And a Lessons from the Life of David again. And if you don't have an outline, there's some in the back. So I'd encourage you to get one so you can follow along. Amen. Follow along. Lessons from the life of David. Well, we're sort of in the, not the middle of David's life, but we're actually nearing the end of David's life. David, the king, king of Israel, a king after Saul, is approximately 60 some years old. So he's getting up there in age. Well, I like to, actually, it seems kind of young to me. But anyway, 60 is seeming younger every year, you know. But anyway, David's getting up there in age, and his son, Absalom, has rebelled against him. And the last lesson we had two weeks ago, we looked at Absalom's rebellion against David. And David's hasty retreat that he has to beat out of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was not really defendable at that point in time. And worse yet, worse yet, it seems that all of Israel had gone after Absalom. David looks on his left, and he looks on his right, and it seems like all have fallen away from him. Now, not all had, but it seems that way, that all have fallen away from him, and they were spies and vipers. everywhere in Jerusalem, everywhere. And so David does something uncharacteristic for him. He was a man, he was a fighting man, all from his youth, and it wasn't characteristic for him to beat a retreat, but that's exactly what he does. And it's not because he was outnumbered or because there were spies in every hand. It was primarily because he knew that he felt that God's chasing was still upon him. for his awful sin with Bathsheba and Uriah, his adultery with Bathsheba, and then his murder by proxy of Uriah. And so from Jerusalem, David beats his retreat down into Kidron, David's descent, you'll see on your outline, and then up the Mount of Olives, up to Olivet, David's descent from Jerusalem. It was one of the saddest, accounts in scripture that we're reading now. It was really, in one's very real sense, David's most tragic moment. Absalom had stolen the hearts of Israel, but not all, not all, amen? There were some who remained loyal to the king, some that followed him into exile. And we're gonna be looking at it in some detail today because really the principle in our lesson today is identification. with a rejected king. Identification with a rejected king. You see, it's a principle that's so necessary in the life of a child of God, is identification with a rejected king. After all, the king that we serve, the Lord Jesus Christ, has been rejected. by the world. I mean, the world may give them some lip service at certain times of the year, and there may be some cards they send out or something, but by and large, the world has rejected the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and King, and refuses to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is their Lord, the world does. But this identification with the rejected King is exactly what keeps the spiritual fires of renewal burning within. As our speaker, Brother Abel, spoke about a few weeks ago, identification with the rejected king. We'll look closely at this principle in today's lesson. And David's attitude is worth noting, just by way of introduction, in the scripture that we'll be reading. David is no longer languishing in inaction. It seems that for the last 10 years or so, really ever since his sin with Bathsheba, David has been inactive, inactive. We don't see him acting as we expected, as king. In fact, many times it just seems that he's silent, scripture is silent. And what was David doing for 10 years as his household was falling apart, Absalom murders Ammon, his brother, half-brother technically, and then Absalom flees, then David brings him back, Job is maneuvering politically in the background, and Absalom begins plotting his rebellion. What in the world was David doing? Many commentators, I've mentioned this before, have believed that David was ill. physically ill in a sick bed. Maybe David was incapacitated some way for some period of this time. We have some Psalms that we've looked at in the past that seem to indicate that David was struggling with some type of an illness. But now, no longer. No longer. This shock And really, it was a shock of Absalom's revolt. I mean, Absalom, you remember from a previous lesson, had come to David and had feigned that he was getting right with God. I mean, finally, it was a father's dream come true that Absalom was getting right with God. Absalom was going to offer his vows. Absalom was going to be back at David's side. He really never was at David's side, but Absalom was gonna join David spiritually as well as physically. Wow, and David's heart, I mean, just soared as he gave Absalom permission to go to Hebron to offer sacrifices. Absalom was, it was all a lie. Absalom was plotting his rebellion, and he was assembling his forces in Hebron, and he was also taking some of David's learned men there also as a part of his cover and to deprive David of his leadership, and it was a whole big lie. But David's heart went up, and then when he heard Absalom had betrayed him and was now mounting a rebellion, boom, it was down to the valleys of despair. And David is, there's a jolt, all right, that was like getting a shock to your heart. I mean David jumps out of his I'm using figurative, jumps out of a sick bed, I don't know what he did, I'm just speculating, but it was a jolt to David's heart and no longer languishing in inaction. David is