Psalm 3

And if you have a Bible and you want to turn to it, we're going to have our reading, which is Psalm 3. Lord, How many are my foes? How many rise up against me? Many are saying of me. God will not deliver him.

But you, Lord, are a shield around me. My glory, the 1 who lifts my head high. I call out to the lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep I wake again because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands are sale me on every side.

Arise Lord. Deliver me, my God. Strike all my enemies on the jaw. Break the teeth of the wicked. From the Lord comes deliverance.

May your blessing be on your people? Welcome. My name is Pete Woodcock. I'm 1 of the pastors of the church. It's great to see you.

You could see some new faces as well. And perhaps on the interweb, there are new new people looking in. This is the second part of of looking at psalm 3 or rather looking at Psalm 3 through the eyes of thinking about sleep. I'm just gonna pray. Father help us now not to sleep, but help us to pay attention that we may benefit from your word.

Please, by your spirit, implant truths in our minds, in our hearts, that we may be people that understand just what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Now being a Christian is so much more than going to church. I guess most of us will know that. Being a Christian is so much more than believing just a set of truths.

About the world and about how to live within the world. Being a Christian is much more than really good habits, even sort of Christian bible habits. And patterns of living. Being a Christian is much more than believing in the God of the bible. The triune God.

It's even much more than worshiping that triune God. Being a Christian is a life in God, in Christ. Christians are described as being born again by the holy spirit of God, the third person of the trinity. Born into the family of God. As we're born in the flesh, we are born spiritually, second birth.

Many times so many times in the bible that Christian is described not as a Christian but as in Christ. That's the description. And Jesus gives the illustration of of like a a vine and that we are a branch that would die, would be dead, would shrivel. But we need to be engrafted into the vine, into Christ. And when we're engrafted in Christ, then we're made alive.

We can bear fruit. We're living godly lives. Listen to these verses. You'll see them on the on the on the whatever that thing is called. This is 2 Corinthians chapter 5.

Listen to Paul, he says, and he died that's Jesus, and he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for them selves, but for him, who died for them and was raised again. So from now on, we regard no 1 from a worldly interview, though we once regarded Christ in this way. We no longer do so. Therefore, if anyone is here's the phrase, anyone is in Christ. The new creation has come.

The old has gone. The new is here. All this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ. You see, there's amazing verses. That's the description of a Christian.

You are a new person in Christ. You're not the same person. You're born again. You're in Christ. You've died with Christ.

You've risen again. Look at these words from colossians chapter 3. It's hard not to know where not to go, isn't it really? But here's some verses again in the bible. Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life appears, then you will appear with him in glory. You see the connection? It's not just a set of truths out here.

It's utterly engrafted into god, into god life. Into the divine life, into Christ. And then notice the theme of death and resurrection for the Christian. We have died and risen again in Christ. We are new creatures, died to the old life, risen to the new 1.

And that theme is symbolized in baptism. Paul says in Romans chapter 6 that when you're baptized, you die to the old way of life? And you rise again and that's why we do baptism here in this pool thing. We push people under like they're being buried, they die. And then we raise them up, like they're they're they're coming to new life in Christ.

In Christ. In Christ is a Christian. In Christ. So that means that every area of your life is affected by Christ because you are in And that means sleep. We were seeing this morning And if you weren't there, you wonder what I'm talking about, you need to listen to this morning sermon, because this is a 2 part sermon.

This morning we were seeing sleep is a major part of our lives. We spend 1 third of our life asleep, so it's quite a major part, isn't it? It's 1 of the biggest things you'll ever do in your life. At the end of your life, you can say, I slept, yeah, for a third of it. Yeah?

So sleep's a big thing. So I'm asking the question. I can't deal with everything the Bible says. I'm just focusing in on this Psalm, but I'm asking the question What does sleep teach us about being in Christ? And what does being in Christ teach us about sleep?

This morning we looked at Psalm 3, and we looked at it as it was applied to us through David. King David. He dealt with sleep in the light of of of many, many enemies that he had, and that's what we will see. Enemies that he had that actually came actually from his personal guilt and his personal failures. But David learned that whatever circumstances you were going through whatever enemies were around him, whatever anybody was shouting at him because of his own failures, he could go to sleep.

Because he was cleansed by the blood of the lamb. He trusted in Christ so much He trusted in God so much as his savior that even though he was guilty, his guilt was taken away and he could sleep with a good conscience. And we saw that. Trusting in God is sleep, and the lessons of sleep, we saw that this morning. But this evening.

