Great. Well, we are looking at the book of 2 Samuel tonight, chapter 16.
So that's page 267 in the Black Pew Bibles in front of you.
Let me invite you to turn there with me.
We are working through a sermon series in the book of 2 Samuel.
We got through chapter 15 last year, took a little break for the holidays,
and then we'll finish it up by Easter time.
And while you're turning there, let me point out too,
in the pews in front of you is a new sermon card for the sermon series in the coming months.
So you can take one of those home actually.
You can stick it on your fridge or wherever you stick things in your life.
You can take a picture of it and put it on your phone and then throw it away
or whatever you do with things these days.
You can follow along so you know it's coming up.
So you can read the passage in the week and be prepared for Sundays.
Once we're done with 2 Samuel, we're going to celebrate Easter
and then we're actually going to be preaching through the middle portion of the Gospel of Luke
and thinking about discipleship, discipleship in the real world.
As Jesus leads his followers to Jerusalem in the Gospel of Luke,
he teaches them about what it means to follow him.
So that's kind of where we're going in the next few months.
Tonight, we're looking at 2 Samuel.
So as we approach this passage tonight, I think we'll find it fruitful if we pause first
and think about a time in your life when maybe you were at a moment of weakness or vulnerability
and someone actually took advantage of you or maybe even manipulated you, deceived you,
or tricked you in some way, sort of took advantage of you in a moment of weakness.
Or even think about a time when someone maybe unjustly accused you or criticized you
for something that you didn't do or came at you in a way that was full of misrepresentations and untruth.
Or think about a time even when maybe someone betrayed you,
like a close friend or a colleague or even a spouse or a brother or sister.
Or think about a time when someone that you loved and trusted betrayed your trust
and abandoned you and worked for your hurt and not for your good.
If you get a personal experience like that in mind, as unpleasant as it is,
with all the emotion and all the anguish and all the anger and hurt that it brings up,
then I think you'll be able to connect with our passage tonight.
Because in our text tonight, David is experiencing all of those things.
David in this chapter endures all sorts of unjust reproach and betrayal.
At this point in his life's story, he's on the run from his son Absalom.
He's fleeing the city of Jerusalem, the capital.
And in chapter 15 that we looked at before the holidays,
we found that David in his flight was greeted mostly by friends along the way.
But now here in chapter 16, he's greeted not by his friends, but by his foes.
And the chapter ends with him having been manipulated and cursed and betrayed.
So as we dive into this chapter, I want us to think about three things, three questions.
First, why does all this happen to David?
And why do things like this happen to us?
Second, how does David respond to this harsh reality?
And then third, how can we today respond similarly?
So that's where we're going.
Let's read 2 Samuel chapter 16.
When David had passed a little beyond the summit, that is the summit of the Mount of Olives,
which was east of Jerusalem.
David's, remember, on the run from his son Absalom.
When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, met him
with a couple of donkeys saddled bearing 200 loaves of bread and 100 bunches of raisins
and 100 of summer fruits and a skin of wine.
And the king said to Ziba, 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, and where is your master's son?
Ziba said to the king, behold, he remains in Jerusalem.
For he said, today the house of Israel will give me back the kingdom of my father.
Then the king said to Ziba, behold, all that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.
And Ziba said, I pay homage.
Let me ever find favor in your sight, my lord, the king.
When David came to Baharim, there came out a man of the family of the house of Saul,
whose name was Shimei, the son of Gerah.
And as he came, he cursed continually.
Then he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David.
And all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.
And Shimei said as he cursed, get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless 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.
Then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, said to the king, why should this dead dog curse my lord, the king?
Let me go over and take off his head.
But the king said, what have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah?
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 may now this Benjaminite leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to.
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 Shimei, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust.
And the king and all the people who were with him arrived weary at the Jordan.
And there he refreshed himself.
Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem and Ahithophel with him.
And when Hushai the archite, 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?
And Hushai said to Absalom, no, for whom the Lord and the people and all the men of Israel have chosen,
his I will be and with him I will remain.
And again, whom should I serve?
Should it not be his son?
As I have served your father, so I will serve you.
Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, give your counsel.
What shall we do?
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 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 counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God.
So was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed both by David and by Absalom.
Let's pray together.