getting into a right relationship with God and by and large, As we look at the following passage of scripture, David is right there with God. By and large, there are some flaws that we won't neglect. Psalm 62 reflects David's attitude, I believe, at this time. In verses 5 through 7 of Psalm 62, it says, David writes, in the Psalm of David, my soul, wait thou only upon God. For my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be moved. And God is my salvation and my glory, the rock of my strength and my refuge. is in God. Wow. I mean, those words there, I mean, I know they're inspired by God, but they're David's words also. And that just takes David. We've looked at David and he's been pretty low down, pretty despicable character, but those words just elevate him up to the highest pinnacle. Those words, my soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from him. You know, we can make those words our own. Amen. He only is my rock. and my salvation, and my defense. I shall not be moved, David said. And God is my salvation, my glory. The rock of my strength and my refuge is in God. David's descent, first of all, to Kidron, beginning in 2 Samuel 15, verse 17. It says, and the king went forth, went forth out of Jerusalem, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off. And all his servants passed on beside him, and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, 600 men, which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king. And the king, then the king said to Ittai, the Gittite, wherefore goeth thou also with us. Return to thy place and abide with the king, for thou art a stranger and also an exile. Whereas thou camest but yesterday. Should I this day, David says, make thee go up and down with us, seeing I go wither, I may return thou, he says to Ittai, and take back thy brethren, the 600 men, and mercy and truth be with thee. And it to I answered the king and said, as the Lord liveth, and as my Lord the king liveth, surely in what place my Lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be. We see David's people, point one in your outline, David's descent to Kidron, his people. We see the Cherthites, the Pelothites, the Gittites are named. Who were they? Scholars have wondered that over the ages. Who were they? We don't entirely know, all right? We don't entirely know who they were. It's clear that this was David's palace guard, his palace guard, his elite troops, the Cherethites, the Pelethites, the Gittites, his elite troops. But it would also appear from scripture that these were actually not Israelites. These were certainly the Gittites, were converts to Hebrew, to the Hebrew faith, converts of Philistine descent. And we ask ourselves, what? What? Were all these foreigners that went with David, the Cherithites, the Pellethites, the Gittites, were they all foreigners? Where were the Israelites? Where were they? with only a few exceptions, they were following Absalom. They were following Absalom. You know, isn't it true today, you could say Jesus was of Jewish descent. Where are the Jews? Where are the Jews? I mean, there's a few, but by and large, They are following Absalom. They're following the ways of this world. So it was in David's time. It seems that Hebrews were following Absalom, not David. And David had these Philistine converts. Why were these men so willing to follow David, David's people? David addresses Ittai, the Gittite, who is apparently the leader. He addresses him. He says, go back. Go back, Ittai. You're a stranger. and in exile, that gives credence to the understanding that these were perhaps Philistines of comforts, because David also says, in verse 20, he says, mercy and truth be with thee. Mercy and truth, that gives credence to the fact that these were not just Philistines, like hired mercenaries, but these were converts to Judaism. Converts to Judaism from the Philippines. Go back, says David, you're a stranger in exile. Ittai's reply is noteworthy. Verse 21, Ittai says, as the Lord liveth, as the Lord. Notice there's a capital L in that. He doesn't say, as thy Lord liveth. We can see that oftentimes in scripture when even the Hebrews addressed thy Lord because they weren't really with the Lord. But anyway, here, Ittai says, as the Lord liveth, and as my Lord, small l, that is David, the King liveth, surely in what place my Lord the King shall be, whether death or life, even there also will a servant be? This is the identification with a rejected king. Ittai says, David, I'm with you. David, I'm with you. This was no paid mercenary, this Ittai, or his fellow elite palace guard. No paid mercenaries. They refused to desert David, even when his back was to the wall. And his own people were in rebellion against him. What an encouragement. This was to David. What an encouragement in his hour of testing that there were some men, and ladies I'm sure too, but men in the fighting group who were willing to stand with David. Ittai and his men were, let me note three notes on Ittai and his men. They were unquestionably surrendered. to the will of their king, unquestionably. I mean, you can see that in verse 21. He says, whether death or life, Ittai says, I'm with you and my men are with you, unquestionably surrendered to the will of their king. You know, if we're going to be identified with the rejected king, we need to be unquestionably surrendered to the will of Jesus Christ, to the will of our God, unquestionably surrendered. Their yielding to I and His