In 'A Psalm for the Cave of Affliction,' John Pruitt explores Psalm 57, emphasizing David's reliance on God during his trials while hiding from Saul. The sermon highlights the destructive progression of Saul's jealousy toward David, leading to hatred and bitterness. Pruitt underscores the importance of turning to God as a first resort in affliction, rather than a last option, and how David's faith and trust in God's deliverance are evident throughout his ordeal. The sermon delves into the value of humility in prayer, acknowledging that God knows our needs but desires our dependence on Him. Through David's story, Pruitt illustrates the power of prayer, the significance of faith in adversity, and God's sovereignty in delivering and guiding His faithful.

The Song for the Cave of Affliction. I'd like to read this passage to you before we begin. This is a legitimate account of that because the inspired heading of that tells us. He says, Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me, for my soul trusteth in thee. Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge until these calamities be overpast.

I will cry unto God most high, unto God that performeth all things for me. He shall send from heaven and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. See them. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. My soul is among lions, and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let thy glory be above all the earth. Then they have prepared a net for my steps, and my soul is bowed down. They have digged a pit before me into the midst whereof they have fallen themselves. See, look, My heart is fixed on God, my heart is fixed.

I will sing and give praise. Awake up, my glory awake, psaltery and heart. I myself will awake early. I will praise Thee, O Lord, among the people. I will sing unto Thee among the heathen, for Thy mercy is great under the heavens and Thy truth under the clouds.

Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, let thy glory be above all the earth." You know, we all have afflictions to some degree or another. And if you live long, you're going to have some very serious afflictions. Amen. We call them trials. We call them giants, storms, deep rivers, valleys, whatever the case may be.

In David's case it was a cave, but it was a literal cave. So the first three verses David declares his salvation and it can only come from the Almighty who works all things after the counsel of his own will, by the way, and to the good of his elect. We find that in Romans 8.28. His first and only option, now notice first and only option, was to call upon the Lord God for he fully trusted that he could and would save him from his assassin. Now let's do a little background, and this is just going to be a general quick background on this situation.

From 1 Samuel chapter 18 to chapter 24. Great reading there. After having killed Goliath, Saul drafted David into his army, at which time David and Jonathan were bound together by a loving friendship which lasted until Jonathan's death. Jonathan literally stripped off his own uniform and gave it to David as a token of his love and respect for David because by this time Jonathan perhaps had the idea that David had been anointed king. That's speculation on my part.

So in return from the battle which David killed the giant, there were songs of praise for Saul, for the killing of his thousands. But there was greater praise for David who had slaughtered his ten thousands. Saul was enraged with jealousy. And in 1 Samuel chapter 18 verse 8 and 9 it states, and Saul was very wroth and the same did please him. And he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and unto me they have ascribed but thousands.

And what can he have more than the kingdom? And saw I David from that day forward and this I was an eye of hatred his hatred well it began with jealousy with the ascription of his thousands and David's ten thousands. That jealousy turned into hatred. And he hated David, and That hate began to build and to grow and that hate could eventually turn into bitterness. And David, or rather Saul, which was a man had been anointed by God as king and a man and a man who at first was very valiant and brave and treated the people as he should, but something happened to Saul.

And personally, I don't believe Saul was ever saved. Now, y'all can debate that if you like. But I don't believe that Saul was ever saved. And by the way, I've been studying 1 Samuel there. I don't even like men.

He was arrogant, he was proud, and he was hateful, and probably a little bit insane as well. But that's the sequence. Jealousy will turn to hatred. And hatred will develop eventually into bitterness and bitterness will ruin you. It will ruin you, it will destroy you and everyone around you.

But let's stay with the subject. The plot is hatched by Saul whereby he would use his own daughter as the bait. He would give her to David to marry as a gift. Then instead of a dowry, which it was customary for the groom to pay a dowry or amount of money or some elaborate gift, Instead of that dowry, he would have David go into battle with the Philistines. He would require him to go to that battle with the Philistines again and bring back proof of his victory in exchange for Michael.

Well, the plan didn't work. It backfired on Saul. Because first of all, David killed 200 Philistines and brought the proof back. Secondly, Michael fell in love with him. So, this probably further enraged Saul and his jealousy against David.

By this time, of course, you know that David has already been anointed king. He's not king. Saul is still the king, but he's been anointed king. After that, Saul chased David all over the country to kill him. That was his complete life's ambition.

He was so engulfed in his bitterness that there was nothing else important to him and he would do this at the expense of anything that got in his way. Finally, Saul received word that David was holed up in the mount of Engadid. So he follows him there. Saul and his men were come up on a cave where he enters to take rest and falls asleep. Little does he know that David and his men are holed up in the same cave.

Apparently they flee to the back of that cave where they cannot, where they knew most likely they would be, if they were discovered, they would be slaughtered right there. And so, I believe that this is the very moment. And you know, these men and David were afraid. They were afraid. And why not?

