Confidence under pressure

Psalm 3, a psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son.

O Lord, how many are my foes?

Many are rising against me.

Many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation from him in God.

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.

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 round.

Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God.

If 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.

There's many challenges to living as a Christian, but one of the toughest ones, I think, is to keep together that which we believe about God or we think we believe about God.

When our circumstances often seem to be at odds with that or often feel as though they're at odds with that.

We believe in God's goodness and commitment to us.

And yet so often in our hearts we're overwhelmed with sadness.

We're paralyzed by fear.

Sometimes we're even consumed by anger.

And it's a struggle keeping those two things together.

When our circumstances push us one way and what we believe draws us another way.

And that gets worse because sometimes in that sort of situation we're already super aware of our sinfulness.

And then from there it's very easy to conclude that our circumstances are evidence that God's actually abandoned us.

So often we slip into that pattern of doing our theology by circumstance.

Now perhaps our church family life is a current example of this struggle.

For nine weeks we've soaked up and we really have enjoyed soaking up from the letter of Colossians.

The wonderful truth that our story, our story, is inseparably bound to the story of Jesus Christ.

That in Christ and united to him, the image we've been using is that our buckets are full and overflowing.

Buckets of identity, meaning and purpose and security and satisfaction.

In Christ we have the good life, the full life, the rich life that God intends us to have.

But then you just need to look over the last two weeks in our church family and so much has been happening.

There's been so many in hospital.

I've never seen it like that before.

So many at the one time in hospital.

We had the birth and very short life of Narrahan.

We got the impending death of John King.

We got so many struggling in their marriages.

We got so many grief stricken by rebellious children and at their wits end as to what to do with them.

Then a bit of wider thing, we got the threat of economic recession.

We got the growing fear of escalating war.

And so it seems like perhaps, I can't speak with the authority of the Lord, but it seems like, at least we need to consider that,

perhaps our theoretical knowledge and enjoyment of that notion of fullness in Christ,

that we have everything we need to live well,

is actually being severely tested by circumstances.

Will we live as those whose buckets are full in Christ,

in the uncertainty of life, in the messiness of life,

in at times the grief of life?

That takes us into Psalm 3 that we're going to be looking at this morning.

And I just want to mention that Psalm 3 is actually an important progression from Psalm 1 and 2,

and that's not just an Irish-ism.

There's an important progression in the themes of the Psalms.

So Psalm 1 declares that good life is sourced in obedience to the Lord.

Psalm 2 declares the absolute sovereignty of God to achieve His purpose in and through His people.

And Psalm 3 puts us sort of in between those two things,

in the life of faith, as we see it expressed by King David,

a life grounded in those two truths,

that there is the good life,

and that it is to be found living under the sovereignty of God.

But it's a challenge.

It's a challenge.

We struggle through daily circumstances and experience of living in a world that's broken by sin,

broken by rebellion.

And that's why we're going to jump into Psalm 3 now.

Because at the very start,

we see that David's bleak circumstances

cause him to retreat or flee.

Now, some of this stuff, I'm assuming you've read the backstory in 2 Samuel 14 to 18.

If you haven't, you're a guest here this morning,

then you should read it sometime.

It'll really fill in the picture of Psalm 3.

That's the awfulness behind verses 1 and 2.

And to put it in this blunt form,

the awfulness is a coup d'etat

organized against King David by his very own son Absalom,

whom he had treated with such kindness and generosity.

And coup d'etats are always, by definition,

bloody affairs.

The backstory, therefore, is an outrageous political drama

where secretly, over a four-year period,

Absalom worked to win the hearts of the nation of Israel to himself

against his father, King David,

through intrigue and deception.

Essentially, he was saying to the people,

look, come over and demise it.

I will be a better king.

And eventually, Absalom got the support

and marched openly with a huge army

and occupied Jerusalem, the center of the nation.

His intent?

To depose and kill his father, King David.

So it wasn't just an outrageous political drama,

it was a really sad family drama.

Because of the monarchy,

the only way Absalom could get the throne

was actually to kill his father.

Who was the current king?

Murderous intent.

Now imagine the pain that David was feeling,

King David was feeling.

When he thought about what his son intended to do.

