Psalm 3: Deliverance From Trials

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1 O LORD, how many are my foes!

How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,

"God will not deliver him."

3 But you are a shiled around me, LORD,


my glorious One, who lifts up my head.
4 To the LORD I cry aloud,

and He answers me from His holy hill.

5 I lie down and sleep;


I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
6 I will not fear the ten of thousands

drawn up against me on every side.

7 Arise, O LORD!


Deliver me, O my God!
For you have struck all my enemies on the jaw;

you have broken the teeth of the wicked.

8 From the LORD comes deliverance.


May your blessing be on your people.
(Psalm 3:1-8)

In this Psalm, David declared his faith in God to deliver him even though many people, including his son, were trying to destroy him.
They were also others who insulted him and ridiculed him, believing that he will definitely be destroyed this time. However, david's faith in God was vindicated. With God's intervention, Absalom foolishly listened to wrong counsel and was destroyed in the battle following (2 Samuel 17:1-18:18). David was eventually restored as king over Israel (2 Samuel 18:8-43).

What God did for David, He has promised also to do for us. He will deliver us from our trials whenever we call out to Him.

However, in order that we may receive God's deliverance in the face of trials and tribulations, we need to know the following truths:
We will always face trials and tribulations in our earthly life.
We must call out to God to deliver us.
We must believe that God will deliver us.
We must walk in love toward our enemies.

1. We will always face trials and tribulations in our earthly life.
Becuse we are children of a righteous God in an evil world, we will suffer persecution when we follow after God. (2 Timothy 3:12). Every believer who is living as a son of God will undergo tribulations and trials (Acts 14:22).

In fact, every one who wants to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted.
(2 Timothy 3:12)

And when they (Paul and Barnabas) had preached the gospel to that city and made many diciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strenghtening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God."
(Acts 14:21-22)

(a) The warning of Jesus.
Jesus warned His disciples that the world will hate them just as they had hated Him. The world will hate us because we do not belong to the world (John 15:18-20)

However, when we are persecuted, we are blessed, because we know that the kingdom of God belongs to us (Matthew 5:10-12). Moreover, Jesus promised that He will give us the victory in every trial, because He has overcome the world (John 16:33),

If the world hates you, kiip in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: "No servant is greater than his master." If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.
(John 15:18-20)

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,


for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you whne poeple insult you, persecute you and falsely say

all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven,

for in the same way they persecuted the prophets
who were before you.
(Matthew 5:10-12)

These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulations; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
(John 16:33)

(b) The experience of David in Psalm 3.
David was fleeing from his son, who wanted his throne, when he wrote Psalm 3. Before he became king, David also had to run for his life many times from King Saul, who wanted to kill him, although David defeated Saul's enemies in all his battles (1 Samuel 18:1-24:22).

1 O LORD, how many are my foes!

How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,

"God will not deliver him."
(Psalm 3:1-2)

Like David, persecution can come from the world or from those who are close to us. It can come from family members, from children, parents or spouse. It can come from church members who have backslidden, or from others who are jealous of us.

2. We must call out to God to deliver us.
When we face trials, we can ask God to deliver from our enemies. God knows our trials, and He has the power and wisdom to deliver us. Jesus gave us a promise that whatever we ask the Father in His name, God will give it to us (John 16:23). With this promise, we will then have the peace of God in our heart, knowing that God is with us to deliver us from our troubles (John 16:33).

In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
(John 16:23,33)

God can deliver us in basically two ways: either through our own death at the hand of our enemies or through the defeat of our enemies.

(a) Death at the hands of our enemies.
Jesus warned His disciples that our enemies will persecute us and even put us to death (Mark 13:12). Stephen was the first martyr to die for the Lord in the early church (Acts 7:54-60). James, the brother of John, was later put to death by King Herod (Acts 12:1-4).

For the believer, death is not defeat or failure. To die in the Lord is to move to a beter life, a life of eternal pleasures in the manifest presence of God (Psalm 16:11). It is a better place to go to than this earth, a place without tears or hunger or thirst or crying or pain (Philippians 1:23; Revelation 7:15-17; 21:4). It is deliverance from this eartly life and its trials. It is promotion to glory by God's plan.

And he said, "These are those who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the bolld of the Lamb.
Therefore,

"They are before the throne of God

and serve Him day and night in His temple;
and He who sits on the throne will spread His tent over them.
Never again will they hunger;

never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat upon them,

nor any sorching heat.
For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their Shepherd;

He will lead them to springs of living water.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

(Revelation 7:15-17)

They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
(Revelation 21:3-4)

(b)Defeat of our enemies.
If it is not God's will for you to be a martyr, then He will defeat your enemy and deliver you, sooner or later. Although James died at the hand of King Herod, God sent His angel to deliver Peter from the prison when King Herod had put him (Acts 12:1-11). Soon after that, God put a sickness on King Herod and he died (Acts 12:19-23). Peter's escape from the hand of King Herod was due to the earnest prayers of the believers in Jerusalem (Acts 12:5). David's deliverance from his son's hand was also a response of God to his prayers for help (Psalm 3:4,7)

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
(Acts 12:5)

4 To the LORD I cry aloud,


and He answers me from His holy hill.

