Psalm 3

A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

1 O Lord, how many are my foes!  Many are rising against me;

2 many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah

The first three psalms set up the theme of the entire Psalter. Psalm 1 tells us that God is good, that he is benevolent, self-revealing, that we are known and carefully watched over by him, and that he is just. Psalm 2 declares his absolute sovereignty. Human actions have no effect on his will. Psalm 3 then suggests the dissonance between those two propositions. If God is good and all-powerful, why am I suffering without cause? Psalm 2 tells us that God’s wrath is kindled when we disobey him, but the psalmist believes that he has done nothing wrong, and yet he is encompassed by enemies. “O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul,“There is no salvation for him in God.” It is a three-fold declaration of his internal doubts. If all who take refuge in God are blessed, why has the psalmist been driven from his home, publicly humiliated, and personally attacked by members of his family and his counsel of advisors? David’s world has been turned upside down by Absalom’s rebellion. One could argue that David is experiencing the consequences of his own actions. Nathan predicted that the sword would not depart from David’s house. Just as he had murdered an innocent man, so would David himself experience God’s justice (even though he had escaped human justice as the king). David’s foes are not just attacking him physically, but they are threatening his confidence in God. It is a crisis of faith. 

3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

David answers his own questions with a declaration of faith. It is the first “first person” statement in the psalms and it is fitting to the them, “But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” It is one of those “but God” statements that reflects a turning point. The king was often referred to as “a shield”, so on the heels of Psalm 2, David declares that God is the king’s shield. He is a shield that protects on every side. God defends and blunts the attacks of the enemy. He preserves life and allows you a measure of rest in the midst of an assault. Second, the Lord is David’s glory, or glorious one. David’s reputation is linked to God’s. David’s glory is a reflection of God’s glory. The king ideally was a reflection of the glorious nature of God, his brilliance, splendor, majesty, and weightiness -- these are all implied in the term glory. While under attack, David declares that his honor and reputation are in God’s hands. David’s humiliation was one of the most painful aspects of Absalom’s rebellion. To go from king to a hunted outcast is a pretty far fall. We don’t have an opinion poll from this time, but it’s clear that a good number of people wanted to see David go. That’s a far cry from the songs they used to sing, “Saul has killed his thousands, David his tens of thousands”. My honor and glory are not mine. They are the Lord’s. They are his to take away and his to bestow. The Lord is my glory. Finally, the Lord is the lifter of David’s head, suggesting that David has been bowed low by the recent circumstances. But as he asserts the Lord’s intervention as his shield and glory, David’s head is lifted up. He is encouraged and finds the strength to go on. 

4 I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

David cried aloud. This was no silent prayer. This was a yell into the heavens. (Jesus gave a loud cry and gave up his spirit when he died). This was sobbing and anguish that endured for a season. Day and night David is on the run, never knowing if the enemy will surprise him in his sleep. The cry was directed toward YHWH on his holy hill -- Zion. David knew every inch of that place, he had built it and led worship in its environment, but now he is far from it in every way. YHWH answered, but David was no immediately delivered as the prayer in a following verse suggests. YHWH answered David’s question before he delivered him from his enemies. This is critical. Through the eyes of faith, David sees his deliverance. Thus he can say, “YHWH answered me”. This is a statement of confidence in things not yet seen. This is believing the victory before you have received it. This is placing your trust in the words of God even though you cannot see the hand of God in action yet. YHWH answered David from his holy hill, from the place where He dwells. God inhabits the praises of his people. Did David receive his answer in the context of worship? Worship reframes the situation and reorients us to the truth of Psalms 1 and 2. God is good and God is on the throne. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. 

5 I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.

6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.

David’s prayer of faith allowed him to go to sleep. He had received his answer even though his deliverance hadn’t actually happened. He closed his eyes in trust that everything was in the Lord’s hands, and he woke the next morning because the Lord had sustained him. Sleep is hard to come by when you are under stress. Whether it’s grief or anxiety, the mind and the emotions never shut down. How many times have I gone to sleep with something on my mind only to restlessly toss and turn mentally and physically over it. The ability to put everything in God’s hands before your eyes close in sleep seems critical to life and health. As a practical matter, praying a psalm like this before going to sleep can be a final reminder that “God’s got this.” David declares that he will not be afraid of the thousands of people that are set against him on every side. “Thousands” is probably an exaggeration in reality, but it’s exactly how he felt. It was as if the whole world was against him and wanted him to go away into oblivion, all the great things he had done forgotten, his life ending with a whimper in the desert. But David declares that regardless of the outcome, he’s not afraid of it. What are you afraid of today? Make a list. I’m sure there aren’t a thousand people working against you (unless you’re a political leader!). Tell yourself not to fear - not because you’re so strong, but because God has answered from his holy hill. He’s got this. 

7 Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.

8 Salvation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people! Selah

David believes that God has already heard and answered his prayer, but now he actually prays a specific prayer: Arise and save me! The salvation that David desires is the defeat of his enemies. He is being pursued by Absalom and his men, so perhaps this flavors his request. He wishes that God punch them in the face and break their teeth. Take away the destructive weapons of his enemies and render them harmless. Other imprecatory psalms will ask for the quick death of enemies, but here it is a prayer to blunt their effectiveness. Sure it hurts to get punched in the face, but it’s not fatal. The prayer is stated as if it has already happened or at the very least a present activity of God. Once again we see David trusting God as if the future were the present. Rescuing is God’s thing. It’s what he does. David’s final prayer is a blessing on God’s people. There’s that word blessing again -- the third time in three psalms. The blessing of rescue belongs to all who trust in him, all those who belong to him, not just the king. Rest in this. Verse 7 is the longest of the 8 verses with the inclusion of an additional line, breaking the couplet pattern. It’s also a line in the song where God does some breaking of his own.