found him who satisfies. A little bit of a theme tonight on trusting the Lord in our hymns. I'm going to turn tonight to Psalm 3, the little story behind why we're doing psalms tonight. At the beginning of the week began to prepare two main series, a message from Ephesians and a message from the Gospel of Mark on the Olivet Discourse. And Wednesday came with the shutdown and it looked like we weren't going to be able to get to church on Sunday, and so we were faced with the prospect of a couple of Zoom meetings. And so I thought, well, what will I do for Zoom? I'd rather wait to be back in person to continue with the main series. And so Thursday into Friday, I was planning towards doing two messages from the Psalms. I thought, well, we'll be on Zoom, and the Psalms is a little more devotional, a little more low-key, you might say. We'll do Psalm 3 and Psalm 4. We've been doing a series on the Psalms, or we recently started a series on the Psalms on Wednesday night. And so I thought, well, that'll work well for Sunday. And then, of course, the massive reversal came. And so it was time to change gears again. So scrambled all day Saturday and then up early this morning to get the Ephesians message done. But that's why we're in Psalms tonight. I thought, well, we'll just have to go ahead with at least one Psalm message tonight. And I believe you will be understanding people, won't you? Okay. Amen. Good. All right. Psalm 3, as we look at the subject, triumph through trials. Now, interestingly, we actually went through this Psalm during the last lockdown period, went through in some of our home meetings, so this will be familiar territory for some of you, but since we are working our way consecutively now through the Book of Psalms on Wednesday evenings, I thought it'd be good just to go back through Psalm 3. It'll be a good refresher for some, and hopefully something new for those who have not yet heard it. So triumph through trials. We'll look at Psalm 3 and verse 1 through 8. We'll read the Word of God together, shall we? And why don't we read it all together? All right, follow my lead on the count of three from verse 1. 1, 2, 3. Lord, how are they increased that trouble me? Many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul there is no help for him in God, Selah. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me, my glory and the lift up of mine head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill Sila. I laid me down and slept. I awaked, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O Lord. Save me, O my God, for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheekbone. Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord. Thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word tonight and for the opportunity to be here together. Lord, we trust in your overriding providence. Lord, with the message for tonight, we pray that it will meet the need of the hour. Lord, I don't know the needs of all the people before me here, Father, but you do. And Lord, you know that trials and tests are things that come our way so frequently in the Christian life, and so we need these principles, these helps from your word, Lord, that we might be equipped like David of old to have faith in thee in the midst of those difficult circumstances. So, Lord, we pray for your blessing tonight upon your word that you administer to us. Help the preacher now, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Psalm 3, you'll notice there's a little historic inscription under the heading there of Psalm 3. It says, a Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom, his son. And we have a number of historical notes in some of the Psalms, as I remember, they all relate to the life of David. And so sometimes when we study a Psalm, we may not be familiar with the context surrounding the writing of the psalm or we may have a bit of an idea but not be too sure. But it is helpful with some of the psalms we have these little historical notes that pinpoint exactly on the timeline of Old Testament history when the psalm was written. So what I want to do is just give a little bit of a background, a little bit of a reminder of what was taking place in the life of David when he wrote this psalm and that will help us in understanding it more significantly. And so this psalm was written, wasn't it, during a deep trial in the life of David when he was fleeing for his life from Absalom, his son. And you can read about this in the book of 2 Samuel. And 2 Samuel 15 verse 12, for example, reads, And Absalom sent for Hithophel, the Giloite, David's counsellor, from his city, even from Gilo, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for the people increased, continually with Absalom. And so this represented a searing and difficult trial in the life of David, the leader of Israel, the king of Israel. Absalom, we believe, was bitter towards David over his mishandling of the situation with Amnon and his sister Tamar. You can read about that in 2 Samuel 13, a tragic account of Amnon's violation of his sister Tamar. David, unfortunately, did not have a strong disciplinary response to what Amnon had done. He gave a verbal rebuke but did not really deal with it in a firm way. And I wonder whether that had something to do with the fact that David had had a moral failing in his own life. And sometimes when someone has had a moral failure in their own life, they can feel disqualified to deal with the moral failure in someone else. And maybe there's a little lesson in that for you. You may have had failures in the past in your own walk with God, but if you've dealt with those with the blood of Christ, that does not mean now that you should not have an appropriate response biblically to sin in someone else's life. hopefully if you've had a failure in your own life that's going to keep you very humble and you're not going to deal with that in pride but