I want us to go to another level. I want us to come and listen to this song, the same song, and I'll have the same headings, by the way. The same as this morning. But the same psalm, I want to come to this psalm, but I want it I want us to listen to it through the eyes and the ears and mouth. Of David's greater son, who is Jesus.

Jesus the Christ. Actually, many of the Psalms and it's worth knowing this at least I think this, that many of the songs, if not all, are are the forts and the prayers and the songs of the Messiah of the Christ of Jesus. So we learned from this psalm that not only what David learns, from this Psalm, but that was this morning. But this evening, I want us to learn what Christ went through. And particularly, how he used this Psalm at the cross, when he was being crucified.

And how that answers, how do you sleep at night? That's that's that's what I'm gonna try and do. Are you with me? Or you just wanna go to sleep? Okay.

Here's the first thing then. The story behind sleep and waking. This morning, we were seeing the story behind the Psalm and you need to listen to that. But the story behind sleep and waking, look at verse 5 and 6. It's such a wonderful sentence.

I lie down and sleep, I wake up again because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands of sale me on every side. In the bible, sleep is placed alongside death. In Genesis 47, we hear about Jacob who's talking about dying and being buried and he says he wants to to be buried and rest sleep amongst his fathers. Sleep and death.

Death for the Christian in the New Testament isn't a word that's often used, It's mostly sleep. Paul talks about Christians that have died, but he talks about them falling asleep in Christ in Christ. So sleep equals death, an illustration of it, and waking resurrection It's very similar to baptism. You die, you go under the water, and you rise again. You go to bed, you sleep, and you rise again.

Sleep equals death, a picture of it, and waking a picture of the resurrection. Jesus deals with death asleep in in this wonderful famous story in Mark chapter 5 should come up. Where a synagogue leader's daughter was is seriously ill and was dying. And we pick up the story in verse 38 of Mark 5, When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a saw a commotion with people crying and wailing aloud. And he went in and said to them, why all this commotion and wailing?

What a stupid question because this little 12 year old girl had died. I mean, it's fairly awful, isn't it? To rock up to a funeral and say, what what's what's the problem here? What's everybody crying about? Why crying.

Listen to what he says. Look, why all is commotion and wailing? The child is not dead. But asleep, but they laughed at him because they knew she was dead. And then look how he deals with death.

After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was, He took her by the hand and said to her to Lifa Kum, which means little girl I say to you, get up. Immediately, the girl stood up and began to walk around she was 12 years old. At this, they were completely astonished. Jesus treats death as sleep He can wake up a 12 year old girl from death easier than parents can wake up a 12 year old kid. When they don't want to go to school.

And then if you carry on in the bible, you'll see that Jesus and Paul talk about a a seed that dies, but is raised to a new plant. You see, when you plant a seed, it doesn't just grow into a huge seed, does it? You put a little sunflower seed in the soil And there's not a massive sunflower seed in growing. The seed breaks open, dies and becomes a plant. And Jesus and Paul use that imagery.

Look at this in 1 Corinthians 15. What you sow does not come to life unless it dies, He's talking about a body. When you sow, do not plot do you you do not plant the body that will be but just a seed perhaps of wheat or something else. Then he goes on in verse 42. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead?

The body that is sown perishable, your dying perishing seed of a body is raised imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body.

It is raised a spiritual body. Do you see that? Now, you put all of this stuff together and you have death and resurrection dying and rising to a new life. You have sleep and waking up as an illustration of that. Every night, we practice death, and every morning we practice resurrection.

Now, I'm not saying that you say to your little kid that's slightly scared of the dark, Now come on. Let's practice death again because that would be really, very insensitive. But actually in the end, they need to grow up and know that. Waking is like resurrection, a new morning with new potential. Sleeping is like dying.

So every night, God in his kindness 7 days a week, throughout the whole of 20 20, God in his kindness was gospeling you, telling you the gospel. Jesus dies and rose again like you sleep and write and wake up in the morning. Jesus dies and rose again like you sleep and wake up in the morning. Throughout the 20 20 with all that was going around, you had a gospel sermon every time you woke up in the morning. Now, it could be that you're not quite awake until you've had that cup of tea.

I get that. And resurrection hasn't quite happened until coffee or tea has gone into your veins. But, you know, it's still an illustration there. And it's a wonderful 1. Now, that's the background.

With all of that in mind, let's get into the Psalm and see how Christ uses it as a prayer when he comes to death. So the situation of Christ on the cross versus 1 and 2. Lord. How many are my foes? How many rise up against me?

Many are saying of me, God will not deliver him. We saw the word many. It's 3 times in this these 2 verses, many, many, many. These are real foes. And this is exactly what they shouted at Christ when he was on the cross.

