In the sermon titled 'Distress, Dismay, and Deliverance,' Mike Davenport explores Psalm 6, focusing on themes of affliction, mercy, and deliverance. He emphasizes that affliction is an expected part of the Christian life and draws on insights from Puritans like Richard Baxter and Thomas Watson to highlight God's role in such times. The sermon outlines four key elements: a cry of distress, a cry for deliverance, a confession of doubt and dismay, and a confidence in the Deliverer. David's prayers in Psalm 6 reveal his desire to be treated as a son rather than a rebel, relying on God's mercy instead of justice. Davenport discusses how distress can arise from enemies, physical infirmities, and spiritual unrest, while encouraging believers to express their complaints to God, not about Him. He underscores the importance of pleading God's attributes in prayer and notes that David's confidence in deliverance is built on the assurance of being heard by God. Concluding with the promise of eventual relief and joy, the sermon reassures believers of God's ultimate deliverance and encourages perseverance through affliction.

Well, if you have your Bibles there at your side, if you could turn with me to Psalm 6. Psalm 6. We'll read the Psalm before we start. Psalm 6. Oh, Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, nor chasten me in your hot displeasure.

Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak. O Lord, heal me for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled. But You, O Lord, how long? Return, O Lord, deliver me.

O save me for Your mercy's sake. For in death there is no remembrance of you in the grave who will give you thanks I? Am weary with my groaning all night. I make my bed swim I drench my couch with my tears My eye wastes away because of grief. It grows old because of all my enemies Depart from me all you workers of iniquity For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping the Lord has heard my supplication The Lord will receive my prayer Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled.

Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly." Well, Psalm 6 deals with the Christian in the midst of affliction. Affliction. The Puritans wrote much on the subject of affliction. Richard Baxter once said, God is not drowning his sheep when he washes them, nor killing them when he is shearing them. But by this he shows that they are his own, and the newborn sheep do most visibly bear his name or mark, where it is almost worn out and scarce discernible on them that have the longest fleece." Another Puritan, Thomas Watson wrote, it is one heart quieting consideration in all the affliction that befall us, all the afflictions that befall us, that God has a special hand in them.

Instruments can no more stir till God gives them a commission than the axe can cut of itself without a hand. Affliction is part of the Christian life. In many ways it's to be expected. The Apostle wrote, in this world you will have tribulation. The burning question is whether or not we will have the maturity to deal with the afflictions that God sends us.

The Psalms can teach us if we have a heart ready to receive what they say. Well, the title of this brief message is Distress, Dismay, and Deliverance. Distress, dismay, and deliverance. I've broken the passage down in the following way. First, a cry of distress, a cry of distress.

Secondly, a cry for deliverance, a cry for deliverance. Then third, a confession of doubt and dismay, a confession of doubt and dismay. And then lastly, a confidence in the Deliverer. So in the first three verses, we see first in this passage a cry of distress. Oh, Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, nor chasten me in your hot displeasure.

Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak. O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled but you oh lord how long this is a psalm of David the man after God's own heart the writer of the majority of the Psalms, the warrior king, and of the lineage of the Christ. Such a man as this knew affliction experientially. He knew distress.

Experientially. He knew distress. And in these opening verses we see his cry of distress. Like the Messiah who was to come from his loins, David experienced sorrow and was acquainted with grief. Throughout the Psalms we see revealed to us not simply the heart of the psalmist, We actually see the heart of our Savior.

You see, these are Christ's words. Remember the words of one shepherd? These are his words. These are his prayers. This book of prayers.

These are the Psalms of our King Christ, not just of Judas King David. In the midst of this distress that David is undergoing, We see his petition to be dealt with as a son and not a rebel. That's what he's saying. Rebuke me not in your anger, nor chase me in your hot displeasure. He's petitioning to be dealt with as a son.

Those who are the sons and daughters of God should be reassured of the promise of God that those whom He loves, He will chasten, he will rebuke. And so his prayer is not simply, do not rebuke me, nor chasten me. The focus of his cry in the midst of distress is that the rebuke and chastening will not be done according to the deserving nature of the sin that he's committed but rather according to the blessed relationship that he has with God. Not according to what I deserve but according to who I am with you. In his distress David cries out for mercy.

