["Pomp and Circumstance"]
I pray that you would glorify me.
I pray that you bless the service and the preaching to come.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Turn in your song books to page 351.
Page 351.
We're going to be singing
Tell It to Jesus.
Page 351.
Let's go ahead and sing it out on the first.
Are you weary?
Are you heavy-hearted?
Tell it to Jesus.
Are you grieving over joys?
Do you part it?
Tell it to Jesus.
He is a friend that's well known.
You know I'll learn
Tell it to Jesus.
Do no other such a friend or brother
Tell it to Jesus alone.
Page 351 on the second.
Do the tears flow down your cheeks unbidden?
Tell it to Jesus.
Have you sins that to man's eyes are hidden?
Tell it to Jesus alone.
Tell it to Jesus.
He is a friend that's well known.
You've no other such a friend or brother
Tell it to Jesus alone.
Do you fear the gathering clouds of sorrow?
Tell it to Jesus.
Are you anxious what shall be tomorrow?
Tell it to Jesus alone.
Tell it to Jesus.
He is a friend that's well known.
You've no other such a friend or brother
Tell it to Jesus alone.
Page 351. Let's finish it strong on the last.
Are you troubled at the thought of dying?
Tell it to Jesus.
Lord, rise, coming, kingdom, are you sighing?
Tell it to Jesus alone.
Tell it to Jesus.
He is a friend that's well known.
You've no other such a friend or brother
Tell it to Jesus alone.
Great singing.
Amen, and we want to welcome you to the midweek service here at Verity Baptist Church.
We're so glad that you are with us.
Let's go ahead and take our bulletins and look at some announcements real quickly.
If you do not have a bulletin, just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you.
If you need a bulletin, just put your hand up and we'll get one for you.
The verse this week, Psalm 118-24, this is the day which the Lord hath made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it. And that's a good verse there.
We like that. If you open up your bulletin, you'll see our service time Sunday morning service 10 30 a.m.
We of course do invite you to be with us on Sunday morning on the Lord's day for church.
We have our Sunday evening service at 6 p.m. and we're glad you're here for the midweek service.
If you look at our soul winning times, our main soul winning times on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m.
And then we have additional soul winning times on Thursdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.
So if you'd like to go soul winning, there'll be an opportunity for you to be able to do that tomorrow.
And if you look at the announcements and upcoming events, of course we've got our sermon series there.
And we also have the leadership institute that's going to be launched here in the fall.
And we've got the brochures in the foyer if you're interested in learning about that.
Men, you're welcome to grab those. Of course you can read the information there.
There is an orientation on Tuesday, September 3rd at 7 p.m.
You can sign up for that. And that doesn't mean that you're committing to anything.
It just means you can go there. We'll explain the program. We'll answer any questions you have.
So please sign up for that if that's something you're interested in.
Choir and orchestra, they have practice at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
And of course they're practicing for family and friend day, which is our church's 14 year anniversary.
And there's a ladies weight loss and accountability group that meets every Wednesday at 615.
If there are any ladies that are interested in that, then you can attend that.
They meet in my wife's office at 615. And of course my wife leads that.
And then there's other things there for you to look at.
If you look at the back of the bulletin, birthdays and anniversaries for the month of August.
This week we had Daniel Nellitescu's birthday on August 11th.
And Mark and Mariah Puris had their anniversary on August 13th.
And then today, August 14th, is Brother Joe and Miss Kathy Maple's anniversary.
And also Brother Vladi and Miss Antonina Vukulcik's anniversary is today as well.
Praise Report, Money Matters, all those things are there for you to look at.
And then of course if you are a first time guest, we've got several guests with us tonight.
We are glad that you are here. We have a gift we'd like to give you as you walk out of the church building tonight.
As you go out the main foyer, you'll see a little table set up.
And on that table you'll see these little gift bags.
Please grab one on your way out as a gift from us to you for being our guest tonight.
There are several resources in this bag that we'd like you to have.
But the one I'd like to highlight is this documentary that our church made.
It's called Being Baptists. Very well made, very interesting, we think you'll like it.
And we wanted to give this to you as a gift.
So please make sure you don't leave here tonight without grabbing this gift bag on your way out.
And if you are a guest, we'd ask that you please take a moment to fill out the communication card which is inserted in your bulletin.
If you need a pen, you can just raise your hand and one of our ushers can bring you by a Verity Baptist Church pen.
You're welcome to keep the pen as a gift from us as well.
We're not going to do anything odd with your info.
We would just like to have a record of your attendance.
We actually would like to send you a little gift, but we need your information to do that.
So please take a moment to fill the card out.
When we're done with the announcements, we're going to sing a song.
When we're done singing, we're going to receive the offering.
And as the offering plate goes by, you can drop the card in the offering plate.
I also have a baptism certificate to hand out real quickly tonight.
So let me go ahead and read this.
This says certificate of baptism, and this certificate is awarded to Michelle Scott in recognition of her baptism on the seventh day of August of the year 2024, presented by Verity Baptist Church with the verse there, Romans 6.4.
Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life.
And we have pictures here for Ms. Michelle to remember the day of her baptism.
And let's go ahead and give her a round of applause.
All right. Praise the Lord for that.
Well, let's take our song books tonight.
We're going to go to page number 281 as we prepare to receive the offering this evening.
Page number 281.
And we're going to sing, pass me not, O gentle Savior, hear my humble cry.
281. Let's go ahead and sing it out on the first.
Pass me not, O gentle Savior, hear my humble cry.
While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by.
Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry.
While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by.
200, 281. You're singing very well tonight. Let's go ahead and sing it out on the second.
Let me at a throne of mercy find a sweet relief, kneeling there in deep contrition, help my unbelief.
Good. Sing it out.
Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry.
While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by.
200, 281. I told the pianist in the orchestra here that we were going to skip the third stanza, but you're singing so well.
Let's go ahead and sing it out on the third.
Trusting only in Thy merit, would I seek Thy face.
Spirit, save me by Thy grace.
Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry.
While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by.
Good. Sing it out on the last.
Thou the spring of all my comfort, more than life to me.
Whom have I on earth beside Thee, whom in heaven be.
Good. Sing it out.
Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry.
While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by.
Amen. All right. Well, before we have the guys come up and help us with the offering, I would like to remind you, of course, that we are a family-integrated church.
What that means is that children and infants are always welcome in the service. We do not separate children from their parents.
We do have mother-baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience.
If you have a child that's been distracting during the service or if you need some privacy, we encourage you to use those rooms as needed.
