Polycarp, a disciple of John, who life spanned through part of the first and second centuries, said to the Romans before they killed him for refusing to renounce Christ, “[You threaten] the fire that burns for an hour and in a little while is quenched; for [you know] not of the fire of the judgement to come, and the fire of the eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. But why [do you delay]? Bring what [you will]. ” ¹

It is in seeing courage and perseverance in circumstances like that which no doubt drive us to wonder how they went about equipping themselves for such an encounter. How is it that someone presses on in worship in the face of difficult circumstances, even when one’s life is being threatened?

For us, however, the question is probably not that extreme. I doubt any of us have had our lives threatened for following Christ. Yet, we probably ask similar questions, don’t we? We want to know how we find the strength to press on in worship when people are against us at work, or when great disappointments crowd our every thought, or when it seems like nothing we are doing is finding success and it seems that the whole world is against us. Here’s where I think Psalm 3 is a great help to us, for it aids us by giving us an example of how to press on in worship while we are living through times of great distress.

The setting of this psalm is seen from the inscription above verse 1 in our text, namely, “When he fled from Absalom his son.” This refers to events that unfolded in 2 Samuel 12-19. In these chapters we read that Amnon, David’s son, longed for his half sister, Tamar. Therefore, he raped her one day, having had her bring him some food and overpowering her. And, as David did nothing to address the issue, Absalom (David’s son and Tamar’s brother) decided to address the issue himself. Therefore, he killed Amnon and fled to a distant city. Eventually, however, David allowed him to come back to Jerusalem and was reconciled to Absalom. It was at this point, though, that something occurs which David no doubt did not anticipate.

After being reunited to his father, Absalom began to go out to the gate of the city and greet all of those coming in a hospitable and warm manner so that soon (as 2 Samuel 15:6 tells us), “Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.” But his agenda was not simply to steal their hearts but to steal the kingdom itself. Therefore, he gathered the people of Israel in rebellion to the king, his own father, seeking to end his life and seize his throne. Thus, as David hears of this, he flees from Jerusalem to hide from his own son, who is seeking to kill him. It is in this time when David’s kingdom has seemingly been taken from him, he is hiding from his enemies (who had once been his loyal servants), and his son seeks to take his own life that he pens the psalm which we are looking at this morning – Psalm 3. It is a setting which is much graver than that which any of us is facing today, I would imagine, but therefore can serve to help in understanding how it is that we are to respond in times of great adversity and persecution. Therefore, this morning I want us to see just that – how this psalm instructs us in handling times of great adversity, how this psalm relates to Jesus Christ, and how this psalm might be used in our lives day-to-day as we leave from this time of corporate worship this morning.

Therefore, let us first turn to the lessons this psalm teaches us which should be applied in times of great adversity or suffering or persecution.

Cast your cares upon the Lord (1-2)

It’s interesting, knowing the background of this text, that David takes time while fleeing from Absalom to write a psalm. And it’s interesting that the first thing he does is to declare to God the difficulty of his circumstances and those things which are causing him trouble. He writes, “O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God” (1-2).

One would think that David’s first move in Jerusalem would be to begin conceiving all of his schemes to get out of this predicament and so relieve his heart from the burden he felt by the circumstances he was in. But that doesn’t appear to be his first move. Rather, he turns to God and casts his cares upon the Lord.

This is a lesson for us as well. It is not only permissible, but it is good and right to make your first move in a time of great struggle, anxiety, or suffering to cast your cares upon the Lord, to tell him how difficult your circumstances are. Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:6-7, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” This must be our first action in difficult times.

That is not to say that planning how we will work through times is wrong, but it is to say that such planning should not be our first priority. Rather, like David, our first action should be to cast our cares upon a God who is big enough to receive them and handle them.

I remember back during a difficult period of life and ministry driving my car up to the church, sitting on the back of it, and praying. Well, maybe lamenting would be a better word for what I did. Some people had left the church, more were unsettled, and I felt that more than a few people were against me. And I felt so lonely. Now, that’s not to say that there weren’t those who did not care for me, for there were. My wife, for one, has always been such a dear blessing from the Lord. But with your wife or parents or other close relationships, you feel like they have to care for you. And I was seeking some support and care.

