Difference between revisions of "Sermon for June 10th, 2018"

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Psalm 3

A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom.
1 O Lord, how many are my foes!
    Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying to me,
    “There is no help for you[a] in God.”Selah

3 But you, O Lord, are a shield around me,
    my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
4 I cry aloud to the Lord,
    and he answers me from his holy hill.Selah

5 I lie down and sleep;
    I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.
6 I am not afraid of ten thousands of people
    who have set themselves against me all around.

7 Rise up, O Lord!
    Deliver me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
    you break the teeth of the wicked.

8 Deliverance belongs to the Lord;
   may your blessing be on your people!Selah

Psummer of Psalms - Psalm 3

The attribution at the beginning of Psalm 3 tells us that it is a Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absolom. A father running away from his son. Usually it's the other way around:

One day, a father passing by his son's bedroom was astonished to see the bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then, he saw an envelope, propped up on the pillow. It was addressed, 'Dad'. With the worst feeling in the pit of his stomach, the father opened the envelope and read the letter, with trembling hands:

"Dear, Dad. It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend, because I wanted to avoid making a scene with Mom and you. I've been finding real passion with Stacy. She is so nice, but I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercings, tattoos, her skimpy clothes, and because she is so much older than I am. But it's not only the passion, Dad. She's pregnant. Stacy said that we will be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods, and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children. Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone. We'll be growing it for ourselves and trading it with the other people in the commune for all the crack and ecstasy we want. In the meantime, we'll pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so that Stacy can get better. She sure deserves it! Don't worry Dad, I'm 15, and I know how to take care of myself. Someday, I'm sure we'll be back to visit so you can get to know your many grandchildren. Love, your son, Joshua.

P.S. Dad, none of the above is true. I'm over at Jason's house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than my report card, which is on the kitchen table. Call when it's safe for me to come home!"

Psalm 3 is a psalm about fear, courage, peace, and of course, prayer. But like all of the Psalms, to truly understand the message, it's helpful to know the story behind it. And those first few words--a psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absolom--point us to the story behind the psalm.

Absolom was one of King David's favorite sons. A lot like David himself when he was younger, Absolom was good looking, passionate, charming, popular with the people, and somewhat impulsive. Unlike David, who grew up as a poor shepherd boy, often left to fend for himself, Absolom grew up as a prince, privileged and well-provided for. Absolom had expensive tastes, and liked to show off his wealth. You can read all about Absolom in the book of 2 Samuel--I'm giving the abbreviated version here.

To make a long story short, Absolom grew tired of waiting for his father to die so he could inherit the kingdom, and he began to plot against his father. He would seek out people who had grievances, and tell them "I'm on your side. if only I were king, you wouldn't have that problem..." Absolom began to build up a lot of support this way, and eventually