If you need to be baptized, of course, you can let us know on your communication card, and we'll follow up with you.
We'd love to baptize you.
And please don't forget to turn your cell phones off or place them on silent during the service so they're not a distraction to anybody.
And we'll go ahead and have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time.
And let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we do love You.
We thank You for allowing us to gather together tonight.
Lord, we pray You'd bless the offering, the gift, and the giver.
We ask that You'd meet with us tonight as we take time to pray for our church family and, of course, as we spend time in Your Word.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
.
Amen. All right. Well, let's go and take our prayer sheets tonight.
If you did not get a prayer sheet on your way in, just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you.
If you need a prayer sheet, just put your hand up and we will get one for you.
I'd like to remind you that the way you add a request to the prayer sheet is through your communication card.
On the back of the card there's a place for you to write down a request.
Make sure you mark whether it's private or public.
If it's private, only I will see it.
If it's public, we'll put it on the prayer sheet.
If you don't mark it, we'll do our best to figure it out, but we usually don't add those.
We do add them in the order that we receive them and they are removed after a couple of weeks.
So if you need the prayer request to be on there longer, you'll have to fill out another prayer sheet.
There are some prayer requests that I'd like you to write in, if you would not mind.
Just as the service was starting, I was told that Ms. Esther is in the hospital and we want to be praying for her.
She's not in labor, although she is overdue, but she has a fever and they're just monitoring her.
I'm just praying for traveling mercies for myself and my oldest son are going to be in Texas this week.
I'm going to be preaching at a men's retreat there and we've got a pretty early flight tomorrow morning.
So just pray for us as we travel and we'd appreciate that.
Let's go ahead and take these requests to the Lord.
I'm going to pray out loud and I ask that you would follow along in your mind and in your heart.
Let's pray together.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we come to you tonight asking for these requests from our church family.
And, Lord, we want to begin by praying for Ms. Esther as she's in the hospital right now.
Lord, we pray that you would help her and help her get better.
Lord, we pray that you'd put your healing hand over her.
We ask that you'd help the baby to be safe and to have no issues or complications with regards to that.
Please give her wisdom and Brother Andrew wisdom as they probably have decisions they have to make.
And, Lord, we pray that you'd give the doctors and the nurses dealing with them wisdom as well.
Help everything to work out well in their favor.
And, Lord, we praise you for that.
We also just pray for sickness in general in our church.
We've got several families that are out tonight not feeling well.
And, Lord, we just pray you'd help everybody recover and get better soon and be able to be back with us soon.
And then we pray for these other requests regarding health.
Pray for Brother Ron, praying for his health and for his, I know that his leg is swollen and praying to get better.
And, Lord, we pray that you'd help him.
We also pray for Ms. Michelle Scott, praying for Brother Graham's mom to get better and to do well at her skilled nursing facility so that she could come home soon.
And we pray for Ms. Rachel Wheeler for healing from endometriosis and that she would be able to receive treatment for that.
Also, we pray for the Molina family and for their family's health.
For Steven Ames for complete healing for his colon cancer.
And for Montel Johnson, Jr. for health of his lungs.
And Ms. Christine Ortiz, praying for her health and also for her upcoming procedure on August 16th.
Brother Salvador, praying for his health and for wisdom for the doctors treating his skin cancer.
And Ms. Docma, praying for her pain and for relief there.
Brother Edgar, Ms. Alina, continuing, of course, to pray for little Uretzi and little Jonathan.
That they would continue to be healthy and happy despite them dealing with cystic fibrosis.
Lord, we pray that you'd help them and strengthen them.
Also, we continue to pray for our missionary, Dave Cabuntala's wife, Ms. Angel, as she battles breast cancer.
And, Lord, we pray that you would put your healing hand over all these individuals.
We pray that you would heal them, that you would strengthen them, that you would give the doctors and nurses dealing with them wisdom.
And that you would help them all to get better.
We also pray, of course, for the ladies in our church that are expecting Ms. Esther.
We're praying for her.
Also, praying for Ms. Rizal and Ms. Rebecca, Ms. Angel, Ms. Laura Beth, and Ms. Laurel.
Praying that you'd give them all healthy pregnancies with no issues and no complications.
We also pray, Lord, for these that have salvation requests.
Ms. Natalie, praying for her husband's salvation.
And Brother Ron, praying for his mom and his family's salvation.
And Brother Warren, praying for the salvation of his co-workers.
And Maria Cudalima, praying for Roma and Skylar's salvation.
Ms. Christine Ortiz, praying for her family's salvation.
Ms. Docma, praying for her daughter and her family's salvation.
And, Lord, we ask that you would help these individuals.
Lord, we pray that you would speak to them through your Holy Spirit.
And that you would prepare their hearts to receive the gospel.
Lord, we pray that you would send a soul-runner to communicate the gospel clearly to them that they might be saved.
And, Lord, we also pray for these that have physical needs.
And Brother Ron, praying for his finances to improve and his work situation.
Also, Ms. Midori, praying that she would be selected for senior apartments.
And for her financial situation to improve as well.
Brother Warren, not only praying for his co-workers' salvation, but also for their safety concerning the wildfire there near Placerville.
And Ms. Christine, praying for her finances.
Brother Salvador, praying for his finances and his work situation.
Lord, we pray that you would be with these individuals.
We pray that you'd protect them, that you'd help them, that you'd open doors for them, and that you would be with them.
And we pray for these that are just praying for their families.
Ms. Nicole, praying for her family, and specifically for her children.
And, Lord, also we pray for Brother Salvador, praying for his family as well.
And that you would bless these individuals and help them in their lives.
And then, Lord, we pray for Brother Montel as he's praying for an upcoming custody trial in September for Isabel.
And, Lord, we pray that your will be done in this.
Lord, we pray that you would help Brother Montel help the entire family.
Of course, Ms. Isabel as well.
Lord, we know that the king's heart is in the hands of the Lord as the rivers of water.
He turneth it whithersoever he will.
And you can have this judge make a decision in the favor of Brother Montel.
And, Lord, we pray that you would do that.
We are believing in faith, asking that you would have the right results here for Isabel with regards to this.
And then, Lord, we also pray for Ms. Brandy, praying for safe travels for her brother and her mother and herself as they travel to Washington.
And, Lord, I pray that you would help them to get there safely and help them to come home safely.
And also I pray for myself and my son as we'll be traveling to Texas this week and coming back.