When he thought about how his son had planned this

for four or five or six years,

in verse one,

David's situation was getting worse by the day.

David knew

that this had got a momentum

and that trusted loyal people

that were abandoning him by the day

and signing up with Absalom.

And caught unawares,

if you read the back story,

caught unawares and unprepared,

David decided to retreat

or flee from Jerusalem.

Remember, Jerusalem was the seat of his throne,

the seat of his power,

the center of the kingdom,

the very place where God had installed him.

And David decides to retreat or flee.

Now a very important question in here,

why did David flee or retreat?

Well, I don't think it was because he feared Absalom.

Quite the opposite.

I think it was because he loved Absalom.

He loved Absalom

and he could see the foolishness

and the stupidity of his son.

Recognizing the son wasn't just dealing with him,

but he was taking on God.

But I think also David loved his people

and he refused to subject them

to a bloody savagery of a coup d'etat.

A bloody civil war.

So David retreats.

But that action was a loving action

for the good of his son

and for the good of his nation.

But perhaps most hurtful of all

is that last line in verse 2

was the rumors.

Rumors are always hurtful, aren't they?

Because they're everywhere,

but you can't actually get a hold of them.

Rumors are devastating things.

And the rumor circulating

was that David's own sinful behavior

had brought all this upon him.

Perhaps it was a reference to the fact

that David himself had replaced King Saul.

Or perhaps it was a reference

to David's sin with Bathsheba

and subsequent murder of her husband.

In other words, the rumor was saying,

look, God has abandoned King David.

And now he's put his blessing on Absalom.

So if you want to be

on the right side of history,

that's a modern frame,

get with Absalom.

And again, imagine David's feeling there.

Imagine what that would do

with his inner landscape.

Well, perhaps it's true.

I thought that this,

my sin had been,

I had repented of it

and had been dealt with by the Lord

and the Lord had restored me.

But maybe, maybe not.

It would have caused enormous torment

in David's mind

as he considered this possibility.

So friends, it's not hard

to sense something of the agony

and the distress and confusion

that afflicted King David.

And most of us will recognize

the thinking that quickly flows from that.

And we look at our circumstances

and we quickly move to thinking

that, well, perhaps my circumstances

reflect that I've forfeited

any support or blessing

or ongoing relationship with the Lord.

Now, at this point,

we have to look at this

strange little word in the text

called Selah

at the end of verse 2.

Now, nobody really knows

what it is in detail.

The best guess, I suppose,

the best scholarly guess

is that it's a musical notation

which is something like

pause or rest or interlude.

In other words, I think

what it's really saying is,

look, given what I've just said,

stop and reflect.

Remember, this is poetry.

So it's actually saying,

stop and reflect

what's just been said.

Is the growing majority right

in their assessment of King David?

Should he be doing his theology

by circumstance?

Could it possibly be true

that God has abandoned

his servant, King David?

We'll pause and reflect.

It's a huge concept

with so much writing on it.

Next point I want to make

if you've fallen through

in the outline

is that King David does retreat,

but it's really important

to know how he retreats.

He doesn't retreat into himself

or into his own fears,

but he retreats into God's character

and God's word

if you look at verses 3 and 4.

But you, O Lord,

are a shield about me,

my glory,

and the lifter of my head.

Isn't it true that so often

when life gets tough

we do retreat into ourselves,

into our own inner thinking,

into our scrambling

for a new connection

with our own resources

to begin the process

of self-salvation?

And sometimes that's expressed

in victimhood

where the best way

to deal with things

is to say that

somebody else is to blame

for my circumstance.

Or perhaps it's withdrawal

from relationships

generally in life

and engaging

only with those people

that we think are safe

who will actually deliver

some happiness

and well-being to us.

But there's nothing like that

in David's response.

Instead,

David moves deeper

into the heart of God.

Convinced that strength

and refreshment

and courage to thrive

is not in changed circumstance,

but in a fresh appreciation

of God's beauty

and God's covenant faithfulness

and God's sufficiency

for his every situation.

But you, O Lord,

are a shield.

He starts to rehearse

what he knows about God.

You, O Lord,

are my bodyguard.

That's the emphasis

of that word there.

Picture a cluster

of CIA men

gathered around

the president,

literally protecting him

from every angle.

