"HELP US, O GOD!"
PSALM 79:8-13

INTRO: A passage of Scripture which has given me a great deal of peace and
comfort is found in Psalm 121:1-3 which says, "I will lift up mine eyes
unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the
LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be
moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber." Many times in my life I
have felt there was no need to go on, but even in those times, I could
boldly say, "My help cometh from the LORD…"

I want to title the Message, "Help us, O God!" There have been times
in my life, and probably in your also, when I thought, "No one cares
and can help," but then that precious promise found in Hebrews 13:
5-6 would come to mind, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So
that we may boldly say, THE LORD IS MY HELPER, and I will not fear
what man shall do unto me."

In times of great distress or deepest sorrow, the Lord has always been
there! He will never leave me! He never says, "I don’t care to listen."
He is never too busy, but He is always there to lift me up when I’ve
stumbled and fell and made a complete shambles of my life. Listen
friends, NO ONE EVER CARED FOR ME LIKE JESUS! Friends may
fail, family may forsake, but Jesus NEVER FAILS! No matter how
good I am or how bad I am; He still loves me and cares for me!

He is there, I only must turn to HIM! He invites me, "Come unto me,
all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). All I must do is GO!

I want us to consider three things on this subject, "Help Us, O God!":

(1) THE PRAYER FOR HELP
PSALM 79:9—"Help us, O God of our salvation…"

A. PURGE AWAY OUR SINS. The word purge here in the Hebrew means
"purify and pardon." Take them away "that they may be seen no more;
pardon and forgive them for Christ's sake" (John Gill’s Exposition of The
Entire Bible). I am glad our Savior is "…The Lamb of God which taketh
away the sin of the world" (John 1:29) and "Who his own self bare our
sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live
unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed" (1 Peter 2:24).
And even when we sin we have this promise, "If we confess our sins, he
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness…My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye
sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for
our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

ILLUS: We are all like the moon. On one side all looks well, but the
other side is dark.

We are ALL SINNERS! But thank God, we have a forgiving God! A
God that not only forgives our sin but also forgets our sin! Hebrews
10:17 says, "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."
Even though God is forgiving and chooses to not remember or sins,
we still have to deal with the guilt of what we have done.

ILLUS: Jesus never attacked the sinner. He simply said, "I forgive
you." Meanwhile, he attacked the self-righteous with a
vengeance, because he knew that until they felt guilty, they
couldn't be forgiven. -- Jerry Cook, Leadership, Vol. 5, no. 2.

ILLUS: True guilt is a valuable asset for living. It helps us when we
hurt others or betray our own standards and values. God uses
guilt to influence us to change our minds about what we are
doing, leading us to repentance. If we never felt guilt, we
would not follow rules or standards, obey the law, or have good
relationships with loved ones. -- Brenda Poinsett in
Understanding a Woman's Depression. Christianity Today, Vol.
34, no. 4.

The first part of this prayer for help deals with pardon for our sins, but
also note the second request…

B. DELIVER US FROM OUR TROUBLES. David said in Psalm 34:4-8--
"I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my
fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were
not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved
him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encampeth round
about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the
LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him." The word taste
in the Hebrew means "try, perceive." When we find ourselves in trouble
whether by our own doing or by someone else’s, we can rest in the
Lord. If He chooses to take us out of the trial, we can praise HIM and
if He chooses to allow us to endure the trial, we can still praise HIM!
Just as the Hebrew children in Daniel 3:17-18—"If it be so, our God
whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and
he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto
thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden
image which thou hast set up."

C. HELP US TO SERVE THEE IN THE FUTURE (V13). Whatever trial we
face, whatever trouble we are in, whatever sin has overtaken us; We
have the greatest help known to man. Psalm 124:8—"Our help is in
the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth." He understands
our failures, our weaknesses, and our pain. As Hebrews 4:15-16 tells
us, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the
feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet
without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that
we might obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Matthew
Henry said, "The Christian forgets not that he is often bound in the
chain of his sins…How fervently should he at all times pray, O let the
sighing of a prisoner come before thee, according to the greatness of
thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die! How glorious
will the day be, when, triumphant over sin and sorrow, the church
beholds the adversary disarmed for ever! while that church shall, from
age to age, sing the praises of her great Shepherd and Bishop, her King
and her God" (Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary).

We see THE PRAYER FOR HELP: A purging of sin, A delivering from Troubles, and help to serve Him in the future. But also note…

(2) THE PLEA FOR HELP
PSALM 79:8-9—"O remember not against us our former iniquities:
let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought
very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of
thy name..and…for thy name’s sake."

*Even though God has promised to forgive and not remember our
iniquities, we sometimes have a hard time forgetting our sins and the
sins of others because of the pain it has caused us. We should pray that
we are able to forgive and forget sin. As 1 Peter 4:8 tells us, "And above
all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover
the multitude of sins." The word charity is LOVE!

*John Wesley said, "He that loves another, covers his faults, how many
soever they be. He turns away his own eyes from them; and, as far as is
possible, hides them from others. And he continually prays that all the
sinner's iniquities may be forgiven and his sins covered" (John Wesley’s
Explanatory Notes). The reason we cannot get past the offense of one
who has wronged us is that we don’t love them as much as we profess
we do. Why should we practice forgiveness and forgetting of sin:

A. F0R GOD’S NAMESAKE. Notice the last part of v9—"For thy
name’s sake." That thy name may be honored. We are thy professed
people; we have been redeemed by thee; and thine honor will be
affected by the question whether we are saved or destroyed, It is the
highest and purest ground for prayer, that the glory or honor of God
may be promoted (Albert Barnes’ Notes On The Bible).

B. FOR THE GLORY OF GOD. Notice what the first part of v9 says,
"Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name…" The word
glory in the Hebrew used here means "excellency." When we practice
love and forgiveness to those who have hurt us we show forth the
glory of God.

The plea of the Psalmist is that FOR GOD’S NAMESAKE and FOR THE GLORY OF GOD, "thy tender mercies speedily prevent us (prevent-Hebrew-precede, meet): for we are brought very low"(v8). We have seen THE PRAYER FOR HELP, THE PLEA FOR HELP and finally let us see…

(3) THE PROMISE OF HELP
HEBREWS 13:5b-6—"For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my
helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."

A. HIS PRESENCE. "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." He will
neither withdraw His presence ("never leave thee") nor His help ("nor
forsake thee") [BENGEL]. (Jamieson, Fausset & Brown Commentary).
He has promised in His Word, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee,
and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."
ILLUS: You don't have to be alone in your hurt! Comfort is yours. Joy
is an option. And it's all been made possible by your Savior. He
went without comfort so you might have it. He postponed joy
so you might share in it. He willingly chose isolation so you
might never be alone in your hurt and sorrow. -- Joni
Eareckson Tada, Christian Reader, Vol. 32, no. 2.

B. HIS POWER. "The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man
shall do unto me." (v6b). What a blessing it is to know "…If God be for
us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) If all should turn their

CLOSING: Every believer can boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, and I will not
fear what man shall do unto me." HE IS OUR HELP!

No matter what the future holds. He will see us through! Why
should we ever worry or be afraid? THE LORD IS OUR HELPER!
As we face the crisises of life we can be confident the Lord will be
there and will help us if only we ask HIM!

PREACHED BY BROTHER BRYAN L. BROWNING, PASTOR OF BEECHMONT BAPTIST CHURCH, BEECHMONT, KY FOR SUNDAY EVENING, AUGUST 31, 2008.

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