The Blessing Upon God’s People
Psalms 3
July 8, 2018
Tonight we look at the 3rd Psalm.
It has been often referred to as “The Morning Psalm” since this Psalm spans the course of David’s night into David’s morning.
• He took his request to God, slept, and then awoke in confidence.
For many it has epitomized the statement made in Psalms 30:5
Psalms 30:5 “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.”
This Psalm has also been many times seen as a foreshadowing of Christ.
• Both Augustin and Luther saw this Psalm almost exclusively about Christ, seeing in particular vs 5 as a picture of Christ’s death and resurrection.
• Spurgeon regarded it a picture of the suffering of Christ as he accounted that as David fled from Jerusalem across the brook Kedron, so also did Christ cross the brook into the Garden of Gethsemane.
And I certainly have no problem with any of those observations
Since certainly we are aware that all of Scripture points to Christ.
And then we also find a familiarity with this Psalm in the choral arrangement so many have become familiar with called “Thou O Lord” which I believe has even been sung in our church.
What we have here is a glorious and encouraging Psalm.
It is certainly a song for the church.
As it boasts of the great nature of our God as a gracious deliverer.
It is a song which David learned of the Lord in the midst of great affliction
And therefore a song which David taught to the congregation
For them to sing at the same time.
While this is a song that can most certainly be sung during moments of exaltation, it is primarily a song to be sung while in the midst of adversity.
It is a song meant to give peace and rest and hope to God’s people
In the midst of their trials because,
As David says in the last line,
“Salvation belongs to the LORD; Your blessing be upon Your people!”
OUR GOD SAVES.
And we, as His people, dwell under that blessing of salvation.
Tonight we see the back-story to that song,
And the effect it has upon those who sing it.
We’re going to break this Psalm down into 4 points.
#1 THE TRIAL
Psalms 3:1-2
Before we even get into the text we must first take note of the subtitle.
“A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.”
This third Psalm does us the great favor of
Granting us the context in which it was inspired,
And this one was forged during the flight of David from Absalom.
Allow me to quickly refresh you on the backstory.
As you know, David had several sons.
• His oldest was Amnon, then Chileab, and the third was a boy named Absalom.
We are also told that Absalom had a sister.
2 Samuel 13:1 “Now it was after this that Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar, and Amnon the son of David loved her.”
• This love that Amnon had for Tamar quickly turned into frustration because he wanted to be with her.
• In his frustration he devised a scheme to pretend illness and when David would come to check on him,
• He would ask David to send Tamar to come and take care of him, and David in fact did.
• When Tamar arrived Amnon raped her.
Scripture then teaches that after he disgraced her, he then hated her.
2 Samuel 13:15-17 “Then Amnon hated her with a very great hatred; for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Get up, go away!” But she said to him, “No, because this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you have done to me!” Yet he would not listen to her. Then he called his young man who attended him and said, “Now throw this woman out of my presence, and lock the door behind her.”
• And what follows is really a tragic story.
• And quite honestly much of the blame falls on David.
2 Samuel 13:20-22 “Then Absalom her brother said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now keep silent, my sister, he is your brother; do not take this matter to heart.” So Tamar remained and was desolate in her brother Absalom’s house. Now when King David heard of all these matters, he was very angry. But Absalom did not speak to Amnon either good or bad; for Absalom hated Amnon because he had violated his sister Tamar.”
David heard about it, did nothing, and so you have now
Absalom who is just sort of fuming over the entire event.
• A period of 2 years passes and Absalom comes up with a plan to invite the kings sons to go with him to the sheepshearers.
• It was then that Absalom commanded his servants to kill Amnon, and they did.
• Absalom then fled to Geshur where he lived for 3 years,
• Although the Scripture says that David mourned for him every day and even longed to go to him, but he never did.
• Finally Joab (David’s chief general) devised a plan to get David to see the need for reconciliation and invite Absalom to come home, and David did.
• But even upon inviting him home David would not permit Absalom to come and see his face.
And scripture records.