For any enemy out there

who wants to harm him,

that's the picture

that David retreats into.

God is the source

of my value,

security,

and reputation.

That's the force

of my glory

and the lifter of my head.

See,

King David

isn't interested

in popular esteem.

He knows

that he has no glory

in himself.

But since his position

is a reflected glory,

that is,

as God's king,

he has the reflected glory

of God himself,

the covenant God himself,

as a servant of the Lord,

then David knows

that he can trust the Lord

to act for his own glory.

God is his vindicator,

in other words.

David is confident

that Yahweh,

that is the name

of the Lord God

here used in this psalm,

Yahweh,

the personal name of God,

Yahweh himself

will fight

for David.

Why?

Because David

is God's appointed king.

And therefore,

equally true

that when his enemies

take on King David,

they should realize

that they're taking on Yahweh.

And in the end,

David knows

that it's God's assessment

of him

that matters.

And that physical circumstances

are not

an accurate guide

to God's assessment

of him.

And verse 4,

he continues to rehearse

what he knows.

God's salvation purpose

gives my apparent

chaos

order.

I cried aloud

to the Lord

and he answered me

from his holy hill.

Now again,

in poetry terms,

it's a little bit

cryptic here.

But the point

I want to say

is this,

is that

David's predicament

does not drive

him away

from the Lord

in a frenetic

attempt at self-salvation,

but drives him

to the Lord

in urgent prayer.

Why?

Because the Lord

is the one

who has the answers.

The Lord

who knows everything

can put order

into the chaos

of David's life.

and his confidence

is rewarded

because the Lord

answers him.

Confirming what?

Well,

we're not told here,

so we assume

that the answer

is confirming

David's analysis

in verses 2 and 3,

verses 3 and 4 rather.

confirming David's faith

and trust in God alone.

And sensing that God

answers him

from his holy hill

or another word

would be Zion

or both of those things

are just words

for Jerusalem.

And Jerusalem

is very significant

because that's the place

where God

has taken up

his dwelling

among his people.

That's the place

where God rules

both the nation of Israel

and the whole world.

So,

the confirmation

for David

is that Absalom

who has now

occupied Jerusalem

may think

that his word

is going to rule.

But David's confidence

is no.

The sovereign Lord

is still enthroned

and his word

will be the final word

heard and acted on

from Jerusalem.

It will be God's power,

God's voice

that will be heard

ultimately.

And so,

there's a really lovely

confirmation

and rehearsal

here for David.

That is,

King David's confidence

is not that God

is on his side,

but that he

as God's king

is on God's side.

That's a hugely

different statement.

That he's part

of God's

much bigger

salvation plan

for his people.

And again,

with that thought

we say,

Selah.

Just pause

and reflect

on that truth,

on God's character

and purpose

as we struggle

through the mess

of life.

Flaying into God's character

enables King David

to press on

in confident

faith and trust

verses 5 and 6.

Knowing God's character

and rehearsing

in his own mind

and regaining

a confident

trust

in that

and seeing the beauty

of his situation

as being

on God's side

enables David,

frees David

to do

what he needs

to do.

Confident

that the Lord

will do

what only he can do.

And so in the short term

David needs

to get some rest.

And so

he lies down

and he sleeps.

He sleeps sound.

And you can hear him

getting up the next morning

saying,

my goodness me,

in spite of all

that's been happening

I slept so sound

last night.

That of itself

is evidence

that God

is sustaining me.

And what's more

he's saying to his advisors

I woke this morning

strangely

without fear.

Even though

my enemies

are still there,

even though

my circumstances

are still the same

as where they were

last night,

I woke fresh

this morning.

Again,

why?

Because God

is on the job.

God

now,

again,

it's important

to realize here

that this is not

the sleep

of an arrogant fool

who's lost touch

with reality.

it's not the sleep

of an arrogant man

supremely confident

in his own resources

saying,

well,

let them do

what they want,

I'll sort them

out in the morning.

It was the confident,

trusting,

faithful words,

the actions of faith

in God's control

of the situation.

Yes,

David's enemies

were all about him,

but so was the Lord

and the terms there

are very much parallel.

His enemies

were all about him

and it's meant

to bounce off

what David's already

become convinced of,

that the Lord

was all about him.