Look at these words, in Matthew 27. In the same way, the chief priests and the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. He saved others. They said, but he can't save himself. He's the king of Israel.

Let him come down now from the cross, and we'll believe in him. He trusts in God, let God rescue him now, if he wants him. For he said, I am the son of God. Here is Jesus on the cross surrounded by foes, and they're using many words to say God will not deliver him. Someone dying on a cross He's not the Messiah.

If you're the son of God come down, prove it. Same words that the devil used when he tempted him in the wilderness, as if you're the son of god, why are you hungry? Turn these rocks into bread. Many enemies. Lord, how many are my foes, how many rise up against me.

Look at Psalm 22. I know there's lots of bible in this this this sermon, but I just want to show you how the bible fits together here. Psalm 22, it describes the enemies on the cross. I can only read some of the verses. But look, here is Jesus on the cross.

He says, but I am a worm. Actually, notice the animals in this. It's a good sermon in this by the way. For for animals or things. But Jesus is the worm.

I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by people. He's treated as a worm. This is the son of the living God. All who see me mock me, they hurl insults at me shaking their head. He trust in the lord, they say.

There it is again. Let the lord rescue him. Let him deliver him since he delights in him. Or look at verses 12 to 18, many bureaus surround me, strong bureaus of basham encircle me, roaring lions that tear their prey, open their mouths wide against me. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.

My heart is turned to wax, It has melted within me. My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of deaf dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircle me. They pierce my hands and my feet, and all my bones are on display. And people stare and gloat over me.

And they divide my clothes up among them and cast lots for my garment. You see, it's all about Jesus. Being surrounded by enemies, bulls, and dogs, and lions, and mockers. Here is Jesus going to his death, and enemies are surrounding him. And not only the devil and the bools of passion and all of what that stands for, and the physical enemies, and the nails, and the pain, and the emotion, and the mocking, But there on the cross we're told, sin is poured all over him.

The holy 1 of God that never sinned. The pure son of the living God now has sin tipped on him. He was pierced for our transgressions, our breaking of the law. He's crushed for our iniquities. The Lord has laid on him the iniquity, the sin of all of us.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians God made him, who had no sin to be sin for us. You know when you see those albatrosses, they're extraordinary birds. They got the biggest wingspan of any flying bird. They're meant to be free with their wings right out, aren't they? They're meant to be flying above the ocean with their massive wings.

And they're beautiful, and clean. You you've seen them, haven't you? On those terrible things when there's been an oil leak or something, some pollution. And those same birds that should be free with their hands outstretched, their wings outstretched are stuck on a a beach and they're full of oil, and they can't even move their wings and they're trying to preen themselves. And as they do that, they ingest more of the oil into them, and it's making it worse, and they fall over, and they can't stand up.

Here is Christ, the free man, free of sin, has all your thoughts and pollution and sin tipped all over him. And he's crushed And because of that, Jesus is facing the darkest death of all, where he will cry out the words my god, my god, Why have you forsaken me? The situation is horrific. And this is the prayer of Christ. Lord, how many are my foes, how many rise up against me, Many are saying of me, God will not deliver him, but God will deliver him because we come to my third point.

The sermon. Versus 3 and 4, as we saw it this morning, is a sermon. This is what Jesus reminds himself of on the cross. But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory. The 1 who lifts my head high.

I call out to the lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. See, how does Jesus survive these foes? How is he gonna survive these foes? How is he gonna survive these armies of bulls and lions and dogs that will rip him and mocking him? How is he gonna do this?

How is he gonna survive my god, my god, why have you forsaken me by understanding who the father is? By trusting in the father. By trusting that even though the father even though he will go into death and close his eyes in death, the father won't when he's done his job abandon him. Jesus will close his eyes in the sleep of death and breathed his loss. But as he did that, he said this.

As he was going, As he was closing his eyes in the sleep of death, he said, what? Do you remember? Last thing he said, Father. Into your hands I commit my spirit. And so verses 3 and 4 of this psalm, but you, lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the 1 who lifts my head high, I call out to the lord and he answers me from the holy Mountain, he knew.

But after death, even the death of carrying the iniquities, the sins, the pollution, your sins, the sins of the world he knew there was resurrection. He knew that the scriptures said that God will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your holy 1 see decay. He knew that, so he could take the sleep of death. He knew that he was in the very plan of God. And therefore, it was a shield around him.

He will not be forgotten, and he will be glorified. But you, lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the 1 who lifts my head high. I will call out to the lord, and it'll answer me from the Holy Hill. And the call, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me, was heard. And answered from the Holy Hill.

