Continuing in our study of the
book of Psalms, if you would turn with me to Psalm chapter
three tonight. While you're turning, I want
to say one word, get you thinking a little bit. Trouble. Trouble. At some time in our
lives, we all have trouble. Trouble means difficulty or problems. Trouble is a cause of worry and
anxiety, trouble. That's what this psalm's about. What a believer does in the time
of trouble. What does a believer do in the
time of trouble? Psalm chapter three, verse one,
we're told, here we have the title. This is the first of the
Psalms that has such a title. And it says, a Psalm of David
when he fled from Absalom, his son. Now here we find King David,
the apple of God's eye in trouble. He's in trouble. Absalom was David's third son,
and truthfully, if you read back on the account of this, David
had not been a good father to him. What a tragic story this
is, but that's another message, another study. The heading here,
the title, is not something that the translators or the publishers
added. This title is inspired just like
the rest of the psalm. a psalm of David when he fled
Absalom, his son. He fled. It's important to know,
according to verse one, that that's when he wrote this, when
he was being hunted down by a son that he loved. Now, I want you
to pay particular attention as to how David in his trouble begins
this psalm. We could always learn a great
deal more if we just slow down and read the scripture and think
about what it's saying. We're in no hurry. You know,
folks say all the time, I've read through the Bible 22 times
and you don't know any more of it than you do? What word does
David begin with here? He's in trouble. Lord. Lord. Jehovah, the self existing
one, the one called wonderful, the one called a counselor, the
mighty God, the everlasting Father, Lord, Lord. the Prince of Peace, the one
in whose government will increase and in one who in peace will
increase and there shall be no end. That's who? Lord. David's petition for help is
to the Lord. When all is said and done, the
Lord is the only one who can help you. He's the only one that
can. I've learned through divine revelation,
but I've also learned that by experience. He's the only one
that can help you. Why, he works all things after
the counsel of his own will, and he works all things for the
good of his people. Why would we turn to anyone else?
Who else is there to turn to? Again, verse one, Lord, the only
one who can help, how are they increased that trouble me? Many
are they that rise up against me." David was increased with
trouble. Can you imagine fleeing from
your own son? Gene, can you imagine that? I
met your son a couple of weeks ago, Daniel, just a fine young
man. Can you imagine fleeing for your life from him? What
disappointment, what heartbreak. Paul, can you imagine John, the
son God gave you the apple of your eye? Can you imagine him
hating you so bad that he wanted to destroy you? That'd be hard
to take, wouldn't it? Man at his best state is a sinner
at best. And yes, David was a flawed man. You know what? So am I. I encourage
you to know that God has mercy on such men as David and on such
men as me. David goes on to say in verse
two, many there be which say of my soul, there's no help for
him in God. Many during this troubled time
said, where's David's God now? David, where's your God? There's
no help for him in God. God's turned his back on David.
That's what they said. But had God turned his back on
him, well, the scripture says, for the Lord will not forsake
his people for his great name's sake, because it hath pleased
the Lord to make you his people. Remember, these are David's words,
but they're also the words of Christ. All his life, Christ
was a man of sorrows. He was acquainted with grief.
You have to experience a lot of grief to be acquainted with
it. I'm still not acquainted with it. Still don't like it.
He was acquainted with grief. From the time he was born, King
Herod sought to kill him. His life was full of trouble.
