PSALM 3 Peace in the Midst of the Storm

 

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  

1. 3:1-2 David  confesses his anxiety 
2. 3:3-6  David  declares  his assurance in the Lord
3. 3: 7   David  expresses anger  in imprecatory  prayer.  
4. 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)

 1 O LORD, how many are my foes!  Many are rising against me; 2 many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. Selah                 

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]

 This God forsakenness is what Jesus feared most – “ My God, my God why have you forsaken me?“ This was the curse of curses!   To be deserted of His Father was worse than to be the despised of men.

"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

 2. 3:3-6    David   DECLARES   his  ASSURANCE in the Lord

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 …

(iii)  3:5 I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.  DAVID  GETS SOME PHYSICAL REST    

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)

 3.  3:7   David’s Divine Anger &  Imprecatory Prayer

 7 Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.

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.

 4.  3:8   David   DECLARES  his  ASSURANCE in the Lord once more  

 3:8 Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people! Selah

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. 

 This is followed once again by the "Selah"  

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)

---

[1] C.H. Spurgeon : Treasury of David, Psalm 3

[2] ibid

PSALM 2: Who Is Really In Charge Of This World?

This second  Psalm provides us with a  wonderfully God centered  worldview  for times  such as these, when the world   is  so topsy turvy, and so disparaging and so opposed to the  kingdom of  the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many Christians are fearful as they  look at the present political landscape, as  they consider what the future might hold for them and their children, and as they ask, “Why do the nations do this?” 

General Observations 

This Psalm was written nearly three thousand years ago, probably by David the king of Israel. It is a Messianic Psalm. We know this because this Psalm is directly applied to the Lord Jesus Christ in Acts 4: 25, 26, Acts 13:33 and Hebrews 1:5. 

In the book of Acts 4:25ff the church had only just come into being, and already she was being persecuted. Two of the leaders of the early church, Peter and John, had been arrested. They had been examined and   condemned by the Jewish authorities. They had been warned not to preach and teach in the Name of Jesus of Nazareth. Then they were set free and they went back to their church   and reported what the chief priests and elders had said. We are told that the moment that the church heard this, they prayed, and in that prayer they were   quoting Psalm 2.

Outline  

1.  2:1-3 The opposition against the kingdom of the Messiah

2.  2:4-6 The divine   response and declaration to the madness of the world

3.  2:7-9 The LORD proclaims the new era of the reign of the Messiah  

4.  2:10-12 Advice is given to the kings of the earth to fear the Messiah

There is obviously a historical background to this Psalm. It is not easy to figure out what occasion David was alluding to. There is also this mysterious references to a king who was greater than David (see also Psalm 110:1).

The best answer to this intrigue is that, even though David was describing something that was happening in his own day, he was speaking prophetically. By faith he was speaking of what was going to happen when the Lord Jesus Christ, the greater Son of David, would come into this world. 

And so we find  that the rulers of Jesus’ day truly set themselves against Him, and by implication, against God Himself, for the Messiah is God's Anointed King. 

And today the nations, peoples, kings and rulers continue  to  do the same. The true church has always found  that she is  raged against in the world. 

The eternal relevance of the Bible is hereby confirmed. 

Something that happened 1000 years ago has relevance and application to the church born at Pentecost. 

And 3000 years later it has relevance and application to our own day. 

A situation that has occurred in past distant history  can now be used to explain the present.  

I.   2:1-3  The opposition against the kingdom of the Messiah

The Psalmist starts with a question, 

“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” (2:1-3)

This is really MORE than a question. 

The Psalmist is expressing his amazement. "Why are the nations doing this“? 

This is what we ask ourselves when we look at our present world - when we see a world so opposed to biblical Christianity! 

We are not talking here about institutional Christianity. 

We are here talking about churches and individuals that uphold the gospel and gospel values. 

We are talking about those who preach that this Messiah King, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the ONLY way by which a person will be admitted into the kingdom of God the Father- the Creator God. 

We are talking about those who uphold kingdom values NOW. The law of God is written in their hearts, and they will uphold it. 

They will honour God in setting Him apart as holy. 

They will uphold a biblical view of creation. 

They will uphold a biblical view of sin. 

They will uphold the only biblical cure for sin - Faith in the Messiah alone! 

They will shun idols- even the idols of the heart. 

They shall not use the Name of the Lord in vain. 

They shall set aside one day in seven to worship God. 

They  shall duly honour  father and mother.  

They will uphold the biblical view of marriage. 

They will uphold the sanctity of the family. 

They will stand for biblical ethics.  

They will uphold the biblical view of human sexuality and of gender identity. 

They will call murder what it is- a shedding of blood. 

They will uphold the rights of the unborn to live. 

They will uphold the sanctity of life. 

They will call adultery what it is – breaking up another marriage. 

They will take stealing, the giving of false witness and covetous hearts seriously.

 

The nations rage … the peoples plot against this rule of God and His anointed One, because this world is a fallen world. 

It lies in the power of the evil one. 

This is what   David observes. 

That is what the early church was observing and mentioning in prayer to God. 

This is the truth about the history of the human race. Mankind is always restless-always tossing, and never quiet. That is why the Bible sometimes compares the human race to the restlessness of the sea. Isa 57:20 says, “The wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.” 

While there are periods when life seems relatively calm, there are many periods when it is like the raging of the sea. The 20^th century was tumultuous – First World War; Spanish flu; Second World War. God alone knows what raging the 21^st century may bring!  

Our earth is a restless place.  

That is how it was at the time before Noah’s flood! 

That is how it was before sinful and restless Israel was carried away by the Assyrians in 722BC. 

That is what it was like before sinful and restless Judah was carried into captivity in Babylon in 586 BC. 

That is how it was before Christ was born under Roman occupation, and that is how it was before and in AD 70, when Jerusalem was destroyed! 

That is how it was  before the time of the Reformation. 

That is how it is today, in our time. 

The nations rage. The people plot. They take their stand against God and His Messiah.   

This restless human sea is committed to tear apart the safety cords designed by God for our respective societies. Hardly anything that the Bible holds as sacred is sacred any longer. We have already observed that everything designed by God for our good is being raged at. It is plotted against by substituting the good order and the boundaries that  God creates, with cheap and deadly substitutes for the satisfaction that we should find in our relationship with God and in  God ordained human relationships.

But, …“the peoples plot in vain“  -  the kings  - the rulers  -  the wise men  of this world  - the leaders of society - the politicians, the educationalists, the philosophers, the newspapers, the social media  and other  opinion makers. 

You are aware of all these - what are they doing? 

They are mostly devising futile and empty schemes to cure this world’s ills.

They don’t like gospel solutions. 

They hate God.

They tell Bible believing Christians that their religion promotes hate-speech, stifles freedom of choice and stands against scientific thinking.   This is absolutely not true. Biblical Christianity commands us to speak the truth in love. Biblical Christianity has freed many peoples from dark oppression. Many Christians have been at the forefront of scientific discoveries.  This idea that we can live a happy and a good and a full life without God, and in defiance of His teaching, it is sheer madness. It is vanity! (Ecclesiastes)

II.   2:4-6  The question: What does God think of this?

He who sits in the heavens laughs!  The Lord looks down upon this defiant world with derision, and not only derision, but with a great declaration of His almighty power:  

5 Then shall he speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in His fury   6 as for me I have set my king upon Zion my holy hill.”   

He will speak in His wrath and terrify them in his fury. 

All it takes is a little virus for us to understand that we are not almighty. 

We are not God. 

Every war, every pestilence, every famine, every disaster is a reminder that we can easily be shaken.

But all  that is nothing, when compared to the coming wrath that will take place when the Lord’s Messiah shall appear and  when the existing world order will be shaken, destroyed and rebuilt.

Who is this King set upon God’s holy hill?  

It is a reference to the Messiah. 

He is the One of whom the world in his day said, "He says that He is the Son of God - let's get rid of Him." ( Parable of the Tenants - Matthew  21:33ff) ...And they joined together - they took counsel together, and they condemned Him and they nailed Him to a cross. 

They killed Him. 

They took down His body. 

They buried it in a grave. 

They rolled a stone over it and sealed it. 

They put soldiers  at the grave, to guard it. 

They said, "That's the end of Him, we've finished Him off!" 

But on the morning of the third day, God raised Him from the dead.

After 40 days He ascended into His glorious place,  from where He presently rules, and from where He shall come to judge the living and the dead.  

God says, “I have set my king on Zion my holy hill.  This is the God that the world is defying!  

5 Then shall he speak to them in his wrath… - this arrogant world is under the fearful wrath of God! 

The Psalmist has shown us God’s reaction to all this   madness.  And God laughs at these puny little men that come with their ‘peashooters’ Him.

III.  2:7-9 The LORD proclaims the new era of the reign of the Messiah  

1. 2:7 He is the eternally begotten Son of God (Jn 3:16; Hebr 1:5,5:5). This present  world order  under the influence of Satan  will be brought to an end.

2. 2:8 He is the ascended ruling king who has been given the nations as a heritage (2:8). In Revelation  5 & 7 we see  a picture the elect from every nation assembled before the throne. He is their King. 

3. 2:9 As for the faithless among the nations, a fearful judgement awaits them. The Messiah has planned a new kingdom in which there is no place for power brokers and self-driven men.  

IV.      2:10 -12 This requires a proper response. Advice is given to the kings of the earth to  fear the Messiah.

1. 2:10,11 Kings, rulers of the earth:  be wise; serve the Lord with fear; rejoice with trembling". Rulers are the key to how a nation is led. Let the kings and ruler of this world  take note NOW - let them learn to fear the God  of this Messiah- King NOW. He is  coming SOON, and when He comes to claim His inheritance, they shall stand before Him and give an account. He will judge them. What do you think Jesus, our coming King,  will say to  our  current world leaders?  

2. 2:12a  Kiss the Son: Rulers and people of the world bow down to Him; own Him now, while He calls you to repent  (Hebr. 3:7,8; 4:7.  If you don’t do this you will   perish!

3.  2:12b  Blessed are all who take refuge in Him:  A comforting message for  those  that  have bowed  their knee now to King Jesus. Here is the gospel invitation and proper response. This is how we are called to live in this world. Under Christ’s rule and at peace with Him and with one another.