INTRODUCTION
Psalm 2 contrasts the conspiracies of the nations with God’s sure word, but Psalm 3 brings this home. What about when the conspiracy is in part a judgment for sin? What about when you have brought some of the calamity upon yourself? What about when the raging is in your own home?
This psalm proclaims that even for horrific, grotesque sinners, there is a way to have a peace that passes all understanding. There is a way to sleep in the midst of the storm.
The Text: “A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me…” (Ps. 3:1-8).
SUMMARY OF THE TEXT
This psalm has an inscription or superscript which tells us that David wrote this prayer when he fled from his son Absalom’s attempted coup, and David cried out in desperation about the many who had betrayed him and
conspired against him (Ps. 3:1). The particular taunt that pierces his soul is that there is no way out of this trouble, perhaps in part because of sheer numbers and perhaps in part because it is judgment for David’s sin (Ps. 3:2). After meditating on this pain, David turns to the Lord in faith and declares that God is his shield, his glory, and the lifter of his head (Ps. 3:3). David declares that he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord heard his cries (Ps. 3:4). The king pauses here once more before singing that when had done this, he was able to lay down and sleep, and he awoke more assured of God’s protection, even from thousands surrounding him (Ps. 3:5-6). The psalm ends with a plea for God to arise and save him, and David concludes that his enemies are as good as struck down because God saves and blesses His people (Ps. 3:7-8).
SUPERSCRIPTS & SELAHS
This is the first psalm we have come across that has two stylistic elements that are almost entirely unique to the Book of Psalms: superscripts and selahs. The superscript is the title or inscription that is listed above this psalm and 82 others. Sometimes these titles are dedications or ascriptions of authorship (“of/for David”), sometimes they include musical instructions (“for the choir director”), and sometimes (as here) they include an historical setting or details. These titles come with the oldest manuscripts we have, and therefore, we have every reason to accept them as an inspired part of Scripture.
“Selah” shows up three times in this psalm and is also part of the Scripture text, but its exact meaning is somewhat unclear. The word seems to be related the Hebrew word for “lift up” or “hang up,” and may be a poetic or musical term meant to indicate emphasis. That emphasis may have been made with a moment of silence or a musical interlude to meditate on the preceding material. This is why we have incorporated this word into our liturgy in the prayer of confession, where the minister pauses for the congregation to confess any particular individual sins.
WHEN ABSALOM CONSPIRED
The context of this psalm is one of the most intense moments of David’s reign: the conspiracy of Absalom found in 2 Samuel 15. Absalom may have been somewhat motivated by the rape of his sister, Tamar, as well as his father’s treatment following that, but the whole thing was foretold in the aftermath of David’s adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband, Uriah, in 2 Samuel 12. “I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun” (2 Sam. 12:11-12). When Absalom entered Jerusalem, this is what he did (2 Sam. 16:20-21).
The conspiracy included most of the tribes of Israel, key military leaders, as well as Ahithophel, David’s chief counselor, and David was forced to flee Jerusalem to escape with his life. And all the people who accompanied David wept as they left the city and crossed the Brook Kidron (2 Sam. 15:23). This was a massive political calamity and embarrassment, but it struck much deeper than that: it was David’s own son leading the treachery. And after the great battle in the woods, when Absalom was killed and his army routed, David’s grief was profound (2 Sam. 18:33) – this is what cut to David’s soul (Ps. 3:2).
God’s people are not immune to these kinds of heartbreak, and we are commanded to cast our cares upon God in the same way, crying out to Him in our time of need (1 Pet. 5:7). And notice that David is crying out for help and deliverance even though his own sin brought this calamity upon him.
DAVID’S PEACE
Having poured his heart out to God, David turns to God. In the midst of our grief and heartache, it is important that we do this too. This is not a vague, sentimental turning. David acknowledges that God is his shield, his glory, and the lifter of his head. These three things are not just poetry; they are actually essential theology. God is our shield in that He is absolutely sovereign: nothing can touch us without His permission. But His sovereignty is also perfectly loving: He will not allow anything to touch us that is not for our ultimate good. And finally, even though He is free to use the consequences of our sin as His fatherly discipline, His discipline is just
and He shields us from those who might take advantage of our weakened position.
Secondly, David acknowledges that God is his glory. In this context, this is not likely a generic reference, but a specific reference to his kingly glory and majesty. David has been humiliated, but he confesses that God’s majesty is sufficient for him. The glory of God sustains David. In another psalm it says, “I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than dwell in tents of wickedness” (Ps. 84:10). The glory of God far outweighs our shame.
Finally, “lifter of my head” surely refers to the restoration of David to the throne. David knows that if God has promised him an enduring dynasty (and He has) then God must have a plan for restoring him to that throne. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up” (Js. 4:10).
CONCLUSION
Having acknowledged God to be his shield, his glory, and the lifter of his head, David knows that God has heard him, and he goes to bed. But given the circumstances, this is remarkable. What David is experiencing is a peace that defies all human explanation – the kind of peace that guards our hearts and minds from even the threats of thousands of enemies (Phil. 4:7).
The center of this peace is knowing David’s greater Son, Jesus Christ, who was willingly betrayed by one of His disciple-sons, and when He had gone out of Jerusalem and crossed the Brook Kidron in great sorrow (Jn. 18:1), He was shamefully arrested, beaten, and crucified to bear our sins. The only perfect King endured the humiliation for our treason, in order to be our shield, our glory, and the lifter of our heads.