Scripture says they hated him without a cause. There was no
reason to hate him, but they did anyway. His every word was
under their scrutiny. They twisted everything that
he said into a lie. Many said there's no help for
him in God. Pilate put over his cross, this
is the king of the Jews, and they said, don't put that. He
said he was king of the Jews, but don't put he was king of
the Jews, because he wasn't. No, he's king of the kings and
the Lord of lords. He didn't just claim to be the
Son of God, he was God the Son, very God of very God. And that's
who they crucified. with their wicked hands, but
it was by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, wasn't
it? David said, Lord, they increased the trouble me. The Lord said,
they hate me without a cause. Both were by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. Everything that comes to
pass is everything. All our trouble, God sends. But in the end, it was for to
do whatsoever God's hand and counsel determined for to be
done. You know, false preachers who paint what they call the
Christian life as free from trouble, they don't know anything about
the Lord's salvation. For we must, through much tribulation,
enter the kingdom of God. We must, through much, You ask
any older saint whether or not walking with the Lord gets any
easier. It seems to me the older we get, the more conscious of
our sin we are. Is that true with you? Sure is me. And the more we tend
to look within ourselves, the more we become doubtful of our
salvation. I've seen it happen time and
time and time again. We start looking within, we start
looking to self. And it's then that we begin to
question ourselves. And we've got every reason to
question ourselves, but we have no reason to question God. None. Salvation's of the Lord. You're saved by Christ, finished
work, and there's no reason to look within. You need to look
to Him. The minute that we stop is when we get in trouble. I
had a man tell me one time that he wasn't my judge, but he went
on to say that God had made him a fruit inspector. with only
one fruit inspector. And it's not another wretched
sinner who needs to get the beam out of his own eye before he
tries to get the splinter out of mine. Christ provided for
us everything that God required of us. There's no new message
tonight, but they're the words of life. Christ provided for
us everything that God required of us. God accepted his work
of perfection. The work's finished. The payment
accepted. Blood has been shed. There is
remission. Perfect righteousness has been
provided. Sin has been put away. That's
good news. That's good news in time of trouble,
isn't it? I'm not a novice anymore. I was for many years. But there's
no assurance, there's no confidence, there's no peace, and there's
no rest that can be found when you look within for something
to recommend you to God. If you're looking within, you're
not looking to Christ. If you're not looking to Christ, you'll
find no rest or comfort within. You'll find no help or no hope
for your soul. And it's great trouble to my
soul when someone denies that my God is my salvation. People
insist that you must insist that you've done something worthy
of salvation, but it's not of him that will it. Your free will
cannot save you because you will not come to Christ that you might
have life. You will not have this man to rule over you. You
will not bow to him as your Lord and your God, as Thomas did.
Your decision has no factor in the matter. Salvation is of the
Lord. The salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord. Now that word trouble there in
verse one means a narrow, confined space, a tight place. You know,
we often say when we're in trouble, I'm between a rock and a hard
place. You know what you mean when you say that. I don't know
what to do. I'm in a rough spot here. And
who are these that afflict and bring this trouble? Well, they're
adversaries and they're opponents. Now they may be of your own household,
but they're still opponents and adversaries. They're enemies
of you and your God. They rise up and they make every
effort to stand against you. Now that word rise, where it
says they rise up against me, that means more than just rising
up. It means they continue, they
endure as enemies. They don't go away easily. These
enemies don't stop, they just don't let up. And do you know
when a child of God, now this would be a blessing to you if
the Lord enables us to get ahold of this, but do you know when
a child of God gets some relief from trouble? When they see who
it is that sends it. David said, it's good for me
that I have been afflicted. I've thought about that so many
times. He said, it's good for me that I've been afflicted.
Why, David? That I might learn thy statutes. That's why it's
good. Why is affliction good for me?
That I might learn thy, God's statutes. That word means appointments. That I might understand that
my trouble is by God's appointment. And if it's by God's appointment,
it's for my good. Now, it may not feel like it's
for my good. It may not seem like it's for
my good. But according to God's word,
it's for my good. Trouble ceases to be an enemy
when we see that it's God who sends it. And God sends trouble
for the believer's good and he sends it for Christ's glory.
Because you know, the child of God, when he gets in trouble,
he runs to Christ. And when the trial's over, we
see that only God could work it out like he did to our eternal
good. And we act surprised. We shouldn't
be. And that's why the trying of
our faith, that's what trouble is, is the trying of our faith.
It's trouble that works patience in us. And Paul said, let patience
have its perfect work, its entire work, its complete work in you. Let patience have her perfect
work to the conforming of Christ, that you may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing. You know, when you don't want
anything, when you got everything, and in Christ you have it all.
David's trouble was increased. More and more rose up against
him. They said, God's forsaken him. There's no help for him
in God. They did the same to the Lord Jesus. He saved others. Himself, he cannot save. You're
right. He couldn't save himself if he's
gonna save the likes of you and me. Look at verse three here
in our text. Here we have the good news of
the gospel. Verse three, but thou, O Lord,
but God. That's what that's saying. But
God, but thou, O Lord. If there was ever the gospel
in two words, that's it, but God, but God. But thou, O Lord,
art a shield for me. Good news is, but God, but God
commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. But God. I have not seen nor
hear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the things
which God had prepared for them to love him, but God hath revealed
them unto us by his Spirit. That's the only way we hear the
gospel effectually, the Holy Spirit taking the things of God
and revealing them to us. One preacher plants, another
preacher waters, but God gives the increase. We live in a time
where men and women let God save them. I let God have his way.
