Psalm 3

A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.

¹ O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!

² Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” Selah
³ But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
⁴ To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. Selah
⁵ I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
⁶ I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.
⁷ Arise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
⁸ From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. Selah

As I read this psalm, I recall the verses that recount the story of David and Absalom. I am not one that fills in the blanks so I will not try to determine the relationship that David had with his son Absalom. Absalom was David’s third son (2 Samuel 3:3) and the half-brother to Ammon who was David’s oldest son but whom also had raped Tamar Absalom’s sister. Read the story in 2 Samuel 13:1 – 19:43 to get a full account of the story that leads to this psalm. However, until you have one of your own children rebel against you to the point of wanting to destroy you and go against the truth; you can never fully understand how David felt here. David waited on the Lord. This is different from the approach that many take today. The belief that God takes care of those who take care of themselves is a belief that carries over to almost every aspect of our life. We are living in an age where we must make it happen, and when it does it must be God’s will; yet I believe we have really forgotten the art of waiting on the Lord. As you read these verses look at David’s response to the trial he is going through. He is trusting in God as his shield and the one that gives glory. He will rest and lie down because the Lord sustains him. He will not fear because from the Lord will comes deliverance. David knew how to trust God and that when we measure the battles, we fight in the fleeing moments of this life they are nothing compare to the victories we will have with him for eternality.

May your blessing be on your people reminds us to walk in the way of the Lord. Remember there is only one way and he is the way, the truth, and the life, so walk in this way and be bless.

Here we see David the father of Absalom running from his son. When studying David’s life, the main theme I have realized is his personal relationship with the Lord and how this relationship changed David. In I Kings 15:3-5 David’s character is described as having a heart that was wholly devoted to his God. The only blemish on David’s life was the case of Uriah the Hittite. David’s examples of how he lived his life reflects a man who was truly a man after God’s own heart. He was not a man who was searching for God, but a man who walked in the way of God who waited on God’s transforming power to make his heart like God’s heart. This is reflected in the way he handled himself at the death of his son Absalom. He wept. Joab and Israel could not understand this weeping, just as the world today cannot understand the love and patience of God as Peter writes about in II Peter 3:9. Just as the thought that David had in his heart as he walked in his chamber “O my son Absalom, my son Absalom! Would I have died instead of you.” is the same love God has for us his children. In fact, that is why Christ died on the cross for us. With his death and resurrection, he made a way to restore the broken relationship between God and man. So, when you study the psalms as well as all scripture wait on God to open up his Word to you. Then you will start to see God’s transforming work in your heart as he makes you into a child of God. Stop searching for God in our way and start walking and growing in his way by studying his Word and letting it speak to you. Let your walk be characterized as a man or women who is walking with the Lord and enjoying sweet communion with Him. Let your communion with Him be a candle that sheds light to those who are searching for God.