Oculi

Jesse Jacobsen

Time-stamp: <Sat Feb 26 16:34:04 2005>
printed

2 Samuel 22:1--7

Then David spoke to the LORD the words of this song, on the day when the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. And he said:

``The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
The God of my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation,
My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior,
You save me from violence.

I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

`When the waves of death surrounded me,
The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the LORD,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry entered His ears.''

Trust in Your Savior

If you've been keeping up in your personal study of the Bible, then you may have wondered how the Israelites could be so dumb. God handed them everything they could ever want on a silver platter. He rescued them from Egypt with miracles. He gave them the wealth of the Egyptians. He kept His promise and brought them to the brink of the promised land. He said He would defend them and even fight on their side to give them this land flowing with milk and honey. But they wouldn't have it. All they could see were the risks. It's like they didn't even hear God's promise. So He made them wander in the wilderness until that whole generation was dead. They wanted everything that God promised. They just wanted it their way, not His way.

What about King David, 400 years later? He showed great faith as a boy when he fought the giant Goliath. He was a great king later on. But he had the same weakness as his ancestors in the wilderness: he sinned and wanted things his own way instead of God's way. But when David wrote the words we have before us, he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that his words were truly written for our learning.

What do these words teach us? The first part of this poetry tells us about God. He is described in military terms: my fortress, my high rock, my shield and horn. Then David describes how God saves: by hearing our prayers. But he also pinpoints exactly what God saves us from: death, wickedness, and even hell.

The lesson God is giving us today is very apropos. It's good news for us all, even for those who are not here this morning to learn it. Our theme is this: Trust in your Savior. (I know the bulletin says something else, but I changed my mind as I was studying this text.) Trust in your Savior, because our woes are worse than you think, and because His answer is nearer than it seems.

Because our woes are worse than you think.

The first point we need to understand is that our woes are worse than you think. When David committed adultery, he tried to cover up his sin by bringing Bathsheba's husband home for the weekend. When that didn't work, he realized that he would either have to admit his sin or marry Bathsheba. He couldn't marry her, because she already had a husband. David murdered him and married Bathsheba. That would be the end of the story, except that even the king must answer to God. David may have thought his troubles over and done. But he had trusted his own instincts and taken his own way. His troubles were only beginning.

The same David, when he wrote this text, understood that our trust should not be in our own instincts. Our trust should not even be in our strength or wealth. Consider the poor people in California who have been paying mortgages and building equity only to have their whole house and their land disappear in a mudslide. Consider the poor people whose families and properties were destroyed by the tidal waves in the Indian Ocean. There is no place you can save for a rainy day that is beyond the reach of disaster --- none. Some may have saved or invested well to build their own nest egg. Some may trust in our government: welfare, or Social Security pensions. These things may have seemed reliable, but even the United States of America is not god.

But what about us? We are not in danger of a tsunami in Wisconsin. We don't have serious earthquakes --- though it could happen. It's not easy to put a finger our troubles here in Dane County, unless you consider taxes. We are blessed with a pretty nice place to live. But in the cover of darkness, things are different. That's when we sometimes lie awake gnawing on our problems, and nursing our aches. In our private hours, we try to balance our checkbooks and our schedules. In the privacy of our own hearts, we hide our doubts about the future, doubts about security in the present, and our discontent with our daily lives. Yes, we do have troubles, but we train ourselves to keep them hidden, and to wear our happy face.

Sometimes these hidden woes overwhelm a person. The human body is fragile, and God sometimes brings it home to us in a single day. Our plans and assumptions can be dramatically changed. Any of us might be living a completely different kind of life tomorrow. That's what happened to Nebuchadnezzar. God took away his ability to reason, and he became like an animal. His life as a mighty king was gone just like that. Then later, God gave it all back to him. Just like that. The uncertainties and the demands of life are hard to bear. Sometimes we crack under the strain. But you know what? Our woes are worse than you think.

David gets to the heart of the matter in our text. Now, realize that the problems God had delivered him from were human problems, especially King Saul who had been trying to capture or kill him. But David knew that the real enemy was not flesh and blood. The problem is greater than that. He describes it this way: ``When the waves of death surrounded me, The floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.''

Sin. Death. Hell. These are the real enemy. It's important for each of us to remember this. What can we do against such enemies? Not much. Nothing, really. We're often tempted to try something, like David tried after his sin of adultery, but our solutions only bring more sin and more death. Israel should have learned that lesson in the desert. Their way always meant death. Only God's way can save.

The same is true for present-day Israel, the Church. God's Church is under siege. By all accounts, she ought to be dead. Numbers dwindle. Expenses rise. Christians give up hope. Whole churches have forgotten their mission in the world. In such a time as this, a member of our church wrote:

O Lord, look down from heav'n, behold,
And let Thy pity waken.
How few are we within Thy fold,
Thy saints by men forsaken;
True faith seems quenched on every hand;
Men suffer not Thy Word to stand.
Dark times have us o'ertaken.