He became obedient to death, the scripture says. Even death on a cross. Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place. He knew that would happen. His obedience, in death, even a death and a cross, would turn to resurrection life, lift up your heads you gates, lift them up, you ancient doors, says the psalm, The king of glory.

Open them up so the king of glory may come in. The sermon of who God is and what the plan of God was, and that he would walk up the holy hill and the gates would be open to him because of his obedience in death, taught Jesus to close his eyes. And so we come to the fourth point, the sleep. Versus 5 and 6 of Psalm 3, I lie down and sleep. I wake again because the Lord sustains me.

I will not fear, though tens of thousands are sailing on every side. Do you see that? All the monsters, all the sin, the sailing Jesus on every side, I'll lie down and sleep, I'll lie down and die. Jesus, in part, was able to do this final sleep of death because he had practiced this hundreds of times in his life of 33 years. Every day Jesus slept and woke up again.

And even when he was a baby, there were powerful enemies against him. Remember the story of herod? But he slept and woke and slept and woke and slept and woke. And who was sustaining him? The Lord God.

Lord God was sustaining him. In Matthew chapter 8 and in other gospels, you see Jesus is in the boat with his disciples going across the lake and there's a furious storm. And the storm undoubtedly is demonic. There are satanic things in this storm going on. And the disciples are awake and terrified and Jesus is asleep.

He's asleep when Satan is roaring around him. He was peaceful. His closest friends were tearing their hair out, but he had a deep trust that when he went into unconsciousness, the father would sustain him. Even when there's demonic around him, he'd learned that daily. He'd daily learned that, and we can daily learn this.

I lie down and sleep, I wake again because the lord sustains me. He had learnt that throughout his life. Just as we were seeing this morning, David was trade by his son, absalom. Jesus was betrayed by his close friend. And they both brought enemies to the anointed king.

David was the anointed king. In those days, Jesus is the anointed king of God now. David felt alone, but he wasn't. Jesus was alone. It was at night when he should be asleep when Jesus was in the garden of gethsemane.

And Judas, the enemy came. With a whole load of people. And it's very interesting, and I only noticed this this morning. It's very interesting that it's the exact reversal of Jesus and the storm. In the storm, in the boat, the disciples were awake, and Jesus was asleep.

Here, the disciples are going to sleep and Jesus is awake. It's very interesting, isn't it? The disciples are asleep and there really is terror around them. Jesus is awake because he has no opportunity to sleep now until the sleep of death the sleep that he's going to have, that the disciples were having, that he should have it in many ways, but he was going to sleep in death. And he said, not your will, but my will be done, and he was handed over to the sleep of death.

Which leads me to my fifth point, and it's the last 1 you'll be happy to say, except for about 8 points of application. The rising sun of a new day, verses 7 and 8 of this psalm, arise lord. Deliver me my God. Strite, I love this verse. This is quite vicious, but look at it, strike all my enemies on the jaw break the teeth of the wicked.

So I thought, break your teeth in mate. That's that's what it used to be said when I was when I was teenager running away from people that wanted to beat me up, it was always squad is army men in our in Windsor. And if you shouted any abuse them which silly little boys would often do, they would sometimes run after you. And it would have all be things like and if you look at them in the wrong way. It would all be looking at me or chewing a brick mate.

Either way, you're gonna get your teeth broken, you know. So here they are. Their teeth are gonna be broken verse 8 from the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. So here is Jesus.

He can rest in sleep. He can rest in his death even though he's carrying the the sin of the world. He can rest because gee, the the father is a risen father. He's alive. He's he's not asleep.

And those verses, in verse 3, we see the enemies using their mouths to mock Jesus. In verse 7, Jesus asked that their mouths of the enemy should be shut up. When Jesus arose, There's coming a day where every tongue will shut up and confess that Jesus is lord. And every knee will bow. Every knee will bow to who?

To Jesus. The king. He'll shut the mouth of Satan and the lies of Satan. It will be quite a day, I think. When we suddenly realize all the lies that we believed and all the things Satan's been mouthing off about.

The murderous things and the untruths that he spread. Remember, he's a deceiver and a liar from the beginning and a murderer from the beginning, and he's deceiving lying words that are spread around the world and believed in and gloryed in. They're gonna be smashed. His mouth will be smashed. I was saying this morning it'd be like a gummy old person without any teeth.

That's a time of time of day. Yeah. It would probably happen to us all. Teats fall out. And they're trying to spread like, And you know, you you see all those YouTube things, don't you?

Where grandma's blowing her candle out and the teeth come flying out. And they can't she can't blow anymore. Because her mouth is all like this. That's spread the COVID around. It's amazing, isn't it?

