City Life Starter

The Word: Psalm 3

1O Lord, how my adversaries have increased!

Many are rising up against me.

2Many are saying of my soul,

“There is no deliverance for him in God.”

3But You, O Lord, are a shield about me,

My glory, and the One who lifts my head.

4I was crying to the Lord with my voice,

And He answered me from His holy mountain.

5I lay down and slept;

I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.

6I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people

Who have set themselves against me round about.

7Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God!

For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek;

You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.

8Salvation belongs to the Lord;

Your blessing be upon Your people!

King David is a role model for a number of things, but holiness is not one of them. We all know the story. It was the time when kings go out to war, but David decided to stay home. In his idleness, he engaged in the 1000BC version of pornography—roof gazing. He watched Bathsheba in her nakedness and yadda, yadda, yadda he committed adultery with her, and then, in one of the great passive-aggressive feats in recorded history, essentially had Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, killed. David is not a good example of holiness, but David did not have the benefit of being filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit Who provides the power to resist and overcome sin.

David is a model for Christians in that he humbled himself, repented, and sought God. It’s not clear whether the events that followed David’s adultery and orchestrating Uriah’s death were a result of his conduct, but it is probably fair to assume so. One of his sons, Amnon, raped his daughter, Tamar. Another son, Absalom, then killed Amnon for raping Tamar. Absalom captured the heart of the people, perhaps because David’s conduct caused the people to lose respect for him, and then Absalom rebelled against David and a full-fledged civil war was underway. In the midst of fleeing Jerusalem, David came across a guy named Shimei, who threw stones at David and cursed him saying, “Get out, get out, you man of bloodshed, and worthless fellow! . . . The Lord has returned on you all the bloodshed of the house of Saul . . . .” 2 Samuel 16:7-8.

It is in this historical context it is believed that David wrote Psalm 3. In Psalm 3, David notes that his adversaries have increased (v.1) and that many mock him and assume that God has abandoned him (v.2). Despite the urgings of advisors, David, did not retaliate against Shimei because David thought the Lord might have set Shimei against him. See 2 Samuel 16:10. Instead, David sought help from God (Psalm 3:3), and God heard David’s prayer (Psalm 3:4).

Application

Adversity is a given in a fallen world. God the Father told Jesus to “rule in the midst of Your enemies.” Psalm 110:2. Jesus then commanded us to do the business of the Kingdom in the midst of His enemies. See Luke 19:13-14, 27. Another type of adversity is the type that comes as a result of our own unwise or unrighteous conduct. See Galatians 6:7. The preferred type of adversity is the first type, the type that comes from God’s enemies because you are busy building the kingdom of God.

One of the takeaways from David’s life, and certainly from Psalm 3, is that whatever type of adversity you are incurring you should call on God. The older I get the more I believe it is is the ability to be continually turning to God for wisdom, power, and discernment that is the difference between those who finish the race and those who fall away. David had some serious bumps in the road, many of which he caused, but he continually turned to God. The Psalms, and particularly Psalm 3, are an example of how we should do the same.