(Psalm 43:1-5)----------"O, DELIVER ME"!
Intro: There is a question that men ask when the trials and storms of life gather. Often you will hear them ask, "Why do bad things happen to good people." Has this question ever plagued your mind? Of course it has! We all want to know why the bad things in life happen to good people we know, or even to good people like ourselves. One person asked a preacher that same question, and his answer to her was this: "I don't know, I haven't met any good people."  His answer was designed to remind the lady that we are all sinners; and secondly, he wanted her to understand that no one is immune from trouble. This second truth is driven home in this Psalm.  There is some debate as to who penned this. Some have suggested that it was David when he was fleeing from the revolt of his son Absalom. Others, that it was king Hezekiah when Jerusalem was under attack from the Assyrians. Either way, we see that the author of this Psalm is going through a time of stress, personal attack and inner turmoil. His life has brought him face to face with circumstances that are out of his control and they have brought pain and confusion.  The fact is, each one of us have faced times in our lives when we were backed against the wall with no way out! Those are the times of life that define us as believers and confirm or deny our testimony concerning our faith and hope in God-(v.5-"hope in God")
As we read this Psalm, this broken man is seen clinging to his faith in God as a man thrown overboard into the ocean clings to a life preserver. As he lifts his prayer to the Lord, he cries out in his despair, "O, Deliver Me!"  Tonight, I want us to see both the depth of his pain and the height of his faith in the Lord...Most young people don't see a need to cry out to God becausse they haven't lived long enough to face the BIG PROBLEMS that life brings; but in time all people will cry out for something!  This Psalm offers us some reasons for encouragement in the midst of our troubles. 
I. (v. 1-3)- THE BELIEVER'S CRY--If there was ever a reason to rejoice is difficulty it lies in the fact that we have access to God. This Psalmist is in touch with God; and in God he finds all the help he needs to weather this storm!
A. (v. 1-2)- A Cry For Liberty - The Psalmist feels trapped by his circumstances and he cries out to God for deliverance. Do you ever feel trapped?  *The writter wanted to be delivered from:
1. From The Slander Of Men - He feels that he has been done wrong and he has been hurt by the words and actions of others, so he pleads for God to get involved and to vindicate him before his enemies.  "Judge me and plead my cause"....this means "God, YOU handle it!"
2. From The Silence Of God - Often it seems that God is totally unconcerned about our situation. We pray and nothing happens....The silence in our life is DEAFENING!  Keep in mind that when these times come our way, we need to remember that the Lord operates in ways that we cannot comprehend.  His timetable is not the same as out timetable.  He WILL ACT when the time is right! (The disciples accused Jesus of "never" caring. Their ship was going down whle he was asleep!)  On another occasion, Jesus delayed His action during the sickness and death of Lazarus in John 11!  When He did move, He received more glory and performed and even greater miracle.  God's silence in your life does not mean that He does not care. It merely means that He has something even greater and more glorious waiting on you than that for which you are currently praying!
3. From The Sorrow Of Heart -His question could be stated like this: "Why am I letting the actions of a few godless people control my life?" That is a good question! When we reach the place where our troubles, negative people, and the circumstances of life control our joy and steal our peace...we need to cry with the pslamist O DELIVER ME!!!  Jesus promised us His peace and joy in Phil. 4:7; John 14:27; Gal. 5:22!!!  If that is true, and it is, then you have no one to blame but yourself for letting others get in your way!  No one can steal your joy...you have to give it up all by yourself!   This man knows where his strength lies, v. 2. He calls on God because his circumstances are beyond his control. They are situations that he cannot fix!  So, he calls on the name of the Lord, knowing that God alone has the power to fix that which is broken!  The sooner we learn this truth the better off we will be: You can't fix what is broken in your life! There's no use in you worrying over it. There's no use in you letting is consume and control your life. The best thing you can do is learn to bring it to the Lord, stand in His strength and watch Him work it out for you!
B. (v. 3)- A Cry For Leadership - The Psalmist knows that only God can lead him on the right path to victory. (song: "Where he leads me I will follow")
1. He Desires God's Word - He desires to be lead by truth and light. These are references to the Word of God. The Psalmist wants to hear the voice of God telling him what to do! When you need direction and leadership in your life, look no farther than the Bible. It is a book that holds the solutions to all of life's riddles.
2. He Desires God's Way - He vows to follow God's plan to the place of victory in his life. People who attend church regularly hear the voice of God through His Word. They see the path illuminated by His truth ("send the light"-v.3), yet they refuse to walk in His ways. "To obey is better than sacrifice"!!!   The writer of Psalm 119, said it this way, "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.", v. 11.
3. He Desires God's Worship - It is hard to worship when there is trouble in your heart. It is hard to express the Joy of the Lord when you are crushed under the burdens of life. 
II. (v. 4)-THE BELIEVER'S COMMITMENT--The Psalmist makes certain promises to the Lord. He says that God's work in his life will be answered by God's worship from his life!-(What are you gonna do for God IF he answers your request?)
A. He Promises To Offer Sacrifices - He vows that he will make his way to the altar and offer a sacrifice. Notice what he says, "I will go!"  Those words suggest that perhaps he is promising to do what the Lord wants all His people to do: offer themselves to Him as a living sacrifice, Rom. 12:1-2. 
B. He Promises To Offer Songs - We live in a time when praise has just about gone out of style. People are either ashamed of the Lord, too bashful to praise the Lord, too stubborn to praise the Lord, too sinful to praise the Lord, too prideful to praise the Lord, or they just do not know the Lord!   This is the one thing we ALL can do: we can all open our mouths and give praise to the Lord!  That is the purpose of our testimony time! We are to unashamedly let others know what He has done and is doing for us!(Shame on us when we can't even thank God for our salvation!...even more so OUR BLESSINGS day by day!)
III. (v. 5)-THE BELIEVER'S CONFIDENCE...The Psalmist knows that the Lord is working on his behalf and he knows that in the Lord's time, all troubles are going to fall by the way side. He expresses his confidence in the Lord in two ways:  A. A Personal Challenge - He asks his soul a question: "Since God is in control of this thing, why are you so upset?"  There is no room for overwhelming sadness and fear in the heart of a believer! If there is really a God in Heaven, and if He is really our Heavenly Father, what right do we have to worry about and get upset over the difficulties of life?  You see, worry says, "God is dead! Life is hopeless and defeat is sure." Therefore, instead of letting worry sap your strength, ruin your nights and shorten your life, take God's prescription for worry, and let Him take care of your situations! 
B. A Profound Certainty - Even though he is still in the dark valley, the Psalmist knows that he will soon come out of that valley in victory. How does he know this? It's very simple: He has his faith in God, Heb. 11:1! He knows that regardless of how bad it looks right now, the Lord is going to bring him through it and out the other side. (Ill. Psa 23:4, "Yea, though I pass through the valley of the shadow of death!"