2 Samuel 14:28 “Now Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, and did not see the king’s face.”
That’s now 7 years since Amnon raped Tamar,
And 5 years since David has seen Absalom. Things are festering.
• Finally Absalom has enough and basically demands a meeting with his father, which he gets and it appears that the two reconcile.
What actually happened is that Absalom used the meeting
To catapult himself back into the limelight
And to gain for himself some authority.
He hated his father and set out on a mission to win the hearts of the people of Israel over to himself, which he did. (You can read about all of this in 2 Samuel 15)
And on one fateful day Absalom had those faithful to him declare him king publicly and when David heard of it, he was forced to flee,
For he knew that Absalom would enter Jerusalem and kill him.
2 Samuel 15:13-14 “Then a messenger came to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.” David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, ” Arise and let us flee, for otherwise none of us will escape from Absalom. Go in haste, or he will overtake us quickly and bring down calamity on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”
Now, I give you the full story there for a couple of reasons.
1) I want you to know the story of David fleeing from Absalom so you’ll see the context.
2) I want you to see that David wasn’t exactly innocent in the story.
If you were to sit back as an unbiased third party
With the task of rendering judgment on the situation
I’m not sure you’d be able to just see David as this undeserving victim.
But that is important to understand because in this Psalm
We have this same David is crying out to God for deliverance.
But he cannot cry out for deliverance based upon his merit or innocence. That we are sure of.
And that’s not what David bases his appeal upon.
David cries out to God based on God’s sovereign grace,
And upon God’s faithfulness to the people He has chosen to save.
Now, that is good news for you and me.
• Many times in our afflictions we may actually feel that we have no right to cry
out to God for deliverance,
• After all, it may even be that it is our own conduct that has produced some of
our struggles.
But thankfully God’s deliverance has never been based upon our merits,
But rather upon His grace.
God delivers those whom He has chosen to save
And He does so even though they are unworthy of it.
Well, that’s the backstory, let’s move into the text now.
We’re looking at “The Trial”. David is running for his life.
And here is how David describes it to God.
(1-2) “O LORD, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me. Many are saying of my soul, “There is no deliverance for him in God.” Selah.”
First we see that David recognized that he faced A SIZEABLE FOE.
“how my adversaries have increased”
This was certainly true since Absalom had done a masterful job at winning the hearts of the people away from the king.
Absalom was extremely popular among the people.
• He was young
• He was handsome
• He was hands on (meeting the people face to face and rendering judgments)
Absalom posed the most formidable threat that David had faced yet.
There were indeed “Many” who were against David.
Added to the sting was the confidence that they had THAT GOD WOULD NOT DELIVER DAVID.
(2) “Many are saying of my soul, “There is no deliverance for him in God.”
Not only could David see the dilemma, David could also hear the rumors.
And the rumors where simple.
• God has no interest in delivering David.
• David has blown it.
• He’s been a bad King
• He’s been a bad father
• God is giving David what he deserves
One of those attacks is actually witnessed in the story.
As David flees:
2 Samuel 16:5-8 “When King David came to Bahurim, behold, there came out from there a man of the family of the house of Saul whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he came out cursing continually as he came. He threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David; and all the people and all the mighty men were at his right hand and at his left. Thus Shimei said when he cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of bloodshed, and worthless fellow! “The LORD has returned upon you all the bloodshed of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the LORD has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. And behold, you are taken in your own evil, for you are a man of bloodshed!”
• Obviously there was a disgruntled relative of Saul who took the opportunity to
assault David.
• His accusation was against David for his bloodshed in the way he treated
Saul’s lineage.
And that’s just one accusation.
• It seems that Uriah the Hittite’s relatives could have thrown stones at David there as well.
• It seems that Absalom’s friends could have thrown stones at David for the way David handled that whole affair.
THE POINT BEING, that David was not an innocent man,
• On the day that he fled there were many who took the opportunity to point out to David that he was just getting what he deserved.
And David is voicing this to God.
“God, I’ve got more enemies than I’ve ever had, and they’re even saying that You are one of them.”
And then we read “Selah”
Which is a term indicating the need for a pause for reflection.
Ponder that for a moment.
