04 When You’re Blamed for What You Didn’t Do (2 Samuel 16)

Krisan Marotta: Welcome to the Wednesday in the Word podcast. I'm Krisan Marotta. Today we'll be looking at 2 Samuel 16, where David flees Jerusalem. This is the fourth talk in our series on the Rebellion of Absalom. You can follow along with the lecture notes on our website at wednesdayintheword.com slash Absalom4. Thanks for joining us. Well, last week we looked at the question, how do you respond when you sin? Especially if that sin is public and becomes widely known, what should you do? And we saw that as a consequence of David's sin with Bathsheba, his sins were coming back in full force. So his to kind of to the judgment on him, so his son Absalom is seeking to take the kingship from him. So we're in 2 Samuel 16 this week. And just to remind you, since we have new people, where we are in the story, Absalom has declared himself king in Hebron, and the men of Israel have sided with him. And that the his conspiracy grew stronger and stronger, causing David to flee Jerusalem with just a band of servants and mostly foreigners who remain loyal to him. And so last week we looked at his exile as he left the city with his kind of motley crew of followers. And he was encouraged on his journey by the loyalty of Ittai, who was a foreigner, and then Hushai, both of whom are going to come back into the story as we go along. He allows Ittai to come with him into exile, but he sends Hushai back to Jerusalem along with the priests, the Ark of the Covenant, and the priest's two sons, and those, as we'll see in the next chapter, they become instruments in restoring David to the throne. So we talked about how David acted faithfully, trusting that God would restore him if it was God's will, and that the throne, even though he was anointed three times as king, was not his to grasp, that he served at God's pleasure. So we know from the clues in the story that the tide has already turned in his favor, but he does not see it yet. The road ahead of him is still hard. But today, in 2 Samuel 16, we're going to see him used and abused by two members of Saul's family. So he will meet Zeba, the servant of Mephibish. Hopefully I can keep saying that through the morning. And Shemai, the son of Gerah. And these two are the counterparts of the people we looked at last week. So last week we saw Ittai and Hushai encourage him. This week we're going to see Ziba and Shemai discourage him. So in last week he was going up the Mount of Olives, and now he's going down the other side. And so it's like this mirror image of the two chapters. As David descends in the wilderness, he is used and abused, basically. So last week we asked the question, how should you respond when you sin? Especially if that sin has devastating consequences for other people and it is publicly known. And we learned from David to humbly take responsibility. So basically fess up, resist the temptation to blame God and to blame everyone else. Confess and repent before God, offering him your broken and contrite heart and trusting him to restore you, and then seek help and accountability. Realize you can't uh go it on your own. So today we're going to look at kind of a related question, and that is, how should you respond when you're suffering unjustly? Because in this chapter, David's doing both. As you'll see, as or as you studied this, you saw that Shemai curses him, and David interprets those cursings as part of God's discipline on him, so that he is experiencing the consequences of his sins with Bathsheba. Yet at the same time, Shemai is cursing him for sins he did not commit, ironically enough. So while he is guilty of other things, the actual things he's being accused of in this chapter, he is innocent of. So we're going to look at, well, what do you do when you're being accused of things you're innocent of? So we're going to look at 2 Samuel 16. You have the text in your workbook, or you can turn to your Bible either way. Alright. So David's first encounter is with the Zeba. And let me just remind you who this man is. We first, it this goes all the way back to 1 Samuel 20, where David made a covenant with Jonathan that when David became king, he would show Hesed or loving kindness to Jonathan's household. And we that was 1 Samuel 20. Then in 2 Samuel 9, we saw that David kept that vow. By after he became king, he sought out the last remaining member of Saul's household, who was Mephibosheth, who was one of Jonathan's sons who was crippled, and he brought him to Jerusalem, restored all of Saul's property to Mephibosheth, and granted him a place of honor at David's table. Now Zeba had been Saul's servant, and he was in charge of all Saul's estate until the arrival of Mephibosheth. So in 2 Samuel 9, 12 we read, and all who lived in Zeba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. So you can imagine that didn't sit too well with him. He probably liked being the sole one in control and not the servant of a lame and crippled son. So now he sees an opportunity to gain what he thinks is he has lost and he seizes it. So he's meeting David just after the king has learned that Ahithophel abandoned him and joined Absalom's rebellion. And you'll recall that Ahithophel was uh this kind of like the General MacArthur of the war, and he has switched sides to join Absalom. So having heard of this one huge betrayal, now having Zeba come and proclaim another betrayal is not going to surprise him. So Zeba arrives with this generous array of gifts and provisions, which, if you read, are strikingly similar to what Abigail brought