this was the issue with David is that he really did not handle this situation very well at all and so even though the while even while the Bible does not explicitly state that Absalom was bitter we can certainly see a bitter spirit develop in Absalom towards his father David remember the story of how Absalom murders Amnon and flees and and five years transpire before he is restored back to David. Sadly, those five years did not heal the wound, as it were, in Absalom's heart. Sometimes people wrongly say, well, time heals all wounds. That's not true. It's time plus the grace of God that heals our wounds. It is staggering that sometimes people can go for years and years, many years can elapse and still they can talk about a wound or a hurt from their life five, 10, 15, 20 years ago as if it occurred just the day before. And so time does not, in and of itself, cure our wounds. It's a help, time is a help, but we need time plus the grace of God working in our lives to keep us from bitterness. This whole issue of bitterness is such an important thing to be warned about in the Christian life. We are instructed, aren't we, in Hebrews 12 to look diligently, lest we fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled. And so we see that in the life of Absalom. He had this root of bitterness. He had a difficult circumstance that took place in his life, a very hurtful circumstance in relation to his sister, a very unjust circumstance, but he failed to respond by drawing on the grace of God. And as a result of that, a seed of bitterness was sown in Absalom's heart that later would defile many and reap a very bitter harvest in his life and in the life of the nation. So remember that after those five years, Absalom comes back and he begins to subvert the nation behind David's back and he really embarks on a kissing and cuddling ministry at the gates of the temple, not the temple, the gates of the courtyard of the king. And people would come, as they would in those days, to have their affairs or their disputes brought before the king for his wisdom and for his judgment. And Absalom would literally hug and kiss them. A bit of people can be quite affectionate. But anyway, this kissing, cuddling ministry, and, you know, oh, if only someone was here to attend to your needs, though your needs are good and right, but there's nobody here. And if only I was, you know, in the position, I would look after you. And so, very subtly and very surely, Absalom begins to poison the hearts of the people of Israel against David. This gets to a point where David has to flee Jerusalem for his life. The people increased continually with Absalom, 2 Samuel 15 and verse 12 says. And it's in the midst of this Syrian trial, while David is on the run, when he has fled from Absalom, it is during this time of being a fugitive again, a fugitive in his own land, a fugitive on account of his own son's bitterness, that David composed this psalm in the midst of his trial. It's amazing, isn't it? How God can take someone's trial and bring such sweetness out of it. It's amazing, isn't it, how some of the greatest hymns we sing have come out of bitter experiences in people's lives and hurtful experiences and damaging experiences in people's lives. And this is what we see in the life of David, that though he was going through this very difficult and searing trial, yet he was able to respond with God's grace and compose this wonderful psalm that is still an encouragement to us this day. And so I want you to note several things about David's psalm here, what he wrote. In verse 1 and 2, I would note David's problem. David's problem. David speaks to the Lord about his problem. He says, Many are they that rise up against me, many there be which say of my soul, there is no help for him in God, Selah." David's problem. David is here pouring out his heart to the Lord about his situation. I noticed several things about this. We noticed that David was clearly distressed. David was distressed. Lord, how are they increased that trouble me? Do you see the exclamation mark there? That expresses feeling, doesn't it? That expresses some potency. David is feeling this. These are the exclamation points of the Christian life, aren't they? Do you ever meet those times in your life, those times of peak strain and stress when you feel at your wits end? There's that exclamation mark, there's that desperation as it were, there's that distress on account of the situation that is around you. That's the picture we have in this verse. David was very distressed. And let's be honest tonight, there are distressing and troublesome things in the Christian life. There are difficult things we have to go through. There are challenges. The word troubled here that David uses literally means to be in a narrow or tight place. That's a good description of trials, isn't it? You feel hemmed in. You feel pushed in, you feel crowded in by your circumstances. It's like you have very little room to move. Have you ever felt that way? You know, it's very similar, isn't it, to the New Testament word, tribulation. Romans 5.3 tells us that we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope. Hope maketh not a shame, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. That word tribulation comes from the root word to press, and it was a word used of the pressing of grapes. So to go through a trial or a tribulation is to be pressed as a grape would be pressed and squeezed in order to let out the juice, to press hard upon. Now circumstances can make us feel that way, can't they? It's nothing like some pressure to see what kind of juice is in us. It's the old teabag illustration of Brother Jim Berg. It's a very good illustration. The hot water simply draws out what is already in the teabag. The issue is not so much in the hot water surrounding the teabag, but the hot water simply reveals the inner character of the teabag, what is in the teabag. And that's how it is in our lives, isn't it? When the pressure comes on, when the trial surrounds us, it's often a time where we get a real picture of who we are and just how weak we are. And what do you do when you're in a difficult place like this, when you're in this narrow, tight place? Well, I think we see in David's example that you take it to the Lord in prayer. David is communicating with the Lord very openly and very plainly about his situation. David is pouring out his heart to the Lord. Psalm 62 verse 8 says, Psalm 142 verse 2, I poured out my complaint before him, I showed before him my trouble. That's very therapeutic for the soul to do that. to bring those knees before the Lord, to pour them out before the Lord. We sing to him, don't we? Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear. Why? All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. So David was distressed, but he was speaking to God about his distress and his problem. Number two, David was opposed. David was opposed. Lord, how are they increased that trouble me? Many are they that rise up against me. David was facing significant opposition in his life at this time, wasn't he? He was a godly leader. We know David had his faults, but he was a godly leader and to be a godly leader like David means many enemies, many. Many are they that rise up against me. This was a tremendous challenge that had come against the leadership of David. The majority, in many ways, were against his leadership. You say, well, the majority is always right. Not always. Not always. If it's an attack against a man of God who is simply endeavouring to do God's will in God's way, then the many could actually be very much in the wrong. So David was facing this intense period of opposition in his walk with God. Now what made this trial for David so much harder was the fact that this opposition was coming from those closest to him. It's one thing, isn't it, to take a blow from the enemy out there. It's one thing to cop a dart from Satan, but it's something about when the enemy strikes a blow very close to home. This is David's son, remember. Can we think of a trial any more searing and more difficult than this, to have your own son pursuing your very life? Men like Hithefeld, who had been a councillor for many years, defecting to the other side. This was a grievous time before David. David was opposed. We too can expect opposition as we seek to walk with God. Number three, David was mocked. David was mocked, verse two, many there be which say of my soul, there is no help for him in God, Selah. We note that it was not just David's physical life that was under attack, but his spiritual life. His faith was under siege. His faith was under attack. Many there be which save my soul. There is no help for him in God, Selah. It's amazing, isn't it? When there's a time of trial in a godly person's life, it seems that there are the many who are ready to be a part of the pylon, ready to add their voices of condemnation in that situation. Very few are those, it seems, that come alongside and help. and be a blessing in a man of God's trial. Many there be which say of my soul, there is no help for him in God. Essentially what they're saying is, David, God is finished with you. God has abandoned you. The word help means deliverance. They're saying God is not going to deliver you, David. There's no help for him in God. Interesting, it's almost like they're not even saying this directly to David, but this is what is being said of him at this time. These are the words that are being pumped around the nation. There's no help for him in God. This is the slander of the enemy. You know, when we're in trials, we need to bear in mind that the accuser of the brethren is never too far away, is he? And coming alongside you in that time and saying, do you understand that... Listen, obviously God's finished with you as far as your Christian life is concerned. Or the whisper may be, there's no more ministry for you. Can you see what's happening to your boy here? It's all over for you. Let's be real. When we're going through a trial, the whisper of the enemy is never far away to try and whisper such things to us. He's the accuser of the brethren. And may I just say that when people are going through trials, we need to be very careful as God's people that we don't unwittingly pick up the whisper of the accuser of the brethren and pass it on. How many times do we see that happen? There's far too many Christians, it seems, ready to help the accuser of the brethren out. And so we need to be careful. This is what David was going through, David's problem. Notice number two though, David's perspective in verse three to six, David had some perspective in his trial. And don't we need perspective? But thou, O Lord, we looked at the word but this morning, didn't we? But God, praise God for that word that occurs at key points in the Bible. This is the problem, this is what's going on in my life, these are the difficulties. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill, Selah. I laid me down and slept. I awaked, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set themselves against me round about you. So what do I do when I'm going through a trial, when I'm hemmed in, when I'm pressed upon by my circumstances? What do I do when the majority, the many, have turned against me or they are passing on the whispers of the accuser of the brethren? What do I do? Encourage yourself in the Lord. So what we see David doing is though his faith was attacked, he now affirms his faith with great confidence and we note that David was God's help in five areas, you might like to note these down. Number one, God was his protection. What was God to David during this time? Well, God was his protection, verse three, but thou, O Lord, art a shield for me. What's a shield? Or what is the function of a shield? What type of weapon is it? Defensive, isn't it? What a wonderful picture. God, he says, is my shield against the attacks of the enemy. The shield goes out in front, doesn't it? Something that's held out in front as to ward off the darts and the spears and the thrusts of the sword. And so the picture here is of God himself being the shield for David in this time of protecting him against the assaults of the enemy. And that's what we need. We actually, we need God to uphold us when we are under attack of the enemy. Psalm 91 verse 1 and 2 read, he that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in him will I trust. So God was David's protection. Number two, God was his comfort. Look back at verse three again. And David says that God is his glory. He is expressing that God was the object of his delight. To David, God is the most important person in existence, the most important one in his life. Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. What a wonderful picture this is of God's ministry of comfort in our lives. The picture of the lifting up of the head. The picture is of comfort given to one who is dejected and discouraged. It's very interesting to me that David uses this language because the Bible describes David in 2 Samuel 15 verse 30 as weeping with his head covered and barefoot. Can you see David there making his way out of Jerusalem? He's barefoot, he's weeping, his head is covered. You can see the picture, his head's probably hanging down in a measure of shame and he is broken hearted over what is going on in his life. But he said, at that time when my head was hung in sorrow and in the trial that I was in, he says, God, you were the lifter up of my head. You lifted my head, you comforted me. We know the Holy Spirit is the comforter, isn't he? John 14, he is the one who comes alongside, that's what the word comforter means, has the idea of to come alongside one. He comes alongside us, as it were, and encourages us and lifts us and strengthens us in those times of difficulty. It's important you learn to get comfort from the Lord in your Christian life. You know why? Because sometimes comfort won't be coming readily from people. Now I do think as Christians we should endeavour to comfort one another, shouldn't we? I think it would be good if we could align ourselves a bit more often with the ministry of the Holy Spirit and endeavour to come alongside someone and be a channel of encouragement and a channel of comfort to others. But if you are only looking to other believers to comfort you, you will often be disappointed in your life and that is why it is so important to look to the Lord. and to draw your comfort from him. David knew what it was to do that. You remember when Ziklag was burned and David's wives and many of the people under his control there or his oversight were captured by the Amalekites. The Bible tells us at that time that David encouraged himself in the Lord. And that's what we need to learn to do, encourage ourselves in the Lord. So God was David's comfort. Number three, God was his help. Look at verse four, I cried unto the Lord with my voice and he heard me out of his holy hill Sila. You see the sequence here, the blessed sequence, I cried, he heard. That's a blessing, isn't it? I cried, says David, he heard. It's good to be reminded of that because sometimes in our trials, we think, does God hear? Is God there? Well, David said, I cried out to God and I know that he heard. And God hears you as well in your trial. Number four, God was his rest. Verse five, I laid me down and slept. I awaked, for the Lord sustained me. I laid me down and slept. You say, okay, David had a sleep. So what? Well, firstly, physical rest is a good thing to do, is a good, is a good, a good, a good practice when you're going through a tough time, try and get some rest. But think about the context here, David is on the run. I don't know about you, if I was out, you know, in the field somewhere or forest trying to hide from my embittered son who's out to kill me, I would find it a bit hard to sleep, wouldn't you? every crack of the twig would make you jump, I think, if at night you're lying there and the natural thing would be to be very alert and be anxious and worried about danger that could be lurking behind any tree or shadow. But here we find David resting. That's a very significant thing. To be able to even just get some physical rest in the midst of a searing trial is a great gift from the Lord. and not to be taken for granted, just to get some rest. The Lord knows our weaknesses and how we need at times just some peace so we can rest and then get up to face it again. David rested. He slept. He says he awaked. For the Lord sustained me. This word sustained is a precious word. It means to be upheld. In fact the word is used, it's quite fascinating, this Hebrew word is used all through the book of Leviticus to describe the priests as they would lay their hands on a sacrifice. So to be sustained has the idea in the word to lay one's hands upon. Do you get the picture there? To be sustained by God is to have his hands hold you up. It's to have his hands touch your life in that trial, to have his hands bear you up. What a beautiful picture that is. To lay one, to take hold of, it's like God takes hold of me in that trial. God comes to me and he puts his hands upon me and he strengthens me, he enables me, he upholds me. That's what the word sustained means. Have you ever been sustained? through a trial. It's amazing isn't it how Christians can go through so many things and yet be sustained, I'm sustained, the Lord's sustaining, God's sustaining grace. Amazing, isn't it, how God can do that? I tell you what, I wouldn't want to be without the Lord, would you, in a time of trial, a time of test. I mean, the world out there, they just, as much as they might try and put on a brave face without the Lord, without the comfort of the Holy Spirit, without that