December 15
“Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me, ‘There is no help for him in God.’ But You, O Lord, are a Shield for me, my Glory and the One who lifts up my head. I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people,” Psalm 3:1-8.
This psalm has a heading telling us that it is a psalm of David, which he wrote when he had to flee for his life to escape from his son, Absalom, who was trying to kill his father with the thought that he would then become king.
This psalm has been referred to as being proper for a morning prayer of a Christian who is in great danger. King David had many enemies, and now even his son, Absalom, had joined the great number of those who wanted to get rid of him. There were those who were convinced that even God had forsaken David. They said, “There is no help for him in God.”
However, David did not feel that God had forsaken him. He said, “But You, O Lord, are a Shield for me, my Glory and the One who lifts up my head. I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.” He trusted that God would be his Shield to protect him. No doubt, David knew well that promise of God once spoken by Moses to Joshua: “The Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed,” Deuteronomy 31:8. Later, the Lord Himself assured Joshua, “I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you,” Joshua 1:5.
David trusted that his prayers were answered. He said, “I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.” As children of God, we are told not to worry, “But in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God,” Philippians 4:6. David said, “I lay down and slept.” He did not spend his nights lying awake on a pillow worrying. He trusted that God would protect him. Though he had many enemies, he knew that the multitude against him in numbers was no match for the almighty hand of God. He continued to pray for God to save him. The jaws and the teeth of his enemies could not harm him. God also invites you and me: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me,” Psalm 50:15.
The psalm closes on the note of salvation: “Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people.” Salvation for time and eternity has been provided for all people through the Son of God, whom the Father sent to redeem us. Flee to the Gospel truth: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved,” John 3:16-17. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved,” Acts 16:31.
“While yet the morn is breaking, I thank my God once more,
Beneath whose care awaking, I find the night is o’er.
I thank Him that He calls me to life and health anew;
I know whate’er befalls me, His care will still be true.
Oh, grant us peace and gladness, give us our daily bread,
Shield us from grief and sadness, on us Thy blessings shed.
Grant that our whole behavior, in truth and righteousness,
May praise Thee, Lord our Savior, whose holy name we bless.” Amen.