Psalm 3:1-8
Salvation Belongs to God
Woodlawn Baptist Church
December 21, 2003
Introduction
As we get started tonight, let’s read the opening phrase of our psalm. David said, “Lord, how are they increased that trouble me!” Does that sum up the way you feel some days? Of course it does – we all have days from time to time when we feel like the world is against us and we are fighting an uphill battle. Adversity affects every one of us, and some seem to face more of it than others. So the important thing is really not to try to identify whether or not we experience it, but rather to determine how we handle it when it comes.
The psalm we are studying tonight is really a psalm born out of adversity. It is one of those “day in the life of” kinds of psalms where we are allowed to peer into the life of David a little closer, seeing a very particular incident in his life and how he handled it. Other than in the title, the incident is not mentioned, and I think appropriately so, because regardless of the adversity you or I face, our responses ought always to be the same – trust and dependence on the Lord.
So, let’s read the entire psalm and then we’ll consider its various parts. Some psalms are not so easy to divide, but we will divide this one at its natural breaking points, identified by the use of the word, “Selah.” Remember, whenever you see that word in the psalms, it means “stop and think about it.”
“Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.”
When Trouble Comes
I don’t suppose I’ll ever know what it would be like to be the king of a nation and have to live with the constant knowledge that each day of my life I was in a constant struggle to stay alive and on the throne. David knew that kind of life though. As a young man he enjoyed the peace and tranquility of herding sheep, but from the time God decided that he would be king, he lived in a constant struggle for life. First, before he was king, the king himself tried to kill him. After he became king, there would be constant threats to his life from the various national leaders he fought against. Now, according to the title of the psalm, it was his own son who was threatening his life.
I want you to turn to 2 Samuel 15 with me, and let me do some reviewing with you so you’ll remember what has transpired. In chapter 13, David’s son Amnon fell in love with his half-sister Tamar. He laid a trap for her, raped her, and then declared his hatred for her. When David found out about what had happened, he did nothing. For all the ability David had as a national leader, he wrestled with being a responsible father. David’s inaction greatly angered his son Absolom, so Absolom stewed on his own hatred for Amnon for two full years. At the end of this two years, Absolom had Amnon murdered, then fled the country for fear of what his father would do.
David was heartbroken over Absolom’s absence, but for three years he did nothing to try to reach out to his son. Finally however, with the help of friends, David ended the three-year standoff by having Absolom brought home, but David commanded his people not to allow Absolom into his sight. Absolom came home, and for two more years lived under those conditions. It ate at him though. He didn’t understand why David wanted him home if he wasn’t allowed to see him, so again, through another series of events; Absolom was finally reunited with his father.
Now remember, a period of 7 years has passed since David and Absolom have had good relations, 7 years in which Absolom harbored resentment for his father the king. In chapter 15, Absolom is going to act on that resentment and attempt to usurp the throne. Right under his father’s nose, Absolom began to steal the hearts of the people by acting on the king’s behalf in judicial matters, and finally, when he gathered a great enough following, he turned on David. Let’s pick up in 2 Samuel 15:13 and read. Though the passage is quite lengthy, as we read through the chapter, I want you to begin identifying the various people David wrote about in Psalm 3 when he said, “Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God.”
“And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom. And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword. And the king’s servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint. And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which were concubines, to keep the house. And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off. And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king. Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile. Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee. And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be. And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him. And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness. And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city. And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me again, and show me both it, and his habitation: But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him. The king said also unto Zadok the priest, Art not thou a seer? return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness, until there come word from you to certify me. Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem: and they tarried there. And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up. And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head: Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me: But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father’s servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, that what thing soever thou shalt hear out of the king’s house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok’s son, and Jonathan Abiathar’s son; and by them ye shall send unto me every thing that ye can hear. So Hushai David’s friend came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.
And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine. And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses be for the king’s household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may drink. And the king said, And where is thy master’s son? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, To day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father. Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertained unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king. And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came. And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial: The LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man. Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head. And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so? And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the LORD hath bidden him. It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day. And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hill’s side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust. And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themselves there. And Absalom, and all the people the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. And it came to pass, when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, was come unto Absalom, that Hushai said unto Absalom, God save the king, God save the king. And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this thy kindness to thy friend? why wentest thou not with thy friend? And Hushai said unto Absalom, Nay; but whom the LORD, and this people, and all the men of Israel, choose, his will I be, and with him will I abide. And again, whom should I serve? should I not serve in the presence of his son? as I have served in thy father’s presence, so will I be in thy presence. Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do. And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father’s concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father: then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong. So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counseled in those days, was as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.”
