Lesson 106 | Ps. 56, 120, 140-142 | Heartbeat of God | 2025-2026 Bible Study & Commentary

Day 106 of the Heartbeat of God, I'm your Bible study friend Kanhoy. Welcome to the Heartdive Podcast. Continuing in the book of Psalms today, picking right back up about the same timeframe that we were in last time, whenever we were reading the Psalms. This is when David is on the run from Saul and he is just pouring out his lament to the Lord. And we will continue to see his heart and just that raw emotion that he feels. And it's just, to me, it's really comforting to know that we can do that with our God. You know, we can just come before him with everything that we are feeling. There is nothing that is out of sight for him, too much for him to handle. So I'm grateful for that. If you are new here to this Bible study, we welcome you here. We encourage you to take a look at our website, heartdive.org, slash start. So you can see the different phases that we have done. We've gone through the Bible twice already. And we always recommend going back to phase one before you come to the heartbeat of God, but you are welcome to do whatever you want. And if you are in fact new here, please let us know in the comments where you're watching from. But if you are part of our Heartdive family, as always, we'd like to ask you to hit your roll call button. That's that thumbs up button, letting us know that you are here in support what we're doing and just giving a helping hand, you know, being a part of our family. And speaking of helpers, we want to say a big thank you to our heartkeepers who continue to contribute to this ministry to help keep our Bible study resources free for those who may not be able to purchase any. We're grateful for the internet and for technology that allows us to be able to push these resources out across the world. And it wouldn't be done without your all's help. So thank you for that. If you want info on how you can contribute to this, you can go to our website, heartdive.org slash give. But other than that, please make sure you download our day 106, our heartbeat of God PDF that we have available for you. And later on, Holly will make available the heart work, which is where you are able to apply this very word. You're going to be the hands and feet of Jesus. And then one last announcement, we launched our new lover of the word and Heartdive merchandise line. I know a lot of people have been waiting for it. This is the philologous shirt. For those of you who have been with us, you know that I love the name philologous that is that came from the New Testament when Paul was saying, please say hello to philologous. I believe that was in the book of Romans. So we have really kind of just grabbed a hold of that because that is how I feel. We are lovers of the word. That's what his name means. So we've got our little dictionary meaning here in the mauve shirt. We've got a black shirt available, got some new Heartdive logo shirts and other really fun prints. So take a look at that again, our website, heartdiveshop.com, or you can just go to heartdive.org and click on the shop tab. Okay, let's go ahead and pray and jump on in. I'm excited for today's word and I hope you guys are too. So Heavenly Father, we honor you today with our whole heart and soul. We worship you and we are so grateful that we have this chance to read your word. Thank you Lord for letting us open it up today. Thank you for breathing upon it. Thank you for what you are going to say. It is the same word, God, that you spoke many, many years ago that rings true in our hearts today. And so we just ask Holy Spirit that you will be here with us, be present with us. God, and I pray Lord that wherever our hearts are in this moment, whether we are downcast, whether we are rejoicing in celebration, or whether we're just kind of feeling dry in this season, whatever it is, God, we know that you will meet us where we're at. Thank you for that. And we just humble our hearts before you now, Lord. We lay everything at your feet at the temple. We know that you will deal with us as you wish. And so we welcome that, Lord. We want you to do a work in our hearts. We want you to transform us from the inside out. We want to be image bearers for your glory in this lifetime, Lord, in the land of the living. Thank you that the abundance that you give is not just for heaven, Lord. It is for today. And so I pray that you will help us to have eyes to be able to see what you are doing and how you're providing for our needs every single step of the way every day, God, and help us to have hearts of gratitude and thanksgiving. I pray that every prayer that we cry out, Lord, will be one that is pleasing in your sight. Thank you for reminding us today that you hear us and that you love us and that you are attentive and you are responsive. And so as we read, Lord, will you do a work in us in Jesus' name. Amen. So Psalm 56 picks up right where we left off in 1 Samuel. That was chapter 21, whenever he was acting crazy. Also the same time period of Psalm 34. And this once again is a Psalm of lament. And it is called, In God I Trust. This was intended to be sung. It was a mixtam, which is basically a musical or liturgical term. So we start off here in verse one. Be gracious to me, oh God, for man tramples on me all day long and attack her oppresses me. Of course he's speaking about Saul here. And this is not just a physical attack. I mean, he's feeling spiritually attacked. He's feeling physically and emotionally attacked. He says, my enemies trample on me all day long for many attack me proudly. So it's not just Psalm. It's many people he is feeling pursued by. So he's appealing to God as his divine helper, because he knows that God is gracious. He knows that God is indeed a helper and merciful. And he wants his people to depend on him