The Guilty Fleeing From the Guilty Psalm 3:1-8NKJ
Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. 2 Many are they who say of me,“There is no help for him in God.” Selah 3 But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head. 4 I cried to the Lord with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah 5 I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me all around. 7 Arise, O Lord; Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly. 8 Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah
Sometimes the greatest advice anyone can give you is to tell you to flee. Flee, from wrong advice, wrong communication, wrong associations- flee!
Psalm 3:1NLT O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me.
Today we are giving study to Psalm 3 that was written by David. The background of the psalm is the betrayal of his own son, Absalom. To truly understand the betrayal, though, we have to look further back into David’s life. David’s problems began when he took to himself the wife of Uriah the Hittite. This act of adultery led to an even more despicable act on David’s part. Instead of protecting and looking out for the interests of loyal Uriah, he chose to take Uriah’s life to cover up his own sin. David’s adultery led to murder. From this point onward, David had to live with the consequences of his sin. Many years later, one of David’s sons, Amnon, became a bit too enamored with his half-sister Tamar and raped her. This enraged Tamar’s full brother, Absalom who sought revenge, and got it, by killing Amnon.
When David learned about Absalom’s crime, instead of dealing with him in a just manner, he simply allowed him to leave Jerusalem. Why? Because David had committed the same crime.He too had committed the crime of murder over a sexual sin. Thus, as a result, David had lost the moral authority to deal effectively with Absalom. In time, the undisciplined Absalom, who thought he was morally superior and a worthier leader than his father, mounted a rebellion.
It was a rebellion that caught David by surprise, so much so, the historical text tells us that he fled barefoot and weeping.
The greatest advise I could ever give you, is to be like David, and tell Jesus about it- He cares.
Psalm 3:1TM God! Look! Enemies past counting! Enemies sprouting like mushrooms,
I love this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. “People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.”
Tell Jesus- tell Jesus!
Psalm 3:2NLT So many are saying, “God will never rescue him!” Interlude
The opinion of men changes like the wind, it’s always uncertain!
Listen to Ecclesiastes 11:1-5NLT Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you 2 But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead. 3 When clouds are heavy, the rains come down. Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls. 4 Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest. 5 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.
Does this sound familiar? When you are discouraged and down, have you ever received excellent encouragement like Job got from his wife?
Job 2:9 Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!"
Psalm 1:2TM Mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery:“Hah! No help for him from God!”
“If you will personally find God’s will from God (Himself) you’ll be better off.” P. H. (He won’t mislead you.)
Psalm 3:3NLT But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.
Hear David’s praise: “My shield around me, my glory, You hold my head high!”
Psalm 3:4NLT I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain. Interlude
Psalm 3:4TM With all my might I shout up to God, His answers thunder from the holy mountain.
In dangers we should pray.
God will graciously hear.
We should record his answers of grace.
We may strengthen ourselves for the future by remembering the deliverances of the past.
Psalm 3:5NLT I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me.
Ernest Hemingway, I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?
Many years ago a submarine was rammed by another ship and quickly sank. Despite many efforts by many ships to rescue the crew it was feared their oxygen would run out long before anyone could get to them. Hours into the desperate tragedy the sonar men listening for any indication of life on the crippled sub heard a tapping, suddenly realizing it was the dots and dashes of Morse code. The question came slowly: "is... there... any... hope?"
David’s testimony: “For the Lord was watching over me.
Psalm 3:6NLT I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies who surround me on every side.
Time and time again, David’s testimony was, “He heard me!” (Just think- 10,000 enemies, one stone each; One word of defeat each. Etc.)
Psalm 3:7NLT Arise, O Lord! Rescue me, my God! Slap all my enemies in the face! Shatter the teeth of the wicked!
“I can testify and truly tell you I’ve never asks the Lord to slap my enemies in the face!”
Psalm 3:7TM Up, God! My God, help me! Slap their faces, First this cheek, then the other, Your fist hard in their teeth!
Matthew Henry Commentary: Disabled them to do the mischief they intended, for he had broken their teeth.
Psalm 3: 8NLT Victory comes from you, O Lord. May you bless your people. Interlude
Salvation and victory, belongs only to you Ole Lord!
Benediction.
