Call on the Lord for help

Psalms 118:1-6 (NKJV) 1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 2 Let Israel now say, “His mercy endures forever.” 3 Let the house of Aaron now say, “His mercy endures forever.” 4 Let those who fear the LORD now say, “His mercy endures forever.” 5 I called on the LORD in distress; The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place. 6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

Ps.118:1 – Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;

1. For His mercy is everlasting.

0. 0. • One of the key themes in David’s Psalms was mercy.
      • David was painfully aware of the constant need for the mercy of the Lord in his

        life.

      • When we live long enough we will recognize both our need for mercy and need

        to offer it often.

      • Mistakes are made, sin is committed, uncontrollable or controllable

        circumstances happen.

2. The revelation of need for mercy.

Exodus 25:17 (ESV)“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold.

Exodus 25:20-22 (ESV) 20 The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. 21 And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. 22 There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.

• There entire sacrificial system was built around mercy.
• The mercy seat is the place we come and suppose to stay.
• The picture of the cherubim wings above and overshadowing the testimony of

  God like a picture invitation inviting us to receive mercy.

• The mercy seat is where the blood was applied.
• Where the blood is applied mercy is found.
• The Lord meets with us above the mercy seat…
• The Lord speaks to us above the mercy seat

3. David, described as a man after God’s own heart, had a revelation of his need for mercy.

• David’s constant dependence on the mercy of God.
• This was not a revelation that came only by way of His worship life.
• But rather a revelation that came from the challenges he faced and mistakes he

  made.

• Ela… facing a giant he must have realized at some point he needed God’s mercy

  to be with him for what he volunteered for.

• Ela…Being pursued by a great King and his army David realized he needed God

  to have mercy on him or he was finished.

• Ela… having committed adultery and later murder he definitely got the memo

  he needed mercy.

4. Mercy is for the good times and mercy is for the bad times and everything in between.

• The moment we walk away from the mercy seat it seems our heart begins grow cold.
• The moment we think we’re good our hearts begin to grow cold.
• “Mercy is a great part of God’s goodness, and one which more concerns us than any other, for we are sinners and have need of his mercy. Angels may say that he is good, but they need not his mercy and cannot therefore take an equal delight in it; inanimate creation declares that he is good, but it cannot feel his mercy, for it has never transgressed; but man, deeply guilty and graciously forgiven, beholds mercy as the very focus and centre of the goodness of the Lord.”
• “So I would have to say that the people of God are in a tight place in the times that we live in. There is animosity against the Lord’s plans, His governing moral laws, and against His anointing.”

5. The Lord is our help.

Ps 118:5 I called on the LORD in distress; The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.

• David said that he called to the Lord from his distress and the Lord heard him and brought him into a wide place of deliverance.
• We call on the Lord in our distress.

Psalms 118:7-9 (NKJV) 7 The LORD is for me among those who help me;

• Every one of the challenges we face seems like an insurmountable mountain until we climb up higher and get a different perspective.

Psalms 118:11-13 (NKJV) 11 They surrounded me, Yes, they surrounded me; But in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. 12 They surrounded me like bees; They were quenched like a fire of thorns; For in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. 13 You pushed me violently, that I might fall, But the LORD helped me.

Proverbs 14:30 (NIV) 30 A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

• The physical demand that is placed on our body when our heart and life is not at peace.

Ps.46:1 – God is our refuge and strength,A very present help in trouble.

6. Timely help.

Psalms 46:1-5 (NKJV) strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.

• The Lord is constantly ready to defend and help us at every moment;.
• “a very present help in trouble”. What an amazing promise!!!
• A timely help.
• The Lord not only helps us, it is His very presence that is with us and brings well timed help in all of our dilemmas. God Himself is my help.
• “A very present help in trouble, or in distress he has so been found, he has been tried and proved by his people. He never withdraws himself from his afflicted. He is their help, truly, effectually, constantly; he is present or near them, close at their side and ready for their succor, and this is emphasized by the word very in our version, he is more present than friend or relative can be, yea, more nearly present than even the trouble itself.
• “A fortress firm, and steadfast rock,Is God in time of danger;A shield and sword in every shock,From foe well known or stranger.”

7. The presence of the Lord changes every situation we find ourselves in.

Heb.4:16 – Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.

• “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for You are with me”.
• The Lord’s table is a remembrance and celebration of the mercy gained through Jesus’ shed blood on the heavenly mercy seat.
• This promise and access is way bigger than we think at first glance or even with a hard look when bad things coming knocking at your door.
• This is an invitation, we are being invited by God into a place of communion with Him.
• The battle is the Lord’s
• We have to keep marching through our problems, throughout heart aches, through loss and wrong.
• We keep blowing the trumpets of praise, letting worship flow from our hearts, until the walls tumbling down