God, give us your spirit, we pray tonight, so that we might understand the message of this text,
apply it well to our lives, so that we might live in line with the truth of your word,
and the truth of your good news, the gospel.
Help us, we pray.
Amen.
So as we said, David in this chapter experiences some of the hardest human relational experiences,
I think, that we go through.
He's tricked, he's cursed, and in the end he's betrayed.
Now, at first, it's kind of hard to parse things out, but he's tricked, you see, by Ziba,
the first one he meets.
We met Ziba actually back in chapter 9.
He was a servant in Saul's household, the king that preceded David,
and David gave to Ziba the stewardship over what was left of Saul's house and his ancestral property,
and in particular, David gave Ziba as a servant to Saul's remaining heir, Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth.
And Mephibosheth, you remember, had been injured as a child and was lame in both of his feet.
And at first glance, it seems like Ziba's doing David a great favor, right?
Here he is providing tasty food and drink and transportation to David and his followers
when they're weary and weak on their trek into the wilderness.
But, you know, when we read the rest of the story of 2 Samuel,
especially if you were to skip ahead and read chapter 19,
we learn that Ziba's intentions here are not what they seem.
Ziba claims that his master, Mephibosheth, has abandoned David and gone over to Absalom,
but we'll find later that that's simply just not true.
Mephibosheth has, it seems, remained loyal to David,
and here Ziba is taking advantage of David's position of weakness and need,
showing up with gifts,
lying about his master,
all in order to manipulate David into giving him the rights over Mephibosheth's property.
The commentator Matthew Henry wrote,
no longer content to be the manager,
Ziba wants to be the master.
And for the time being, it works.
David believes the story,
he receives the gifts,
and is deceived.
The next person David meets is Shimei,
a descendant of Saul,
who curses David.
That is, he sort of calls down God's, you know, wrath upon his head,
calling him a man of blood,
saying that he deserves all that's happening to him
because he butchered Saul's family on his way to being the king.
Now, of course, if you've been following the story of 1 and 2 Samuel,
you know, actually, that Shimei's accusation isn't true.
David actually has dealt incredibly honorably towards Saul and his family.
I mean, you remember all those times in 1 Samuel
when David refuses to lift his hands against Saul.
So this reproach that Shimei flings at David along with all the stones and all the dirt,
it's all unjust, it's all undeserved.
And then lastly here, there's the episode with Hushai and Ahithophel.
Now, Hushai in these final paragraphs comes to Jerusalem
actually as a spy on behalf of David.
So the one guy that looks like he is selling David out
is actually on David's side in this chapter.
He's winning his way into Absalom's court,
hoping to be something of kind of a fifth column
to undermine Absalom,
or at least to be sort of an inside pair of eyes and ears
for David who's had to run into the wilderness.
You can look back in chapter 15
to see how David and Hushai sort of plotted
this risky counterinsurgence maneuver
that Hushai is all about here.
And next week, we're going to see how that goes
in chapter 17.
But then there's this character of Ahithophel,
who at one point was David's trusted and esteemed counselor,
his right-hand man.
And we find that Ahithophel sides with Absalom's insurrection.
And he tells Absalom to do what?
To go up on the roof and to sleep with David's concubines.
And that that would be a sign to all of the city
that Absalom is now in control of all that was David's,
down to his very household, down to his very bedroom.
Absalom owns it all.
In other words, Ahithophel totally betrays David.
Now, why does all this happen to David?
And why does it happen to us?
Live life for any length of time
and you experience people who will try to trick you
when you're weak, curse you when you're innocent,
and even betray us because we're no longer useful to them
when something better comes along, right?
Now, you might ask, why?
Why does that happen?
Now, sometimes these things happen
because of consequences for our own actions, right?
David had blown it big time with Bathsheba,
and he'd even blown it in his relationship
with Absalom himself.
And now, maybe we might think
that David is reaping more of what he's sown.
But you know, that doesn't explain all of it,
either for David or for us,
and it doesn't explain what's going on here in 16.
I mean, think of it.
Absalom's revolt is connected to David's failure and sin.
There's no getting around that.
We looked at that in chapter 15.
David mourns for his sin.
He experienced the Lord's discipline there.
