Psalm Chapter 03

INTRODUCTION 

Text and Textual Variants

A Psalm of David,

when he fled from the presence of Absalom his son.

    1 O LORD, how many are my adversaries!

Many are rising up against me.

    2 Many are saying concerning me,

‘There is no deliverance for him in God.’ Selah

    3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,

my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.

    4 With my voice I cried to the LORD,

and he answered me from his holy mountain. Selah

    5 I lay down and slept;

    I awoke, because the LORD sustained me.

    6 I shall not be afraid of myriads of people

who set themselves against me on every side.

    7 Arise, O LORD!

Deliver me, O my God!

For you have struck all my enemies on the 

jaw; you have broken the teeth of the wicked.

    8 From the LORD comes deliverance.

Your blessing is upon your people.

Composition and Context

It is fitting that the first lament psalm of the book is filled with confidence, because throughout the collection confidence and praise form significant parts of laments. This witnesses to the fact that the faith of the psalmists was steadfast in spite of the lamentable circumstances they faced; it was steadfast because they had come to know the LORD by experience as well as reve­lation. The psalm was attributed to David by the superscription. Most modern commentators have difficulty with this, because the confident tone of the psalmist seems to conflict with the ac­count of David’s fleeing from Absalom. But the first part of the psalm, the lament, does reflect the anxiety and deep concern of the psalmist in trouble, but that soon turned to confidence as he saw God’s protection being extended to him. It is not impossible that the psalm comes from that event.

The prayer concerned the increasing number of adversaries who wished to destroy him and undermine his faith—a constant danger for the faithful in this world. Even though Psalm 3 is a lament, because of its great emphasis on confidence in the midst of opposition, it may be better described as a prayer song.

Exegetical Analysis

Summary

In spite of innumerable adversaries who rise up against him and taunt his faith, the chosen servant of the LORD finds confidence in the LORD’S immediate protection to pray for complete victory over those who set themselves against him.

Outline

I. The psalmist reports the increasing number of his adversaries who seek to destroy him and his faith, but finds confidence in God’s glorious provisions for him (1-3).

   A. He cries out to the LORD because many rise up against him (1)

   B. He explains that they taunt his faith in an effort to de­stroy him (2).

   C. He expresses his confidence in God’s protection and pro­vision for him (3).

II. The psalmist renews his courage in the face of great odds because God sustained him through the night in an­swer to his prayer (4-6).

   A. He praises God because his immediate prayer was an­swered (4).

   B. He explains that God sustained him through the night (5).

   C. He expresses his renewed confidence in the face of great odds (6).

III. The psalmist anticipates complete victory for deliver­ance (7-8).

   A. He petitions the LORD to deliver him (7a).

   B. He anticipates in his prayer that it will be a great deliv­erance (7b).

C. He acknowledges that the deliverance comes from the LORD (8).

COMMENTARY IN EXPOSITORY FORM

   I. As believers face increasing numbers of adversaries who taunt their faith, they may find confidence in God’s plan for them (1-3).

   A. Enemies of the faith continue to increase (1-2).

What will become a familiar note in the Psalter is sounded here at the outset, namely, that there is an ever-increasing number of people who would like to destroy the righteous and their faith. Their opposition to the people of God may be subtle at times, but at other times it may also be open and direct, far more dangerous than scorning (v. 1).

In David’s life an insurrection turned into a personal attack on him and his faith, but his faith overcame the crisis. That faith is first signaled by his immediate cry to God, “O LORD.” This turning to the LORD in the midst of a crisis is characteristic of a lament because it is how people pray in times of trouble. The urgent address is then followed by four lines that lay out the problem. The clauses emphasize the dilemma by repetition, and build to a climax: “many are my adversaries, many are rising against me, many are saying .. , ‘there is no deliverance for him in God.’”

The psalmist’s initial amazement over the growing opposi­tion is immediately expressed: “How many are my adversaries!” The stative verb is translated as a predicate adjective: “many are,” and this idea is continued with the repetition of the adjective “many” to emphasize the growing number of people rising up against him (the participle stressing on-going action). These “adversaries” (s.v. which has the sense of hemming in) continued to surround him even when he went to sleep for the night. And when he awoke, he knew that they were still there (v. 6).

But at the climax of these opening verses we read of their taunting challenge to his faith: “There is no deliverance for him in God.” The adversaries were wicked people (v. 7) trying to kill him as part of their planned revolution. Since the enemies were opposing God’s anointed (cf. Ps. 2) and since they had no pro­phetic sanction, no authority to remove him, they could not succeed. All they could do was declare in their arrogance that the psalmist had no hope of salvation from God. This attack on his faith was meant to be painful and discouraging. David had not lost faith in the LORD’S salvation, as the prayer indicates (v. 7); he remained confident that “salvation was of the LORD” (v. 8).

