Psalm 3

2/19/2013- 2/25/2013

Psalm 3

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 3^[a]

A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.

¹ Lord, how many are my foes!
    How many rise up against me!
² Many are saying of me,
    “God will not deliver him.”^[b]

³ But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
    my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
⁴ I call out to the Lord,
    and he answers me from his holy mountain.

⁵ I lie down and sleep;
    I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
⁶ I will not fear though tens of thousands
    assail me on every side.

⁷ Arise, Lord!
    Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
    break the teeth of the wicked.

⁸ From the Lord comes deliverance.
    May your blessing be on your people.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 3:1 In Hebrew texts 3:1-8 is numbered 3:2-9.
2. Psalm 3:2 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 4 and 8.

In verse one; David expresses that he has many foes that are rising up against him. He states the conflict that he is experiencing, and takes note that the people around him are telling him that God will not deliver him from his troubles.

David, on the other hand, believes that God is the shield around him. He knows that he is safe and protected; he could lift his head up high. He is able to call out to God and know that God will answer him from where God resides.

David lay’s down and sleeps. He wakes up knowing that God is the one who sustains him, so he doesn’t have to fear his enemies.

David continues to invoke God, asking God to defend and protect him, and asking God to strike his enemies on the jaw, and break the teeth of the wicked.  

By asking, David is delivered from his bad situation, and he blesses the people of God.

After my last post, that was too -all over the place, I figured, I’d try something that is less of a “mind surf” to see where I could go with the passage. It may not be successful, but I want to figure out where this will lead me, and how I will change through reading psalms. (I just learned that mind surf is not a thing for Microsoft word)

My immediate inclination from reading this passage is to interpret this psalm into one about gossip or idle talk, but maybe this passage isn’t simply about gossip. This passage is about David’s reaction to the troubles that he is facing. David is looking to God for deliverance but while he was looking for that deliverance, he was not where his enemies were. The key is that, David does not hesitate to ask God to deliver him even in the midst of fleeing. Too many times there is a neglect to ask God what he wants for us. We forget to pray or spend time with God, and instead envelop the self with pity- after all when reality hits, it hits hard and fast. We forget that we are not alone and that with God, we don’t have to worry, we just have to trust in the Lord and his provision for us.   

I have nothing deeper than that.