It is amazing how context or extra information can completely change the meaning of something. This is especially true for scripture. Often when we read the Psalms of David he is praying for assistance against his enemies. In David’s case, these enemies are usually the Philistines or other Canaanite groups. However, the title of Psalm 3 is “A Psalm Of David, When He Fled From Absalom His Son”. In a tragic turn of events, David’s enemies have become the very people he was set to rule over and worst of all, his very own son. Like most Psalms, it is written in the form of a prayer to the LORD in desperation. As we have discussed in Psalm 2, David is a type and shadow of Christ so there will be some parallels between David and Christ in this Psalm as well.

Betrayal

(Psalm 3:1,2 KJV) “LORD, How are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.”

David immediately opens up with a plea to the LORD. Throughout the whole Psalm, David only refers to God by His covenant name with Israel, Yahweh(hence, the word ‘lord’ in all capital letters). David gives the impression that his troubles are multiplying and increasing by the moment. Because of his Son’s betrayal, more and more people of Israel are turning against him. He only has a remnant of his army that has remained loyal to him. In verse two we have the mockery of the people saying that God is not with him. It is a horrible crime that Israel has committed not only towards David but towards God. They initially wanted king Saul to rule over them for completely superficial reasons. He failed miserably in his duties to rule of God’s people with uprightness so God anointed David to be king instead. No human has the right or authority to usurp the throne. It is God alone who decides who will rule over Israel. Though David feels the sting of betrayal, he turns to his only hope in this dark hour. To God Himself.  

This situation is not dissimilar to Jesus’ betrayal on the night before He went to the cross. Though it was Judas who directly betrayed Him, most of Israel, God’s own chosen people whom God sent the promised messiah set themselves against Christ. The chief priests thought they were doing God a favor since they did not believe Jesus’ claims came from God. Just like David, they claimed, “There is no help for him in God”.  

A quick note about the word ‘Selah’, most scholars believe it is either a musical pointer to raise our voices since most Psalms were meant to be sung. Many also believe that it is a marker to pause and reflect on what we have just read. This is a great way to meditate on the word just as Psalm 1 says we should “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; And in his law doth he meditate day and night”.   

The Shield of the LORD

(Psalm 3:3,4) “But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; My glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the LORD with my voice, And he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.”

Spurgeon in his commentary on this Psalm says that the shield here is more than something carried on the arm but completely surrounds us on all sides[1]. David has full confidence that the Lord will deliver him from danger and protect him on all sides. This is faith in action. The Lord is his glory and the lifter of his head. Again this is also a shadow of Christ. While he was in the midst of his enemies, he knows that the Father will lift up his head and exalt Him once it is all over. Jesus in his high priestly prayer he says “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed” (John 17:5 ESV). The glory that Christ shares with the father is the same glory. The son does not have less glory than the Father in his exaltation, nor did he have less before his ascension into heaven.  

David states that he “cried unto the LORD with my voice”. One does not need to think their prayer will be heard better by God just because they are vocal. He knows our hearts and what is on our mind before we ask it. Spurgeon suggests that just as his enemies are shouting against David, he will shout to the Lord for help as well[2].  

Peace in Times of Trouble

(Psalm 3:5,6) “I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, That have set themselves against me round about.”

Again we see faith in action on the part of David. He has confidence that the Lord will deliver him from his enemies. So much confidence that he can sleep peacefully at night and awake with the praise that God had sustained him through the night. This is the type of confidence that God asks us to have in Him. When sorrows and tribulations arise we are to cast our cares on the Lord in prayer and leave it all to Him. This is the principle behind David sleeping in peace, knowing that there is nothing he can do himself to get out of his situation so he trusts God for deliverance. He does this even while tens of thousands of people have set themselves against him. The same was also true for Christ. He obeyed the Father to the very end even when all Israel and the Roman authorities set themselves against him. He knew the plan that He and the Father had before the foundation of the world to save sinners through His death on the cross in their place. He prayed to God in the garden the night before the cross casting his cares on the Father and was all the more willing to go through with it even if the cup would not pass from Him.

Break the teeth of the Wicked.

(Psalm 3:7) “Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: For thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.”

David again has confidence because of God’s goodness in the past that he would be delivered from his enemies now. Metaphorically he knows that just as God has struck his enemies on the cheek and broken their teeth as if they were roaring lions, He can do the same now. David says elsewhere “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool’” (Psalm 110). We know because of how Jesus uses this verse in Matthew 22:45 and also how Peter uses it in Acts 2:34-35 that it is really referring to Jesus. Basically, he is asking, if the Christ is the son of David why does David refer to the Christ as Lord. The obvious answer is that the Christ will be greater than David. Psalm 110 is telling us of the future exaltation of Christ where all his enemies will be put under his feet, completely and totally defeated as Christ sits down at the right hand of the throne of God. Just as God will break the teeth of the wicked for David, He will break the teeth of all of Christ’s enemies on the day of judgment. This includes the power of Satan and all of the fallen angels who seek to lead men astray as well as all those who rejected Christ in this life.

Conclusion: Salvation Belongs to the LORD

(Psalm 3:8) “Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: Thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.”

  Finally, to answer the question in the title of this blog, David tells us that Salvation belongs solely to the LORD. Though David is a mighty man of valor he can do nothing outside of the blessing and providence of God. He knows this and that is why he prays to God and often refers to Him as a “fortress” and a “rock” throughout all the Psalms. Those words imply protection and having a solid foundation even in times of distress. While David was praying for physical salvation this is also true of spiritual salvation. This should tell us that salvation is completely by grace through faith alone in the Son of God and not of works. As Paul tells us in Romans “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Romans 9:16 ESV). So we can agree with David when he tells God “Thy blessing is upon thy people” that the blessings we receive from God as His children truly are a gift. And just as David says that he will not be afraid of tens of thousands of people we can confess “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 ESV).

 

Footnotes

1. Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, (McLean: MacDonald Publishing Company), 23

2. Ibid., 23.

The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.