• We have a man on the run,
• Hated by many,
• And being told that God is angry at him too.
And it’s not all that far-fetched.
David is going to have a tough time appealing to God for deliverance
Based upon his own righteousness.
The Trial
#2 THE TRUTH
Psalms 3:3
The truth is that David doesn’t deserve deliverance.
The truth is that David isn’t worthy
The truth is that David probably deserves to be alienated by his family and deserted by his God.
BUT THAT IS NOT THE KIND OF GOD THAT OUR GOD IS
• Our God is not the kind of God that treats us as we deserve, He treats us according to grace.
• Our God is not the kind of God that deserts us when things get tough.
• Our God is not the kind of God who is influenced in His feelings toward us based upon the accusations of others.
That’s just not the God we serve.
Instead, David reveals the kind of God we serve.
“But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.”
Again, David DOESN’T say, “Many are against me, and many say that You are leaving me, but I don’t deserve that!”
He says, “Many are saying that You have deserted me, but that’s not who I know You to be.”
I know You as: “a shield about me”
I know You as: “My glory”
I know You as: “the One who lifts my head”
And let’s look at those statements for a moment.
David sees God here in three roles.
1) MY DEFENSE
“a shield about me”
The word for shield here is an interesting one.
It is NOT THE WORD used of a shield that a soldier would use in battle.
It is the word God used in His confrontation of Job to describe the scaly ARMOR OF A CROCODILE.
Job 41:15 “His strong scales are his pride, Shut up as with a tight seal.”
This is an all-encompassing, totally covering shield of protection.
Above – Below – In Front – Behind; TOTAL
Contrary to what David had been told, God is not a deserter.
• Nor is God One who changes His mind toward His people based on
outside accusation.
Scripture calls God our defender.
He is often described as a fortress, as a hiding place, as a refuge, as a rock
In our trouble we don’t run from Him, we run to Him.
Consider the truth Paul reminded us of in his letter to the Romans.
Romans 8:31-33 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;”
• That is not a God who casts us out when we fail, or when we face accusation.
• That is a God who knows the worst about us and justifies us anyway.
• He is not One of our adversaries.
• He is our defense. He is our shield.
Certainly that is not deserved, but that is why we say it is by grace.
David wasn’t trading on merit here,
He was trading on the gracious nature of God.
And He knew God was his defender, not his enemy.
My Defense
2) MY DIGNITY
“My glory”
Glory is the word KABOWD (Ka-vode)
It is the word used to speak of God’s glory.
It is a word that actually means “weight”.
Referring to God, it is the full manifestation of the sum total of all He is,
And therefore it refers to the full honor that He deserves.
For David it is a word that refers to his abundance,
His honor, and his glory.
That’s why we call it his dignity.
David understood that his worth and his value and his glory
Was not based upon his inherent goodness or ability,
But rather his worth and value and glory
Had been assigned to him by God.
God reveals David’s worth, just as God reveals our worth.
For example:
1 Peter 1:17-19 “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”
Our value is not assessed by our own merits or abilities,
But rather by the value that God places on us.
One of the hardships David faced was not only a physical threat of death, BUT ALSO a character assassination and a plot to totally humiliate him.
Absalom didn’t just run David out of Jerusalem, he also sought to totally discredit him.
2 Samuel 16:20-22 “Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your advice. What shall we do?” Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself odious to your father. The hands of all who are with you will also be strengthened.” So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.”
It wasn’t just about removing David from the throne,
It was also about removing David from the hearts of the people.
They sought to ruin his clout; his reputation.
But David understood that his worth and glory were given to him by the LORD, and therefore only the LORD could take it away.
Isn’t that some of what we learned last time as we looked at Psalms 2 when David listened to the nations conspiring against him?
Psalms 2:7 “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.”
David wasn’t worried about Absalom stealing his glory,
Because David’s glory didn’t come from people or from Absalom,
It came from God.
God is the One who glorifies.
My Defense, My Dignity
3) MY DELIVERER
“the One who lifts my head.”
The verb there is a word that means “to be high or exalted”
It is God who determined that David would be exalted.