But you know, here in chapter 16,
it's not like Ziba's trickery
or Shimei's cursing
or even Ahithophel's betrayal
are necessarily the result of what David did.
They're not logically connected to that
in any intimate way.
And so we need to see that sometimes
we are going to undergo betrayal
and cursing and even manipulation
simply because we live in a fallen world.
We live in a fallen world
and it's full of people like ourselves
who are fallen and who are sinful.
Why does all this happen to David?
Because tragically,
this is kind of how life goes
in the fallen world.
We'll be sinned against.
The life of the saint, you see, friends,
will not be a rosy walk
through fields and streams all the time
smelling the glad roses.
There will be descents.
David is going down the Mount of Olives
and figuratively,
he's sort of heading down
in all of these ways.
There will be valleys of darkness and betrayal.
And I think it's good to be reminded of this
so we aren't taken so by surprise.
You know, oftentimes in our spiritual life,
I think that we're like a football player
who's running with the ball down the field
and then suddenly we get shocked
that someone from the other team
is trying to tackle us.
What are they doing?
Why is this happening to me?
Why are they trying to crush
every bone in my body?
Well, that's just the reality
of the game of football.
When you got the ball,
people are coming to get you.
And friends, Jesus is very clear
that there would be times
when his followers would be ridiculed,
falsely accused, and betrayed.
In essence, Jesus tells his followers,
look, if they rejected me,
there will be times
when you too are rejected.
And I think that means that
we shouldn't really sort of shake our fist at God
when people do sinful things against us.
Of course, we can and should
lament and cry out to God.
We should vent our emotions to him.
We should do that.
We should come to him
with all that we're feeling
and all that we're experiencing.
And yet we should remember
that God told us
these things would happen
and he's worked to prepare us.
And that this is a sad and grim reality
of living in a fallen world
amidst fallen people
just like ourselves.
People will manipulate
and curse and betray.
And yet, friends,
isn't it helpful to know
that God's king,
both then and now,
isn't immune
to knowing firsthand
what that's like?
You see,
David could be
the sort of king he was,
compassionate and strong,
understanding
and yet full of vision.
He could be the sort of king he was
because he knew
what it was like
to suffer the worst from people,
because he knew
exactly what it was like
to stand in the shoes
of the people that he led.
And friends,
how much more
do we have that sort of king
today in the Lord Jesus
who knows what it's like
to walk in our shoes?
And how much more
can we trust him
to be a faithful
and knowing
and loving
and trustworthy king
over us?
So how should we respond then?
If this is kind of
an inevitable thing,
how do we deal with it?
This is the second thing
that we see in our text here.
And I think we see it most
in David's response
to Shimei.
David's being unjustly cursed here.
Insults, rocks, dirt
all come raining down
on David's head.
And when this happens to us,
I think our response
is often more like Abishai
than like David, right?
What does Abishai say
in verse 9?
Essentially,
how dare he?
This guy's a dead dog.
Now, if you were an Israelite,
you didn't like dogs.
They were filthy and mangy
and they were sort of scavengers.
And like doubly worse
would be a dead dog
because you weren't supposed
to touch dead things
as an ancient Israelite.
So this guy is like
the lowest of the low
in Abishai's viewing.
How dare this dead dog
curse my lord, the king?
And then what does Abishai say?
I've got an easy way
to fix this problem, David.
Let me go over
and take off his head.
Done.
No one's going to get hit
with stones.
No one's going to get
with dirt.
I'm just going to kill him.
This seems to be Abishai's
kind of MO,
his standard way of operating.
You remember back
in our first Samuel series,
Abishai was the guy
who snuck into Saul's
sleeping camp with David
in the middle of the night
and said,
David, let me pin Saul
to the ground
with my spear
while he sleeps.
Trust me,
I'm not going to have
to throw twice.
I'll hit him the first time.
Right?
So this is Abishai.
But you know,
isn't that how often
we respond
to criticism
and reproach?
If there's any amount
of inaccuracy
in the criticism,
any amount
of getting the facts wrong,
okay,
we don't literally
take off their head.
But don't we often think,
how dare you?
And then proceed
maybe to figuratively
take off their head?
Think about it.
The last time
someone charged you
with a failure
or a shortcoming,
the last time
someone corrected
or criticized you,
how did you respond?
Were you defensive?
