Help Me, Lord!
Psalm 3:1-8
- We’re continuing our study through the book of Psalms.
- This week, we’re going to see our Great God as the Helper of His troubled people.
- I watched a video on YouTube of a team of firemen and EMT’s who heard a cry for help from miles away.
- When they found where it was coming from, they discovered that it wasn’t a person crying…
- It was a yellow lab that had fallen through the ice into a lake, and he was holding on to the top of the ice for dear life but was quickly freezing to death.
- The rescuers quickly went into action.
- One of them had a rope tied around him, and he slowly walked out to the spot and lowered himself into the water, which was about 4 feet deep.
- When he got to the dog, he picked him up and placed him on the ice in a safe spot.
- He crawled out onto the ice, and the dog couldn’t move because he was so cold, so he and the dog crawled to shore together.
- That wasn’t the end of it though…this poor dog had hypothermia and the cold winter air was slowly killing him.
- So they wrapped him in blankets, and started rubbing him, then they put him in the warm ambulance.
- At one point, the dog stopped breathing, but they didn’t give up…
- They continued to rub him and warm him up, and then, they could hear his faint heart beat once again.
- After saving the dog’s life, he was adopted into a family with another lab, and of course was very thankful to the rescuers for saving him.
- It’s funny, because that seems like something small…
- After all, he wasn’t a human, he was a dog.
- But that didn’t matter to those rescuers.
- They saw one of God’s creations, a dog, in need, and they acted just like he had been a human being.
- And that’s not the only time something like this has happened…
- Just search on YouTube, and you’ll see all sorts of videos of people rescuing animals in need, many of them even putting their own lives on the line to save the animal.
- Now think about this…
- If God could put that instinct inside of us, to help when a person or animal is in need, how much greater is His willingness to help us, His children, when we’re in need?
- Let’s look now at a time when David needed God’s help, and what God did for him.
I.) David was betrayed- Vs 1-4
- Before we dig in to this great Psalm, we need to first understand what’s going on with the author, King David.
- In 2 Samuel 15 – 18, we have the story of the rebellion of David’s son, Absalom.
- It was quite a sad story, as David fled his palace in the middle of the night and forded the brook Kedron to escape.
- He took a small group of faithful followers with him, and off he went to hide from his son.
- As he fled, he passed the Mount of Olives, and as he was weeping, he rent his clothes and put dust on his head as a sign of his mourning.
- So what we have here in this Psalm is the heart of David, at a time when it seemed like the world had turned against him.
- He starts in vs 1 by pointing out the great number of people who are against him.
- “They have increased…many are they who rise up against me…many are they who say of me ‘there’s no help for him in God.’”
- If David was not a follower of God, he would have great reason to just give up.
- He was betrayed by his own son, and his own friends.
- We’re told in 2 Samuel 15 that “…the hearts of all Israel went after Absalom…”
- That included the common people, his counsellors, and even many of his soldiers.
- It was a really hard time for David.
- In vs 2, when it says, “Many are they that say of me, there is no help for him in God”, David is pointing out that these people who have betrayed him actually believe that God is against David and is with them.
- They think they’re doing God’s work, while David is not.
- You might think, “Well, that’s ridiculous! How could anyone think that about David, who is called a man after God’s own heart?”
- The answer is that David wasn’t perfect…as a matter of fact, he had blood on his hands.
- Before all of this happened, he committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah murdered on the battlefield.
- That sin was done in private, but now, Absalom’s rebellion is in full view of the public.
- So to the average person on the outside looking in, it would appear that God was against David.
- In 2 Samuel 16, as David is walking along, a man named Shimei starts yelling at David, cursing him.
- He says in vs 8, “The Lord has brought upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the Lord has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil, because you are a bloodthirsty man!”
- So David’s enemies were making the claim that God turned against David, and that no matter what David did, God would not help him.
- But just because God was allowing all of this to happen, that doesn’t mean that God had turned against David.
- In vs 3 and 4, David turns his eyes away from the trial, and looks up to God.
- He says, “You Lord are a shield for me!”
- David was a warrior, so he could picture this rebellion against him as a spiritual attack by Satan.
- The fiery arrows and darts of the enemy were being hurled at him, and the enemy wanted David to think God has forsaken him.
- But David knew better, so as he lifted his eyes up to God, he knew that God was his shield.
- As he looked to God, and cried out to Him, he knew that God heard his voice, and that God had not forsaken him.
- It’s evident that David knows this because he’s not asking God to be a shield for him…he’s saying, “You, oh Lord, are a shield for me!”
