26/4/2014
S: Psalm 3
A psalm of David, regarding the time David fled from his son Absalom.
O lord, I have so many enemies;
so many are against me.
So many are saying,
“God will never rescue him!”
But you, O lord, are a shield around me;
you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.
I cried out to the lord,
and he answered me from his holy mountain.
I lay down and slept,
yet I woke up in safety,
for the lord was watching over me.
I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies
who surround me on every side.
Arise, O lord!
Rescue me, my God!
Slap all my enemies in the face!
Shatter the teeth of the wicked!
Victory comes from you, O lord.
May you bless your people.
O: David was very much at fault for why Absalom rebelled against him. When Amnon raped Absalom's sister Tamar, David didn't take action. Eventually Absalom murdered Amnon in revenge. Because of that, Absalom fled. Eventually, David allowed Absalom back from exile, but refused to see him. All this caused Absalom to come to hate his father, though David was generally a good king.
So Absalom engineered a coup and David had to flee for his life. It was during this period that he wrote this psalm. In spite of the problem originating in his own negligence, he still trusted God, and God did deliver him eventually.
A: We are not perfect, just like David. We mess up. But David ultimately was committed to the Lord. That was why the Lord saved him in spite of all his messing up along the way. Yes, David had to suffer the consequences of his sin. But ultimately, he was saved.
So when we mess up, we must not flee from God. God is beneficent and merciful, as the Arabic greeting "بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم" says. He desires our renewal and repentance. So, when we mess up, we should not assume God is against us for good. We must repent and get back to relying on God, as David did.
P: Father in heaven, we thank You for Your mercy. In Jesus' name, amen.
Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)
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