So I sat out on the back of my car during a warm fall night and cried out to God, telling him how desperate my circumstances were, much as David does in these first two verses. I simply had no more plans. And as I finished praying, I remember saying, “Fine, I’ll walk through this as is, but you know my circumstances, and I feel that there are very few making it their aim to stand strong beside me in this time.”

The very next day I got a call from Nathan Young, who had asked his pastor, deacon, and Sunday school class from Woodland Baptist Church for their blessing to come and join Cornerstone Community Church. And he asked me in that conversation, “Lee, what do you think I’ll do when I come there?” So I mentioned there were many tasks to be done, etc. Then, however, Nathan jumped in and said, “I think my main reason in coming there is to care for you as a father does a son, to serve you, and to stand by your side in these hard times.”

As he spoke tears began to fill my eyes as I knew I had cast my cares upon the Lord, and he cares for me. I sure wish David’s example had been my first move and not my last, not simply because the next day Nathan called, but because I think we’re made to need to cast our cares upon the Lord as there are so many issues in our lives for which planning will not suffice. Therefore, let us follow David’s action here and let our first action in difficult times be to cast our cares upon the Lord.

Yet there is more. Next, we turn to verses 3-4 where we see that you must …

Set your focus on God – who he is and what he has done (3-4)

David begins verse 3 with a word of contrast: “But.” That is to say, “I have focused on my circumstances and all my concerns, but now I am turn my focus to something else.” And that something else was God himself. David writes, “But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill.”

David had looked at what his enemies threatened, and now he turns to look at what God provides. Thus, he now declares that God will be his shield against their attacks, God will be his glory against their mockery, and God will be the one to lift his head when others are seeking to drive him down.

Again, this is instructive for us. For it, no doubt, comes easy for us to see ever detail and difficult element of our struggles or sufferings. I remember reading Calvin describe a sinus infection in one of his letters that made me want to vomit and cry and think he was no doubt ready to die. It is easy for us to see how great are our struggles. However, we need to spend time also, having described our struggles to the Lord, to focus on all the details of God’s abilities, his character, and his actions.

If I may use my son again for an illustration, he helps me see this very well. Right now, for Michael, I think it is easier for him to see my character and abilities than it is his problems. He fell down the other day in the driveway without getting up embarrassed but rather said, “Daddy, I fell down. Will you play with me?” And I love that. He’ll jump off anything, including the top of my car, trusting that I will catch him, without making one comment about all that could happen were I to miss him. To him, the details of the problems are less obvious than who I am because he has spent most of his life to this point having the main issue in his life learning about Lili and me. No doubt, living longer, he’ll learn how to focus much on problems, but right now, his focus can easily become who he knows I am and what he trusts I’ll do. In this, I think my son is most instructive.

Could it be that the reason it is so easy for us to share the details of our problems and so hard to convince our hearts of God’s greatness, goodness, and care is because we spend so little time making our objective learning about and knowing him? Meditating on Scripture is not some chore all Christians must do daily to be good Christians, it is that task which aids us to live life. We do not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Therefore, may we meditate on his Word, learn who he is and what he has done, and then in those difficult times where we have told him our circumstances, may we easily turn to reflecting and focusing on who he is and what he has done.

Next …

Determine that you will walk forward in confidence, faith, and obedience, remembering God’s grace to you in the past and trusting such grace will sustain you again (5-6)

In verses 5-6, David writes, “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.”

Starting first with verse 6, we see that David makes a declaration that he will not fear his enemies though there may be thousands of them who have set themselves against him. But how can he say that? We might first say because he remembers who God is as we have seen in verse 3, for example. But we can also say it is because of what he has spoken in verse 5, namely, that he has slept and woke again because God has sustained him, or if he is writing this because he is about to sleep, because he acknowledges God’s sustaining grace.

