The Bible Recap - Day 136 (Psalm 3-4, 12-13, 28, 55) - Year 6

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible Recap. David has had a rough time lately, so his songs are going to reflect that. We open today with Psalm 3, which he wrote when he had to flee Jerusalem because of Absalom's attempt to steal the throne from him. The people he used to lead are now speaking ill of his soul. They're saying he's beyond saving. Not only is that hurtful to David personally, I'm sure, but it's also an affront to God's character.

Starting point is 00:00:37 God loves to save even the most wicked and vile. It displays his mercy and forgiveness. David has no idea how many people Absalom has turned against him, but it's at least in the hundreds, if not thousands, especially given all the people Absalom won over when he was flattering people at the city gates. So in verse 6, when David says, many thousands of people have set themselves against me all around, this doesn't seem to be hyperbole. Despite all that, David knows who God is. He trusts God and asks God to rescue him. These circumstances haven't dimmed the brightness of God's goodness to him. In Psalm 4, we see a lot of the same themes repeated, except this song was

Starting point is 00:01:18 written for corporate worship, not personal worship. So it's less specific to David's life than Psalm 3 is. This song expresses confidence in God and points out that the anger David feels for being mistreated personal worship, so it's less specific to David's life than Psalm 3 is. This song expresses confidence in God and points out that the anger David feels for being mistreated has to be submitted to God too. That's part of what it looks like to put your trust in God. He knows that ultimately, the nearness of God is where his peace will be found, not in circumstances. He finds more joy in knowing God

Starting point is 00:01:45 than all his enemies find in their prosperity and abundance. God can't be taken away like wine and grain and material blessings can, so David doesn't lie awake anxious at night about losing everything he has. He knows that ultimately, he has all that matters, so he can sleep peacefully. Psalm 12 talks about the utter lack of righteous people in the world. It seems like almost no one is faithful to God.

Starting point is 00:02:10 David is especially bothered by a few things. The lies people tell, the pride and arrogance of the people, and the way they ignore the plight of the poor and needy. God distances himself from liars and proud people, but mistreatment of the poor and needy tends to get his attention. So David expects God to be moved to action when people are oppressed.

Starting point is 00:02:30 He asked God to guard them from the wicked who have risen up all around them. Psalm 13 gives us another example of how these songs are an expression of feeling, but that these feelings don't always align with the truth about God. In this song, David accuses God of forgetting him. David feels forgotten, but God hasn't forgotten him.

Starting point is 00:02:50 David longs for the opportunity to feel God's nearness, to seek God's counsel. He feels desperate to have to be his own counselor. As someone who tends to lean on my own understanding, this serves as a good challenge to me. Then David ends with a reminder to his soul that hope is coming. He knows God is trustworthy, and he's going to praise God for what he's already done while he waits to see what God will do next.

Starting point is 00:03:16 Some of the same ideas about God's silence and deafness appear in Psalm 28 as well. David says that when God is distant, it feels like he's dying. That's what he's referring to in verse one when he says, "'If you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.'" The pit is another way of referencing the grave or the realm of the dead, much like how the word shield is used.

Starting point is 00:03:39 In addition to wanting the nearness of God again, David really, really wants the wicked to be punished. Our final song is Psalm 55, and so much of it seems well-suited to the scenario David finds himself in. Being betrayed by his son and his mentor and many of his people as well. He's fled his palace and his city, his son is attempting a coup, and he can't say for certain whether or not there is a bounty on his head. He wants to run,

Starting point is 00:04:05 or fly actually, away from it all. He prays an interesting prayer in verse 9. Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues. This reminds me of two things. First, it reminds me of the Tower of Babel, where God divided their tongues. He caused everyone to speak a different language and it caused confusion and they couldn't complete their mission. Second, it reminds me of David's prayer from yesterday in 2 Samuel 15, where he asked God to turn the counsel of Ahithophel to foolishness. He wanted God to either give Ahithophel bad advice to share with David's enemies, or to make his good advice unfruitful. This request for God to divide their tongues is ultimately a prayer for His enemies' plans to fail.

Starting point is 00:04:49 The hardest part about all this for David is that his enemies are people he considered friends. We've probably all been there. Jesus certainly knows what that's like. He had Judas so he can commiserate. David trusts God to humble his enemies, and he reminds himself in the meantime to trust God with the outcome.

Starting point is 00:05:09 Today, my God shot was in 28,9, where David said, "'Be their shepherd and carry them forever.'" Jesus called himself the good shepherd in John 10, and Psalm 23 says, "'The Lord is my shepherd.'" I love this picture. It's fitting that we would be compared to sheep.

Starting point is 00:05:28 They do have a lot of external enemies like thieves and wolves, but their most dangerous enemy, the enemy who is always present is themselves. The sheep is always with the sheep and sheep can't be trusted. They're foolish animals who have terrible eyesight and a short memory span. And the only way the sheep is safe from his outside enemies

Starting point is 00:05:50 and himself is if the shepherd is carrying him. David knows this. He was a shepherd. He knows what sheep are like. Be their shepherd and carry them forever. That's like praying. Protect them from their external enemies and protect them from themselves too. I bet David knows a lot about this. As tough as it was to go to battle against a giant or have King Saul trying to kill him, the worst things that have happened to him were the things he

Starting point is 00:06:17 initiated. Be their shepherd and carry them forever. Our good shepherd, he's where the joy is. You guys are the very best at spreading the word about TBR, and we love hearing your stories about how you started reading, then your kids started reading with you, then your husband joined in, then your cousins and their whole church joined in. Most people find out about us through word of mouth. That means there's a good chance that the people you invite to read with you might say yes. So, if you haven't invited someone to read the Bible with you yet, today is a great day.

Starting point is 00:06:52 And when you do invite them, can I offer you a pro tip? Have your friends start at the start. It may be easier for them to jump in where we currently are, but we really want them to understand the whole story. From the start, not the middle. That's why we do this chronologically, so we really want them to understand the whole story from the start, not the middle. That's why we do this chronologically, so we can follow the whole storyline. The plot is important.

Starting point is 00:07:11 So whether they plan on reading through the whole Bible or the New Testament, encourage them to start at the beginning of that section. We've lined up all the details for them on the Start page of our website, thebiblerecap.com, or click the link in the show notes. Ever find yourself at a loss for words when it comes to prayer? Hope Nation's Pastor Chad will guide you through those moments in his podcast, Talking to God. Join Pastor Chad to learn more about prayer movements and common topics that resonate

Starting point is 00:07:37 with your everyday needs. Click the link in the show notes to check it out.

The Bible Recap - Day 136 (Psalm 3-4, 12-13, 28, 55) - Year 6

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