Walking through the Psalms (3)
Psalm 3
This one was a lot a fun, because it reminded me of of the Brian Jacques books that I read growing up (and still occasionally do). Where the good guys are way outnumbered and the bad guys expect to win, and are eventually defeated. The tone of this is obviously a little different, considering the element of betrayal by David's son Absalom, but that sense of being outnumbered, and yet still trusting in the Lord to deliver him is a wonderful display of David's faith in God.
To say that David was a man after God's own heart is, in my own personal opinion, an often misunderstood thing. It was that David DID everything that he should do, it was deeper than mere actions (and David DID plenty of wrong things) it was how David always came running back to God, repenting and turning from the evil choices he had made. Not only this, but David was also very good at something that I think most of us are not, and I feel very strongly that this a large part of why we refer to David as a man after God's own heart.
When times were good, he delighted in the Lord with praise, with his worship.
If I have a friend, whom I love without condition, and that friend only ever really talks to me when HE needs to talk, then I will still talk to him, and help as I can, but I will also mourn the lack of depth that is missing from our friendship. Understanding David as someone who consistently sought God out of need and out of worshipful praise, it is much easier to see his pleas in Psalm 3 as genuine and heartfelt and possessing of depth.
We would do well to live as David, both willing to ask DIRECTLY for God's help, knowing Him fully capable and willing to act in our prayers according to His discernment and Will, and also praising God during times of peace and emotional/social/financial prosperity.
Two other parting thoughts...
1. Psalm 3:5 "I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me." Each time we go to sleep, there are a million different ways for us to never wake up again, to die in our sleep regardless of age. But it is by the sustaining faithfulness and sovereignty of God that wake up every day. If we are to live on more than bread alone, then it is truly God that sustains us, and by accepting and following in the sacrifice and resurrection of His only Son Jesus that we will never hunger or thirst again.
2. This is a great Psalm to read when you feel overwhelmed, like everything is against you. It's important to remember that if you're feeling this way, you're probably being a bit melodramatic, but at the same time, feeling oppressed is a very real, very common thing in this world, as it is. God is our Sustainer, but he is also our Refuge, our Savior, our Creator, our Protector.
This one was a lot a fun, because it reminded me of of the Brian Jacques books that I read growing up (and still occasionally do). Where the good guys are way outnumbered and the bad guys expect to win, and are eventually defeated. The tone of this is obviously a little different, considering the element of betrayal by David's son Absalom, but that sense of being outnumbered, and yet still trusting in the Lord to deliver him is a wonderful display of David's faith in God.
To say that David was a man after God's own heart is, in my own personal opinion, an often misunderstood thing. It was that David DID everything that he should do, it was deeper than mere actions (and David DID plenty of wrong things) it was how David always came running back to God, repenting and turning from the evil choices he had made. Not only this, but David was also very good at something that I think most of us are not, and I feel very strongly that this a large part of why we refer to David as a man after God's own heart.
When times were good, he delighted in the Lord with praise, with his worship.
If I have a friend, whom I love without condition, and that friend only ever really talks to me when HE needs to talk, then I will still talk to him, and help as I can, but I will also mourn the lack of depth that is missing from our friendship. Understanding David as someone who consistently sought God out of need and out of worshipful praise, it is much easier to see his pleas in Psalm 3 as genuine and heartfelt and possessing of depth.
We would do well to live as David, both willing to ask DIRECTLY for God's help, knowing Him fully capable and willing to act in our prayers according to His discernment and Will, and also praising God during times of peace and emotional/social/financial prosperity.
Two other parting thoughts...
1. Psalm 3:5 "I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me." Each time we go to sleep, there are a million different ways for us to never wake up again, to die in our sleep regardless of age. But it is by the sustaining faithfulness and sovereignty of God that wake up every day. If we are to live on more than bread alone, then it is truly God that sustains us, and by accepting and following in the sacrifice and resurrection of His only Son Jesus that we will never hunger or thirst again.
2. This is a great Psalm to read when you feel overwhelmed, like everything is against you. It's important to remember that if you're feeling this way, you're probably being a bit melodramatic, but at the same time, feeling oppressed is a very real, very common thing in this world, as it is. God is our Sustainer, but he is also our Refuge, our Savior, our Creator, our Protector.
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