When Jesus was sleeping in death, he was defeating the enemy Satan. When Jesus was sleeping in death, the father was crushing the head and the teeth of Satan, breaking his mouth, shutting him up When Jesus rose again, a new humanity that now can't be by sin or Satan's lies or death or the devil. Arise, Lord. Deliver me God, strike my enemy by what I've done on the cross. Now, you are in this risen Lord.

You are in Christ. Remember the beginning? Look at 1 Corinthians, my last verses, 1 Corinthians. When the perishable had been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with the immortal, Then the saying that is written will come true, death has been swallowed up in victory. Where o death is your victory?

Where o grave is your sting? This isn't that the message that 20 20 needed to hear? But did you hear anyone saying that? See, it's not COVID that we should be afraid of. It's death.

No more people I keep saying this. No more people die. Because of COVID or war or anything. Everyone's gonna die. It's not the disease that's the issue, it's death that's the issue, where o death is your victory?

Where o death is your sting? The sting of death is sin and the Paris is the law. But thanks be to God. He gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ, the rise Lord. Deliver me, my God.

Strike all the enemies on the jaw, even death itself. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters stand firm, let nothing move you always give yourselves fully to the work of the lord because you know that your labor in the lord is not in vain. You are in this Christ who has died and used and treated death as sleep and has risen again, like waking up in the morning, you are in him new life in him, arisen with him. So here's some things to think about. When you go to bed, tonight.

Put on some bedclothes. Don't go naked. It's nasty. Put on the bed clothes, put your pajamas on, whatever you call them, your night dress. Sorry, I'm looking at.

Tom Tom caught my eye when I said that. Tom Lane, not sweetman. We we all know about what he wears. Put on put on your bed clothes. Put on your proper your proper bed clothes.

Yeah. Which is Christ. You're in Christ. You're in Christ. You're clothed with his perfection.

We saw that this morning. Get under the covers. What covers? Get under the cup don't cover up yourself, but get under the covers where God covers you with his righteousness, in Christ. When you go to bed, sleep well, but make sure you've got the covers on and the proper clothing on, which is Christ.

And all that he's done for you on this cross, and all the enemies that he's dealt with on the cross. Secondly, remember you are in Christ. You have died to sin and risen again. Your sin has been dealt with and sleep reminds you of that. In sleep, you are unconscious, you can do nothing.

Christ has done everything for you. So relax. This isn't a religion of works. It's a religion of works by what Christ has done. So sleep.

Christian, you don't die, No Christian dies, you just go to sleep, and then you wake up. Like you do, You'll go to sleep tonight and presumably most of you may be. Perhaps some of you or a few of you may be might wake up tomorrow morning. You go to sleep, you wake up, death, resurrection. And what a savior.

You see what he's done for you? You see what he went through for you? Come to me we started off with. Dean started off with all you were weary and burdened and I will give you rest. He did this.

Because he did the burden for you, all those enemies that assailed him. He took and dealt with and rose again. He went through that. Look at verse 8 of the Psalm. From the Lord comes deliverance, may your blessing be on your people?

What a savior? What a blessed savior? You're in Christ. So live for him. Work hard.

In the day and then go to bed. Work hard and go to bed. Jesus tells a parable like that. You don't have to worry in the night Have I done enough? Have I done enough?

He tells a parable that a farmer goes out and just throws seed out. And he does his work in the day and he works hard, then he goes to bed and the seed grows. It's not all down to you or me. We could trust God. To bring the harvest in.

Work hard, do your job, work hard and go to bed. Luther used to say this. Work hard in the morning, work hard in the afternoon, and have a pint of beer, a heineken in the evening. That's what he said, not heineken, but beer. Now, you don't have to have a beer.

You don't I'm not saying, you've got to have a beer. But the whole point was, that you do your job, you work hard and then you leave it to God. You sleep. You relax. And then 1 last thing.

Without God, sleep and death are very serious. You are so vulnerable in sleep to an enemy. Unconscious for a third of your life, open to any attack. Without God, sleep is serious. Without god, death is serious.

So come to the deaths layer. Come to the 1 who turns death into sleep. Come to the 1 who will stay God all night long. With his shield around you. Come to him.

And if you haven't, Before you go to bed tonight, ask him to be your savior. Father god, you know each 1 of us here, and you know the bits that really challenge us, and we ask you please, that you would, by your spirit, keep watering them and help us to grow. We may love the Lord Jesus more and just see what he's done for us on the cross. As he faced the foe for us and turned death into sleep and waking into resurrection. We thank you for him in Jesus' name, amen.