Watch this lesson on YouTube, or listen to it here.    

Intro

1) Ps. 1 – This was a picture of the blessed life.

2) Ps. 2 – This is a picture of God’s unshakable kingdom.

3) Now, we are introduced to problems (many, many many), and worse…

vv. 1-2 – David’s problem: Hurt, not fear.

1) Everything about this is bad. David has many, many, many problems.

A)   “One can almost sense the panic as the psalmist, turning this way and that, seeking a way out, sees only the multitude of enemies pressing ever closer, about to overwhelm. Perhaps the image is of being tightly bound and unable to escape—something like what the victim of the boa constrictor experiences as the relentless coils draw ever tighter, cutting off escape and crushing life.”[1]

B) But I don’t think this psalm is about fear from enemies. I think it’s about David’s broken heart.

1) Heading: “A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.” (2 Sam. 15-17)

2) 2 Sam. 15:12-14 – There were a lot of people rising up against David.

3) 2 Sam. 18:5 – “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.”

4) 2 Sam. 18:33 – David’s sorrow.

C) We can read this psalm and learn about how to respond in hard times, but I think this psalm is best for navigating personal hurt and a broken heart and all the stress that comes with that.

2) v. 2 – “There is no salvation for him in God”

A)   e.g. 2 Sam. 16:5-8 – Shimei cursed David on his way out of town.

B) Options

1) Can not – ESVSB – “…his sins are so bad, they imply, that God cannot save him.”

2) Will not – Goldingay – “These adversaries declare, “There is no deliverance for him in God.” Perhaps they do not think that God is active in the world, but more likely (like Job’s friends) they do believe that God is real but think they have reason to conclude that God will certainly not deliver the likes of this person.”

C) I’m calling attention to this because physical hurt is awful, but the things that happen in our minds are sometimes just as bad. We can get ourselves into a bad place by listening to these kinds of words: You’re not good enough, God doesn’t care about you, There’s no way out of this.

vv. 3-4 – “But you, O Lord…”

1) v. 3 – “But you…”

A)   “You” is emphatic in Hebrew. The pronoun (You) is used instead of just being within the verb.

B) David’s solution is to compare his many, many, many problems to God. He is about to use twice as many words to express his confidence in God than he did his lament.

2) Dale Ralph Davis: What kind of God is Yahweh? Four things:

A)   A protecting God (“a shield about me”)

1) In v. 2 the enemies said, “There is no salvation for him in God.”

2) Here, David says, “Yahweh is a shield around him.”

3) Others: 18:2; 28:7

4) 91:1-4 – My favorite protection psalm.

B) A sufficient God (“my glory”)

1) Davis – “…a term that connotes the ideas of weightiness, substance, wealth. His kingdom is taken from him, but Yahweh is his glory.”

2) NET Notes – “The psalmist affirms that the Lord is his source of honor, i.e., the one who gives him honor in the sight of others.”

3) cf. 2 Cor. 12:7-10 – Paul was in a similar kind of situation as David. He didn’t like it, but he was able to be content because God was his true goal and what he wanted, and he had that.

C)   A restoring God (“the lifter of my head”)

1) I can see a case for this restoration as what actually happened in David’s story. Absalom was defeated and God restored him.

2) Given the situation, however, I’m guessing the “lifting of his head” is a reference more to his heart than his kingdom.

(a)   cf. Gen. 4:5-7 – Cain’s face fell.

(b)   cf. Ps. 51:7-12 – David’s request after he confessed about his sin with Bathsheba.

D)   An accessible God (“I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill.”)

1) Deut. 4:7

2) Ps. 34:17-18

vv. 5-6 – Who gives peace

1) v. 5 – “I lay down and slept”

A)   Maybe this is God’s protection while David sleeps.

B) Maybe it is a calm heart that allows David to fall asleep in the first place.

1) cf. 4:8

2) Davis – “The definitive relief had not yet come. David does not have peace from turmoil but peace in it.”[2]

C) Interesting note: Monday after this lesson, a woman gave another perspective. She said, “When I’m feeling depressed all I want to do is sleep.”

2) v. 6 – “I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.”

A)   Compare this to the many, many, many in vv. 1-2

vv. 7-8 - Plea

1) v. 7 – “Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God!”

A)   “Arise” is the same root at “rising” in v. 1. Many are rising up against David, so he asks God to rise us for him.

1) Our plea in suffering is for God to act against those who are creating the suffering for us.

B) In v. 2, David’s enemies said there is no salvation for him. David is calling for God’s salvation.

C) In v. 3b, God was the lifter of David’s head. Now, David is asking God to strike his enemies in their heads. 

2) v. 8 – This last verse is instruction for the reader. David has said throughout this psalm, “Here’s my situation, and this is how I handle it. Now, you need to learn that God is where salvation is found.”

A)   v. 8b – “your blessing be on your people”

1) I really like this ending. David’s prayer is not only for his own salvation, but for God’s blessing on his people so that they may not suffer as he is.

2) Davis – “It’s as if David said, ‘Lord, it’s not just my emergency, my fear, my enemies—but these situations are the lot of your people; let your blessing, your saving help also flow to them in their troubles.’”[3]

B) This is a great practical picture of thinking about others even while in the midst of personal suffering.

Conclusion

1) When your problems are many, many, many; and especially when they are the deep cutting kind that wreck your heart…

2) The way forward is to compare those problems to God, who is…

A)   A protecting God

B) A sufficient God

C) A restoring God (“lifter of our head” also refers to our heart)

D)   And an accessible God that we can approach in our times of need.

3) Because of God we can sleep at night, and we don’t have to be afraid of our problems.

4) So, what do I do? In the same way that my problems of have risen up against me, I ask God to rise up and save me.

5) And, we don’t forget about others in our suffering. Just because my pain makes me uniquely aware of myself doesn’t mean that other people stop existing around me.

[1] Wilson, NIVAC

[2] Davis, Dale Ralph. 2010. Way of the Righteous in the Muck of Life: Psalms 1–12. Scotland, UK: Christian Focus Publications.

[3] Davis, Dale Ralph. 2010. Way of the Righteous in the Muck of Life: Psalms 1–12. Scotland, UK: Christian Focus Publications.