by Steve McCranie | Apr 3, 2017
The context of Psalm 3 deals with David’s great betrayal at the hands of his own son, Absalom, whom he dearly loved (2 Sam. 18:33). Absalom had driven his father from the holy city, Jerusalem, and was seeking to usurp his kingdom and take his life. David’s guilt as a failed father towards his rebellious son must have been unbearable. Adding to that the guilt of his own sin with Bathsheba and the murder of his close friend, and her husband, Uriah the Hittite (2 Sam. 11:15), may have caused David to feel Absalom’s actions were justified, a fitting penalty for the sins of David’s past.
The future looked bleak. There was division within his own family. To regain his kingdom he would have to wage war against his own son, forcing him to repay evil for evil to the one he loved. God was grieved and David was unsure as to what to do.
Our Focus
There is much for us to learn about God and our own problems in this psalm. Note, for example, what happens when we, like David, focus on our problems and what others say about our situation:
Psalm 3:1-2 – LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.”
But now, the focus has shifted from what is before us to our God and all He has promised. You can almost feel David’s faith begin to grow:
Psalm 3:3-4 – But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head. I cried to the LORD with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill.
As Corrie ten Boom once said, “There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.”
David realizes God has not abandoned him. He has cried out to his Lord, our Lord, and his voice had been heard. God was still on His throne and He still loved his son, David, no matter how desperate the circumstances. The same truth applies to each of us when we get our focus off our problems— the immediate, the overwhelming, and focus instead on what lasts— the Eternal, the Lord, the Sovereign One.
And the result of that change in focus? No more fear. Rest and peace in the face of turmoil. Confidence in Him and Him alone. “God’s got this. I’ve nothing to fear.”
Psalm 3:5-6 – I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
After all, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31). Great question. Answer, no one. Not even Absalom.
This thought brings great courage to David. God is not finished with him yet. Today and tomorrow are just setbacks. But God’s plan endures to all generations.
Finally, that confidence is expressed in action. David, and each of us, find our prayers going from “Help me, please, for I am dying” to “Arise, O Lord” and do what You promised to do for your children.
Psalm 3:7-8 – Arise, O LORD; Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongs to the LORD. Your blessing is upon Your people
Did you get that? “Your (God) blessing is upon Your (God) people.”
The End from the Beginning
One final thought, did you notice all of God’s actions are recorded in the past tense (have struck, have broken)? That’s right. For the child of God, we can rest in faith knowing what God has promised to do has already been done in the eyes of the Lord. His Word never changes. If God promises to do something for us, in faith, it’s already done. It’s finished, established, completed, done. Time is a construct of man, not of God. He sees everything, past, present and future, in real time. Scripture calls that seeing “the end from the beginning” (Isa, 46:10). We simply have to rest, by faith, in the completed work of the Lord even though our eyes may see, for a time, something quite different.
David saw Absalom’s rebellion and his kingdom, the one promised to David by the Lord, ripped from his hands. But not God. None of that surprised Him. God knew how all of that was going to turn out and His knowledge of the future was not based on changing circumstances, but on what He had promised David in the past. What was currently happening, in God’s eyes, were merely details.
So we should also live our lives with the same focus on Him, with eyes of faith, seeing the truth of what God sees and not what our circumstances cause us to fear. The promises our faithful God has made to each of us are true, and will come to pass, regardless of how dark and bleak our circumstances may seem today. And living in the reality of this faith, to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7), will give us the peace and assurance in Him that will help us know our Lord sustains us and gives us the confidence to proclaim, even in the midst of the battle, “I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around” (Ps. 3:6).
Psalm 3:8 – Salvation belongs to the Lord, Your blessing is upon Your people.
The “Your people” also include you and me, those chosen in Him “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). And His blessing is upon His people. Take a moment, stop fretting, and rest in that.
Pray for the Lord to open your eyes today to see the wonder of His grace and sovereignty in all things (Ps. 115:3) and to teach you how to live like children of the Most High God (Rom. 8:17). Which, as incredible as it sounds, you are.
Praise be His Name!
by Steve McCranie | May 17, 2016
In Psalm 56, during a very dark time in David’s life, he wrote the following:
Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; (therefore) I will not fear. What can flesh (or, man) do to me?
James Montgomery Boice said: “Man can oppress, slander, hurt, hate, maim, and murder me, for starters. But, of course, that is not the answer David is giving us in Psalm 56. His answer is: Nothing!”
