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May 16th
Psalms 3-4, 12-13, 28, 55. Songs of David written during times of increasing troubles. Psalm 3 has been a favorite of mine for a long time. So I will major on these verses in the podcast today.
50 years ago I read where Dawson Trottman, Founder of the Navigators and good friend of Billy Graham, spent time regularly in reading and meditating on the Psalms of the Bible...especially when he was going through difficult times. So I decided to follow his example.
Now to the text...“O Lord...how they have increased who trouble me...or...Lord, my troubles have multiplied recently.”
We’ve all been there. We’ve all felt like the guy who said, “...and the hits just keep on coming...” Speaking of bad news, mounting pressures, and overwhelming stressors. Wave after wave of trouble.
Well, that was David’s disposition when he learned that his son was a traitor to his rule in Israel. When he learned that longtime friends had betrayed him with lies and calls for rebellion against him. When previously faithful war and work associates forsook him and joined the ranks of those rebelling. That was enough to cause David to turn to God for help.
And he called using God’s saving name...LORD...Adonai...I AM...sound familiar? When Moses was before God at the burning bush...God told him to tell the Israelites that Yahweh sent him...or I Am....sent me...God... who is everything you need.
When David prayed LORD he was thinking: the One who delivered Israel from their bondage and troubles back then can and will deliver me now. Let us also quickly turn our hearts toward the One whose name means salvation...especially when our troubled souls are weighed down.
David’s situation was so bad that people all over Israel were saying that David was beyond God’s help. Not that God couldn't help David but rather...God was not willing to help such a sinner as David.
They looked at David’s past sin and figured, “This is what David deserves.” That reminds me of a man named Shemmi, a loyalist to Saul, who hated David. As David retreated from Jerusalem, Shemmi shouted curses toward David, saying that he deserved to die. When one of David’s mighty men asked if he could kill the cursing dog, David said, “No...God has a reason for it.”
Let us listen to Spurgeon's thoughts on David’s heart at this troublesome time...“If all the trials that come from heaven, and all the temptations that come from hell, and all the crosses that arise from the earth could be mixed and pressed together, they would not make a trial as terrible as being led to believe that there is no help for us in God.”
This was where David’s head was. But let us listen to where his “heart faith” was...“But You O Lord, are a “shield” about me,...You O Lord are my “glory”, and the ” lifter of my head.” Psalm
