Psalm 3
A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.
3 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
This sermon will first be academic, then practical. Let’s say a couple of things about David the King who wrote this and many other psalms:
- You are not David.
Now, that’s obvious. But here’s what happens: we’re wanting the Bible to be relevant to our situation, and so we, for instance, turn to Psalm 3. And we read “many are rising against me.” And then I the reader think about people at work who don’t like me, and yes, maybe they’ve ganged up on me, working together against me to make life difficult.
Then I say, great, here’s a psalm that relates to me. But then the problem comes when I get to v. 6: many thousands of people/ who have set themselves against me all around. Now that’s simply not true about me. And if we forget that I am not David, the result is that this psalm becomes a little unreal… or I try to squeeze reality to fit this psalm: maybe the entire company is against me etc.
But you didn’t write this poem, David did. This is about David’s situation, not yours. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be relevant, as we’ll see in a second.
- David is not just David.
David is more than just an ordinary everyman. He is called the Son of God, the first of the kings of Israel to be given this title. From David on, the King of Israel as Son of God has been given a unique calling to reflect the Father in heaven: trusting in Him, leaning on Him, and ruling on his behalf. (This calling to be a Son of God was after Adam failed to be just that, a son of God bearing the image of his father.)
And David as King of Israel is also a Messiah, an Anointed One.
In the Old Testament, a Messiah/Christ is someone who has been anointed by God’s Spirit to some particular mission.
The kings of Israel were anointed by God’s Spirit to lead and act on behalf of Israel in their covenanted mission that would eventually turn out into the salvation of the world.
All this to say, if David is in trouble, it’s means more than simply there’s a man in trouble. One could say that when David is in trouble, the whole future of the world lies in the balance. Because it will be through David representing Israel that people worldwide are restored to their true calling within the creation, and thus the creation is saved.
- David points to an ultimate Israelite, an ultimate Son of God, an ultimate Christ.
If you know the Bible just a little, you’ll know that Israel, even after all that God did to set them up for success, fell short of their calling to be sons of God. David and the kings who came from his line each failed in their calling to be a preeminent Son of God.
The messiahs of Israel, instead of representing the people in trusting God and ruling wisely and obediently in His behalf, led the people further into distrust and disobedience, which eventually resulted in exile from the land.
With all of Israel’s advantages, the sin that the first man unleashed on the world invaded and thrived in Israel and her king as well as anywhere.
But 1000 years after David, out from this failure of Israel and David, in Bethlehem the city of David, was born a descendant of David, the Savior of Israel in their calling to save the world. Jesus the Messiah. Jesus Christ. Jesus the eternal Son of the eternal Father who by his resurrection would be declared to be the preeminent Davidic Son of God.
Which brings us back to the psalms. To repeat what I said earlier, throughout psalms David speaks as Son of God and Messiah. But more. Throughout Psalms, when David speaks of his situation, his words will often go beyond just his situation and point to the King to come, the greater David, the ultimate Son of God and Christ. Jesus.
The David psalms find their highest application in Jesus Christ and his work.
So, when we read the David psalms, and really all the psalms, we should remember that they find ultimate meaning when read in Jesus the Christ. And because the people of Jesus Christ share his life and destiny, they are often approximately true about them too.
So, we will interpret these as David’s words spoken out of David’s situation but always recall that the life and experience of King Jesus is ever in view. And because the least of the people of King Jesus follow Him in his suffering and glory, we’ll expect to find plenty of commonalities in our situation too.
Now, back to our psalm.
David writes many three times. A lot of trouble. A lot of people seeing that his life isn’t going well. His own son turned against him, forcing him to flee from his throne, his city.
Wait – didn’t Psalms 1 & 2 speak of God’s blessing on His people? It’s a little amazing that the psalm editors let psalm 3 immediately follow the high claims of psalms 1& 2. Where’s the blessing? Where are the good times?
One thing that can come as a surprise – even a shock – to newborn children of God is that life doesn’t get easier after coming into God’s family. In some respects, it can get worse!
Remember, our chief symbol is a cross! Upon which is nailed the Son of God who trusted his Father… taking his last gasps in a public execution. And instead of being rescued at the last minute, eventually strength runs out, then the pathetic death. That scene, brothers and sisters, is at the heart of our religion. So, hardship a feature, not a bug.
Here’s the record of David, son of God, leaving the city impelled by Absalom’s ascent:
2 Samuel 15:30: But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads and they went up, weeping as they went. And it was told David, “Ahithophel [David’s chief counselor] is among the conspirators with Absalom…”
And under advisement of his counselors, the first thing Absalom does when he enters Jerusalem is to take David’s concubines and forcibly go into them. A symbol of domination. Take that, Dad. Who’s King now?
And God lets it all happen. No wonder people are saying, “There is no salvation for him in God.” This guy is weak, losing big time. Looks like God’s not backing him.