And he’s right. What can man do to me? Nothing. Absolutely nothing? Why? Because “God is for me” (Psalm 56:9). Do you want to know how to live in the midst of fear? Do you want to know how to not let your view of God limit you because He is too small. If so, then keep listening.
The following is a study on Psalm 56.
To download the slides for this message, click – HERE
Download this episode (right click and save)
by Steve McCranie | Nov 23, 2015
The Scriptures talk much about how to approach the Lord or how to “come into His presence” (Ps. 95:2). From the words to Moses at the burning bush: “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground” (Ex. 3:5), to the invitation from Christ: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28)— we see examples of how to come near to the Holy One.
But there’s one place in Scripture that reveals more about how to approach the Lord than any other. And that is found in Psalm 100. Or, as Spurgeon called it, “the ol’ one hundred.”
So join with me as we discover what it means to “Come before His presence with singing” and to “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise” (Ps. 100:2, 4). I think you’ll be surprised. Why? Because it doesn’t mean what you think it means.
Want to know more? Then keep listening.
The following is a study on Psalm 100:1-5.
To download the slides for this message, click – HERE
Download this episode (right click and save)
by Steve McCranie | Mar 27, 2015
The Scripture teaches us that we will become just like what we worship. If we worship the world, we become like the world. If we worship self or conceit or greed, we will become selfish, conceited and greedy.
Think about it. Is the world harsh and unforgiving? Of course. And we will also become harsh and unforgiving if we worship the world. Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?
Psalm 135:15-18 tells us we will be like the idols we worship. We will become just like the things we trust. Consider the following:
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They (the idols) have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them (Psalm 135:15-18).
As David Murray puts it:
- If we worship supermodels, we’ll become vain and self-centered.
- If we worship football players, we’ll become aggressive, bombastic, and women-demeaning.
- If we worship actors and singers, we’ll become foul-mouthed, immoral, and sad.
- If we worship corporate America, or the dollar, we’ll become greedy, oppressive, and materialistic
- If we worship academia, the pursuit of degrees, letters, titles, etc., we’ll become proud, arrogant, condescending, and conceited.
Why? Because we’ll become just like what we worship, good or bad. It’s a truth that’s always true.
“So, does that truth also apply to Jesus?” Absolutely. And that’s the good news.
When we worship Jesus, we become more and more like Him. We reflect His glory (2 Cor. 3:18), we will bear His fruit (John 15:8), and we’ll walk as He walked (1 John 2:6). And isn’t that the point of the Christian life? To be more like the One we love?
Consider carefully where you place your affections. Why? Because “friendship with the world is enmity (or, hatred) with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
And nobody in their right mind would want to willingly make themselves an enemy of God, right? So keep your heart open and soft for only One— and His name is Jesus.
by Steve McCranie | Dec 8, 2014
The cherished and beloved 23rd Psalm begins with both a statement and a promise. The statement: The Lord is my shepherd. And the promise: I shall not want.
It seems like the rest of the Psalm simply elaborates on this wonderful promise. For example, I will not want for:
Food – because I am made to “lie down in green pastures” (23:2)
Refreshment – because “He leads me beside the still waters” (23:2)
Forgiveness and Renewal of Spirit – because “He restores my soul” (23:3)
Direction and Guidance – because “He leads me in the paths of righteousness” (23:3)
Fear of Failure and Death – because “I will fear no evil in the valley of the shadow of death” (23:4)
His Presence, Acceptance – because “You are with me” (23:4)
Comfort and Peace – because “Your rod and Your staff they comfort me” (23:4)
Victory in the Face of Our Enemies – because “You prepare a table before me in the presence of My enemies” (23:5)
Do you want to know more? Then keep listening.
The following is a study on Psalm 23:1-2.
Download this episode (right click and save)
by Steve McCranie | Oct 12, 2014
How can we know and experience the Love of God (1 John 4:8) when we are often surrounded by pain and despair, broken lives and broken marriages, sickness, disease, rejection and betrayal, and everything else that makes up living with fallen people in a fallen world?
How can we, like Job, confidently say: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15)?
How can we live like that? How can we have the faith that trusts in Him regardless of the circumstances? How is that even possible?
Want to know the answer to these questions? Then keep listening.
The following is a study on Psalm 27:1-14.
Download this episode (right click and save)