men, they have yielded themselves to David. It was not by compulsion. It was by love. It was not like, hey, we gotta do this, guys. No, it's like, David, we're with you. It was love. Their yielding was, in fact, liberty. They were free from the tyranny of the oppressed, from Absalom and his despicable rule, free to serve David, liberty. And they were fully committed to the king's cause, fully committed. In other words, may I say this? I borrow this phrase. They were fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. may remember that phrase. From a few years back, if you're here, our former pastor, Pastor Ard, had that for almost an entire year. That was our theme, a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. That's Ittai. Or may I refer back to a timely Sunday School lesson we had last week. Ittai and his men were not only in Christ, They were with Christ, with Christ. Boy, what a great lesson that was, Brother Arden. I'm so glad that that fit in just perfectly with Ittai and his men. You see, a Christian is Christ's man. A Christian is Christ's woman. A Christian accepts the Lord's commandments as principles of your life. The Lord's commandments as principles of your life. A Christian accepts Christ's example as a pattern of your life, a pattern to follow. That's why we spend so much time studying the scriptures. We're looking for patterns to follow. We're looking for principles that can guide us. And we accept, a Christian accepts God's providence. This is the hardest one to deal with. Accepts God's providence as the provision for your life. A Christian accepts God's providence as a provision for your life. Here's David accepting God's providence as a provision for his life. He said, well, the Lord chastened me. My life is in your hands, Lord. So be it. Do to me however you will. Etai, we know him back at David's people, was no fair weather follower. Etai offered his own life for the service of his king. He believed it was better, far better, to be with the few who followed the rejected king than to be with the crowd who rejected David as king. He believed it's better to be with the few who follow the king than with the crowd that rejected him. You know, this is the key. This is the key. This is a simple key to a victorious life. It's just a mission in total to God's will, a surrender of my all to the purposes of the king, a surrender and a sacrifice. This is when the fires of revival begin to burn. Our pastor's given his testimony. Sometimes in the past, he's described a time not too long ago when he experienced exactly this. The fires of revival began to burn in his life because he submitted himself in total, not just part, not just a little bit, not just like Sunday morning, Lord, I give you Sunday morning, but you know, all the rest is mine. No, he gave the Lord everything, everything. It's so sad that in this Laodicean age, that we live in, that there's so few who are totally surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ. There's so many who are simply lukewarm followers of our Lord. It's so sad, this Laodicean age, and we can see it all around us, all around us. We see not only David's people, we see his plans. David's verse 22, and David said to Ittai, go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, this is presumably over the brook Kidron, which is a muddy little sewer swamp, because David is at the, at least in David's time, because David is at the bottom of his a life in terms of his physical condition, Ittai and his men passed over, and all his men and the little ones who were with him. And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over. The king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over toward the way of the wilderness. And lo, we see David's plans, and lo, Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and Abathar went up until all the people had done passing out of the city. And the king said to Zadok, carry back the ark of God into the city. If I shall find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again and show me both it and his habitation. But if he say thus, I have no delight in thee. Behold, here am I. Let him do to me as seemeth good unto him. Verse 27, the king said also unto Zadath the priest, art thou not a seer? Return unto the city in peace, and your two sons with you. Himaz, thy son, and Jonathan, the son of Abathar. See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness until there come word from you to certify me. Zadok, therefore, and Abathar carry the ark of God to Jerusalem and they tarried there. David's plans. Most encouragingly here to David, the Levites. The Levites are following David, especially the high priest. They brought the Ark of the Covenant with them. This was a symbol of God's presence, and it was no little thing that they're bringing the Ark. And David's humility here is in full view. He's under divine chastisement. He knows it. David's been under chastisement, may I remind you, for 10 years. And you say, well, that's a long time to be under chastisement. And yes, it is. I believe, this is my own belief, all right. I believe one reason David was under chastisement for 10 years is David wasn't responding to God's chastisement. David wasn't responding. But now he is, finally. David's responding, and his humility is in full view. He recognizes everything hinges upon God's unmerited favor. He will not risk the ark. be carried into the wilderness, dropped, blown up, or whatever, demolished, destroyed, he's not going to risk the Ark. The Ark is not It's a symbol. But the ark is not a magic, like a rabbit's foot or something. You can rub the side of the ark. I don't touch it. But you can do something to the ark and poof, God will. No, no, no, no. David knew the ark was just a symbol of God's presence. And he sends it back. He sends it back. Everything hinges upon God's unmerited favor. David says, if I shall find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he'll bring me again. That's his humility and submission. But he says, if I say, if he say, I have no delight in thee, behold, here am I. Let him do to me as it seemeth good unto him. David hoped for the best, but he is prepared for the worst. Hope for the best. Is that what we do? Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Our hands, you see, are in our times, to use the scripture phrase, my times are in thy hand. My times are in God's hand. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. David saw God's disciplined hand in these events. And it preserved him in both extremes. And see, there's two extremes we can fall into. There are chasms on either side. One is the rebellion against heaven and God himself. We become angry at God because of what he's allowed to happen. And the other chasm we can fall into is a fear of man, a fear of man. And David's faith protected him from both. He hoped for the best. but he was prepared for the worst. This was indeed an act of true faith. David wisely sends Zadok, the priest, his two sons back with instructions to bring him news from Jerusalem. Bring him news, keep your eyes and ears open. This was a good plan, may I add. David wrote a psalm. and time permitting, I'm not sure how time's gonna go, but we're gonna look at sort of a devotional in the middle of a Sunday school lesson at Psalm 55. If you wanna turn there, we'll look very briefly, I hope, maybe not, at Psalm 55, one of the Psalms that David wrote, the Psalm of Penitence. David says, give ear to my prayer. Psalm 55, O God, hide not thyself from my supplication. This is his prayer. David's prayer in verses one through eight. He says, attend to me, hear me, I mourn in my complaint and make a noise because of the voice of the enemy, Absalom and Hithopel, because of the oppression of the wicked, for they cast iniquity upon me and a wrath, they hate me. My heart is sore pain within me and the terrors of death are falling upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me and horror hath overwhelmed me. And I said, David says, oh, that I had wings like a dove. For then would I fly away and be at rest. Lo, then I would wander far off and remain in the wilderness, Selah. Think about this. Think about that. Wings like a dove. You can see David in this situation. Oh, that I had wings like a dove. I could escape. I could get out of this terrible situation that has come upon me. This is a plaintive prayer. It shows the state of David's heart and really the city. The city was practically in absolute control. And David may have wished and hoped that Absalom would repent and relent. But in his heart, he knew Absalom was after the throne. This was a power move. And David knew that Solomon was the Lord's choice. He knew that in his naming of Solomon. Yet Solomon was only 10 years old. Solomon, no doubt, is with David. As David flees from Absalom, what could he do? What could David do in this terrible situation? His only weapon was prayer. What a weapon that was. What a weapon. You know, prayer is a mightier weapon than any, any weapon the man can forge. Prayer, David's only weapon, he put that in quotes, only weapon. And here he pulls out his heart. in honest expression. Matthew Henry says prayer, a quote from Matthew Henry, prayer is a salve for every sore. Prayer is a salve for every sore. So David begs and he begs God to hear his prayers. He weeps and trembles in his prayers. He can hear that as he prays. He prays, oh, that I had wings like a dove to escape these trials. His petitions begin in verse nine. David says, Sorry, I can't see. David says. Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues, for I have seen violence and strife in the city. Day and night they go about it. I mean, you can see it, day and night, vipers on every hand. David wasn't sure who he could trust. Day and night they go about it, on the walls thereof, mischief also, and sorrow in the midst of it. Wickedness is in the midst thereof, deceit and guile. Depart not from our streets, for it was not an enemy that reproached me. Then I could have borne it. Neither was it he that hated me. that did magnify himself against me, then I would have hid myself from him. But it was thou, a man my equal, my guide. my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together and walked in the house of God in company." Most commentators believe this is a reference here to Ahithopel, not to Absalom, although some parts seem to apply. But I don't think David ever walked with Absalom and took sweet counsel and walked in the house of God with Absalom, who is an unbeliever. This was Ahithopel. "'Let death seize upon them, "'and let them go down quick into hell, "'for wickedness is in their dwelling and among them. "'As for me, I will call upon God, "'and the Lord shall save me.'" David's petitions to destroy and divide, David has God. Wickedness, he says, wickedness has been, may I say, this is true of our own country as well. Wickedness has been legalized in the streets, wickedness. Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's right. Hello. Wickedness is legalized in the streets. Deceit and guile, David says, are found everywhere in Jerusalem. Spies and vipers, you don't know what's going to jump out at you. There's no safety in the city. David's complaint is against Ahithopel, his equal, his guide, his acquaintance, one who has magnified himself against God, against David also. And this is the most difficult. part of the rebellion in Hythlopel, the one David had received sweet counsel from. It is said his counsel had been like the words of God himself. And they'd walked together into the house of God. Alas, it was indeed hard to bear, hard to bear that someone so close to David was now his archenemy. And he's going to even do worse, Hithopel is coming up. David's prayer in verse 15 is in fact a prophecy. David says, let death seize upon them and let them go down quick into hell for wickedness is in their dwelling and among them. It's a prophecy of the utter and final and everlasting ruin of all those who oppose and rebel against our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We see David's prophecy finally, his prayer, his petitions. David's prophecy beginning in verse 16. As for me, David says, I will call upon God and the Lord shall save me evening and morning and at noon. When I pray and cry aloud and he shall hear my voice, he hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many with me. God shall hear and afflict them, even he that abideth of old, Selah. Think about this. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God. He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him. He hath broken his covenant. The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart. His words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords, thinking of Absalom and all those lies he had. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, David says. He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into a pit of destruction. Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, but I will trust in thee. What a psalm this is. What a psalm. David's prophecy, a prophecy of retribution, first of all, David foretells the ruin the ruin of those that afflict and oppose Him. God, He says, God will hear. God will afflict. He won't hear. Verse 19, He says, He will bring them down. In verse 23, you see, mortal men are a most uneven match against an eternal God. That sounds like a Matthew Henry quote. I don't have it quoted to him, but mortal men are a most uneven match against an eternal God. Wow, David encourages himself, and indeed, David encourages all godly men and women to fully commit themselves to God. In verse 22, he says, cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. He encourages himself. Even as he resolves to do himself, he says, I will trust in David's resolution, verse 23. Then we see his assent to all of it. I still have a few minutes left. Point two, David's assent to all of it. We see back to 2 Samuel, chapter 15. 2 Samuel, chapter 15. having been down in the lowest parts of this sewer channel called the Brook Kidron, David begins his ascent up to Olivet. Verse 30, and David went up by the, 2 Samuel chapter 15, 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 his head, and they went up weeping as they went up. And one told David, saying, Ahithopel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David's prayer, we see his prayer right here, David prayed right away, O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithopel in the foolishness. David's prayer, his heart, obviously that of a humble penitent, he's showing that not only in his words, but his action as well. As he goes up barefoot with his head covered, a man who knew God's rebuke was upon him and who humbles himself, he gives outward expression to his grief and miseries that he's brought upon his family and his friends. And he goes forth weeping and barefoot. A bitter blow hits, again, we mentioned several times, Ahithopel has joined the rebellion. And this further confirms to David that this was God's chasing. God's chasing because Ahithopel, this was a man who showed sweet counsel and had walked in God's house. Alas, again, we say, fickle and treacherous. It's human nature, fickle and treacherous. And if we're gonna be honest, it's our own nature as well. We can look at other people and say, boy, are they fickle, they're treacherous, but guard your own heart as well. It's lurking there within, just trying to get out fickleness, treacherousness. David's response, he immediately turns to prayer. Now David was more afraid of Ahithopel's wisdom than he was of Absalom's daring. Hithopel's wisdom, prayer should always be the believer's first resource. First resource. David says, I pray, turn the counsel of Hithopel in the foolishness. David's plans, David instructs Hushai, the archite. It came to pass that when David was come to the top of the mount where he worshipped, we'll come back to that in a second, he worshipped God. Behold, Hushai met, the archite, met him with his coat rent and earth upon his head, upon whom David said, if thou passest on with me, then thou shall be a burden unto me. But if thou return to the city and say unto Absalom, Santa Absalom, I will be thy servant. I will be thy servant, O King, as I have been thy father's servant. Hitherto, so will, David says, so will I now also be thy servant. Then mayst thou for me defeat the council of Ahithopel. Did