In this point many expositors have noted compari­sons with Jesus. Most of the nation rejected him as their king, choosing rather to follow the murderous leaders who wanted to put him to death. And, if such opposition was true for the LORD’S anointed, it will also be true of all who follow him. Therefore, in the face of such opposition, believers must turn to God in prayer, pouring out their lament as David did; but their prayers must exhibit genuine faith through expressions of confidence and words of praise.

 B. Believers may find confidence by rehearsing God’s glorious plan for their lives (3).

Because the adversaries were striking at his faith, the psalmist expressed his faith with the greatest confidence: “But you, O LORD” signals the change from lament to confidence. He found confidence in the fact that God’s character and care for him contrasted sharply with their challenge.

The figures in this verse amplify the relationship God had es­tablished with him that gave him such confidence. The first is the (metaphor) “shield.” God was the only defense that he had, but God was the only defense that he needed against the numerous adversaries. If God was his defense, who could harm him? The second image is “my glory.” This word (s.v. Ps. 19:1) is com­monly used to describe God as the most important person in existence, a fact that is often manifested by accompanying phe­nomena (called the “glory of the LORD”); but here it may refer to the glory and honor that David had been given when the LORD chose him and gave him the kingdom (so it would be a metonymy of effect). David may have been driven from his palace; but his glory was still intact, for God had bestowed honor and power on him as the chosen king (NIV has “you bestowed glory on me”). The third figure is the “lifter up of my head” (s.v. Ps. 46:10). The image is one of honorable exaltation. God “lifts up the head” of the dejected one and exalts him above others. David may have felt dejected and afraid when he fled, but as he reflected on his relationship with God, he became confident that he would be restored to the position of leadership over the people of God. God is the one who would exalt him (so the expression is a metonymy of adjunct or effect). God had not done all he did for the king to let him die in an insurrection. The king knew that he would return to the royal city with head held high.

   II. Facing an uncertain future, God’s people may build their confidence as they experience God’s present protection through answered prayer (4-6).

   A. God answers the prayers of his people and sustains them in times of trouble (4-5).

In this section the psalmist praises God for answering his prayer by sustaining him through the night. In the first three verses David had addressed God directly, now he speaks about the LORD to others; in the first verses he had described the present, growing danger, now he describes his present deliv­erance in the past tense. He will still pray for complete de­liverance from his enemies (v. 7), but here he praises God for answering his prayer. How can this contrast be explained?

One interpretation would take the lines to be speaking of his faith in general terms; accordingly, the verbs would be trans­lated with the present tense: “I cry out... he answers.” Then the prayer at the end of the psalm would be a continuation of such a prayer life.

But it makes more sense in this type of psalm to translate the verbs in these verses with the past tense, so that the verses report how God answered his prayer and sustained him through the night. But since he had only been sustained through the night, he would still pray for complete deliverance. The first verb could be interpreted as a simple imperfect tense, but it is followed by “and he answered,” a preterite (imperfect) with the waw consecutive. While this form could be given an English present tense to harmonize with a present tense trans­lation of the first verb (“I cry... and he answers”), it could also be given its more common past tense translation. The first verb could then be taken as a preterite as well—without the waw consecutive: “I cried... and he answered.” The next verse supports this interpretation because it elaborates on the report using the past tense: “I lay down” is a perfect tense, in­dicating the completed action; it is followed by another preterite (imperfect) with waw consecutive, “and I slept”; then there is another perfect tense expressing the definite past, “I woke up”. Finally, the verb “sustain” could also be taken as a preterite without the waw consecutive, “he sustained me” (s.v. Ps. 51:12), although it would not disrupt the flow of the verse to take this last verb as a habitual imperfect: I made it through the night because the LORD (always) sustains me. In this view, then, the two verses are a report of what happened, not a general expression of faith.

There are a couple of ways to explain this report of answered prayer. The verses could be the anticipatory wording of a vow to praise God. In other words, in the midst of his prayer, the psalmist rehearsed the praise that he would give when he was finally delivered. This is why it would be in the past tense; it would be a report of what God did (or was about to do). Such vows were common in lament psalms, although they more often come at the end of the psalm.

The verses could also be David’s immediate praise for God’s protection in the crisis. The praise would have been given spon­taneously as he awoke and realized that God had answered his prayer for deliverance by sustaining him through the night. God was truly his shield; but he still was faced with adversaries, and so he prayed that God would utterly destroy them. In other words, the immediate deliverance became a sign of the complete deliverance desired (it is what Westermann calls an oracle of salvation). This explanation seems more natural in the flow of the psalm. In either case verses 4-6 form a section of confidence in the midst of a prayer for deliverance, and whether this was in­tended to be a vow of praise or not, it was part of what he would say when he stood in the sanctuary once again.

