Psalm 3 "When Your World Falls Apart - A Psalmist Strategy for Mastering Crisis"
A. Proposition: This Lament (Complaint) Psalm is for all those who are discouraged, seemingly surrounded by problems, or feeling defeated.
B. Exposition:
Historical Setting - A psalm of David, written when he fled from his son Absalom. According to Jewish tradition, David offered this prayer when he was forced to flee from Jerusalem during his son Absalom’s attempted coup (see 2 Sam. 13-18). Imagine how discouraged you would be if your own child was trying to take your life. His son is seeking to take his crown and has driven him from Jerusalem. Trouble started for David when he did adultery with Bathsheba, and instead of protecting and looking out for the interests of Uriah the Hittite, he chose to take Uriah’s life to cover up his own sin. Of course, from that point onward everything began to go wrong for David. Do you remember the sordid incident in which Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar, and then Absalom slew Amnon? When David learned about it, instead of acting righteously and summarily toward his own son, he allowed Absalom to leave Jerusalem. Why? David had just committed the same crime. His own conscience was screaming at him, and he lost all moral authority to deal with Absalom. So Absalom was allowed to leave, but in time he came back and sat at the gates of the city. As people passed by on their way to the king, Absalom would say, "If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice," implying that they would not get justice from David (1 Sam. 15:4). In time, Absalom was able to mount a rebellion against David, and civil war ensued.
Background - Imagine David’s world for a moment. No electricity and no malls, no books and magazines, no microwave ovens, and no central heating. Very few doctors. No faucets to turn and no valves to flush. War and atrocities associated with war were a constant threat. Now, on top of all of this, you’ve got a son that wants to kill you! Even though he was King, life was still very hard and discouraging at times.
Structure - Note the parts of a Lament Psalm.
Invocation / Address - A Crying out to God
3:1a LORD,
Comment: Note that this address is not lengthy or fancy. There’s no need to butter-up God. Sometimes, it’s all we can say. Cry out to God! Blurt out your request.
Complaint - A Definition of the Crisis
3:1b how numerous are my enemies!
Many attack me.
Comment: In his discouraged state, he saw many enemies. Perspective was lost. Many attack or trouble me.
Sar means a loss of breath, a loss of control. Have you ever been overwhelmed with the "so manys" of life? David’s world became very narrow. Escape was going to be a challenge. The enemy is winning. The game is about over. God doesn’t seem to care.
3:2 Many say about me,
“God will not deliver him.” (Selah)
Comment: Perhaps they were thinking of the King’s adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. That event started a series of problems during David’s reign, so that in the eyes of many, it seemed that God had or would desert David. Popular opinion had turned on him.
Selah. You’ll notice this word frequently in the Psalms. Its exact meaning is uncertain, but many feel that it could indicate a pause, a crescendo, or a musical interlude of some sort. "Pause and think on these things." He’s hurting. Feel the pain and abandonment. Let this filter into your consciousness.
Define your crisis and complain to God!
Trust / Statement of Confidence -
3:3 But you, LORD, are a shield that protects me,
you grant me honor (glory) and give me renewed strength.
Comment: Note the figure of speech (metaphor) David uses to express his trust. The Lord is a "shield." Why did David use this image here? The shield was an ancient warrior’s primary defensive weapon. Using military imagery, he is making a connection between the protective properties of a shield in battle with God’s protective care in life.
The phrase "renewed strength" comes from a Hebrew word meaning “lifts my head.” The weary psalmist’s “head is down,” but he is confident the Lord “will lift his head” by giving him renewed physical strength and emotional vigor. See Ps. 110:7.
3:4 To the LORD I cried out,
and he answered me from his holy hill. (Selah)
Comment: Holy Hill is Jerusalem. Although God is everywhere, in the Hebrew mind, he was specially present for intimate dialogue only in certain places. Jerusalem was that place. This speaks of some past prayer experience of the Psalmist.
3:5 I rested and slept,
I awoke, for the LORD protects me.
