GOD SAVES HIS PEOPLE
#067 GOD SAVES HIS PEOPLE
Scripture Psalm 3 NIV Orig. 11/29/61
Rewr. 2/4/85 (6-77)
Passage:
1 Lord, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”[b]
3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.
7 Arise, Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.
8 From the Lord comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
Purpose: To show the intent of God to translate all trials not only into understanding, but a sense of His purpose and love.
Keywords: Compassion Love of God Salvation Confession
Timeline/Series: Psalms
Introduction
The word “save” has many different meanings. Last week’s news told of a little two-year old boy who was saved from freezing to death though he already had ice in his veins.
When the Queen of England makes an official appearance we will hear the expression, “God save the Queen.” Its meaning obviously has the force of a prayer seeking God’s merciful benediction upon the reigning sovereign.
It even penetrates the temporal world of sport. A hockey goalie performs a “save” when he keeps the opposition’s puck shot from reaching the goal. In another form, the baseball player runs for his life to be safe on base.
The economist understands it in a totally different context. To save is to do the opposite of “to spend.” National fiscal policies center around getting people to hold onto their money, or to be free with it. I suspect that for most people “saving” in this sense has more to do with whether to drive to an out-of-town wholesale outlet, or to buy from a local retailer who has to charge more to survive.
The meaning here is quite different. “God saves His people” speaks of the act of God in behalf of those who have a special relationship to Him. The saving act is a delivering act. It may be temporary and immediate. It may also be permanent and _(illegible)_.
I. To Save is To Shield. V3 “But you, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the One who lifts up my head.” It acknowledges both trouble and temperance, grief and grace. I am persuaded no one is out of the reach of God’s grace who does not become so by stubborn refusals. The President spoke (2-85), hopeful of America’s spiritual values. Barbara Walters interviewed the Carters, incredulously asking “Do you really believe in God? Do you pray?”
For the Christian there is always evidence of God’s care. Paul reminds the Ephesians (6:14) “Put on the belt of truth, . . . integrity, let the shoes on your feet be the gospel of peace, to you firm footing; take the great shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all of the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
One of the consistent memories of childhood tells of parental concern for safety and gradual assumption of care.
It goes a bold step further to declare peace of mind and heart, even when trouble refuses to depart. V5 “I lay down and slept, I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.” It is the first of fourteen historically entitled. It is a Psalm of David, written when he fled from Absalom his son. How willing are we to live our lives in His will as He reveals it? Deuteronomy 6:6 “And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart.”
How often do we examine our own personality quirks and work to change them? Matthew 5:43 reads “If you bring your gift to the altar and remember that your brother ought against you, leave your gift and be reconciled. . . .”
Do we take the irresolvable burdens to the Lord and leave them with Him? Romans 8:38-39 “For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature . . . shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Psalm 5:12 “For it is Thou who dost bless the righteous man, O Lord, Thou dost surround him with favor as a shield.”
II. To Save is to Shelter, to Have a Safe-Guard. II Samuel 17:1 “Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Please let me choose 12,000 men that I may arise and pursue David tonight.” V6 “I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.” To be so totally outclassed, yet confident is to know of secreted powers, and to know by what means we have access to those powers.
V4 “I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me from His holy hill.” For David that hill was Jerusalem, Mt. Moriah. For us there ought also to be a place. There ought also to be a means. V4 “I cried unto the Lord with my voice.”
Much of modern psychiatric medicine is undergirded by confession. A present course is “life review.” As David confessed his sin, he was able to progress to other needs. Dr. Carl Rogers said that confession is “catharsis.” Dr. Rogers says this frees the individual from conscious fears, guilt; it brings to light subconscious feelings. I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.”
With God there is no more important hindrance than that of our sin. God’s attitude toward our sin is consistent with His holiness. He wills to forgive. (In 2 Samuel 18 David entreated his aides to “deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom,” even though his commanders wanted to take off Absalom’s head.) There must be contrition on our part, and confession. Without constant vigilance we tend to lower our goals for living.
III. To Save is to Shepherd. Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” V8 “Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon your people.” The problem was a deep boding of failure. Not just a son who didn’t measure up, but a son who has set himself to oppose. More and more were saying “God can’t help you,” “God won’t help such a man.” There are not enemies enough to counter the burden of a son who has turned against one.
Yet, in such an intolerable posture, David sees himself as able to sleep, and to awaken with a sense of well-being. “I awoke” is cheerily to awake. Our grandson Ryan called out “Anna, get up! The sun is up!”
God’s promise to His people is always His shepherding love. Trouble may be all around. But to call upon the Lord is to expect a saving response. Psalm 23:4 “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
I dare not turn away without reminding us all that God saves through His Son. David looked to the promise of God in the coming Messiah. But we look back on what God has done in history. How can we dare to assert a faith in God that does not express itself in David’s vision?
Conclusion
God is shield to me, shelter to my life, shepherd to my soul.
One of Aesop’s fables takes the form of an oak tree that had stood for more than a hundred years. Finally it was blown over in a storm. It was swept off down the flooding river. Coming to rest finally near some reeds that had withstood both storm and flood, the oak asked, “How did you weather a storm too powerful for me?” The reeds answered, “You have resisted in all your pride and strength. And now the end has come.”
We must yield to wind and water. We must humble ourselves.