God was for him, not against him,
And David knew that God would deliver him.
NOW, THIS IS OUR GOD.
And the overarching truth here that David is communicating is this:
GOD DELIVERS HIS PEOPLE
• And it really isn’t even about that His people deserve it.
• God delivers His people because they are His people and He has determined
to deliver them.
Now that may cause some pause in some,
Because instantly people will begin to think about
All the instances in which it seems like God didn’t deliver.
• We think of illnesses that lead to death
• We think of persecution that allows physical torment
• We think of suffering that continues
And people say,
“Well God didn’t deliver that person.” Or “God didn’t deliver me.”
But perhaps that’s because we fail to understand
The deliverance that God promises.
Let me give you a human example.
Take Paul for example:
We are aware of his suffering, he actually gives a synopsis to the Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 11:24-28 “Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.”
Clearly Paul walked through an enormous amount of suffering.
However, I want you to consider what Paul wrote at the end of his life,
Shortly before he was executed.
2 Timothy 3:10-11 “Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!”
2 Timothy 4:16-18 “At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
We could probably add to those the statement at the beginning of his second Corinthian letter:
2 Corinthians 1:8-11 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.”
TWO THINGS ARE CLEAR
Paul suffered in life and Paul claimed to have been delivered every time
Could it be that God’s deliverance comes in different forms?
• Sometimes it is a physical deliverance from harm.
• Sometimes it is a physical deliverance out of harm.
• But sometimes God’s deliverance is simply a deliverance that leaves you in harm, but somehow it’s ok.
Clearly Paul had that 3rd type of deliverance.
That is also the kind that David is about to receive.
LET ME SHOW YOU.
The Trial, The Truth
#3 THE TESTIMONY
Psalms 3:4-6
Now please notice that a tense change has occurred.
In verses 1-3 David spoke in present tense.
• It reflected his cry and declared faith in God during his trial.
However, when come to verses 4-5 David is speaking in past tense.
• He is speaking of a previous conversation with the Lord.
What you will see is that David started this Psalm on the night before,
Went to bed and woke up to finish it.
And now, he is recounting the conversation he had the night before.
And he says, “I was crying to the LORD with my voice,”
• That is in reference to the first 3 verses.
• David reiterates that in his great affliction he was laying it all out on God.
“was crying” indicates an ongoing appeal
“with my voice” indicates the intensity, for it was more than a silent meditation
David spent the evening beseeching the LORD
And crying out in faith to Him.
And David reveals; “And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.”
David says, GOD ANSWERED!
• He even answered “from His holy mountain.”
• To which David includes another “Selah” or ponder that!
The God of heaven, took the time to answer me in the midst of my affliction.
He did not abandon me as my accusers had said.
God answered me.
Now, what David does not include is God’s answer.
We don’t know what God told him.
• Maybe, “Don’t worry”
• Maybe, “Just trust Me”
• Maybe, “I’m about to deliver you back”
We don’t know.
What WE DO KNOW IS the effect that God’s answer had on David.
(5) “I lay down and slept;”
That’s pretty remarkable considering that Absalom was after him to kill him.
In fact,
There was a counselor in Israel named Ahithophel who had been David’s counselor and his advice was considered genius.
2 Samuel 16:23 “The advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if one inquired of the word of God; so was all the advice of Ahithophel regarded by both David and Absalom.”
Absalom called for Ahithophel for counsel
And do you want to know what his counsel was?
2 Samuel 17:1-3 “Furthermore, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Please let me choose 12,000 men that I may arise and pursue David tonight. “I will come upon him while he is weary and exhausted and terrify him, so that all the people who are with him will flee. Then I will strike down the king alone, and I will bring back all the people to you. The return of everyone depends on the man you seek; then all the people will be at peace.”
• Ahithophel knew that David fled without being able to prepare.
• He knew David would be scattered, tired, and extremely vulnerable and there
would be no time like the present to attack him.
Certainly David knew the same.
In fact as David fled, he had prayed;
2 Samuel 15:31 “Now someone told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O LORD, I pray, make the counsel of Ahithophel foolishness.”
