Salvation Belongs To The Lord

Salvation Belongs to the Lord

Psalms 3:1-8

July 29, 2018

Last week we focused on one verse, Psalm 23:4 ~ in the most famous of Psalms, David wrote, Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

We talked about our fears, the fear of death, but also the hope we have in God, who promises to be with us in those deep dark valleys of life. As we continue looking at Psalms over the Summer, we’re looking at another of David’s Psalms. Today we’re looking at Psalm 3. It’s the first of the Psalms with a short title and inscription.

The title is ~ A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

Usually when we’re on the run, it’s because we’ve done something stupid. We’ve hurt someone and in our minds, the only way to get out of it . . . . is to run! It never works. We think we can go and hide. We even think we can hide from God, but there is no hiding from God.

Scripture reminds us we cannot run from God. We read ~

13 And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. - Hebrews 4:13

24 "Can a man hide himself in secret places so I do not see him?" declares the LORD. "Do I not fill heaven and the earth?" declares the LORD. – Jeremiah 23:24

So, as we look at this Psalm today, understand that we can run from one another, and maybe for a time, we can hideout. But we can never hide from God, and while that may be a little scary, that God can see us at all times, it’s also a great thing, because God promises to always be with us. So, we are never abandoned or forsaken by God! That’s great news!!

Now, let’s look at what was happening in David’s life, as we saw in the title, he was running from his son, Absalom. Here’s the back story. Absalom wanted to be king, and he wanted it now, today. Absalom was the oldest living son, since he had already killed his oldest brother.

We find the story in 2 Samuel, in chapter 17:1-3, we read ~

1 Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose 12,000 men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight. 2 I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king, 3 and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man, and all the people will be at peace.”

That’s not the plan that was ultimately chosen by Absalom, but suffice it to say, David was on the run. He was running for his life. In the end, David’s army defeated Absalom’s, and Absalom was killed. Now, let’s look at what was going on within David and how he relied on God during his struggles.

David starts the psalm this these words ~

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.”

David felt as if he had 1,000's of enemies. It was really Absalom, but there was an army working with Absalom and they wanted power. Have you ever felt that way about a situation in your life? Maybe you wanted something at work, and it seemed people were fighting against you. Or in school, you really wanted something, maybe to be on a team, or to participate in something, and there was always a roadblock. It seemed that people were fighting you every step of the way.

And once it starts, doesn’t it seem to snowball? The enemy seems to gain momentum, while we run and hide. Nothing we do seems to satisfy the situation. We try to honor God and bring glory to Him, but still the enemy pursues us.

That was true for David. He was running the kingdom and totally oblivious how his son was working the crowd to gain support for his takeover. He quietly built up an allegiance of support. Finally, forcing David and his men to run for their lives.

Adversity, disappointment, frustration, even enemies will overwhelm us at some point in life. What we do in these moments will ultimately define who we are. They will speak about our character, our integrity, our walk with Christ!

Now, David’s enemies tell him something so disconcerting, that we need to be reminded of the way satan tries to work in our lives as well. David’s enemies tell him, “there is no salvation for him in God!”