Transcript of a published Bible study by Rev. Roger Spaugh, transcribed from YouTube. An attributed primary source — not Acts 2:38 Life doctrine text.
Summary
Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.
The Lesson Opens: Psalm 55 and a Season of Darkness
- The study hour turns to Psalm 55; the speaker reads David's prayer — 'Give ear to my prayer, O God' — including the betrayal verses, the resolve to call upon God morning and noon, and 'Cast thy burden upon the Lord.'
- The lesson, titled 'Our Burden Bearer,' closes the month's series 'God is Our Refuge'; three of its four lessons have walked through dark events in David's life.
- David is usually remembered for the high point of Goliath, but the Bible is honest about his many dark times — and through them all he never lost his faith in God.
- True faith is not stoicism or a glib denial of trouble: David vented his emotions honestly, and the lesson refuses to whitewash difficulty.
Scriptures: Psalms 55
The Story Behind the Psalm: Trouble in David's Own House
- Psalm 55 was most likely written while David was running from his son Absalom; the story laid alongside it runs from 2 Samuel 13 through chapter 19, about twelve years with at least six major negative events.
- Some of David's suffering grew out of his own choices: his many marriages set strife among his children, and his son Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar.
- David heard what Amnon had done and was very angry, but he did nothing about it; after two years Absalom took justice into his own hands and had Amnon killed.
- David tore his garments and wept over Amnon's death, yet when Absalom fled abroad, the king's soul still longed to go forth to the son he had lost.
Scriptures: 2 Samuel 13; 2 Samuel 13:13; 2 Samuel 13:21; 2 Samuel 13:13-31; 2 Samuel 13:39
Absalom Comes Home — and Steals the Kingdom's Heart
- Through Joab's plan Absalom was allowed back to Jerusalem on one condition: he would live in his own house and not see the king's face — David was comforted simply to know where his son was, and two full years passed that way.
- Back in Israel, Absalom politicked for influence, offering to handle the grievances of men who came to the king, until he gathered a large following, withdrew to Hebron, and declared himself king.
- Probably at this point the seeds of Psalm 55 were sown: David, the anointed and covenant-promised king, begins crying out, 'Give ear to my prayer' — asking, in effect, whether God is listening.
- The second verse is even more desperate: 'attend unto me' means pay attention and answer me — the cry of a man who cannot seem to get an answer.
Scriptures: Psalms 55:1; Psalms 55:2
The Honest Cry of a Frightened King
- Verses 3–5 name the reasons David needs God to hear: the voice of the enemy, the oppression of the wicked, a heart sore pained within him, the terrors of death, fearfulness, trembling, and horror overwhelming him.
- David faced a real possibility that the new king would destroy him and his house; the warrior who killed Goliath and was sung of for his ten thousands was trembling over what his own son was doing.
- His instinct was escape: 'Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest' — the wish to be lifted out of the situation entirely.
- Verse 8 carries that wish to its end: 'I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest' — but instead of getting out of it, David's troubles multiplied.
Scriptures: Psalms 55:3-5; Psalms 55:8
The Deepest Cut: A Trusted Counselor's Betrayal
- The fifth blow was the betrayal of Ahithophel, David's trusted counselor and friend, who went over to Absalom — the hurt Pastor Brad's recent Wednesday teaching named as church hurt.
- David's complaint is precise: it was not an enemy who reproached him, which he could have borne, but 'thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance,' with whom he had taken sweet counsel and walked to the house of God.
- Ahithophel's counsel had been received as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God — when he spoke, it was like hearing directly from God — which made his defection all the more stunning.
- Verse 21 describes him: 'The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.'
- The lesson presses the point home: strangers' words roll off, but the people closest to us — trusted, loved, fellow believers — are the ones who can hurt us most.
Scriptures: Psalms 55:12; 2 Samuel 16:23; Psalms 55:21
'Turn His Counsel into Foolishness': Prayer Answered
- Ahithophel advised Absalom to let him pursue David that very night with twelve thousand men and smite the king only — David's former friend volunteering to kill him himself.
- Fleeing Jerusalem, David did not curse the man; he prayed, 'Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness' — the same plea behind the psalm's promise, 'As for me, I will call upon God... evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.'
