Post by arete on Feb 25, 2014 0:41:32 GMT
Introduction:
Have you ever felt like the world just seemed out to get you? Has the world ever actually been out to get you? Well, the Psalm this morning was written by David when it seemed the nation of Israel had turned on him. His son, Absalom, has turned against his father and captured the hearts of half or more of the people. He has convinced the people to rebel against their king and David runs for his life. During that time and before David’s eventual restoration to the throne – David wrote this Psalm to sing his heart to his God and the comfort that God alone brought him when he was surrounded by enemies…
Context:
The portion of David’s life this morning is a consequence of his personal sin. In 2 Samuel 12, Nathan the prophet spoke God’s judgment that evil would come against David from out of his own family as punishment for his sin concerning Bathsheba and Uriah. The account of this trouble, specifically between David & Absalom, covers 2 Samuel 13-19. In short, one of David’s sons molested his half-sister, Tamar a full sister to Absalom. After the rape, Absalom took her in & waited several years to take revenge by killing his brother and fleeing from Israel. Several years later, David permitted Absalom’s return. Upon returning to Jerusalem, Absalom began to gather people to himself and criticize the king. Soon, he had his allies together & they moved on Jerusalem. David fled the city with those loyal to him. He wrote this psalm while he was hiding from his son. David was running for his life. Psalm 3 then is a psalm of lament, a psalm that expresses grief of one’s condition, including the lament, a statement of trust in God and an affirmation of praise to him. With these circumstances in mind, let’s turn to Psalm 3…
Body – Psalm 3 – ESV (Sub points are labeled in accord with the definition of a lament)
Save Me, O My God
A Psalm of David: When He Fled From Absalom His Son.
1 O LORD, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
there is no salvation for him in God. Selah
3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the LORD,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Arise, O LORD!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Salvation belongs to the LORD;
your blessing be on your people! Selah
Lament vv. 1-2
David begins by calling on God by name (v. 1a). He uses God’s covenant name to remind himself (not God) of God’s promises to him and to Israel. David knows that he was chosen by God to be king and that God will neither abandon him nor Israel. The use of this name emphasizes a deep, spiritual intimacy between David and his God similar to a Christian crying, “Abba, Father”.
David calls on God as his only help amidst many enemies (1b.) 2 Samuel 15:6 & 13 tell us that Absalom had the hearts of the men of Israel. While some remained loyal, the majority had turned on David and on God who made David king. The language here also implies that David’s enemies are multiplying.
David’s enemies doubt God’s ability or desire to save him (v. 2). The word for salvation can mean both a current help or aid to be victorious as well as David’s eternal fate. This word is the root of the name Jesus. The enemies are basically saying, “Even God can’t help him now.”
The doubt of the enemies is unfortunately due in part to David. David has sinned against God in the matter of Uriah and Bathsheba. Further, he allowed the rape of Tamar to go unpunished. David was a real man who was imperfect. His imperfections have now led to men doubting God.
Note: the word “Selah” (v. 2, 4, 8). This word is some form of musical notation. It is found 71 times in the Psalms. It is an ancient word. Some commentators will speak with great authority as to what it means – perhaps to play softly, or sing louder, or even to pause and meditate on the verse …but the meaning is lost to antiquity. There is no concrete evidence of its meaning.
Illustration:
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—(Romans 5:12 ESV)
Application:
You have no guarantee that there will be no hard times in your life. We live in a sinful, broken world filled with sinful people. Hard times come from the consequences of our own sin and sometimes from the sins of others, from both of these, or even from the fundamental brokenness of Creation. Here, we find David’s predicament is part of the consequence of his sin with Bathsheba. Sometimes the hard times are simply the price we pay for sin. Other times, hardship simply comes. The life of a believer is not a free pass to a conflict free life of ease. Rather, it is how we respond to hardships that make the difference between the life of a believer and wicked men. We now get to move to David’s response to his dire situation…
Statement of Trust vv. 3-6
David contrasts his dire situation with God’s care and protection (v. 3a). This is a contrasting parallel to verses 1-2. While David knows that he is vastly outnumbered man to man, he also knows that God alone outnumbers all of his enemies. He lays hold of the Lord as a shield according to Genesis 15:1 when God assured Abraham that he was that shield and that Abraham would father a nation.
David knows that God is his source of hope (v. 3b). The only glory David has is the glory of God. He is king because of God’s greatness and not his own. The “lifter of my head” is a figure of speech emphasizing God’s nature of raising the humble, but laying the proud low. David has fled Jerusalem w/ his head bowed & covered. Only God can raise him from his lowliness in both his status & his heart.
David’s relationship with God translates into action (v. 4). David does not plan first and then pray to God to bless David’s efforts. David prays to God first. God answers the prayer.
David rests in the security of God’s person (v. 5). David was in need. He turned to God in prayer. God responded and David went from worry to sleep. David wakes from his rest with sure knowledge that God is the one sustaining him. The idea here is that God is the one David rested upon. No matter what else happens – David has God and God is more than enough.
David’s relationship and rest in the Lord changes his disposition (v. 6). David goes from one running for his life, scared of a vast number of enemies to courage because the Lord is on his side. David would have no cause for courage any other way. Because David has made certain that he is right before God, he has no need to fear any outcome or any number of enemies.
Illustration:
Lying down to sleep expresses David's confidence in God's response to his plea. [God] is the Great King who will come to the aid of his son. Instead of being vexed in his soul or making plans to relieve the pressure, [David] has learned to console himself with God. Too often plans come before prayers. How many blessings we may miss by conceiving our own schemes only to see God frustrate them later and work out his own plan! (Expositor’s Commentary to the Psalms)
Application:
You have to know God before you can rightly trust in God. This means an ongoing growth in your relationship with him. By spending time with him in his word and in prayer, you find yourself deeply satisfied in him. Then when hard times strike – you are not trying to mend and build the relationship so you can rest in him and on him. You have been resting on him in good times and so you lean fully upon him in hard times because you know his promise to shield you and you have experience being shielded. You dare to lean on him fully because you know how trustworthy he is.
Affirmation & Praise Directed to God vv. 7-8
David now has confidence to go before God with petition and praise (v. 7a). David knows God’s nature and person. He knows that he is God’s king, but more important, David knows that God is his king. God is the only one who can save David. David knows it. He pleads with God to arise and save him.
David goes beyond his salvation to what is called an imprecatory prayer (v. 7b). Imprecatory prayers can be difficult to work with and deal with emotionally. They are pleas to God to judge and punish. They can be quite violent sounding as well.
Let’s look at David’s imprecation (v. 7b).
1. “You strike my enemies on the cheek” – this is an act of humiliation. This is like slapping an opponent because they are not worth striking like a man.
2. “You break the teeth of the wicked” – this is a word picture of taking a predator’s ability to hurt and kill. The foes are like mindless animals that want to maim and rend and David asks that they be made powerless to work their evil intent.
How can David pray such things? It hardly sounds Christian. Since he is God’s child and he is in right standing before his father and his father has promised to defend him – in this sense David’s enemies are God’s enemies. They seek to hurt God’s child and king. David then is praying that God be victorious over God’s enemies. He is asking God to act as judge and jury and in a sense, as executioner. If David really wants justice, there is nothing wrong here. If he is acting in vindictiveness, he would be wrong.
David is being honest before God. He has been wronged. His desire for justice is a reflection of God’s nature in the image of God that David bears. It is not wrong to bring your hurts and injuries before God and ask for him to act rightly and justly and be victorious and stop the hurts you receive. He may choose to punish or he may choose mercy. He may even bring your enemy into right relationship to him and to you. To remain right before God – you trust that God will do right and you do not begrudge anyone the same mercy you have received from God.
David ends his Psalm with praise directed to the person of God (v.8). Salvation, whether that is David being saved from his enemies or the saving of his soul, both of these are from the Lord. David recognizes and rejoices in his dependence upon God. David also pronounces God’s blessing on God’s people – the blessing is God himself and a right relationship with God. No greater blessing can come than all the people do right before God and reap the benefit of being in right relationship to Him.
Illustration:
…since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might… (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 ESV)
Application:
You can trust God to handle evil men. When wronged, pour out your heart to him. But trust that he knows the right way to handle it and that maybe you don’t. Be ready to rejoice that you must be fully dependent on him. Be ready to rejoice if he shows mercy to your enemies. Be ready to stand in hushed awe at his justice knowing that we all have deserved his wrath. Be ready to give thanks and praise that you have not received what you deserve, but have instead received Christ because at times you have been the enemy to another.
So What? What do we do with this?
As we conclude, we should all know that God did indeed deliver David. God thwarted Absalom. David was restored as king, but the consequences of his sin with Bathsheba led to all this strife and the death of Absalom. David’s trust in God was wise and well-placed.
Hard times can serve to either drive us to God or lure us to turn away. The saying goes that the same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. Stay close to God in good times and pray for mercy that when harsh times come you run straight to the shield of your God.
