Psalm 3
How many are my foes, O Lord
How many are rising up against me
How many are saying about me
There is no help for him from God
But you Lord are a shield about me
my glory who lift up my head
I cry aloud to the Lord
He answers from his holy mountain
I lie down to rest and I sleep
I wake for the Lord upholds me
I will not fear even thousands of people
who are ranged on every side against me
Arise Lord save me my God
you who strike all my foes on the mouth
You who break the teeth of the wicked
O Lord of salvation bless your people
There is a distinct chord of violence that reverberates through the Psalms and we will discuss that at length in the coming days, weeks, and months but today I want to focus on the desire behind the lyrics as opposed to the actual lyric itself. David writes this Psalm from a place of desperation and fear, but through the writing of it, by remembering what God he is talking to he finds respite from that desperation and fear.
The thing many people don't realize about the Bible is that it is in many ways the world's best selling self-help book [yet it doesn't require you to do it by your'self'], if we were to listen to most of its commands our lives would be infinitely better. Jesus tells us to not worry about tomorrow, yet anxiety runs rampant in our culture. We are told to do things in moderation, and yet excess runs rampant in our culture. We are told to treat others how we desire to be treated, yet in our culture we preach about getting ahead by any means. And perhaps most life-changing, many times throughout the Bible there is a command to 'fear not' yet we so often allow fear to overwhelm us.
David is in one of these moments where fear could easily overwhelm him. He is on the run, outnumbered by a larger foe, and yet he remembers in that moment who to turn to, God. God is the one whose peace passes all understanding, and that peace is a peace for the storm for the darkness for the fear. It is a peace that can overwhelm the fear that threatens to overwhelm us.
+ What events occurring in your life have the potential to overwhelm you? Have you prayed about them?
+ Remembering what God has already brought us through can be a great comfort to us in current struggles, so can you remember a time when you felt that peace that passes all understanding?
p.s. David was on the run from his son Absalom who had risen to power and declared himself King following a set of events that included the rape of his sister by his half-brother and then the murder of his half-brother some two years later. (see 2 Samuel 13-18 for more depth)
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