Psalm 3 Series

Psalm 3

I.Review:

1) Psalm 1:

i.Teaching Psalm that told us of the importance of the

Law.

ii.It introduced us to the reoccurring theme through

out the scriptures of the two choices. The path of

Godliness or the progression of Sin

iii.It revealed to us that blessedness was the result

of the Godliness described not the reward.

2) Psalm 2:

i.Was originally joined to Psalm 1.

ii.A Messianic Psalm - It identified the Godly man of

Psalm 1 to be God’s Son.

iii.It showed us that the blessedness of Psalm 1 is

rewarded to those who take refuge in the Son.

iv.It showed us the progression of evil played out in

the lives of evil men – and their impending

destruction.

·The first 2 Psalms have laid down the foundational

doctrines of all the Psalms to follow.

II. Introduction:

1) Psalm 3 is the first in a series of Psalms that

deals with struggles in the life of the godly,

which causes them to depend on God for strength.

2) It identifies itself as the prayer David prayed as

he fled his son Absalom.

3) It is called a morning Psalm because of v.s. 5 “I

lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD

sustains me.”

*Traditionally it is identified as the morning prayer of King David as he sought to draw new strength from God in the struggle that lies ahead.

Now that we understand the circumstances surrounding this Psalm lets read its verses.

Psalm 3:1-8

“A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom. “

“1 O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! 2 Many are saying of me, "God will not deliver him." Selah[1] 3 But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift[2] up my head. 4 To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. Selah 5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. 6 I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side. 7 Arise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. 8 From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. Selah”

III. Structure of Psalm 3:

1) Psalm 3 firsts.

The first::

-Time David is specifically identified as the author.

-Psalm with a title.

-Time the word Psalm is used.

(meaning a poem to be sung with musical accompaniment)

-Psalm given a historical setting. (David fleeing from Absalom)

2) Understanding the setting of Psalm 3:

A) We know that this psalm was definitely written by

David during this time period because in the Hebrew Bible the statement “A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom. “ is present even though it is removed from many English translations.

B) The Psalm itself does not describe a historical account of Absalom’s revolt. Rather it captures the emotion of this ordeal from David’s perspective.

*To see the full extent of the pressure David is under read 2 Samuel 15 & 16 in-conjunction with this Psalm.

David is highly emotional – but the morning sun shines bright new rays of hope into David’s hopeless situation as he turns his attention heaven ward and places his trust back in God to deliver him.

Because this is an emotional Poem / Prayer we cannot break it up into the easy preaching outline that we could psalm 1&2.

We will seek to break it up according to the Stages of David’s emotion as He regains his confidence in God. The

IV. Self Searching? / Complaint to God

“1 O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! 2 Many are saying of me, "God will not deliver him." Selah[1]

Understand:

*His son has betrayed him.

*The people of Jerusalem have rejected him.

*Shimei the Benjamite scoffs at David: he proclaims that David is under God’s judgment for injustice done to King Saul (2Sam 16:7-8).

*This revolt was so unexpected – that the Bible tells us David had to flee barefoot as he wept (2 Samuel 15 & 16).

A) As David fled under so much unexpected opposition and accusation, he must have wondered –

has God really turned His back on me?

·This event did occur after David’s open sin with Bathsheba and murder of her husband.

·Was Saul’s blood actually on David’s hands as well as Shimei the Benjamite caimed.

·What of the others David had killed – were some of them innocents?

Many have labeled the first two verses of this Psalm as “David’s complaint to God” – We definitely see that aspect here – but I think more than that David is self-searching.