In doing so he rightly makes much of the willingness of God to show mercy and at the same time his weakness, the weakness of his body and of His Spirit, for He says, Lord, I'm weak. I love the thoughts of William Plummer. He writes, how suitable to every condition in life is the cry for mercy. How suitable in every condition of life is the cry for mercy. He says it is first an acknowledgement of the justice of all the evil that has befallen us.

It is also a confession of our utter weakness and incapacity for relieving ourselves. Third, it is next a confession of our faith in the power of God to give us succor if He will but undertake our cause. It is also a declaration that the divine compassions are so great that whatever our distress may be we may safely rely on him. He says, no more appropriate words ever fell from the lips of mortals. Let sinners always feel and say that justice is against them and that their hope for anything Good is in the divine mercy Let them continually admit that they deserve all sorts of afflictions and if saved from them it must be by the mere favor of God." Now we find here the sources of this distress right here in this psalm.

In verses 7 and 10 we note that one source was enemies without. He had enemies. Ones who hated him and sought to bring him down. Another source of distress is found in verse 2. It was the physical infirmities that he felt in his own body.

Oh Lord, heal me for my bones are troubled. A third source of distress was the unrest of his own soul. He says, my soul also is greatly troubled. Does David sound like a man who shares your experience? Do you know anything of these things?

I do. I do. Can you say as you read these words, I can relate to that. I can relate to that. Dear brothers and sisters, that's the beauty of the Psalms.

The more of life that you experience the more precious and helpful the Psalms become I guarantee you that I guarantee you that I looked at Psalms as a young man and like, whatever he meant by that, okay, not anymore. Not anymore. They become my words on many occasions. You see, the Bible does not sugarcoat the realities of Christian experience. Remember, these are the words of a man after God's own heart.

Rather, the scriptures faithfully reveal to us the realities we should expect, but at the same time always holding out the promise of mercy in the middle of whatever it is we're facing. The last thing we should note in this cry of distress is the reference to the difficulty of the duration of these trials. Oh Lord, how long, how long. Sometimes the distress is so great, the words don't come. How long what?

How long do I have to put up with my enemies? How long will my body feel like this? How long will my soul be troubled? How long before you come on the scene as it were? How long?

We don't know. Sometimes the distress is so great the words get lost. How long? Lord, how long? And that's all that can come.

Please note, brothers and sisters, that in our weak humanity, it is not wrong to complain to the Lord. It is not wrong to complain to the Lord. It is not wrong to complain to the Lord. It is wrong to complain about or of the Lord. Psalmist is here saying this, Jesus Christ, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

It was the complaint of the pain and the anguish and the affliction. It's not wrong for us to take our complaints to the Lord in our weakness and in our humility, in our humility. Do you know anything of lingering causes of distress? Do you ever feel the urge to cry out to God, oh Lord, how long? How long?

Then Psalm 6 reveals that you're in good company. You're in good company. It's a normal experience of the people of God. You're not alone, and you're not abandoned. Secondly, We see a cry for deliverance.

A cry for deliverance. Verses four and five, return, oh Lord. Deliver me. Oh, save me for your mercy's sake, for in death there is no remembrance of you. In the grave, who will give you thanks?

He says, return. Return. One of the most difficult seasons we can face is a season where God seems to be absent. Where there's a distance between us and our God Have you ever had a season like that? Maybe you're going through one now David went through such a season and it would seem from the Psalms that he did so multiple times.

This isn't the only instance. Moses also in Psalm 90 prays for God's return, sensing the absence of the beauty, the goodness, the mercy, the favor of God. Return. Coupled with the cry for God's return is the cry for deliverance, for God's salvation. Again, note that deliverance is not his initial prayer.

What was his initial prayer? Mercy. God have mercy on me. That was the initial prayer, but here he's praying for deliverance. You see now his heart makes known the extent to which he wants to experience the mercy of God, even to the point of deliverance.