- David was walking with the Lord in close fellowship, and even in the midst of these trials and tribulations, he knew that God was still with him.
- For you and me today, there will be times when the enemy will use close friends and family against us.
- A lot of times, it happens out of the blue, and we’re not expecting it.
- There will be times when we feel betrayed and it seems like the whole world is against us.
- Many times, those who betray us will even try to sound spiritual, and make it seem like they’re doing God’s will.
- That’s what Absalom, and his counsellor Ahithophel believed…
- And they were leading the people to believe it as well…
- God was on their side, not David’s, and the proof was that the majority of the people had turned against David.
- Yet they were gravely mistaken.
- God was not on their side…they were in rebellion against God and against His anointed king, David.
- So what can we do when we’re being overwhelmed, and the betrayal is tearing us apart, breaking our heart, continually grieving us, and bringing us to tears?
- The answer is do what David did…turn to God!
- “God, You are my shield! You lift me up! You hear me when I call!”
- Charles Spurgeon says, “Surely, silent prayers are heard. Yes, but good men often find that, even in secret, they pray better aloud than they do when they utter no vocal sound.”
- That might sound like it’s easier said than done, but I guarantee that if you do it, God will bring you through.
- No mortal man, no spiritual enemy, not even Satan himself, can ever separate you from the love of God through Christ Jesus our Lord.
- So when you’re betrayed, don’t give up.
- Keep your eyes on Christ, focus on your relationship with Him, and enjoy fellowship with Him.
II.) David needed rest- Vs 5-6
- I used to like to run a lot.
- As you can tell, I stopped running, and I’ve gained a lot of weight…
- But running was one thing I enjoyed doing.
- Several times, I ran 5K’s and 10K’s, just for fun.
- Leading up to the run, I’d pump myself up, and get myself motivated for the run.
- At one point, I ran with some friends in Cutler on the 4th of July.
- A little past the Head of the River Baptist Church, there’s an upward hill.
- Well, I was told that after you got up over a big hill, you were almost done and the finish line was just after that.
- Well, once I got to the top, I thought I’d turn around and go back for my 2 friends.
- So I went back down to the bottom of the hill, and started to run up with them.
- At that point, one of my friends said, “You know, Bobby…the finish line isn’t for another mile or so…”
- I thought I was almost done, but I still had a-ways to go.
- Obviously, when I finished the race, I was exhausted, and I needed rest.
- The distance I added by going back, and climbing the upward slant twice, had been a little too much for me.
- It felt good to rest after that.
- Here in vs 5 and 6, David is still in the midst of this betrayal, but since he has kept his focus on God, and put his trust in Him, he is now at a point where he can lay down and rest.
- As we already saw, it was not easy for him to be betrayed by his own son and have his own subjects turn against him…
- David was physically and emotionally exhausted…
- Yet we see that he is able to lay down and sleep because God is his Protector and Sustainer.
- Not only was David able to sleep, but just as importantly, he tells us that he awoke because the Lord sustained him.
- That’s no small thing because so many people thought David would not live to see another day.
- The armies of Absalom were hunting for him, and he was out in the wilderness, and his own subjects were betraying him…
- Yet he slept, and then awoke, because God sustained him.
- Even as “ten thousands of people set themselves all around him”, David didn’t fear, because God was with him.
- What about you and me?
- When it seems like everyone has turned against us and there seems to be no end in sight, you and I can sit back and rest because God is with us.
- And you know, oftentimes, those times of rest are just what we need, because God refreshes us as we rest…
- He gives us our strength back as we rest…
- He draws us closer to Him as we rest…
- And of course, He sustains us as we rest.
- We’re told in Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
- Think about that for a moment.
- When people betray us, whether they’re friends or family or just acquaintances, they work tirelessly to bring you down and turn people against you.
- It’s a lot of work, there’s a lot of digging for dirt, and deception, and gossip, and many other things…
- That’s what Absalom and Ahithophel were doing, along with others who David had trusted…lying, gossiping, trying to dig up dirt on David…
- If David had focused on what they were doing, he would have had a lot of restless nights!
- Instead, his mind was stayed upon the Lord, so he rested.
- You and I need to have our minds stayed upon the Lord as well, and He will give us rest.
- That reminds me of the great hymn, “Like a River Glorious.”
- Here are the lyrics:
- “Like a river glorious is God’s perfect peace,
Over all victorious, in its bright increase;
Perfect, yet it floweth fuller every day,
Perfect, yet it groweth deeper all the way.
- Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.
- Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.
- Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.
- Every joy or trial falleth from above,
Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love;
We may trust Him fully, all for us to do;
They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.”
