K. C., O. T., p. 839):

A. God heard David’s request and had given him the heritage of those who revered His name, meaning that believers “who feared the Lord remained loyal to David’s kingship and did not rebel” against it. (v. 5; Ibid.)

B. This fact fulfilled God’s Davidic Covenant promise in 2 Samuel 7:12-16 that gave David a lasting reign, Ibid.

C. David then asked that “God would extend the king’s (his own) life and that God would continue to protect him by His love (hesed, “loyal love”) and faithfulness, or His faithful love,” Ibid.

IV. David then promised daily to praise the Lord’s name and to fulfill his vows when He delivered him, v. 8.

Lesson: When David felt overwhelmed by oppressors, encouraged by recalling God’s past help, David asked God to protect him, and he relied on God’s promises to provide him safety and a lasting reign as Israel’s king.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) To handle overwhelming oppression, may we call on God for deliverance, recalling His past rescues of us, and rely on His Word’s promises and directives for His help.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and provide additional guidance . . .)

We apply the sermon lesson above to handle the issues of concern mentioned in our introduction (as follows):

(1) When facing overwhelming oppression, may we call on God in prayer to request His deliverance.

(2) May we then heed God’s edifying promises and directives in Scripture for blessing (as follows):

(a) On the woke pressure (+) to counter a “sense of urgency” as being a “white supremacy” trait, Proverbs 24:30-34 teaches how a lack of urgency in addressing life’s needs leads to destruction. On the woke pressure (+) to counter the “written word,” Jesus repeatedly told Satan, “It is written . . .” in citing Scripture in Matthew 4:3-11 to defeat Satan’s temptations! Failure to heed to written Scripture or other credible written guidelines leads to trouble.

(b) On racial disproportions caused by poverty, solving one’s poverty briefly stated involves (+) his setting aside a $1,000 emergency fund (+) followed by paying off his debts as debts hurt personal welfare (Proverbs 22:7). He does this by paying off his littlest debt first, then taking the money used to pay that off to help pay off his next littlest debt, and to keep repeating this process with his other debts until all of his debts are paid. (+) Then, he must spend less than he earns [by possibly earning more] and (+) investing the difference in business ventures with bold, diversified, long-term, ongoing investing actions (Ecclesiastes 11:1-6) (+) all with faithful diligence (Proverbs 10:4).

(c) On the Connecticut supreme court’s departure from the state constitution’s explicit provision for the death penalty, Deuteronomy 13:1-5 claims we must hold to the written truth of Scripture even if a person works a miracle to try to persuade us to follow his departure from Scripture, and Scripture upholds the death penalty at Romans 13:1-4.

(d) On the push of global warming alarmism, we often cite God’s Genesis 8:22 promise that counters global warming alarmism, but Jesus also said that there would be a bad winter in the future Tribulation of Daniel 9:27 [after the rapture] in Matthew 24:15 with 24:20 and Mark 13:14 with 13:18. Catastrophic global warming is a false view!

(e) On the vast irresponsibility of officials who for five years have not relocated valuable furnishings and equipment from a closed high school, Proverbs 22:13 NIV claims a slothful man says, “There is a lion outside!” or “I will be murdered in the streets!” If such a crisis arises, one should act to neutralize the threat, not just talk about it!

(f) On the progressives’ push to redefine truth, in John 14:16-17, 26, Jesus promised to give His disciples another parakletos in the Greek text, an Adviser, Exhorter, Comforter, Strengthener, Intercessor and Encourager. (U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p .388, 389; Abbott-Smith, A Man. Grk. Lex. of the N. T., 1968, p. 340-341; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to John 14:16) This parakletos, the Holy Spirit, would bring to His disciples’ remembrance all that Jesus had taught them, John 14:26. Since the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-11) and since then He indwells every believer starting at his salvation (Romans 8:9b), we merely need to rely on the Spirit to read and interpret Scripture (2 Timothy 3:15-17) to stay tuned to God’s unchanging truth over progressives’ deceptions!

(g) On the claim that communism as left-wing fascism and totalitarianism is embedded in about half of Americans and nearly all of its major institutions, and that it is causing lunacy to replace reason in academia, Paul as a prisoner of Rome in its autocratic era of “political chaos and social corruption” and “effeminate vices of . . . decadent Romans” of Rome’s Principate, 27 B. C. to 284 A. D. (E. M. Burns, West. Civ., sixth ed., 1963, p. 223-238), who was on trial for his life for his faith in Philippians 4:12-13 (Ibid., “Intro. to the Letter of Paul to the Philippians: Place of Writing,” p. 1682) wrote that he had learned to be content in every situation, for he could do all things through Christ Who strengthened him. By relying on the Holy Spirit like Paul did, we too can handle every situation we face today!

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. May we then handle overwhelming oppression by calling on God for deliverance, recalling His past help of us, and relying on His Word’s directives for confidence of His help today.