like that. When David wrote the Psalms, it wasn't just to show us how he was feeling in the moment. It was to model to us how God wants a man after his heart to be. And that's what it shows us, that God is there. He is approachable. He is willing to listen to us. He doesn't get sick of us crying out to him. And he is continually present with us, especially in those times of fear. He's with us all day long. It says, I mean, that is his continual presence with us. Verse three says, when I am afraid, I put my trust in you. So now he's making this declaration here. You know, he was saying, this is what's happening, God, I'm scared. But when I'm afraid, I will put my trust in you. So he acknowledged that fear, which is wonderful once again, because sometimes we think that when we are people of faith, that we're not supposed to fear, but God's reminding us that, you know what, fear is a very real thing. It's a human emotion. So yeah, acknowledge that fear, but then let's flip the script. That's what David does. He says, yeah, I might be afraid, but I'm going to trust you anyway. I'm going to redirect that fear into faith. And he says, in God, this is Elohim, whose word I praise in God, I trust, I shall not be afraid again, declaration, what can flesh do to me? So he's putting his complete trust in God, why? Because God is trustworthy, obviously. But that word Elohim, that means that I'm putting my trust in the all powerful God who is way stronger than anything that's going on around me or any of these guys who are trying to pursue me. He is supreme. He is sovereign over this situation. So I'm going to put my trust in that and in him. But really, he's anchoring himself in the word. He says, I praise your word. Why? Well, as we know, when we study the word, we are getting to know the heart of God, the nature of God, the character of God. And of course, Jesus is the word made flesh. So that points to him as well. The more you know God's word and the more you know his heart, the greater your faith is going to be, the greater your trust is going to be if you surrender yourself to him. So God's truthful and unchanging word can be trusted in those times of fear. And he wants his people to anchor themselves in his word, knowing that it is going to shift our focus. You know, when we're looking at something, that's that flip the script thing, it's like, okay, I'm going to identify what's happening. There may be a lie attached to it. There may be an emotion attached to it, whatever it is. But then we're going to go back to the anchor and say, okay, but what truth am I going to stand on today? What does God say about this situation? And whenever you get to that point, God's word essentially removes the fear when he is able to shift your perspective, that human fear is now going to be replaced by the reverent fear that you have for God. So that's what David is saying. He's like, okay, if I'm going to trust in God, these guys can't do anything to me, but it's a choice that he has to make. You know, that fearlessness doesn't just come. He has to choose it by trusting in God, by putting down his anger, by putting down his roots, putting down his stakes and saying, I'm not going to let this storm that's going on to shake me. The ground might shake, but I will not be shaken. And I also love how he preaches to himself, you know, I was like, I need to make that a habit more. I need to preach to myself. I need to make those declarations each day because the tongue is powerful. You know, it can give life, but it can also bring death. So the words that we speak can really change our situation or at least our mindset and our spirit and the posture that we're sitting in. You know, we could be sitting around complaining all day. I don't think there's going to work out. You know, glass half empty, right? Or we can have a glass half full and say the words that David said and see how that works for you. You know, see how that might change your environment a little bit. I mean, if you just think about when someone walks into the house, the first thing that they say really can set the tone for how the rest of the night is going to be, right? So remembering that really helps us to think about the words that we speak. Verse five, all day long, they injure my cause. All their thoughts are against me for evil. They stir up strife. They lurk. They watch my steps because that's what the devil does as they have waited for my life because he prowls around waiting to destroy, right? For their crime, will they escape? In wrath, cast down the peoples. Oh God. So he's obviously appealing to the just nature of God that he is not going to ignore the wrongdoing, that he is going to deal with the evil doers. And God's reminding us here today that he sees them, you know, even though they're lurking in the dark or in the dark corners or behind things, God sees them. So we don't need to worry or at least that's what David's trying to say. Like, I'm not going to worry. They're lurking around. They're trying to destroy me. But God, he's aware of everybody's intentions, everybody's motives. So we don't need to freak out and he will vindicate the righteous ultimately. And that's what David is trusting him to do. Verse eight, you have kept count of my tossings, put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? And man, when I read that, I stopped on it. And I talked about this in our live video the other day with Holly and Winter. That one really hit me. I actually broke down in tears when I read that. And it answered the question that a lot of people have been asking lately. Why do I cry when I worship? Or why do I cry more now that I'm a Christian? Why am I so weepy? And a lot of time people will answer that. Well, that's the Holy Spirit in you. And I believe that. But at the same time, when I read this, I'm