Peace in the presence of conflict
Notes
Transcript
Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been considering the first two psalms. In many ways, those two chapters provide a helpful foundation for the rest of the psalter. Psalm 1 provides a wise perspective for an individual. Psalm 2 expands the scope by helping us see that God is sovereign over all and has a plan that he is working. Now, as we turn to psalm 3, we get personal as the psalmist sings from a point of pain. In his case, this pain came in the form of enemies. As we come to this text today, the pain that you and I experience may be different than David’s, but it doesn’t make it any less real or painful. This psalm helps us to sing to God in the face of sorrow.
If you have your bibles, open them to Psalm 3 (p. 420).
I mentioned in the midweek email that while this is the third psalm, it is also a psalm of firsts.
This is the first psalm with a title. You’ll notice at the top of the psalm it says “A psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.” Scholars note that this was included in many of the earliest and most prominent manuscripts. As we’ve seen already, many psalms do not have titles. The fact that this one does, helps us to understand a bit about what David was going through as he wrote it.
Secondly, this is the first use of the word psalm. You’ll find that in the title. The Hebrew word that is translated psalm is miz-mor - which refers to an accompanied song. Rather than being simply read or sung acapella, this was intended to be accompanied with some kind of an instrument. You might be thinking, why don’t we sing it? Well, in some ways, we already did. Unfortunately when the psalms were written, most music was learned and passed down orally. Somewhere along the way, the oral tradition broke, but the text remains. There are some churches that have come up with psalters which are basically hymnals based on the psalms. During our study, we will try to include some songs that were written from the psalms.
Third, this is the first psalm attributed to David. Many people suggest that the first two were of David as well, but that is speculation. In all, there are 73 psalms that are attributed to David.
Fourth, this is the first lament. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that there are several different kinds of psalms. Laments are one of those genres. Mark Vroegop defines laments as “prayers in pain that lead to trust.” We can see that in this psalm as David is fleeing for his life because of the betrayal of his son and yet he still trusts in God. Warren Wiersbe notes that 5 of the first 7 psalms are laments.
There is one final first that we’ll discuss in a few moments, but this is the first use of the word “selah.” This word shows up 74 times in scripture - mostly here in the book of Psalms and then three times in the book of Habakkuk.
As we look at this psalm together today, I think we’ll notice that…
Big Idea: True peace comes not from the absence of trouble, but from the presence of God amidst our difficulties.
David begins this lament by helping us see that in times of difficulties, we should be …
Presenting our problems honestly (1-2)
Presenting our problems honestly (1-2)
O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah
A bit earlier, Jeshuvan read for us some of the situation that David was dealing with. There is really a much broader context to the whole scenario.
2 Sam 11 - David’s affair with Bathsheba and then conspired with his military officials to cover it up by having her husband killed on the battlefield.
2 Sam 12 - Nathan’s rebuke of David, his confession, and the death of that child
2 Sam 13 - Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar (Absalom’s sister), then Absalom murders Amnon in response - since David did not do anything to discipline Amnon. Absalom is exiled.
2 Sam 14 - after a few years, Absalom returns to Jerusalem through some underhanded trickery, but is prevented from reconciling to David for over 2 years.
2 Sam 15 - Absalom leads a political coup against his father and is declared king - leading thousands of people to follow him.
The title of the Psalm tells us that David likely wrote this while he was fleeing (2 Sam 15, 16). Boice notes that “The revolt was so sudden and unexpected that David had no recourse but to flee Jerusalem with whatever leaders remained faithful to him.” (Boice, 29)
David faced some very real enemies. He was threatened by their work and yet had to honestly deal with the reality of the problems he faced.
In a similar way, we have to be honest about the presence of enemies in our lives.
Enemies from without -
Like David, some of those enemies are around us. In other words, they come from outside of us. It may be the betrayal or hurt from a friend or family member, unkind words from a classmate, or cultural conflicts. Maybe you feel like professional head winds are keeping you trapped. Some of those “enemies” may be in our own homes. some of those enemies may come in the form of sickness or disease.
And yet we also have recognize, like David, that there are
Enemies from within -
David was a passionate man. One of the beautiful things about scripture is that it talks about people’s lives honestly. We may not have an unabridged biography of David in Scripture, but we have a picture of a man who loved God deeply, sought to lead his nation with integrity, but also had some big flaws. Some of the enemies he faced resulted from natural and even divine consequences of his actions - adultery, conspiracy for murder, absenteeism as a father, and more.
In our own lives, we may be our own biggest enemies - as we fight temptation or besetting sins (Hebrews 12:1). Striving for holiness is a battle that we all face. That sanctifying process can feel like a battlefield.