Brothers and sisters, calamities don’t always or even usually happen, but they can and do sometimes happen to genuine sons of God. And, aside from big calamities, what will regularly be in the background of the children of God is the peculiar suffering of trusting God in a world filled with devils and the seed of the serpent.
Have you come to accept that part of what will knit you and Jesus together is a fellowship of suffering? Or are you a coward who makes a habit of avoiding the hard things of renewed life?
In the face of trouble, sometimes great trouble, even tragedy, how does the Son of God respond?
3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
The Son of God trusts in His Father. Trust doesn’t mean he pretends like grievous things aren’t happening. But trust as described here is noticing what isn’t obvious, spotting the facts not on the surface. On the surface there is anguish. But underneath the anguish this is true:
Jehovah is, in fact, defending Him and the evil one can go only so far and no more. Jehovah Himself is his shield.
Yes, David’s job is lost, his family is in tatters, his home is no longer his home.
But David himself is still intact, which means the covenant is still in place. Jehovah is the one of hesed, steadfast love.
David says, Jehovah is “my glory.” Glory is our translation of the Hebrew word, chabod – “heaviness.” This paper happens to be my bank statement but we’ll let it stand for my whole lot in life, is light. This weight is heavy. The weight has more glory than the paper.
You, Jehovah, are… my glory. David is saying, my circumstances, my lot in life, is relatively small fry, next to God’s promises to me, David, and through me to the ultimate Son of God, and through him to the whole cosmos.
Brothers and sisters, health changes. Your memory leaks. People around you can and will forget about you.
But what makes your life heavy… what gives you substance…is your Jesus connection to God who made sure and steadfast promises to David. His steadfast love. His righteousness. His plan. Even in the most dire of times.
God is your substance. A human is an image bearer. Whether a man or a woman realizes it or not, he is an invention made uniquely compatible with God. If God isn’t for you and by you, no matter how glittering, interesting, momentum filled your experience is… you’re STARVING. YOU’RE IN DARKNESS. But since God is for you in Christ, no matter what twists or turns your life takes…
…Sometimes you don’t realize who you are, that is, the fixed-ness and gravitas and even grandeur, of who you are with God in Christ, until things are stripped away from you. It happens so subtly: you find yourself leaning on the fact that you’re dating, that you’re making your house beautiful, that your retirement account is bulging, that your children are successful or whatever. See, my life is advancing, I’m making a mark. But then…sometimes… if God is merciful, it becomes clear that what gave substance to you is that you’re in Christ who is in God.
And David says that God is the lifter of my head. From the last phrase of Psalm 110 we can conclude that David is saying that God is the One who refreshes him.
For those sons of God who trust in their heavenly Father, there is a secret spring to their life. From one aspect they sometimes appear to be encountering failure upon failure. Some of that failure – as it was with David – might be due to failings of their character, poor habits, etc.
The just man falls seven times, the Proverb says. Seven, the number of completion. In some cases the just man can be a complete failure. And yet God keeps lifting up his head.
Yes, they’re life might be quite fragile, but indeed Psalm 1 stands: “Blessed is the man…he is like a tree planted by streams of water…its leaf does not wither.” In any season! Hallelujah!
Yes indeed, Psalm 2: “Blessed are all who take refuge in the Son of God, King Jesus.”
Let’s keep reading.
4 I cried aloud to the LORD,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
There is something active and passive about relating properly to the Creator, being sons of God trusting in your heavenly Father in hard times.
The active part is at least prayer. You’re not just in the swirl of turmoil, watching mutely as things go wrong. You’re not silent as you watch the odds against you pile up. You pray.
God is ready to hear your prayer, but don’t let your words only be formal, “religious” in the bad sense of that word, flaccid. I cried aloud to the LORD.
Some of what gives your prayers energy is the contradiction you’ve come upon in your trial: you realize that God is a Savior. But it sure doesn’t look like He’s saving. This is not how things are supposed to be! So, I cried aloud to the LORD.
Many of you have a car. Go into your car, roll up the windows, turn off the music or podcasts, and cry aloud to the LORD. Don’t be silent before Him. Don’t open up the Fig Newtons or start browsing the web. Somehow, get alone with your heavenly Father and, in trust, as the preeminent Son did, cry out to God with loud cries and tears. And He was heard because of His reverence.
After you have taken the trouble to pour out your heart to God, it’s time to experience the passive aspect to relating to your Father: I lay down and slept.
Sleep is the thing that we do that epitomizes how little control we have. If you sleep on your back, maybe especially if your arms rest above your head, that is a fitting symbol of how truly defenseless we are. And we are. Right now as you’re listening at 40 Battle there could be burglars rifling through your drawers. The final bit of plaque to stop your major artery might be setting in this week. We can’t get a handle on the Fentanyl invasion from China. ETC ETC
And what does the trusting son do in the face of such dangers, even when there are many thousands of people/who have set themselves against me all around? ZZZZ.
This going to sleep is not a result of naivete. Jesus the Son of God knew more than anyone just how many foes he had had. 1/3 of the demonic host. The ruling class. Fickle followers.
