PSALM 3
Psalm 3
This psalm is believed to have been written by David when he was forced to flee for his life from his own son Absalom, who not only revolted against his father, but usurped his father’s God-given throne as well. Like our Lord, David too crossed over the brook Kedron in the darkness of night, with a feeble band of a few followers, when a life-threatening plot was hatched against him by his own people. (2 Samuel 15:23; John 18:1)
Psalm 3:1-2
BIBLE TEXT: "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." (Psalm 3:1-2 KJV)
BIBLE TWEET: Even more distressful than being attacked by an increasing number of adversaries, is their intolerable assertion that their antagonism against us proves that God has abandoned us.
BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The Christian can withstand any number of adversaries arrayed against him, as long as he is assured that the Almighty is with him.
The word “Selah” appears to be derived from two root words. One, “salah,” which means “to pause,” and the other “salal,” which means to “lift up.” Although commonly believed to be some sort of musical notation or instruction, the word may be better understood as a term of subject-matter rather than music, or of truth rather than tunes. It calls for the singer or reader to pause and reflect on what has just been sung or read, as well as to lift up their heart over the psalm’s preceding precious truth.
The word appears 74 times in the Bible. It first appears here in Psalm 3:2. Afterward, it appears 70 other times in Psalms, as well as 3 times in Habakkuk. In the book of Psalms, the term appears in 39 of the book’s 150 psalms, once in Psalms 7, 20, 21, 44, 47, 48, 50, 54, 60, 61, 75, 81, 82, 83, 85, and 143, twice in Psalms 4, 9, 24, 39, 49, 52, 55, 57, 59, 62, 67, 76, 84, 87, and 88, three times in Psalms 3, 32, 46, 66, 68, 77, and 140,and four times in Psalm 89.
Psalm 3:3-4
BIBLE TEXT: "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." (Psalm 3:3-4 KJV)
BIBLE TWEET: Amidst the hanging of our heads in shame, we can be assured of lifting up our heads in glory, if we glory in God as our all-around Guardian.
BIBLE TAKEAWAY: What peace is possessed in this perilous world by those who know the one and only prayer-answering God.
Psalm 3:5-6
BIBLE TEXT: "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." (Psalm 3:5-6 KJV)
BIBLE TWEET: Men may muster enough courage to stand when surrounded by insurmountable odds, but the calmness to sleep when encircled by hostile hordes is truly miraculous.
BIBLE TAKEAWAY: It is Yahweh alone who can enable us to yawn at an amassing and adversarial army.
Psalm 3:7
BIBLE TEXT: "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." (Psalm 3:7 KJV)
BIBLE TWEET: When God arises, both the jaws and teeth of our adversaries are broken, so that they can no longer bark nor bite.
BIBLE TAKEAWAY: God saves His elect and silences their enemies.
Psalm 3:8
BIBLE TEXT: "Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah." (Psalm 3:8 KJV)
BIBLE TWEET: Salvation belongs to the Lord, who bestows it upon His elect.
BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Salvation is not a mere matter of the free will of man, to be had whenever man chooses, but a matter of the sovereign will of God, miraculously bestowed upon God’s chosen! (John 15:16)