like, wow, every time we cry, he is collecting our tears and he's putting them in his bottle, in his safekeeping, in his heart, he's holding them close. And it really made me realize that the reason why we get more weepy is because we're becoming more like him. You know, when he dwells within us, that's his heart, his character. He's giving us a heart transplant, right? Like he's making our hearts more like his. So he's compassionate. He's loving. He's merciful. He's gracious. And all of those things will invoke tears, right? So I just thought that was such a beautiful picture that he showed to us. And it just reminded me that he not only sees every tear, but he holds them in his hands. He catches them, you know, when they fall. And so if you were ever going through a season of loneliness or hardship or struggle and you find yourself in times of weeping, just know that he is there. He is near to you. He's catching your tears. He's holding you. You know, he's putting them in his bottle, every single one of those count. And through that, he's cleansing, he's healing and all of our tossing and turning and anxiety and stuff that we feel he's collected all of that. It's like our, it's a junk journal, I said. You like, he's taken all of our junk and he's making a beautiful memory book so that we can remember the redemption of God and how he picked us up and he restored us and he healed us. You know, it's, I just, I just love it. I love, I love when those moments come where he just gives you this big vision of a verse. So that one really hit my heart. Verse nine, then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call this, I know that God is for me. Again, preaching to self, right? And in this case, he is preaching that God is going to redirect the enemy away from him. He's going to intervene. He is a responsive God and he knows that God is for him. You know, that verse, if God is for us, who can be against us? So again, it's when we know the word, when we know those scriptures, that's what's going to give us that confidence and reassurance and in times when we are scared, you know, or run in or people are throwing arrows at us, you know, God is for me. God is for me. So no one can be against me. I mean, they can try, but God's going to turn them back. He's going to redirect them. So he repeats himself in verse 10. He says, in God, whose word I praise in the Lord, Yahweh, whose word I praise in God, I trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? Verse 12, I must perform my vows to you, O God, I will render thank offerings to you because he is worthy of that. He's worthy of worship and worthy of gratitude for you have delivered my soul. So there he is as deliver from death. Yes, my feet from falling. So we see how God sustains and steadies the steps of his people. He straightens their path that I may walk before God in the light of life. Now that walking before God, this is speaking about the restoration of relationship, right? We cannot walk before God with unrighteousness. That's why we needed Jesus to save us from that unrighteousness, to make us holy, to make us righteous. But without him, we wouldn't be able to stand before God. We wouldn't be able to walk before him. But David sees it already that God is the one who's going to deliver his soul from death. God is the one who is going to pick him up and steady his feet. God is the one who is going to make him righteous. And he does that in the light of life. He gives light of life. What does that mean? Well, it's that full reality of the presence of God that is ultimately going to offer clarity, right? I mean, that's what light does, right? When things are a little bit blurry, because maybe it's a little dim or dark, he's going to give clarity, he's going to guide with that light, like a flashlight or a headlamp, he's going to bring truth, purpose, favor, but also spiritual vitality. That is the light of life that we experience whenever we have Lord with us. And of course, that points to Jesus as the light of the world. I mean, I love when we can see Jesus all throughout the Old Testament. I mean, the whole point of it was to point to Jesus, was to show how he was going to fulfill the very words that were spoken before he ever stepped foot on this earth. Alrighty, heading on over to Psalm 120, several pages of 119, of course. This one is a song of ascent. This is the beginning of the song of ascent. If you remember, those are the songs that the pilgrims would sing whenever they were making their way to Jerusalem for the feasts. So they would gather together as a group, they would walk together, and they would sing these songs. This first one called, Deliver Me, O Lord, starting off in verse one, it says, In my distress, I called to the Lord and he answered me, Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. So now he's not just talking about the physical or emotional attack, he's talking about attack through words and how God is attentive to that as well, that when people oppose or attack, speak deceitfully against, he knows that God will deliver him from those lies because he is a God of truth and he's going to defend the truth. He says, What shall be given to you and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue? A warrior's sharp arrows with glowing coals of the broom tree. So that is speaking of the unavoidable judgment or consequences that will come to the person who is speaking deceit or lies. And that is, of course, speaking of the just nature of God, who's not going to ignore injustice forever or wrongdoing forever. But in the meantime, he's been incredibly merciful waiting for anybody who's doing that to come to repentance. So even though when we read the Psalms, we see a lot of David speaking about the enemy against him. We have to always remember that God still loves the enemy. God