David back in 1 Samuel 25, only she was seeking David's good. Zeba is not. So let's look at 16.1 through 4. When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Zeba, the servant of Mephibosheth, met him with a couple of donkeys saddled, bearing two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred bunches of raisins, and a hundred a hundred of summer fruits and a skin of wine. And the king said to Zeba, Why have you brought these? Ziba answered, The donkeys are for the king's household to ride on, the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for those who faint in the wilderness to drink. And the king said, Where's your master's son? And Ziba said to the king, Behold, he remains in Jerusalem, for he said, Today the house of Israel will give back to me the kingdom of my father. Then the king said to Ziba, Behold, all that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours. And Zeba said, I pay homage, let me find favor in your sight, my lord the king. So when David asks in 16 3, where is your master's son? He's not asking for Mephibosheth's geographical geographical location, he's saying, Which side is he on? So the gifts that Zeba's bringing signify he's remaining loyal to David, and David is saying, Are these gifts from you? Are these gifts from your master's son, Mephibosheth? In other words, which side is he on? And Zeba lies to David, a fact that will be revealed to us in chapter 19. But there are clues here in the text. Zeba claims that Mephibosheth is on Absalom's side, but he, we will find out later that is he's lying. So how do we know that from just this passage? First, Zeba knows that David has to move quickly. He has no time to check out whatever story Zeba gives him, because he's on the run, he's leaving Jerusalem. So Zeba's pretty confident that whatever he tells him is going to stand. But more importantly, why would Absalom restore Saul's throne? I mean, that's kind of patently ridiculous. Absalom, of course, is David's uh heir apparent. He is trying to stage a coup, and why would he stage a coup and then hand the throne back to a descendant of Saul? He's just, of course, he wants the throne for himself. And Bibbish can't be hoping just for the restoration of the family property because he's already got that. David has already given that to him. So he can't be saying, well, Absalom's going to give me back all the property that I lost because David's already done that. So that ought to have raised suspicions in David's mind. But and the other thing that would raise suspicions is why doesn't Zeba join David in the exile? So if Zeba is loyal to David and his master is not, why would he go back to his master? That makes no sense. He should have been, like Ittai, said, Here's the provisions I'm bringing you, and let me join you in your flight into exile. But he does not. So that should have also raised a red flag for David. But David's tired, he's vulnerable, he's already been betrayed by a number of people, his son, of course, and one of his top advisors, the men of Israel. So he uh uh is swayed by Zeba and gives him control of Saul's estate. And you notice it's only after Zeba gets all that material possession that he then pays homage to the king. He doesn't bow down until 16.4 after he's already gotten what he wanted. Okay, so that's his first encounter. So that's the Ziba is using him to gain back his wealth. Next he encounters Shemai, and if this scene were not so tragic, it would be really comical. I mean, if you think of this as a movie scene, it's pretty pretty amusing. So look at 16.5 through eight. When King David came to Baharim, there came a man out of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shemai, the son of Gerah, and as he came he cursed continually, and he threw stones at David, and all the servants of King David and all the people, and all the matty men who were on his right hand and his left hand. And Shemai said as he cursed, Get out, get out, you man of blood, you workless man, the Lord has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood. So you can imagine David and his his band of followers making this sad, kind of perilous descent down the side of the mountain toward this small village, and Shemai appears on the horizon, ranting and raving like a lunatic, calling out curses, and then he starts pelting the army with stones and dust. So, you know, it's kind of close enough to do some damage, but far enough away to be out of the reach of a sword. And he must have seemed like a lunatic. I mean, who throws stones at an army? These people are armed. You know, why would you do this? This is crazy. If he had any sense of all at all, he'd see that one of the men with David is not going to see the humor in this, and he's going to either come at him with his sword or bow and arrow, and that'll be the end of him. But so it's kind of a ridiculous scene. And Shemai calls David a man of blood three times in these verses, and he interprets Absalom's rebellion as punishment for the deaths of Saul and the murders of Abner and Ishbesheh. I think that's what he means in 1608 when he talks about the blood of the house of Saul, is what David is being uh condemned for. You'll remember that Abner and Ishbish was Saul's son who tried to become king after the death of Saul, and Abner was his general who kind of propped him up. And both of them were brutally murdered. Now, ironically, though David is guilty of many things, he is not guilty of either the death of Saul, the death of Abner, or the death of Ishbesheth. As you'll recall, that the narrator took great