- During the reign of King John in 1209 AD, the Old Medieval Bridge was built, which spanned the River Thames between Borough High Street in Southwark and King William Street in the City of London.
- This amazing bridge stood strong for over 600 years and had hundreds of stores and houses and water mills built on it.
- William Gurnall says about the people who slept in those houses, “Do you not think that they sleep as soundly who dwell on London Bridge as they who live at Whitehall or Cheapside? For they know that the waves which rush under them cannot hurt them. Even so may the saints rest quietly over the floods or trouble or death, and fear no ill.”
III.) David needed God to save him- Vs 7-8
- We’ve seen David betrayed, and we’ve seen him rest as God took care of him.
- Now, we find David asking God to take action and save him.
- Obviously, David knew God would do this anyways, but we see the importance of prayer here.
- David was so close to the Lord, that even as he fled from his enemies, he knew God was in control…
- He prayed, “Lord, they’re rising up against me!”
- Even as his enemies hunted him, he rested and knew that God was in control.
- He prayed, “You, Oh Lord, are a shield for me!”
- And now, even as David’s enemy sits on his throne in his palace, he calls out to God in prayer, “Arise, Oh Lord, Save me, Oh my God!”
- What’s interesting about these words is that they’re the same words used by Moses in t he wilderness, every time the Children of Israel broke camp and traveled on their journey in the wilderness.
- We’re told in Numbers 10:35, “So it was, whenever the ark set out, that Moses said: “Rise up, O Lord! Let Your enemies be scattered and let those who hate You flee before You.”
- There’s a confidence in this saying, because it’s a battle cry, not for David to go to battle, but a recognition that the Lord is going forth and defending him, and the Lord is the one leading him to victory.
- That’s because the battle belongs to the Lord, not David.
- Yes, David was a great warrior, and yes, he had soldiers with him who were willing to fight…
- But David realized that he and his warriors were nothing without God.
- Then, he gives God the credit for the victory, before the battle is even over!
- “You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone, you have broken the teeth of the ungodly.”
- This is speaking of a total domination and defeat of the enemy.
- The great Puritan Stephen Charnock says, “When God takes vengeance upon the ungodly, He will smite in such a manner as to make them feel His almightiness in every stroke.”
- Psalm 90:11 says, “Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.”
- Hebrews 10:31 says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
- God Almighty sees and knows everything…
- He knows our hearts, so He knows when our actions are done in a sinful manner, such as when we betray someone out of greed, or jealousy, or any number of selfish reasons.
- For Absalom, it was because he wanted the throne, he wanted the title, he wanted the power…
- Yet God was not with him, God was against him.
- So what happened to Absalom?
- In 2 Samuel 18, we see that David sent out soldiers, and they killed over 20,000 of the soldiers and people who had turned against David to follow Absalom.
- But not all those people were killed by the sword…
- We’re told in vs 8 that “…the woods devoured more people that day than the sword devoured…”
- That means that God caused the fleeing army to run into that particular area of woods, thinking they’d escape, but instead, they were killed…
- As far as devouring them, there probably were several ways God caused this to happen…
- It was very rocky terrain, so some probably fell to their deaths.
- The forests were easy to get lost in, so some probably got lost and died of hunger, thirst, or exhaustion, and others probably were killed by wild beasts in the forest.
- As far as Absalom is concerned, before David’s generals went to battle, he gave them orders not to harm his son, but Joab disobeyed those orders.
- While fleeing, Absalom’s long hair got stuck in a tree, and he was left by himself with no defense.
- Joab threw 3 spears through his heart, and ten of his armor bearers surrounded Absalom and finished him off.
- So God put an end to the rebellion, and put David back on the throne.
- Vs 8 tells us that salvation belongs to the Lord, and His blessing is upon His people.
- All the credit and all the glory went to God for the victory.
- As a matter of fact, David was going to go out to battle, but his generals told him not to.
- In 2 Samuel 18, vs 3, the people tell David, ““You shall not go out! For if we flee away, they will not care about us; nor if half of us die, will they care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us now. For you are now more help to us in the city.”
- So David didn’t even lift a finger…he got to watch God save him from the enemy.
- When you and I are betrayed, and we’re in the midst of the trial, we can trust that God will bring us through, and He will give us victory.
- He doesn’t need you and I to act…we can just sit back and watch Him take care of it for us.
- Staying faithful to God is the most important part of all of this…
- When you’ve been betrayed by someone close to you, don’t focus on them and what they did to you…
- Focus on Christ, and what He has done and is doing in your life…He’ll take care of the rest!