- The shift matters: the psalm opened with 'God, are you listening?' and arrives at settled faith — 'he shall hear me' — in the middle of the worst of it.
- God answered through Hushai, who met David at the mountaintop and was sent back to give Absalom contrary counsel; Israel concluded Hushai's counsel was better, and the Bible says the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel.
- Warned in advance, David's men regrouped and were ready when the battle came.
Scriptures: 2 Samuel 17; Psalms 55:16-17; 2 Samuel 15:31; 2 Samuel 17:14
The Battle Won and the Son Lost
- In the wood of Ephraim, Israel was slain before David's servants with a great slaughter of twenty thousand men — deliverance came because David called on God and trusted Him to work it out.
- Yet David commanded his captains, in the hearing of all the people, 'Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom' — a father's heart toward the son who had betrayed him.
- Absalom's proud, flowing hair caught in an oak as his mule ran on, and despite the king's order Joab thrust three darts through his heart as he hung alive in the tree; his armor-bearers finished the killing.
- The news became David's sixth great blow: he went up to the chamber over the gate and wept, 'O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee.'
Scriptures: 2 Samuel 18:6-7; 2 Samuel 18:14; 2 Samuel 18
Cast Thy Burden upon the Lord
- David's way through anguish was to take his cares to God, certain that only the Lord's sustaining power could deliver him: 'Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.'
- Not being moved means not being moved off faith in God — people will fail us and circumstances will come, but God is always right and righteous, and He sustains.
- The application gathers the lesson's echoes: cast your cares on God rather than on everyone else, because He cares for you; look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who is able to keep what we commit to Him; and ask — everyone who seeks finds, and who asks receives.
- Faith like David's is faithfulness maintained: be honest about the pain, express absolute faith in God, cry out to Him, and seek the Lord while He may be found.
- The lesson closes with Psalm 103: God knows our frame and remembers we are dust, our days like grass — but His mercy is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, to children's children; put your trust in God and He will bear your burdens.
Scriptures: Hebrews (book-only, as spoken); Isaiah (book-only, as spoken); Psalms 103:14-17
Scripture index: Psalms 55; 2 Samuel 13; 2 Samuel 13:13; 2 Samuel 13:21; 2 Samuel 13:13-31; 2 Samuel 13:39; Psalms 55:1; Psalms 55:2; Psalms 55:3-5; Psalms 55:8; Psalms 55:12; 2 Samuel 16:23; Psalms 55:21; 2 Samuel 17; Psalms 55:16-17; 2 Samuel 15:31; 2 Samuel 17:14; 2 Samuel 18:6-7; 2 Samuel 18:14; 2 Samuel 18; Hebrews (book-only, as spoken); Isaiah (book-only, as spoken); Psalms 103:14-17.
we take this time if you're visiting with us to look into the word of the lord in the second hour of our time week together we will have some more praise and worship and hear preaching of the word of god but this this section right here is to study god's word and we're going to look to psalm chapter 55 today psalm chapter 55 i'm not going to read the whole chapter but maybe half of it we'll see psalm 55 says this this is david's writing david putting this psalm together he said this give ear to my prayer o god and hide not thyself from my supplication attend unto me and hear me i mourn in my complaint and i make a noise because of the voice of the enemy because of the oppression of the wicked for they cast iniquity beyond upon me and in wrath they hate me my heart is sore pained within me and the terrors of death are fallen upon me fearfulness and trembling have come upon me and horror hath overwhelmed me and i said oh that i had wings like a dove for then i would fly away and i would
be at rest low then i would wander far off and i would remain in the wilderness salah jumping down to verse 12 he said for it was not an enemy that reproached me then i could have borne it neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me then i would have hid myself from him but it was thou a man my equal my guide my acquaintance we took sweet counsel together and we walked into the house of god in company verse 16 said this as for me i will call upon god and the lord shall save me even in the morning and at noon will i pray and i will cry aloud and he shall hear my voice and verse 22 says this cast thy burden upon the lord and he shall sustain thee he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved and aren't you thankful for the word of god amen in the promises particularly in that last verse put your burdens there on the lord and he will sustain you he will be there he will keep you in his hand the title of our lesson today is our burden bearer this lesson will conclude
the lessons for this month in which we titled god is our refuge and three of the four lessons in this series have dealt with events in the life of david we've looked at the psalms that he wrote during this time to be sure none of the events that we've studied have been positive situations in david's life you know you ask people about david and what they know about him it's usually david and goliath right any young child in sunday school can tell you that kind of thing and and know that well david goliath he went out there when he was young he took a sling he slay slew the giant cut off his head and great victory that was a very high point in david's life but what we've found reading through these psalms and putting it together with the history is that david went through a lot of difficult times in his life and life and today's lesson is no different i think much of what we can learn when we look at all three of these lessons that we've done is that david never lost his faith in god and
