Worship

Salem Lutheran Church
Pastor Jon Enter

Theme: Deception Leads to Destruction
Text: Psalm 34:12-22

Have you noticed when you’ve read the book of Psalms in the Bible that random psalms have titles? Some of these titles simply reveal the author. Others give a snapshot into history revealing why this psalm was written. My favorite introductory words or title for a psalm is with Psalm 98. Its title is “A psalm.” That seems redundant, but okay!

In today’s sermon we’re studying Psalm 34. And, you guessed it, Psalm 34 has some introductory words that reveal both the author and explain why it was written. Psalm 34 was
written by King David who was a child star of the Israelite nation after he defeated Goliath. This psalm was David’s confession of his deceitful, lying ways and also his plea for you to not follow
in his destructive footsteps. David went from child star to gone-too-far abusing the popularity and fame he had. The same thing that happened to David also happens to many child stars
today. They can’t handle the pressure placed on them and they spin out of control.

Did you know that 17 Disney child stars have been arrested? The Disney Channel! That’s supposed to be family TV stars kids look up to and admire! It’s not just the Disney Channel kids
that suffer the fall from fame. Macaulay Culkin, from Home Alone, was devastatingly addicted to heroin for many years. At one point he was smoking 60 cigarettes a day. Dana Plato, from Diff’rent Strokes, was convicted of armed robbery and died of a drug overdose. Lindsay Lohan, from Parent Trap and 28 other movies, has been in and out of Alcohol
Rehab six times and to jail six times. Brian Bonsall, from Family Ties, has been arrested for assault and drug possession. He has a
reported net worth of $5,000. Sadly, that is not a typo. Amanda Bynes, from Nickelodeon’s Figure It Out & All That, was drunk tweeting President Obama to try to get out of a DUI charge and was been committed to an Involuntary Psychiatric hold in a mental ward. This is only a small list of child stars who fell from their rise to fame.

David, who wrote Psalm 34, was a biblical childhood star who lost it all. David shot into instant stardom after he fought Goliath. David wasn’t even old enough to fight in the army but
he went out and stood toe-to-toe against the giant, Goliath. The Bible records Goliath to be around nine feet tall with a massive, muscular physique based on the heavy weapons and
armor he had. To put his size into perspective… I just lifted up on end an eight foot table with the picture of a head on a piece of paper on the top. This is about how tall Goliath was. And
David faced him and defeated him even though David was wearing no armor and had no sword. David won because he trusted in the Lord and God fought the battle for him, through
him! (1 Samuel 17)

Instantly, David, son of Jesse, became a household name as news spread of this amazing one-on-one battle. Eventually, David became a great military man and won the hearts of all the
people through his mighty acts of bravery and military genius. In fact, David became such a star the people compared David to their current King Saul and shouted, “Saul has slain his
thousands and David his tens of thousands.” (1 Samuel 18:7)

Much like the childhood stars we talked about at the beginning of the sermon, David couldn’t handle the power and fame given his name. It went to his head. It became all about
him and his abilities and his clever, cunning ways of deception to advance himself rather than trusting the Lord.

What is the worst act of deception you’ve ever done? What’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told in your life? What’s a lie that haunts you yet today? David committed many acts of dishonesty and deception throughout his life and this psalm is based on one of those evil acts. And it’s not the one you’re likely thinking of. The deception of David that this psalm is written about is not the deception and coverup of David’s affair with Bathsheba. That’s well known. This story of David’s deception isn’t. Before Psalm 34, there is a lengthy inscription telling the reader the background behind this psalm. Here’s that inscription: “Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away and he left.”

Do you know this story? Most don’t. I guess it’s story time to catch you up. Do you remember that chant the people had that I quoted before? Saul killed thousands and David tens of thousands. This made King Saul murderously jealous of David. Because King Saul was terrified of losing his kingdom and crown to David, Saul tried to kill him. This is where David’s
deceptions/lies started to stockpile. David escaped out a window and placed a David-sized stuffed doll in his bed complete with goat’s hair to throw off the king. DECEPTION #1. (1
Samuel 19) From there, David convinced his best friend, Jonathan, who happened to be King Saul’s son to lie to his father about David. DECEPTION #2. (1 Samuel 20) From there, David then
fled to Nob and the priest at Nob questioned David why he was there and was unarmed. David lied directly to the priest saying he was on a special mission from the king. The priest gave
David food and a weapon. DECEPTION #3. (1 Samuel 21) From there, David hid out in enemy territory—the land of the Philistines—but his identity was discovered and he was arrested. In
order to get out of that scary situation, David pretended to be insane so the king would let him go. DECEPTION #4. (1 Samuel 21) David filled his life with deception and trickery rather than trusting in the power and might of God who saved him from certain death by the hands of Goliath. David forgot about God and lied to get ahead.