Keep us safe and help us to be a blessing there at the men's retreat.
And, Lord, we pray also for these with regards to their walk with you.
Brother Montel, Johnson, Jr., Ms. Christine Ortiz, Brother Salvador, all praying for their faith and their walk with you.
And, Lord, we pray that you would strengthen them and be with them.
We also pray for our church.
We pray for the prison ministry, that you'd continue to bless that and help that.
Lord, we pray that you would bless the work being done in the Philippines.
We pray for our churches there in Manila and in Pampanga and in Bicol.
And we pray for Pastor Stuckey and his family as they lead those churches, Lord.
And we ask that you continue to strengthen them and give them success.
We pray for our upcoming family and friend day, that you would allow this to be a blessed day, Lord,
and that you would allow us to be able to see many guests and to be able to reach them with the gospel and see them saved.
We pray for our church in general, that you'd just continue to help us and bless us and strengthen us.
Lord, we ask that you'd meet with us tonight as we open up Psalm 3.
We pray that you'd prepare our hearts to hear from your word.
And Lord, I pray that you would help us to draw closer to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Please open up to Psalm 3.
Psalm chapter number 3, if you do not have a Bible, please raise your hand and I know you can read your Bible.
Psalm 3, just keep your hand up unless you will come by.
Psalm chapter number 3.
Psalm 3 being verse number 1.
Lord, how are they increase that trouble me? Many are they that rise up against me.
Many there be which say of my soul, there is no help for him in God, Selah.
But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me, my glory and the lifter up of mine head.
I cried unto the Lord with my voice and he heard me out of his holy hill, Selah.
I laid me down and slept. I awake for the Lord sustained me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set themselves against me round about.
Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God, for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheekbone.
Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.
Salvation belongeth unto the Lord. Thy blessing is upon thy people, Selah.
Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this evening. God, I thank you for your word and for our church.
I ask that you please meet with us tonight. I ask that you be the pastor. Please strengthen him and fill him with his spirit.
We love you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Amen. All right. Well, we're there in Psalm 3.
And, of course, several weeks ago we began a new Wednesday evening Bible study in the book of Psalms.
And we've, of course, spent a week in Psalm 1 and then another week in Psalm 2.
And tonight we find ourselves here in Psalm 3.
And Psalm 1, of course, is a very famous, well-known psalm dealing with an individual and their walk with God.
And there's so many truths there about the blessing of God and how God can help us to prosper and succeed.
And then Psalm 2 dealt with nations and there were so many end times implications there and we spent time looking at that.
Then here in Psalm 3, I feel like when we enter Psalm 3, we kind of enter into what the book of Psalms really is known for and what the book of Psalms really feels like.
In fact, here in Psalm 3, there are two new things that we're going to see in Psalm 3 that we're going to see throughout the book of Psalms,
but they appear for the first time here in Psalm 3.
And the first thing I'd like to do tonight, just by way of introduction, is to point the first one out to you.
And it will also give you a little context to this psalm.
So if you're there in Psalm 3 and you look down at verse number 1, you may notice that in your Bible, either above verse 1 or added to the front of verse 1,
you'll see a phrase which should say this, a psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.
And what we find here in this psalm is something that you will find throughout the Psalms.
And this is a little heading that is referred to as a superscription.
And let me just give you a definition for this.
The word superscription means written above.
And it refers to the various classifications, titles, and instructions that we find within the book of Psalms.
The superscriptions are translated into English from the original language and were not added by Bible translators or publishers.
So I want you to understand when we look at these psalms and we see these superscriptions in Psalms here, a psalm of David.
And that's a very common one.
You'll see that throughout the Psalms where it will just say a psalm of David and it's telling us that David wrote the psalm.
This one specifically says a psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son.
That this was not something that the Bible translators or that the Bible publishers added just to tell us something.
But this is something that's actually found in the original language, actually in the original Hebrew.
And it's been translated along with the rest of the psalm.
Now you may have a Bible where the publishers may have added, sometimes it's common, my Bible doesn't have this.
But sometimes it's common at the top of the page where the Bible where they'll give you like a little synopsis or a little heading of kind of what's going on on that page.
That wasn't added by, that's not the word of God, alright.
That was added by publishers and sometimes there'll even be mistakes in those things.
I found mistakes in those.
But I want you to understand that here when we read this a psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son.
That's actually in the Hebrew, that's in the original language.
And it's been translated and added as a result of that translation.
It's called a superscription and we find these throughout the book of Psalms.
And this superscription in particular gives us context to Psalm 3.
And what it tells us is that it was written during the uprising of David's son Absalom.
I'd like you to keep your place there in Psalm 3.
That's obviously our text for tonight and we're going to come back to it.
But I'd like you to go if you would to the book of 2 Samuel, 2 Samuel chapter 15.
If you can find the 1 and 2 books, they're all clustered together.
1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles.
And I'd like you to find 2 Samuel chapter 15.
And then do me a favor, put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there.
Because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it throughout the sermon.
So I'd like you to be able to get to it quickly, 2 Samuel chapter 15.
Now I'd like you to see the context in which this psalm was written.
Because the superscription tells us that it is a psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son.
And of course if you remember Absalom has led a civil war against his own father.
He's trying to usurp the kingdom.
And the Bible tells us that this psalm was written at the time that Absalom, the superscription tells us,
that it was written at the time that David was fleeing from Absalom.
And we actually find that in 2 Samuel 15 and verse 14.
The Bible says this, 2 Samuel 15, 14.
And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise and let us flee.
For we shall not else escape from Absalom, make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring evil upon us,
and smite the city with the edge of the sword.
Look down at verse 17.
And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was afar off.
So as we read here, 2 Samuel 15, 14, and 17.
We read that this is the time frame in which this psalm was written as he fled from Absalom his son.
Look down at verse number 30, 2 Samuel 15 and verse 30.
And David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered.
And he went barefoot, and all the people that was with him covered every man in his head.
And they went up weeping as they went up.
So of course David is here in a mode of retreat.
He's retreating out of Jerusalem.
He's retreating out of the city.
Absalom has stolen the hearts of the people.
He's gathered people around him to help him bring this insurrection against David.
Of course, even men like Ahithophel, who were faithful counselors for David, have now turned their backs on him.
And they've joined themselves with Absalom.
And that is the context in which we find Psalm 3.
And I think it's important to grasp that because I think it will help us understand the psalm.
Keep your place there in 2 Samuel.
We're going to come back to it.
And go back with me, if you would, to Psalm 3.
