Psalm 3 - David's debacle

David, although he was a man after God’s own heart, made some bad decisions and fell short of being all that he could have been. Today we are going to work through some of the events that let up to his writing Psalm 3.

2 Samuel 13

The Story of Amnon and Tamar – 1-13 Amnon concocted a scheme to get alone with Tamar, then raped her.

²¹ Now when King David heard of all these matters, he was very angry.

                What does this verse say about how David handled this situation?

                What happens in a bad situation when anger is added to the mix?

                What had David done to influence Amnon? Absalom?

24- 39 Absalom found out about it formulated a plan to kill Amnon

³⁷ Now Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day. ³⁸ So Absalom had fled and gone to Geshur, and was there three years. ³⁹ The heart of King David longed to go out to Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, since he was dead.

Chapter 14 – 1-20 a long and complicated story about how Absalom was banished, followed by V21

²¹ Then the king said to Joab, “Behold now, I will surely do this thing; go therefore, bring back the young man Absalom.”

Read 14:25-33 Absalom and David Make up.

Read 15:1-18 Absalom steals the hearts of Israel, and a coup ensues.

Talk about a messed up situation.

1)David is one of the most revered people in the Bible, but he had some serious character flaws.

                Why do you think he had such trouble with his children? Was it just bad luck?

2)One reason that David is so revered is because he was human and made mistakes like we do, but David knew enough to turn to God when time got rough.

Read Psalm 3 (Silently)

What is David expecting from the Lord at this tragic time in his life?

What experience has David had that allows him to pray V7?

What can we expect from God when we face trouble?

What about even trouble that we bring upon ourselves?

Psalm 1 - God's word as a priority

Psalm 1 ALL Read it.

Something that troubles me is to see people who attend church for 10 or 20 years, give, sing, fellowship, and otherwise seem to be nice people – suddenly turn away from all that they previously claimed to hold dear to pursue some other way of life. Sometimes leaving their wife or husband, children, and church to live a completely different lifestyle.

This type of action make me wonder, “Did the preacher’s sermons make any impact? Did the CG or Sunday School teacher make any impact? How did this person start down a path of rebellion?

I am convinced that people who make that kind of drastic life change, didn’t come to the decision overnight, but over a longer time. I also feel strongly that Preachers and SS teachers can only go so far, but as Psalm 1 teaches us, “Meditating on God’s law” consistently leads to blessings that ONLY God can give. I also think that ignoring God’s law, as revealed in His word, is a recipe for disaster in any life.

So, as a CG leader, one of the most important things I can do is to try to point everyone, including myself, in the direction of the Bible. That is where God is going to speak to you and to me.

Today, I want to go through some practical and useful ideas on how to be consistent in meditating on His law.

1)      What are some of the most common excuses for Christians NOT spending time reading and studying the Bible?

a.       I don’t have time.

b.      There are other things I have to do (Work, School, that take all my energy)

c.       I get enough Bible at church

2)       How can you get into the habit of daily Bible reading?

a.       One Year Bible

b.      Use a good translation for you

c.       Quiet place, regular time

d.      Pray before reading – Ask God to help you understand

e.      Talk about what you read! Husband, wife, friend, co-workers

f.        Add it to your calendar or todo list

g.       Change it up if it is not working!

h.      Technology – iPad, iPhone, Tablet, Computer

Bottom line – It has to be important to you.

                Your priorities will eventually triumph. Is God’s word a priority for you?

Psalms Introduction

Psalm—The title of the book in the Hebrew Bible is Tehillim which means Praise Songs. When the book was translated to Greek they used the word Psalmoi which means “songs to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument”. Psalmoi eventually came to mean “Songs of Praise” and English translators transliterated the word to “Psalms” when translating it to English.

Psalms is a deep look into the spiritual life of individual Israelites and the nation of Israel.

A.K.A. Israel’s Hymnal

A source of encouragement and spiritual blessing

Structure—Poetry

Contains a Title

Body (Stanzas and Lines)

Parallelism

Some of the Main types of Psalms:

Personal Lament - Psalm 73

National (Corporate) Lament - Psalm 137 

Personal Praise  -  Psalm 32

National (Corporate) Praise  - Psalm 33

61 Psalms are classified as Lament Psalms

Messianic Psalms  - 34:20, 22, 68, 69, many others

Imprecatory Psalms  - 35, 109

Divided into 5 sections “Book I, Book II, etc.”

Written by: (Divinely Inspired) Moses (90 around 1405 B.C.), David, Asaph, Solomon, Korah’s descendants, Heman, and Ethan.

Synonymous: A close similarity between each consecutive line.     Example 7:13  

             He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons;
             He makes His arrows fiery shafts.

Synthetic: The second line further develops the thought in the first line. Example 95:3

For the Lord is a great God
And a great King above all gods,

Emblematic: The second line illuminates or illustrates the first line. Example 42:1

As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So my soul pants for You, O God.

Antithetical: The second line contrasts the thought of the first line. Example 1:6

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.

Climatic: Part of one line, either a word or phrase, is repeated in the second and other following lines, until a theme is developed culminating in a main idea or statement. Example 29:1-2

Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name;
Worship the Lord in holy array.