still loves the person who's attacking or opposing or speaking lies. He wants them to come to repentance. And that is a reminder of that. Anytime we wonder, like, why God, are you taking so long? Well, it's probably because he's being merciful. He says, Woe to me that I sojourn in Meshach, that I dwell among the tents of Qedar. He's like, I don't belong here too long. Have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace? I am for peace. But when I speak, they are for war. So David's feeling a little bit out of place here makes sense. You know, I mean, that's kind of like how we probably should feel as Christians a little bit out of place, you know, we desire that peace whenever we have the peacemaker and the peacekeeper living within us. That's kind of that part of being, that's kind of that set apart nature or being in the world, but not of it. I mean, there's always like a discomfort and a wrestling that's taking place in our spirits with the flesh or with the world. But God is revealing here that, you know, when the righteous desire peace, there probably is going to be opposition that's coming against it. You might be met with opposition in battle, you know, when you are seeking and pursuing peace. And that is because you are trying to do the will of God and the enemy doesn't want you to do that. But regardless, God calls his people to remain set apart for the sake of righteousness, even if it feels a little bit lonely or you feel isolated in that. And you know, I was saying that the other day, when you're doing the will of God, it can sometimes feel a little lonely, especially if you're newly transformed and God is doing a work in you, you know, and you are starting to see like the things you have to cut out of your life or maybe even the people you have to cut out of your life. It's not natural in the flesh and it might feel a little bit uncomfortable and it may even feel a little lonely at first. But the best thing to know is that he's with us and that he so desires for us to be in community, in fellowship, in relationship with other people who are on that same path. Nobody's perfect, you know, you're still going to have hurtful people around you, even as Christians. But ultimately, I see why God desires us to be, you know, in community. And I will tell you, I'm an introvert. So being around a bunch of people at one time is very uncomfortable for me. But at the same time, being in this community, having this type of fellowship has been incredibly rewarding and has been such a blessing to have in my life. And I recognize that now, you know, and I just thank God that he has blessed me with the ability to do this and to have us, you know, like to be in your living room and to be sitting on the proverbial couch with my Bible study friends, reading his word and talking about it and studying together. And then I've got Holly in winter, you know, that he has brought to be close to me in proximity. It's just a beautiful thing when you're able to see the beauty in that, to see the blessing and having that around you so that when you are set apart, you're not set apart alone, you're set apart with other people. So now we head over to Psalm 140. That is another song of lament, but also an imprecatory Psalm, which basically means he is, in a sense, condemning evil. And he goes straight to a plea here in verse one, he says, deliver me, oh Lord from evil men, preserve me from violent men who plan evil things in their heart and stir up wars continually. They make their tongue sharp as a serpent and under their lips is the venom of asps. So all of this very similar to what we've already read, same heartbeats, but then there's that word, sea law, right, which means to pause, to ponder, which we remember that God sometimes needs us to just stop for a moment, to slow down, to think about what he's saying, you know, to think about what we're saying and how we might be crying out or not crying out for that sake. But he's saying, sit here for a moment and consider what is being said. Verse four, guard me, oh Lord, from the hands of the wicked, preserve me from violent men who have planned to trip up my feet. The arrogant have hidden a trap for me and with cords they have spread a net beside the way they have set snares for me, showing us that, you know, the enemy's traps, they're not always blatantly set out. I mean, that's a trap in general, right? Like you don't just put a trap out in the open, you usually put it in a obscure place where it cannot be seen, where it's disguised. So we think about, okay, so what are some traps that the enemy might set for us today? What are some snares that he might put in our path? And it can look very different for everybody, you know, it's really going to be anything that grabs a hold of your foot, right? Like that's kind of like that, that animal trap that grabs a hold of your foot and keeps you from moving forward in the will of God, something that is going to hold you captive to slow you down. And I've been recognizing some of those traps and snares. I mean, I look at distractions that way. Anything that's distracting me from focusing on what I'm supposed to be doing, what God has called me to do, that's a trap or snare that I might step into. And because I stepped into it, now the enemy has that foothold on my life. But thankfully, God guards the steps of his people. He says, I say to the Lord, you are my God, very personal God, right? That he's putting his trust in. Give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, oh Lord. So he knows that God is going to listen to the desperate cries that he is pouring out. And God invites those pleas for mercy. Oh, Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle. So he's recognizing God as the source of his salvation and the source of his strength. And he's basically saying