Lying leads to destruction. It does. It always does…it’s just a matter of time. You know that full well from that horrible lie and act of deception that is on your heart right now. Lying leads to destruction we see this clearly from David. He warns us from following his deceitful example with this words, “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.” (Psalm 34:13)
WHEN YOU LIE, you place yourself in danger. When King Saul tried to kill David, David should have prayed to and trusted the Lord just as he did with Goliath. God would have kept him safe; God would have protected him because David knew he was God’s chosen successor to King Saul on the throne of Israel. (1 Samuel 16) That would have been the end of the story
but David trusted in lying instead God.

Look at your life, when you’ve lied to avoid getting in trouble, it eventually made matters worse. When you’ve lied, you’ve placed yourself in danger. Sometimes that danger is physical
but most of the time it is emotional. Even if you get away with a lie, you don’t; your conscience plagues you and heaps guilt upon you. Through this Psalm, David is pleading with you to learn
from his mistakes—and your own—and trust that God will get you through the tough situations that you fear. Lying can’t. That’s why an older, wiser David wrote: “I sought the LORD
and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4) Lying leads to destruction.

Here’s the double danger of lying. When you lie, you not only place yourself in danger but WHEN YOU LIE, other people get hurt. David was more concerned about himself than anyone
else he hurt when he was living by deception. When King Saul found out the priest at Nob gave food and a weapon to help David, Saul slaughtered the head priest of Nob and the 84 other
priests who served with him. Then Saul had the entire town of Nob killed as well, “its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep.” (1 Samuel 22:19) WHEN
YOU LIE, other people get hurt. In David’s case, people got dead.

When you’ve lied, people have gotten hurt. Who have you deeply hurt by the lies, by the deception you’ve had? How many people have you hurt and you haven’t even realized it? Only
one man escaped from Nob alive. As he fled, he ran into David. That’s the only way David knew what his lie did to others. Too often, we are so self-absorbed we don’t even realize how even
the smallest lies affect others. David probably thought he was helping the priest out by not telling him what was really happening. “I don’t need to involve him; what he doesn’t know
won’t hurt him.” David probably thought. It did; not knowing got him killed.

Whenever you get the pit your stomach and a pang in your conscience alerting you that a lie is about to come out and you condone that sin telling yourself, “What they don’t know
won’t hurt them.” Remember the priests and the town of Nob. Remember what David’s lie did to others. WHEN YOU LIE, other people get hurt.

Finally, WHEN YOU LIE, you do strange things. Things you normally wouldn’t do. Look at David and the reason for this psalm to be written. David was facing death once again now at
the hands of a foreign king. Again, rather than trusting in God, David relied on deception. “He pretended to be insane…making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down
his beard.” (1 Samuel 21:13) Now think about this. David was captured by enemy soldiers standing in front of the city. Did they give him arts and crafts supplies that he could use to
make marks on city gate? So, what do you think he used to mark up the doors to make him look and smell insane? David likely smeared his feces on the city gate and probably himself to
act insane. WHEN YOU LIE, you do strange things!

Whenever you tell a lie, you come out of that situation smelling foul spiritually to the Lord like David did physically (and spiritually). All lies, no matter how small or seemly insignificant
they are, stink to God. And if a lie is seemingly insignificant, then why tell it in the first place? Lies give birth to lies. Lying leads to destruction. Confessing them leads to restoration.
Whatever you’ve done, whatever lie you’ve said, God already knows. He invites you, He calls on you, He wants you to open your heart and confess and to be released—released—from
that guilt.

David did. David confessed and he knew just has cleansing and beautifully peace-filled God’s forgiveness is. That’s why he ended his psalm this way. “The LORD redeems His servants;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him.” (Psalm 34:22) Christ is calling out to you to confess every lie—big and small. To stop covering them up because they always, eventually, lead to destruction. Christ wants you to live a life of truth instead. He tells you in John 8:32, “Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Jesus tells us the truth—the way to be saved and freed from our sins—is to hold to and believe Jesus’ teachings. His teachings reveal He lived a perfect life for us, never once telling a lie or living a life of evil deception. Jesus saves you. Jesus forgives you. Jesus gives you the reason to never lie again. You are God’s chosen child. You were brought to faith by the power of the Holy Spirit. God loves you. He cherishes you. He cares for you so much He chose you over His own Son sending Jesus to the cross to die so that He could call you His own son and daughter. Since God loves you that much, He will protect you and prosper you and even turn the bad in your life into good. That’s why David proclaimed in praise, “The LORD saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18). Pursue peace in Christ, not in lies, and you will have peace. Amen.