sustaining ministry of the Lord, it would be just a most terrible thing in their lives, I believe. So the word means to put one's hands upon, it also means to uphold, the word is used that way, Psalm 145 verse 14, the Lord upholdeth, same word as the word sustained here. The Lord upholdeth all that fall and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. What are you going through tonight? I don't know, but I can tell you this, God is able to sustain you. I await for the Lord sustained me. Number five, God was David's security. Verse six, I will not be afraid of 10,000s of people that have set themselves against me round about. I will not be afraid, says David. How can you say this, David? Your son is after you. Much of the nation against you, David knew something of his God. I think by this stage, David had proven the Lord a few times, hadn't he? All the way back there as a shepherd boy. You know, the smaller victories in the past can help us with facing the bigger challenges of the present. As we look back and see God's faithfulness to us back then, That's how David was able to face Goliath. He'd already proved God with the lion and the bear. And then he was able to prove God with Goliath, a much bigger challenge. Now, later in David's life, he is facing perhaps the greatest challenge in his life to date, probably the greatest challenge in his entire life. And yet, he knew that God was with him. Fear is a very natural response, isn't it, to... that situation where we're troubled, where we're hemmed in, where we're pressed as a grape would be pressed in a wine press. When we're surrounded by hostile circumstances, fear is a natural response of the human heart, and yet we find that David had this sense of security in the Lord to where he could say even if there were 10,000s of people surrounding him, he would not be afraid. Well, if the Lord's on your side, there is no need to be afraid, is there? After all, if God is on your side, then you have a majority. That brings us now, thirdly, to David's plea. Verse seven and eight, David's plea. Arise, O Lord. Save me, O my God, for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheekbone. Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord. Thy blessing is upon thy people. Sigla. David's plea, we notice there is a prayer for help. A prayer for help, arise O Lord, save me O my God. Interesting wordplay in the chapter here, the word arise is from the same root word as the word rise in verse 1. Verse one, David says, many are they that rise up against me. Then he says, arise, O Lord, same word. So the picture is that David is asking God to meet the challenge in his life. David's enemies were rising up against him, and so he asked God to rise up and to intervene and to meet that need. Prayer for help. We notice also though, it's a prayer of faith. A prayer of faith because we see in this verse, verse 7, an anticipation of victory on the part of David. Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God. Notice that this is in the past tense now. For thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheekbone. Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. This is the language of faith. Understand at this time, David is still on the run. David is still surrounded by enemies. But you say, well, how then, David, if the battle is not over yet, can you speak in terms of the battle already being concluded? How can you say that God has already smitten your enemies? How can you say that he's already broken the teeth of the ungodly? Well, this is the language of faith. Faith is such that it can lay hold, as it were, on the future and see the victory that God has in store. This is David's faith in God. He knew he was so confident of the outcome of this battle that he writes as if it has happened already. That's faith. We do know the outcome, don't we, in the end. God always wins the battle. But this is faith, this is faith in the battle, trusting God for the victory, trusting God for the conclusion. Yes, the battle in time still has to be fought. It's not over for David yet as far as this trial is concerned, but David by faith is able to see forward as it were, knowing the God he served and knowing that God would come through in his defence in that battle. It's interesting, isn't it, how often in the Old Testament, in the conquest of the Israelites, God would tell them that he had delivered the land into their hands before they even went and fought. The battle was already a foregone conclusion. God had already done the work, as it were, in the heavenlies. God had already secured the outcome of the battle. Yes, there was still a battle to fight, but as far as God was concerned, the battle was already concluded. This is the victory of faith. So David anticipates victory. David knows the character of God. Verse 8, salvation belongeth unto the Lord. In this context, salvation would refer to his rescue, his deliverance from the situation he finds himself in. Thy blessing, he says, is upon thy people, Selah. The word salvation is the word deliverance. It's the same word as the word help in verse two. Help, salvation, belongeth unto the Lord. David knew that God would be his help in that situation because his blessing is upon his people. David's plea. And so we see David's triumph through trials. Going through a trial tonight, difficult time, crowded in by your circumstances, pressed, strained. God is able to sustain you. God is your comfort. God is your help. Pour out your heart to him, turn to him, look into him in faith, and he will sustain you and bring you through. Let's bow for prayer tonight, shall we? Lord, we thank you for your word to us tonight, and we pray that you would seal these lessons to our hearts now, and that you would help any tonight, Lord, who are going through difficult and trying times, Lord, to look to you in faith and to trust you, we pray in Jesus' name, amen.