They feel worthy to be saved, so why not? But the real sinner
knows and proclaims that it's not their worthiness nor their
faithfulness, but God is faithful. It's God that's faithful. He's
faithful, they promised. And in their time of trouble,
they know that God will not suffer them to be tempted above that
which they're able, but will with that temptation make a way
to escape that they may be able to bear it. Be thou, O Lord,
with me. Be thou Lord, you are a shield
for me." Now that word shield here means buckler. The word
shield means on every side. I found that very interesting.
This is a protection that surrounds a man entirely. Christ is a shield
from above. He's a shield from beneath. He's
a shield from around, without and within. Oh, what a shield
Christ is. He wards off the fiery darts
of Satan from beneath. He shields us from the storms
of chastening above. And at the same time, He speaks
peace to the hearts when we're about to sink in sin and despair. He's a shield on every side.
That word shield means protector, defense, safety, security, support,
shelter. Christ is all those things. Christ
is my ark of safety in the great flood of God's wrath. God's wrath fell on the ark,
but the ark was between Noah and the judgment. Well, that's
Christ. God's wrath, judgment, and justice
for the sin of His elect people fell on Christ while they were
safe and secure within Him who is the believer's ark. Christ
is our mediator. He's our go-between. That word
shield means preserver. Christ is my life preserver.
When I was young, they didn't have all these fancy life preservers. They had the big donut. And you
get in that big donut and there was life preserver all around
you. Front to the side to the back.
Just a big old donut of life preserving. That's what Christ
is to me. He's on every side. He's my buckler
and my shield. You notice next here it says
he's the lifter up of my head. You ever see a mother put her
hands around the face of her child, caress the face of her
child and lift that little face up and say, now look at me, now
look at me, look at my eyes. What an act of mercy and grace
that is. Trying to get the child's attention
because you love them. You want the best for them. That's
exactly what God does to and for us. He lift her up with my
head, our heads that hang down. He lifts up our heads and our
hearts to look upon Him and live. Doesn't with such affection,
compassion. So what does a child of God do
when trouble comes? Well, verse four tells us, we
cry unto the Lord. I cried unto the Lord with my
voice and He heard me out of His holy hill. We cry unto the
Lord with our voice. What do we cry? Well, brother
David, I don't pray too well. You don't have to. You don't.
Can you pray, Lord, help me? Can you pray, Lord, save me? What happens when we cry this
way? David said, he heard me. He heard me out of his holy hill.
No sinner will ever come to the Lord with a need that his or
her need is not met. No leper has ever come with the
attitude, Lord, I know you can make me clean, but will you,
that he wasn't. The Lord always says, I will.
I will be thou clean. Every time. That's how you come
to the Lord. You don't come with demands.
You don't come with conditions. You don't come as a co-contributor. God doesn't need your cooperation. God does what he wills with his
own. Has not the potter power over
the clay of the same lump to make one vessel under honor and
another under dishonor? However, the sovereign potter
wills to mold the clay. He has the ability and the right
to do. He's the potter. Some people don't like that.
I happen to love that. I love the fact that God is the
potter. David said, I cried unto the
Lord with my voice and he heard me and Christ called, my God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And God heard him and God
was satisfied and God accepted his work and God accepted his
blood and all the elect were saved. All their sin was put
away. Every single sin. Everything
between the believer and his God is now in perfect harmony
in accordance with the holy law of God. Every I has been dotted. Every T has been crossed in the
law of God and God stamps it. Perfect. Perfect. Paid in full. It's finished. It's accepted. God is satisfied. God is just
and the justifier of sinners. I love to think about that. God
didn't compromise His justice at all because Christ became
what we were and did what we couldn't do so that God could
remain just and be the justifier of His people. I'm justified
in Christ Jesus. Couldn't be justified any other
way, Chris. Saved by grace through faith,
and that's not of yourselves, but it's a gift of God. You know,
we need not overcomplicate the gospel. It's God doing for you
what you cannot do. Is God doing for you what He
requires from you? And you can't provide what He
requires. So God the Son voluntarily came to provide it for you. And it's called substitution.
And people say, well, you need to go into the deeper things
of God. And I say, what could be deeper
than God becoming a man? What could be deeper than God
fulfilling His own law and satisfying His own justice and at the same
time saving those who hated Him without a cause? What could be
more magnificent or deeper than that? He saved them by His grace
simply because it pleased Him to do so. Is there anything deeper
than that? Is there anything more glorious
than that? Is there anything more God honoring than that?
