Psalm for the Week – 22nd October, 2017

Psalm 3 (NKJV)

The Lord Helps His Troubled People

A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son.

3 Lord, how they have increased who trouble me!
Many are they who rise up against me.
² Many are they who say of me,
“There is no help for him in God.” Selah

³ But You, O Lord, are a shield for me,
My glory and the One who lifts up my head.
⁴ I cried to the Lord with my voice,
And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah

⁵ I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.
⁶ I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me all around.

⁷ Arise, O Lord;
Save me, O my God!
For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone;
You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.
⁸ Salvation belongs to the Lord.
Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah

 

It has been a couple of weeks since our last ‘Psalm of the Week’ segment. Let me just say life intervened and I was unable to post what I had in mind.

By God’s grace, things are running at a much better pace now and we can get right into it. I trust we will all be blessed by this psalm.

This week, we want to consider and meditate on Psalm 3 which is one that David wrote as he fled from Absalom during his son’s rebellion against him (See 2 Samuel 15 for the full account).

I like to say there is betrayal and there is betrayal. Any one of us who has been let down by a close friend or a loved one can certainly relate with how David is feeling here. It is much worse to be betrayed by your own flesh and blood, your son and one whom his father especially loved and doted on possibly above even the rest. It also was not only Absalom, but as we read the full account, some of David’s most trusted men and counsellors had also sided with Absalom and he had been written off.

He therefore starts the psalm acknowledging the desperation of his situation and how even God, according to the mockers, would not be able to help him. I believe that is a great place to start when we find ourselves in dire circumstances. Acknowledging our helplessness is a great place to be for God to act to help. I do sometimes see a certain pride in some strands of ‘Christianity’ who will never accept any truth about their situation. They will never accept they are weak, or sick or poor or desperate claiming that is negative speech. Some call it faith but all I hear is fear and pride. Rather, it is in our weakness that God perfects strength and in that He might receive all the glory. It is like how when Jesus came, the Pharisees always accused Him of being with tax collectors and sinners. Here is His response:

Luke 5:31 And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick.

David quickly moves on and proclaims the truth that he has learned from all the years of walking with God and which is confirmed to us by His word. God is our shield. He is our strength. He is the one who is our glory and who exalts when we humble ourselves before Him. We therefore need to call out to the Lord in our problems. Is it an issue of sin we are battling? Is it one of a cry for salvation? Is it one of need? Is it one of anxiety over the future? The answer is one and the same. Cry out to the Lord for His deliverance and for Him to uphold you.

And O! How he upholds us. Sometimes, I like to jokingly (but seriously) tell people that when it is night I sleep and sleep soundly. This started because I have a good friend who was working tirelessly to convince me years ago that there were attacks of Satan which take place only at certain times of the night so I need to be awake to pray and engage in warfare. This happens when you read too many books apart from the bible or watch too many of these famous ‘pastor’s these days. Why worry needlessly when the King of the universe never sleeps and He sustains us? What really is the worst that could happen? I die and then what? I end up in heaven with Him of course. My family belongs to Him as well and if He chooses not to keep them here any longer or for our circumstances to change somehow, then glory be to His name. Like Job said, “shall we accept good from the Lord and not evil?” God is good and He is wise. Let us learn to trust Him like David.

Now I am not of course saying it is wrong to pray at night or even through the night if we have a certain burden we are carrying. We should pray at all times but always with a sense of assurance as to who is really in charge of things.

Finally, in verse 7-8, David talks about all God has done in destroying his enemies in times past and comes to the good confession we all must make:

Salvation belongs to the Lord. His blessing is upon His people! (my wording)

The question, Dear Reader, is therefore are you part of the people of God? Do you in truth belong to Him? If not, I cannot give you any comfort. God does not offer you comfort in your strife and troubles in this sin-filled world.
He has made provision for you through Jesus Christ. Why not turn to Him today and have your sins forgiven? Then even if you go through the rest of your life surrounded by issues and troubles which we will face in this world, we can have strong assurance in the words of Jesus:

John 16:33 – These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Have a blessed week and let us remember to serve our God!!!