Yet every night, how did he show his trust in the Father? ZZZZ. When Leviathan surged against him, what do we find him doing in the boat’s stern? ZZZZ
The Scripture have a lot to say about sleep; we won’t take the time now to overview that. I’d like to suggest, though, that when sleep doesn’t come to you, don’t reach for the phone. (Get your phone out of your bedroom anyhow!) Take out your Bible and get truth into your mind. I have calmed and quieted my soul, says another psalm. And how? With truth, such as: But you, O LORD, are a shield about me/ my glory, and the lifter of my head
And then when you get sleepy as you’re reading, don’t fight it off to keep reading. Let God’s voice speaking promises soothe you to sleep.
God gives his beloved sleep. Child of God, the most talented of you have very little capability. You can’t keep track of everything, or even most things. Actually, hardly anything. You can’t finally stave off disaster in your body, in your family.
At night, you need to let go, forcibly turn away from the chatter in your mind, and actively trust in God, the One who took you out of your mom’s womb and set you on her chest and has been caring for you, protecting you, throughout your life. Cry aloud to him. Listen to Him. Let Him explain what is real, what is true, what is substantial. And then let him put you back to sleep.
I love that some hymns were put to folk tunes from the nursery:
Children of the heav’nly Father
safely in his bosom gather;
nestling bird nor star in heaven
such a refuge e’er was given.
And now the last stanza:
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.
8 Salvation belongs to the LORD;
your blessing be on your people! Selah
I can’t emphasize enough: the life of faith is a life of prayer. I think that most of us know that. Yet we forget. We hear bad news and soak in vague worry. We stew and sulk. But don’t pray.
Listen to a Son of God, David, to re-learn faith. Arise, O LORD! Martin Luther said, “Faith is prayer.” The prayer is the trusting, even if the words don’t all sound like trusting.
Arise – you’re on the couch, God. You’re not doing anything and look how fast things are falling apart.
Save me – This isn’t about making my life plush or improving things a little. I’m in danger, God.
Sons and daughters of God – tell God what you’re seeing.
Then in the last four lines of this psalm, David is still addressing God, but his prayer has found firm footing in certain verities. In spite of the disaster he sees developing in front of him, he asserts certain things:
He calls God by His covenant name. The covenant he’s in with God is real and sure. So God is for him. Which means that eventually the enemies of David will be thwarted, broken. For David, God is not a relaxing app filled with soothing sounds of crackling fires or rain on tin roofs. The soothing from God that allows sleep comes from the fact that God is a God who breaks the teeth of some.
Here especially we need to recall that David is not me and that David points to the ultimate Son of God. Maybe those who are making my life difficult right now aren’t also the enemies of God. Indeed, maybe even people who have been hurt and frustrated by me are praying to God Psalm 3 prayers for help and grace!
But the actual enemies of the Son of God, those who resist the coming Kingdom, they will be thwarted and broken.
And as every son and daughter of God prays in the pain of his/her own trial, ultimately we are praying for the consummation when the minions of evil, up to and including Death, who are the enemies of the Son of God, will be destroyed. And they will be. The thieves, the corrupters of the young, the dishonest, the cowards will be thrown into the lake of fire.
Salvation belongs to the LORD. Ultimately the project that went through David, that reached its climax in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, that continues through the children of God in the church, is the project of salvation. The deliverance from Death and the making all things new.
So, even as he weeps leaving Jerusalem, in this psalm David comes to realize that his suffering is the rocky terrain on the way to salvation.
The last phrase of the psalm highlights a major component of that salvation: your blessing be on your people. The crimes and barbarisms and betrayals that fell on David and then Jesus were on the way to the people of the Son of God being blessed. “By his stripes we are healed.” Yes, by the stripes that were Judas, abandonment of friends, fickleness of crowds, jeering, suffocation, his heart giving out – has come healing and life everlasting for God’s people.
Brothers and sisters, trust in your heavenly Father as you experience trouble and pain. There’s a lot that can happen to us that would compel us to go silent before God, or to set our mind to escapism, to take away our internal quiet and repose. To steal sleep. Don’t go quiet before God.
Today the children of God, led by the great Son of God, our Jesus Christ, are again being taught the lesson of an active, prayer-ful trust in the hardest of circumstances. As it’s ever been, our wise Father is bending the hard things of life – tedium, lack, pangs, foreboding – into that which will turn out to bring us into a full salvation. Don’t go quiet before God.
And in the trials themselves we will learn what the sons and daughters of God have been taught for a long time: Our shield, our glory, the lifter of our head, is God himself; and not the comfort and recognition and things we thought made us who we are and kept us going. Don’t go quiet before God.
Keep talking to your Father instead of going silent. Go to sleep. Go back to sleep. Trust God. Trust God. Trust God, Image Bearer. Because what belongs to God is salvation. Don’t go quiet before God.
AMEN.
Leave a Reply