<p>Question: How much sleep have you lost this week?</p> <p><strong>Context</strong>: “<em>A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.</em>” (Psalm 3:title, ESV)</p> <p>This Psalm was probably written during the events recorded in 2 Samuel 15-16. David is on the run. There’s a death warrant on his head. His own trusted advisors have switched teams for his treacherous son Absolom. He is not sleeping in the palace, but out in the open, no bed, a rock his pillow. The only way he can get a wink of sleep in such circumstances: “Yahweh sustained me” (v.5b).</p> <p><strong>Thesis</strong>: God sustains with His protection &amp; peace.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">The <span style="text-decoration: underline">Many</span> Without God (1-2)</h2> <p><strong>Their Amount Grows (1)</strong></p> <p><em>¹O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me;</em></p> <p>“Many…many are rising,” or increasing. Do not underestimate your enemies. How many are the enemies of the Christian? How wise in evil are they?! Then again, even on enemy who is determined can cause us fits.</p> <p><strong>Their Animosity Speaks (2)</strong></p> <p><em>²many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah</em></p> <p>These many opponents “say <em>to</em> my soul” (the <em>lamed</em> preposition present). These are words which cut deep into the soul.  “There is no salvation, etc.,” Salvation here, and the assumed absence of it, connects with vs. 7-8 with the petition for salvation (“save me”) and the affirmation (“salvation belongs to YHWH”). When the enemies “say to my soul” their wicked lies, this is when God “says to my soul, ‘I am your salvation’” (35.3).</p> <p>&#8220;Selah&#8221; is the pause button in Psalms. You pause &amp; reflect on what has been sung. </p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">The Minority With God (3-6)</h2> <p><strong>God Protects (3)</strong></p> <p><em>³But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.</em></p> <p>“Shield” is used in battle for protection. So the metaphor speaks to God’s protection. Not just a hand shield, but a shield which covers the whole person. Even though the believer is alone with God, God is more than sufficient. “My glory” is David’s way of identifying God as the defender of his royal dignity. Though he’s been dethroned, God will once more lift his head. He can still hold his head high despite adverse circumstances.</p> <p><strong>God Answers Prayer (4)</strong></p> <p><em>⁴I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah</em></p> <p>David is away from the tabernacle, away from the place of worship, away from the Ark of the Covenant; i.e., away from the “holy hill.” Yet, tho he is far away, Yahweh heard when David “cried aloud” (couldn’t keep it in) &amp; “answered…from His holy hill.” Tho physically far away, God was near to him. Similarly, God is near to the believer today: to answer!</p> <p>Again &#8220;selah&#8221; &#8211; pause &amp; think about what has been sung. </p> <p><strong>God Sustains (5)</strong></p> <p><em>⁵I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.</em></p> <p>Such a predicament would probably result in someone tossing &amp; turning on their bed. Or losing sleep, staying up, watchful because you never know when the enemy could attack. Yet David’s confidence is in God. So he laid down &amp; slept, seemingly a restful night. And he saw the light of the new day! “I woke again.” How was he able to do this? “Yahweh sustained me.” Prayer led to a restful night sleep. Time spent in prayer assured David of the power &amp; protection of God, of the sustaining provision of God. Like David, let us seek the Lord in prayer, commit ourselves to His merciful care, and rest in the arms of the one who keeps new Israel. He never slumbers nor sleeps.</p> <p><strong>God Omnipotent (6)</strong></p> <p><em>⁶I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.</em></p> <p>10,000 enemies could not withstand God! David arose rested, healthy, alive, &amp; unafraid of legions of enemies. But let us not be mistaken: we do not overcome through military might, but through prayer &amp; confidence in God.</p> <p>We live in a dog eat dog world. There is a veritable world of enemies, human &amp; angelic. The world is full of devils! We are tempted to lose sleep over such circumstances. But God Himself is who is our Protector. We need the confidence that God answers our prayers. Our strength wanes, but the Lord sustains us. We have a prayer-hearing God whose peace passes understanding.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Prayer (7-8)</h2> <p><strong>Invocation &amp; Imprecation (7)</strong></p> <p><em>⁷Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.</em></p> <p>All God needs to do is stand up (“Arise”), and the fight is over. While David got a good night sleep, he’s still on the run. He still needs God to restore him, deliver him to the kingdom. He needs God to “break the teeth of the wicked.” Strike their face, their mouth. And God did! God cause the council of Ahithophel to be seen as foolish &amp; caused Absalom to listen to bad advice which resulted in Absalom’s eventual downfall.</p> <p><strong>God&#8217;s Sovereignty in Salvation (8)</strong></p> <p><em>⁸Salvation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people! Selah</em></p> <p>Salvation, all of it, belongs to Yahweh. He is the Author or Beginner of it. He is the Finisher or Completer of it. In the physical conflict within the kingdom, it was not going to be human judgment which prevailed, but God’s salvation (of David) thru judgment (of Absalom). In spiritual matters it is not human judgment which decides them, but God who determines as He wills.</p> <p>Once more, &#8220;selah&#8221; &#8211; pause &amp; ponder over the sovereign power of God. </p> <p>Pray in faith. Cast all your cares upon the Lord. Rest in peace knowing &amp; trusting His divine protection. Rise in the morning giving glory to the One who sustains you. That you awaken each morning to continue to enjoy life is occasion for (1) renewed devotion to God, &amp; (2) is proof positive of God’s goodness.</p>