well we speak of the great victories but the bible is very real in that it presents us with the stark reality that there were many very dark times in david's life as well perhaps even more than the positive ones that we like to think about and that we like to preach about that we get excited about those it's not quite so easy to get excited about being betrayed and it's not quite so easy to get excited about the things that we will study today but what we can see through it all as we observed in the first lesson david's faith was real amen i'm thankful for a real faith faith and here's what it is he never whitewashed his difficulties he didn't just ignore him he just didn't say well i'm not even going to talk about that nor did he refrain from venting his emotions god didn't call us to be stoics and show no emotion and go through problems and trouble say oh well just the way it is i know some personalities may be a little more that way i've probably been accused of that in some ways but
true faith is never just a glib response that result that denies the reality of our situation in fact as you read the as we read the first part of this chapter you can see very plainly that david was struggling and much like our lesson a couple weeks ago psalm 55 was written during one probably one of the most difficult times in david's life yet he ver says very little about the actual events that prompted the writing of this song in fact so little that some people place it in one place in his life simply put it in another i think if we can glimpse what it most likely appears to be it was the time when he was running from his son absalom and so as we attempted in our previous lesson we're going to lay this story alongside this psalm alongside of that story to see what we can glimpse about the pain david was experienced but also the constant faith he had in god the story itself begins in second samuel chapter 13 and it actually continues through chapter 19 covers a period of about 12 years
of david's life and i counted at least six major negative events in david's life during this time that's about one every two years if you want to add it up get through one and here comes another one and while all of them impacted david greatly i think absalom's rebellion and then david's counselor hithaphel's betrayal of david seemed to have provided the impetus for the writing of this song so let's set the stage let's begin back at the beginning of this in chapter 13. we're not going to go in a lot of great detail but i want to point out all these highlights to show you why david would write a psalm like this as is often the case and we don't always like to admit this some of david's suffering came from choices that he made himself we don't like to admit it because a lot of times we run into things and it's really our own fault isn't it we make bad decisions we do different things that we should not do and and one of the things was this david had more than one wife and the children from
these different marriages caused him great problems and great issues with that the situation was a cause of much strife for david and in this story in verse 13 david's son one of his sons amn raped his half-sister tamar and so her full brother absalom hated amnon for that and so begins this chain of events that make up our story and so this is where really the the strife begins but the bible says this in second samuel 13 21 when king david heard of these things and he heard what had happened what amnon had done he was very angry which that makes sense he would be his half brother and sister and and he rapes her and so he was very upset about that however the bible never tells us that david did anything about it he was mad he was angry but he just kind of let it slide and so taking matters into his own hand absalom waited actually two long years very upset about what had happened to his sister and so two years later he decided he was going to take care of this situation dad you didn't do
it you might have been mad you might have been upset but you didn't take care of it i am going to and so he gets gambling together with him he gets him drunk on wine and while he is in that state absalom ordered his servants to kill amnon taking that justice in his own hands so the first trial if you will that david went through was what happened with tamar and amnon and he realized here i am the king and looks what's going on in my family and now two years later here's a second event his son amnon is killed by his brother and the bible says this in second samuel 13 13-31 then the king arose and he he tear his garments and he lay on the earth and the king and also all his servants wept very sore so he was very upset and he was very hurt and he was crying about the loss of his son and and the confusion and the things that were going on in his family and so in the midst of that absalom realizes that his dad is very mad and his dad is very hurt and his dad is concerned about this and so he
decides well maybe this time dad will be mad enough to do something about it and this time i'm going to be the guy in trouble and so he flees from david's presence he leaves israel and he goes into another country to dwell there and so now instead of being bereaved of just one of his sons really david has lost two and this is the third heartache if you will that is summed up in second samuel chapter 13 and verse 39 it said the soul of king david longed to go forth unto absalom he knew what he had done and he was upset about it but there was something in david said that's still my boy that's still my son i still want to see him and it said his soul longed to go forth but yet he would not do that he he would not go to where he was and so in fact the bible tells us that for three years david had to wonder what was going on with absalom i wonder how he's doing i wonder and isn't that like a parent you know things happen in our lives but we still worry about our kids we still wonder what's
