Psalm 3

This Psalm is easy to discern in terms of the subject of each stanza.  But the inscription gives us a possible historical setting for this Psalm that adds tremendous insight and application.  It is a Psalm that reflects on the time when David fled Jerusalem to get away from his son Absalom.  This was perhaps the most intense time of David’s life in terms of depth of sorrow.  And yet we hear David claim great peace and courage.  Do we not long for the same in our similar situations?  If you have even struggled with a wayward child you may have some sense of how deep we can grieve.  And especially if the waywardness of the child is in some way tied to our own waywardness, as was the case with David.

v1-2: David’s problem.

The actual story of Absaloms rebellion is in 2 Samuel 15-19, although the seeds of the situation go back to David’s sin with Bathsheba.  The judgment pronounced on David was that the sword would never depart from David’s house (2 Sam. 12:9-10).  Already Absalom had killed his brother Amnon because he raped their sister Tamar.  Now Absalom made a determined effort to take the throne.

David says in this passage that he had many troublers who rose up against him.  This was certainly the case as Absalom stole the hearts of the people of Israel by his charm and handsome appearance.  But when David says there were many who told him that God would not help him, which might have been a hard thought for him to dispel from his mind.  After all, he had brought this on himself.  He had been forgiven by God (2 Sam. 12:13-14).  But do we not understand what it is to doubt God’s forgiveness as we experience the consequences of our sin?

v3-4: David’s theology.

Lest David be in total despair and spiritually incapable of facing the situation, he needed to tell himself the truth in the face of the lie being told by his weak conscience.  In fact God would help him.  God would be his shield and the One who alone would lift him up to the throne again.  Think about this in the story of Absalom.  As David left Jerusalem he knew there were many who sided with Absalom who had been his (David’s) associates.  There was the possibility that Mephibosheth, to whom David had shown much kindness, was now using this situation in hopes that he would gain the throne as the only living heir of King Saul ((2 Sam. 16:1-4).  There was Shimei, another relative of Saul, who cursed David (2 Sam. 16:5-14).  And there was the adviser Ahithophel, the grandfather of Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11:3; 23:34,39), who was possibly looking for revenge on David.  He became Absaloms key adviser, one to be feared.  All these are saying, in one way or another, “There is no help for him in God.”

When everyone around us, including our own conscience, is saying what may sound true but which in fact is a lie, we must tell our souls the truth.  We must go to the word of God and find words on which we can stand.  We must know who God is in truth so that we can cry out to Him. 

There is a tremendous picture involved in this.  When David fled he crossed over the Kidron Valley, over the Mount of Olives and out to the desert to the Jordan.  The Kidron is known in scripture as a place where idols were destroyed, both in the time of Kings Asa and Josiah.  For David, his passage through this area was a time in which he had to rid himself of any false notions about God, and to come to worship Him in truth.  This Psalm makes it clear he did just that.  Let us consider this.  Our view of God must not depend on what we have heard from others, even those who claim to speak for God.  We must know the truth God through Jesus Christ, the full and perfect image of the invisible God (Heb. 1:1-3).  By the word of God alone can we have a true thought about God that will sustain us in difficulty.

v5-6: David’s peace.

These words are amazing, again, given the situation.  David fled and continued late into the night to get over the Jordan to a place of safety.  And yet what is his experience?  He had good rest.  He had no fear.  It is not that the situation was not hard for him to bear.  It is not that he was oblivious to what was going on.  But these things were not able to keep him from what God would provide.  Do we not have some understanding of sleepless nights where we are awake, obsessed with the events of the day?  or the turmoil and stress that increase (v1-2)?  Friends, let us understand that these are not badges of honor whereby we can almost brag of our problems.  They are times when we can be stripped of our idols and brought to peace by the true God.

v7-8: David’s praise.

And so we see that David is able to come to God in the truth.  He confidently cries out for salvation (deliverance) as his mind is not filled with truth.  He remembers God’s deliverances in the past.  He remembers that salvation belongs to God, salvation that is both personal for him and corporate for God’s people.  This is critical.  Remember that through all this God did not deny the unconditional covenant He had made with David to have a descendent on the throne forever (2 Sam. 7:1-17).  What happened to David would effect the people as well. 

So for us, what is at stake is the truth of God.  If we have been forgiven through the blood of Christ, then the forgiveness is permanent.  We will suffer consequences for sin, but God will never go back on His graceful word that has been established through the finished work of Christ.  May we praise Him for His goodness and faithfulness even when we suffer for the sinful decisions of our past.

Salvation belongs to the Lord!