And let me just give you one more statement of introduction, and then we'll get into the text.
First of all, of course, this is a short psalm.
Many psalms are short.
Some are very long.
This is a short psalm, only 8 verses.
And I have divided this psalm, for purposes of our study, under 2 headings.
And I'd like to give you these headings up front.
And then I'll give you some points underneath these headings.
This Psalm 3 can be divided, or at least I have divided it, under these 2 sections.
The first heading, if you'd like to write it down for your notes.
And I always encourage you to take notes on the back of your course of the week.
There's a place for you to jot things down.
The first heading could be this.
Those that oppose us.
And we'll see that in verses 1 and 2.
And then the second heading is this.
The one that upholds us.
And we see that in verses 3 through 8.
So those that oppose us.
Verses 1 and 2.
And the one that upholds us.
And verses 3 through 8.
And of course that's a little bit of an outline there.
A very simple outline for you tonight.
Let's go ahead and jump into this psalm.
And we'll begin there in verse number 1.
Under this idea of those that oppose us.
And I want you to see it there in Psalm 3 and verse 1.
It will make sense that David is running from Absalom.
The Bible says,
Lord, how are they increased that trouble me?
Many are they that rise up against me.
Many there be which say of my soul,
There is no help for him in God, Selah.
And what we see here in these two verses is David expressing the fact that there are many.
There is an increase.
He says, how are they increase?
What's increase?
Then that trouble me.
Many are they.
Many are they of what?
Of those that rise up against me.
He says, many there be which say of my soul,
There is no help for him in God.
So what we see here is a very basic understanding of something that's taught all throughout scripture.
And it is this.
That if you serve God, you're going to have a lot of enemies.
Because of the fact that God has a lot of enemies and the Lord Jesus Christ has a lot of enemies.
The Bible says that if they reproach him, they will reproach us.
If they called him Beelzebub, they're going to call us names as well.
And what we see here is if you serve God, if you're going to serve God with your life,
you're just going to have to be ready to have a lot of enemies.
The Bible says, Yea, all they that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
And this is something that was found throughout scripture.
Keep your place there in Psalm, of course.
I know you've got a finger in 2 Samuel.
But I'd like you to go to the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians chapter 16.
If you would, in the New Testament, you've got Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, and then 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians chapter number 16.
I'm going to ask you to also keep your place in 1 Corinthians.
I know I've asked you to keep your place in 2 Samuel.
But also keep your place in 1 Corinthians.
We're going to go back and forth between those two places.
2 Samuel and 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 16.
And I'd like you to see this.
If you're going to attempt to do something for God, if you're going to attempt to accomplish something for God,
then you just have to realize that along with that comes this idea of having many enemies.
1 Corinthians 16 and verse 9 says this.
This is what Paul said to the Corinthian church.
He says, For a great door and effectual is opened unto me.
Now doesn't that sound wonderful?
That sounds amazing.
I think that sounds great.
Especially for a man like Paul.
A man, as we talked about on Sunday night, of ambition.
Someone who wants to do something for God, accomplish something for God.
He says, For a great door and effectual is opened unto me.
That's the good part.
That's the good news.
Here's the bad news.
And there are many adversaries.
Anytime that there's a great and open door, anytime that there's an opportunity to do something,
to stand for God, to accomplish something, to see people saved, see people baptized, see people discipled,
whenever someone attempts to do something for God, if you're going to go through that door that is open,
that door of opportunity, we have to always be reminded and be mindful that on the other side of that door,
there are many adversaries.
Many adversaries.
If you're going to serve God, you're going to have a lot of enemies.
And we've known that to be true here at Verity Baptist Church.
I mean, if you simply just think of our church, we've been protested.
We've had our landlord turn on us.
We've had our insurance company cancel us.
We've had our online giving shut down multiple times.
I've been sued multiple times.
We've had negative news articles and news coverage about us.
We've had news reporters camp outside of my home.
I've received many, many death threats.
Once to the point where the sheriff's department had to park a trailer full of cameras
with cameras facing in every direction on poles being able to see far away
to be able to make sure that I don't know if they were watching for someone who would come to do something for us
or if they were watching for me and maybe making sure I didn't leave or something.
I don't know.
We've received many death threats.
Just two weeks ago, someone showed up here, this property, not during a church service.
It was at a time when there was no church service going on.
I wasn't here.
The staff was here.
Somebody showed up here saying they were going to kill me and that they were going to shoot me.
And, of course, I wasn't here.
I was wondering why you didn't just shoot the staff.
They called the police, of course, and he ran off.
I've been yelled at and cussed at and that's happened many times out in public.
And there have been attacks from within.
There have been attacks from without.
And we can connect with this psalm when it says,
Lord, how are they increased that trouble me?
Many are they that rise up against me.
Many there be which say of my soul there is no help for him in God.
So we see that if you serve God, you just have to realize people will turn on you.
And Paul says that in 1 Corinthians 16.
If you're there in 1 Corinthians, go back to chapter number four and look at verse number nine.
This is something he brings up throughout 1 Corinthians four and verse nine.
He says, For I think that God has set forth us, the apostles, last.
He's speaking about himself being an apostle and, of course, his fellow apostles.
He says, For I think that God has set forth us, the apostles, last, as it were appointed to death.
For we are made a spectacle unto the world and to angels and to men.
Look at verse 13. He says, Being defamed, we entreat.
We are made as the filth of the world and are the obscuring of all things unto this day.
And this is what the apostle Paul is saying about the spiritual leadership.
He says, This is what is true of the apostles.
He says, We're made a spectacle unto the world.
But it's not just the apostles. It's not just spiritual leadership. It's you as well.
The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 10, you don't have to turn here. I'll just read this for you.
Hebrews 10, 32 says this, But call to remembrance the former days,
the writer of Hebrews speaking to his audience there in the first century.
He says, But call to remembrance the former days,
in which after ye were illuminated, referring to when they had seen the truth,
they'd seen the light, they'd gotten saved.
He says, Ye endured a great flight of afflictions.
And many of you, after you got saved, realized that your family would turn on you,
your friends would turn on you, and you endured a great flight of affliction.
Verse 33, Partly walls ye were made a gazing stock.
And that word gazing stock there is the same as what he said in 1 Corinthians,
a spectacle, both by reproaches and afflictions,
and partly walls ye became companions of them that were so used.
So we see that if you serve God, you're going to have a lot of enemies.
Keep your place there in 1 Corinthians. Keep your place in 2 Samuel.
