Psalm of the Month: Psalm 3

Psalm of the Month

Each month this year we’ll sing a different Psalm on Sunday mornings. In February we’re singing Psalm 3. This article will help us better understand the words we’re singing in their original setting, how they ultimately point to Christ, and what difference they make for us.

A Coup in Jerusalem

King David fled for his life from Jerusalem. He had just received word that his own son, Absalom, was staging a coup against him, rallying armies to destroy the King (2 Samuel 15:1-6, 13-14). With the Jerusalem throne soon to be vacant, Absalom declared himself King (2 Samuel 15:10). Wandering and weeping in the wilderness with his loyal men, David was informed that his top advisor, Ahithophel, had abandoned him and joined Absalom’s revolt (2 Samuel 15:31). This trio of David’s son, advisor, and throne, along with thousands of armed men (2 Samuel 17:1), pursued King David for death.

Hence the title of Psalm 3: “A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom, his son.” “How many are my foes!”, David cried to the LORD (Psalm 3:1). “How many are rising against me!” Dethroned, homeless, and hiding, David must have pondered God’s covenant from just a few years earlier: I will establish your royal and righteous line in Jerusalem forever (2 Samuel 7:12-14). How could this covenant have collapsed so quickly?

 David’s Faith

A couple things to note. First, David’s removal from office, while carried out by Absalom, was a judgement from God for David’s adulterous sin against Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:10-11). Though King David suffered at the hands of his enemies, the circumstances arose partly due to his own sin.

Second, David believed God’s promises. Though David broke his end of the covenant by sinning egregiously against God and neighbor, he knows God will not break His end. “You, O Lord, are a shield about me. You are my glory, the lifter of my head!” (Psalm 3:3). Though David suffered in the short-term, he trusted that God would protect him and restore him to the Jerusalem throne once again. God promised a royal lineage, and His promises must come to pass. Thus, while thousands of mighty men hunted him, David slept without fear: “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around” (Psalm 3:5-6).

Christ Connection

Every Psalm is written about the author’s own circumstances. Each one also finds their fullest meaning in Jesus Christ. Here, as in so many Psalms, David’s circumstances are a dim reflection of Jesus’ circumstances. Augustine writes that Psalm 3 is ultimately about Jesus’ own people making Him their enemy and handing Him over for death on a cross. David’s kingdom sought to kill him; Jesus’ Kingdom did kill Him. David was abandoned by his son and friend; Jesus was delivered to death by his friend Judas and denied thrice by His disciple Peter. David slept with faith, knowing He’d wake again; Jesus slept the sleep of death in faith, knowing He would rise again.

Singing Psalm 3

1)    Psalm 3 is guide for suffering well. When David suffered, he didn’t find strength by looking inward. He found strength by remembering God’s character and promises. He didn’t become naively optimistic, nor cynically pessimistic. Instead, he named his plight to God in plain language – with neither sugarcoating nor despairing – and sought His help: “Arise, O LORD! Save, me, O my God!” (3:7). With God, we can rest at night free from crippling worry on the one hand and denial on the other. Today we have an even greater knowledge of God’s love for us than David did: “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32). While we’ll still suffer in this life, we’re promised a future eternal life wherein God gives us all things graciously in Christ.

2)    Psalm 3 points to two dimensions of God’s grace in suffering. Sometimes our suffering is the direct result of our own sin. At other times, our suffering has nothing to do with a specific sin. In both cases God shows grace to those who seek Him. When our miserable circumstances are self-inflicted, we tend to deny it or created excuses. But the path to joy is honest repentance to God, which He promises to forgive.    

3)    Psalm 3 is an example of how to love those who hate you. Absalom died in battle trying to kill David. 2 Samuel 18:33 tells us David’s response when he heard the news: “And the king [David] was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, ‘O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!’” Though his son despised him, David would still have given his life for him. This pales in comparison to Christ, who did die for his enemies, for their eternal life.