Whether from within or without, we are engaged in a spiritual war. As the Apostle Paul writes…
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
One other thing to note about presenting our problems honestly is that our enemies will often lie. David’s enemies said that there is no “salvation” or “help” for David in God. It’s as though they are saying that God can’t or won’t come to his aid.
How often in our own struggles do we face a similar lie? Maybe we believe that God doesn’t love us because of this sin or temptation. Maybe we feel like God doesn’t care when we are facing opposition from all sides, when we are misunderstood and wrongfully accused. Maybe we feel like God doesn’t see when we get that terminal diagnosis.
In this Psalm, David helps us process the problems and the lies in two ways.
with Selah - this is the first time in the psalms that this word comes up. In some of your bibles, you notice this off to the side. Hebrew scholars disagree with what selah means. Some think it’s a musical interlude - kind of like what we experienced between some of the verses of the songs that we’ve sung. Others think that it’s more of a pause, a rest, a time to reflect. Whatever the case, selah gives us a moment to take a step back and breathe. It offers us an opportunity to reflect on reality, on the situation, on God.
Secondly, David helps us to process the problems and the lies…
with truth. As we see in verses 3-4, David remembers the truth about God. In response, he helps us see that we can have peace in the presence of conflict by…
Proclaiming God’s protection (3-4)
Proclaiming God’s protection (3-4)
Spurgeon suggests that David provides a three-fold response of God’s protection to the three-fold problems he faced. (Spurgeon, 31) In this, David turns his attention from his enemies to God. (Boice, 32)
But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
We can far too easily gaze on the opposition that faces us rather than taking a breath (selah) and focusing on God and the protection that He provides. In looking to God, David notices three things about God (shield, glory, lifter):
He is a shield - as a shield, God defends David from experiencing anything in his life that He does not ordain. David’s battles are big, but his God is bigger. We need to remember that as well. Your enemies - whether within or without feel like they are big, but God is bigger. God does not allow anything into our lives that does not align with His plan. Satan may take your life, but he cannot take your soul.
Secondly, David notes that…
He is David’s glory - Frankly, this one has puzzled me a bit. What does it mean for God to be David’s glory? It seems like, God gets the credit for what’s happening in David’s life. When you look at his life - he started out as a shepherd boy and God anointed him to be king of Israel. At the proper time, the God ordained time, David was installed as king. God was the one who got the credit for that. It wasn’t through a military coup or political posturing, but through God’s providential hand.
This is true in our lives as well. God has gifted us with talents and abilities. When we come to faith in Him, He gifts us with spiritual gifts that are to be used for the good of his church. He doesn’t invite us into His family because of how good we are, but because of how gracious He is. As Paul writes:
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
David could not get credit for being where he was. Yes, David was responsible for the consequences of his sin, but God was responsible for his position. What’s more, it’s by God’s grace alone that David had any standing before God. God did not hold David’s sin against him.
And that’s how he works in our lives as well. Through Jesus Christ, God demonstrates His justice and His grace. He atones for our sin in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and then of shows his grace by offering salvation to unworthy people like you and me. In all of this, He gets the glory and that’s a great thing! That means that nothing can snatch us from His hand - not our sin, not the enemy’s schemes, nothing!
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Thirdly, David notes that (shield, glory)
He is the lifter or encourager - David seems to find encouragement in God. The slumping posture of depression is boosted by the truths that David remembers about God.
David cried out to God and God responded. Beloved, we too have a God who is so willing to listen and hear. He invites our prayers, our complaints, our laments.
Spurgeon has said (Boice, 32),
“We need not fear a frowning world while we rejoice in a prayer-hearing God.”
I hope that this is an encouragement for us. In our times of trouble and trial, we can cry out to God in the rawness of our emotions. He hears us and responds. He may not immediately change the situation, but, He will answer.
As a result of these truths about God, David notes that he experienced…
Providential peace in peril (5-6)
Providential peace in peril (5-6)
I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
Have you ever experienced sleepless nights? No, not those nights when you had caffeine a bit too late, but the nights when worry has kept you awake. Where your mind is racing and your body is restless.
I can imagine that David could have easily experienced that kind of night as he ran for his life. But he notes how even in the presence of his enemies, he was able to find rest. God’s hand sustained him. God’s defense protected him.
Some people have called this a morning song as David reflects back on the rest. It’s as though it’s a new day. Circumstances haven’t changed, but a reminder of God’s faithfulness and presence has renewed David.