here, like, I know that you've done it before and you're going to do it again. You are a faithful God. You are a present God in those times of battle. Grant not, oh Lord, the desires of the wicked. Do not further their evil plot or they will be exalted. So David cares, right, about the reputation and the exaltation of God. Like he knows that God sits on high and should be exalted. But he's like, Lord, if you allow this to happen, they're going to be exalted. And of course, he's appealing to God as the righteous judge that he's going to deal with them. As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them. Let burning coals fall upon them the way it was done in Santa Monica. Let them be cast into fire, into myri pits, no more to rise. Let not the slanderer be established in the land and let evil hunt down the violent man speedily. So he's speaking of that self-destructive evil and how evil will eventually rear its ugly head back on itself. It's like it's going to bite itself in the behind and it will ultimately destroy itself. And I was just telling Holly and Winter the other day, we were talking about this, and I'm like, you know, God is going to expose evil. He will expose hidden motives and intentions. And eventually people who might be doing that, they will self-destruct. You know, we don't have to try to constantly be looking at what they're doing, look at what they're doing, look at what they're doing, look at what they're doing, because that's what people do all the time. Like we're always trying to point out the flaws and the sin and the missteps and the faults of other people. And in doing that, it's like we almost miss the things that are going on in our own hearts, right? But God is a God of truth and he will defend his people in that truth. And even though they might be misunderstood, lied about, you know, targeted, God's going to be that shield in front of them. And he will protect not only his reputation, but his people because that is his, we are his reputation. I mean, we're part of that. And so then he says, I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted. How does he know? Well, because he knows God, he's a man after his heart, he knows his word. So it shows us that knowledge gives confidence when you know the word, when you know God's heart gives you that confidence. And he says, and he will execute justice needy. Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name. The upright shall dwell in your presence. So he sees that God is worthy of that gratitude and that dwelling in your presence right there, that is speaking of the present nearness of the Lord, you know, and how he so wants relationship and to be present among his people. He wants to dwell with you. And that's what that dwelling is. It's having that relationship with you, that fellowship and who is going to give thanks. It's going to be the righteous ones, right? Like the ones who are made righteous through Christ, but also the ones who desire to walk up rightly. And if you are in Christ, if you are a new creation, that will be a new desire that is in your heart. Like I want to do the right thing, but sometimes I won't. I mean, Paul said that, right? Like I desire to do the right thing, but I'm not doing it. But the cool thing as David ends his Psalms, like it starts off with like, oh, God, help me deliver me. All the enemies, they're attacking me. He always ends these Psalms of laments with such boldness and declarative statements, you know, like they, it's almost like his whole lamenting becomes like a theological statement in a sense, like surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name. Surely the upright shall dwell in your presence. And so again, it's like he puts that anchor back in the ground and he studies himself in the word and in the knowledge of God. So we continue with another Psalm of lamenting and an imprecatory Psalm is, oh, Lord, Yahweh, I call upon you hasten to me. So he's like, come quickly to me, Lord, give ear to my voice when I call to you. So he knows that God is going to respond. He is attentive. He is listening to the cries of his people. He knows the voice of his children, like any parent who knows the voice of their child that cries out, right? Let my prayer be counted as incense before you showing us that prayer is like a fragrant offering to the Lord. He delights in that. It smells good to him, feels good to him. Prayer is a beautiful thing. It's like a form of worship. And the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. So that's that surrender or worship posture. So what we see here is that both prayer and surrender are forms of worship. They're like the incense or the evening sacrifice. He says, set a guard, oh, Lord, over my mouth. So guard my speech. God, keep me from saying something stupid, but help me to speak wisdom. Keep watch over the door of my lips. And I think the reason why he says that so specifically, probably because he knows that's a weakness of his, you know, like, I don't want to say something that I don't mean, Lord, please help me, please guard me. And so God will do that, you know, in your areas of weakness, when you surrender it to him, he will give you those, that strength. He's done that for me. Definitely. I used to be very quick with my words and he's definitely set guard over my mouth. Still gets me in trouble sometimes, but for the most part, I've got a lot better. Do not let my heart incline to any evil. So if you think about the heart inclining toward evil, well, that shows us that it begins in the heart. Sin will begin in the heart or in the mind, right? So don't even let me lean toward it, God. Like, I don't even want to go there. There might be a tug or a pull in my spirit, but Lord, don't even let me do that. Protect my heart from drifting. And he continues, he's like, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work in equity and let me not eat of their delicacies, showing us that, okay, he recognizes that evil or sin is like a delicacy. It's going to look good. You're going to see that buffet and be like, Oh man, I sure want some of that. But he's like, don't let me do it. And he recognizes that the company that is around you, around you, the company you keep, that's going to be who you end up being like. You are the company you keep. That's that term, right? The people around you are going to influence you for good or for bad. Let a righteous man strike me. It is a kindness. Let him rebuke me. It is oil for my head and let my head not refuse it. So David recognizes that not all criticism is an attack and not all criticism is bad. He knows that righteous and godly rebuke or criticism is intended for good, for correction, for transformation, for refinement. And that takes a lot of humility, right? God values that kind of heart that is teachable and humble and able to receive it. I mean, he says it's like oil for the head that brings gladness. You know, that is that that surrender and humility, all of that's required before there can be an anointing. It is refreshing, you know, and it shouldn't be refused if it is coming from a righteous place and from a godly source. Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds. So he has that discernment. It'd be like, okay, I can recognize godly wisdom that is coming from somewhere while still recognizing that they might not be perfect, you know? So we can't expect that the source that is speaking to you has to be perfect. David knows that that they're not. So he's like, okay, I'm going to keep an eye on what they're doing, but I hear the wisdom that is being spoken. I mean, you can learn a lesson from even an ungodly person, right? Or an unrighteous person in quotations, because we're all unrighteous without the blood of Jesus. But God can absolutely use those types of people to speak into your life or to teach you through something even that they might be saying that isn't necessarily straight from the word of God. But we've got to have that discernment the way that David did. And he says, when their judges are thrown over the cliff, then they shall hear my words for they are pleasant. So he's recognizing that God is the righteous judge. He is the supreme authority. He is sovereign over every leader leadership system. And he's like, you know what, when that crumbles away, God's going to reveal the truth. He will vindicate even if they initially rejected the truth or even rejected me, God will make it right. As when one plows and breaks up the earth. So if you think about what that looks like, it's kind of like the violent upheaval. Like we're, we just bought land and it has lots of rocks and it is going to need to be excavated and violently upheaved, you know, with the, with the, what is it called? Bacchow? Is that what it's called? I don't know, learning some farm tools or farm terms. But that's what it's going to take to be able to turn up the soil, to be able to build a foundation for the home that we're going to build. And yet it's a beautiful thing because he's showing us through this verse, he says, so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of shoal. This is a really hard verse. So I stopped on this one and I really sat with it for a moment because I really, I needed a picture, a vision of what God was trying to say. So it's almost like he's contemplating the end of life, like just the same way that there's that violent upheaval of the soil, um, so that there can be new life. It shows us that same picture of when our bones are scattered throughout the earth. So when we die, that's only the beginning. That's not the end. A lot of the time we think of our end of life as the end of life, but it's actually a new beginning. It's only the beginning of a brand new thing that God is doing. I mean, it's like, it's the two lives that we get, you know, we get this new life when we were reborn on this, on this side of heaven, and then we get a new life in eternity as well. I was just like, mind blown whenever God revealed that and how he is the one who resurrects and he restores what has been broken or what seems to be dead. He can bring it back to life and he can restore it into something beautiful, giving it new life and purpose. I mean, you could really just sit with that one verse and go in a million different directions, but for now we will continue verse eight. He says, but my eyes are toward you, oh God, my Lord, in you I seek refuge, leave me not defenseless. So he's like, I'm refocusing my eyeballs and my focus back on you, Lord. I'm not going to look around at what's going on around me, because if I do, that's just going to bring me back down into my worry and anxiety. Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evil tours. Let the wicked fall into their own nets while I pass by safely. Okay. I also had another vision with this one. And this wasn't all in the same day, mind you. Remember, I take a long time to do heartbeats. So I had one vision one day, one vision another day. This one, I had a picture of my, of our horse Maverick. He's so cute. The other day they had an Easter egg hunt at the barn and they released the kids with all of their little plastic bags to go and find glow in the dark eggs. So this was kind of toward evening or dusk. And because they were running with plastic bags, and if you know horses, for some reason, banners and plastic bags freak them out a lot of the time, if they're not desensitized. Well, my Maverick started running in circles and snorting and he's slipping and sliding and bucking and doing all the things. And I was like, oh, poor baby, you know, he's freaking out over something that is so harmless to him. And he's, he was anxious. And