Did you lash back?
Did you walk away
in anger
and refuse to listen?
That's often how I do it.
Did you think of all
the stupid
and wrong things
that they were guilty of?
But look how David responds.
Two things.
First,
surprisingly,
he listens.
And he listens
as if
this could maybe
be God's word
to him.
See that in verse 10
and verse 11.
David is open
to the possibility
that this cursing
may have been prompted
by the Lord.
That is,
that the Lord
may have something
for David
to actually hear in it.
Even though,
and get this,
even though,
as David points out
in verse 12,
that it is
an unjust accusation.
Okay.
Even though
it's a wrong
being done to him,
David still
attends to it
as if there's still
something for him
to hear.
Something that he
needs to hear.
Friends,
I think this is how
we ought often
to approach
even some of the
most unjust
criticism that we face.
With the humility
that even if
it's loaded
with hatred
and falsehood,
that there might
still be something
that God has
for us in it.
after all,
think about it,
David did not
spill the blood
of Saul's house.
That was an unjust
accusation.
David did not
deserve that curse,
but
did he not
still
spill
innocent blood
when he sent
Bathsheba's husband
Uriah
to the front lines
with a letter
in his hand
to Joab
telling Joab
to pull back
the forces
when you get
into the thick
of battle
so that Uriah
gets killed.
David did have
blood on his hands.
He knew it
to be true.
So he heard
the rebuke
because he knew
he was a sinner
and he knew
he wasn't perfect.
Now friends,
maybe you've been
criticized.
Are you willing
to hear
what's true
in it?
Even if it's
surrounded
by a lot
of falsehood,
even if a lot
of it is
ungrounded?
Are you
willing to
listen to
what God
might be
saying even
through all
the radio
static and
through all
the stones
and dirt
that are
falling down
on your
head?
And what's
the result?
The result
of David
doing this
is actually
that he
avoids
more bloodshed
by just
receiving
the rebuke.
Abishai
doesn't take
off
Shimei's
head.
Now,
it's not
that we
shouldn't
ever seek
to correct
misunderstandings
or clarify
what's true.
We should
do that.
We should
do it
calmly,
peaceably.
But friends,
how much
more figurative
bloodshed
and back
and forth
and grudges
and bitterness
in our
relationships
and in our
churches
and our
communities
and in our
marriages
and in our
friendships,
how much
of that
would be
avoided
if we
would learn
to hear
and listen
to rebukes
even if
they happen
to be a
little unjust?
You know,
the next thing
that David
does in the
face of all
this is that
he doesn't
just listen.
This is
important.
He also
entrusts
himself to
God's
justice,
you see.
Look at
verse 12.
David is
confident
that whatever
unjust
cursing he
endures,
the Lord
will repay
him with
good for
the evil
that he's
received.
It reminds
me of
Jesus'
teaching in
the Sermon
on the
Mount,
doesn't
it?
Matthew
5,
11.
Jesus
says,
blessed
are you
when others
revile you
and persecute
you and
utter all
kinds of
evil against
you falsely
on my
account.
Rejoice
and be
glad,
Jesus
says.
Why?
For
your
reward is
great in
heaven.
For
so they
persecuted
the prophets
who were
before you.
When we
face this
kind of
unjust
cursing,
criticism,
reproach,
even betrayal
or manipulation,
you see,
friends,
we can
respond with
courage and
with composure
because we
know that
God will
look at
the wrong
done to
us and
one day he
will repay
us with
good.
he will
make things
right.
That is
the sort
of God
he is.
There is
no hurt
or no
loss or
no betrayal
or no
curse that
has come
down upon
the head
of the
Christian
that will
not ultimately
be made
right and
repaid with
good in
God's
kingdom.
God's
resurrection.
In other
words,
every cross,
friends,
will be met
with a
resurrection.
Lastly,
then,
seeing how
David responds,
where in the
world do we
get the kind
of emotional
and spiritual
wealth to
do all
this?
How
possibly can
we listen
and can we
trust God's
justice in all
these ways?
Where do we
get the inner
strength to
respond this
way?
To not be
like Abishai
and want to
just rip
people's
heads off?
Or,
on the other
hand,
right,
or to
respond in
the opposite
way by
just giving
up when
we're
criticized or
when we're
betrayed,
by just
crumpling and
folding and
refusing to
go on.