And so,

as we're told

in the back story,

David gets up

and prepares himself

for the battle

that Absalom

has left him

no choice

but to fight.

And I think David

goes into that battle

and if you read

the back story,

you can get that

from the back story.

He goes into that battle,

not actually sure

how it's going to turn out,

but what he is sure about

is that whether

he lives or dies,

God's purpose

for his people

will be achieved.

But we're not done yet

because David's still

stepping through

this process

and he does press forward

with new confidence

but he's always longing

for God's ultimate renewal

of his rebellious people.

verses 7 and 8.

Now again,

we see in verse 7,

David's faith perspective.

He says,

Arise, O Lord.

It's a call,

as it were,

a pleading with God

to act.

This is your show, God.

I'm on your side.

You're my commander

in a sense.

over to you,

in a sense.

David's hope

for that day

and for every day

in the future

was God's action,

God's activity.

Now,

this is a really important

balance here

because,

see,

we can look back

and we say

David had displayed

incredible faith,

incredible trust

in response

to his circumstances.

There's no question

about that.

He had done

what was right

in terms of responding

to his circumstances

but here's the point.

David was never satisfied

with his response.

He was never satisfied

with his actions.

He never relies on them

and he certainly

never thinks

that he can deliver

what God's people

really need

because,

you see,

David himself

was a man of sin.

He knew

that his faith today

could crumble

into foolishness tomorrow.

That's been his history

in the past.

So,

while he was seeking

to do the right thing,

he was never satisfied

with it.

He never relied on it

and he never,

ever for a moment

thought he could deliver

in this situation

what God's foolish people

in the height of rebellion

really need.

And so he says,

Arise, O Lord.

And then he says,

Save me, O my God.

Now,

it seems

and looks immediately

like it's self-interested

but I don't think it is.

Rather,

he knows

the fortunes

of his people

are tied to his.

He's their king

and what comes

to King David

comes to his people.

So,

his ultimate concern

as God's king

is to see

God's salvation purpose

achieved through him

for all God's foolish,

rebellious people.

And David includes himself

in that.

He's capable of equal foolishness,

equal stupidity

and has been.

See,

at this point,

I think David

is preparing

for a battle

that's in front of him

but he's longing

for much,

much more

than just

political

reunification.

He knows

what his people need.

He knows

what he needs

and that is

he knows

that rebellion

comes from the heart

and therefore

to properly address

and fix rebellion

then he and his people

need new hearts,

new desires,

new attitudes

if the cycle

of foolish,

rebellious,

destructive,

sinful actions

is to be broken

finally and fixed properly.

So David's longing

even as he prepares

for an immediate battle

he's longing

for something much bigger,

a bigger battle

as it were

to be fought

to deliver God's people.

And if you look

then at verse 8,

salvation belongs

to the Lord,

your blessing

be on your people.

David knows

that salvation

and blessing

are inseparably linked,

two sides

of one coin

and that both

are God's intention

to deliver

to his people

through his appointed king.

So to know

God's blessing,

Psalm 1,

is to be delivered

from rebellion

into new obedience

and righteousness.

That is the blessed life.

To know God's salvation

requires new submission,

new loyalty

to God's sovereign king.

That's Psalm 2 again.

So in this situation,

David understands

his people.

He understands

that they're craving

for the life of blessing,

the good life.

And that's a

proper craving.

That's a real craving.

But they're foolishly

trying to find it

in Absalom,

which is what Absalom

is foolishly

promising

God's people.

That he will give them

a better life,

the life that David

couldn't give them

and didn't give them.

So he feels

for his people.

He sees their plight,

one stupidity

building on another.

And King David

longs for the Lord

to act,

claiming back

his rightful honour,

delivering true blessing

for the truly good life

for his people.

And friends,

if you haven't already

come with me

to this point,

you can hear

the whisper of Jesus

in that,

can't you?

You can hear

the whisper of Jesus

in that longing

of David.

Jesus is the one

who actually

delivers

on that

which David

can only long for

and articulate.

See,

like King David,

Jesus experienced

the awfulness

of hatred,

rebellion,

disloyalty,

and betrayal

from his own family.