going on and he was wondering what is going on with absalom in fact joab who was david's one of david's captains of his army saw the hurt in david's eyes and saw what was going on and he said you know what david why don't you he devised a plan actually but eventually he said why don't you go and allow absalom to come back so david did allow absalom but he did put a stipulation on him and it was this the king said let him turn to his own house and let him not see my face now i don't understand all of that david said you can come back to jerusalem just don't come here don't come here maybe at least he figured at least i know where you are at least i can kind of keep an eye on you and know what's going on in your life instead of you being in another country where i know nothing and david longed for absalom but he could not bring himself to see absalom and so the bible says so this was after a three-year period and so absalom dwelt two full years in jerusalem and saw not the king's face so
he was there and david knew okay he's safe he's home he's where he needs to be i don't see him but at least i'm comforting isn't it weird the way situations work sometimes in lives way things have to we we work things out but he kept his son at least if not at arm's length he at least knew what was going on in his life and so that comforted david to some extent and now it had been seven years since the rape of tamar and it had been five years since the murder of david's son amnon but for david the troubles just keep coming david's fourth major trial and this really was one of the big ones began as absalom now that he is back in israel starts to gain influence among the men of israel and as he did he would go out and he'd say i know my father said this let me help you with your problems and he was very political kind of guy if you will and he he went out and gathered so i know my dad said this but you know if you will if you will turn to me i'll take care of these problems and he began
to gather a very large group that began to follow him and turn away from david so much so that eventually eventually absalom had to leave and and he went to hebron he moved to a different city moved out of jerusalem and he declared himself to be the king and i think it's probably at this juncture in david's life we can't say for sure but it was probably about then when the seeds anyway of psalm 55 began to be sown when david began thinking about this and putting it together david knew that he was the rightful king of israel he had been anointed by samuel many years earlier remember that story while he was out and samuel comes to the house of jesse and said god has sent me here bring your sons and jesse brings all the sons and none of them are the right ones and finally said do you not have any more well there's a young lad that's out watching the sheep well go get him and david walks in and samuel pours the anointing oil and declares that he will be the next king and so one of those high
points and so david knew god promised me that i am going to be the king and not only that but god had made a covenant with david that said the kingship will never leave over judah will never leave the house of david it will always be yours and yet here he is facing here he is the king with all these promises and he's a man after god's own heart the bible tells us all these things and yet he watched events begin to unfold and he begins crying out to god in psalm 55 and he said this in verse 1 that we read give ear to my prayer o god and hide not thyself from my supplication attend unto me and hear me i mourn in my complaint and i make a noise i wonder have you ever felt like david must have felt at this time you don't have to raise your hand just asking the question have you ever wondered if god was listening to you as you cry out to him you ever been in a situation in a place and you're crying out to god and you don't seem to be getting an answer and so david opens this psalm basically
saying this this first word give ear into my prayer was like saying listen to me god i'm talking to you trying to tell you something give ear hear me and then he said this don't hide hide not thyself for myself don't hide from what i'm pleading don't hide don't where are you kind of sounds like job when he said oh that i knew where i could find god i wish i wish i knew verse 2 is even more desperate and direct attend unto me that word attend literally means pay attention attend unto me oh god pay attention to me god hey god i'm over here are you listening i can't seem to get an answer hey god that's kind of what david's saying well the king james had translated to tend to me and hear me the original hebrew that word here is literally answer me he's saying pay attention god and answer me listen to me god and while david doesn't mention absalom he talks about how he's feeling during this time in verses three through five he said here's why i need you to hear there's this voice of the enemy