there was another time that that happened when a little pony, same thing, little ponies like rearing and bucking and living his best life, running in circles in an arena and he's freaking out of this little pony that could do nothing to him. Yet one another day he was tied up next to, you know, a 1500 pound horse that could actually hurt him, who was acting a fool next to him, like pulling away from, from the fence and trying to, you know, buck and do all the things. And Maverick was just standing there and he's looking at him like, you're dumb. You know, what, what, what are you doing over there, dude? All of that to be said with that's how David is saying he wants to be like, okay, God, let all that craziness that's going on over there, let them, let them, they're gonna, they're gonna self destruct, you know, when he was looking at the horse trying to pull back, I think he was probably like, you're, you're going to end up in, you know, tied up even tighter by pulling back like that. That's, that's the picture I saw that God wants us to be like, like, don't, don't worry about every noise, every paper bag that rustles in the wind. Stop worrying about every person because even if they are trying to destroy you, which a lot of the time when you think that someone's trying to attack you or destroy you, it's not always the case, you know, it's our own insecurities that speak in that lie or the enemy that's whispering that in our ears. But we got to be like David and trust in justice, the mercy, the grace, sovereignty of God, knowing that he's going to deal with that nonsense, the way he's going to deal with it, either by letting them self destruct or by laying down a hammer and we can just pass on by in safety. Walk on by, because when you really think about it, the nonsense doesn't deserve your energy. It doesn't deserve the real estate that it takes up in your brain and in your spirit. It doesn't deserve the anxiety that you are now feeling like that's a, that's a cost and an expense to your soul and spirit. But peace, that's the opposite. That's a debit into your spirit, right? Like that is a fulfillment. And so if we can put our horse blinders on, fix our eyes on God the way that David did and walk on by in peace and in safety, trusting that God's got this, man, that's going to change everything for you both in this life and in the next. So we finish it off with this individual lament in Psalm 142 when he was in that cave. He says, with my voice, I cry out to the Lord, with my voice, I plead for mercy to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before him. I tell my trouble before him. So he's like using his words, you know, it's not just in his spirit. I mean, he is like lip service. And why? Because he knows God's approachable. He knows he's attentive. He knows he's going to respond. He knows he's listening. He knows he can see here and do all things. And when my spirit faints within me, you know my way. So even though he's feeling a little faint or maybe even confused, he's like, God, you know, you're going to steady me in the path where I walk, they have hidden a trap for me. Look to the right and see there is none who takes notice of me. No refuge remains to me. No one cares for my soul. There's that loneliness that he is feeling in this time, but he's trusting in the faithful presence of God once again, knowing that even though he feels lonely, that God is with him and for him. And he says, there's no refuge around for him. But watch what he says next. He says, I cry to you, Oh Lord, I say, you are my refuge. You are my portion in the land of the living. So it's like, okay, I feel lonely. I feel unseen. I feel like I'm doing this life all by myself, but then focus the eyes back on God, but you are my refuge. You are all I need. You are sufficient. That's what that portion is. You are my portion in the land of the living, like in this lifetime, you're the one who's going to sustain me. You're the one who's going to provide for me. You're the one who's going to protect me. He says, attend to my cry, for I am brought very low. So even in the lowest of lows, God is attentive to the cries of his people. He will rescue them. He says, deliver me. He will deliver us from my persecutors for they are too strong for me. So David, is that his wit's end? I mean, he's hit rock bottom in every way, physically, emotionally, spiritually, but he is fully surrendering to God and fully depending on him. And that's what God wants for us anyway. Like, I don't even think he wants us to get to the lowest of lows before we cry out and surrender and depend and rely on him. And I don't think that's what David did. I mean, I believe he relied on him throughout the time, but yet he still did hit rock bottom. And we probably will at some point too, if we haven't already, you know, but God will be there with us in those valleys, in those moments, delivering us, restoring us, healing us, pulling us out. He says, bring me out of prison. So that's that confinement, that loneliness, that trap, the place where he does not feel free. You know, that's, that's what God wants for us. He wants us to walk in freedom that I may give thanks to your name. So he knows that when he is set free, he will be able to freely praise. Now, I don't think he's saying, I'm only going to thank you if you bring me out of prison, you know, but he's saying, I will thank you even more when you bring me out of prison. You know, I'm going to have a heart of gratitude. The righteous will surround me for you will deal bountifully with me. And so David knows that when he gets out of this funk that he is in from this valley that he's in, from this imprisonment that he's feeling, from this storm that he's standing in, then God is going to restore fellowship. Once again, he's saying the righteous will surround