Comment: When a person is really despondent, it is sometimes impossible to sleep. Evidently, David was unable to sleep. Someone has said, "Fatigue makes cowards of us all." David was fatigued. When the psalmist received an assuring word from the Lord, he was able to calmly sleep. He was able to breathe again. Also, there’s evidence that this Psalm was used as a morning prayer (v.5). The opening moments of consciousness might be filled with awareness of problems on every hand, but God protects through it all. When your world falls apart, after you stop weeping, dig deep; make those foundations deeper, stronger, unshakable. Trust God and wait for the morning. Getting knocked down is not the worst thing that can happen to you; refusing to get back up in the morning, is.
3:6 I am not afraid of the multitude of people
who attack me from all directions.
Comment: Reflect on God’s past goodness and state your confidence in Him!
Deliverance - Repeating Invocation
3:7a Rise up, LORD!
Deliver me, my God!
Imprecation and Assurance - A Reversal of the Crisis
3:7b Yes, you will strike all my enemies on the jaw,
you will break the teeth of the wicked.
Comment: David gets up after a great nights rest and it’s almost as if he says "Bring on the enemy! I’m ready now." The expression “break the teeth” may envision violent hand-to hand combat. "Hit them in the chops, God. De-fang the enemy!" David’s thinking was that it would be rather difficult to hurl insults at him if you have a mouth full of shattered teeth.
Praying this way had three purposes for David. The first is cathartic in that it allows him to verbalize honestly to God the anger he feels toward Absalom. The second is judicial in the sense that rather than acting vindicatively, David asked God to see to it that covenantal judgment is executed on the perpetrators of evil. David saw Absalom’s attack as being on God and His plan for the nation. David was invoking the privileges of the Abrahamic covenant (Gen. 12:1-3). The third is prophetical in that there will come a day when God will ultimately break out the teeth of the wicked.
Express assurance in God’s deliverance!
3:8 The LORD delivers,
you show favor to your people. (Selah)
Comment: God answered David’s prayer despite his sinfulness, but it came at a great cost. At the end of the war, Absalom’s forces were being routed and Absalom was being chased by Joab. As he rode along, he probably looked back to see how far Joab was behind him, and got caught in the branches of a tree by his hair. Joab then came up with his sword and finished off Absalom. Was this rough justice? Yes, but it was also poetic justice, because Deuteronomy says that a rebellious and incorrigible son was to be put to death. David did not do it, so in the providence of God Absalom wound up being hanged on a tree. When David found out about it, instead of rejoicing he cried, "Absalom, my son! My son, my son!" And in spite of what David had become, we cannot but help having our own hearts touched by this poignant, tragic, lamentable scene.
C. Explanation: If we dwell upon the discouraging circumstances of life—the people who do us in, the job that doesn’t work out, the son or daughter who has deeply disappointed us, the parent who has betrayed us, the mate who has forsaken us, and the other struggles that seem to engulf us—we will surely crash. But if we would keep our eyes on Jesus Christ and stay grounded in His word, then we will make it safely through the storm. Maybe you’re in a storm. God has a purpose in leading you into the storm. He has power to preserve you through the storm. And, He has a plan to eventually lead you out of the storm. Put your eyes on Christ. Trust His Word.
D. Application: This Psalm instructs us on how to pray when our world falls apart. Note the process. David began with hopeless complaint and ended on assurance. How could he do this? He lived with these three assumptions: 1. Reality of divine presence. God was active in the lives of His people and communion with Him through prayer moves Him. 2. History of divine help. God has helped before; He will help us again. 3. Express all, hide nothing.
Write your own Psalm of Lament. Balance requests with appreciation; balance complaints with expressions of confidence. Stay honest and open.
CONCLUSION
Exhortation: Plough Ahead. Pay as little attention to discouragement as possible. Plough ahead as a steamer does, rough or smooth, rain or shine. To carry your cargo and make port is the point. You’ll have your share of discouragements.
Illustration: After Fred Astaire’s first screen test, a 1933 memo from the MGM testing director said: “Can’t act. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.” Astaire kept that memo over the fireplace in his Beverly Hills home. An expert said of famous football coach Vince Lombardi: “He possesses minimal football knowledge. Lacks motivation.” Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women, was advised by her family to find work as a servant or seamstress. Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him hopeless as a composer.
Conclusion: Paul encouraged the early Christians to encourage one another with "psalms and hymns and spiritual song (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).