because of the oppression of the wicked they've cast iniquity upon me and in wrath they hate me people are hating me because they're turned into absalom my heart is sore pained within me the terrors of death are falling upon me and not only that but fearfulness and tremliner come upon me and horror hath overwhelmed me i don't know what's going to happen now we understand what was going on absalom was making himself king but we also know from history that many times when a new king would come on the first thing they would do would kill the old ones or kill his family or get rid of everybody else so i have no competition david is thinking this is a very real possibility absalom i let him come back he gets together a big people they're all following him he wants to be king in fact he's declaring himself king i'm in trouble hear me god calling on you perhaps he thought having absent back home would make everything all right little did he know how much his troubles would be multiplied and the
mighty king david who could stand before goliath and throw a sling and and kill him and the mighty king david who they sang about and said saul's killed thousands david you've killed ten thousand you're a great warrior great man of war all these things and yet you're trembling with fear because of what's happening with your son the next lines of this song sound i think a lot like the sediment we feel when we're overwhelmed we said david was real right he had a real faith listen to this and i said oh that i had wings like a dove for then i'd fly away and i'd be at rest low then i would wander off and i would remain in the wilderness i would hasten my escape he said in verse 8 and from the windy storm and from the tempest i would just get away from all this if i could be like a dove i would just fly away i'd get out of it lord just pick me up and take me out of the situation if i could just get away from all this stuff everything is going to be better somebody today might say you know what
i just want to dig a hole and crawl in it and get away from all this problem and trouble that's kind of what david was saying just lord just take me out of it just give me wings let me fly away let me be at rest just just let me get away from all of this have you ever said things just can't get any worse david may have been thinking that but guess what things did get worse this is it just let me out of this situation and instead of getting out of it we see the fifth major blow to david came when a hitherfell his trusted counselor betrayed him the guy that was david's best friend if you will the guy that he listened to and the guy that that he would counsel with decides well i'm going to go join absalom you know david said there's some things i can take but this is just too much we read it in verse 12. he said it wasn't an enemy that reproached me then i could have borne it neither was it he that hated me that did magnify against me okay so it wasn't somebody that was an enemy that didn't
like me it wasn't somebody that hated me was a friend of mine he said if that would have happened that would have been okay i could have borne it i could have put up with it i expected the enemies to hate me i would expect those that hate me to magnify themselves i would expect that but it was thou and he doesn't name him no doubt he was talking about a hithfield it was you you were a man my equal you were my guide you were my acquaintance or my friend we took sweet counsel together we would get together and we'd talk and we'd share the things of god and we'd share the things of the kingdom and you'd offer me advice and he said and we walked into the house of god and company you were my brother you were there and we would go and we'd worship and it's you that betrayed me it wasn't an enemy it wasn't someone that hated me it was my best friend and this betrayal hit david extremely hard my friend my guide might say it this way my fellow church member pastor brad taught us a couple months
ago on a wednesday night about what has been classified as church hurt being hurt by others in church it happens it happened to david david didn't say you know what i'm just going to forget god and i'm going to run away from all this and just forget it no he calls upon god to help him who was this a hithaphel here's what samuel 6 2nd samuel 16 23 says and the council of hithephel which he counseled in those days the things that hithaphel said he said it was as if a man had acquired at the oracle of god he was somebody david trusted you're so in tune with god when when you speak it's like i'm hearing directly from god and so was all the counsel of his says both with david and with absalom they would listen to him and say wow you know he's a great preacher he's a great teacher he's a great this he's a great that and he he's in tune with god and suddenly he's walking away and he's joining the enemy so convincing were the words of hitherfell that david would write in some in this psalm 55
we didn't read it verse 21 he said this the words of his mouth were smoother than butter oh you should hear him when he began to talk about the things of god he said but war was in his heart and his words were softer than oil yet they were drawn swords david's betrayed he's saying i know this guy i've heard him i've talked to him i've listened to him i've followed him and it's difficult when those in the world treat us poorly it's difficult when things happen and they make fun or something like that because you live for god we expect that but nothing hurts more than when someone we trust and someone we love and someone who is a fellow believer betrays us indeed those that are closest to us are the ones that most can cause us the most pain aren't they you know somebody you don't know can say something very derogatory to you and yeah okay i don't know you and it just kind of goes off her back but when it's somebody you know and somebody you trust and somebody you care for and they begin
