Chew on This: Psalm 3
Sunday, June 22, 2008 at 05:03PM My friend, Leslie, of Light Came, has invited her readers to “Chew on This.” ‘This’ is a passage from Psalm 3, as presented by Charles Spurgeon in his Treasury of David.
Here is Psalm 3 in its entirety:
A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.
1 LORD, how they have increased who trouble me!
Many are they who rise up against me.
2 Many are they who say of me,
“There is no help for him in God.” Selah
3 But You, O LORD, are a shield for me,
My glory and the One who lifts up my head.
4 I cried to the LORD with my voice,
And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the LORD sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me all around.
7 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.
8 Salvation belongs to the LORD.
Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah
This Psalm opens with David crying out to God. His own son had led a rebellion against him and he now is fleeing into the night-- the palace behind him and the wilderness before him. Can you imagine the pain of betrayal? Your own son? It is unthinkable! David had restored his relationship with this son and he repaid him by “stealing the hearts of the people.” David did not stand and fight, nor did he call his counselors together and plot revenge. He left with his household, bent with sadness but trusting in his God.
David’s head must have been hanging low. He had been grieved beyond measure in the cunning rebellion of his son. How deeply personal were his wounds and how hard it must’ve been to hold his head up! Everyone was watching; everyone knew. However, his steadfast trust in the God of his Fathers not only allowed him to raise his head high, it allowed him to look beyond himself to his people and to testify of God’s goodness:
4 I cried to the LORD with my voice,
And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the LORD sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me all around.
It must also be that way with us. When we are burdened down with pain and trial, we must first cry out to God, for it is He who knows what we are going through and it is He who understands why. There is great comfort in this. David could lie down and sleep and awake in the morning knowing that it was God who sustained him. God had protected and sustained him during the vulnerable watches of the night and he need not fear what man could do. That is what he had experienced and that is what he cried out to the people. “I trusted in God and He heard me—you can trust Him, too.”
It is during times of great trial that we, and the watching world, learn that of which we are made. If we stand in our own strength and “fight it out” on our own, what lasting words of instruction and encouragement do we have for others? None. But when we trust God and stand in His strength and in the comfort of His shielding presence, we have something of value to share with others.
“I trusted in God and He heard me—you can trust Him, too.”
Reader Comments (1)
I'm thankful for David's testimony of God's faithfulness; that we can trust Him to act on our behalf and for His glory when circumstances seem to suggest otherwise.