2 Samuel 16

Great. Well, we are looking at the book of 2 Samuel tonight, chapter 16.

So that's page 267 in the Black Pew Bibles in front of you.

Let me invite you to turn there with me.

We are working through a sermon series in the book of 2 Samuel.

We got through chapter 15 last year, took a little break for the holidays,

and then we'll finish it up by Easter time.

And while you're turning there, let me point out too,

in the pews in front of you is a new sermon card for the sermon series in the coming months.

So you can take one of those home actually.

You can stick it on your fridge or wherever you stick things in your life.

You can take a picture of it and put it on your phone and then throw it away

or whatever you do with things these days.

You can follow along so you know it's coming up.

So you can read the passage in the week and be prepared for Sundays.

Once we're done with 2 Samuel, we're going to celebrate Easter

and then we're actually going to be preaching through the middle portion of the Gospel of Luke

and thinking about discipleship, discipleship in the real world.

As Jesus leads his followers to Jerusalem in the Gospel of Luke,

he teaches them about what it means to follow him.

So that's kind of where we're going in the next few months.

Tonight, we're looking at 2 Samuel.

So as we approach this passage tonight, I think we'll find it fruitful if we pause first

and think about a time in your life when maybe you were at a moment of weakness or vulnerability

and someone actually took advantage of you or maybe even manipulated you, deceived you,

or tricked you in some way, sort of took advantage of you in a moment of weakness.

Or even think about a time when someone maybe unjustly accused you or criticized you

for something that you didn't do or came at you in a way that was full of misrepresentations and untruth.

Or think about a time even when maybe someone betrayed you,

like a close friend or a colleague or even a spouse or a brother or sister.

Or think about a time when someone that you loved and trusted betrayed your trust

and abandoned you and worked for your hurt and not for your good.

If you get a personal experience like that in mind, as unpleasant as it is,

with all the emotion and all the anguish and all the anger and hurt that it brings up,

then I think you'll be able to connect with our passage tonight.

Because in our text tonight, David is experiencing all of those things.

David in this chapter endures all sorts of unjust reproach and betrayal.

At this point in his life's story, he's on the run from his son Absalom.

He's fleeing the city of Jerusalem, the capital.

And in chapter 15 that we looked at before the holidays,

we found that David in his flight was greeted mostly by friends along the way.

But now here in chapter 16, he's greeted not by his friends, but by his foes.

And the chapter ends with him having been manipulated and cursed and betrayed.

So as we dive into this chapter, I want us to think about three things, three questions.

First, why does all this happen to David?

And why do things like this happen to us?

Second, how does David respond to this harsh reality?

And then third, how can we today respond similarly?

So that's where we're going.

Let's read 2 Samuel chapter 16.

2 Samuel 16 · chapter mention

When David had passed a little beyond the summit, that is the summit of the Mount of Olives,

which was east of Jerusalem.

David's, remember, on the run from his son Absalom.

When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, met him

with a couple of donkeys saddled bearing 200 loaves of bread and 100 bunches of raisins

and 100 of summer fruits and a skin of wine.

And the king said to Ziba, why have you brought these?

Ziba answered, the donkeys are for the king's household to ride on, the bread and summer

fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who faint in the wilderness to drink.

And the king said, and where is your master's son?

Ziba said to the king, behold, he remains in Jerusalem.

For he said, today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father.

Then the king said to Ziba, behold, all that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.

And Ziba said, I pay homage.

Let me ever find favor in your sight, my lord, the king.

When David came to Baharim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul,

whose name was Shimei, the son of Gerah.

And as he came, he cursed continually.

Then he threw 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 Shimei said as he cursed, get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man.

The Lord has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned.

And the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom.

See, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood.

Then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, said to the king, why should this dead dog curse my lord, the king?

Let me go over and take off his head.

But the king said, what have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah?

If he is cursing because the Lord has said to him, curse David, who then shall say, why have you done so?

And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, behold, my own son seeks my life.

How much more may now this Benjaminite leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to.

It may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today.

So David and his men went on the road with Shimei, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust.

And the king and all the people who were with him arrived weary at the Jordan.

And there he refreshed himself.

Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem and Ahithophel with him.

And when Hushai the archite, David's friend, came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, long live the king, long live the king.