Thus, we too must allow ourselves (having cast our cares upon the Lord and having focused on who he is and what he has done) to remember God’s sustaining grace that has come to us and comes to us every day in matters as little as waking after having slept and allow that to encourage us to trust that same grace in the future. That is, reflecting upon God’s grace which has come to us every step up until this point, we must determine to walk forward, trusting that that same grace will be there for us in the future.

Thus, John Piper, has called this “future grace,” writing, “What is future grace? … it is grace that carries me from this moment on. It is one millisecond away and ten billion ages of ages away. All of God’s goodness and power that will be exerted before me before I finish this sentence, and all the goodness and power that will sustain me beyond the grave forever is future grace.” ²

That is what David looks to in order to determine that he will not fear. He reflects on past grace which has sustained him and trusts that such grace will be there in the future. And so, with that, he presses on in confidence, faith, and obedience before the Lord. May this reflecting and trusting in God’s grace and so determining to walk in confidence, faith, and obedience be followed in our lives as well.

Then …

Give your requests to the Lord, seeking his glory and the good of his people (7-8)

David ends the Psalm petitioning the Lord and seeking God’s blessing on his people, writing, “Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people!” (7-8).

David realizes that enemies rising against him are enemies rising against the Lord’s anointed king, that is, the Lord’s anointed king. He understands that enemies rising against him and his kingship are enemies rising against the Lord. He sees that it’s the Lord’s glory which is attacked. So, he pleads with God himself to arise and strike his enemies and bring salvation and blessing to his people.

So, once more, this is instructive to us in reminding us that it is not only good but right to give our petitions and requests to the Lord. And as we give them, may we seek his glory and the good of his people in his answer, rather than simply being motivated by selfish ambition. But let us ask in line with that, for such is not wrong.

Thus, after having cast our cares upon God, focused on who he is and what he has done, determined that we will walk in obedience as we trust in his sustaining grace, let us then petition God to act on his and our behalf. That is the flow of the psalm, and I think it is helpful for us.

But let me add, finally, that you then must …

Do whatever God has commanded that is in front of you

Though the psalm ends here, we know from the story in 2 Samuel that David doesn’t sit paralyzed after this psalm but simply does whatever the Lord commands. He does a number of things, but in the end, he simply obeys God in what is in front of him.

So let it be with us. Psalm 3 is instructive in preparing us for obedience, but after having followed its design, we need not feel we must tackle the world. Rather, it has aided us in being equipped simply to obey God with what is in front of us. It has prepared us to follow him step by step. Therefore, let our final lesson be this morning that after having prayed in this way we will rise up and obey God in whatever way we are commanded at that immediate point and as we continue, consequently, throughout life. Thus, Psalm 3 seems to provide for us great instruction in walking through difficult times before the Lord.

And though this psalm is helpful, I think, in providing for us lessons for what should be our approach during times of great adversity, suffering, or persecution, its ultimate purpose is no doubt to do something else, namely, to remind us of another Anointed King of the Lord, another King in the line of David – the Lord, Jesus Christ. For he too had enemies who tried to seek his death. He too was mocked, as people cried out that the God who was to save him was actually the one who had turned against him. He too trusted in the Lord and cried out to him in these agonizing moments. He too scorned the shame of the circumstances in which his enemies had put him. He too sought the Father’s glory and the good of his own people. And the Father did arise on his behalf though many enemies had risen against him. For God, after his Son had died on that cross and had been buried, raised him from the dead, vindicated him as both Lord and Christ, as the true King, as the King whose kingdom would have no end. It is that which is our hope, the gospel, our salvation. Therefore, this morning may we believe in that gospel and may we walk forward in confident, obedient trust of our Father, casting our cares upon him, remembering who he is and what he has done for us in Christ, and letting our petitions come to him, seeking his glory and the good of his people in the exaltation of Christ above all things. Amen.

¹ "The Martydom of Polycarp," c.IX, cited in H. Bettenson, Documents of the Christian Church, 2nd ed., (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1963), 15.
² John Piper, Future Grace (Sisters, OR: Multnomath, 1995), 75.

FEARS, HOPES AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD