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Songs of Greatness is a sermon series on the greatness of God from the Psalms. Be Exalted O God (Singing in the Dark) — How are we supposed to worship God when things aren’t going well for us? When we’re in the midst of trouble, difficulty, hardship, or pain? The greatness of God is such a comfort when we're in the dark. God was faithful then, will he not be faithful now? Recorded on Aug 8, 2021, on Psalm 57, by Pastor David Parks. Sermon Transcript For the next year, in our preaching ministry, we’re focusing on The Greatness of God. After all the turmoil of the last year and a half, it was obvious to me that way too many Christians have way too small of a view of who God is. So we started this annual theme with a sermon series from the Psalms in the Bible called, Songs of Greatness. And the Psalms are a collection of songs/poems that the people of God have used in the worship of God for 1000’s of years. They cover the whole range of human experience, but a number of the psalms are all about the greatness of God. Today, we’ll consider Psalm 57 and I’d like to start by presenting a problem that every one of us will face at some point in our lives: How are we supposed to worship God when things aren’t going well for us — when we’re in the midst of trouble/difficulty/hardship/pain?? How do we sing songs of praise before we see the victory? Before we see the fruit of God’s goodness? Before our problems have been solved or our mess has been cleaned up? Psalm 57 shows us what to do. And I hope this will be helpful for you, but especially if you feel like this is where you’re at today. Please open your Bible/app to Psalm 57 starting with v. 1. We’re going to read through this first, and then we’ll unpack it together. Psalm 57:1-11, “Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. 2 I cry out to God Most High, to God, who vindicates me. 3 He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me—[c] God sends forth his love and his faithfulness. 4 I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts—men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. 5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. 6 They spread a net for my feet—I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path—but they have fallen into it themselves. 7 My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. 8 Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. 9 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. 10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. 11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.” So the sub-heading of this Psalm says, “For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” I really wish we knew what that tune was. Of course, it wouldn’t be anything like the music we listen to today, but that’s ok! It says this psalm is “Of David. A miktam.” Now that’s King David who lived about 3,000 years ago — the most powerful and influential king of ancient Israel. And, we think a miktam is a musical term but we aren’t really sure. There are five different psalms with this term and all five seem to be crying out to the Lord during a time of danger or battle. Finally, the sub-heading gives us an occasion for when this psalm was composed, or perhaps what David was thinking about if he wrote this song later. It says, “When he had fled from Saul into the cave.” Let's come back to that as we work through the text. So back to v. 1. Psalm 57:1, “Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.” Ok, let’s pause here. Who is David singing to here? To God! He’s crying out to God. Have mercy!