And Absalom said to Hushai, is this your loyalty to your friend?

Why did you not go with your friend?

And Hushai said to Absalom, no, for whom the Lord and the people and all the men of Israel have chosen,

his I will be and with him I will remain.

And again, whom should I serve?

Should it not be his son?

As I have served your father, so I will serve you.

Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, give your counsel.

What shall we do?

Ahithophel said to Absalom, go into your father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house.

And all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench to your father and the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.

So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof and Absalom went into his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.

Now in those days, the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God.

So was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed both by David and by Absalom.

Let's pray together.

God, give us your spirit, we pray tonight, so that we might understand the message of this text,

apply it well to our lives, so that we might live in line with the truth of your word,

and the truth of your good news, the gospel.

Help us, we pray.

Amen.

So as we said, David in this chapter experiences some of the hardest human relational experiences,

I think, that we go through.

He's tricked, he's cursed, and in the end he's betrayed.

Now, at first, it's kind of hard to parse things out, but he's tricked, you see, by Ziba,

the first one he meets.

We met Ziba actually back in chapter 9.

He was a servant in Saul's household, the king that preceded David,

and David gave to Ziba the stewardship over what was left of Saul's house and his ancestral property,

and in particular, David gave Ziba as a servant to Saul's remaining heir, Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth.

And Mephibosheth, you remember, had been injured as a child and was lame in both of his feet.

And at first glance, it seems like Ziba's doing David a great favor, right?

Here he is providing tasty food and drink and transportation to David and his followers

when they're weary and weak on their trek into the wilderness.

But, you know, when we read the rest of the story of 2 Samuel,

especially if you were to skip ahead and read chapter 19,

we learn that Ziba's intentions here are not what they seem.

Ziba claims that his master, Mephibosheth, has abandoned David and gone over to Absalom,

but we'll find later that that's simply just not true.

Mephibosheth has, it seems, remained loyal to David,

and here Ziba is taking advantage of David's position of weakness and need,

showing up with gifts,

lying about his master,

all in order to manipulate David into giving him the rights over Mephibosheth's property.

The commentator Matthew Henry wrote,

no longer content to be the manager,

Ziba wants to be the master.

And for the time being, it works.

David believes the story,

he receives the gifts,

and is deceived.

The next person David meets is Shimei,

a descendant of Saul,

who curses David.

That is, he sort of calls down God's, you know, wrath upon his head,

calling him a man of blood,

saying that he deserves all that's happening to him

because he butchered Saul's family on his way to being the king.

Now, of course, if you've been following the story of 1 and 2 Samuel,

you know, actually, that Shimei's accusation isn't true.

David actually has dealt incredibly honorably towards Saul and his family.

I mean, you remember all those times in 1 Samuel

when David refuses to lift his hands against Saul.

So this reproach that Shimei flings at David along with all the stones and all the dirt,

it's all unjust, it's all undeserved.

And then lastly here, there's the episode with Hushai and Ahithophel.

Now, Hushai in these final paragraphs comes to Jerusalem

actually as a spy on behalf of David.

So the one guy that looks like he is selling David out

is actually on David's side in this chapter.

He's winning his way into Absalom's court,

hoping to be something of kind of a fifth column

to undermine Absalom,

or at least to be sort of an inside pair of eyes and ears

for David who's had to run into the wilderness.

You can look back in chapter 15

to see how David and Hushai sort of plotted

this risky counterinsurgence maneuver

that Hushai is all about here.

And next week, we're going to see how that goes

in chapter 17.

But then there's this character of Ahithophel,

who at one point was David's trusted and esteemed counselor,

his right-hand man.

And we find that Ahithophel sides with Absalom's insurrection.

And he tells Absalom to do what?

To go up on the roof and to sleep with David's concubines.

And that that would be a sign to all of the city

that Absalom is now in control of all that was David's,

down to his very household, down to his very bedroom.

Absalom owns it all.

In other words, Ahithophel totally betrays David.

Now, why does all this happen to David?

And why does it happen to us?

Live life for any length of time

and you experience people who will try to trick you

when you're weak, curse you when you're innocent,

and even betray us because we're no longer useful to them

when something better comes along, right?

Now, you might ask, why?

Why does that happen?

Now, sometimes these things happen

because of consequences for our own actions, right?

