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. Selah 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
A.T. Pierson once wrote, “To rest solely on the promise of a faithful God is the only way to know for one’s self, and prove to others, HIS faithfulness.” And Pierson speaks here of a remarkable but possible dependence on God, which not only deeply undergirds us, but simultaneously declares something true about our God – HE IS FAITHFUL!
In Psalm 3, David was living a nightmare. But in a most wonderful way, in the very thick of his troubles, David chose to gaze beyond his frightening ordeal - to God, and he came to a fresh understanding of WHO God is, and WHAT God is able to do when the worst of times descend upon us.
Now to be truthful, David was not being threatened by a deadly virus, but he was being threatened by his friends, who had become his enemies. Even Absalom, David’s son was vehemently after his father’s blood. And David faced growing threats, and taunts, and there was great pressure upon him to doubt God. And isn’t it one of Satan’s ploys – when the going gets tough - to try and undermine our faith?
But it was in this unpleasant and menacing crucible, that God’s servant CRIED TO THE LORD, and we can see evidences from this Psalm of God’s intervention in David’s life:
a) God gave David a renewed confidence in HIS ability to protect him (3a)
b) God gave David a renewed confidence in HIS ability to keep his, David’s head held high (3b)
c) God heard David’s cry (4)
d) God gave David peace and the ability to sleep (5a)
e) God kept David safe through the night hours when many wondered whether he would live to see another day (5b)
f) God fanned into flame David’s trust in God to such an extent that his fear shriveled to nothing (6)
g) God gave David the assurance that He, God, would save and bless him (7-8)
In Psalm 3 we see what God did for David in the midst of his trouble, and today, the Lord wants US to identify with David’s discoveries about God, and understand that even in the darkest days and deepest trials, our fears can shrivel to nothing, because David’s God is OUR God, and His blessing is upon us.
Let us spend some time today, praising God for His promise to help His troubled people.
“Increase our faith.” (Luke 17:5)