The Psalm Of Betrayal

Sermon Outline:

Confidence (vs 1-3)

Admission (vs 4)

Schemers (vs 5-8)

Betrayal (vs 9)

Request (vs 10-12)

Sermon Content:

Ill:

• One day, a mother explained to her five-year-old daughter;

• That if she chose to disobey her, she would have to live with the consequences.

• The little girl looked terrified and said:

• “Please don’t make me live with the Consequences. I want to live here with you!”

• Well, unbeknown to that little girl,

• We all live with the consequences of the choices and decisions that we’ve made.

Quote:

• Robert Louis Stevenson (Scottish Essayist, Poet and Author, 1850-1894)

• "Everybody, sooner or later, sits down to a banquet of consequences.”

BACKGROUND:

This psalm was written by a king who had to live with the consequences of his actions.

• David the king had committed the sin of adultery with a woman called Bathsheeba.

• When Bathsheeba became pregnant;

• David tried to cover up that sin by arranging for her husband Urriah;

• To be placed on the front line in battle, knowing he would be killed.

• Although in time David would realise his folly and later repent of his sin;

• (You can read about it in Psalms 51&52):

• He STILL had to live with the consequences of his foolish actions;

Question: What were those consequences?

Answer:

• Nathan the prophet told him (2 Samuel chapter 12 verse 10);

• That his sin was forgiven, but…“The sword will never depart from your house”.

• David had wrecked a man’s home and family;

• Now he would experience his own home and family in turmoil.

• That turmoil would reveal itself most clearly and painfully;

• In his son Absalom.

Ill:

• Absalom was the third and favourite son of Davidson of David,

• With his wife Maachah, daughter of Talmai (1 Chronicles 3:2, 2 Samuel 3:3)

• 2 Samuel chapter 14 verse 25 describes Absalom;

• ‘As the most handsome man in the kingdom’.

• Absalom decided to rebel against his father;

• And he made a bid for the throne – wanting to be crowned king.

• He built support for himself among the common people;

• By promising justice for all.

• His plan of betrayal seemed to work well as all Israel and Judah flocked to his side,

• And David, with only a handful of supporters was forced to flee and hide.

• You can read the sad story of events in 2 Samuel chapters 11-16.

Note:

• So the background to this Psalm is believed to be the rebellion of Absalom:

• Yet despite the sad and sordid circumstances to this Psalm;

• Notice that it starts off positively with a note of praise.

(1). Confidence (vs 1-3)

Blessed are those who have regard for the weak;

the LORD delivers them in times of trouble.

2 The LORD protects and preserves them—

they are counted among the blessed in the land—

he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.

3 The LORD sustains them on their sickbed

and restores them from their bed of illness.

Ill:

• Rev.Martin Niemoeller was one of Adolf Hitler’s least favourite people,

• Rev. Niemoeller was placed in prison and summoned to a special court.

• He was as you might expect afraid.

• He had no idea what to expect!

• But according to the writer Francis Gay,

• As he was taken along the seemingly endless corridor to the courtroom,

• He heard a low voice speaking in Lating.

• The voice was quoting in the Latin version of the Bible.

• The voice was quoting a verse from the Book of Proverbs:

• "Nomen Domini Turris fortissimo."

The voice was actually one of the guards who was passing on a message to Martin Niemoeller:

• It was a message that only the two of them were able to understand.

• He was passing on a verse of encouragement – Proverbs chapter 18 verse 10.

• "The name of the Lord is a strong tower.

• The righteousness runneth into it, and it is safe."

• They words instantly dispelled Niemoeller’s fears ;

• And renewed again his confidence in God.

Like Niemoeller the Psalmist had an undergirding source of confidence:

• An assured trust in the person, the power, and presence of the Lord

• And not even his difficult circumstances will rob him of that certainty!

Notice:

• God is always on the side of those who cannot defend themselves;

• We see this often throughout the Bible;

• God values the orphan, the widow, the foreigner abroad in a strange country.

• God is always on the side of those who cannot defend themselves;

• That truth is illustrated in verse 1 which starts the psalm off with the words: