Psalm Three… March 7,2022
A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.
Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!
Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” (selah)
But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. (selah)
I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.
Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.
Psalm 3 is interesting in that it’s the first Psalm with a title… “While David was fleeing from his son Absalom.” It is also the first ‘lament’ or a song of distress. It’s also the first time the term ‘selah’ is used – probably a musical term to rest or pause during the singing.
You probably remember the story of David’s greatest blunder with Bathsheba and the trouble that created in his family… like dominos falling sin always has an effect on things years after the fact. Absalom wanted to overthrow his own father to take control of the kingdom and it got so bad that he had to flee the walled protection of Jerusalem and go across the Jordan into the wilderness.
Like the uncertainty in our world and what we face today and our outlook for tomorrow, David wasn’t too certain at all what would happen in his future. David looks around and sees his enemies gathering and growing while his protection seems to be dwindling. That’s really a bad feeling… he doesn’t have anywhere to go or anyone to protect him and he’s THE KING!! While he contemplates how bad the situation is – as David usually does – he looks up into the heavens and changes his view from the enemies pressing all around him – to God. He lists the protection he needs to survive out in the wilderness – a shield, God’s glory and the lifting of his head. David has learned from the time way back as a shepherd that he receives honor through God’s glory, not from any great work or accomplishment he could manage, but through the hand of God. Then we hear that phrase that we have heard again and again, “the one who lifts my head.”
When we get down, sometimes WAY down… we begin to droop not just in our physical stance but much more in our mental condition. God is the one who can change our stature and lift our heads up to bring us a renewed courage and strength! The most important truth for us is in the last line – “From the Lord comes deliverance.” It doesn’t come from us or a good book or even going to church every Sunday – and no, it doesn’t even come from singing in a great choir with an outstanding director… (clearing throat). All of us have a role to play in how God uses us in his kingdom’s work, we can’t just sit back and let God do it all. We think how glorious and beautiful King David’s life must have been up in his shiny palaces. But David had to fight! Sure there were those ‘kingly’ times when he was served, but at this point he had to send forces out to take care of Absalom. He remembered that in the tough times and darkest moments, it is God that brings all the things together to work to his own glory.
The Lord is available to us, he cares for us. He does answer us when we call and sustains us even in the bad times. He gives us a reason to NOT be worried when we are surrounded, it’s God!