   B. God's protective care inspires greater confidence to face the increasing opposition (6).

The psalmist’s being sustained through the night prompted greater confidence; he declared, “I shall not fear the tens of thousands who set themselves against me on every hand.”

His focus on the character of God and his experience of pro­tection through answered prayer strengthened him to face the enemies, no matter what the odds might be. All the time that he was praying, and sleeping, the adversaries were taking their stand all around him, readying themselves for a final attack. Because God was on his side, David would not be afraid of them.

III. Petition: God’s people may anticipate complete deliverance when they pray to the LORD (7-8).

The petition section of the psalm begins with verse seven. It follows the normal pattern of lament psalms: “Arise... deliver...” The call for the LORD to arise (an anthropomorphism, almost like calling for God to spring into action) is a call for im­mediate and swift intervention by the LORD. The choice of the word “arise” also balances the lament: many were “rising” up against him, and so he prays that God would “arise” on his behalf. It is a talionic prayer: when God arises, i.e., begins to act, the uprising, i.e., rebellion, will fall.

The second imperative specifically asks for deliverance, “save/deliver me”, the very thing that they claimed God would not do for him. This deliverance would be the effect of God’s rising up: therefore, the petition uses a metonymy of cause (God’s rising up ) with a connected metonymy of effect (delivering him).

The request is clear and direct; it is also a prayer of faith. The petitioner expected a great deliverance. This expectation is expressed in the causal clause in which the verbs are written in the perfect tense (“you struck,” from “you smashed”). These could be interpreted as “present perfects,” meaning “you have struck” my enemies in the past, and so I know you can do it now. But lament psalms often express confidence with such past tense forms with reference to the fu­ture (often called the perfect of confidence, which is akin to the prophetic perfect). In other words, the psalmist is so confident of the outcome that he writes it as if it had happened already. The meaning, then, is that he expected the deliverance to be a crushing blow on his enemies. The verse could be translated with a future tense for clarification of the certainty, or left as a past tense to fit the way the psalmist expressed his absolute confidence (to be explained by the expositor).

The bold images do not mean that God would personally and literally smash the enemies on the jaw or break their teeth. Rather, they mean that he would enable the king and his loyal subjects to do it (“you will [cause us to] smash”—a metonymy of cause). Breaking teeth and smashing jaws would very likely be part of a military combat. The point is that the psalmist was con­fident that a great deliverance was coming because God would enable them to strike the enemies decisively.

    IV. Praise: God’s people must acknowledge that deliverance is from the LORD alone (8).

The final verse expresses the lesson of the psalm in the form of the praise proper, which, because the psalmist was still praying for victory must be either part of the confidence in his prayer, or the vow of praise. Since laments often end with such vows, the verse probably expresses the theme of the praise that he wanted to and would be obliged to give when back in the sanctuary: “Deliverance /salvation comes from (or, belongs to) the LORD; your blessing is upon your people.” Here is the third use of the related words for “deliverance”—they had said there was no deliverance for him in God, he prayed for God to deliver him, and he will soon be able to declare that deliverance is from God. The blessing, a gift and an enablement from God, would be the victory that comes from God. The adversaries may have taunted his faith by saying that God would not save him, but he was confident that God would prove them wrong. And when in the sanctuary, his very presence there among the people of God would be witness to the truth.

MESSAGE AND APPLICATION

Because his faith was in the LORD, the one who protected him, gave him a glorious reign, and would exalt him once again to his throne, the king was not filled with despair. Rather, in the most trying circumstances he cried out to the LORD, and then lay down and slept, knowing that the LORD would sustain him. God’s protection of him through the night further built his confidence that God would ultimately deliver him. Psalm 3 is therefore the confident prayer of a true believer who found his adversaries increasing in number and resolve, but who was not afraid of them because the LORD was on his side. This is a prayer that was dominated by confidence and praise.

The psalm presents us with a basic truth of the faith; for ex­position the central idea may be worded as follows: When opposed by many adversaries, the faithful may pray with confidence for deliverance because the Lord’s plan for them cannot be thwarted by the world. The exposition of this psalm will show that the key to such confidence comes from a personal knowledge of God’s character and care for his people, and a personal experience of answered prayer. Paul reiterated the point: “If God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom. 8:31). Indeed, nothing will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Savior. To make this truth a source of confidence in prayer, believers must focus on God’s character and on his calling for them to serve him in a world that is opposed to the faith; and to confirm and strengthen this confidence they must have regular and recent answers to prayer.

Ross, A., 2011. A Commentary on The Psalms: Volume 1 (1-41). 1st ed. United States of America: Kregel Publications. (Edited by Carl Hinton, 2020)