VESPERS!--PSALM 3        DO 2361  4/82

         1. Amen, may the Lord bless this, our study of His Word. TYL! I think we finished the Second Psalm, didn't we? OK, now the Third Psalm:
         2. (Verse 1,2:) "Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah." So who would you think would be most inclined to say of us, "There's no help for him in God!"? (Family: Our enemies.) Yes, exactly. They're quite sure they're right & we're wrong & God is not with us.
         3. But think about it, selah! I don't know where we got this new meaning of secret or confidential for "selah," because the word really is an expression akin to "think of that," "pause & think about it." Somebody started that a long time ago, they thought that "selah" meant to be quiet. Well, it does, in a sense, it means to be quiet so you can think it over, pause. It's actually a musical notation because a Psalm was a song, & "selah" was like a rest. And it always follows some very great deep thought.
         4. (Verse 3:) "But Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, & the lifter up of mine head." PTL! TYJ! (Verse 4:) "I cried unto the Lord with my voice, & He heard me out of His holy hill." Thank God we've led millions to the Lord, so the Lord has heard us! Amen? (Family: Amen!)
         5. In fact, we were astonished with this latest report, that in spite of the fact that we have given away more money within the past two or three months, more publications, & in a sense more people to poorer fields, God has blessed us more financially this past month than any month in our history! See, it doesn't matter how much you give, you can't outgive God!
         6. (Verse 5:) "I laid me down & slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me." PTL! I finally had a good night's sleep last night. I've been sleeping better here than I have almost for years!
         7. (Verse 6:) "I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set themselves against me round about." Thank God we've got 10,000 with us! We're now 10,000 in the Family, PTL? I once thought maybe we'd never go beyond 7,000 because once upon a time some reporter asked how many there were & somebody piped up & said, "7,000!"
         8. Elijah, you know, thought he was all alone! He said, "I, even I only am left!" And the Lord said, "No, there are 7,000 in Israel that have yet not bowed the knee to Baal!"--1Kg.19:14,18. So he wasn't the only one! He thought he was the only one left because he was about the only one who was stickin' up for the Lord publicly & the Queen was out for his head, that bad old Jezebel! But he wasn't the only one, PTL? "Even though 10,000 set themselves against us"--as many as there are of us. And I'm sure there are that many or more against us because there are more of our enemies than us.
         9. I've often spoken of the crowd at Golgotha at the crucifixion of Christ. What was the smallest crowd there? His friends or His enemies? (Family: His friends.) His family & friends. The next largest crowd was His enemies, but who do you suppose the largest crowd was that by far outnumbered both of the other crowds put together? (Family: The people? The onlookers?) You're getting warm! (Family: The neutrals?) Nobody's really neutral. They think they're neutral but they're not. You're getting close!--Spectators, onlookers, the mob, the curious. In a sense you're right, neutral but... (Family: The indifferent.) Very good!
         10. The indifferent! They were just casual onlookers. To them He was just another criminal being executed, just the gory mob with their morbid curiosity to watch a hanging. They couldn't have cared less Who He was. They probably wondered, "I wonder Who He is? I wonder what He did?"--Indifferent!
         11. And of course their very indifference puts them on which side? "He that is not for Me is against Me."--Mat.12:30. So the indifferent are easily led astray by the enemies, because they are supposedly indifferent, & they follow the leading of the enemies. The enemies persuaded the crowd, the mob, to shout, "Crucify Him!"--Mk.15:11-14.
         12. (Verse 7:) "Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God: for Thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly." Whew! Some of you guys that have just been to the dentist lately, can you imagine a blow that would smash in your teeth? God knows how to fix our enemies--bash their teeth in! What do they usually do with their teeth? They gnash on whom?--Us!
         13. They got so possessed with the Devil when they were stoning St. Stephen that they ran up & bit him! They gnashed on him with their teeth, the Bible says!--Acts 7:54. Well, they don't literally gnash on us usually, but they sure gnash on us with their mouths & their tongues & would like to get their teeth into us, but God's going to bust'm all! Thank God!--Smite'm on the cheek bone! He's gonna break their jaws & smash their teeth!
         14. That's where the strength of an animal lies, his danger & his ability to inflict injury on his enemies, in his jaws & his teeth. So He's sort of likening our enemies to a dangerous animal who's trying to bite us & gnash on us! He's going to break their jaws & break their teeth, they're not going to be able to do any more biting! Praise God!
         15. (Verse 8:) Salvation belongeth unto whom? (Family: The Lord!) I trust you're trying to follow this reading, because there's nothing like looking at the Scripture! Techi, I think I'm using your Bible, so you can look on with Grandpa. "Salvation belongeth unto the Lord." Who does Salvation belong to? (Techi: The Lord!)
         16. "Thy blessing is upon Thy people." What's on God's people?--His blessing! "Selah!" Stop & think about that. (David: Does it mean listen?) Yes, it's a stop, it's a rest, a pause to think about it. Stop & listen. Stop, look & listen, stop & think. Think of that! "Salvation belongeth unto the Lord & His blessing is upon His people." PTL?
         17. Don't worry about the enemies, amen? He's going to smash their jaws & all their teeth so they can't do any more biting! They're going to be a bunch of toothless old hags! Praise God! Not just minus one tooth, Honey! You just lost one automatically, that's natural! God's going to smash the teeth of our enemies, the bad wicked people who try to hurt us! He's going to bop'm in the mouth & bust their jaw like that! God's a greater fighter! When He gets to fightin', let me tell you, the other guy gets the worst of it!
         18. Anyhow, "Salvation belongeth unto the Lord, Thy blessing is upon Thy people." Amen? That's a good one, isn't it?--A good little Psalm! PTL! What verse in there impressed you the most? (Family: That He'll break their teeth!) I'll bet you'll remember that one, won't you? Yes sir, the Lord's going to take vengeance! (Family: Also "Selah.")
         19. You learned what "selah" means. In this little Bible they have the pronunciation, & here they have pronounced it see'-lah. That's the way my Daddy used to pronounce it too. I wouldn't be surprised if in Hebrew it may have been say-lah', but when my Daddy read the Bible to us, he'd just say see-lah & stop & look around to see what we thought about it.
         20. (Techi [3 years old]: In that other country, a little brown boy, I held his hand & I couldn't let go.) You couldn't, really? My oh my! He must've held your hand tight, huh? Where was that? (Techi: Oh, I just learned that from somebody else.) Oh, was that in a story too? (Techi: Yes.) Well, Jesus holds our hands & if we hold tight He won't let go either & He'll take care of us. PTL! So don't worry! That's a good Psalm against our enemies, right? We don't have to worry about them, the Lord's going to take care of them.
         21. OK, let's have our little closing prayer now, shall we? Let's join hands. Amen. PTL! TYL! It's encouraging to read God's Word, isn't it? The Lord promises so many things, how He'll take care of us & not to worry. Amen Lord, bless & keep us all safely tonight & give us a good night's rest & strength for tomorrow. Thank You for a good day today, that You did keep us & gave us strength & we accomplished so much today, Lord. TYL!
         22. Make our little studies together a blessing & keep us always in Thy hands, Lord, protected from our enemies. You're our only true Refuge, Lord. Thank You for how You have kept us. Have Thy way & keep us in Thy Will & we know we'll be under Thy protection, in Jesus' name. TYL!
         23. Bless the Family around the World, all of our Musical Units & Publishing Units, Lord, & our Missionary Units & all of them, in Jesus' name. TYL! As we pray our little prayer for bedtime: ("Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep," Psa.19:14, Num.6:24-26.) Amen. Selah! Think of that! TYJ! God bless you all!