Psalms 3

Psalms 3THEME: A morning prayer: the trials of the godly in IsraelPsalms 3-7 form a bridge, which I think of as a stairway between two messianic psalms. Psalms 2 is the prophetic rejection of God’s anointed, and Psalms 8 is His ultimate victory as Man. The psalms between furnish the glue that holds these two messianic psalms together. They primarily describe the godly remnant of Israel during the time of the absence of the Messiah from the earth, especially during that time which our Lord labeled the Great Tribulation period. In these five psalms we have the record of Israel’s trials, sorrows, confusions, problems, and sins. We also see their confidence in God, the promises of God, and their prayers for deliverance. Trials and sorrows are shared by all godly people, regardless of who they are or in what period of history they live. The comfort given in these psalms is for all of God’s children. There are three ways to look at these psalms. The primary interpretation, of course, concerns the personal experience of David. Then there is a direct application to the nation of Israel to the godly remnant in the Great Tribulation. There is also an application to God’s people everywhere at any time in the history of the world. If we look at the psalms from this point of view, they will become more meaningful to us. Psalms 3 is called “A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son.” (The historical record is in 2 Samuel, chapters 15-18.) This title tells us about the contents of this psalm. It tells us what went on in the heart of David when he had to flee from Jerusalem when Absalom his son rebelled against him. This psalm came out of the personal experience of David. He was in a difficult situation. He had become an outcast and a fugitive from his own city Jerusalem, which is called the city of David. He had been driven from the people he ruled. Absalom, his son, was in rebellion against him and seeking his life. Absalom’s intention was actually to put his father to death. Your heart cannot help but go out to David during this heartbreaking experience. As David fled, the enemy was on the sidelines cursing him. Abishai, one of his mighty men said, “Let me run a spear through him.” David said, “Oh, no.” The prophet Nathan had told David that God would punish him for his sins. In 2Sa_12:11 Nathan said to David, “Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour….” Why would this happen? Because David had sinned greatly, and he was not going to get away with it. God has graciously forgiven David and restored him, but David has to reap the results of his sin; and it is in his son’s rebellion that he does it. We find that David’s enemies have increased on all sides and that the hearts of the men of Israel followed Absalom.

The Scripture tells us, “…The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom” (2Sa_15:13). Absalom was an attractive young man. He was a clever politician who was able to promise the people many good things which he would not have been able to deliver. During the time of Absalom’s rebellion there were many others who rose up against David. He went out of Jerusalem barefoot and weeping. He passed over Kidron. It looked as if there was no help for him at all. With this background in mind, let us look at Psalms 3.

Psalms 3:1

David is speaking right out of his heart, friend, as he leaves Jerusalem.

Psalms 3:2

Many said that David would find no help from God, that God had forsaken him. But God did not forsake him. When someone says to me, “I cannot understand how God put up with a man like David,” I always feel like saying, “Well, if God put up with David, maybe He will put up with you and me.” Be thankful that we have this kind of a God, friend. He puts up with folk like David, and He will forgive any believer who comes to Him in repentance. This doesn’t mean that David did not pay for his sin, because he did. At the end of the second verse we find the word Selah. There has been a great deal of discussion as to the meaning of this word. It occurs about seventy-one times in the Psalms. I believe the Psalms were set to music, to be played by an orchestra and sung by great choirs. I am sure that Jerusalem became famous throughout the world, and people came from near and far to hear the music and the singing of these psalms. I think selah was probably a musical rest, a musical pause.

For the common layman who does not understand much about music it means, “Stop, look, and listen.” That is the type of sign you have at railroad crossings. I remember the days when my dad would drive a buggy into Snyder, Texas, and I would sometimes go with him. He would always stop at the railroad crossing. There wouldn’t be a train within ten miles of the place, but we always stopped, looked, and listened. When we come to these marvelous psalms, we should stop, look, and listen. Selah reminds us to do that.

That is what we should do when we come to the Word of God. The word selah probably ends the first stanza of this psalm. Now David says:

Psalms 3:5

This has been called “a morning psalm.” This is a good psalm with which to start the day. In spite of all the problems and troubles that David had, he trusted in the Lord. He could sleep at night. He wasn’t able to get an aspirin tablet or a sedative to put him to sleep. He simply trusted in the Lord, pillowed his head on the promises of God, and went to sleep. “I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.” Then David says that he would not be afraid if ten thousands of people set themselves against him. Even though the whole world was against him, David says he will not be afraid. Cromwell is considered by many to be the bravest man who ever lived. Someone asked him, “What is the explanation of your bravery?” Cromwell replied, “Because I fear God, I have no man to fear.” Martin Luther also took that position. If there were more fear of God today, there would be less of this licking of men’s boots. There are some men who go around with their tongues black because they spend so much time licking the boots of men. Why do they do it? There is no fear of God in them. The thing that gives you courage is to fear God. If you fear God, then you have no man to fear. David trusted in God.

Psalms 3:7

It really hurts to get hit on the cheekbone. When you get hit there, it will really knock you out; and David had probably experienced that. He says that his enemies had been smitten on the cheekbone. God had also broken the teeth of the ungodlythey were not able to bite David anymore.

Psalms 3:8

Salvation unto the Lordbelongeth is a word which was inserted by the translators. This is a great scripture. The Lord is the author of salvation. David never thought of salvation as a coin that you could put in your pocket and lose. He never thought it was something he would have to work out. Salvation was the gift of God. “Salvation …unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people.” Then comes the word selah. We are to stop, look, and listen. David has said some wonderful things about God in this psalm. For example, in verse Psa_3:3 David calls Him his “shield.” As a shield, God covers those who are His own. In Eph_6:16 we are told to take the shield of faith, as believers. David knew something about what the shield would dohe used it a great deal.

God was also his “glory.” That is, David believed in the presence of God. The cloud of glory, you remember, was spread over Israel. It was a visible sign of the presence of God in the midst of His people. Today we walk by faith, and the glory of God is with us, friend; He makes Himself real to those who are His own. God was also the “uplifter” of David’s head. How could that be?

God promised to build David a house and give him a blessing, a glory, and a kingdom. David said, “He is going to lift my head.” We may be down, my friend, but He is going to lift us up. This is a marvelous psalm, is it not?