Psalm 3--Save Me, O My God

Psalm 3
English Standard Version

Save Me, O My God
A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.
3 O LORD, how many are my foes!
    Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
    “There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah

3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,
    my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the LORD,
    and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

5 I lay down and slept;
    I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
    who have set themselves against me all around.

7 Arise, O LORD!
    Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
    you break the teeth of the wicked.

8 Salvation belongs to the LORD;
    your blessing be on your people! Selah

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While this is not specifically a Messianic Psalm like the first two we studied, it is a Psalm of Salvation that points us towards the work of Christ.  Remember what the people said on Palm Sunday when Jesus came into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey?  They shouted "Hosanna!",  which means, "Save Us, O LORD!"  We'll find that exact Hebrew word which the nation of Israel used to cry out to Jesus in Jerusalem and from which the title of our Psalm today gets its name in verse 8.

Salvation belongs to God alone, and He is the only one we can cry to when we are surrounded by enemies on every side and situations that look like they are impossible to get out of--much the same way that the Israelites were when the LORD was leading them out of Egypt and told them to camp with their backs to the Red Sea and they had Pharaoh's massive army chasing after them.  Because of God's promises both Moses and David could have faith during these "impossible" times because the LORD is the one who made heaven and earth by His Word--nothing is impossible for Him.  "Is there anything too hard for the LORD?" (Genesis 18:14 and Jeremiah 32:17 and 32:27).

We also see another word here that is going to be used often in the Psalms and rarely outside of the Psalms.  The word Selah seems to have a musical connotation (or at least a poetic one).  It is an instruction to the singer that may mean something like "Pause and reflect" or "This is the end of this verse" or, along with the second option, "Return to the chorus."  We don't know exactly other than we know it is supposed to give some break in the Psalms and it appears to probably break them up into verses for the song as all the Psalms were sung to music.  When reading the Psalms it's a good idea to pause and reflect on the whole part between these instructions to pause.  I'll try and do this today.

vs 1-2:  David states the problem and the accusations of his enemies against the LORD, that even He would be unable to save David.  If we read the historical account of this in 2 Samuel 15-19, we'll see that David had entrusted himself completely to the LORD and did not assume that he would be victorious unless the LORD continued to find pleasure in him.  He knew it was the LORD who established kings and it is the LORD who dethrones kings.

vs. 3-4:  We often see David do like he does here.  He does not trust what he sees or feels, but instead, he clings to the promises of God.  He cries out to the LORD in times of trouble and he waits for the LORD to answer.  David trusts in the LORD to be his Shield and Defender as well as the one that will be his glory (for he has no glory of his own) and the one that will remove his shame and lift his head.  David knows that this situation is a direct result of his shameful acts that he has committed (see 2 Samuel 11).

vs 5-8:  David gives the LORD credit for sustaining him every day of his life so far and giving him another day to live.  Therefore, he has no reason to fear, because if the LORD has kept him alive, the LORD still has a purpose for him, and it is the LORD's responsibility to bring those purposes to pass.

With David sure of what God has promised and certain of who God is, he cries out to him in supplication asking for God to grant his request which he believes is in line with the heart and mind of God--"Save Me, O God!"  He then cries out for God to fight for him, but since these are enemies that are close to him, he does not ask for them to be killed, but only for God to "strike them on their cheek" to correct them--even if that means some "broken teeth" as a result.  It would be better for them to face that embarrassment and some permanent damage that reminds them not to rebel against the LORD then it would be for God to kill them in their rebellion, as there is no chance for repentance after death, and I think David still wants to see his son saved here (in fact I know it based off of how he reacts when Joab kills Absalom in 2 Samuel 18).  “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” (2 Samuel 18:33b)

David ends again with the words reminding us that salvation belongs to our God, and that it is only through Him that blessings are poured out onto HIs people as He finds favor with us (by His grace and mercy, and not by any merit of our own).  While the enemy is different here, is this not also a Psalm that we could sing about our salvation from sin?  Do we not also need the LORD to step into our impossible situation and save us?  Don't we need Him to fight the battle for us that we could never win on our own, and don't we need Him to restore us and remove not just our sin, but our guilt and our shame?  Is it not the gospel of Jesus Christ that is not only our salvation, but the means by which the LORD is able to bless His people as He sees Jesus when He looks on all of us who are made into the image of Christ?

So, to return to the first thing I said today, this sort of is a Psalm about the Messiah, though we may not immediately recognize it as that.  David faced an impossible situation of a physical battle and army before him, but the answer he received is exactly the same answer we receive when facing the powers of our flesh and the devil.  "The battle belongs to the LORD."