In hard times, cry out to God for relief and justice. But do not forget that God alone is always just. For your part, live out Paul’s words in the letter to the Romans with which we close:
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:19-21)
Benediction (final words of passage quoted as an illustration above)
To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12)
Have you ever felt like the world just seemed out to get you? Has the world ever actually been out to get you? Well, the Psalm this morning was written by David when it seemed the nation of Israel had turned on him. His son, Absalom, has turned against his father and captured the hearts of half or more of the people. He has convinced the people to rebel against their king and David runs for his life. During that time and before David’s eventual restoration to the throne – David wrote this Psalm to sing his heart to his God and the comfort that God alone brought him when he was surrounded by enemies…
Context:
The portion of David’s life this morning is a consequence of his personal sin. In 2 Samuel 12, Nathan the prophet spoke God’s judgment that evil would come against David from out of his own family as punishment for his sin concerning Bathsheba and Uriah. The account of this trouble, specifically between David & Absalom, covers 2 Samuel 13-19. In short, one of David’s sons molested his half-sister, Tamar a full sister to Absalom. After the rape, Absalom took her in & waited several years to take revenge by killing his brother and fleeing from Israel. Several years later, David permitted Absalom’s return. Upon returning to Jerusalem, Absalom began to gather people to himself and criticize the king. Soon, he had his allies together & they moved on Jerusalem. David fled the city with those loyal to him. He wrote this psalm while he was hiding from his son. David was running for his life. Psalm 3 then is a psalm of lament, a psalm that expresses grief of one’s condition, including the lament, a statement of trust in God and an affirmation of praise to him. With these circumstances in mind, let’s turn to Psalm 3…
Body – Psalm 3 – ESV (Sub points are labeled in accord with the definition of a lament)
Save Me, O My God
A Psalm of David: When He Fled From Absalom His Son.
1 O LORD, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
there is no salvation for him in God. Selah
3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the LORD,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Arise, O LORD!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Salvation belongs to the LORD;
your blessing be on your people! Selah
Lament vv. 1-2
David begins by calling on God by name (v. 1a). He uses God’s covenant name to remind himself (not God) of God’s promises to him and to Israel. David knows that he was chosen by God to be king and that God will neither abandon him nor Israel. The use of this name emphasizes a deep, spiritual intimacy between David and his God similar to a Christian crying, “Abba, Father”.
David calls on God as his only help amidst many enemies (1b.) 2 Samuel 15:6 & 13 tell us that Absalom had the hearts of the men of Israel. While some remained loyal, the majority had turned on David and on God who made David king. The language here also implies that David’s enemies are multiplying.
David’s enemies doubt God’s ability or desire to save him (v. 2). The word for salvation can mean both a current help or aid to be victorious as well as David’s eternal fate. This word is the root of the name Jesus. The enemies are basically saying, “Even God can’t help him now.”
The doubt of the enemies is unfortunately due in part to David. David has sinned against God in the matter of Uriah and Bathsheba. Further, he allowed the rape of Tamar to go unpunished. David was a real man who was imperfect. His imperfections have now led to men doubting God.
Note: the word “Selah” (v. 2, 4, 8). This word is some form of musical notation. It is found 71 times in the Psalms. It is an ancient word. Some commentators will speak with great authority as to what it means – perhaps to play softly, or sing louder, or even to pause and meditate on the verse …but the meaning is lost to antiquity. There is no concrete evidence of its meaning.
Illustration:
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—(Romans 5:12 ESV)
Application:
You have no guarantee that there will be no hard times in your life. We live in a sinful, broken world filled with sinful people. Hard times come from the consequences of our own sin and sometimes from the sins of others, from both of these, or even from the fundamental brokenness of Creation. Here, we find David’s predicament is part of the consequence of his sin with Bathsheba. Sometimes the hard times are simply the price we pay for sin. Other times, hardship simply comes. The life of a believer is not a free pass to a conflict free life of ease. Rather, it is how we respond to hardships that make the difference between the life of a believer and wicked men. We now get to move to David’s response to his dire situation…
Statement of Trust vv. 3-6
David contrasts his dire situation with God’s care and protection (v. 3a). This is a contrasting parallel to verses 1-2. While David knows that he is vastly outnumbered man to man, he also knows that God alone outnumbers all of his enemies. He lays hold of the Lord as a shield according to Genesis 15:1 when God assured Abraham that he was that shield and that Abraham would father a nation.
David knows that God is his source of hope (v. 3b). The only glory David has is the glory of God. He is king because of God’s greatness and not his own. The “lifter of my head” is a figure of speech emphasizing God’s nature of raising the humble, but laying the proud low. David has fled Jerusalem w/ his head bowed & covered. Only God can raise him from his lowliness in both his status & his heart.