you catch that? David is asking Ahithopel to lie. to lie for him, to deceive, to go back and deceive Absalom, and say, I'll serve you, I'll serve you, but defeat his counsel, Hushai. David just prayed, oh Lord, turn the counsel of Hithopel into foolishness, and now to Hushai he says, go there and deceive Absalom, deceive him. Wow. Feign allegiance. Feign allegiance. David asks Hushai, in a sense, to become a spy in Absalom's camp. He says, he also says, Verse 34, verse 35, and hast thou not there with thee Zadok, Abathar the priest? Therefore it shall be that what thing, soever, thou shalt hear of the king's house, and thou shalt tell to Zadok and Abathar the priest, behold, they have there with them their two sons, and they'll bring me news, David says. David asks, who shall I hear to become a spy in Absalom's camp? At first glance, It sounds like a really admirable strategy. I mean, after David, David's a man of brilliance when it comes to military tactics. We think, David, this is brilliant. Send Hushai in there to defeat Ahithopel's council. You know, and we know the rest of the story, right? If you've read ahead, it worked. It worked. It worked beautifully, didn't it? But the fact that it worked does not mean that God approved. The fact that it worked does not mean God approved. Can you get that? Can you understand that? The fact that it worked does not mean God, does God ever approve of a lie? Does God ever approve of a lie? Does God ever approve of deceit? No, no, and no. Matthew Henry, you know, there has to be somebody who speaks up, right? There has to be somebody who speaks up. Matthew Henry says how this gross dissimulation, that's a big word for fat lie, How this gross dissimulation can be justified as a stratagem in war, I do not see. Praise the Lord, Matthew, Henry. Someone has to speak up against this lie. It's not right. It's not right. How this gross dissimulation can be justified as a stratagem in war, I do not see. David, here may I say, has stumbled spiritually. Stumbled. David had prayed, Lord, defeat the council of Hethepel, turn his council into foolishness, but David's not quite trusting the Lord to do that. He says, well, plan B. Plan B is a Hethepel, now that you've showed up, a Hethepel, go back and be a spy and lie and defeat the council of Hethepel, just in case plan A doesn't work. just in case the Lord doesn't come through. David, what are you doing? David, you know how hard it is not to try to help God out a little bit. How difficult it is. We're all tempted to do that. Help God out a little bit, right? Oh, boy. David stumbled spiritually. And he writes a psalm. We're gonna look at this, I think, next week. Psalm chapter three, upon reaching the top of Olivet. We'll look at this next week. David worships, it says in verse 32, that we skipped over a moment ago. It came to pass, and when David was come to the top of the Mount, top of the Mount of Olives, I've been there, look down, all you see is a giant graveyard, amen? A giant graveyard, all the way down to the side of Mount Olives, a giant graveyard, and then up, then you see the Temple Mount over there, because the Jews all want to be buried on the Mount of Olives. For some reason, I'm not quite, don't remember why, but they all want to be buried there. It's not because Christ prayed there at all, but a giant graveyard. Anyway, there was, I don't know if it was a graveyard of David's time, but he's at the top and he worships. Matthew Henry says, David weeping, barefooted, a penitent, Matthew Henry says, weeping must not hinder worship. Weeping must not hinder worship. We may, I love a couple of quotes I got here. We may worship God in a minor key as truly as in a major key. Weeping should not hinder worship in a minor key. You could still come to the house of God even in mourning and worship him, perhaps more so in a minor key. We may worship God in the valley of humiliation just as well as on the mountain of jubilation. David had sent the ark back to Jerusalem. He could no longer freely go to the tabernacle anymore, but he could still worship on the mountain. He could still worship. Some commentators have suggested that this was in fact when David wrote, Psalm 3, maybe not that very moment. As you worship, maybe he did. I don't know how David wrote Psalm 3, whether he jotted down a few notes, whether he wrote the whole thing straight out, or whether he wrote it later. But it's been said of Psalm 3, and I'll close with this, by Comptator, none of the Psalms, none of the Psalms, besides Psalm 3, more remarkably evidences the triumph of David's faith out of the depths of affliction and chastisement. No other psalm more remarkably evidenced as a triumph of David's faith out of the depths of affliction and chastisement. And Lord willing, on our next lesson, we'll look at Psalm 3. So I hope you come back. But that won't be for two weeks, the week after Thanksgiving. Next Sunday morning, Hunter, and I've forgotten his last name, but our intern, summer intern from last year, will be visiting with us. And he will be teaching the Sunday school class, in part, to fulfill some of his requirements Heartland, yeah, at Heartland, where he's a student, second, third-year student now, second-year, second-year student. He's a second-year student at Heartland. So he'll be back, so it'll be our privilege to have our summer intern back next week, and then the following week we'll return to Life of David and we'll pick up with Psalm 3. Let's look