Go back to Psalm 3, if you would, and look at verse number 2.
The first thing we see under this heading, those that oppose us,
is that if you serve God, you're going to have enemies.
The second thing I'd like you to notice is this,
that if you serve God, those enemies will accuse you of not being on God's side.
They will accuse you of being against God.
Notice there, Psalm 3, in verse 2.
He says, Many there be which say of my soul.
Now, this is David speaking, and David, remember,
is the man who the Bible says is a man after God's own heart.
David is the man whom the Bible says calls him the sweet psalmist of Israel.
He's a man who wrote many of the psalms, most of the psalms,
and here's what he says that they're saying about him.
They're saying about him, there is no help for him in God.
There is no help for him in God.
So not only do we see that if you serve God, you're going to have enemies,
but those enemies are going to accuse you of not being on God's side,
of being against God, and that God is against you.
There is no help for him in God.
Go back to 2 Samuel, and I'll show you an example of where this actually happened
in the context in which the psalm tells us that,
the superscription tells us that this psalm was written.
2 Samuel 16, if you would.
And look at verse 5.
2 Samuel 16 and verse 5.
Remember, David is running.
He's running from Absalom.
That's the context we're in.
And in 2 Samuel 16 and verse 5, the Bible says this,
And when King David came to Bahirim,
behold thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul,
whose name was Shimei, the son of Gerah.
He came forth and cursed still as he came.
It's interesting to me that whenever there's a fight,
it seems like these people will join themselves.
This Shimei had nothing to do with Absalom or David.
He's actually of the tribe of Benjamin,
and as we'll see here, related to Saul,
but yet he comes out and now he is cursing, the Bible says.
He cursed still as he came, verse 5.
Notice verse 6, and he cast stones at David.
So you have King David with his mighty men
and his soldiers and his entourage.
They're retreating and they're leaving Jerusalem,
and here comes Shimei.
He's cursing and he cursed still as he came,
and he cast stones at David,
and all the servants of King David and all the people
and all the mighty men were on the right hand and on the left,
and thus said Shimei when he cursed.
Here's what he said. He said,
Come out, come out, thou bloody man and thou man of Belial.
I don't have time to develop this.
We've studied this out in the past,
but Belial, a man of Belial, a son of Belial,
is what we would call in the New Testament a reprobate.
And here you have Shimei coming against David,
and he's saying thou bloody man and thou man of Belial.
Look at verse 8. He says,
The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul.
What is it that Shimei is saying?
Shimei is saying this is God moving against you.
This is God fighting you.
The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul.
This is Shimei saying to David,
There is no help for him in God.
He says,
The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul,
in whose stead thou hast reigned,
and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son.
And behold, thou art taken in thy mischief,
because thou art a bloody man.
So this is, I think, probably what David was referring to
when he says,
Many there be which say of my soul,
There is no help for him in God.
Keep your place there, 2 Samuel.
Go back to Psalms, if you would, Psalm 3.
I'd like you to notice just one word at the end of verse 2,
and it is this word, Silah.
Silah.
And remember at the beginning of the sermon,
I told you that there's two things that we see in Psalm 3
that come up for the first time in Psalm 3,
but we're going to see them all throughout the book of Psalms.
The first thing was the superscription,
which we'll see that throughout other Psalms
as we move through the book of Psalms.
The next thing, which we did not see in Psalm 1 or Psalm 2,
but we see it for the first time here in Psalm 3,
is this word that comes up throughout the book of Psalms,
and it is this word, Silah.
Let me just give you an explanation for this word,
since we see it for the first time.
Here in Psalm 3 is also this word, Silah, for the first time.
It shows up twice in the Psalm.
And there is some debate as to what the word means,
but most people seem to agree
that it is some sort of musical nomenclature.
That means either a rest or a pause or an interlude.
Of course, we know that the book of Psalms
is not only the word of God.
It is inspired by the Holy Spirit,
but it is a song book, and these Psalms are songs,
and most people seem to think that the word Silah
is some sort of a rest or repeat or pause or interlude,
but it is a word that we'll see throughout the book of Psalms,
and we see it for the first time here in verse number 2.
So I told you that there was two headings for this Psalm,
these eight verses.
Verses 1 and 2 are under this heading,
those that oppose us,
and the points under that heading are this,
that if you're going to serve God,
you're going to have a lot of enemies,
and at times they're going to accuse you
of not being on God's side.
They're going to say,
the Lord has returned this upon you.
There is no help for him in God, is what they'll say.
But then I want you to notice the second heading
is verses 3 through 8,
and this heading is not those that oppose us,
but the one that upholds us,
the one that upholds us.
And what we see under this heading,
verses 3 through 8,
are three things that David tells us to do
when our enemies increase.
In verses 1 and 2,
he talks about the fact that his enemies have increased.
He refers to the fact that they are increased that trouble me,
and there are many which rise up against me.
But in verses 3 through 8,
we now see that he's going to tell us
what it is that you should do
when your enemies increase against you,
when they begin to attack you,
when they begin to fight you.
What is it that we should do?
Let me give you three thoughts under this heading, if you would.
Number one is this.
When our enemies increase,
we must trust God to shield us.
In Psalm 3 and verse 3, the Bible says this,
But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me,
my glory and the lifter up of mine head.
Remember that David's writing this as he's fleeing from Absalom.
And as he's fleeing from Absalom,
he's writing this Psalm and he's telling us,
this is my plan, this is what I plan to do.
He says, O Lord,
he says, But thou, O Lord, are a shield for me,
and the lifter up of mine head.
And what I believe that David means by this,
because again, we have the context,
we understand the story that this is coming from,
is that he is going to leave this up to the Lord.
That he's going to allow the Lord to be the one that shields him,
the one that protects him,
and the one that gets him through this.
Let me show it to you.
Go back to 2 Samuel, if you would,
and look at chapter number 16.
2 Samuel chapter 16.
We already read verses 5 through 8.
We saw Shimei coming,
cursing still as he came,
casting stones at David,
and at his servants, calling him thou man of Belial,
thou bloody man,
saying, The Lord hath returned upon me all the blood of the house of Saul.
Which was a lie, by the way.
David had done no wrong to Saul,
or to the house of Saul.
He said, The Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom my son,
because thou are a bloody man.
That's the context.
And we see David's response.
Now remember, in Psalm 3 he says,
I'm going to allow the Lord to be my shield,
but thou, O Lord, are a shield for me,
for my glory, and the lifter up on my head.
