Psalm 3 New American Standard Bible
Morning Prayer of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David, when [a]he fled from his son Absalom.
3 Lord, how my enemies have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
2 Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah
3 But You, Lord, are a shield around me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
4 I was crying out to the Lord with my voice,
And He answered me from His holy [b]mountain. Selah
5 [c]I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Arise, Lord; save me, my God!
For You [d]have struck all my enemies on the [e]cheek;
You [f]have shattered the teeth of the wicked.
8 [g]Salvation belongs to the Lord;
May Your blessing [h]be upon Your people! Selah
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
There is a direct correlation between thinking properly and doing wisely.
It is as directly, decisively true in living the Christian life as it is anywhere else.
Take David in Psalm 3, for example.
First, he calls to mind truths about God:
“You, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” Then, out of that truth, he is “crying aloud to the LORD with my voice.”
There’s a lesson in the order of those verses: we have to know and believe the truth about God before we can call out to Him and confidently expect His help.
Sometimes, as we hear God’s word being read and taught, we might think to ourselves, as we interpret what is being taught to us through our experiences;
“I don’t need to know more stuff about God! Just tell me how to work in my office. Just tell me how to be a good wife. Just tell me how to get through my schooling.”
But the reality is that we must still our souls to know the truth about God first.
Then, and only then, what we know about God will empower us to press on, no matter our perils, no matter our circumstances – it is truth that transforms us.
His Truth also offers us greatest place of sacred rest.
We know from the inscription of Psalm 3 (“A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son”) and from verse 1 (“O LORD, how many are my foes!”) that David was writing at a time and place of peril when he faced great trouble.
His son rebelled against him, was threatening to take the kingdom from him.
Yet, in this precipitous moment when life was upheaved, all seemed lost and the first, second temptation to despair must have been strong, David is able to say,
“I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.”
Sleep in itself is a gift—God “gives to his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2, emphasis added) -but to sleep when we are faced with an insurrection led by a member of our own family—that is a phenomenal testament to God’s comforting grace.
David felt like doing tens of million things in an attempt to remedy his trouble.
Nevertheless, he found truest rest because he knew God would watch over him.
By long personal experience He knew the truth that ultimately, regardless of how dire his circumstances seemed, “salvation belongs to the LORD” (Psalm 3:8).
Likewise, whatever our array of perilous circumstances, the very same truth of God’s sovereignty, that transformed David, and gave him rest, is all ours today.
Hebrews 4:12 New American Standard Bible
12 For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to [a]judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Will we read it today?
Will we study it today?
2 Timothy 2:14-15 New American Standard Bible
An Unashamed Worker
14 Remind them of these things, and solemnly exhort them in the presence of God not to dispute about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the listeners. 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who [a]does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
Will we believe it?
2 Timothy 3:14-17 New American Standard Bible
14 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is [a] inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for [b]rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man or woman of God may be [c]fully capable, equipped for every good work.
Will we believe this day the truth: The Word of God for the Children of God?
Acts 5:27-32 New American Standard Bible
27 When they had brought them, they had them stand [a]before the Council. The high priest interrogated them, 28 saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and [b]yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this Man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you put to death by hanging Him on [c]a cross. 31 He is the one whom God exalted [d]to His right hand as a [e]Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses [f]of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
For it is in our knowing and our declaring that the Lord saves and sustains you that we will find peace in the midst of life’s storms, that we will find ourselves able to live, rest even on the hardest of day – we can sleep because He does not!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 121 English Standard Version
My Help Comes from the Lord
A Song of Ascents.
121 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 