Triumph Over Troubles

Transcript

GRM 1003
5/4/2008
Triumph over Troubles
Psalm 3
Gil Rugh


Psalm 3. You know Job 5:7 tells us, man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward. There is no avoiding trouble and trial in our lives. Everyone experiences it one time or another in one way or another. Difficult times do come. That doesn't mean we live in a world of gloom, a world of fearing what is coming tomorrow, but the reality is life is not always easy, it is not always good as we would like to think of it. There are troubles, there are difficulties, there are trials. There are times when you think, maybe I'm going to be overwhelmed, I don't know if I can survive this. This is just not what I expected. And it's in these times of hopelessness, uncertainty, difficulty that we often find ourselves going to the Psalms. There is something special about the Psalms, that if you're going to go someplace to find encouragement, comfort, strength during those times of trials, you find yourself going to the Psalms. And sometimes just sitting down and reading several Psalms and you find it is soothing and encouraging to your soul. And a major part of that is the Psalms reflect the struggles, the trials that normal people were going through, the realities of life, the painful situations of life, the crushing disappointments of life.

And Psalm 3 is one of those Psalms. You'll note the title of this Psalm, just at the head of the Psalm there, under the larger title that you may have in your Bible. A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son. And these titles aren't part of the inspired text, but they are extremely old and are generally taken as reliable indications of the context or setting of the particular Psalm. And I think that fits this Psalm as well. This Psalm was written during a very, very difficult time in David's life, a difficult time that had come upon him to a large extent because of his own sin.

Back up a little bit in your Bibles to II Samuel 11. We're not going into the details but just to set the context. II Samuel 11 records that awful time in David's life when he sinned against the Lord with Bathsheba, and that led to the murder of Bathsheba's husband, Uriah the Hittite. In chapter 12 the prophet Nathan is sent to confront David about his sin. And David acknowledges that he has sinned and Nathan tells him what his sin has really been. Verse 9, he asked him, why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? That's what it was. You despise the word of the Lord and in effect you have despised the Lord. Verse 10, he gives the first of three judgments that will come upon David, disciplines from the Lord for his sin. The sword shall never depart from your house because you have despised Me. That is the awful, terrible thing about sin. We despise the Lord. David, you have despised Me. The man after God's own heart came to a point in his life where he despised the Lord. So the first act of discipline that he will experience—the sword shall never depart from your house. The second judgment from the Lord. Verse 11, behold I will raise up evil against you from your own household. And thirdly, verse 14, the child that will be born as a result of this relationship between David and Bathsheba will die.
That second judgment from the Lord, I will raise up evil against you from your own household, is particularly the one that David is experiencing when he writes Psalm 3. A little bit later, turn over to II Samuel 15, you have the beginning of the record of the rebellion of David's son, Absalom. His own son, the son that he loved so much, turned against him and began to draw the hearts of the people of Israel to himself. How do you do that? Well we have individuals running for the highest office of our country now. What do they do to win your affection and your vote? They tell you all they would do for you, they tell you how unfairly you've been treated by the present President. But if I were President, I would really take care of you. I wouldn't let you have this kind of trouble. Well that's what Absalom does. Even when you have a king you work the same way to get the hearts of the people and their vote. So Absalom stands by the road where people would come. And they had opportunity to come and present their case to the king. And he would meet them there and say, what are you coming here for? And they'd tell him their problems and trouble and he'd say, my heart breaks for you. I wish I could help you, I wish I were the king. If I were the king you wouldn't have that trouble. If I were the king I'd take care of that problem for you right now. And you know what happened? Pretty soon the people in Israel were voting for Absalom, even though there is no vote. The way they do it is they in their heart begin to wish Absalom were king as well.

Then Absalom openly rebels against his father, David, and there is an open rebellion in the nation. The end of the verse, II Samuel 15:6, so Absalom stole away the heart of the men of Israel. At the time in his plan he has himself declared king. And his preparation has been good and so the whole nation basically abandons David and says, yes, we would rather have Absalom as king. So the end of verse 12 tells us, the conspiracy was strong, for the people increased continually with Absalom. Then a messenger came to David saying, the hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom. David said to his servants, we have to escape. Let us flee, otherwise none of us will escape from Absalom. Go in haste, otherwise he will overtake us and a calamity will overtake us. Absalom will trap us here in the city and we will be crushed.

What a terrible state. His own son has led the rebellion against him. And David realizes that Absalom is so serious about this that if he is given opportunity, he will kill his own father, David.

That's not bad enough. David's closest advisor, Ahithophel, also abandons David and joins Absalom in his rebellion. Verse 12, and Absalom sent for Ahithophel, the
Gilonite, David's counselor, from his city. And then we're told the conspiracy was strong because Absalom joins it. You have more about that as you read through the chapter. It gets uglier. Part of what Absalom does is commits immorality with David's concubine in a setting where all the nation knows, humiliating David and indicating the irresolvable break that has come between this father and this son.

You go over to chapter 17 verses 21-22, only because David has a couple of faithful spies still within the inner circle there in Jerusalem is he spared and able to escape over the Jordan River before they are able to trap him. It's a terrible time in David's life. His dearly loved son is leading the rebellion, trying to kill him; his closest advisor has joined this; and the nation that he has ruled has gone after Absalom as well.

And it's in that context and that setting that David writes Psalm 3. So come back to Psalm 3, a Psalm of trust in times of trouble. Now it's called a Psalm, just a minor word here on the Psalms. The Hebrew word, mizmor, and then the Greek word from which we get the word Psalm. The verb form of this refers to playing a musical instrument. The noun as we have it for a Psalm refers to the poetry, the words and so on that are set to music. So if you look down at Psalm 4, just at the title, for the choir director on stringed instruments. So what the Psalms were and why they are referred to is that they are the hymnbook of Israel. They are the songs that Israel would sing. Everybody didn't carry a copy around as we are privileged to do with the Word of God. But here in their songs they would learn them and have them built into their hearts and minds and teach them to their children. And this truth would be conveyed in that way.

This Psalm makes no reference to Absalom except as the title sets the context. I think perhaps that the Spirit of the Lord in His directing sometimes does that for our benefit, because while it is referring to a specific situation in David's life, it also is one that is provided to be an encouragement to us when we come into trials. And these are things written for our admonition and our encouragement as we see application that can be applied to us.

The Psalm opens up by talking about David's situation, those who are opposing him. Oh, Lord, how my adversaries have increased. Many are rising up against me, many are saying of my soul, there is no deliverance for him in God. David's opponents are not only numerous, they are growing every day. So this is a growing rebellion. My adversaries have increased, many are rising up against me. And they build their following partly by saying, there is no deliverance from the Lord to him. You remember when David fled from Jerusalem? A man named Shimei followed along on the hillside, throwing dust and stones at David and saying, this is a judgment on you, David, because you are a man of bloodshed. God is judging you. So here David in such a discouraging time as his son has rebelled against him, his closest advisor has abandoned him, the people of the nation have turned against him. Now he has this constant declaration, this is God's judgment. You are a man of bloodshed. The people are convinced, God has abandoned David, the blessing now is on Absalom.

What a discouraging thing to think there is no deliverance for him in the Lord. Many, many years ago Charles Spurgeon wrote in a sermon, it is the most bitter of all afflictions to be led to fear that there is no help for us in God. Now keep in mind, David could come to this in his own thinking if he is not careful, because why does he have trouble in his family? Remember the message of Nathan the prophet in II Samuel 12? Part of the judgment on you for your sin will be trouble will come to you from your own family. Easy to begin to think, I brought this on myself, it's my own sin and punishment, the Lord won't help me. That's what his enemies are saying. But that's not the end of the story.

But there is a stop here. That word Selah at the right of the verse, appears three times. Evidently the musical notation, meaning something like an interlude. Could be a crescendo, could be a pause. Evidently they were inserted so that in the playing of the music it was done in such a way to give people time to reflect, to draw their attention to what is being said. But these first two verses drive home the hopelessness of David' situation, that he is in an overwhelming trial. And those who look at it say, the Lord won't deliver him from it, this is God's judgment on David.

But we reflect on that, we move on. And David's attention is moved from those that oppose him to the One who defends him. And he says, but you, oh Lord, are a shield about me, my glory and the One who lifts my head. There is a note of confidence that comes out in David here. In spite of the fact that his closest family and friends have turned against him, his people have turned against him, they are declaring this is the judgment of God and God won't deliver him, David recognizes that there is hope for him in the Lord. And regardless of what people say, God has not abandoned David. Regardless of the fact David has sinned and is being disciplined by the Lord, that does not mean God has abandoned David. But you, oh Lord, in spite of what they are doing, in spite of what they are saying, they say there is no deliverance for him in God, but you, oh Lord, are a shield to me. You are my protector, you are the One watching out for me.

You know the psalmist, it runs through the Psalms repeatedly, this picture of God being a shield to his people. The picture is clear. He is the One who protects them, keeps them from being crushed, from being defeated, being overwhelmed by whatever trials or opponents they face. We won't have time to do the whole list, you could get a concordance and look up the word shield and trace it through, but we'll look at a few. Look at Psalm 7:10, my shield is with God who saves the upright. In other words, who is my shield? It's God, He has become my shield. He saves the upright in heart. David is not sinless, he is an adulterer, he's a murderer. But he has been cleansed and forgiven. He is experiencing discipline. But my shield is with the Lord, He saves the upright in heart.

Look in Psalm 18:1, I love you oh Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. You see the context, it's like piling up the words. What do I say? My strength, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my rock, my shield, my salvation, my stronghold. How else can I say it? Verse 3, I will call upon the name of the Lord, He is worthy to be praised and I am saved from my enemies. This is where David is going in Psalm 3, calling upon the name of the Lord. Where do I go? Like the song, where could I go but to the Lord. This is David. He is my shield, He protects, He keeps, He delivers.

We won't go to the rest of the Psalms—Psalm 28:7, Psalm 33:20, Psalm 59:11, Psalm 84:11, Psalm 115:9-11, Psalm 119:114, Psalm 144:2. The Lord is my shield, God is my shield, the Lord is my shield. Who is my protector? The Lord.

Come back to Psalm 3. He goes on in verse 3, my glory and the one who lifts my head. David's true honor and glory would come from the Lord. Man's evaluation was not significant. God would bring glory and honor, He would life David up. Lifting up the head is an indication of dignity and honor. What happens when you hang your head in shame, when you're depressed, you're discouraged. You walk around, your head is down, you look down. The Lord will lift my head up, He will bring honor and glory. In other words, my opponents, my enemies, my trials, my adversity, they will not be the victors. I was crying to the Lord with my voice and He answered me from His holy mountain. You know David does what should be done here, He turns to the Lord. You know sometimes, especially when we're conscious of our sin and our failures, we say, I brought it on myself. And we want to sit in our puddle and have self-sympathy. And I can't go to the Lord. I mean, what did Nathan say? You despise the Lord, the Lord's message to you is why did you despise Me? Can I go with confidence and cry to the Lord to deliver me when I despised Him by sinning so grievously? But what does David do? I was crying to the Lord with my voice. He still belongs to the Lord. God hasn't abandoned David, He's not going to take the trial away. And when it is ultimately resolved it will not be in the way that David would have desired it and it will bring more grief to him. But David won't be crushed by the trial, won't be overwhelmed by the enemies.

I was crying to the Lord with my voice, and He answered me from His holy mountain. Kind of expressions in the Old Testament in Israel referring to the temple where God manifested His presence in the nation, on Mt. Zion. And there in the temple, that holy mountain, He met with His people. They could come before Him and so David reflecting that God hearing his prayer and responded. He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah. Another musical interlude or crescendo here, or pause as we have to draw everybody's attention to this point as we did with the first two verses, to recognize the overwhelming difficulty that David is in to the point that people were saying, the Lord wouldn't deliver him, the Lord couldn't, it's a done deal, so to speak. And now you reflect, and David's confidence that the Lord is his shield, his honor and glory. And I cried to the Lord and He heard me. Now we have to give that it's proper attention. What a contrast—the terrible trials, adversaries, attitude of people that he won't find deliverance in the Lord and the contrast of that, the Lord is my shield, He's my deliverer, He's my protector, He's the One who will life my head up, He's the One that I cry to, He's the One who answers. Striking contrast in the situation.

So the result—David has peace. Verse 5, I lay down and slept, I awoke, for the Lord sustains me. I lay down and slept because the Lord sustains me. Doesn't say I lay down and slept because all my problems vanished. All of a sudden Absalom wasn't after me any longer, all of a sudden he sent a message and said, Dad, I changed my mind. I love you, the rebellion is over and all the nation wants you to be ........... That's not where it is. What has happened? I cried to the Lord, He's my shield, He's my protector. I guess I need to get a good night's sleep. What a beautiful picture of the reality of David's faith in the Lord. They are still looking for him, they still intend to kill him and establish Abaslom as the king. But I lay down and slept. You know sometimes we have to remind ourselves, I was reading Psalm 3 and I'm in such trouble I don't know what I'm going to do. And I decide I'm going to call out to the Lord. You know, I was up all night worrying about it. Wait a minute. If the Lord is my shield, what am I worried about? I'm not talking about being cavalier and light about this. There are times when maybe what we need to do is spend the night in prayer, and trials are good for our prayer lives and we become more intense in prayer and find time for prayer that we didn't find before. But the reality is sometimes we need a good night's sleep. The enemies are still looking for David, Absalom is still bent on David's destruction. He said, I cried to the Lord and then I lay down and had a good night's sleep. Why? Well if the Lord is protecting me, why do I need to be up? Doesn't the Bible tell me that the Lord never slumbers, He never sleeps. No sense in both of us being up all night, He's going to be up anyway, right? He never sleeps, He never slumbers. That was His promise to Israel, He who keeps Israel never slumbers, never sleeps. So David could go to sleep. Why? Because his protector is on guard, the One who keeps him and preserves him.

That's one of the most difficult things in trials, isn't it? To trust the Lord to do what's right. Now think about that. Some of you know the outcome of the story. It's not going to be what David wanted. Absalom will be dead when this is over, that's not what David wanted. He had a hard time recovering from that grief of the death of his son. It's not the outcome he was hoping for, but that doesn't matter. His confidence is the Lord will work it out, He will protect me. And the Lord will. Now David could lay his plans for how it should come out, but that's not the Lord's plan. The key iswhen I cry to the Lord, it's His. That doesn't mean I do nothing. David still ran, he hid, he ............ But you know that doesn't mean I can't have a good night's sleep, I can't have peace.

I was crying to the Lord, He answered me, I lay down and slept, I awoke, for He sustains me. That's why you have in the title in some of your Bibles, A Morning Prayer or A Morning Psalm, a psalm for early in the day because of that I awoke. So they pick that up as a title, A Psalm for the Morning, because he woke in the morning. I woke for the Lord sustains me. You know what? I went and had a sound night's sleep and I awoke in the morning. You know what? I had been protected through the night. And sometimes the best thing I could have would be a good night's sleep through those trials and pressure, right? Because staying up all night worrying doesn't enable me to think anymore clearly or to resolve them any more effectively. Sometimes all I can say is Lord, I'm tired; Lord, I really need to go to sleep. It's in your hands, I'll awake in the morning and see what you have for me. You're my shield, You're protecting me, I'll just go to sleep. Now which would you rather be? If I lay down and have a good night's sleep and wake refreshed in the morning to see what the Lord has done, or I stay up all night, the problem still won't have gone away. I don't worry it away. So David's pattern here is a good reminder.

Verse 6, I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about. You know once you've turned it over to the Lord, you see David's confidence here. It doesn't matter that I may have 600 people with me and Absalom may have 600 thousand with him, whatever. It doesn't matter because once I've determined that the Lord is on my side and the Lord will protect me, numbers don't matter do they. Trials don't matter, the magnitude of the problem no longer matters. But you don't understand, this is serious. No, you don't understand, our God is great. Isn't that what we're saying? I mean I sit and think, this is too heavy a trial, this is bigger than we've had before, this is worse, this is more serious. As though we've come to the point that God's shield is too small for this. Well then you just might as well go to sleep anyway because it's hopeless, if this is something too big for God, too difficult for our God. I mean, what is there? Well I don't mean that. Well just what do we mean?

So David's confidence follow through, I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves round about me. You understand those overwhelming numbers and adversaries in verses 1-2 have shrunk because verse 3, He is my shield; verse 4, I have cried to Him; verse 5, I have lay down and had a good night's sleep and I woke refreshed in the morning and He sustains me. It doesn't matter what the numbers are. That puts things in perspective because of the greatness of my God and His power.

So David's salvation, verse 7, arise, oh Lord, save me, oh my God. For you have smitten all my enemies on the cheek, you have shattered the teeth of the wicked. He's crying out to be saved. As far as he is concerned now, God has brought the victory, it just has to be realized. Keep in mind it won't be the way David would have desired it to be, tried to work it out to be, tried to have Abaslom spared through it all. That's not going to happen. So we have to be careful in this. Being assured of God's working doesn't mean that we can tell God how to work it out, doesn't mean there won't be further pain. But it does mean God will do as He has promised. But I take God has promised me He will never leave me nor forsake me, so I know He is here with me. He hasn't abandoned me. I have been unfaithful, I have failed Him, I have brought misery and disaster upon myself. But you know what? I'm not always faithful, but He is. Even when we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, He cannot deny Himself. That doesn't mean David took His sin lightly. You can read Psalm 32, Psalm 51 as David expresses the depth of his grief over his sin and acknowledges, against you and you only have I sinned. But God never abandoned David and David recognized that. And God picks me up where I am and even under His discipline He is with me.

Arise oh Lord, save me, oh my God, for you have smitten all my enemies on the cheek. You have shattered the teeth of the wicked. The enemy said in verse 2, there is no deliverance from him in God. David says, Lord, you are my Savior, you strike my enemies on the cheek, you shatter their teeth. A picture like of a wild animal that has no teeth, he's gumming it. We do that now, we say, there is no bite in it. Similar kinds of things. Or you defanged him. That's the point of shattering the teeth, they can't bit you any more, their power is gone. Wait a minute. You have hundreds of thousands following Absalom, you have hundreds following you. Well, I'm not afraid of ten thousands who have set themselves against me, because God rises to be my Savior. David evidently is drawing here, we won't go back, but in Numbers 10:33-36, when Israel broke camp and was moving out to another place in their wilderness marches, Moses would cry, rise up oh Lord and let your enemies be scattered. And let those who hate you flee before you. So David picks that up—arise, oh Lord, save me. The picture of the destruction of his enemies. In other words, as Israel moved out, the Lord went before them and no enemy would be able to be victorious over them. So David draws on that. You arise, oh Lord, you are my Savior, you smite my enemies, you shatter their teeth.

Salvation belongs to the Lord, your blessing be upon your people. David never lost sight, salvation comes from the Lord. I'm in trouble, some of this trouble like much of our trouble is a result of our sin, of our failures, but He is still our God. It's like your children. At times you have to discipline them, but you don't abandon them. And often what happens? You discipline them, but you see them through their discipline. You're not there just to put the pressure on to see whether they survive or not, you are there to see that discipline has its effect and they do survive. That's the confidence David has.

Salvation belongs to the Lord, and it's not just for me, it's for all of God's people. Your blessing be upon your people. And what a contrast from what the enemies were saying in verses 1-2, how they were acting, what they were saying and the way it ends. There is no salvation, no deliverance for him in God. Salvation belongs to the Lord, your blessings be upon your people.

Romans 15:4 says, for whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. It wasn't just written to tell us about a situation in David's life. That's just historical setting, that's what it was written about first and foremost. But the Spirit had it recorded in the Word of God so that we could take encouragement and learn from it and be blessed.

Let me just summarize a few lessons out of this chapter, which are applicable to us. And first you have to start out where the psalm does in verse 1. Sometimes the problems in our lives can be many and overwhelming. Does happen. It's just like I'm overwhelmed. We've all had that experience, I'm overwhelmed, it's more than I can bear, more than I can handle. That just comes, that's reality. Sometimes they are not so bad, we thank the Lord for that. Sometimes people say, any problems? I say, no, things are going so well. Praise the Lord for those times. But remember Jesus said, in the world you'll have tribulation. That is sure. So first, this will happen. And the fact of it, sometimes it's a result of sin, sometimes it is not. The book of Job, Job's friends thought it must be sin in Job's life for him to have this trouble. It wasn't, he was the most righteous man on the face of the earth—God's testimony of Job. So whatever reason, the trials come for a variety of reasons and they can be great.