And we actually see that in action in 2 Samuel 16,
because if you notice in verse 9,
the Bible says this,
Then said Abishai,
so remember, Shimei's coming,
he's throwing stones at David,
at his servants,
he's cursing them,
and he's accusing him,
and the Bible says in verse 9,
Then said Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, unto the king,
Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?
Let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.
So here you have Abishai,
who's a servant of King David,
a follower of King David,
and he says, Let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.
And the king said,
What am I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah?
So let him curse,
because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David,
who shall then say, Wherefore has thou done so?
And I would say this,
that though we appreciate the Abishai's
who want to defend their leaders,
here David says,
you know, it's best to let God deal with it.
It's best not to respond.
He said, Let him curse,
because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David,
who shall then say, Wherefore has thou done so?
Remember, they're saying to him,
and what's going through David's mind is this,
that they're saying about David,
there is no help for him in God.
God will not see him through this.
God will not help him through this battle.
God will not help him through this trial.
God will not help him through this attack.
And David says, Well then let's leave it up to God.
Let's allow the Lord to be our shield.
Oh Lord, thou art a shield for me,
is what David would say in response to this.
Look at verse 11.
And David said to Abishai and to all his servants,
Behold, my son which came forth of my bowels seeketh my life.
How much more now may this Benjamite do it?
Let him alone, and let him curse,
for the Lord hath bidden him.
It may be, and I want you to notice here in verse 12
is where we find this concept.
But thou, O Lord, are a shield for me.
David says, Just let him curse.
He said, Let him say what he's going to say.
He said, Let him alone, and let him curse,
for the Lord hath bidden him.
And then he says this in verse 12,
It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction,
and that the Lord will requite me good
for his cursing this day.
And this is what I believe David is thinking about
as he writes these words in Psalm 3 and verse 3,
But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me.
He's not going to defend himself
and he's not going to allow others to take vengeance for him as well.
He's going to leave it in God's hands
and allow the Lord to deal with it.
So what do we do when our enemies increase?
We see, number one, that we must trust God to shield us.
And we see that in verse 3.
The Lord is our shield.
But I want you to notice there's a second thing
that we find in verses 4 and 5 of Psalm 3.
If you go back to Psalm 3, verses 4 and 5.
In verse 3, we see that we must trust God to shield us.
In verses 4 and 5, we see that we must trust God to sustain us.
Look at verse 4.
David says, I cried unto the Lord with my voice,
and he heard me out of his holy hill.
And then we see this word again, selah.
I laid me down and slept.
I await, for the Lord sustained me.
So we see, not only must we trust God to shield us,
but we must trust God to sustain us.
David says, I laid me down and slept.
I await, for the Lord sustained me.
Now, this idea of sleeping is actually something
that is brought up quite a bit in the book of Psalms.
And you may have not noticed it as you read through Psalms.
It might just be something you kind of just pass over.
But if you've ever struggled with being able to sleep at night,
I think that all of these passages that have to do with sleeping
maybe jump out to you a little more.
In fact, let me just highlight something for you.
Look at Psalm 4, if you would.
We're there in Psalm 3.
We'll be in Psalm 4, Lord willing, next week.
But notice Psalm 4 and verse 8.
He says, I will both lay me down in peace and sleep,
for thou, Lord, only makest me to dwell in safety.
This is something that David brings up a lot,
this concept of being able to sleep.
And the idea is this, that I can sleep.
He says, I laid me down and slept.
I await, for the Lord sustained me.
He says that in Psalm 3.
In Psalm 4, he says, I will both lay me down in peace and sleep.
The idea is this, that while I'm trusting God,
and while I have my confidence in God,
and while I have the peace of God that passeth all understanding,
then I can sleep.
Now there are times, there are times in Psalms,
we'll see, when David was not able to sleep.
In fact, let me just give you another example.
Go to Psalm 6, if you would.
Just flip over to Psalm 6, and let me give you an example of this.
In verse number 6, Psalm 6 and verse 6 says this.
This is what the psalmist says,
I am weary with the groanings, with my groanings, excuse me.
I am weary with my groanings.
Notice what he says.
All the night make I my bed to swim.
I water my couch with my tears.
My nigh is consumed because of grief.
It waxes old because of all mine enemies.
And here, in Psalm 6, we see that as a result of all the enemies,
and as a result of all the grief,
he says, I'm weary with my groaning.
All the night, he said, I'm up all night.
I make my bed to swim.
I water my couch with my tears.
And what we find is this in the Bible,
and just in reality, that sometimes the stress and anxiety of life
can keep you up at night.
Let me give you another example.
You're there in Psalm.
Flip back, if you would, to Job.
Job, chapter 7, remember Job?
I would say that he went through quite a trial.
He went through a lot of heartache, of course.
He lost his children, and he lost his wealth.
But not only that, also his friends, if you remember,
turned on him and falsely accused him.
The Bible says in Job 7, in verse 3, notice what he says.
He says, so am I made to possess months of vanity.
He says, as a result of what I'm going through,
I now have months of vanity.
And what he means by that, he says,
I have months that have been wasted.
I have months where I'm getting nothing done,
nothing accomplished.
He says, so I am made to possess months of vanity.
And then notice what he says.
He says, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.
He says, I have been appointed these wearisome nights.
I've had these nights where I can't sleep,
and as a result, I'm not being productive.
And now there have been months of vanity,
and months have been wasted.
Look at verse 4.
He says, when I lie down, I say, when shall I arise?
And the night be gone.
And this just tells you the amazingness of the word of God,
that God, you know, the Bible has the answers to everything.
And the Bible is not a psychology book,
but if you ever want real psychology,
you'll find it in the Bible.
It's interesting to me, because here Job says,
when I lie down, I say, when shall I arise?
And the night be gone.
And people that suffer with not being able to sleep,
or insomnia, or things of that nature,
rising in the middle of the night due to stress,
or anxiety, or whatever it might be,
that is a common theme that is said of them.
You know, in the middle of the night,
you're just hoping the sun will come up,
and you're just dreading the hours, and hours, and hours,
that you'll have to wait before the sun comes up.
And this is what Job is saying.
He says, when I lie down, I say, when shall I arise?
And the night be gone.
He says, and I am full of tossing to and fro
unto the dawning of the day.
And what we find is that sometimes stress,
and anxiety, and battles, and trials,
will keep you up at night.