7 Arise, O LORD!


Deliver me, O my God!
(Psalm 3:4,7)

3. We must believe that God will deliver us.
Having turned to God is prayer to deliver us from our trials, we must believe that God will indeed deliver us from our enemies. We express our faith in God by confessing the power of God to deliver us, by confessing the defeat of our enemies, by resting in God, and by rejoicing in God.

(a) Confessing the power of God to deliver us.
Like David, we must begin to believe God for His power to deliver us even when we are still facing the problems. Like David, we must begin to declare that God is our shield, our Glorious One, the One who lifts up our heads, the One who sustains us, the One who delivers us.

3 But you are a shield around me, O LORD,

my glorious One, who lifts up my head.
5 I lie down and sleep;

I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

7 Arise, O LORD!


Deliver me, O my GOD!
8 From the LORD comes deliverance.

May your blessing be on your people.
Psalm 3:3,5,7-8)

(b) Confessing the defeat of our enemies.
No matter how strong or vicious or wicked our enemies may be, we can surrender them into God's hands and believe in God's power to defeat them. Like David, we can declare our fiath in God's power to break the power of darkness working through our enemies (Psalm 3:7)

God can deliver us or shatter the power of our enemies through a thousand and one ways. He can cause them to repent, to retreat, or to be destroyed (1 Samuel 26:21; 2 Kings 19:1-36; 2 Chronicles 20:1-30).

7 Arise, O LORD!

Deliver me, O my God!
For you have struck all my enemies on the jaw;

you have broken the teeth of the wicked.
(Psalm 3:7)

(c) Resting in God.
After seeking God's help to deliver us, we must no longer be anxious or be fearful of what the enemy can do to us (Psalm 3:6). A good test of resting in God's power is the test of a good sleep (Psalm 3:5). Those who have learnt to trust God always have good sleep, like David did. We must learn to rest in God and let His peace rule over our heart (Philippians 4:6-7).

5 I lie down and sleep;

I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
6 I will not fear the ten of thousands

drawn up against me on every side.
(Psalm 3:5-6)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, be prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:6-7)

(d) Rejoicing in God
The simplest and most powerful way of expressing our faith in God is to rejoice in Him with praise and thanksgiving. As we praise God and thank Him for His yet-to-be manifested deliverance, God begins to move on our behalf (2 Chronicles 20:20-23; Acts 16:25-28). Thanksgiving is the expression of our belief that we have already received the answer to our prayers (Mark 11:24). And as we thank God, we shall see our deliverance.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everying, by prayer and pentition, with THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:6-7)

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believer that you have received it, and it will be yours.
(Mark 11:24)

We should also rejoice during times of trials and persecution because our persecution is a testimony to the fact that we are indeed truely children of God. We should rejoice because God has counted it worthy to use us to suffer for His name (Acts 5:41). It is a testimony that we are living for Christ, and are suffering for the sake of righteousness. We should rejoice because God's reward for those who suffer for His name's sake is great in heaven (Matthew 5:10-12).

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name (Acts 5:41)

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,


for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and

falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven,

jor in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
(Matthew 5:10-12)

4. We must walk in love towards our enemies.
Even as we pray for God's power to deliver us and to destroy the evil plans of our enemies, we must never hate our enemies. Instead, we must obey our Lord's command to love them, even as God has loved us when we were His enemies (Matthew 5:43-45).

You have heard that it was said, "Love your neighbour and hate your enemy." But I tell you: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
(Matthew 5:43-45)

God wants us to love our enemies by praying for them, asking God to change them, to bless them with His wisdom and revelation, to let them have visions of heaven and hell, to know Jesus, and to know the salvation of God. We are to bless them and do good to them (Luke 6:27-28)

When we walk in love toward our enemies, God will convict them of sin, righteousness and judgment through our testimony and witness to the power and love of God in our life (1 Peter 3:16).

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness aand respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
(1 Peter 3:15-16)

However, if we harbor ill-will or hatred toward our enemies, we will open a door to the attacks of the devil against us. If we repay evil for evil, we are no different from pagans who do not know the living God as their Father. We have fallen into the devil's trap when we repay evil for evil. Moreover, God will also not be agle to answer our prayers or deliver us if we harbor hatred towards others, including our enemies (Mark 11:25; Psalm 66:18).

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
(Mark 11:25)

If I have cherished sin in my heart


the Lord would not have listened
(Psalm 66:18)

Your thought:
1. Why will Christians face persecution in this life?

2. How should we respond to persecution?

3. Will God deliver you when you are suffering because of your sin?

Read 2 Chronicles 32:24-26 for the answer to the above question.
(Read 1 Peter 3:17 & 1 Peter 4:15 for the type of suffering God is pleased with).