to say those things or do those things it hits us doesn't it i'm thankful david you say ah you know what bless god i don't care he cried out he was real he knew absalom's evil motives he knew what was going on with that he understood what absalom was trying to do he probably had a pretty good idea what all the people who were joining absalom's cause were about he knew why they were leaving and you know what was going on but he was blindsided when a hitherfell said you know what i'm going to join absalom that tuberte you too fell you're leaving me you're turning on me absalom saw a hitherfellas counsel and these hit david just another thing and the wave after wave the rape the lost of his son absalom being gone and absolutely coming back but forsaking david and turning against him and now a hitherfowl coming and and heatherville gives absalom this plan of what he's going to do here's what you need to do he asked him what should i do and the hethaphel says this in second samuel 17 he said
that hitherfail said unto absalom let me now choose out 12 000 men and i will rise and pursue after david this night not only did he turn against david but he said i'll go get him i'll be the one to do it he said i will come upon him while he's weary and while he's weak-handed i will make him afraid and all the people that are with him will flee and then he went on to say and i will smite the king only i'll do it myself and i will bring back all these people to you and the men whom thou seek us as if it all returns so all the people shall be in peace absalom i'll take care of this problem for me i will go with a bunch of men and i will kill david myself david's best friend and david's getting word of all this and he's in fear and he's in trembling and he flees from jerusalem he begins to leave and they're going out of jerusalem and they're mourning and they're crying because they know absalom is going to be coming back and and they know that they're going to come and take over the throne
and if someone said to david saying that hitherfell is among the conspiracies with absalom and david said lord listen to david's prayer lord he didn't say well you know that no good guy i'm going after he said lord i pray thee turn the council of a hitherfell into foolishness god you take care of this problem i know who a fella is he's always given good advice he's always helped me but lord the things that he said just turn it into foolishness make it all fall apart if you will no doubt that's the same plea that he is making in psalm 55 16-17 he said as for me i'm going to call upon god and the lord shall save me if hitherfall is coming after you that's okay i'm going to call upon god and he's going to take care of me he said i'm going to do it in the evening i'm going to do it in the morning i'm going to do it in the noon time i'm going to pray and i'm going to cry out and he shall hear my voice notice at the beginning of the chapter when all these things begin to happen he's going give
here listen to me god attend why don't you pay attention god now he says in his faith and in the worst situation and he's leaving jerusalem and he's calling out you know what as for me i'm going to call on god and he shall hear me faith not excited about what's going on not happy about it hurting in his spirit hurting because of betrayal hurting because of fear all these things that have happened in his life and looking back over the last seven years of everything that's happened but yet he still has a faith if i cry to god he shall hear me that is true faith not a faith that ignores the problems but of faith that understands god you are still in control and god i'm praying take the council of the hitherto and turn it around and no sooner did david ask god to confound that counsel of a hitherfell in verse 31 of ii samuel 17 or 15. bible says this and it came to pass that while david was come to the top of the mount where he worshipped god so here he is leaving jerusalem he's leaving in
fear he's afraid of what's going to happen and yet he comes to the top of the mount he's worshiping god and he's seeking god god take care of this behold who shai the archi came to meet him this was another counselor of david's with his coat rent and earth upon his head in response to david's prayer god raises up hushai to defeat the council of a hitherfell david looked at him and i know there's a lot of names here and a lot of women but david looked at his counselor and he said what are you doing coming to me like this and he said well david i'm on your side i know what if the fell did i'm coming to meet you and i'm going to go with you and david said you know what i got a better idea why don't you go back you join absalom and when a hitherfell says here's what you ought to do you give him a different scenario you confound you turn a hitherfell's counsel into foolishness and so he sent hush i back to jerusalem and told him to join with absalom not only did household provide an alternative
counsel which helped preserve david and his men but he also was able to send david a warning of absalom's plan now you might look and say well that's just some smart plan david came up with no david prayed and said god i need help and god sent who should i you know when god works things out even if you have to make some decision whatever give god the glory and david was willing to do this it wasn't just some shrewd plan david had he prayed god turned that council to foolishness and god provided hushai as the instrument to do just that and in second samuel 17 14 it said in absalom and all the men of israel said the council of hussite is better than the council of a hitherfell wait a minute he's the guy that everybody said you know you're oracle it's like listening to god when you speak the lord the bible says had appointed to defeat the good counsel of hitherfowl to the intent that the lord might bring evil upon absalom the bible says the lord did it it wasn't david that did it god sent
who shai he was able to go back and he was able to confound the council of a hitherfail and thanks to hushai's advanced warning of the plan david and his men were able to outmaneuver absalom's army they were prepared they were able to take advances well prepare for action they regrouped they organized for battle the troops went out and the bible says this in second samuel 18 6-7 so the people went out into the field against israel the battle was in the wood of ephraim where the people of israel were slain before the servants of david there was a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men why because david was willing to say god i need your help god i'm trusting you i'm going to call upon you and you will work it out and god said i got just the man to do it aren't you thankful god always has somebody willing to step up i don't know who it's going to be i can't tell you in your situation here's how it's going to work but guess what god's got a plan you just keep trusting him and god
is going to work it out we understand that betrayal is a heavy burden to bear it's never a pleasant experience to experience the betrayal of a friend of acquaintance but to be betrayed by a family member or betrayed by somebody so close is a pain that really just it kind of defies description doesn't it and that was the pain that david must have borne through the betrayal he experienced through absalom's rebellion but despite that burden and despite knowing that absalom was wanting to kill him and that absalom was wanting to take over david again makes a command the king commanded joab that was the captain of his army and then two other captains abishai and itai and he said while you're out there fighting for my sake deal gently with the young man even absalom that's my son don't hurt him and the bible says all the people heard when the king gave the captains charge concerning absalom there was something in david's heart the heart of a father said you know what he's still my son i know
all this has happened i know i've been hurting i know i've been betrayed i know i almost died i lost my best counselor all these things but take care of absalom it was very clear david expected them to spare absalom's life however that is not what happened we know the story if you've heard it before absalom had very beautiful long hair very handsome to look upon it was a great source of pride from him this long flowing hair and he's riding through the woods and riding on his horse at great speed and all of a sudden his hair gets tangled in branches it yanks him off his horse and he's hanging there in this tree entangled during this battle his horse runs out from under him and he's hanging there and despite david's order the bible says this in second samuel 18 14 and joab the captain of the armies took three darts in his hand and he thrust them through the heart of absalom while he was alive in the midst of the oak and then 10 young men that bear joab's armor compassed about and they smote
absalom and they slew him i've already mentioned five terrible events in david's life and here is the sixth that david faced in this story now i don't understand everything about it but i am a parent so i do understand something about it word of absalom's death just really increased david's burden and his pain ii samuel 18 says this and the king was much moved and he went up to the chamber over the gate and he wept and he as he went thus he said o my son absalom my son my son absalom would god i had died for thee o absalom my son my son cries out in pain all these things as job would say are against me as others would say seems all these things are against me the rape the death of amnon the loss of absalom absalom coming back but then turning against me the loss of a hitherfail and now the loss of my beloved son but here's what we know david understood the best way to get out of my anguish and to deal with the pain was just to take those cares and give them to god you know the only the
sustaining power of the lord could deliver him from the suffering and the betrayal he was certain that as long as he kept his faith and he kept his confidence in god nothing was going to move him out of the lord's hand aren't you thankful for that promise i'm not saying life is going to be easy we're not saying we're going to ever going to go through things david went through terrible terrible things throughout this time here he is the king it should have just been smooth sailing on us into the sunset and he's going through all these different things in life and yet he would take the time to write in this psalm here's what you need to do cast your burden upon the lord give it to god just throw it there if you will cast it here it is god i can't do it i can't take care of it i'm giving it to you and he said he shall sustain thee and he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved i don't think he was referring necessarily about his position as king although that may have been some of what
he was writing but i think what he was saying is no matter what comes in my life i'm never getting away or moving off my faith in god don't let circumstances don't let people don't even let church or anything or anyone else move you away from the truth of god's word what we must remember is that god is always right and he's always righteous people will fail us things will happen in our lives but god will sustain us he said he will sustain thee and you will not be moved peter encouraged the early believers to rely on jesus he said casting all your cares wear upon him i know sometimes we cast them on everybody else don't we you got a few minutes got a few days how are you doing today well you really want to know no no i'm good cast it to god because he cares for you the lord sees us in our most difficult times of and just you might be in one of those today i'm going to encourage you give it to god place it at his feet he desires to carry your burdens for us as we place our complete faith