But what David is saying in Psalm 3,
when he says, I cried unto the Lord of my voice,
and he heard me out of his holy hill,
I laid me down and slept, I waked,
for the Lord sustained me,
is that if your trust is in the Lord,
then he will give you peace, and he will give you rest.
And this is actually echoed in the New Testament.
Let me share a verse with you.
Go to Philippians, if you would, Philippians chapter 4.
If you kept your place in 1 Corinthians,
I'm not sure if you did,
I asked you to keep your place there in 1 Corinthians.
If you go past 1 Corinthians, past 2 Corinthians,
past Galatians, Ephesians, into the book of Philippians.
1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians.
Philippians chapter 4.
This is the same concept in Philippians 4 and verse 6.
Here Paul says, be careful for nothing.
And the word careful here is not necessarily being used
the way that you and I might use it today,
where we might tell somebody, hey, be careful,
don't break that, or be careful with that.
The word here careful is literally meaning full of care.
Careful is being full of care or concern.
The word, modern word that we would use today would be anxious.
And here Paul is saying, be careful for nothing,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known unto God.
That's exactly what David is saying in Psalm 3.
I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy hill.
Selah, I laid me down and slept. I awake for the Lord, sustain me.
Notice what Philippians says, be careful for nothing,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
The peace of God which passeth all understanding
is when David in verse 5 says, I laid me down and slept.
When I cried unto the Lord, when by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,
I made my requests known unto God,
then the peace of God which passeth all understanding
is what allowed me to lay down and sleep.
I awake for the Lord to sustain me.
And here's what he's saying, what he's saying is this,
there are some things that we cannot control.
There are some things that are out of our hands.
And for some people that's a scarier thought than others.
I'm a type A personality who apparently I guess I'm just a control freak
when it comes down to and I like to control everything as much as possible.
There are some things that are not in my control.
There are some things that are not within my ability
and most of that falls on everyone else.
What I have learned in life is that I can't control other people.
If I could, things would be very different.
And you might find that you can't control the situation at work
or you can't control the situation within your marriage
or you can't control the situation with your children
and you can't control what's going on with that person
and this person and that person is struggling with that
and this person got sick and they're dealing with that sickness
and all of these things are out of our control
and they weigh on us and they make us anxious and stressful and scared.
But all we can do is turn it over to God.
Be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God
and please understand this, I'm not up here preaching this to you
and telling you because this is what I do.
I struggle with this every day of my life.
But I know that it's true that when we allow the Lord
to take His place in our life and say,
God, I can't control this, you're just going to have to be,
remember point one, you're just going to have to be my shield.
And we stop trying to get it all figured out
and we just say, Lord, you deal with it.
Then David says, I laid me down and slept.
I await. Why? For the Lord sustained me.
1 Peter 5 says this, casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.
And we should learn to bring our troubles to the Lord,
our cares to the Lord, our anxieties to the Lord,
all these things we cannot control.
To God, go back to Psalm 3 if you would, let me give you the third thought.
In this section David is telling us, what do you do?
What do you do when your enemies are increased?
What do you do when many rise up against you?
What do you do when there are many who say there's no hope of God in him?
And what David would tell us is that we must trust God to shield us.
And what he means by that is that we must just put it in God's hands and let God deal with it.
And we must trust God to sustain us and we cannot really trust God to sustain us until we trust God to shield us.
And then there's a third thing that David tells us in this Psalm and it is this,
that we must trust God to save us.
In Psalm 3 and verse 6, he says this, notice the context of anxiety.
He says, I will not be afraid.
And by the way, the Bible says that God has not given us the spirit of fear.
And the only time that fear is brought up in a positive context throughout the whole Bible
is when the Bible says to fear the Lord.
And any time that we fear man or we fear circumstances or we fear anything other than the Lord, it's sin.
And here David says, I will not be afraid.
He says, I will not be afraid.
And you read this and you kind of think like, really David?
But he says, I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people.
Now keep in mind, remember the context.
David is king of Israel fighting for his life,
fighting against his own son who's bringing an insurrection against him.
The whole nation has been split up into these two sides which want to see,
one side wants to see David killed and removed from his kingship.
And he says, I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set themselves against me round about.
Now I've never had ten thousands of people set themselves against me round about,
but I've had a thousand people set themselves against me round about.
And when I read this verse, it reminds me of our protest we had back in 2016.
And we had this big protest here.
I mean we didn't have a protest, we just had church, they had the protest.
But it was a lot of people.
The news media was out here and they gave different reports.
I heard reports, some news agencies were reporting that there was a thousand people out here,
some reported there was fifteen hundred people out here.
I don't know how many there were, but I know there was a lot.
And it wasn't ten thousand, but it reminds me of this verse when David says,
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set themselves against me round about.
Why not David? Why wouldn't that cause you to fear?
He says, Arise, O Lord.
Now keep in mind, he's writing this when he's fleeing.
It would be one thing if David was writing Psalm 3 when he was coming back victorious after Absalom had been killed,
but that's not the case according to the superscription.
He's writing this as he's fleeing.
He's writing this not knowing what's going to happen.
Now he's about to speak as though it's going to happen, but notice what he says there in verse seven.
He says, Arise, O Lord, save me.
So we must trust God when our enemies increase to shield us,
and we must trust God to sustain us, and we must trust God to save us.
He says, Arise, O Lord, save me.
Now it's interesting to me because he says, David says, I'm going to let God shield me, sustain me, and save me.
And David is the one that gave us the alliteration here.
These words are taken from the text, but there's one more alliteration.
It's not in regards to us, but it is in regards to them.
He says, The Lord will shield us.
The Lord will sustain us.
The Lord will save us.
But then he says also, The Lord will smite them.
Look at verse seven.
Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God, for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheekbone.
Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.
And what we see here is a little indication of something that we're going to see a lot in the book of Psalms.
And it is this, that in the book of Psalms there are many Psalms that fall under a category.
Remember we talked about this when we began the book of Psalms and we began to study it.
We talked about the fact that there are different categories.
There are Psalms of rejoicing, there are Psalms of lament, but there are also Psalms that are not rejoicing and are not lament.
I would call them Psalms of anger.
And the theological term is imprecatory.
There are these imprecatory prayers in Psalms where the psalmist is praying the judgment of God and destruction of God upon the enemies of the Lord.
And here though I don't know that Psalm 3 is classified as an imprecatory prayer in an imprecatory psalm.
We see a little bit of that.
He says, For thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheekbone.
Now what's interesting to me about that is that the Bible says, and you have to turn here, but in Matthew 539 we are commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ to turn the other cheek.