John chapter 1,

John 1 · chapter mention

he came to those

who were his own

but they wouldn't

receive him

because they could

get a better life

apart from Jesus.

but like

King David,

the Lord Jesus

continued

to be committed

to their best interests

even while

they were rejecting him.

and if you look

at 2 Samuel 18

2 Samuel 18:32

verse 32,

there's a really

poignant verse there

right at the very end

of this whole story

when David is grieving

for his son Absalom.

You could just feel

the pathos.

David said,

Absalom,

Absalom,

my son,

I wish that I could

have died

in your place.

My friends,

that's the gospel.

David was breathing

the gospel

without even knowing it.

Would that I

could have died

in your place.

You're the rebel,

you're the fool,

Absalom,

but I,

as God's king,

would gladly have died

for you if I could.

And of course he couldn't

because David's hands

had blood on him.

But the Lord Jesus did.

what David could only

long for

and experience in part,

Jesus did.

And again,

verse 7 and verse 8,

David's longing

was literally

played out

on

Jesus.

He was the one

who took the

knockout blow,

the humiliation

of being struck

and that picture

in verse 7

is the ultimate

humiliation

that they've been,

you know,

taking the head

off type blow.

Well,

God did it

to his son,

Jesus.

Why?

Because that's

what was required

to deal with enemies,

rebels,

in the name

of justice.

Jesus took

God's knockout blow,

his humiliation

and death

as the consequences

and the punishment

of rebellion

as he took it

upon himself.

And the result

for us who are believers

here this morning

is absolutely incredible.

By sheer grace

and mercy,

God,

in a very real sense,

has become

our bodyguard,

verse 2,

has become

our glory,

has become

the lifter

of our head.

As Dave

prayed at the start,

the removal

of shame

and guilt,

restoration

of reputation

and meaning

and identity

and purpose,

security.

What David

could only

long for,

we now

enjoy

and fill

the life

of blessing.

We create

validation,

security,

reputation,

all of that

which is

unchanging

and inexhaustible.

The full bucket

I spoke of

in the introduction.

That's for us

as believers.

But there's

one more thing

I want to say

just before I sit down.

I've no doubt

there's some here

who aren't yet

believers.

You may be in,

your parents may

be believers

and you may have

grown up in a

Christian family

all your life

but not yet

be a believer

yourself.

Well,

all of that

that I just said

is immediately

available to you

also.

Like verse 4,

you just need

to cry out

to the Lord

and he will

answer you.

You're craving

for the life

of blessing,

security,

identity and purpose,

trying to fit

into this world

that's broken

and horrible.

Come to Jesus.

The Colby Cannon

song reflects

these words.

It says,

in this situation

if you fear

you can go to

Jesus,

if you're lost,

he will come

to you.

All you need

to do is

recognize that

salvation is

God's prerogative

and that salvation

through Jesus,

that he's having

a new heart,

new desires,

new adages,

having your sin

and rebellion

dealt with

properly and

finally,

is the pathway

to blessing

and life.

That life

you're craving

but currently

trying to

find somewhere else.

Come to him

begging for that

renewal.

Come to him

as a guilty

rebel

asking for

inside-out

renewal

and you know

what?

He'll be

delighted

to give it

to you.

Pray with me.

Father,

we finish

where the

psalm

finished

with a

sealah

and we

pause and

reflect on

David's

longing

for an

inner renewal,

not just a

change of

circumstances

to renewed

political unity

in the nation

without bloodshed

if possible

but Lord,

something

far,

far greater,

renewal from

the inside-out

and a

freedom from

a rebellion

and a

true experience

of the

fullness of

life

and how

that longing

became reality

in the Lord

Jesus.

Lord,

at that point

we say

sealah,

we pause

and reflect

on your

goodness.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

We thank you

for the example

of King David

as a man

of faith

and trust

in this word

but we thank

you even

more Lord

that he was a man

who was not

satisfied with his

own efforts

no matter how

good they were

but pointed us

to that which we

know now to be

the Lord Jesus.

I pray that we

might not be

like Absalom

or the people

of Israel

at that time, despising your goodness and your grace to us.

Help us to live humbly and confidently

under King Jesus

and know blessing and salvation and security.

In his name I pray. Amen.

Thank you very much for listening.