Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many
are they that rise up against me.
2. Many , there be which say of my soul, There is
no help for him in God.Selah.
3 But thou ,O Lord , art a shield for me; my glory,
and the lifter of mine head.
4 I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard
me out of His holy hill. Selah.
5 I laid me down and slept; I awakened; for the Lord
sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of ten thousand of people,
that have set themselves against me round about.
7 Arise, O Lord; save me , O my God; for thou has
smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone ; thou hast broken
the teeth of the ungodly.
8 Salvation belongeth unto the Lord; thy blessing
is upon thy people. Selah.
My love of this Psalms is the equisite precise relevance
the light it shines upon life's events-as if to say ?Have I not
told you , do not be dismayed--Even as here David flees from his
rebellious son Absalom in the dead of night with a few faithful
followers, fording the brook Kedron to go hide so too Jesus passed
over Kedron when his own people were in rebellion against him
, and with a feeble band of followers he went to the garden of
Gethsemane-He too drank of the brook by the way , and therefore
doth He lift up the head . This Psalm by many is called THe MORNING
Psalm-may we ever wake with Holy confidence in our hearts Y and a song upon our lips.
Lord, how are they increased
that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.
2. Many , there be which say
of my soul, There is no help for him in God.Selah.--- David
complains to the Lord of the strong conspiracy even as the people
increased continually with Absalom while the faithful few towards
David diminished continually. It is enough that my beloved Absalom
is in rebellion against me , it is enough to break my heart ;
but lo! Ahithophel hath forsaken me , my faithful councellors
have turned their backs on me ; lo! my generals and soldiers have
deserted my standard. "How are they increased that trouble
me!"Troublers always comes in (3's) flocks. Sorrow hath a
numerous family ....? is any one out here
Lets here recall the insurmountable hosts that beset
Our Devine Redeemer. The legion of our sins , the armies of fiends
,the crowd of bodily pains , the host of spiritual sorrows and
all the allies of death and hell , set themselves in battle against
the Son of Man. O how precious to know and believe that he has
routed their host, and trodden them down in anger ! I myself is
angry, against my grain its bottled and buried within me but now
even now the agonizing verbalization is at natural sound to commune
with my Lord .They who would trouble us he has removed into captivity,
and those who would have risen up against us he has laid low .
The dragon lost his sting when he dashed it into the soul of Jesus,
There is no help for him in
God.Complaning and confronting God in whom his boast and
confidence lies ,his cage and security is rattled when the scoffers
and enemies say " There is no help for him in God ,--some
of his distrusting friends said this sorrowfully, but his enemies
exultingly boasted of it , and longed to see their words
proved by his total destruction . This was the unkindest cut of
all , when they declared that his God had forsaken him. David
knew he himself had sinned in open day with Bathsheba hence reason
for staggering of his faith. If all the trials which come from
heaven , all the temptations that ascend from hell , and all the
crosses which arise from the earth, could be mixed and pressed
together, they would not make a trial so terrible as that which
is contained in this verse. It is the most bitter of all afflictions
to be led to fear that there is no help for us in God! And yet
remember our most blessed Savior had to endure this in the deepest
degree when he cried " My God, my God, why hast thou forsken
me ?" He knew full well what it was to walk in darkness and
to see no light. This was the curse of the curse. This was the
wormwood mixed with gall. To be deserted of his father was worse
than to be despised of men .Surely we should love Him who suffered
the bitterest of temptations and trials for our sake.
There Is a Curve called Failure....
A Loop called Confusion...
Speed Bumps called Friends...
Red Lights called Enemies...
Caution Lights called Family...
You will have Flats called Jobs.
BUT If you have a Spare called Determination...
An Engine called Perseverance...
Insurance called Faith...
A Driver called Jesus...
You Will Make it to a Place called Success!
3 But thou ,O Lord , art a shield
for me; my glory, and the lifter of mine head.
