Today we continue our sporadic study of the psalms, by reading Psalm 3.
Psalm 3 begins with a heading, that gives us a framework for understanding it.
This is a psalm composed by King David, while he was fleeing from his son Absalom. But, this is also a psalm that became part of Israel's worship. And so it was intended, from nearly the beginning, to be used by people in God's family in hard times. So superscriptions can be used as a starting point, but not the ending point (I accidentally used Hebrew verse numbering, sorry-- everything will be off by one):
(1) A psalm of David while he fled from the presence/face of Absalom his son.
David begins like this, in verses 2-4:
(2) Yahweh, how my foes are many!
Many are rising against me.
(3) Many are saying about my soul,
"There isn't salvation for him in God,"
(4) but you, Yahweh, [are] a shield around me--
my glory, and The One Lifting Up my Head.
By human standards, things look hopeless for King David. Each of you can handle a certain amount of adversity in your lives. You can deal with a few people hating you, or misunderstanding you, or opposing you. You know that you have some strength. You have some power to emerge victorious when you find yourselves with problems with money, or work, or friends, or marriage, or family. You find yourself in difficulty, and examine it in light of your strength... and you know that often times, you will come through things okay.
King David, as king, is not without power. He has a base of support; he has friends who will stick by him. But at this point, viewed from a human perspective, things look hopeless. He has many foes. Many are rising up against him.
And many are saying, "There isn't salvation for him in God."
I can promise you that the people saying this know the old stories about God. They know the stories about the plagues in Egypt, and the parting of the Red Sea, and the conquest of the land. They know that God, in the past, has done mighty deeds. They know that God used to do signs and wonders.
But it's an entirely different thing to expect God to do things like this today. God rescued Abraham. And Moses. And Joshua. But David? "Many" are saying, God won't save him. There is no salvation to be found for him in God.
Now, when David quotes their speech, how do you think God hears this?
God hears this as a monstrous thing. This is offensive to God. These are the kinds of words that provoke a reaction from God.
God jealously guards his reputation. God wants, very badly, to have his name honored. And if God lets David die here, or doesn't help him, the "many" will think they were right. They will think that God cannot be trusted. They will think that God's power is something that belongs to the past. They will decide they were right-- there was no salvation for David in God.
David knows all of this. He knows that God will be bothered by what people are saying. He knows that God wants his name to be honored on earth, as it is in heaven.
And David knows that all of this will end in one of two ways-- either, God will save David, and God will receive glory. OR, David will die in exile, and God's name will be dishonored. And why would David's death bring dishonor to God?
Everyone knows that David relies on Yahweh. Yahweh is David's God (2 Samuel 7).
So a common feature in psalms, is that the psalmist will quote his enemy's blasphemous speech-- because they know it's going to bother God to hear this. And they hope it will spur God to act for them. So that's what David does.
Let's reread vs. 2-4:
(2) Yahweh, how my foes are many!
Many are rising against me.
(3) Many are saying about my soul,
"There isn't salvation for him in God,"
(4) but you, Yahweh, [are] a shield around me--
my glory/honor, and The One Lifting Up my Head.
David, through verse 3, has been talking about the "many." But in verse 4, David contrasts the "many" with himself.
David, in sharp contrast with the many, knows the people are wrong. David knows that salvation is found in Yahweh. He knows three things about Yahweh:
(1) Yahweh is a shield around him. A shield normally protects you from one direction, right? But Yahweh is a shield all around him. Yahweh is the one who keeps David safe on every side.
(2) Yahweh is David's glory, or honor. What does this mean?
Let's read Psalm 8:
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
5 Yet you have made him a little less than Elohim/elohim
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
God gives people glory and honor (Psalm 62:7). He is the one who makes people kings on earth. It's not an accident that we are at the top of the food chain, or that we are the ones who decide what the earth looks like. We have dominion because God gives it to us.
Now let's turn to Job 19:9:
"My glory from over me he has taken,
and he removed the crown of my head.