Secondly, it may seem to some the Lord has abandoned you and won't act to deliver you. It is easy for people to say, and David's situation was public, all knew about his sin, about his failure. David knew about it. You know, it hurts, when you know you've sinned and people use that against you. You've failed and they want to point out, you can't expect the Lord to help, you brought this on yourself, as though you've brought it on yourself, now you have to get yourself out of it. Don't find David here saying, I brought it on myself, I guess it depends on me to work a solution. That's not the way God operates. We need to be careful about people who would use that as an occasion to beat us down further and say, well, you brought it on yourself, I guess you'll have to work it out yourself. That's not the way God operates. We may have brought it on ourselves, that just means that only the Lord can get us out of it. I may have made this mess, but, Lord, you are the deliverer of the messes and you will deliver me. Lord, I don't know why I have all this trouble pouring into my life at this time, crushing me and overwhelming me. But the Lord is my deliverer in those times, too. The Lord's character doesn't change. So even though David's sin is behind his problems in this case, God hasn't abandoned David, He is still there. Sin wasn't behind Job's problems, God hadn't abandoned Job, either. He has promised, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So regardless of how I got here, regardless of the circumstances, the Lord is here with me. And He hasn't left me on my own.

Third, in overwhelming trials we must remember it is the Lord who protects us. He gives us glory and honor, verse 3. He is my shield, He's the One who brings deliverance. You know, take time to get your concordance or get the CD and you can write down the verses I read for you through the Psalms on the shield. I thought it refreshing and encouraging just to read through those verses. It is so easy to forget, and there is something about the repetition. He is our shield, He is our shield. I sit there and say, He is today. As I look at the circumstances I think, I'm defenseless, I'm about to be crushed, destroyed. David could look at that and say, I have the hundreds of thousands in Israel that would be glad to see me dead, my own son is leading the charge, my closest advisor is giving him advice. But the Lord is my shield. I get my thinking cleared, my head cleared and I say, you know what? I can _____________, take a good night's rest. I don't have to be afraid of the numbers of tens of thousands, myriads, because God is my shield. That gets my perspective back, my focus back where it needs to be, on my God, and off the overwhelming nature of my problems. That doesn't mean I know how He is going to work it out. The problem wouldn't be overwhelming if I had it all resolved. But I am reminded, He is my shield, I'm just going to settle in behind that shield, and I know He's protecting me. Now what needs to be done.

Fourth, we must earnestly seek our help from the Lord who will answer our prayer. You know He is our shield, but that doesn't mean we just sit there passively, wondering and worrying. You cry out to the Lord. As I mentioned earlier, one of the best things that comes out of our trials is an intensified prayer life. You know life is busy and we get up in the morning and we're running and we're doing all this and that and we just think we don't have time for prayer. But something serious comes into our lives and all of a sudden we can devote time to serious prayer. Not just prayers that we forget about, you know half way through our minds wander, but intensely praying and crying out to the Lord. That's one of the good things that comes out of a trial. And it's too bad it is often our last option because we're so busy worrying it out and figuring it out and trying to be sure we have it all worked out, and laying out a plan so when the Lord sees it He'll know what to do. I just ought to shut down and say, Lord, I don't know what to do. And Lord, if it weren't for You I would be destroyed by this. Lord, I'm crying out to you, I'm crying to the Lord with my voice. And I know He answers me. We say, I wish I would get an audible voice. Well, I have it better, He put it in black and white so I could go over it again and again and again and again. And all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. I say, Lord, I don't see how any good could come of this. Now I'm trying to tell God. Lord, I don't know how You're bringing good out of this, but I know one good things that comes—I want to learn to trust you more. And that's where we go. You'll note David is not mired down in his past. There was a time for him to have to deal with that, there is a time for us to deal with who God is and what He has for us. So we earnestly seek His help.

