Genuine Faith in Dire Straits

David’s Dire Situation

It’s dawn. The warm, lifegiving rays of sun are radiating from the horizon and touching the cheeks of a somber yet peaceful looking man robed in purple and saddled on a donkey. The company of armed men surrounding him are traveling with unwavering courage and hope that soon everything will be made right. With a river on their left and open plains on their right, the king and his army of loyal men of valor travel north with haste to find food and supplies in preparation for battle.

This is the scene of the first morning after the rebellion Absalom, son of David. It all started nine years ago when Ammon, David’s son from another woman, raped Absalom’s sister Tamar. Absalom hated his brother from another mother from that point on, yet what made matters worse is that King David did nothing to punish Ammon for his wickedness. Two years after the incident, Absalom murdered his step-brother in a field and then for fear of retribution from the King, he ran away and hid for three years. By the end of those three years, Absalom managed to get back into the good graces of King David and was invited back to Jerusalem to live. While in Jerusalem, Absalom, who was handsome and well liked, spent four years sowing seeds of distrust between the people of Israel and the King. He carefully and quietly usurped the King’s authority and influence with the people and won the hearts of many in Israel. When the time was right, Absalom mustered all his followers together and proclaimed himself king of Israel to the supportive cheers of thousands at a place called Hebron.

It didn’t take long for word to reach King David back in Jerusalem. He had heard rumors of rebellion for some time now and finally his fears were realized: Absalom was on his way to Jerusalem with an army of tens of thousands with the purpose of overthrowing David and taking control of all Israel. David gathered to himself all the men who were still loyal and fled Jerusalem, the Holy City of Zion and the dwelling place of God’s presence on earth, heading east over the Mount of Olives and 18 miles to the Jordan river. Along the way, David was mocked, cursed, taunted, and tempted to despair by those who believed God had abandoned him. But the company arrived safely at the Jordan River by nightfall where they all rested and prayed that they would live to see the sun rise.

These events (which can be found in 2 Samuel 12-19) in the life of David as he fled from his son Absalom gave birth to the prayer which is Psalm 3.

Overview of Psalm 3

The title given to Psalm 3 is A Psalm of David, regarding the time David fled from his son Absalom. This psalm is what’s known as a lament Psalm, or a prayer for help, and by looking at the first two verses it’s obvious why. David cries out to the Lord saying, “O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, ‘there is no salvation for him in God.’” The situation sounds desperate for David and in fact it was! David’s own son turned almost all of Israel against him, and the king of Israel was forced to run away from the Holy City of Jerusalem.

As he fled Jerusalem fearing for his life, David was spiritually attacked along his road of exile. In 2 Samuel 16 there’s a story of a man named Shimei who cursed and taunted David as they passed by his house. Here’s the account: “6 And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David, and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. 7 And Shimei said as he cursed, ‘Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man! 8 The Lord has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood.’” Shimei and others wanted David to despair and believe that God had forsaken and rejected him as king of Israel. But did David fight back and defend his honor? No, he remained silent.

With the threats to his life by the many rising up against him and by the temptation to despair and believe that God had rejected him, David must have felt completely and utterly alone and that’s the feeing we get in the first two verses of the psalm. But if he did feel alone, he never gave in to the tormenting voice of despair. Instead, David remembered God.

With a son who once loved him now trying to kill him and with people who once claimed loyalty to him now cursing him, David remembers the Lord his God in verse 3: “But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,” David said, “my glory, and the lifter of my head.” David remembers that his protection does not come from armies of men but from the Lord God Almighty. As a soldier takes comfort in a shield that protects him during battle, so does the Psalmist view God as his protection in which he may take comfort. God is also his glory, for God is the one who put David on the throne and gave him authority over the nation.

As the one who established David as king, God is also the lifter of David’s head. The image is of a vassal or servant whose head is bowed before his Lord from whom he is awaiting some form of judgement. It’s a position of lowliness and humility. But if the Lord lifts his servant’s head to meet his gaze, it’s a sign of acceptance so that the servant may be confident in the love of his Lord. David sees himself like that before the Lord and he sees the Lord God as the one who gives him confidence. What a statement of faith for one who was in such a dire situation! Verse 4 continues to demonstrate David’s faith in the Lord.

As David ran away from Jerusalem, the home of the Ark of the Covenant and the dwelling place of God’s presence on earth, he cried out to God and believed that even through he was not in the physical presence of God, God would still hear and answer his prayer. And God did! With His presence manifested on the holy hill of Zion in the city of Jerusalem, God both heard and answered the exiled King’s prayer. What was the answer? Verse 5: David lay down, slept, and woke up again, for the Lord sustained him.

The faith David possessed in God is incredible! Which of us, if we were forced to run for our lives because a huge group of people was out to kill us, would be able to sleep? The fact that David could sleep was a testament to both his faith in God and to God’s faithfulness. David was able to attain some measure of peace in the midst of this national crisis because he remembered the faithfulness of God and chose to trust God completely. Verse 6 is David’s statement of trust and the turning point of the Psalm: “I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.”

From his position of regained confidence, David then calls on the Lord for total deliverance and justice: “Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the cheek; break the teeth of the wicked.” While we might think David’s prayer is harsh, we must remember that the people rebelling and seeking to kill King David were not first sinning against David but against God. David was God’s anointed king and therefore the direct representative of God to the people of Israel and the world. David’s prayer for God to strike the cheek (or to humiliate) and to break the teeth (or to remove the strength) of the wicked is a prayer that there would be victory over those who directly oppose God.

The Psalm concludes with an expression of trust: David declared his belief that the Lord alone brings and will bring about his salvation despite the opposite being said by his enemies in verses 1-2. David would not despair but by remembering God’s faithfulness, he would continue to have faith in God.

The Greater Story Behind Psalm 3

This is such a powerful Psalm that models for the Christian genuine faith in dire straits. But this Psalm and the story attached to it reminds me of another story.

The long-awaited King finally came to His people to save them from their greatest enemy. He was working to establish His kingdom and turn it into a place of peace and prosperity when a rebellion began. The King’s own people rose up and turned against Him. He was forcibly removed from His place of authority with the attempt to eliminate any influence He might have. On His road to exile, He was unjustly mocked and cursed and tempted to despair of all hope, and yet he did nothing to defend himself.

But this King remembered God’s faithfulness and called to mind all the times God had protected Him. The King was confident in God and trusted God to answer His prayers even if He only heard silence. By the hands of the rebels, the King was murdered and laid to sleep in a sealed grave, but on the third day, He woke up again because the Lord had sustained Him! After overcoming death, nothing more could ever come against the risen King! He struck down death and broke its bonds and has single handedly brought salvation for all those who would follow Him and worship Him as King.

This King, of course, is Jesus, the Son of God made flesh. Salvation belongs to the Lord Jesus and His blessing falls upon those who believe in Him by faith!

The Greater Salvation in Psalm 3

In King David’s life, Psalm 3 is an expression of trust in God to save him from his physical enemies, but when I look at Psalm 3 through the lens of Jesus, it becomes clear that this psalm describes so much more

It’s unlikely that American Christians will ever face hordes of people literally running after us with the intent to kill us, but we certainly face spiritual opposition from without and within. The messages and pressures of the world work against the follower of Jesus and often feel oppressive. The Christian feels pressured to give up godly convictions and live a worldly life. We are made to feel inferior and ridiculous if we don’t watch the popular TV show or buy into the newest craze or accept popular beliefs.

Yet even more than the outside oppression of the world, I think I deal most often with the internal oppression of my own sinfulness. I can say with certainty that my greatest foe is my own sinful flesh for it’s within my own soul that the battles rage day and night. I could easy say, “O Lord, how many are my sinful desires! Many are rising up within me; my sin is saying of my soul, ‘There is no salvation for him in God.’” Isn’t that exactly what the struggle against sin is like? Does not our sinfulness work overtime to convince us that we are worthless and beyond hope and unable to be truly loved by God? When this happens, we must remember the faithfulness of God or else we will fall into despair.

God physically protected David and kept him from harm and God often does the same with us too. Looking back at my life, I can see many instances of crisis that were avoided because of God’s grace. Are there any instances of God’s protection you can think of in your life? I imagine every follower of Jesus could find ways they have been protected by God.

But even beyond physical things, God also protects us spiritually. The Spirit of God dwells within the Christian and spiritually protects, comforts, instructs, and guides. He protects us from spiritual forces that may come against us just as much as He protects us from our own sinfulness at times, preventing us from giving ourselves completely over to our selfish desires and lusts. For years pornography was a struggle for me. I was hooked by sixth grade and fought and struggled for years. Yet God continued to shield me from what could have and perhaps should have been the full consequences of my actions. He never let me give him up and always convicted me and brought me back. Each time I came to Him in tears, He lifted my head and looked at me with love and forgave me. He was and still is my confidence, and whenever we cry out to God, no matter where we are and no matter the circumstances, He hears us and answers us from His throne od Grace. Truth is, God never abandons His children and so regardless of what we might think or feel or be told, God will not leave those who walk by faith in His Son, Jesus. He is faithful.

A way God demonstrates his faithfulness is by the ordinary things of life, like laying down and then waking up in the morning. For David this was a serious blessing because he could have been killed in his sleep. But God’s daily mercies like waking up, having food, paying a bill, having clothes…these are all examples of His faithfulness that we can safely invest in with guaranteed returns.

Like David, we must recognize and remember God’s faithfulness, especially His faithfulness through Jesus to save us from the consequences of our sin. When we take time to do this in the midst of our trials and temptations, our faith will be strengthened and we will be able to say like David, “I will not be afraid.”

Jesus is faithful to save those who cry out to Him for salvation from sin and He will give the strength needed to resist the devil and flee from the temptation to sin. Turning to God in times of temptation is like a punch in the face to our sinful flesh; Its teeth are broken thereby removing the power of its hold on us and we are freed! When the oppression of sin has ceased for the time being, we should always praise God who was faithful to shield us, be our confidence, and hear and answer our prayers.

And through Jesus, not only do we have the hope of salvation from the moments of temptation throughout the day, but we have hope of a permanent and complete separation from our sin! Jesus promised that He would return and when He does, all Christians will be changed in an instant and purified, and the stain of sin will be washed from us forever! No more fear, no more pain, no more worry, no more death! All that will remain is perfect fellowship with the Lord our God.

Conclusion

So, what’s the point through all of this? REMEMBER! Strength of faith came to the psalmist when he remembered the faithfulness of the Lord. To find that same strength of faith to endure through any and every difficulty, the Christian MUST REMEMBER the faithfulness of God through Jesus in our lives and respond to God’s faithfulness with trust. Salvation belongs to the Lord our God and blessing to those who trust Him.

Application/Meditation Questions:

1. Who or what do you see as your greatest foes? Have you ever experienced salvation from your greatest foes? What did that salvation look like?

2. How have you experienced God’s protection over you in your life?

3. Can you honestly claim that you gain confidence from God? Why or why not?

4. List the ways you see God’s faithfulness in your ordinary day to day lives.

5. Take some time to think about the salvation provided to you by God. What kind of salvation is it? How is it attained? What Bible verses would you use to tell someone else about the salvation God offers to them?

6. Commit to praising God this week for His great faithfulness and salvation!