The Process from Pit to Praise!

 

Psalm 40:1-3 

1 I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.

 

The Comparison of Sin to the Miry clay.
We find here first of all that the Bible compares sin to the miry clay.

 

Psalm 69:1-2

1 Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.

2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.

 

Psalm 69:14 Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.

• Miry clay is like a thick mud, likened unto quicksand.
• Every one of us have been stuck in the quicksand of sin
• Three ways I believe that mire resembles sin

1. The more you struggle to pull yourself out, the further you sink
2. The mire will eventually pull you to the bottom
3. The only way out is for someone to pull you out

 

 

3 Things David Did

1. He patiently waited
   -This is the right kind of waiting. He patiently waited. Too often what we call waiting is filled with a fearful impatience.

 

1 Kings 18:42-44 42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,

43 And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.

44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not.

 

1. He Cried To The Lord
   -David chose to use his words and express his heart directly to God. How often, when we are frustrated or in trouble, do we express our emotions and feelings with everyone but God?

 

2 Cor. 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

 

1. He Got A New Testimony

-But at the end of David’s waiting, God proved faithful in rescuing him, strengthening him, and anchoring him even more deeply in the place of trust in God.

 

 

6 Things God Did For David:

1. He Inclined To Him
   -Can you picture Father God leaning over toward David listening and then responding? He’s a good Father who desires to help His children. Sometimes what we most need to happen requires His work in a lot of people and places in addition to what He needs to do in us.
2. He Lifted Him Up
   -David was in the pit, so to speak. Ever been there? One thing about being in a deep pit, somebody above you has to help you before you can get out. David trusted and waiting until God let down the rope. Know what I mean? You may feel that way today, stuck in a pit, waiting on a rope, not even sure if anyone, including God, knows that you are there or even cares that you are there. But David waited patiently on the Lord, which means He knew the rope was coming; He just had to trust God to do it the way He (God) wanted to do it.

 

• You see, if a legalist came by and saw a sinner in a pit, he would preach a sermon about the dangers of the pit.  
• If a religionist came by and saw that same sinner in that pit, he would talk about steps the sinner could take to help him get out of that pit and avoid other pits in the future.  
• If a pessimist walked by, he would tell that sinner that he is going to die in that pit. 
• If an optimist passed by, he would tell the sinner that he had seen worse pits than that.
• If a realist walked by, he would tell that man to just accept his pit.
• If a spiritualist came by, he would tell the sinner that there is no pit.
• But, if Jesus came by, He would get into the pit with that sinner and lift him out.

That is just what Jesus did for each of us. He robed Himself in human flesh, entered the pit of this world and died for us on the cross.

 

Philippians 2:5-9

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

Like the song says: “Now look He brought me up! I was sinking deep in sin far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within sinking to rise no more, but the master of the sea heard my despairing cry, from the water lifted me now safe am I!”

 

 

1. He Set Me Down
   -Isn’t it grand to know that God doesn’t stop when He gets us out of the pit; but, that He also sets our feet on the rock? That’s a great place to be when you have spent a lot of time in a miry pit. Our rock is Christ. He has seated us in Christ. He is the unshakable foundation of our very lives as believers.

 

Psalm 89:26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

 

Psalm 95 O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

 

1. He Established His Steps
   -This is a picture of God guiding and marking out the path for us. This in itself may well keep us out of many a pit. Not all of them, for sometimes like Joseph, others may toss us into the pit. God establishes our steps. He controls our destiny as we place ourselves in His hands. What a treasured reassurance.

He established me! 

• He founded me with Faith – Acts 16:5
• He grounded me with Grace – Hebrews 13:9
• He settled me with his scripture – 2 Peter 1:12

 

1. He Put A New Song In His Mouth
   -This must have been a song of deliverance. I wonder what it would sound like today. Can you think of a song of testimony that tells of how God has rescued someone? God loves the praise that proceeds from our singing the story of His love expressed to us.

 

The mouth can sing because the heart has been helped.  When this Psalm began, David was not talking about singing but about crying. 

 

1. He Created A Testimony To Bring In Others
   -Christ is glorified when we share our story with others. He uses it through the power of Holy Ghost to bring forth the praise of others. Your testimony is one of the most powerful things you can share with people to open their hearts to the Lord. Telling the story of how Jesus’ life and love changed us moves their hearts toward Him.