David’s relationship with God translates into action (v. 4). David does not plan first and then pray to God to bless David’s efforts. David prays to God first. God answers the prayer.
David rests in the security of God’s person (v. 5). David was in need. He turned to God in prayer. God responded and David went from worry to sleep. David wakes from his rest with sure knowledge that God is the one sustaining him. The idea here is that God is the one David rested upon. No matter what else happens – David has God and God is more than enough.
David’s relationship and rest in the Lord changes his disposition (v. 6). David goes from one running for his life, scared of a vast number of enemies to courage because the Lord is on his side. David would have no cause for courage any other way. Because David has made certain that he is right before God, he has no need to fear any outcome or any number of enemies.
Illustration:
Lying down to sleep expresses David's confidence in God's response to his plea. [God] is the Great King who will come to the aid of his son. Instead of being vexed in his soul or making plans to relieve the pressure, [David] has learned to console himself with God. Too often plans come before prayers. How many blessings we may miss by conceiving our own schemes only to see God frustrate them later and work out his own plan! (Expositor’s Commentary to the Psalms)
Application:
You have to know God before you can rightly trust in God. This means an ongoing growth in your relationship with him. By spending time with him in his word and in prayer, you find yourself deeply satisfied in him. Then when hard times strike – you are not trying to mend and build the relationship so you can rest in him and on him. You have been resting on him in good times and so you lean fully upon him in hard times because you know his promise to shield you and you have experience being shielded. You dare to lean on him fully because you know how trustworthy he is.
Affirmation & Praise Directed to God vv. 7-8
David now has confidence to go before God with petition and praise (v. 7a). David knows God’s nature and person. He knows that he is God’s king, but more important, David knows that God is his king. God is the only one who can save David. David knows it. He pleads with God to arise and save him.
David goes beyond his salvation to what is called an imprecatory prayer (v. 7b). Imprecatory prayers can be difficult to work with and deal with emotionally. They are pleas to God to judge and punish. They can be quite violent sounding as well.
Let’s look at David’s imprecation (v. 7b).
1. “You strike my enemies on the cheek” – this is an act of humiliation. This is like slapping an opponent because they are not worth striking like a man.
2. “You break the teeth of the wicked” – this is a word picture of taking a predator’s ability to hurt and kill. The foes are like mindless animals that want to maim and rend and David asks that they be made powerless to work their evil intent.
How can David pray such things? It hardly sounds Christian. Since he is God’s child and he is in right standing before his father and his father has promised to defend him – in this sense David’s enemies are God’s enemies. They seek to hurt God’s child and king. David then is praying that God be victorious over God’s enemies. He is asking God to act as judge and jury and in a sense, as executioner. If David really wants justice, there is nothing wrong here. If he is acting in vindictiveness, he would be wrong.
David is being honest before God. He has been wronged. His desire for justice is a reflection of God’s nature in the image of God that David bears. It is not wrong to bring your hurts and injuries before God and ask for him to act rightly and justly and be victorious and stop the hurts you receive. He may choose to punish or he may choose mercy. He may even bring your enemy into right relationship to him and to you. To remain right before God – you trust that God will do right and you do not begrudge anyone the same mercy you have received from God.
David ends his Psalm with praise directed to the person of God (v.8). Salvation, whether that is David being saved from his enemies or the saving of his soul, both of these are from the Lord. David recognizes and rejoices in his dependence upon God. David also pronounces God’s blessing on God’s people – the blessing is God himself and a right relationship with God. No greater blessing can come than all the people do right before God and reap the benefit of being in right relationship to Him.
Illustration:
…since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might… (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 ESV)
Application:
You can trust God to handle evil men. When wronged, pour out your heart to him. But trust that he knows the right way to handle it and that maybe you don’t. Be ready to rejoice that you must be fully dependent on him. Be ready to rejoice if he shows mercy to your enemies. Be ready to stand in hushed awe at his justice knowing that we all have deserved his wrath. Be ready to give thanks and praise that you have not received what you deserve, but have instead received Christ because at times you have been the enemy to another.
So What? What do we do with this?
As we conclude, we should all know that God did indeed deliver David. God thwarted Absalom. David was restored as king, but the consequences of his sin with Bathsheba led to all this strife and the death of Absalom. David’s trust in God was wise and well-placed.
Hard times can serve to either drive us to God or lure us to turn away. The saying goes that the same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. Stay close to God in good times and pray for mercy that when harsh times come you run straight to the shield of your God.
In hard times, cry out to God for relief and justice. But do not forget that God alone is always just. For your part, live out Paul’s words in the letter to the Romans with which we close:
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:19-21)
Benediction (final words of passage quoted as an illustration above)
To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12)