My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand…
The more I talk with people about life in general while expressing my gratitude for all God has done in all our lives, I speak with a certain hope that many do not seem to know. If you notice, many in our world, even those who are regular church attenders will say, “I wish that were true, I want to believe.” Or “I wish for better days ahead when the circumstances of my life changes, then I will…” “Maybe then my luck will change and I will have hope again.”
When wishes and dreams are dependent on the outcome of current circumstances; Hope is not present.
Our next psalm seems to be obviously written by David when he fled from Saul and hid in a cave (1Samuel 22:1). Seeking refuge from what could be certain death by Saul is the theme of David’s lament to God. God is David’s only hope for getting out of this current situation alive and well!
In times like these we need a Savior;
In times like these we need an anchor.
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!
This Rock is Jesus, yes, He’s the One.
This Rock is Jesus, the only One!
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!
Psalm 142, The Message
A maskil (probably a literary or musical term) of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer.
1-2 I cry out loudly to God,
loudly I plead with God for mercy.
I spill out all my complaints before him,
and spell out my troubles in detail:
3-7 “As I sink in despair, my spirit ebbing away,
you know how I’m feeling,
Know the danger I’m in,
the traps hidden in my path.
Look right, look left—
there’s not a soul who cares what happens!
I’m up against the wall, with no exit—
it’s just me, all alone.
I cry out, God, call out:
‘You’re my last chance, my only hope for life!’
Oh listen, please listen;
I’ve never been this low.
Rescue me from those who are hunting me down;
I’m no match for them.
Get me out of this dungeon
so I can thank you in public.
Your people will form a circle around me
and you’ll bring me showers of blessing!”
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
“God is our refuge, strength and ever-present help in times of troubles”. Psalm 46:1
The same God who was David’s refuge as he hid in the darkness of his cave is the same God who looked over the Body of our Lord in that carved out cave that was His tomb for three days. With relentless love and compassion for humanity, with all the power of heaven and earth within Him; God resurrected His One and Only Son, Jesus, from death to life in victory to give us Hope—the Hope of eternal Life! The hope of eternal life is foundation of our faith! Hope is now defined as the confident, certain expectation of living forever in the presence of God, made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Peter lived to tell of this Living Hope! It is Peter, transformed by Jesus, to be the “rock upon who He would build His church” who would later preach, teach and write of this Living Hope, called Jesus, for all to believe—and be certain!
“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.” –Peter, 1 Peter 1:3-9, NLT
James joined the Hope doxology of praise to God with; “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” James 1:1-8, NIV
OUR LIVING HOPE is Jesus. Hope living in us gives us the stability to persevere!
Jesus is the Hope we need when we sit in our dark caves of uncertainty, wondering how we can be saved from our current situations. Calling on the Name of Jesus who already knows our name is the beginning of living Hope instead of dying daily in uncertainty and despair. Believing in our Living Hope, Jesus becomes the reason we rise up in the morning and give him praise, no matter what is going in the world around, in, and through us. Jesus is our blessed, living hope and give us certainty and assurance of our future.
Don’t miss this: David laments, confesses, then turns to worship God in the middle of his dire circumstance. David does not sit in the cave and wish for better living conditions; he prays for refuge in the Lord who is his only hope. David’s human mind cannot conceive how God will rescue him but God’s Sprit within him sustains his hope that God will deliver him. Hope is not a wish or and dream but a person—God/Jesus/Holy Spirit.
We learn from David and other psalmists and Biblical leaders that God welcomes honest prayer. The many laments of the psalms (of which this psalm is an example) are great models of such prayers. Notice the words of these psalms have not been “cleaned up” for sensitive ears but emit raw emotion when seeking a real God. God invites our brutal honesty as we approach Him with our complaints. God knows what is in our hearts and what is troubling our minds any time of day or night; so why hide it or hold it back. Tell God. God can handle the truth from us. Mm, can we handle the Truth from Him?
God’s Word is meant to reminds us that our troubled existence is always intermingled with our assurance in God. Hope and assurance are being certain that God is with us in all circumstances of life and will use these very troubling trials to mold and shape us for our future adventures with God! Notice how David follows a pattern that most psalmists use in their prayers and songs to God. David begins with his lament sharing his current situation. David tells God how he feels about his cave circumstance, then turns to God for refuge, his only hope!
David wonders how God will rescue him and often gives suggestions; but his expectation that God will work on his behalf becomes his Hope. This is worship of the God who delivers in times of uncertainty. God’s deliverance leads to praise, first by David himself and then by the community. David knew God. When David pursued the heart of God; God filled David with His Holy Spirit. No matter what; David’s hope was in God.
May God be your Hope today as you surrender all to the One who knows all desires to be your refuge in times like these. Surrender all to the Savior and Lord who knows your name and had you on His mind from the beginning of Creation.
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”—Jesus, John 11:25-26
Lord,
Thank you for all that you did from the cross to the grave to beyond death to resurrection life—all to give me Hope forever. I will tell your story as long as I have breath on earth. I will sing your praises forever! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
In Jesus Name, Amen
