Psalm 3 A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom
his son.
1 LORD, how are they
increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.
2 Many there be
which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.
3 But thou, O LORD, art
a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
4 I cried unto the LORD
with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.
5 I laid me down and
slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of
ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me
round about.
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.
8 Salvation belongeth
unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.
The other night at work I was thinking about people I knew and how they handled difficulty. Some, when faced with trials, like to pretend nothing is wrong. As I was meditating on this and how that attitude is not only NOT faith, it is not conducive to faith, I started to sing Psalm 3 (I know two choruses from Psalm 3: the better known one is verses 3-4 and the other one is v 1-6; I was singing the longer one). I realized that this Psalm, like Psalm 2 (see my note on Psalm 2), is about trusting the Lord. So I went over each verse and was amazed at how it spoke forcefully on trusting God.
LORD, how are they increased that trouble me!
He had enemies. A lot of enemies. And apparently he kept a
count because he noticed that the number had increased. David didn't pretend
they weren't there, he counted them!
many are they that rise up against me.
He was keenly aware that there were a lot of people who were
against him.
Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for
him in God. Selah.
His enemies were speaking about him, and to him, and they
were very bold, "There is no help for him in God." This seems like
such a harsh thing to say to someone: "God has no mercy for you; not one
drop of grace for you; no help. You have no hope of God's help."
In war, one side will often say to the other,
"Surrender now. There is no help coming. Your message didn't get through
and even if it did, there is no one left back there to help you." What a
word of discouragement!
David had real, physical enemies. Sometimes we do too. More
often our enemies are circumstances. But always our enemy is the devil, and he
loves to tell us, "There is no help for you in God."
But
This is exciting. This is where David's faith kicks in.
Having noticed his enemies, counted them, and heard their speech against him,
David speaks of his faith: "I know all that is going on, I recognize it, I
realize it...BUT!" He is going to set something in opposition to their
number and their words...
But thou, O Lord
David saw his enemies, but he wasn't looking to them. He was
looking to the Lord. "They are many...but thou, O Lord. They are
saying...but thou, O Lord"!! Amen.
This is faith: in your trials and troubles being able to
say, "But thou, O Lord."
As you go through the Scriptures you see this over and over.
I thought about two cases in particular.
Abraham was an old man and knew that he and Sarah both were
too old to have children, but he had the promise of God. He said, "They
say I am too old to see God's promise fulfilled in me, But thou, O Lord."
Twelve men were sent out to spy out the land. They all saw
the people, their great walled cities, their military capacity. Ten were
discouraged and said, "They are too many for us, this can't be done."
Joshua and Caleb said, "But thou, O Lord."
But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the
lifter up of mine head.
Amen! This is his faith speaking.
-You are a shield for me. I am not strong enough to deal
with all those who are against me, but You are my shield. You will protect me.
-You are my glory. You don't merely give me glory or glorify
me. YOU are my glory!
-You are the lifter up of mine head. Weariness, depression,
defeat all cause you to walk with your head hanging down. When I am surrounded
by so many adversaries it is natural to be discouraged and depressed. But thou,
O Lord are the lifter up of my head! Amen!
I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out
of his holy hill. Selah.
I noticed that with this verse he begins to describe how his
faith in the Lord affects him. He cried out to God. It is true that a lot of
people cry out to God in times of trouble and distress, but it is not a prayer
of faith. David prayed in faith and his prayer was heard - "he heard me
out of his holy hill."
I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD
sustained me.
This is very convicting - I laid me down and I slept. All of
us know what it is to lose sleep because we are worried about something
troubling us. We have troubles and can't sleep. David had troubles and went to
sleep. What is the difference? "But thou, O Lord." He trusted the
Lord and he could go to sleep!
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that
have set themselves against me round about.
His faith also delivers him from fear. "They outnumber
me. They are stronger than me. They are determined to destroy me. But I will
not be afraid because I am trusting in You." Fear is faith in an
inadequate source, so when I trust the Lord and find Him as my shield, my glory,
and the lifter of my head, I will no longer be afraid.
Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy
blessing is upon thy people. Selah.
This is the final verse of the Psalm. Two words are in italics
because they are not in the Hebrew, so the verse should read, Salvation unto the LORD: thy blessing upon thy people.
What an interesting verse! Salvation belongs to God. It is
His thing. It is what he does and what we can confidently look to him
for. His blessing, on the other hand, belongs to us. We can with confidence
expect it and look for it in our lives. Amen!
What a blessing! When I have enemies that outnumber me and
are vocal in their opposition and I am tempted to be discouraged, distressed
and depressed, I need to trust the Lord. My heart cry needs to be "But
thou, O Lord!" And this faith will manifest itself in me:
+ I will pray (I cried unto the Lord...)
+ I will have peace that passes understanding (I lay me
down and I slept...)
+ I will not fear (I will not be afraid...)
There are three Selahs in this Psalm. Selah means either a musical interlude or "meditate on this". If it is a musical interlude, the purpose would be to meditate on what was just said. And it is interesting to see where they occur:
1 LORD, how are they
increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.
2 Many there be which say
of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.
Think about the situation. Don't pretend it is not
happening. Take a good look. Count up those against you.
3 But thou, O LORD, art a
shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
4 I cried unto the LORD
with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.
Think about this. Don't dwell on the situation, take a good,
long, lingering look at the Savior. Let Him fill your eye, your mind, your
heart.
8 Salvation unto the LORD:
thy blessing upon thy people. Selah.
Salvation belongs to God, He is by His very nature a Savior,
and He freely bestows it: Whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. That is worth
thinking about.
His blessing, on the other hand, belongs to us! As I think
on this, I should ask myself, Am I walking in His blessing? Amen and Amen!!