Notice that's
not David's
response either.
He presses on
to the Jordan
in this text.
He keeps
going.
He doesn't
give up.
Well,
one of the
great things
about this
chapter is
that it's
one of those
episodes in
David's life
where we're
actually given
an inside
look into
David's heart,
into David's
spiritual life.
And the
place where
we're given
that is in
the book of
the Psalms,
in Psalm
chapter 3,
which is
attributed to
this very
moment in
David's life.
So let's
look there
actually.
Turn with
me.
It's page
448 in
the Pew
Bible.
Let's look
at Psalm
3 together
and see
the sort
of secret
of David's
composure
in the
midst of
reproach.
Psalm
3,
page
448.
Let me
begin reading
this for
us.
David
writes,
O Lord,
how many
are my
foes?
Many
are rising
against
me.
Many
are saying
of my
soul,
there's
no salvation
for God,
for him
and God.
So what's
David doing
right off
the bat?
He's
crying out
to God.
He's
praying.
And friends,
that should
tell us
that prayer
is not
some sort
of luxury
activity
for when
we happen
to get
some free
time and
we're feeling
sort of extra
spiritual.
Okay,
I'll pray
now.
No,
friends,
prayer is
a lifeline
in the
trenches
of the
warfare
of life.
And David
lays it all
out before
God.
He's not
sugarcoating
one thing.
He says,
Lord,
how many
are my
foes?
Verse 3,
But you,
O Lord,
are a
shield
about me,
my glory
and the
lifter
of my
head.
I cried
aloud to
the Lord
and he
answered me
from his
holy hill.
Now notice
here,
David's
protection
and David's
security,
his shield,
right?
That's what a
shield is.
His worth,
his glory,
his dignity
and honor,
the lifter
of my
head.
His
protection,
his worth,
his dignity,
they're not
in what people
think of
him,
are they?
They're not
ultimately
in how great
David's
circumstances
are.
Where then
are they?
You,
O Lord,
are my
shield
and my
glory.
Yeah?
And as
David cries
to God
in prayer,
he says,
God answered
me.
Now,
God did
not answer
him by
changing
his
circumstances,
right?
2 Samuel 16,
it's not like
at the end,
poof,
magically,
David's totally
vindicated.
Things get
bad.
Things are
going to
get a
little even
worse in
the story
here before
they get
better.
But still
God answers.
Deep in
David's soul
in this
moment,
he gets
a divine
assurance
that the
Lord is
with him.
In prayer,
God speaks
to his
heart and
comforts
him and
gives him
strength.
Look at
verse 5.
I lay
down and
slept.
I woke
again,
for the
Lord
sustained
me.
I will
not be
afraid of
many
thousands
of people
who have
set
themselves
against
me
all
around.
Arise,
O Lord,
save me,
O my
God,
for you
strike all
my enemies
on the
cheek.
You break
the teeth
of the
wicked.
Salvation
belongs to
the Lord.
Your
blessing be
on your
people.
David here
knows and
acknowledges and
prays and
recognizes that
God will not
allow evil to
triumph forever.
Salvation,
he says,
belongs to
the Lord.
It's part of
his essence.
It's part
of God's
nature to
be a
redeeming
God.
Belongs
to him.
Now,
friends,
if David
knew this,
deep in
his bones,
how much
more do
we,
or should
we?
You know,
David had
seen God
rescue him
time and
time again.
But haven't
you and I
seen God's
greatest act
of rescue?
Not just for
you and me
individually,
but for the
whole world
in Jesus
Christ.
Do we not
know the
king who
endured the
most unjust
reproach?
The king who
was truly
betrayed and
abandoned and
mocked and
scorned?
But unlike
David,
Jesus had no
sin and
there was no
ground for the
curses that he
received.
None whatsoever.
He was actually
completely innocent.
There was no
right for that
army of
shimmy eyes
who assaulted
Jesus in his
passion as
one after
another,
after another,
just flung
down curses
and rebuke
and reproach
on Jesus'
head when
he was arrested
and crucified.
And yet,
friends,
don't we know
that this
king who's
come and
born all
this unjust
cursing and
rebuke and
reproach,
don't we know
that he bore
these curses
for us?