So God is the one who gives people glory and honor, and He is also the one who can choose to take it away.
So when David says that God is his glory, this is an expression of faith.
It's also an expression of humility. David doesn't think his glory comes from his his wealth, or position, or anything else in life. His glory comes from God-- from his relationship with God.
And the third he knows about God directly flows out of this:
(3) Yahweh is the One Lifting Up his head (cf. Gen. 40:13; Kraus).
David is confident that God will lift him up, and restore him to his glory. This is who God is-- God is the One Who Lifts Him Up.
In verses 5-7, David remembers times in the past when Yahweh has proven faithful to him:
(5) With my voice to Yahweh I was calling,
and (then) he answered me from his holy mountain.
(6) I lay down,
and I slept.
I woke up,
For Yahweh is sustaining me.
(7) I shall not be afraid of myriads of people,
who have set themselves against me.
David has not had an easy life. There were times in his past when he found himself needing God desperately, and crying out for help. And God always proved himself faithful at those times. When you find yourself in a tough spot, needing God's help, and you are wavering in your faith-- remember what God has done for you in the past.
Verse 6 maybe doesn't grab you like it should. When you sleep, you are vulnerable. You can try to sleep lightly; you can post security; you can do what you can to protect yourself-- but you are vulnerable. And every morning that you wake up, safe, you should see that as evidence of Yahweh's sustaining you.
And so in verse 7, after reflecting on Yahweh's faithfulness to him in the past, David makes a vow of confidence. I shall not be afraid of myriads of people.
Fear is a choice. Fear is something you choose to give in to. But David is not afraid. By human eyes, David looks like he's finished. But David sees Spiritually. David sees with eyes of faith. David knows that Yahweh is his shield. Yahweh is sustaining him. And Yahweh will be his salvation-- Yahweh will lift him up.
In verse 8, David makes his direct appeal to Yahweh:
(8) Rise up, Yahweh.
Save me, my God.
It doesn't get much more simple than this. What does David need? David needs Yahweh to rise up, and save him. And so here he turns directly to God, and cries out for help.
And notice how David describes Yahweh-- Yahweh is "my God." David is affirming his commitment to God. He's not turning to someone else. He's not relying on anyone else. He is relying on HIS God.
From here, David turns again to the past. He reminds Yahweh of the times that He proved his faithfulness to David in the past:
For you have struck all my enemies on the cheek/jaw.
The teeth of the wicked you have broken.
When you strike someone on the cheek, you are doing so to humiliate them (1 Kings 22:24*; Job 16:10*; Mic. 4:14*; Lam. 3:30).
What Yahweh has done in the past for David, is humiliate his enemies. No one has stood against David successfully. God has humbled everyone who has tried (2 Samuel 7:9).
And why has God broken the teeth of the wicked? God has targeted their mouths, because it's with their mouths that they have mocked not just David, but God. God will not be mocked (Isaiah 38:17).
David concludes his psalm like this, in verse 9:
(9) To Yahweh salvation [is/belongs].
Over your people, your blessing [is]. Selah.
David's enemies had said, "There is no salvation for him in God." But David knows that salvation is found only in God. Salvation belongs to God. God will save David. God blesses his people.
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Most Christians understand, abstractly, that God is "all-powerful." They know the stories about what God has done in the past-- they know about the plagues, and the parting of the Red Sea, and the killing off of the Nephilim. They understand that God, historically, was powerful. They understand that God used to do great things. But what they question, is whether or not God's power will be used for them. Let's reread verse 3:
Many are saying about my soul,
"There isn't salvation for him in God,"
This is our struggle, right? We see people who are sick, or suffering, or surrounded by enemies, and we think, "There is no salvation for him in God." Or we are suffering, or surrounded by enemies, and we think, "There is no salvation for me in God." We despair. We think it's hopeless. At best, we think it may, or may not, be God's will to help us. But we can never know for sure.
What is the difference between you, and "the many"? The difference between you and "the many" might be, that you would never say this out loud. You read verse 3, or hear it, and you understand that this is a monstrous thing to openly say. You understand that if you said something like this, you are challenging God. And you would never be so brave, or foolish.
Instead, maybe, you simply live this way. You find yourself in hardship, and you decide that you will either get through it, or you won't. Your marriage will either survive, or it won't. Your harvest will either work out, or it won't. You will either get fired, or you won't. You'll either find a way to pay the bills, or you won't. You will either die of cancer, or you won't. But you think, "There is no salvation for me in God."
Why is it that David has so much faith, and you maybe don't? Why is it that you, maybe, talk and act nothing like David?
David doesn't have faith in faith. That's not how faith works. David has faith in Yahweh. What does David know about Yahweh?
(1) David knows that Yahweh is a promise-keeper. If God promises you something, He will keep his word (2 Sam. 7). And God has promised to protect him. Promises are meant to be claimed, and so that's what David does.
(2) David knows that God is the More Powerful One. David knows this in a very practical way-- when he looks back on his life, he can see how God has rescued him from his enemies. He's seen God humble those who try to stand against him. He knows that God is reliable, and powerful.
(3) David knows that Yahweh is concerned about his own reputation. Yahweh has made promises to David (2 Sam 7). Everyone knows that David is faithful to Yahweh. If Yahweh fails him, it's not just David that loses-- God's reputation is going to take a huge hit. If you live your life aligned with God (Gal. 5:16), so that the two of you rise and fall together, that should give you confidence (Acts 4:29-30).
(4) David knows that God blesses his people. Yahweh is good to people who live in covenant with him, and who rely on him.
David knows that salvation belongs to Yahweh. He will be your shield; He will lift you up; He will give you honor and glory; He will rescue you from your enemies-- when you place your trust in Him.
So when you find yourself in hardship, what will you do? Will you copy David's example, and cry out to God for help? Will you use eyes of faith, and actually live as though nothing is too difficult for God? Will you trust that God's power is for you, today?
Or will you throw your hands up in the air, and say, "I will either get through this, or I won't. But there is no salvation for me in God."
That's the choice each of you must make.
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"How can the suppliant know that this appeal will meet with Yhwh's response, that the adversaries are wrong? The answer lies in the way Yhwh has consistently acted in the past. But there is no way of proving whether the adversaries or the suppliant is right except by casting oneself on God" (Goldingay, Psalms, Vol. 1, 115).
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But how do you make your choice?
A lot of us, probably, find ourselves somewhere in the middle. We trust God a little. We say we know the same things about God, that David did. But we struggle to lean on those things. To lean on God. We go through life, as though we will either make it through, or we won't. But it is, what it is.
If this is you, the next time you find yourself in a tough spot, try praying Psalm 3.
God gave you this psalm, to help you trust him. God knows you struggle to trust him, when life gets hard. He knows it's easy to give in to fear, and doubt.
So God gives you words, to help you move to a place of confidence.
God will help. He will keep his promises to you. He will be a shield, all around you. He will fight for you, in part, to protect his own reputation. He will lift up your face.
Translation:
(1) A psalm of David while he fled from the presence/face of Absalom his son.
(2) Yahweh, how my foes are many!
Many are rising against me.
(3) Many are saying about my soul,
"There isn't salvation for him in God,"
(4) while you, Yahweh, [are] a shield around me--
my glory, and The One Lifting Up my Head.
(5) With my voice to Yahweh I was calling,
and (then) he answered me from the mountain of his holiness.
(6) I laid down,
and I slept. I woke up.
For Yahweh is sustaining me.
(7) I shall not be afraid of myriads of people,
who have set themselves against me.
(8) Rise up, Yahweh.
Save me, my God.
For you have struck all my enemies on the cheek.
The teeth of the wicked you have broken.
(9) To Yahweh is salvation.
Over your people your blessing [is]. Selah.