And the Bible does teach that we are to, and we'll talk about this in more detail when we get to an imprecatory psalm.
The Bible teaches that we are to love our enemies, bless them that curse us, do good to them that hate us, pray for them that despitefully use us.
We are to turn the other cheek.
We are to esteem others better than ourselves.
We are to suffer ourselves to be defrauded.
That the Bible teaches that we should do, and that should be done to our personal enemies, not necessarily to the enemies of the Lord or to those that hate the Lord.
But what's interesting to me about this psalm is this, that though you and I are to turn the other cheek, the Bible says that the Lord has smitten all mine enemies upon the cheekbone.
And then he says, David says, For thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheekbone, thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.
So though maybe you and I are to turn the other cheek and not to smite someone on the cheekbone, God can smack them on the cheekbone.
And this is such a strong hit, I mean the description here is that God has smitten them on the cheekbone so hardly, he's done it with such strength that he has broken the teeth of the ungodly.
That's quite a hit, to smack somebody upside the head so hard that they break a tooth.
For thou hast, now we're not supposed to do that, but here David says, Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God.
For thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheekbone, thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.
And the idea again is this, and what David is saying is this, I'm going to allow God to deal with it.
Abishai, I appreciate the sentiment, thank you for trying to stand up for me, but let's allow God to do it.
Let's allow God to deal with it. Let's allow God to smite them on the cheekbone, thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.
The idea is this, that we must trust God to save us. Let me just share one other reference with you and we'll finish up.
Go back to 2 Samuel if you would, 2 Samuel chapter 15.
This is the sentiment you find in David as he's running from Absalom and what we find here in Psalm 3.
In 2 Samuel 15, if you look down at verse 24, we again are seeing David in his journey out. He's retreating, he's leaving.
The Bible says, 2 Samuel 15 verse 24,
And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant, and they set down the ark of God.
And Abiathar went up until all the people had done passing out of the city.
So I want you to see that David is on his way out of the city, he's going and his men are going and all his people are going.
And here comes Zadok and the priests and they're bearing the ark of the covenant of God.
And they're getting ready to go with David. Look at verse 25.
And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city.
He says, I'm not going to bring the ark of God. I'm not going to treat the ark of God as though it's some sort of a lucky charm.
They've already done this, if you remember earlier in 1 Samuel and they lost the ark and all those things.
So David says, carry back the ark of God into the city.
I just want you to see the emphasis of David, this idea that we must trust the Lord to shield us and to sustain us and to save us.
Notice what he says there in verse 25, And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city.
He says, if, if. Because remember they're saying of him, there is no help of God for him.
God has deserted him. God has left him. God is moving against him.
And instead of David standing up and saying, oh no, no, God is with me and I'm the right one and you're the bad one.
Instead of David defending himself, David just says, well if I shall find favor in the eyes of the Lord.
He will bring me again and show me both it and his abattation.
He says, I don't need to bring the ark with me.
He said, if the Lord favors me, I'll see it again.
Look at verse 26, But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee.
Here's where we see David's humility, where he says, maybe they're right.
Maybe God's done with me.
He says, but if he does say, I have no delight in thee, behold, here am I.
Let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.
What David is saying is this, I'm going to let the Lord save me.
I'm going to put it in God's hands.
Go back to Psalm 3, look at how the Psalm ends, verse 8.
He says, we must trust the Lord to save us, we must trust the Lord to shield us, to sustain us, to save us.
Psalm 3 and verse 8, he says this, salvation belongeth unto the Lord.
Thy blessing is upon my people, Selah.
See, David was saying, if God wants this to end, if God wants to destroy me, if God wants my kingdom to come to an end,
he says, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him.
And this is what we see with David throughout his life.
If you remember when Saul, when he had the opportunity to kill Saul twice, he said, I won't put my hand on God's anointed.
Salvation belongeth unto the Lord.
Thy blessing is upon thy people, Selah.
Let's bow our heads in that word of prayer.
Heavenly Father.
Lord, we thank you for the Psalm, and we thank you for the context of the Psalm that helps us to see how David felt.
Lord, obviously David had done wrong, and there was sin in his life, and sin in Absalom's life, and sin in Shimei's life.
But he just put it in your hands, he let you deal with it.
Lord, help us to learn from this.
There will be times in our lives when enemies rise up against us.
Help us to trust in you, to shield us, to sustain us, and to save us.
And help us, like David, to have the courage to say, here am I.
Lord, whatever you want to do, that's up to you.
In the matchless name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray.
Amen.
All right, we're going to have Brother Moses come up and lead us in a final song.
I just want to remind you that we do have soul winning this weekend.
Of course, on Thursday at 2 p.m., if you'd like to go, there will be an opportunity for you to be able to do that.
Also at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning, we'd love for you to be here for that.
And if you wouldn't mind, please be in prayer for me.
I'll be preaching in Texas this week.
I will be back for the Sunday services, and I just pray that the Lord uses us there.
And then, of course, let's keep Miss Esther in prayer as well.
And hopefully we'll have good news with regards to that.
If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know.
And we'll have Brother Moses come up and lead us in a final song.
Turn in your song books to page number 212.
Page 212, we're going to sing, Oh Happy Day.
Page 212, page 212, and let's go ahead and sing it out on the first.
Oh happy day, that fixed my choice, on thee my Savior and my God.
Well may this glowing heart rejoice, and tell its raptures all abroad.
Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away.
He taught me how to watch and pray, and live rejoicing every day.
Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away.
Page 212, let's sing it out on the second.
Oh happy bond, that seals my vows, to him who merits all my love.
Let cheerful emblems fill his house, well to that sacred shrine I move.
Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away.
He taught me how to watch and pray, and live rejoicing every day.
Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away.
Tis done the great transaction son, I am my Lord's and he is mine.
He drew me and I followed on, joined to confess the voice divine.
Happy day, happy day, wash my sins away.
He taught me how to watch and pray, and live rejoicing every day.
Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away.
Page 212, and let's go ahead and sing it out on the last.
Now rest my lonely, divided heart, fixed on this blissful centerrest.
Forever proud, my Lord, depart with him of every good possess.
Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away.
He taught me how to watch and pray, and live rejoicing every day.
Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away.
Great singing. If you're a guest and you have any questions about salvation, baptism, or church membership,
you can see pastor in the front, and can I please have brother Adam Gesler close us some more to prayer.
He taught me how to watch and pray, and live rejoicing every day.
Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away.
Thank you for watching.