Sometimes, in the face of our own enemies, we can hold onto our anxieties. We refuse to cast our cares upon the Lord, thinking that it won’t make a difference. Maybe it’s because we question God’s goodness or his willingness to protect. The promise that we see in this passage is that God can bring peace in the peril - if we’ll let him. This Psalm is not unique it this exhortation to trust God with our problems.
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
The people of Scripture are not alone in this. Martin Luther, in the early days of the reformation, was called to trial in the town of Worms. His friends had learned that the promised safe passage would not be honored by those who opposed him. In the recent history, John Huss, who safely arrived to his trial was burned at the stake. One of Luther’s close friends told him not to go into Worms. Luther’s response “Tell your master that even if there should be as many devils in Worms as tiles upon the house tops, still I would enter it.”
Shortly before his death many years later, Luther reflected by stating “I was then undaunted. I feared nothing.”
In spite of the great opposition, Luther found peace in the Sovereign hand of God. (Boice, 33). He was even famously able to write:
Logos Digital Hymnal A Mighty Fortress is Our God
And tho’ this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph thro’ us;
The prince of Darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
May God grant us peace in the midst of the perils that we face, just as he did with David and Luther and countless others throughout the centuries.
David concludes this morning psalm with a…
Promise of Divine deliverance (7-8)
Promise of Divine deliverance (7-8)
Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people! Selah
David again hoped and trusted in the deliverance that God would bring. He had seen God act in the past and trusted him to act again in the future.
I do think it’s important to recognize that David’s victory didn’t come exactly how he hoped it would. It seems like he hoped his army would defeat Absalom’s army without killing him. Eventually, that defeat came, but at the cost of Absalom’s life. David returned to the throne and finished his reign.
We may not receive deliverance in exactly the ways that we hope, but God will provide victory according to His sovereign plan.
The final verse is a verse of profession as he recognizes that salvation is the Lord’s. It’s in his hand alone and it always has been.
Friend, if you’re trying to fight your battles on your own - your enemies from without and within, recognize that it is only by God’s grace that we have victory. We can’t overcome our sin problem on our own. Jesus, by his death, burial, and resurrection provided the sufficient means for our salvation. Is he calling you? Come to him, repent of your sin, trust in his salvation, receive his blessing.
Closing thoughts
Closing thoughts
There is one other thing that I think is important for us to understand. In verse 2, David’s accusers lie about the fact that there is no “help” or “salvation” for him in God. In verse 8, David acknowledges that “salvation” or “deliverance” is from Yahweh. The Hebrew word in both verses is the same - yeshua. It is closely related to the Hebrew name Joshua - meaning Jehovah or Yahweh saves, and Jesus!
So, as we cry out to God in the midst of our pain, may we also remember that salvation has already been secured for us through Jesus.
The Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper
Benediction
Benediction
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Questions for reflection and discussion
Questions for reflection and discussion
Read: Psalm 3
1. In what circumstances do you feel safe and secure?
2. What often threatens our sense of security?
3. What predicament prompted David to write this poem? (3:1–2)
4. Do you believe the Lord cares about you and desires to help you? How do Christians defeat the temptation to believe the taunt, “There is no salvation for him in God”?
5. What is God like? (3:3)
6. How did God respond to David’s cries for help? (3:4)
7. How did David demonstrate his faith in God’s protection? (3:5)
8. Whom did David credit for his sense of security when he was surrounded by enemies? (3:5)
9. How can David have confidence in God (v. 6) when he is in the middle of such distress? What promises does Scripture give that provide the foundation of our confidence in God?
10. When have you ever felt you were in a hopeless situation?
11. Describe the various parts of David’s prayer of lament. How are each of these important components of our prayers?
12. Have you ever told your problems to others without telling them to the Lord? If so, why? What often prevents you from telling the Lord about what is happening in your life?
13. According to this psalm, what is our responsibility when we are betrayed and attacked? What is God’s responsibility? What happens when we confuse our responsibilities with God’s?
14. In what ways did Jesus show his trust in God when enemies were around him? How could he have been tempted to doubt God?
15. What does the psalm’s encouragement to lament teach us about the character of God? What does it teach us about the power of God?
Sources:
Boice, James Montgomery. Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005.
Crossway Bibles. The ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008.
Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994.
Ross, Allen P. “Psalms.” In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985.
Wessel, W. W. “Blessed.” In New Bible Dictionary, edited by D. R. W. Wood, I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, J. I. Packer, and D. J. Wiseman. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996.
Wiersbe, Warren W. Be Worshipful. 1st ed. “Be” Commentary Series. Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries, 2004.
Wilcock, Michael. The Message of Psalms 1-72. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001.