God hasn't told us he would deliver us from any given affliction. We want mercy and God can come to us and give us mercy in the midst of the affliction. But here the psalmist is so bold, he's going beyond it and he's basing it on the mercies of God, bring deliverance bring salvation Because of mercy You see it's predicated upon the known mercies of God He's saying it right here in our text Oh save me for your mercies sake So he's pleading for deliverance And it's upon these mercies that David now focuses his attention. And he pleads his cause. Lord, you've declared yourself merciful based on those mercies.

Deliver me. Save me. I draw from the wealth of Plummer once again. He says, it is well when we have faith to draw arguments from God in favor of our petitions. God's mercy gets great honor when it extends great favor to great sinners.

We may safely plead with God to do that which will be an honor to his attributes. So he's pleading on the mercies of God, which we know from lamentations are new every morning. So when in the midst of your affliction and you pray into God, plead his attributes, plead his love, plead his mercy, plead his longsuffering. But not only does David plead on the basis of God's attributes, he also pleads on the basis of the silence of the grave. The silence refers to his own silence.

If he's cut off, he's reflecting on the reality that if God's justice were allowed to chase him all the way to the grave, there would be no deliverance and there would be no praise for that deliverance he wants God's mercies to be magnified if he got what he deserved that justice would chase him all the way to the grave But oh God he says I plead your mercies and I would that I would live and be strengthened that I might praise your name And that your mercy would be made glorious Well, we've seen David's cry of distress and his cry for deliverance now thirdly look with me at a confession of doubt and dismay a confession of doubt and dismay verses six and seven. I am weary with my groaning all night. I make my bed swim. I drench my couch with my tears. My eye wastes away because of grief.

It grows old because of all my enemies. Plumber comments, David knew the sharp pains of bodily disease, the sorest afflictions of life, the saddest disappointments and failures, terrible temptations, inherent and out-breaking sins, the hiding of God's face, the pains of deep conviction, and fears full of torment. He groaned till he was weary and begged God to show him mercy. His groaning was so intense that it wearied him. His night sweats from tossing and turning were so intense that his bed became a place to swim in.

His couch, too, was drenched from the physical crying associated with his distress. Yes, he had prayed to God. Yes, he had asked for mercy. Yes, he had pleaded for deliverance and for salvation But it seems seems That all things continue as they were no change No response No relief In fact, many scholars think the Word all night, those words all night should be actually translated every night. This wasn't a one-time occurrence, like all through the night this happened.

This was repeated almost every night. Because of what he was suffering in regard to his own inward griefs, the afflictions of his body, and the continuous persecution from the hands of his enemies, David was experiencing an increase of the aging process. An increase of the aging process. His eye was wasting away. Some commentators understand this Hebrew word for I to actually be describing his countenance More than the eye the eye is the window of the soul So as it were is this this it's the window to the countenance everything could be seen Quoting a commentator by the name Morrison Plummer writes, David felt the encroachments of a premature old age and beheld in the languid eye and in the sunken cheek and in the pallid countenance the appearance of a dissolution rapidly approaching.

Maybe you have experienced such doubt and such dismay. It is such doubt and dismay that actually gives rise to that passion to cry, Oh Lord, how long? How long? It is in such times as these that we must remind ourselves that as Christians our darkest hour is just before the dawn. Our darkest hour is just before the dawn.

And it seems that in these last three verses David catches the first signs of the rays of light breaking in upon this long, long season. The confession of doubt and dismay gives way to, fourthly, a confidence in the Deliverer, a confidence in the Deliverer, verses 8 through 10. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping the Lord has heard my supplication The Lord will receive my prayer Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled. Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly David here seems to express defiance Holy defiance towards these enemies towards his tormentors and This is born out of his expressing confidence and his prayer for God's return, his prayer for deliverance, his prayer for salvation. He knows they will not be able to stand with God at his side.

The presence of God will cause the enemy to scatter. He therefore bids him depart. Depart! Get out of here! Because my deliverer is coming." he could say that not only to his enemies but to Everything that was had brought his soul low He had a confidence in his deliverer Note that the credit for this confidence is placed solely on the Lord and on the fact that he had been heard by him.