Because they knew that if they made one sound, I suppose one rattle of a piece of armor, One sneeze, one clearing of the throat could have brought sudden death, surely, to them. So they were afraid. I believe this is where, this is the moment that David is writing about in this song. Out in this song. Now I'm going to leave the rest of this story to you to search out and to read and enjoy.

So first of all I want us to notice the cry of David in the first three verses of this scripture. In verse one he says, be merciful to me. O God, be merciful unto me for my soul trusteth in thee. Now, David's attitude toward the Lord is not the essential lesson that we want to learn today. David's attitude not toward Saul, and David was a noble man, and he had an opportunity here to kill his enemy and would have been justified in doing so.

But he refused because he knew that this man was God's anointed. And beyond my explanation he loved Saul. Beyond my understanding. But his attitude toward the Lord is what we want to find here. Instead of seeing prayer as the last resort, which we many times do, we try everything that we can try we go down every avenue that we can find and when all our fleshly attempts and our and all of our tries have failed.

Then we say, well, we don't have anything left. We might as well turn and ask the Lord for help. You know what that is, is nothing but pride. Amen. That's right.

So instead of using God as his last resort for trouble, it was his first resource for trouble and relief. So let us take that lesson home with us. The carnal mind, fearful of the situation and the trial and doubtful of the ability of God will instinctively attempt to reject, rather inject self into this, into the situation. And not only is it pride that keeps us from going to the Lord, but it's unbelievable. You don't ask him first because you don't really believe that he can go.

And whenever everything else has failed, There's nothing left to do except ask the Lord. You know, it's kind of the way the doctors run tests. You know, they'll run a little test and they'll say, well, if it's not this, we'll run the next test. If it's not that, we'll run the next test and the big test, it will really show. Well why don't they show the big test first?

Amen. Instead of going through all these other things. Well we all know why that is, but nevertheless, We always try a list of things before we go to the Lord. We also may learn that a clear and concise complaint of our trouble is perfectly acceptable. Tell God what's on your heart.

Give him your complaint. That's what he wants to hear. You know, you have friends, and we all have friends, and sometimes we can complain so much to our friends that we kind of wear them out. And maybe a friend, you'll be telling friends so much of your troubles that you look and they're turning the other way when they see you coming. Well, that's the flesh.

And no friend ought to do that. I'm not saying it's proper. It's not right. We ought to have an ear to hear our friends whenever they're in need. May God help us to do that.

But that's not the way with God. You see, God wants to hear your complaint. You can't wear Him out. He wants to hear what you have to say. He wants to hear your complaint, And he doesn't care if you complain over and over.

Now you understand the way I'm using the word complain. Not griping at God for this, that, or the other, but telling God your trouble. He wants to hear it. So let him hear your trouble. And so let us not have the attitude that there is really no use calling on the Lord because he already knows my need before I ask." The Lord Jesus laid down that principle in the book of Matthew the sixth chapter and beginning in verse eight he says, Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your Father knoweth what things you have need of before you ask him.

After this manner, Therefore pray ye, our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Well, I really began reading in verse 8, I should have began verse 5. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men, barely I say unto you they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, And when thou hast shut the door, pray to the Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. But when you pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." Now this kind of praying is for a great show of spirituality.

And you know many times people who make great outward show of spirituality are very fragile inside. And many times when real trial comes, they'll fall apart. But they lack substance. And when real trial comes, it also brings discouragement. It is trials which test true spirituality.

Amen. I was so really moved with Brother Kendall yesterday. He's a dear friend and he's hurting. This sister back here knows exactly how much he's hurting. I hope, I pray that God will never give me the trial.

But he said, you know, God's always right. Amen. And so whatever God has for me, that's what I want to do. So I was very moved with his conversation. We talked for a long time.

I've known Brother Kendall for almost 30 years, baptized him, actually. But in the context of that passage with the Lord Jesus, it is clear that we are not discouraged from prayer, but encouraged to pray with all fervor. We are instructed to use not vain repetitions. And the phrase vain repetitions actually means stammer or babble. So you will discover that David actually entreated God with these same words eight times in the book of Psalms, be merciful to me.

So The child of God who knows the true and living God and his sovereign immutable promises may not stammer and babble using vain repetitions, but a confident, trusting prayer of same repetition. Neither is it necessary to use refined articulation. That's a little bit of a stretch for me in my vocabulary too. Refined articulation, but using an humble crying out from the heart in faith. That's what God looks for.

God looks for humility. And if you don't approach His throne in humility, you really not approach His throne In all reality. So the child of God who knows this is going to be much better aided by God. David by God. Notice David's complaint and his complete trust, his complete trust and confidence in the Lord's promise.

He shall send from heaven and save me, he says in verse three. From the reproach of him that would swallow me up, see look, God shall send forth his mercy and truth. So we must cry to the only one who can hear and help. And then secondly We want to notice the case that David puts before God. My soul is among lions, and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men whose teeth are like spears and arrows, and their tongue sharp as a sword." He cries out to God.

There's no doubt that David and his faithful soldiers were very afraid. They knew that they could be discovered any moment and that it would mean sudden death. How they all kept so quiet can only be accounted of God's grace. Imagine all the armor that they had and everything about them and there's great numbers of men back there in the back of that cave. How did they keep so quiet?