4 I cried unto the Lord with my voice,
and he heard me out of His holy hill. Selah.- Here
David avows his confidence in God "Thou, O Lord , art a shield
for me"-more than shield : it means buckler round about,
a protection which shall surround a man entirely, a shield above
, beneath, around , without and within. Oh! what a shield is God
for his people! He wards off the fiery darts of satan from beneath,
and the storms of trials from above, while at the same instant
, he speaks peace to the tempest within the breast. Thou art "my
Glory" David knew that though he was driven from his capital
in contempt and scorn , he should yet return in triumph, and by
faith he looks upon God as honouring and gloryfing him. O for
grace to see our future glory amid present shame! Indeed there
is present glory in our afflictions , if we could but discern
it; for it is no mean thing to have fellowship with Christ in
His sufferings.
"I cried unto the Lord with my
voice" good men often find , even in secret , they pray better
aloud than they do when they utter no vocal sound -there's just
something that gets into motion when prayers are vocalised especially
when in tongues or in communal interrcessory prayers. There is
one who sits high and looks low that harkens to me from the seventh
heaven, and he hath "heard me out of his holy hill"
Answers to prayers are sweet cordials for the soul. We need not
fear a frowning world while we rejoice in a prayer answering God.
5 I laid me down and slept;
I awakened; for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of ten
thousand of people, that have set themselves against me round
about.
David's faith allowed him to lie down
; anxiety would certainly have kept him on tiptoe, watching for
the enemy. Yea , he was able to sleep , to sleep in the midst
of trouble, surrounded by foes "So He giveth his beloved
sleep" There is a sleep of presumption ; God delivers us
from it! There is a sleep of holy confidence; God helps us so
to close our eyes1 but David says he awakened also. Some
sleep the sleep of death ; but he , though exposed to many enemies,
reclined his head on the bosom of his God , slept happily beneath
the wings of Providence in sweet security, and then awoke in safety."For
the Lord sustained me"-the quietude of a man's heart by faith
in God , is a higher sort of work than the natural reslution of
manly courage , for it is the gracious operation of God's Holy
Spirit that upholds a man above nature, and therefore the Lord
must have all glory of it.
Buckling on his harness for the days
battle ,David sings "I will
not be afraid of ten thousand of people, that have set themselves
against me round about."Observe that he does not attempt
to underestimate the number or wisdom of his enemies. He reckons
them at tens of thousands, and he views them as cunning huntsmen,
chasing him for the kill with cruel skill. Yet he trembles not
, but looking his foreman in the face he is ready for the battle.
There may be no way of escape ; they may hem me in as the deer
is surrounded by a circle of hunters ; they may surround me on
every side , but in the name of God I will dash through them;
or, if I remain in the midst of them , yet shall they not hurt
me; I shall be free in my very prison.
David is too wise to venture into battle without prayer "Arise, O Lord; save me , O my God; for
thou has smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone ; thou hast
broken the teeth of the ungodly." His only hope is
in his God, but that is so strong a confidence , that he feels
the Lord hath but to arise and he is saved. It is enough
for the Lord to stand up , and all is well. He compares his enemies
to wild beasts, and he declares that God hath broken their jaws
, so that they could not injure him; God, therefore, hath smitten
them upon the cheekbone . They seemed as if they would devour
him with their mouths; God hath broken their teeth; and let them
say what they will, their toothless jaws shall not be able to
devour him . Rejoice, O believer, thou hast to do with a dragon
whose head is broken, and with enemies whose teeth is dashed from
their jaws!
Salvation belongeth unto the Lord; thy
blessing is upon thy people. Selah---Salvation by grace
is the great doctrine of the word of God -"Salvation
belongeth unto the Lord"-this is a point concerning
which we are daily fighting. Our opponents say ," Salvation
belongeth to the free will of man; if not to man's merit , yet
a least to mans will; " but we hold and teach that salvation
from first to last , in every iota of it belongs to the most High
God.-May we all learn this truth experimentally, for our proud
flesh and blood , will never allow us to learn it any other way.
"thy blessing is upon thy people"-neither
from Egypt, nor Tyre or Nineveh; thy blessing is upon thy chosen
, thy blood-bought, thine everlasting- beloved people."Selah"
lift up your hearts and pause, and meditate upon the truth of
this doctrine, " Thy blessing is upon thy people"Divine
, discriminating, distinguishing, eternal , infinite , immutable
love , is a subject for constant adoration. Pause my soul, at
this Selah, and consider thy own interest in the salvation of
God; and if by humble faith you are enabled to see Jesus as thine
own by his own freee gift of himself to thee , if this greatest
of all blessings be upon the , rise
up and sing
