Bring Back the King
By Carter Conlon
"How they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me, 'There is no help for him in God.' But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head. I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people" (Psalm 3:1-8).
David penned this psalm during a season of deep personal sorrow. Many were turning against the testimony of God's power, provision, and order that had previously been established through his life. Now David found himself fleeing from his very own son, Absalom!
What a contrast from not too long before when David had danced with all his might as the Ark of the Covenant was brought back to Jerusalem (see 2 Samuel 6:12-15). The purposes of God were being fulfilled through his life and people witnessed the power and provision that God was willing to give. However, David was now at a point where many concluded, "There is no help for him in God." Even long-standing friends and warriors began to abandon him. In the natural, it looked like it was all over. David was getting old and was being driven out, but Absalom was young and strong. It appeared as if David was in too weakened a condition to make a difference anymore. Surely his best days were all in the past!
A SENSE OF DEFEAT
Something similar is being spoken about America today as rebellion is mounting against the order of God. Voices are rising up, proclaiming that there is now a new order in place-a post-Christian society. All the while, the Church is regarded as too weak to make a difference.
Now notice what eventually happened in David's day as a result of Absalom's rebellion: "And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people crossed over. The king himself also crossed over the Brook Kidron, and all the people crossed over toward the way of the wilderness" (2 Samuel 15:23). Likewise, there is a sense of defeat among God's people today as the testimony of God is being driven into the wilderness. We have lost our voice and are regarded as mere bigots, intolerant and unnecessary. We are finally beginning to ask, "Oh, God, what have we done? Why did we forsake the blessing of Your presence that was once upon our nation? You gave us incredible giftings, abilities, and prosperity, yet we let it slip through our fingers!"
As David and his entourage were being driven into the wilderness, things only seemed to get worse. "Now when King David came to Bahurim, there was a man from the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei the son of Gera, coming from there. He came out, cursing continuously as he came. And 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. Also Shimei said thus when he cursed: 'Come out! Come out! You bloodthirsty man, you rogue! The Lord has brought upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the Lord has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil, because you are a bloodthirsty man!'" (2 Samuel 16:5-8). An unrestrained voice of cursing had risen against David in the land. Only a few years prior, it would have been unimaginable that such a thing could rise up against the anointing of God.
Then Abishai, one of David's men who had remained faithful to him, said, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please, let me go over and take off his head!" (2 Samuel 16:9). But David responded to him, "Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the Lord has ordered him" (2 Samuel 16:11). In other words, "Don't touch him; the Lord has appointed him to do this." You see, David knew in his heart that he had been the cause of the difficulty and division that was plaguing his society. Even in his failure, David was still a man after God's own heart, and he was therefore not afraid to assume responsibility for what was occurring.
SPIRITUAL LAZINESS
So what happened in David's life that led to such a point in the nation? I believe it all began years before when he allowed spiritual laziness to enter his life.
"It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem" (2 Samuel 11:1). Herein began the dissolving of godly order: David started to send others out to battle while he stayed home. It was as if he figured he had fought long enough; he had won enough victories. Perhaps he just wanted to stop and smell the roses for a while.
I can certainly identify with what David must have been feeling. I have had moments in my life when I wondered, "God, how long do I have to carry this weight? I have been fighting for so long. Can't I simply enjoy things for a season?"
This is a common struggle among God's people, particularly here in America. I cannot help but think about how we have largely vacated the prayer meeting and the personal work of God-personal holiness; personal evangelism. We gave our ten or twenty dollars a month to support the few missionary families that we sent out, and that became our contribution to the work of God. Meanwhile, we stopped going to the prayer meeting. We chose an easier way, saying, "God, You have blessed us and won marvelous victories for us. Your name is still being honored; some voices are still speaking for You, so I think I am going to stay home. I am just going to rest for a bit because I have worked hard all day. Why do I need to go out and pray?" We assumed that somebody somewhere else would carry the battle forward. Yet, once we left the prayer meeting, our diminishing began.
The Bible goes on to tell us what happened after David chose to stay home instead of going out to battle. "Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof (or today might I say, "And from the Internet") he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold" (2 Samuel 11:2). David eventually ended up succumbing to lust and self-indulgence-another picture of what is happening in our day.
I am currently reading a book that contains statistics regarding the moral state of the nation and the ministry. The number of Christians trapped in pornography is absolutely appalling-and it all started with laziness! When you are lazy, you will turn to lust because that is where your natural mind and body want to go. You get bored, so you start looking for things to pacify you, eventually looking in places where you should not be looking.