in him one of the foremost keys to living for jesus is maintaining this abiding faith in the god of our salvation that doesn't mean we don't cry out sometimes like god are you listening pay attention over here god it might happen but understanding that just because i don't see it or i don't hear it i'm not stopping i'm not giving up my faith in god we must develop an intense determination that's what faith is it is really as we've talked about over and over it is really faithfulness to maintain our faithfulness to jesus christ to continue to look for him as our source the bible said it this way in hebrews looking unto jesus the author and the finisher of our faith the author and the finisher you know it's great when we come to know god isn't it it's great when he washes our sins away when we go in repentance and decide i'm going to live for you and it's just such a great experience wow to make that decision and and then even more so when we go down in water in jesus name knowing that all
those sins are covered by the blood of jesus christ and it's just such an exciting time in our life and then his spirit comes into our life and we're filled with the holy ghost and we're just on top of the world and everything just seems so good and it's so easy but life's not always going to be that day not always going to be we know that don't we from experience but yet when we have a determination god you authored that face you're also going to finish it he said it this way another place he said he is able to keep that what you commit unto him against that day you commit your life to him he's gonna keep it david you may not understand you might say i'm mourning in my complaint i'm making a lot of noise over here you know jumping up and down hey i need you god because of everything that's going on my heart sore pain within me there's terror there's fear and there's trembling i don't understand it let's all sing the joy of the lord is my strength it's not always easy is it when we go
through those things but look to jesus the author and the finisher casting those cares and he is faithful he said i won't suffer your foot to slip doesn't mean you won't go through the problem but your foot will not slip you can continue living for him if you give it to him he's always there to sustain he's always there to keep us john reminds us of this and this is the confidence that we have in him if we ask anything according to this will he hears us and since we know he hears us what for so ever we ask we know that we have the petitions we've desired and here's what you need to do you need to ask we sang early about seeking he said everyone that seeks will find he said everyone that knocks it will be open he said if you ask you shall receive ask god i need you that's what david was doing right here ask ask and he will deliver you he encountered betrayal he encountered trouble and hurt probably very similar and probably in worse ways than most of us have experienced it involved having
him to flee to the wilderness to avoid the treachery of his own son in his trusted environment we probably his advisor we probably will never go through exactly what david went through but the pain is just as real in our lives when we face betrayals and face those things psalm david did not make this psalm just a recounting of his pain and frustrations but he made it an appeal to god for divine assistance david cried out to god in faith and god answered him he was certain god would hear his cry and he said a pattern for us we need to faithfully cry out to god and worship in prayer be honest with the pain you feel in your heart but yet at the same time express an absolute faith in god isaiah said it this way seek ye the lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is near as we cast our cares and our burdens upon him you will discover that he cares for you and he will carry your burdens close with this psalm 103 verses 14 through 17. sama said he knows our frame he knows what it's
like he knows what you go through and he remembers that we are as dust as for man your days are as a grass it's the flower of the field you flourish and the wind passes over and what looks so beautiful it blows all the petals off and it's no longer there place thereof shall it no no more but the mercy of the lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon him that fear him in his righteousness unto children's children or for generations if you will keep trusting god in the midst of betrayal in the midst of other situations he will bear your burdens put your trust in god let's stand this morning aren't you thankful the encouragement from god's word we've never gone through a david experience we've gone through a lot of things in our life not not in the same way he has he did but through it all there was a constancy said i'm trusting in jesus if you feel that way why don't you just lift a hand and just take a moment to do that again today lord we bring our burdens before you as the old song
said bring your burdens to the lord
Scripture references as spoken: Psalms 55; 2 Samuel 13; 2 Samuel 13:13; 2 Samuel 13:21; 2 Samuel 13:13-31; 2 Samuel 13:39; Psalms 55:1; Psalms 55:2; Psalms 55:3-5; Psalms 55:8; Psalms 55:12; 2 Samuel 16:23; Psalms 55:21; 2 Samuel 17; Psalms 55:16-17; 2 Samuel 15:31; 2 Samuel 17:14; 2 Samuel 18:6-7; 2 Samuel 18:14; 2 Samuel 18; Hebrews (book-only, as spoken); Isaiah (book-only, as spoken); Psalms 103:14-17.