Put yourself in David’s shoes for just a moment – that was a pretty bad day! I know you don’t face that kind of adversity, but you do face adversity don’t you? You may not be facing death when you awake in the morning, but I know that every one of you live and work in the same cutthroat world that I live in. It seems like people everywhere are trying to get to the top, to get ahead, to look or be better than everyone else. It happens in your workplace, in your families, and in even in our churches.
You may not have a multitude of enemies like David did either, but like one preacher said, how many enemies does it take to make life miserable? I know that I have worked places where all it took was one person who disliked me enough to make me dread every day I had to be around them, and no matter how much I tried to put on the love of God, I was miserable. Some of you will spend this Christmas with family members who try to put you down or belittle you because you are not what they think you ought to be – and you think to yourself – “many there be that trouble me!”
Stop and think for just a moment – what are some situations you and I, God’s people, find ourselves in from time to time where we might feel like David did that day: miserable, disparity, or fear? Once you identify those times, then you must decide whether to…
Flee or Have Faith
You see, those are the only two responses. Trouble and adversity comes to all of us – there’s no denying that – so the issue then becomes this: what do you do when trouble comes? When I first read what David did, I thought that he lacked faith and fled, but that’s really not the situation. Absolom had such a great following at this point, and David was so ill prepared for an attack on the throne that he didn’t have time to muster up a defense, so he retreated to a place that would give him time to act against his son. In fact, if you will read the rest of the account, David made some very shrewd decisions that allowed him to quickly defeat Absolom, and although his son was killed, David was able to regain the throne.
David’s faith is seen in verses 3 & 4. He recognized that the only One who could protect him from his enemies was God: His shield. It was in that moment, while he was under attack, that David poured out his soul to God, and you can see the great confidence that David had when he said, “and he heard me…”
How did David know that God heard him? How do you know that God hears you? Does God ever say to you that He heard your prayers? How can you be sure that He does? Only by faith!
Adversity is a funny thing. You can take the same event, no matter what it is, and have it occur in the lives of any number of God’s children, and each of them will react in various ways, but all those ways reflect one of these two things: flight or faith. Some people run from God in adversity; others run to Him.
I want you to know that so as outside forces are concerned, you can’t stop adversity from coming, you can’t prevent trouble or problems, and you can’t diminish their frequency. Many problems we face are self-inflicted. For instance, you shouldn’t be surprised by your check engine light in rush hour traffic if you never check your oil, but by and large, most of what happens to you just happens and is a part of everyday life. What you can control is how you react, but how do you learn to turn to the Lord in your troubles if your tendency is to run from Him? I think you can boil it down to one thing: you need to get to know Him. David’s assurance came from a deep relationship with God. His faith was based on what he knew to be true about the person and character of God.
Sweet Salvation
Watch what David does – this had to have driven his guards and close friends crazy! Absolom’s army is hunting him down. People who hate him are taunting him. He has to retreat and hide out for his very life, and verse 5 says kind of matter-of-factly, “I laid me down and slept…” Now how many of us would have enjoyed a good night’s sleep under those conditions? That’s exactly what David did. He put his head down and slept, arising the next morning with the same assurance and security that saw him through previous troubles in his life.
Virtually defenseless, odds stacked against him, David says, “I don’t care if tens of thousands of people come against me.” Why? Why would a man say that? What did he have to know to be true about God to be able to make a statement like that? How could he so confidently say, “Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God…” Again, it all gets back to what he knew to be true about the God he served. David knew that victory belongs to the Lord. God had already done so much to bring David victory for him to run and hide and doubt in the Lord’s ability. He had shown Himself mightier, stronger, bigger, more powerful on so many occasions that it would have been foolish for David to react any other way, so that now David says with great confidence, “Salvation belongs to the Lord…”
Listen, I don’t know exactly what your circumstances are or what kinds of troubles come up that bring adversity in your life, but I know they come. Some of you struggle with financial difficulties that weight you down until you feel like you’re on the run and need the delivering hand of God to help you. Some of you have people in your life that bring a constant flow of oppression and misery. Health, family, work, money, church, personal private battles, and even more can rob you of your joy and willingness to go on, and you can wake each day feeling like you’re on the run. People may taunt you, and when you feel like you could use a friend, it seems they are throwing rocks and hurling insults your way. What do you do? Retaliate? Why not just put your faith in the One who has all things in His control and walk on?
You can learn to do that – and some of you already do. God is the God of salvation, not just spiritual salvation to get you from hell to heaven, but daily salvation, delivering you from your most difficult enemies and bringing victory to the daily battles of your life. If you are facing those circumstances today, quit running and place your faith in God.