me. So he knows that part of God's abundance and dealing bountifully in this life is once again, that fellowship, the relationship, the community that he is going to surround you with in his family. So once again, we just, I mean, I don't know, this is kind of as raw as it gets, you know, David shared every part of him. I mean, the lowest parts, the highest parts, and he continued to trust in the Lord, but also plead for mercy and for deliverance and for safety. So those things can coexist. I think we talked about that last time. Faith and fear can coexist together. Loneliness and trust coexist together. Imprisonment, but then deliverance and restoration exists together. So I hope that encourages because sometimes we can feel a little defeated in the fact that we might be feeling lonely or attacked or isolated or whatever it is, you know, in the seasons that you might be in, in those weird funky seasons. And I see a lot of people questioning like, why, why am I dealing with this? I thought that when I became a Christian, things were going to get better. That isn't always the case, but the reason why it will be better is because you can trust fully that God is for you. He is with you. He will deliver. He will restore. He will resurrect. He will do all of the things that he says he will do because he is a faithful God. He is trustworthy. He's done it before and he will do it again. So Heavenly Father, thank you that you do see every single thought of every person. You see every tear that is cried. You see every worry that we face every single day. And we are so grateful, Lord, that you are indeed present and near to us when we are struggling or we are feeling overwhelmed by what is going on in the world or even in our everyday lives. Lord, none of it escapes your notice. So will you help us to trust in you the way that David did? Because you are sovereign over every kind of evil. So we will still our hearts in that, Lord. We will rest in your justice. We will rest in your righteousness. We know that you will deal with every wrongdoing. So we don't need to give our energy or our peace to any of it. If we ever feel like someone is trying to slight us or if we feel insecure in any way, Lord, will you help us to refocus our eyes back on you so that we can walk on by in peace and in safety? Thank you for showing us that we don't need to feel condemned for these kinds of feelings that we might be feeling for the fears, the insecurities that might be well enough within us. But we choose to anchor ourselves in your word in the meantime, because it reminds us, Lord, of your faithfulness and your trustworthiness. It is in those moments that you will turn those fears into faith. So help us, Lord, when we begin to spiral in our own thoughts to lean into you instead of trying to hold it all together, because that's tiring. And we know we cannot sustain that weight, but you can. So when our thoughts are loud, God, let your truth be even louder in our hearts and remind us of who we are because of you. We need not fear, for you are for us and therefore none can come against us. So Lord, even if it feels a little lonely on the side of righteousness, help us to remain set apart. War is waging all around us in every way, but we shelter ourselves in your peace. Give us the strength to walk away or remove ourselves from anything that opposes you or draws us away from you. And keep our hearts humbled, God. Keep our spirits teachable and keep our faith strong as we walk out this life with you. We love you so much and pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. You know, we can't let this moment pass without recognizing that the Spirit of God and the Bride are saying, come. This is an open invitation to answer the call to salvation. It doesn't require perfection. It doesn't require making things right before you do. It's just simply acknowledging that you want to be made new. You want to walk away from the old life and live a better one. You want to know where you will end up once you take your last breath here on this earth. And none of us know when that last breath will be. But what we do know is that there will be no second chance whenever it happens. So choose heaven, choose life. You don't want to neglect this divine gift of salvation that he is offering. See, the Bible says that the wages of sin is death and we have all fallen short. But Jesus paid the price not because we deserved it, but because he loves us and he would rather die than to live without us. So we're giving you the opportunity now to anybody who wants to say, I'm ready, or anybody who might feel that they want to recommit their life because perhaps you've gone astray or maybe you just want to make your calling an election sure. So if that's you and you want to know beyond the shadow of a doubt where you will end up once you leave this earth, we're going to pray together and I'll put the words on the screen so that you can save them audibly with your mouth because the Bible says that when you believe and confess with your mouth that Jesus is the savior of the world who died and rose again, you will be saved. So as we pray, do so with all of your heart knowing that this is the day of your salvation. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus. Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God. You are real and you came to the earth to die in our place, paying the price for our sin. So I confess my sins to you today, nailing every one of them, past, present, and future to the cross. I want to live for you. So I turn from my old life by your blood and resurrection. I know that I am made new. I am no longer a slave to sin, but I'm free from the power it has in my life. And I commit to living for you. I surrender my life to you and receive you now as Lord and savior of my life. In Jesus' name, amen.