Indeed, we find ourselves surrounded by waves of death, terrified by floods of ungodliness both within and without, encircled by the sorrows of hell. The first reason you should trust in your Savior: because our woes are worse than you think.

Because His answer is nearer than it seems.

The second point we need to remember this morning is that his answer is nearer than it seems. Not our answer, His answer. Remember that where our ways bring death, God's way brings life. But He has hidden His way so that we will have to rely upon Him. Thus He has provided an opportunity for faith to exist, so that when He helps us, we can be sure that He is our savior, not anyone else, and certainly not we ourselves. I'm sure we'd like something else to trust, but then there wouldn't be any room for faith. So it is by faith alone that we can hear God's answer, and see that it is nearer than it seems.

Where do we find His answer? In the most foolish place possible: the Word of God. I say ``foolish'' because that's exactly the way it seems to us. Put yourself in David's shoes after he had committed adultery. What would God have him do? Repent, so that he might be forgiven. David knew what God wanted. But at that time, he was not trusting God. It seemed foolish to admit his sin. In the same way, it seems foolish today to trust in what God says instead of what we think is best.

But Faith is not foolish at all. It was by faith that David called God His Savior. David was a military man, and he considered God to be his ultimate defense. It was in this faith that David as a boy had defeated Goliath in battle. Listen to his words: ``The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior.''

How could He be so sure? David trusted God's promise. He knew that God would always hear his prayers, and give him the answer he needed. Did this make him foolish? Was he unrealistic? No, David knew his enemies better than we sometimes do. Yet still he trusted God's promise. Not foolish, not unrealistic. This is faith, and it's not from this world.

We find ourselves surrounded by troubles too. So where can we get some of David's faith? The answer is nearer than you think. It will sound foolish, but it's the first step of faith. David wrote, ``I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.'' Trust God's Word. Call upon His name in this day of trouble. He will answer, and you will honor Him.

Are you troubled by the state of your life, or of your family, or of your church family? In some way, do you feel under siege, with nowhere to go? Then hear God's answer. Begin with repentance. God will forgive. Return to the innocence of Baptism, which God has given through Water and His Word. Stop trusting your own ideas and solutions. Leave behind your own answers and listen to God's. By clinging to our own thoughts, we make idols for ourselves. When we try to follow our own answers while also hearing God's Word, we only defile His sanctuary with our idolatry. Jesus said, ``You cannot serve both God and Mammon.'' So we need to stop trying, and trust in God's answer alone. `` `Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts.''

Sin, death, and hell. God has an answer for all three: Jesus Christ. True, He lived long ago and we don't see His face today. But remember, God leaves room for faith. He tells us what Jesus suffered: He bore our sins, He experienced our death, and He was forsaken by His father --- the essence of hell. Then, Jesus rose from the dead. His innocence and His power prevailed over our worst enemy, and He became the Champion of us all. As David defeated Goliath and opened the way to victory for the army of Israel, so Jesus has defeated our Goliath and opened the way to eternal life. Do we see this? Not without faith. But God will grant such faith to everyone who hears His Word in a humble spirit of repentance.

David said, ``In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry entered His ears.'' He hears us too. So He gives you comfort in your distress. In your personal life, in your family, and even in your Church family, God speaks to you, and His Words are heavenly wisdom and spiritual strength. Don't turn away from Him now, at the last, because here is your deliverance! He has forgiven you all your sins, and obtained eternal life for you. You have His promise, and the seal of it in your Baptism. And now the token of that salvation is the very same body and blood that Jesus gave for you, now given as food of life for your body and soul. This is our manna in the wilderness.

But what about the other problems we have? Time, finances, work, family, maintaining our congregation as we would like it to be? You know what? These are not the problem. The problem in each case is within ourselves. We have become doubting stewards and willful children. Jesus said, ``Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ...Therefore do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.''

I know, you've heard this before. Yet maybe you haven't really listened to it. Maybe you think that it's naïve to entrust our material lives to God. But think again of Israel in the wilderness. God provided their food every day, didn't He? Manna from heaven. I grant that He doesn't provide for us exactly the same way, but He does provide. We may think we are getting our food on our own, but in reality we are doing no more than the Israelites who left their tents every morning and gathered manna from the ground. No matter how He does it, God provides.

So also in His Church. His Word and Sacraments are the means, and we are the instruments: you and I. If you think that God has not blessed His Church, then think again. We still have His Word and Sacraments. We still have the most precious treasure in all Creation: the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. There are churches that cannot say that much. And we ourselves are still here. Each of us is like David: a redeemed sinner, and God's instrument to save others. Do not fear, but trust Him, and let Him work in your own words and actions.

God remains our mighty fortress, our rock of safety, our Savior. Trusting this, we can all confess with David, ``The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?'' Therefore, let us pray.

Defend Thy truth, O God, and stay
This evil generation;
And from the error of its way
Keep Thine own congregation.
The wicked everywhere abound
And would Thy little flock confound;
But Thou art our Salvation.

Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!

This document was translated from LATEX by HEVEA.