The apostle
Paul writes
in the book
of Galatians,
Christ became
a curse
for us
so that we
might receive
God's blessing.
every curse
that you and
I deserved
because we're
sinners,
every curse
that the holy
law of God
would fling
and hurl
against us
righteously,
justly,
Christ himself
has absorbed
as our
substitute,
standing in
our place.
And Jesus
rose from the
grave to
prove that
that curse
had been
undone and
emptied.
And that
now,
instead of
God's curse
being upon
us,
it's God's
blessing that's
upon us.
Now God's
blessing is
for you
and for me
and for
everyone who
repents and
believes.
You see,
friends,
this is the
wellspring of
David's and
of our,
especially as
Christians.
This is the
wellspring of
it.
Now because of
what Jesus
has done,
the one
opinion that
actually matters,
the opinion of
God himself who
made you and
made me,
the opinion of
that God is
one of a
blessing over
us, of
approval and
love.
And now we
know that God
will always be
faithful to us
and never
betray us.
And that God
will always work
for our good and
never deceive us
or manipulate us.
and that God
will always
accept us
and never
curse us
no matter what
external circumstances
we might
experience.
Salvation
belongs to
the Lord.
Your blessing
be on your
people,
David says.
That's what
will give you
the inner
strength to
endure the
curses and
betrayals of
this life and
to respond in
humility and
courage when
they come.
David saw it
and tasted it
and experienced
it.
But you know,
in reality,
he did it from
afar.
He saw just
shadows of what
we know.
But we,
in Jesus Christ,
by the Holy
Spirit,
we see it up
close.
We see the
substance itself,
friends.
So why don't we
go to God in
prayer together
right now?
And let's ask
God to bury
the reality of
His salvation
deep in our
hearts so that
we can respond
like David did,
so that we
can respond
like people
of God's
kingdom,
so that we
can respond
like people
of the
King Jesus.
Let's pray
together.
Lord,
there's so
much that we
ought to be
bringing before
you in prayer
as we think
about this
text.
First,
God,
we want to
just pray
for your
comfort and
for your
strength to
be with those
of us who
are experiencing
some of the
realities that
David experienced
in this text.
Lord,
for those of
us who are
undergoing the
hurt of
betrayal or
of unjust
accusation,
for those who
have been
manipulated or
deceived,
God,
we ask for
your comfort
and your
strength to
be near to
them.
God,
we also pray
that you would
help us,
Lord,
in the midst
of those
trying times
to respond
with humility
and with
grace.
Lord,
not to
back down
from what's
true,
not to
shy away
from
clarifying
misunderstandings,
and yet,
God,
to approach
these things
with humility
and to
listen.
And,
God,
also to
trust
that you
will keep
account of
everyone
and make
all things
good in
the end.
God,
most of
all,
we pray
that what
is true
in Jesus
Christ,
for all
who believe,
that you
have loved
us and
blessed us,
God,
that you
are our
shield and
our glory
and the
lifter of
our heads.
Lord,
all that we
have in
you is so
rich and
so all
encompassing.
God,
that even
if we
experience
criticism
and reproach
and betrayal
Lord,
we have
a rock
that will
not move
because we
know Jesus
bore every
real curse
that could
ever undo
us.
Every curse
that could
really be
the end
of us,
he has
taken away
and the
blessing that
we need
is ours
in him.
Oh,
Father,
by your
spirit,
make these
things real
to us.
Help us
to sense
them and
know them
deep in
our bones.
And,
Lord,
help us
as a
community,
as a
church,
together,
to live
out this
kind of
peacemaking,
this kind
of humility.
Lord,
help it
to spread
beyond these
walls.
Help us
to be a
counterculture
in the
midst of
our
accusatory
culture
where
everyone's
fuse
seems to
be so
short.
Lord,
help us
to just
have a
wealth
of
patience
and
listening.
God,
help us
even to
endure
unjust
cursing
for the
sake of
your
kingdom.
knowing
that our
reward is
great in
heaven.
We look
to you,
Jesus,
for the
strength to
do this.
Thank you
that by
your spirit
you give
us just
that.
Amen.
Friends,
we're going
to continue
to respond
to God's
word by
singing and
praying and
praising together.
This song
that we're
going to
sing.