Fifth, the fears and uncertainty are replaced by peace and confidence when we trust the Lord, verses 5-6. I lay down and slept, I awoke, for the Lord sustains me. So I won't be afraid. Isn't that the biggest thing in our trials, in our overwhelming situation? A fear of what's going to happen, a fear of how this will come out, a fear of what this will do. Lord, I have no control over that, I have no control over even my sin of the past, in that sense. I can't undo it, I can't change it, I can't worry, I can't regret Bathsheba out of my life and that situation undone. I can't regret and be remorseful enough to bring Uriah back to life. All I can do is turn to the Lord who is there and pick up where I am and trust Him to lead me on. You know, it becomes a self-centered, selfish, unbiblical thing to sit mired in my own self-pity, even if it is self-remorse. I can't undo my yesterdays. I want to learn from them, but I can't undo them. David couldn't change what he did with Bathsheba, it's done; couldn't change what he did with Uriah, it's done. But I don't become more godly by sitting there having remorse over my yesterdays. Even as grievous as my sin may be, all you do is say, thank you, Lord, that you are a God of forgiveness, a God of salvation, a God who loves me and forgives me and cleanses me and leads me on. And the fact there is more trouble ahead for David doesn't change the fact that God's hand is upon him to bring him through it. So we have to be careful because every time there is another trouble we say, I knew it wasn't going to work out the way I thought, I knew it wasn't going to be .............. You didn't know anything, and neither do I, because we don't know tomorrow. That's why it is in the hands of the Lord. Each day has enough trouble of its own, don't be worried about tomorrow, Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount.

Peter wrote in I Peter 5:6-7, therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you at the proper time. Casting all your anxiety, all your cares on Him because He cares for you. That's part of humbling myself under His mighty hand. Lord, you are the only solution, you are the only deliverer. I'm placing all my cares, all my anxieties on you. My comfort is knowing you care for me. So you'll do what's right, you'll do what's best for me.

Verses 7-8, salvation and blessing come from the Lord. He will deal with all our enemies and give us the victory. You know, I don't know all that's in between, but as we often say, we've read the last chapter. When all is said and done I will be presented before the throne of the Lord in glory as holy and blameless and without spot. I will be in His presence and all tears and all sorrow will be wiped away. I will be in the glory of the God of heaven and every spot will have been removed, every sin will have been washed white as snow, every regret will have been dealt with. So I've read the last chapter. Now everything in between I don't know, and all the details in between, what I do know, is that He who has begun a good work in you will continue to bring it to perfection until the day of Jesus Christ. Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing be upon your people. This is not just David, the people of God have a claim upon God because God has a claim upon them. And we are His treasure, the people He has called to Himself, His children. His blessing will be upon us. Difficulties, trials, heartaches, tears, sorrow, His hand is upon us. He never abandons us, He never leaves us.

We have to be careful as God's people we don't face trials and difficulties like the world who has not a heavenly Father, they have no God to call upon because only those who come to salvation through faith in Christ are born into God's family and have this special and unique privilege. I'm not minimizing the pain of trials, can't do that, but we want to magnify the greatness of our God, the greatness of His love, and the greatness of His care for us.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for all you've done for us in Christ. Lord, that's the beginning point. We were lost and without hope in the world, we were consumed by our sin, we were rebels against you, we were haters of God, we were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest of the lost in the world. But you are a God great in mercy, great in grace and in mercy and grace you saved us, you placed us in your Son who loved us and died for us, cleansed us, made us new. And now we belong to you for time and eternity. Lord, you know the heartaches and the trials some are going through now, the overwhelming nature. The tribulations of this life sometimes seem like more than we can bear. There is a sense of despair and hopelessness that easily creeps into our hearts and minds, even as your children. Lord, it is good for us to be reminded, to turn our attention from the trials, the tribulations, the troubles and fix our eyes upon You, our God, the One who is our shield, our glory, our honor, the One who lifts up our head, the One who brings us deliverance and salvation. How blessed we are to be able to call upon You and get a good night's rest and awake safe in the morning because You have sustained us. Lord, may this truth of your word be an encouragement to each of our hearts, for the trials we are going through, Lord, for the trials we may yet have to experience. May it all work to bring glory to you as we testify to the greatness of your grace and work in our lives. We praise you in Christ's name, amen.