There is a confidence not only that he had been heard, but that his prayer was actually received. I Simply cannot improve upon it. Listen to the wonderful way plumber states the following This is this is worthy of hanging up my estimation mercies Obtained by weeping and prayer are well suited to give courage. They are like armor won in battle and hung up as trophies to show what can be done." Say that again. Mercies obtained by weeping and prayer are well suited to give courage.

They are like armor won in battle and hung up as trophies to show what can be done. Well verse 10 should not be rendered merely as a prayer for God to bring these things to pass upon God's enemies. It's not a prayer of vengeance, retribution. In reality, It's more of a recognition of what God has promised to do to his and to his church's enemies. God's declared it already.

If you don't think so, read Revelation. God has declared it all... He's merely just echoing God's own promise as to what he would do. And he's also calling out the distinction between the Christian and the non-believer as he highlighted back in verse 1 Ending with this note David creates bookends for all of God's dealings in this world Here he is praying in essence for what God intends to do to rebuke David's enemies who are God's enemies in his anger and chasing them in his hot displeasure. He's saying, do not, do not rebuke me in your anger nor chase me in your hot displeasure, but them, rebuke them in your anger, chasten them in your hot displeasure." He's drawing the distinction that this is His God, This is his deliverer.

He's not like them and He's saying simply God I plead your mercies which you said you would have on me and I'm pleading For you Oh God to take vengeance on my enemies because you said you would This is who you are to your people and this is who you are to your enemies Dear one, do you have such a confidence in this deliverer. We may not have the enemies that he had and to deal with what he had to deal with there, but I'm sure most of us have had seasons of dealing with physical trials, dealing with times when our souls are troubled. Are you willing to wait on your God? God may be plowing in your life. Let him plow.

He intends a crop. Samuel Rutherford said, when I am in the cellar of affliction, I look for the Lord's choicest wines. Rather than complain, but having to be put in the cellar look for God's choices wines he keeps the wines there that are the delight of our souls Look for those in the cellars of affliction. Remember, there are many Psalms. This, Psalm 6, was the experience of David in this particular season.

But this is the very same David who writes the following in Psalm 30. Why don't you turn there, Psalm 30. I want you to look at what the Lord rescues him from. Look for the things he rescues him from. I will extol you, O Lord, for you have lifted me up, past tense, you have lifted me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me.

O Lord, my God, I cried out to you and you healed me. Oh Lord you brought up my soul from the grave You have kept me alive that I should not go down to the pit. Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holy name, for his anger is but for a moment. His favor is for life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

The words night and morning there are not referring to what we think of as just, you know, that time period we slept and then it was over. It could be a season. It's just saying that the season of morning always follows, Always follows the season of darkness. I Close with the thoughts of Another commentator as quoted by Plummer He says many of the mournful Psalms end in this triumphant manner to instruct the believer that he is continually to look forward and Solace himself with beholding that day when his warfare shall be accomplished When sin and sorrow shall be no more, when sudden and everlasting confusion shall cover the enemies of righteousness, when the sackcloth of the penitent shall be exchanged for a robe of glory, and every tear become a sparkling gem in His crown. When to size and groans shall succeed the songs of heaven set to angelic harps, and faith shall be resolved into the vision of the Almighty." That's our future.

That's our future. And if we don't know anything of the deliverance that David had in Psalm 30 of here in this world being relieved of all of these things, be assured the world to come will relieve you of every single one of these things. And then there will be no more crying, oh Lord, how long? There will be no more crying for a return. We will behold His face for all eternity.

So press on, my brother, my sister, even in times of affliction, knowing that our God will deliver us. Let's pray. Oh, Father, we thank You for Your goodness and Your mercy to us in giving us psalms such as this that instruct our heart in these seasons of affliction, which Seasons are brought to bear upon us by your own hand Lord give us grace to bear up under them to cry out to you for your mercy And for deliverance if it would please you Lord free us from dismay and doubt May we have confidence in you our deliverer For Lord if You spared not Your own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will You not with Him freely give us all things? Thank You, Lord, for your kindness to us. Continue with us in Jesus name, amen.