David knew if they listen to Ahithophel,
They’ll pursue me and kill me before I have a chance to regroup.
MY POINT?
THIS WAS NO TIME FOR SLEEPING.
• You would have had to be on extreme alert,
• And yet after God answered David, David says, “I lay down and slept.”
And now that he has awakened the next morning,
He picks up his pen and continues the Psalm.
“I awoke, for the LORD sustains me.”
Do you want to see God’s deliverance of David?
There it is.
God did not remove the threat,
God sustained David in the midst of it.
Many times we have spoken of that story with the disciples in the boat as the waves crashed, and Jesus was asleep.
Matthew 8:23-27 “When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
We’ve talked about how peculiar Jesus’ rebuke seems there.
“Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?”
And that seems strange because
• It seems like they did precisely what they should have done in the midst of
their peril.
• They ran to Jesus, woke Him up, and asked for salvation.
And yet Jesus rebuked them for having little faith.
What should they have done?
Apparently they should have laid down and taken a nap next to Jesus.
Well that’s precisely what David did.
• He rested in God’s sovereign providence
• That God had this entire event under control.
• And David was so confident that he went to bed in the full sustaining strength of the LORD.
And now, David is filled with confidence.
(6) “I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about.”
I don’t know what God told David, but one thing is certain,
IT WAS ENOUGH FOR DAVID.
He was no longer anxious – he was sleeping
He was no longer afraid – he was confident
God delivered David from his anxiety and from his fear.
HE IS THE GOD WHO DELIVERS HIS PEOPLE
And based upon that incident in David’s life,
David now has a song to teach the church.
• It is a song that encourages us to cry out to God in the midst of our afflictions.
• It is a song that encourages us to know that our God has the strength to deliver.
• It is a song that encourages us to know that our God does deliver His people.
That’s the final point of the Psalm.
The Trial, The Truth, The Testimony
#4 THE TRUST
Psalms 3:7-8
This is what David is proclaiming to Israel.
This is the song he is now singing.
“Arise, O LORD, save me, O my God! For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek; You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.”
This is NOT a song of fear, hoping God will deliver.
• David knows that God’s deliverance is promised and already in the bank.
• His only cry now is to see it come to fruition.
This is similar to the way we look at the animosity of the world.
• We have no doubts that God wins.
• We have no doubts that God will crush every enemy under His feet.
• We don’t cry hoping He’ll do it.
• We cry knowing He’ll do it and with eagerness to see it.
This is the equivalent to us praying, “Amen, Come Lord Jesus!”
WE KNOW OUR GOD WILL DELIVER US
And that is based upon this final theological point.
(8) “Salvation belongs to the LORD; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.”
And look, we could take another hour just on the statement:
“Salvation belongs to the LORD”
We could speak of salvation being His EXCLUSIVELY;
• Namely that there is no other Savior.
We could speak of salvation being His PREROGATIVE;
• Namely that it is up to Him and He gives it graciously to whomever He wishes.
We could speak of salvation being His PERMANENTLY;
• Namely that no one can undo it if He decides to save.
There is a lot of theology packed in that statement.
God is the God who saves His people.
Not because they deserve it, but because He has determined to do it.
It is salvation by grace alone.
Certainly David understood that.
And what David wants the church to know is that
This blessing of salvation is upon the people of God.
That is why we call this Psalm “The Blessing Upon God’s People”
We live under the blessing of God’s salvation.
We live under the blessing of God’s deliverance.
• Do we deserve it? No
• Have we earned it? No
• Should we get to keep it? No
But we receive it because the God who owns salvation
Has determined to place it upon His people.
The only reason David had for confidence in the midst of this trial
Is because he knew that God had determined
To defend him, to glorify him, and to deliver him.
There is no other reason David could have slept in peace.
It is the same peace we rest in.
Romans 8:31-33 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;”
• God has determined to save His people.
• God has determined to deliver His people.
• And even though we don’t deserve it, we are those people.
It is the blessing we live under.
God will deliver us.
“Selah” (Ponder on that)