On top of that, the theology of "self" has gotten hold of us, setting the course for the moral decline in our nation. When we left the prayer meeting, we lost our focus on God. And when we lost our focus on God, we lost our focus on the cross and the commission of the Church to win the lost. Instead, we turned inward, and self-indulgence began to grip our hearts. Everything became about God's people coming to His house to find out what is in it for us today. We allowed for the rise of preachers who fed that lust in the people, telling them anything they wanted to hear so long as they continued to build the preachers' ministries and give them the glory they desired.
MERCY IN THE MIDST OF FAILURE
Self-indulgence in David's life led to sin-lying and even the murder of someone whose honest testimony exposed the bankruptcy of his own spiritual condition. But perhaps the most devastating effect was the consequences for the next generation. A wrong spirit ended up getting hold of Absalom, who was supposed to be the legitimate heir. Ironically, he started pursuing David in order to drive out of the nation the very anointing that should have been his!
If David had prayed and gone to battle, I am sure Absalom would have been there fighting by his side. After all, God had given David a promise that he would not fail to have a man of his lineage on the throne. Of course, it was ultimately fulfilled in Christ, but he had a physical promise as well. That is why David was so brokenhearted when Absalom was killed. "O my son Absalom-my son, my son Absalom-if only I had died in your place!" (2 Samuel 18:33). "You did not have to die; it was my spiritual death that caused this!" David knew that Absalom should have had a crown on his head; he should have been governing in righteousness.
Likewise, we are being pursued by a generation that would have been in the prayer room and "reigning in life" (as the Bible describes in Romans 5:17)-if only we had led them there. Yet, if we vacated the prayer meeting, how do we expect them to be there today? Just as David did, we ought to acknowledge our responsibility in the matter.
However, the good news is that not only did David acknowledge his own failure, he prayed for mercy! As we saw in our opening psalm, David said, "Many are they who say of me, 'There is no help for him in God.' But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head" (Psalm 3:2-3). We, too, can lift our heads from our shame. We can look at the failure in our lives and not be condemned by it. Like David, we can say, "Lord, to us belongs shame of face, but to You belongs mercy. We have failed You in what we were called to do; but for Your great and holy name's sake, move one more time in this generation!"
"I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill" (Psalm 3:4). This tells me that my prayers can still be heard; they can still move the hand of God. It reminds me that no nation is ever too far gone that mercy cannot touch it again. It tells me that the finest day of the Church of Jesus Christ may very well be upon us!
"I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me" (Psalm 3:5). God will sustain us; we will not be overcome or triumphed over. "I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around" (Psalm 3:6). In the natural, there is no reason we should have peace in this hour. However, the Lord promises to give us peace every day-a peace that passes understanding. "Arise, O Lord; Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongs to the Lord. And Your blessing is upon Your people" (Psalm 3:7-8). David was saying, "Silence the voices that tell me that my life doesn't matter or that no good will ever come from it. Let Your blessing, in spite of my past failures, determine my future and that of those around me!"
A SPIRITUAL AWAKENING
We see in the Scriptures that after Absalom's death, there was a spiritual awakening in Israel. A spiritual awakening happens when society's rebellion against God comes to a dead end, and people suddenly realize that those they are following have been leading them down a darkened path. The people finally recognize that they have lost something precious. However, they also see that there is still a chance to recover what used to be theirs.
"Now all the people were in a dispute throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, 'The king saved us from the hand of our enemies, he delivered us from the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled from the land because of Absalom. But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Now therefore, why do you say nothing about bringing back the king?' So King David sent to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, 'Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, "Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house, since the words of all Israel have come to the king, to his very house?'''" (2 Samuel 19:9-11). King David himself, a Christ-type, was sending a message to those with spiritual influence and authority: "Why are you the last to bring back the king?"
That ought to be the cry of our hearts today as well-"Bring back the King!" Weeping endures for a night, but you and I have the hope that, as was the case with David, our nation will recognize what has been lost and will once again bring back the King! Bring back the King who heals, who delivers, who gives sight. Bring back the King who opens prison doors and puts a new song in every heart. Bring back the King into our streets, our schools and our colleges!
Of course, it begins with you and me. That means it is time to bring the King back into our personal lives. We must get off our rooftops and get our eyes off things they should not be on. Where we have failed, where we have drifted or lost zeal for the kingdom of God-bring back the King! Where our heart for the lost and the poor has grown cold-bring back the King! And I assure you that when the King comes home, there will be joy, dancing, and shouts of victory unlike anything we have ever known! Hallelujah!
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