Look what David says in verse five. I laid me down and slept. I awaked for the Lord sustained
me. Remember David, he's being pursued
here. Anxiety would have certainly
kept him watching the tent door, don't you think? Watching for
his enemy, yet David was able to sleep. How so? Same way I can. How did he sleep
in the midst of his trouble? Because God giveth his beloved
sleep. And be assured of this, the only
reason that we awake is because the Lord sustained us in our
sleep. Aren't you glad that having loved his people that are in
the world, that Christ loved them to the end? That's the only
reason that you and I endure to the end is because he loved
us to the end and he keeps us to the end. I laid me down and
slept, I awaked for the Lord sustained me. And Christ, by
the words of this verse, signifies his death and burial. When the
Lord says, I laid me down and slept, he doesn't say I died
and was buried, for death is not death, but just a sleep.
And the tomb is not a tomb, but it's just a bed and a resting
place for the believer. In verse six, I will not be afraid
of 10,000 of people that have set themselves against me round
about. I will not be afraid. Now I'm
talking to me, but you can listen in, okay? Why should God's people
be afraid of anything? Why would we be afraid of anything?
If God be for us, who can be against us? God is my buckler. Christ is my shield, protector,
defense, safety, security, support, shelter, all those things. That's
what Christ is to me. And this is where the rubber
meets the road. When real trouble comes, do you
trust in God or do you worry and fret? Well, I still worry
and fret a bit too much. for my God's able to do exceedingly
abundantly above all that I can think or ask. We have no reason
to worry and fret about anything if we know that God's working
all things by the counsel of his own will and he's working
together for our good. Whether it's one person or 10,000s
of people that have set themselves against me, none shall prevail. Verse seven, arise, O Lord, save
me, O my God. Man, that's a good prayer. That's
a good prayer. For thou hast smitten all mine
enemies upon the cheekbone, thou hast broken the teeth of the
ungodly. Now notice the language here,
being an elect of God, David says, for thou hast, past tense,
you've already smitten mine enemies. before the foundation of the
world you did. You've already smitten my enemies. You've already
smitten the cheekbone. You've already broken the teeth
of your adversaries. In other words, the war is over.
No reason for me to be afraid. I know how this is going to turn
out. For by the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be justified. The Lord breaks our cheekbone,
let every mouth be stopped, broken, and all the world become guilty
before God. This is the sum and the substance
of the scriptures, verse eight. Salvation belongeth unto the
Lord. I'm so glad that it does. I'm
sure glad it doesn't depend on me. He says, thy blessing is
upon thy people. Won't do me any good to bless
you, won't do the Pope any good to bless you, but it'd do you
good if God does. Thy blessing is upon thy people.
Thine, and men and women proclaim salvation belonging to the free
will of man. After all, if salvation is not
by man's merit, then it must be at least attributed to his
will. We got to have something to do in it. What must I do to
be saved? What good thing must I do to
be saved? Well, you can't do anything.
Because it has to be perfect to be accepted, and you can't
do anything perfect. Salvation belongs to the Lord. from the first to the last. Salvation
belongs to the Most High God 100%. God, it all belongs to
God and none of it belongs to me, none. God quickens us by
His grace. God quickens us by His Spirit.
God keeps us by His power. It's not of man, neither by man,
nor of him that willeth or him that runneth, but of God that
showeth mercy. Thy blessing is upon thy people.
Not upon Egypt, not upon Nineveh, not upon Sodom, but upon his
people. Thy blessing is upon thy people. Divine, discriminating, distinguishing
grace. Why does that make folks mad?
Eternal, infinite, immutable love. Pause my soul, Selah, and
make me consider my own soul in the salvation of God. And
I often ask myself, should I preach these glorious truths and find
myself to be a castaway? That is a terrifying thought. In verses two, four, and eight,
we see that word see-law at the end of the verse, and much has
been written on the word. And still the meeting does not
totally appear to be fully explained, but it's a term that directs
the singer of the psalm to be silent, to pause for a moment. while the instruments played
an interlude or a harmony. And every time we see it, we
need to stop and we need to pause and we need to ponder what's
just been said. What a beautiful conclusion.
It's the Lord alone that saves and blesses. And regardless of
the trouble that we face, it's the Lord that saves and what
shall we fear? Our trouble? God sent it. For
my destruction? No, for my good. Christ's blessings
are upon His people. We're blessed in Christ. We're
blessed through Christ. We're blessed with Christ. And
how comforting that is to know that salvation belongs to the
Lord. It belongs to Him. It's in His good hands. And because
of that, I can have such confidence and such assurance. What a comfort
to know that salvation belongeth unto the Lord and that it's Christ's
blessing that's upon His people. Isn't that good news? Take that
home with you and just wrap up in it tonight when you crawl
in your bed. That's a blanket big enough to wrap yourself up
in. May God be pleased to comfort you with these words. For His
glory, our good, and for Christ's sake.