pains to tell us that David had nothing to do with these murders, and that David never reached for the crown in all his life. He did not seek these people's death. He received the kingship after years of patient waiting and painful persecution. So it's kind of ironic that the one thing this critic is attacking him for is an area where he's innocent. Pastor and author David Roper was writing on this scene, and he noted, criticism often comes when you least deserve it, from those least qualified to give it, and in a form least helpful to receive it. I thought, yeah, that's kind of what's going on here. It comes when you least deserve it, so David's not guilty of that. From those least qualified to give it, Shemmai has no first-hand knowledge. And in a form least helpful to receive it, curses and throwing stones is probably not the best way to get someone's attention. Now, you'll notice that Shemmai is mocking David at his lowest point, much like Jesus was mocked on his way to the cross. I think there's some parallels there. Both are mocked for sins they did not commit. However, of course, David was guilty of other sins, and Jesus was not guilty of any sin. But there's at least this foreshadowing of the mocking of the king as he goes into exile or goes to the cross in Jesus' case. So while Jesus had no one to defend him, though David has at least one defender. Abishai wants to take action. In 169, we read, then Abishai, the son of Zariah, who is David's sister, said to the king, Why should this dead dog curse my Lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head. Now, his response is highly orthodox in what you would expect, because David is not just anybody. He is still the king, he is still the Lord's anointed, and to rebel against the Lord's anointed is to rebel against the Lord, to rebel against Yahweh and his kingdom. So we have to remember when we're talking about David, we're not just talking about any man, we're also talking about the office of the king and a unique role in God's kingdom. So Shemai basically has no right to curse him. In fact, the word curse is used seven times in this section. And Exodus 21 tells us that cursing your parents is an offense worthy of death. So we can deduce if cursing your parents is worthy of capital punishment, how much more serious is it to curse the Lord's anointed? And in that sense, Shemai is no different than Goliath, who was calling out curses on the army of Israel and on the living God who stood with them. And Abishai is saying, Let me deal with this guy the same way you dealt with Goliath. Let me go take off his head. But notice that David has a different perspective. Look at 1610 through 14, and this is really the heart of the chapter. We're going to come uh spend a lot of time on this. But the king said, What have I to do with you, you son of Zariah? If he is cursing because the Lord has said to him, Curse David, who then shall say, Why have you done so? And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, Behold, my own son seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjamite leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him? So it may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today. So David and his men went on the road with Shemai went while Shemai went along the hillside opposite and cursed as he went and threw stones and flung dust. And the king and all the people who were with him arrived weary at the Jordan, and there he refreshed himself. So David interprets Absalom's rebellion and Shemai's cursing as the deserved consequences of his sin. He basically says, It's not surprising. Look at who they are. So it's like Abishai says, Consider the source. This guy is no better than a dead dog. And David says, Yes, consider the source. The source is the living God. It's not really this man, it is God, there's a God behind him, and God is allowing this to happen. And he gives three reasons for that. In verse 10, he says, I'm currently under judgment. In verse 11, he says, look, if my own son seeks my life, why would we why is it's not remarkable that the son of an enemy would seek my life? And then in verse 12, he says, it's up to God to repay this wrong. It's not up to me to seek justice, it's up to God to seek justice. So notice he neither proclaims his innocent nor admits guilt. And I think that's kind of remarkable because don't you think the temptation would be to fight back, to say, wait a minute, wait a minute, I didn't do that. That's not my fault, you know, to justify yourself or to enter in some kind of verbal match, loudly protesting your innocence, demanding your rights. But rather than doing that, David says, No, it's up to God. He waits and he trusts. And he concludes in 1612, if my name is to be cleared, it's up to God to clear it. So essentially he's saying, I'm guilty and I'm in God's hands. And I think this shows how much he's learned from our previous chapters. He doesn't need Nathan to arouse his conscience, he doesn't need the woman of Tokoa to force him to action. Now he sees he understands. He takes an honest look at himself, he takes an honest look at God, and he says, I'm guilty. Suffering is part of that discipline, and he waits and trusts on the promises of God. And that that's really instructed me to me. Too often I think we launch into this war of words, you know, that we have to get every last bit of honor we think is our due and right every last wrong and correct every misunderstanding. And instead, I think we ought to look at David from David's perspective, say we need to see ourselves honestly, knowing whether or not we're guilty of this specific accusation. We are guilty of something. We're all sinners in needs of God's grace, and then humbly and graciously accepting that is maybe this is chastisement from the Lord. I'm gonna come back to that in a minute, but I want to finish the events of the chapter, and then we'll come back and ask the question what can we learn about what else can we learn about suffering unjustly? So as the exiles are concluding their weary descent into Baharim, Absalom arrives in Jerusalem. So that's in 15 through 19. Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahitha failed with him. And when Hushai the Architect, David's friend, came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, Long live the king, long live the king. And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend? Of course, referring to David. And Hushai said to Absalom, Know for whom the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain. And again, whom shall I serve? Should it not be his son? As I have served your father, so I will serve you. So Hushai takes the initiative. Instead of waiting for Absalom to question why he's still at court, he seeks Absalom out and presents himself to the traitor king. And you'll recall that David sent him back as a spy, and he is taking a great risk in joining Absalom's court, because if his true loyalties are discovered, he will face certain death. And most likely not just his death, but the death of his entire household. So this is a very difficult and dangerous job. He is risking everything to serve David. And when he speaks to Absalom, he's kind of the master of doublespeak. He says, Long live the king in verse 16 without naming who the king is. So it's like, whoo, which king? And that's unusual. Just how we know that one of the ways, if you look at 1 Kings chapter 1, that tells the story of another of David's sons who tried to take the throne. Absalom's younger brother, who, as David lay dying, decided he was going to declare himself king. And in that chapter, the phrase long live the king is used, I think it's either four or five times, and every time there's a name with it. There's always a name. So the fact that there's no name here is kind of unusual, which tells you how Hushai is kind of speaking out of both sides of his mouth. He's saying, Long live the king, but he pre he means David. Absalom, of course, thinks that he means Absalom. Then he refers to the king as the chosen one of Yahweh. Well, we know who the chosen one of Yahweh is. It's certainly not Absalom, but Absalom's ego won't let him realize that. And when he says, Should I not serve the Son just as I serve the Father? Absalom hears that Hushai is proclaiming his loyalty to himself. But Hushai most likely means I will serve the father as I pretend to serve the Son. So in what I do for the Son, I'm really serving the Father. So it's kind of the master of doublespeak. Of course, Absalom is taken in by these words, and that brings us to the final scene of the chapter where Absalom makes a decisive and final break with his father in 20 through 23. Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, give your counsel, what shall we do? And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Go into your father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench to your father, and the hands of all of you who of all who are with you will be strengthened. So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and Absalom went into his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. Now in those days the council of Ahithophel, the council that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God. So was the council of Ahithophel esteemed by both David and Absalom. Now, what's going on here is in those days possession of the harem was title to the throne. So when a king died, the question was, what happens to his harem? And they became the property of the next king. Although, from what we can tell in history, it's likely that the new king never actually had relations with any of them. It appears to be more a symbolic transaction or paper transaction. So when Absalom asks, now what? He's saying, okay, I'm in Jerusalem, David's in exile, what do I do to secure my claim to the throne? And Ahithophel says, take the harem. Now he must know that the consequences of that act are devastating. It will fully and finally break the relationship between David and Absalom. At this point, there will be no reconciliation because of those actions. Now you'll recall that Ahithophel is Bathsheba's grandfather. So perhaps he's giving this advice out of revenge for his granddaughter. Or maybe he thinks it's the most politically savvy action to take, or both. In either case, it's an abomination, and there's no possibility of turning back at this point. The bond between father and son will be completely broken. So sleeping with the concubines is sending the message that King David is dead in Absalom's eyes. He is as good as dead. So this is just like the prodigal son in the parable of the prodigal son saying, I want my inheritance, and that means I wish you were dead. Absalom is saying, David is as good as dead to me. And you'll notice, ironically, that it was a sexual sin that started this whole sad chain of events. It was the rape of Tamar, who was Absalom's sister, and Absalom was very angry over that, and now he's essentially committing the same sin against his father. So the sin he was so angry over that against his sister, he now repeats against his father. So while he's acting to fulfill his royal ambitions, we know that the hand of God is behind this, because Nathan the prophet predicted this in 1211. This is 1211 and 12. Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of the sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this before all Israel and before the sun. So we've seen this before. God is using the actions of the unrighteous to further his kingdom. So we saw this with King Saul when he murdered the priests at Nobs and he fulfilled the judgment on Eli's household, and we see it again here. Ahithophel is betraying David. Absalom's acting to take his seize the throne, but we know that this is part of God's judgment. So it may look to David like all is lost, but God is still in control, disciplining, and teaching. And I think, well, let's keep going. Alright, so let's return to our question. What can we learn from this? What can we learn about when you suffer, especially if it's unjustly, how should you respond? And I want, I think the example David gives us is two things. Know who you are and know who you serve. So when you're being treated unfairly, when you're doing right and suffering unjustly, know who you are and know who you serve. And notice that he has repeatedly claimed that he serves at the grace of God, that the kingship was not his to demand, it was not his right to take, even though it had been promised to him. It was a gift and he served serves at God's favor. So last week we saw this in 1525 and 26, when the priests come to him and they say, We'll go with you into exile, and here's the ark, we'll bring it with us. And he says, Carry the ark of God back to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back, and let me see both it and its dwelling place. But if he says, I have no pleasure in you, behold, here I am, let him do to me what he seems good. He says, I serve at God's pleasure. And then again in 1612, we see this today, when he says, It may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today. So what he's saying is, what matters to me is my relationship to God. He knows he's the youngest son of a nobody who stood to inherit nothing, and yet God chose him and blessed him and gave him this incredible gift of the kingship, and he did nothing to earn it. So he's ultimately saying, Who am I? I am a servant of God. I'm a man after God's heart, I serve at his favor. And like everyone else, he's a sinner in need of grace. Now it's interesting, some of you, Peter picks up this same theme in his first letter, and the few years ago we went through 1 Peter, so some of you may remember this. But in 1 Peter 2, 19 and 20, he says, For this is a gracious thing. When mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it is it? If when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure, but if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. So he's echoing the same thing. Notice that if you are mindful of God, he says in 19, if you keep in mind who God is and who you are, when you're suffering unjustly, that allows you to bear up and face it. So if you look at your situation from God's vantage point, not your own, that God is your ultimate master, that he's the one who brings you out of slavery, he's the one that brings life out of death and changes what is broken, then you can bear this. So you are where you are because he has a plan for your life and this is part of it. Peter adds to that, basically, serve unconditionally. We're not going to go on to look at that section, but he goes on to say, make sure what your actions are on the outside match your heart on the inside. So it's possible, you know, to go through the motions on the outside doing what's right, and all the while have a rotten attitude on the inside. And Peter warns against that, which we don't actually see in the text here, but it was such an important warning. I wanted to include it. So he basically says, know who you are, know who you serve, and serve unconditionally. Make sure that when you obey, it looks on the outside the same as it does on the inside, because God examines your heart. So just to wrap this up, to kind of show you more about this theme, I want to look briefly at Psalm 143. So hopefully you have a Bible. If not, I'll read it to you. It's a pretty short Psalm. Because I think this will enrich our understanding of this, knowing who you are and knowing who you serve. We don't have an exact um date on when David wrote Psalm 143, but a lot of scholars date it late in his life and they date it to this period. So they think that he wrote it during the rebellion of Absalom. And it really does fit. It's a lament psalm, it's the last of seven penitential uh Psalms. And now that you've seen the story of Absalom, I want you to read this Psalm thinking of what David's going through. So let's look at this briefly. Psalm 143, this is verse 1 and 2. A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my pleas for mercy. In your faithfulness, answer me, in your righteousness. Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you. So let me I'm gonna go through this in pieces. As we've noted, David's first response is to throw himself on the mercy of God. But notice how he appeals to God. He doesn't say, oh, look, as one king to another, you know, let me uh I need your help, or let me stand shoulder to shoulder with you and um come and fight this appeal. So it's not the kind of appeal you would make to, like if I would make to my friend Fran and say, please, you know, stand with me in this trial. This is the appeal of one who is completely and utterly lost who says, I am nothing, I am broken, I need you to help me. You come to my rescue. If you don't come, there is no help. So he's appealing to God, not based on any rights, but just on God's mercy and righteousness. So it's in your faithfulness, answer me, in your righteousness. Don't enter into judgment. If you judge me, I'm guilty, and there's no way I could stand. So he's only appealing to God on the basis of grace. Um is basically acknowledging what we talked about last week, that he is sinful and he deserves judgment, and he's asking God for mercy. So it's the recognition he comes to when Shemai is hurling curses at him, saying, I'm sinful. I may not be guilty of these specific sins, but I'm still a sinner in need of grace. So, and he appeals to God only on that. Even though he's been anointed king three times, even though the kingship is his, he's reigned many years, he doesn't claim it as his. He says, God, if you're gonna put me back in the in the kingship, if you're gonna restore me, it's just because of your grace. Okay, so look at three and four. For the enemy has pursued my soul, he has crushed my life to the ground, he has made me sit in the darkness like those long dead. Therefore, my spirit faints within me, my heart within me is appalled. That term appalled is very strong. In other places it's translated overwhelmed. It's a very kind of think vivid description of I am crushed and broken. So I think are what we would say he's depressed. This is as vivid a picture as you can get of that. He says, I feel like one who's dead. And if you think about that, the grave is utter darkness. So he's saying, I'm sitting here in utter darkness. I feel like a dead body, not just a recently dead body, but one that is decayed over a long period of time, you know. It says like one long dead. So it's putrefying, you know, it's awful to look at, awful to smell. And he's saying, I just feel at I'm at the lowest point, like I am rotting in the grave. Which I kind of find comforting that this is a strong believer who is totally depressed. You know, life has hit him hard, and he feels it, and that's okay. He's crying out to God with it. And no, I, you know, we often think that the Christian life is kind of like if you were just organized enough, you could avoid those trials, you know, it's like, oh, I missed that one, you know, and if I just pray enough or whatever, I can kind of sidestep and work my way through life. David's impression is this is like the tsunami is coming, you know, and it's going to overwhelm me, and I cannot do anything about it. No amount of organization is gonna prevent it. Um, and I think that's encouraging to remember that trials hit us like that sometimes. They're not, it's not, it doesn't mean we we weren't organized enough or something. Okay, so here he is. He's appealing to God. I'm guilty. Uh only if you are merciful and gracious will I get out of this. I am completely at my wit's end, feel like one who is rotting in the darkness of the grave. So what does he do? Look at five and six. I remember the days of old. I meditate on all that you have done, I ponder the work of your hands, I stretch out my hands to you, my soul thirsts for you like parched land. So he's saying, Who is God? Remember, we said, Know who you are, know who you serve. So he's meditating on who God is. He deliberately kind of takes control of his mind and begins to think about what do I know to be true? And he can remember when God delivered him from Goliath, or the many times he delivered him from Saul in the wilderness, or the many times he delivered him from the Philistines, or the bringing of the Ark to Jerusalem, all the stories we've talked about, or the incredible promises of the Davidic covenant, and he forces himself to think, what do I know to be true about God? And notice as he does that, the metaphors change. He was the metaphor was a grave in verse 3, and now we're a desert in verse 6. So that there's a little more hope, you know. The desert is parched and barren, but at least it might rain. You know, there might be life that come out of it. There's a little possibility for something to he to come of it. So it's not healed yet, but at least it's uh there's a possibility of hope, which there isn't in the grave. Then in verses um verse 7 begins a series of prayers in which he calls out to God to act and lays alongside each call for action an honest statement about himself. And again, that's what we just discussed. Know who you are, know who God is, who you serve. So he just looked at who God is. Now he's going to look honestly at himself. So in seven through ten he says, Answer me quickly, O Lord, my spirit fails. Hide not your face from me, lest I be like one those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord. I have fled to you for refuge. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good spirit lead me on level ground. So you can see that answer me quickly is the request. The my spirit fails is the honest statement about himself. So he's saying, I I'm, you know, I'm dead. I can't I can't do this on my own. I need you. Hide not your face from me is the request, lest I be like one who goes under the pit. Then in eight, let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love is another request. The corresponding statement about himself is for in you I trust. So he's kind of wrestling with who he is, who God is, asking God to meet him there. And as he does, notice how the metaphors kind of move a little more hopeful. So now we're talking about the morning. In the morning, let me hear of your steadfast love. That suggests there's going to be another day. He's going to make it through this dark night. And the and the dawn will come, and eventually he will see it and find it. So it again, he's like, there's a little more hope. Make me know the way I should go implies, well, maybe I'll live through this. Deliver me from my enemies. You know, again, he's he's got a hiding place in God, he's got a place to go. And then finally, let me, let your spirit leave me on level ground. So now he's imagining he's out of the pit, he's back to level ground, and that life will go on and that the uh God will have taken him there. So it's as he remembers who he is and who God is, he begins to cling to that faith, asking God to deliver him, and that's what kind of moves him out of the darkness into hope and life again. So know who you are, know who you serve. And then look how he concludes in verse 11 and 12. For your name's sake, O Lord, preserve my life. In your righteousness, bring my soul out of trouble, and in your steadfast love, you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adver adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant. So he concludes by saying, I'm counting on you. You're the only one that can rescue me, not just because you are merciful, but because, as he concludes, I am your servant. So he knows, think about what he's gone through. He has taken an honest look at himself, and he has said, Yes, I'm guilty, yes, I'm sinful, I deserve your judgment. But just as it is true that his spirit fails, his heart is appalled, his life is crushed to the ground, he can say, I am your servant. That's who he is. He's not just someone in despair. The confidence of the psalm is, I serve the living God. I'm a child of his, and God loves, will not let his children fail. He will get them through. And I think that's our point of hope. So when you're suffering, whether it's just or unjust, whether it's deserved or undeserved, know who you are, know who you serve. Yes, I'm sinful, I make stupid mistakes, I say thoughtless things, things I deeply regret, but I also know I am God's servant. That he loved me in spite of myself even when I was sinful. Uh he promised to save me when I was, all of us, you know, when we were sinners and could do nothing to get ourselves out of sin, he sent his son to die for us. So if he loved us enough to die for us while we were his enemies, now that we're his children, won't he get us through whatever this dark night is? And that's the place of resolation, that of resolution, that I know who God is. He's a loving, merciful father who loved me when I didn't deserve it, and now that I'm adopted into his family, won't he get me the rest of the way? It's the same argument Paul makes in Romans 5, where he says, you know, what takes more love to love your enemy or to love your child? You know, and if it takes this much love to love your enemy, and but only this much to love your child, well, think about what God's done. He loved us when we were enemies. So if he's done that, now that we're his children, don't you think he loves you enough to get you the rest of the way home? And that's what David is saying here. I know who my God is, I know who He's I who I am. Yes, I'm a sinner, but I am also his child. And that's the promise for us. Now, as I said, it's the promise if you are a child, if you are not yet a child of God, all you have to do is ask. There are basically only four steps to saving faith, and these should be familiar to you. There are things we've seen in David in these chapters. First, recognize that you're sinful. So, like David, you're guilty. You're not the person you should be. You have done the things you shouldn't have done and left undone the things you should have done. So recognize you're sinful is the first one. Recognize that left to yourself, you cannot make yourself better. So there's no amount of trying hard, of doing right, of you know, kind of sticking your courage to the sticking place and going forward that's going to solve this. So first you're sinful. Second, you can't get out of that problem by yourself. Third, that God owes you nothing. So there's no divine spark inside you that requires God to save you. Um, you know, there I think all of us kind of secretly believe that heaven just wouldn't be quite the same if I wasn't in it, you know. So he just had to save me. No, there's nothing that requires him to save us. So you know you're sinful, you know you can't solve that problem on your own. God is not required to save you, and then finally just trust that because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God will forgive you and God will make you holy. And all that David is asking him to do for him, God will do for you. All you have to do is ask. All right, let me pray for us to close us, and then I'll give you a chance to ask some questions. Father, thank you that you meet us even when we're in the pit, when our heart faints, when we feel like there's no morning to come, and it seems like we're just sitting in darkness or in despair, either as the result of our own sin or the circumstances around us. And we pray that like David, you would teach us to remember who you are and what you've done for us, and to know that not only are we sin and needed grace, but we are just now children of your adopted children, if we have come to your faith. And I pray that if there's anyone here who does not yet know your love and your forgiveness, that you would be working at her heart to teach her who you are, and that's you can be a child coming with a humphole and book of the club.