David had blown it big time with Bathsheba,

and he'd even blown it in his relationship

with Absalom himself.

And now, maybe we might think

that David is reaping more of what he's sown.

But you know, that doesn't explain all of it,

either for David or for us,

and it doesn't explain what's going on here in 16.

I mean, think of it.

Absalom's revolt is connected to David's failure and sin.

There's no getting around that.

We looked at that in chapter 15.

David mourns for his sin.

He experienced the Lord's discipline there.

But you know, here in chapter 16,

it's not like Ziba's trickery

or Shimei's cursing

or even Ahithophel's betrayal

are necessarily the result of what David did.

They're not logically connected to that

in any intimate way.

And so we need to see that sometimes

we are going to undergo betrayal

and cursing and even manipulation

simply because we live in a fallen world.

We live in a fallen world

and it's full of people like ourselves

who are fallen and who are sinful.

Why does all this happen to David?

Because tragically,

this is kind of how life goes

in the fallen world.

We'll be sinned against.

The life of the saint, you see, friends,

will not be a rosy walk

through fields and streams all the time

smelling the glad roses.

There will be descents.

David is going down the Mount of Olives

and figuratively,

he's sort of heading down

in all of these ways.

There will be valleys of darkness and betrayal.

And I think it's good to be reminded of this

so we aren't taken so by surprise.

You know, oftentimes in our spiritual life,

I think that we're like a football player

who's running with the ball down the field

and then suddenly we get shocked

that someone from the other team

is trying to tackle us.

What are they doing?

Why is this happening to me?

Why are they trying to crush

every bone in my body?

Well, that's just the reality

of the game of football.

When you got the ball,

people are coming to get you.

And friends, Jesus is very clear

that there would be times

when his followers would be ridiculed,

falsely accused, and betrayed.

In essence, Jesus tells his followers,

look, if they rejected me,

there will be times

when you too are rejected.

And I think that means that

we shouldn't really sort of shake our fist at God

when people do sinful things against us.

Of course, we can and should

lament and cry out to God.

We should vent our emotions to him.

We should do that.

We should come to him

with all that we're feeling

and all that we're experiencing.

And yet we should remember

that God told us

these things would happen

and he's worked to prepare us.

And that this is a sad and grim reality

of living in a fallen world

amidst fallen people

just like ourselves.

People will manipulate

and curse and betray.

And yet, friends,

isn't it helpful to know

that God's king,

both then and now,

isn't immune

to knowing firsthand

what that's like?

You see,

David could be

the sort of king he was,

compassionate and strong,

understanding

and yet full of vision.

He could be the sort of king he was

because he knew

what it was like

to suffer the worst from people,

because he knew

exactly what it was like

to stand in the shoes

of the people that he led.

And friends,

how much more

do we have that sort of king

today in the Lord Jesus

who knows what it's like

to walk in our shoes?

And how much more

can we trust him

to be a faithful

and knowing

and loving

and trustworthy king

over us?

So how should we respond then?

If this is kind of

an inevitable thing,

how do we deal with it?

This is the second thing

that we see in our text here.

And I think we see it most

in David's response

to Shimei.

David's being unjustly cursed here.

Insults, rocks, dirt

all come raining down

on David's head.

And when this happens to us,

I think our response

is often more like Abishai

than like David, right?

What does Abishai say

in verse 9?

Essentially,

how dare he?

This guy's a dead dog.

Now, if you were an Israelite,

you didn't like dogs.

They were filthy and mangy

and they were sort of scavengers.

And like doubly worse

would be a dead dog

because you weren't supposed

to touch dead things

as an ancient Israelite.

So this guy is like

the lowest of the low

in Abishai's viewing.

How dare this dead dog

curse my lord, the king?

And then what does Abishai say?

I've got an easy way

to fix this problem, David.

Let me go over

and take off his head.

Done.

No one's going to get hit

with stones.

No one's going to get

with dirt.

I'm just going to kill him.

This seems to be Abishai's

kind of MO,

his standard way of operating.

You remember back

in our first Samuel series,

Abishai was the guy

who snuck into Saul's

sleeping camp with David

in the middle of the night

and said,

David, let me pin Saul

to the ground

with my spear

while he sleeps.

Trust me,

I'm not going to have

to throw twice.

I'll hit him the first time.

Right?

So this is Abishai.

But you know,

isn't that how often

we respond

to criticism

and reproach?

If there's any amount

of inaccuracy

in the criticism,

any amount

of getting the facts wrong,

okay,

we don't literally

take off their head.

But don't we often think,

how dare you?

And then proceed

maybe to figuratively

take off their head?

Think about it.

The last time

someone charged you

with a failure

or a shortcoming,

the last time

someone corrected

or criticized you,

how did you respond?

Were you defensive?

Did you lash back?

Did you walk away

in anger

and refuse to listen?

That's often how I do it.

Did you think of all

the stupid

and wrong things

that they were guilty of?

But look how David responds.

Two things.

First,

surprisingly,

he listens.

And he listens

as if

this could maybe

be God's word

to him.

See that in verse 10

and verse 11.

David is open

to the possibility

that this cursing

may have been prompted

by the Lord.

That is,

that the Lord

may have something

for David

to actually hear in it.

Even though,

and get this,

even though,

as David points out

in verse 12,

that it is

an unjust accusation.

Okay.

Even though

it's a wrong

being done to him,

David still

attends to it

as if there's still

something for him

to hear.

Something that he

needs to hear.

Friends,

I think this is how

we ought often

to approach

even some of the

most unjust

criticism that we face.

With the humility

that even if

it's loaded

with hatred

and falsehood,

that there might

still be something

that God has

for us in it.

after all,

think about it,

David did not

spill the blood

of Saul's house.

That was an unjust

accusation.

David did not

deserve that curse,

but

did he not

still

spill

innocent blood

when he sent

Bathsheba's husband

Uriah

to the front lines

with a letter

in his hand

to Joab

telling Joab

to pull back

the forces

when you get

into the thick

of battle

so that Uriah

gets killed.

David did have

blood on his hands.

He knew it

to be true.

So he heard

the rebuke

because he knew

he was a sinner

and he knew

he wasn't perfect.

Now friends,

maybe you've been

criticized.

Are you willing

to hear

what's true

in it?

Even if it's

surrounded

by a lot

of falsehood,

even if a lot

of it is

ungrounded?

Are you

willing to

listen to

what God

might be

saying even

through all

the radio

static and

through all

the stones

and dirt

that are

falling down

on your

head?

And what's

the result?

The result

of David

doing this

is actually

that he

avoids

more bloodshed

by just

receiving

the rebuke.

Abishai

doesn't take

off

Shimei's

head.

Now,

it's not

that we

shouldn't

ever seek

to correct

misunderstandings

or clarify

what's true.

We should

do that.

We should

do it

calmly,

peaceably.

But friends,

how much

more figurative

bloodshed

and back

and forth

and grudges

and bitterness

in our

relationships

and in our

churches

and our

communities

and in our

marriages

and in our

friendships,

how much

of that

would be

avoided

if we

would learn

to hear

and listen

to rebukes

even if

they happen

to be a

little unjust?

You know,

the next thing

that David

does in the

face of all

this is that

he doesn't

just listen.

This is

important.

He also

entrusts

himself to

God's

justice,

you see.

Look at

verse 12.

David is

confident

that whatever

unjust

cursing he

endures,

the Lord

will repay

him with

good for

the evil

that he's

received.

It reminds

me of

Jesus'

teaching in

the Sermon

on the

Mount,

doesn't

it?

Matthew

5,

11.

Jesus

says,

blessed

are you

when others

revile you

and persecute

you and

utter all

kinds of

evil against

you falsely

on my

account.

Rejoice

and be

glad,

Jesus

says.

Why?

For

your

reward is

great in

heaven.

For

so they

persecuted

the prophets

who were

before you.

When we

face this

kind of

unjust

cursing,

criticism,

reproach,

even betrayal

or manipulation,

you see,

friends,

we can

respond with

courage and

with composure

because we

know that

God will

look at

the wrong

done to

us and

one day he

will repay

us with

good.

he will

make things

right.

That is

the sort

of God

he is.

There is

no hurt

or no

loss or

no betrayal

or no

curse that

has come

down upon

the head

of the

Christian

that will

not ultimately

be made

right and

repaid with

good in

God's

kingdom.

God's

God's

resurrection.

In other

words,

every cross,

friends,

will be met

with a

resurrection.

Lastly,

then,

seeing how

David responds,

where in the

world do we

get the kind

of emotional

and spiritual

wealth to

do all

this?

How

possibly can

we listen

and can we

trust God's

justice in all

these ways?

Where do we

get the inner

strength to

respond this

way?

To not be

like Abishai

and want to

just rip

people's

heads off?

Or,

on the other

hand,

right,

or to

respond in

the opposite

way by

just giving

up when

we're

criticized or

when we're

betrayed,

by just

crumpling and

folding and

refusing to

go on.

Notice that's

not David's

response either.

He presses on

to the Jordan

in this text.

He keeps

going.

He doesn't

give up.

Well,

one of the

great things

about this

chapter is

that it's

one of those

episodes in

David's life

where we're

actually given

an inside

look into

David's heart,

into David's

spiritual life.

And the

place where

we're given

that is in

the book of

the Psalms,

in Psalm

Psalms 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3,

which is

attributed to

this very

moment in

David's life.

So let's

look there

actually.

Turn with

me.

It's page

448 in

the Pew

Bible.

Let's look

at Psalm

3 together

and see

the sort

of secret

of David's

composure

in the

midst of

reproach.

Psalm

3,

page

448.

Let me

begin reading

this for

us.

David

writes,

O Lord,

how many

are my

foes?

Many

are rising

against

me.

Many

are saying

of my

soul,

there's

no salvation

for God,

for him

and God.

So what's

David doing

right off

the bat?

He's

crying out

to God.

He's

praying.

And friends,

that should

tell us

that prayer

is not

some sort

of luxury

activity

for when

we happen

to get

some free

time and

we're feeling

sort of extra

spiritual.

Okay,

I'll pray

now.

No,

friends,

prayer is

a lifeline

in the

trenches

of the

warfare

of life.

And David

lays it all

out before

God.

He's not

sugarcoating

one thing.

He says,

Lord,

how many

are my

foes?

Verse 3,

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.

Now notice

here,

David's

protection

and David's

security,

his shield,

right?

That's what a

shield is.

His worth,

his glory,

his dignity

and honor,

the lifter

of my

head.

His

protection,

his worth,

his dignity,

they're not

in what people

think of

him,

are they?

They're not

ultimately

in how great

David's

circumstances

are.

Where then

are they?

You,

O Lord,

are my

shield

and my

glory.

Yeah?

And as

David cries

to God

in prayer,

he says,

God answered

me.

Now,

God did

not answer

him by

changing

his

circumstances,

right?

2 Samuel 16,

it's not like

at the end,

poof,

magically,

David's totally

vindicated.

Things get

bad.

Things are

going to

get a

little even

worse in

the story

here before

they get

better.

But still

God answers.

Deep in

David's soul

in this

moment,

he gets

a divine

assurance

that the

Lord is

with him.

In prayer,

God speaks

to his

heart and

comforts

him and

gives him

strength.

Look at

verse 5.

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.

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.

David here

knows and

acknowledges and

prays and

recognizes that

God will not

allow evil to

triumph forever.

Salvation,

he says,

belongs to

the Lord.

It's part of

his essence.

It's part

of God's

nature to

be a

redeeming

God.

Belongs

to him.

Now,

friends,

if David

knew this,

deep in

his bones,

how much

more do

we,

or should

we?

You know,

David had

seen God

rescue him

time and

time again.

But haven't

you and I

seen God's

greatest act

of rescue?

Not just for

you and me

individually,

but for the

whole world

in Jesus

Christ.

Do we not

know the

king who

endured the

most unjust

reproach?

The king who

was truly

betrayed and

abandoned and

mocked and

scorned?

But unlike

David,

Jesus had no

sin and

there was no

ground for the

curses that he

received.

None whatsoever.

He was actually

completely innocent.

There was no

right for that

army of

shimmy eyes

who assaulted

Jesus in his

passion as

one after

another,

after another,

after another,

just flung

down curses

and rebuke

and reproach

on Jesus'

head when

he was arrested

and crucified.

And yet,

friends,

don't we know

that this

king who's

come and

born all

this unjust

cursing and

rebuke and

reproach,

don't we know

that he bore

these curses

for us?

The apostle

Paul writes

in the book

of Galatians,

Christ became

a curse

for us

so that we

might receive

God's blessing.

every curse

that you and

I deserved

because we're

sinners,

every curse

that the holy

law of God

would fling

and hurl

against us

righteously,

justly,

Christ himself

has absorbed

as our

substitute,

standing in

our place.

And Jesus

rose from the

grave to

prove that

that curse

had been

undone and

emptied.

And that

now,

instead of

God's curse

being upon

us,

it's God's

blessing that's

upon us.

Now God's

blessing is

for you

and for me

and for

everyone who

repents and

believes.

You see,

friends,

this is the

wellspring of

David's and

of our,

especially as

Christians.

This is the

wellspring of

it.

Now because of

what Jesus

has done,

the one

opinion that

actually matters,

the opinion of

God himself who

made you and

made me,

the opinion of

that God is

one of a

blessing over

us, of

approval and

love.

And now we

know that God

will always be

faithful to us

and never

betray us.

And that God

will always work

for our good and

never deceive us

or manipulate us.

and that God

will always

accept us

and never

curse us

no matter what

external circumstances

we might

experience.

Salvation

belongs to

the Lord.

Your blessing

be on your

people,

David says.

That's what

will give you

the inner

strength to

endure the

curses and

betrayals of

this life and

to respond in

humility and

courage when

they come.

David saw it

and tasted it

and experienced

it.

But you know,

in reality,

he did it from

afar.

He saw just

shadows of what

we know.

But we,

in Jesus Christ,

by the Holy

Spirit,

we see it up

close.

We see the

substance itself,

friends.

So why don't we

go to God in

prayer together

right now?

And let's ask

God to bury

the reality of

His salvation

deep in our

hearts so that

we can respond

like David did,

so that we

can respond

like people

of God's

kingdom,

so that we

can respond

like people

of the

King Jesus.

Let's pray

together.

Lord,

there's so

much that we

ought to be

bringing before

you in prayer

as we think

about this

text.

First,

God,

we want to

just pray

for your

comfort and

for your

strength to

be with those

of us who

are experiencing

some of the

realities that

David experienced

in this text.

Lord,

for those of

us who are

undergoing the

hurt of

betrayal or

of unjust

accusation,

for those who

have been

manipulated or

deceived,

God,

we ask for

your comfort

and your

strength to

be near to

them.

God,

we also pray

that you would

help us,

Lord,

in the midst

of those

trying times

to respond

with humility

and with

grace.

Lord,

not to

back down

from what's

true,

not to

shy away

from

clarifying

misunderstandings,

and yet,

God,

to approach

these things

with humility

and to

listen.

And,

God,

also to

trust

that you

will keep

account of

everyone

and make

all things

good in

the end.

God,

most of

all,

we pray

that what

is true

in Jesus

Christ,

for all

who believe,

that you

have loved

us and

blessed us,

God,

that you

are our

shield and

our glory

and the

lifter of

our heads.

Lord,

all that we

have in

you is so

rich and

so all

encompassing.

God,

that even

if we

experience

criticism

and reproach

and betrayal

Lord,

we have

a rock

that will

not move

because we

know Jesus

bore every

real curse

that could

ever undo

us.

Every curse

that could

really be

the end

of us,

he has

taken away

and the

blessing that

we need

is ours

in him.

Oh,

Father,

by your

spirit,

make these

things real

to us.

Help us

to sense

them and

know them

deep in

our bones.

And,

Lord,

help us

as a

community,

as a

church,

together,

to live

out this

kind of

peacemaking,

this kind

of humility.

Lord,

help it

to spread

beyond these

walls.

Help us

to be a

counterculture

in the

midst of

our

accusatory

culture

where

everyone's

fuse

seems to

be so

short.

Lord,

help us

to just

have a

wealth

of

patience

and

listening.

God,

help us

even to

endure

unjust

cursing

for the

sake of

your

kingdom.

knowing

that our

reward is

great in

heaven.

We look

to you,

Jesus,

for the

strength to

do this.

Thank you

that by

your spirit

you give

us just

that.

Amen.

Friends,

we're going

to continue

to respond

to God's

word by

singing and

praying and

praising together.

This song

that we're

going to

sing.