Psalm 3: 1 – 8
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1 LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. 2 Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah 3 But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head. 4 I cried to the LORD with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. Selah 5 I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. 7 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. 8 Salvation belongs to the LORD. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah
People in Philly like to converse in greetings by saying, ‘Hou you doin?’ What they are saying is how is everything going on in your life? In truth they do not care about you at all. This is just the Philly way of saying ‘Hi’. To shock the other person into reality I say, ‘Well right now I got a lot of persecution and suffering. I am daily going through trials and tests. I extend good to others and receive evil back in return. So. All things are great. How is your day going.’ In the book of 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 12 says, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” Hello?
It is my belief that our Holy God allows to happen to us on purpose. Why? I believe our Lord does not want us to be comfortable here. We know this in our minds but have not solidified it in our hearts. You have heard the statement, ‘He is so heavenly minded that he is no earthy good.’ This remark is not correct. If you are heavenly minded you will be earthly good because you follow the directions of Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High.
David was going through some extreme difficult times. Many scholars reveal that this was the time when his son Absalom was leading a revolt against him. The Psalm opens with a cry of distress and almost despair.
1 LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. 2 Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah
David was deeply aware that his life was in grave danger. He had only just escaped with his life by a hairsbreadth, and he had seen how many there were who were against him. The rebellion had taken him completely by surprise, even though he must have been aware of Absalom’s activities and attempts to win the people’s hearts to himself.
Abraham Lincoln once said that ‘you can please some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time.’ People main thought towards those who are in leadership is, ‘what can you do for me now.’
We see now, however, that David was appalled. He was totally taken by surprise, and very upset, to discover how many there were who were clearly disenchanted with his reign. He had not expected this. He had not realized, in his sense of his own supremacy, that the days of his early popularity had gone, and that his reign was now probably considered too harsh. His constant calling on men for war to sustain the status quo, and his plans for expansion which involved them even more, had disillusioned the people. They had been unable to work their land as they had wanted to, and had had to spend too much time away from home.
How easy it is to become like David. We become complacent with our lives and fail to observe that we are no longer taking account of the feelings of those around us. Our complacency leads us into taking too much for granted rather than into putting in the effort that success requires. We feel that we can manage very well as we are, and we forget to keep strict accounts of our lives, and to recognize that others might have concerns different from ours. The ministry of many a servant of God has been minimized because of complacency. And the consequence is that one day we can be pulled up short by unpleasant realities.
So David’s cry here was concerning the huge number of people who were teamed up against him. I believe this was what hurt him the most, especially the number of the people of Jerusalem his own city who were against him. He had won Jerusalem for them and now they had turned against him.
But worse, not only had they turned against him, but they were also clearly equally convinced that our Holy Father God Yahweh had turned against him, for they cried, ‘there is no help for him in God’. The word for ‘help’ is ‘deliverance’ as in verse 8. Thus they believed that God would no longer watch over him and deliver him, and that they could therefore rid themselves of him with impunity. They no longer saw him as ‘the Lord’s Anointed’.
This last fact especially smote his conscience. Their feelings seemingly went very deep. He had to recognize that it was due with his sin with Bathsheba and murder of his friend Uriah the Hittite, her husband.
For rumors of his sin would undoubtedly have spread. The people knew by this that he had openly broken the covenant. He had committed sins worthy of death. And that was why they could not believe that God could still support such a king. Thus, as a result of his actions, they could only consider that he was no longer Adoni Yahweh’s anointed, the representative of the people. They expected better of the king than they expected of themselves, and he had failed them. And the result was that they had lost their awe of him, and their confidence in him.
So here he now was, fleeing for his life, with a great army of disillusioned people who had once looked to him and admired him, ready to seek him out and destroy him. And with a deeply troubled conscience concerning what had brought it about, he was, at this moment, in an agony of doubt. He was aware of their numbers. He was conscious of the smallness of his own force. What hope then had he against them? He knew that if they caught up with him he was done for. So he brings his need before God.
The word ‘Selah’ means ‘think of that!’
We all need to remember that how we behave inevitably affects the way that people think about us and behave towards us. And that once we have lost their confidence it is hard to regain it. Like David we may find forgiveness but the physical consequences of our sins may go on and on. If we sin an open sin others may consider that God can no longer be with us. This was true of David. He was forgiven by God, but his people remembered and had not forgiven him. It is easier to find forgiveness from God than from fellow-sinners.
3 But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head. 4 I cried to the LORD with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. Selah
David did something here that we all need to plant firmly in our minds. In the moment of his deepest issues, he took his eyes off himself and looked at God. Having acknowledged his own inadequacy he turned his thoughts towards God’s complete adequacy and faithfulness.
What the people had overlooked was that he was a forgiven sinner, that he had deeply repented of his sins, and had been forgiven and accepted back by God. That he was still therefore our Holy God’s anointed. Thus in this moment of deepest need, and even perplexity, and with his conscience screaming out at him, his heart reached upwards and he turned towards Adoni Yahweh, his covenant God. He no longer now prayed to Him as ‘God’. He prayed to Him as ‘Yahweh’, the One Who loved him.
Lonely and desolate David sought reassurance. He reminded El Shaddai, God Almighty, and himself, (for that is often what prayer is, something in which we remind ourselves of the promises of God), that our Blessed Sovereign Ruler had promised to be his shield. To be the One Who guarded and protected him, like a great shield of war. That He was his glory, the One without Whom David knew that he was nothing, and that He was the One Who lifted up the head of, and restored those who were cast down, and so would lift up David’s head. And he threw himself on the grace of God.
Look at David’s statement ‘You are a shield about me.’ To a warrior like David the shield was a vital weapon. His trusty shield had saved his life many a time. Thus the thought of our Great God as his shield comforted him.
We also, as we face the problems that life can bring, need to constantly remember, that if we are truly His, God is our shield. If we are walking in faithfulness to Him, with our sin forgiven and behind us, we too can be confident of His protection, both in the trials of life, and from the arrows of the Evil One. He will not fail us nor forsake us.
I think one of life’s major problems is when it appears that God is not ‘hearing our prayers’. Sometimes I think of Moses when he had sinned by striking the rock instead of speaking to it as the Lord has instructed. Because of this sin, Moses was not allowed to go into the Promised Land. God spoke directly to him and said, ‘do not ask Me anymore about reconsidering my decree, you are not going in with the Israelites to possess the land that was promised to them.’
When we have sinned it seems that we fall into the same category. Sure God listens and knows all things, but you have to stop and think has He determined not to accept your prayers anymore. Some prayers I have been presenting to Him for over 20 years and He has not granted my requests. He hasn’t told me directly ‘no’ yet so I continue to ask. So should you.
All good things come from Heaven above by the approval of El Shaddai, Almighty God. So, while there is still hope, keep on seeking, knocking, and asking.
David said to our Holy Creator, ‘You are my glory.’ The glory of the king was the reflected glory of Adoni Yahweh, Father God. He was The LORD’s anointed, David knew that his glory as being selected as king was given to Him by Jehovah Elyon, The Lord Most High. So in every way he knew that his glory depended on YHWH Who was his glory. Without God he was nothing and he would no longer gain the victory. So he now looked again to the only True and Living God and trusted Him to restore his glory, because He was his God.
We too need to recognize that without God our glory is nothing, our lives are nothing. We may strut around for a while convinced that we are something, and that we are achieving great things, or we may stumble along in doubt and feel that life is no longer worthwhile. But unless we recognize that our glory comes from God we will finally achieve nothing. Either way we need to look off to God’s glory, the one in order to learn humility, the other in order to gain strength. For it is only as our eyes are set on things above, and as our confidence is placed in Him, that our lives will become finally meaningful and we will then become ‘something’, something that will be everlastingly worthwhile. Our Lord Jesus Christ will cover us with His glory.
5 I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
Our Lord Jesus Christ at the Last Supper told the apostles that He was giving them a peace that passes all understanding. In other words you love the peace that God gives you. You know that this peace is different even though all things are out of control. David has experience this peace from the Lord. So satisfied that our Holy Master had heard him he could now settle down to sleep. And in the morning he awoke, aware that he was still safe. With that knowledge he would not be afraid of anyone, even ‘ten thousands’ of people which represents a great army, even though they had surrounded him and were set against him.
7 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. 8 Salvation belongs to the LORD. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah
Your ministers should instruct you to read the entire bible and memorize all the Scripture that you can. For in times of need our Wonderful Holy Spirit will bring His promises into your mind when it is especially needed. We see this at work in David’s life. His cry here parallels the marching song of the hosts of Israel as reflected in these Scripture verses;
Numbers 10.35, “So it was, whenever the ark set out, that Moses said: “Rise up, O LORD! Let Your enemies be scattered and let those who hate You flee before You.”
Psalm 68.1, “Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.”
As the Israelites went forward in confidence with the Ark leading the way, they proclaimed this statement. David memorized these passages. In the same way he was confident that the Great and Wonderful Ruler would equally be with him even though the Ark was not there, for he knew that The Supreme Majestic Holy One Was not restricted to a physical object, however sacred.
He brings to mind past victories when God had smitten his enemies on the cheekbone. The smiting on the cheekbone was an act of reproach to a defeated opponent. It indicated reproach offered to someone who should have known better, and was a sign of total victory, and that all their resistance had ceased.
‘Breaking the teeth’ of the wicked meant rendering them powerless, removing their weapons, and was based on the idea that captured wild animals would often have their teeth broken so as to render them safe. He has no doubt that God will deliver him again, rendering his enemies powerless and subject to reproach.
Everyone who trusts in God can always be sure that even though he or she may have reached their weakest point, God will hear them. Indeed the fact is that He often deliberately brings us to our weakest point so that we might learn to trust Him more.
The psalm ends with a cry of confidence. Salvation is in the hands of our Lord God, for all deliverance is finally in His hands. This includes the deliverance of a nation or a king, and it includes a person’s own personal deliverance. When you finally settle into your heart and mind that God Is on His Throne in Heaven and that He controls all things. You and I do not know what the outcome will come in our various trials. However, we can all rejoice that we have the Only Good and Holy One in Charge. Even though we cannot figure out why He allowed something, and did or did not respond as we have hoped, we have to assure our thoughts that He Is in Total Control and has His reasons for whatever results occur. Amen!
