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This Psalm attributed to David also carries this important piece of information in the superscript,
“When he fled from his son Absalom”.
This event refers to 2 Samuel 15-19, Absalom's conspiracy against his father.
There is a long prelude to this story.
Having had more than one wife and so many
children he was not only a poor husband but also a poor father. But it all escalated
with Batsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his top soldiers! He took another man’s wife, and in the end he
paid dearly. In, fact when the Holy Spirit finally brought conviction into
David’s life by the agency of Nathan the prophet, he was broken! Shattered! Psalm 51 was composed as a result. Although
David was forgiven by God, David was informed that there would be perpetual
trouble in his household. The prophet Nathan, speaking on behalf of God said: “Now therefore the sword shall never depart
from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah
the Hittite to be your wife.” (2 Sam. 12:10)
What followed, he could scarcely have imagined. The child born as a result of his affair died (2 Sam 12:15-23). Then, in 2 Samuel 13 David's first born son, Amnon (born to Ahinoam) raped his half sister - the sister of Absalom, the third son by his wife Macaah (2 Samuel 3:3). And now we find that Absalom attempted to take the kingdom from David, first by subversion and then by force. 2 Sam. 15:6 says that, “Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel”.
The situation became so
serious that David actually had to leave Jerusalem to flee across the Jordan
river. It was a desperate time. He did
not know who was with him and who was against him. Thankfully God was with him
DIVISION: This Psalm may be divided into four parts
- 3:1-2 David confesses his anxiety
- 3:3-6 David declares his assurance in the Lord
- 3: 7 David expresses anger in imprecatory prayer.
- 3:8 David declares his assurance in the Lord once more
This Psalm represents a full range of emotions in human experience, particularly those arising from fear, anxiety and a sense of forsakenness. Many Psalms deal with this theme (e.g. Ps 46, 73, 77,88).
As a pastor I have been privileged to sit with many people for whom, from their perspective the end had come. What joy it is to help them to lift their eyes above the circumstances … “I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” (Ps 121:1,2).It is wonderful to “lead (them) to the rock that is higher than (themselves)“ (Psalm 61:2).
We thank God for the Psalms in which we find a mirror of our souls.
As we
survey this Psalm we must know that it is fairly normal to experience (sometimes extreme)
fluctuations in our emotional framework, which is subject to the fall, and easily exploited by Satan, the sworn enemy of our souls.
As we survey this Psalm we we find that David moves from anxiety to assurance to anger, and back to assurance. If he had lived in our day, a psychologist might have classified him perhaps as bi-polar, or depressed and put him on psychiatric medication. But there were no anti- depressants in those days.
What does one do when one’s life is turned upside down?
Where do you go?
As you read the Psalm again, note that even though David is at sea with his emotions, God is not!
The constant is David's God!
To Him David must appeal.
To Him David must go.
1. DAVID’S ANXIETY (3:1-2)
Note the repetition … many, many, many…
David is clearly overwhelmed and anxious.
Now if you look at 2 Samuel 15:12 you will find there that, "while Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, from his city Giloh. And the conspiracy grew strong, and the people with Absalom kept increasing.”
There is the situation. Many enemies!
“When sorrows come, they come not single spies but in battalions”. (Shakespeare: Hamlet).
“Troubles always come in flocks. Sorrow hath a numerous family “ (Spurgeon).
When trouble piles up, the heart
sinks. Anxiety!
The most damaging assault
upon David’s heart and mind however
occurs in 3:2: “many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God.”
This is the most devastating blow! Many are saying... Not one, not two ... many! What are they saying? "... there is no salvation for him in God". That thought is devastating. If God forsakes us – if God is against us, who can be for us? This is like saying – there is no hope for David.
The thought of God- forsakenness is the
scariest thing to conceive of in my mind. And then I remember that the Lord Jesus cried that cry of forsakenness ( Matt 27:46) Spurgeon comments,
“It
is the most bitter of all afflictions to be led to fear that there is no help
for us in God.” [1]
"Selah"- A musical pause; the precise meaning which is not known. Some think it is simply a pause to reflect and consider the serious nature of what is being said.
Note what this pause brings … ASSURANCE
As David verbalizes his anxiety, and as he pauses a while to reflect, these thoughts are brought to mind. He remembers these three things
(i) 3 But you, O LORD, are a
shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. HE REMEMBERS GOOD THEOLOGY!
- The Lord is his shield! The fiery darts of the evil one assaulting his anxious mind are able to bounce off.
- The Lord is his glory! Someone greater than his circumstances is here!
- The Lord is the lifter of his head. When our head hangs down, we lose perspective. When our head is lifted we can see above the circumstances.
(ii) 3:4 I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah - HE REMEMBERS TO PRAY
In his
anxiety, David prayed- aloud (lit. with
my voice). As soon as David prayed in his distress, God sent an answer from
His holy hill – from heaven. This request was instantly answered, because God
saw the need to preserve David at this very moment, lest he sink into utter despair - beyond what he could bear (1 Cor. 10:13 -
“God is faithful, and He will not
let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also
provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”)
Then follows another Selah. Another pause for reflection …
This Selah
leads to a long pause. And this is the
answer to David’s prayer. In His mercy, God gives David exactly what he needs
at this stage: sleep! One of the worst effects of having a distressed soul and an anxious spirit is that you
struggle to sleep at night. David's prayer leads to sleep. He finds his rest in God.
In Psalm 127 we some further perspective on the connection between anxiety and sleep: “It is in vain that you rise up early sand go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil ; for He gives to His beloved sleep.” (v.2)God gave David sleep! What wonderful recuperative powers are there in sleep. Once your body and mind is rested, your spirit copes much better, and your emotional resources are restored.
See how this affects David:
(iv) 3:6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. SPIRTUAL REST WHICH LEADS TO GODLY PERSPECTIVE
Please note! Nothing has changed in terms of his situation. His enemies are still many, many, many.
So what
has changed? His perspective has changed. Emotionally he is coping
because He presently knows that God is in charge – with God for us, who can be against us ? (Rom. 8:31)
At the beginning of the Psalm we find David fearful and anxious. Following theological reflection, prayer and a good sleep, perspective returns. But there ismore than perspective that returns to him now.
He knows that he is in the wrong place. He is the rightful, God ordained ruler.
He now realizes that those that have become his enemies, and who have driven him from the throne, they are sinning against God. They are in the wrong place.
What can he do? He can pray: “Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God!“. Salvation here does not refer to the salvation which we need to become the children of God. He refers here to the salvation from this particular situation.
What else does he pray? For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.
This type of prayer is called ‘imprecatory prayer‘. We have a number of Psalms where such prayer is used (see for instance 7:6,9; 10:15; 35:1; 55:9 etc.)
There is a time
when we are called to pray in such a fashion, particularly when the wicked rule
a city or country.
This is the proverbial cherry on the top. It contains that truth that ought to make every believer jump for joy: Salvation belongs to the LORD!
Remember verse 1? "There is no salvation from him in God!".
That is what they say.
But what does God say?
What is He saying to David after his perspective has been refreshed after physical rest and spiritual reflection? “Salvation belongs to the LORD”;
- Not only that salvation by which we are made the children of God,
- but also the ongoing salvation, by which the LORD continues to deliver His people from Satan’s onslaughts and its accompanying effects such as depression (melancholy) which comes upon us from time to time as we consider our ‘hopeless’ circumstances.
In the final sentence the objects of God’s salvation are plainly stated: "Your blessing be upon your people."
God’s blessing is upon His chosen people. In this case His blessing is on His chosen king – David who is the representative of the people of God in the OT.
Pause to reflect and think upon this fact, that although the child of God, and the king of God are brought under immense pressure (even sometimes due to their own fault), yet the love of God is not taken away from us, if we truly belong to Jesus. “Your blessing is upon your people."
We close with Spurgeon’s comment at this point:
“Pause, my soul, at this Selah, and consider thine own interest in the salvation of God; and if by humble faith thou art enabled to see Jesus as thine by his own free gift of himself to thee, if this greatest of all blessings be upon thee, rise up and sing!
In singing this, and praying it over, we must own the satisfaction we have had in depending upon God and committing ourselves to him, and encourage ourselves, and one another to continue still hoping and quietly waiting for the salvation of the Lord. (Matthew Henry)
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