And any slight noise would have carried like a microphone. Like a, what do you call it? Speakerphone. Psalms 22 20 kind of reminds us of David's situation there. But I want to show you a reverse of that.

It says, deliver my soul from the sword, my darling from the power of the dog. Now though David knew that God would surely deliver him, The Lord knew that the Father would surely not deliver him, for he must suffer hell fire for those whom God had given. We must certainly present our case before the throne of God in the sincerity of our hearts. Again, you say, what's the use? He already knows.

Well, it's not to inform God of our needs. He does know. He already knows. But it is to acknowledge that we need divine deliverance. You see that's humility.

And we present our case to the only one who can help. And then we find a commitment here in verse 7 through 9. David says, �My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed. I will sing and give praise awake. My glory awake, Salfrey and Harp.

I myself will awake early. I will praise Thee, O Lord, among the people. I will sing unto thee among the nations." The word fixed probably means determined. I don't know exactly what it might have meant in this text, but that seems to be what the context would allow. So anticipation of the Lord's deliverance and anticipation.

David says I already know he's going to deliver me so I'm going to praise him and thank him for that because I know he's going to deliver me. And so David makes a solemn promise that he will sing his praises not only to the people of Israel but also among the heathen. Now listen, we don't bargain with God. In other words, don't say to God, God if you do this, I'll do something, I'll do my part. Don't ever do that.

Don't ever bargain with God. And David wasn't bargaining with God. David was saying, I know that he's going to deliver. I am anticipating his blessings on me and therefore I promise that I will praise him among the nations. We could learn from this learn praise the Lord for future less me blessings do not always come in the form of cotton candy.

I really secretly like cotton candy, but I won't eat it in public. My wife will, she loves it too. But his blessings don't always come that way. Sometimes his blessings are manifested in withholding the copyhand and because he is testing our faith as well. So it was in fear and desperation that David called upon God but it was in faith that he trusted that he would be delivered and lived to praise him with all his resources.

We call him feared. We trust in faith. Then we find, I'm moving here a little bit, we find the confession. Verse 10. Thy mercy is great unto me, and unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.

Be thou exalted, O God, above heaven, let thy glory be above the earth." Finally, David acknowledges God's sovereignty, his sovereign attribute, and admits that it was he who delivered him to the giant. David knew this there in the valley. The same God who delivered him from the jaws of the lion and the claws of the bear. And as he stood before the Philistine, he said, David said to Saul, let no man's heart fail because of him, thy servant will go fight with this Philistine. And in that same chapter, verse 45 through 47, then said David to the Philistine.

David didn't come before that Philistine like he was some big somebody that was going to walk up and knock the giant down, David was a meek man. David was probably afraid. You know a hero, just because a person is a hero doesn't mean they are not afraid. It means that they do what they do in spite of their fear. In the face of fear.

David was probably afraid. He goes and he says, thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield, but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defiled. This day will the Lord deliver thee into my hand, and I will smite thee and take thee on head from thee, and I will give the carcasses of the hosts of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, That all the earth may know that I am great. That's not all he says. That all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

And all this assembly shall know. Not only will the Philistines know but this army will know too because they had forgotten that. So they had forgotten God in this. And I asked a question to my folks as we studied this. I said, you know, why did they feel like they had to do what the Giants said?

They were all worried because they didn't have a man that could go against the giant. Well, why didn't they just attack him and kill the giant, run over him and go on? They didn't have to listen to that giant, but they did. You don't have to listen to the devil, but many times we do. Well that's another lesson.

But he says, in all this assembly may know that the Lord saveth not with sword or with spear, for the battle is the Lord's. Your battle is the Lord's battle, not yours. And He will give you into our hands. So beloved, we have a God who is able. And will deliver.

Just because someone can doesn't mean that they will, but with God he can and he will. Amen. Whether he delivers you in the fire as he did the Hebrew children or from the fire as he did David in the day in that day in the game he promises his promises are fixed and will not expire So should our hearts and minds be fixed so that we praise and extol Him among the brethren and among the heathen. Shouldn't we in anticipation, you know, we could live every day in anticipation for the blessings that God's going to give us tomorrow Because he knows he's already promised. Sadly enough, we let so many blessings today pass by without even noticing.

Your redemption draweth near, whether it be by death or by the wretched God's going to deliver and you know there's many times it not many times there are had been sometimes a couple of times that I can tell you stories about that I thought that I might die and one of them was even before I was saved, but the Lord knew. He delivered me. And He's got me, He has me here for a purpose. And He may be through with me today, I don't know. But he's not through with me now, because I'm still talking.

And I intend to until the Lord sees fit to take me home. It'll be either through the fire or in the fire. David trusted in God's providence while he hid from Saul. And brother David, or brother Doug, could probably tell the historical character of this said, trust in the Lord boys but keep your powder dry. So he hid himself from Saul that even though things looked bad, he cried unto the Lord, the God of hosts, and God that performeth all things for me." Thank you.

God bless you.