Psalm 3

Introduction

Let me begin by asking you a question. Suppose you’re, in your later years, an old man about my age, and though you don’t realize it, you only have about five years yet to live. And you’ve loved God your whole life, you’ve served Him—not perfectly, none of us do—but your life has been devoted to serving Him, teaching about Him, doing everything in your power to glorify Him.

And you have a beloved son, and as the son grows up and becomes an adult, unbeknownst to you, he begins to use your resources to turn your friends against you. He begins to spread wicked rumors that you are a rascal, you are a villain, and that not only should you be driven out of town literally, but you should be put to death.

This is your son now we’re talking about. What do you do? What would you do?

And maybe some of you recognize the scenario that I’ve just described, because it comes from the life of David in his later years. And the son we’re speaking of, of course, is his beloved son, Absalom. You can read the story in 2 Samuel chapters 15, 16, 17, 18, right through there in that section.

It’s a horrible story. It’s a tragic, heartbreaking story. David was literally run out of Jerusalem. He had to flee for his life. And as he’s leaving his beloved city, there are some who throw rocks at him, who curse him, who call him a “son of Belial,” which we’ve spoken about before. It’s just horrible what’s going on.

So instead of asking, “What would you do?”, let’s ask the question: What did David do in this circumstance? And the answer is found in Psalm 3.

So if you take a look at Psalm 3, it says:

“A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.” (Psalm 3:1)

So what did David do? He wrote a psalm. He writes a psalm.

Truth as the Weapon in Spiritual Battle

The rest of us would be wanting to call the police. We’d be wanting to call our friends to correct all the misunderstandings and the rumors that have been running rampant. We would want to do everything in our power to fix the situation.

But what does David do? He writes a psalm.

One of the things I want us all to realize as we study the book of Psalms is that these are 150 psalms, 150 statements of truth. And the way you fight lies, the way you fight wickedness, and the way you do spiritual battle—and this was a spiritual battle that David was in—is always with the weapon of truth. The sword of the Spirit is the word of truth. (cf. Ephesians 6:17)

And so David would address situations by truth.

If we can do what David did, we will come to a very difficult time in our lives—and we will all have them—and we will sit down and focus on: What is truth? What is reality? If we can set emotions and fear aside for a moment, if we can set aside the current events and the situation as it appears to our eyes, and rehearse what truth is, we will conquer fear, and we can win the battle.

Psalm 3 has a lot of information for us that will help us in this struggle we constantly find ourselves in, where we are doing spiritual warfare.

From Nations Raging to Household Rebellion – Psalms 2 & 3

In the last psalm, Psalm 2, it begins with:

“Why do the nations rage and the peoples meditate emptiness? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against Adonai and against His Messiah.” (Psalm 2:1–2)

It goes on about how the nations are in uproar.

But here in chapter 3, it’s not the nations; it’s David’s own household.

There’s this statement in the Talmud, Tractate Berakhot 7b:

“A rebellious child in the home is worse than the battle of Gog and Magog.”

And this statement in the Talmud is made on Psalms 2 and 3, because they see Psalm 2 as being prophetic about the war of Gog and Magog. Yet in chapter 3, we see David doing warfare in his own home—spiritual warfare. He never lifted a finger against Absalom. But God dealt with Absalom, because I believe, of David’s faithfulness and David’s loyalty to the truth.

“How Many Are My Foes?” – Tzar and Yeshua – Psalm 3:1–2

So let’s continue reading:

“Adonai, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, ‘There is no salvation for him in God.’ Selah.” (Psalm 3:1–2)

Let’s start with the word “foes.” I’m going to introduce you to four Hebrew words in this psalm—four Hebrew words that are used more in the book of Psalms than in any other book of the Bible.

The first one is the word here translated “foes.” It comes from the singular word tzar (צַר). Tzar really means something that is in a very tight and restricted place—something that’s very hard. When we use that expression “between a rock and a hard place,” think tzar. It’s very similar to the word tzur (צוּר), which is a word for “rock.”

In fact, if you recall the story of Moses when he was heading back to Egypt, his wife Zipporah was with him and his two sons. Along the way, Zipporah circumcised their son. It says she took out a flint knife, and the word used there is this word tzar—something hard.

So some translations put “foes,” some will put “tormentors.” They’ll render this different ways. But all of them can be summed up in this:

They put you in a very tight and hard and difficult, almost impossible, position.

When you find yourself in that position, that’s the word tzar.

That word is used more in the book of Psalms than in any other book of the Bible. In fact, it’s found 33 times in the book of Psalms, so we’ll be revisiting this word many times as we make our way through our studies.

So he says, “How many are my tzarim—my foes, my tormentors, those things that are making life so hard for me. Many are rising against me. Many are saying of my soul, my nefesh, ‘There is no salvation for him in God.’”

That word for “salvation” is the word yeshuah (יְשׁוּעָה). And yes, it’s like the name Yeshua, our Messiah. Now, Yeshua’s name does not have the heh on the end; it’s just Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ), and that’s the name. But when it’s used as a noun—“rescue” or “salvation”—it has the letter heh on the end, but it means exactly the same thing.

We read in the Gospels that before Mary gave birth to Yeshua, an angel appeared to Joseph and says:

“You shall call His name Yeshua, because He will yoshia His people from their sins.” (cf. Matthew 1:21 – Hebrew sense)

So the very name Yeshua, “Jesus,” means “salvation” or “rescue.”

This word is found 45 times in the book of Psalms; it’s found in three places in this psalm alone. I just counted the number of times it’s used as a noun—I didn’t even count up the times it’s used as a verb. But rest assured, it’s used more in the book of Psalms than any other place, because in so many of David’s circumstances, he’s calling out to God for His yeshuah—for His salvation, His rescue.

“Selah” – A Mysterious Musical Notation

Verse 2 ends with the word selah (סֶלָה). We don’t know what this word means. There’s a homophone of this word, spelled differently but pronounced the same, which means “to make light of.” And there have been some suggestions by the rabbis that it is a word that can mean “eternal.”

But in the Psalms, we don’t know exactly what it means. It could mean “you pause here.” It could mean “repeat.” It could mean “this is where you insert the guitar solo.” We don’t know.

Personally, when I read a psalm aloud in a group, I don’t read the word selah, since we don’t know what it’s used for or what it means. But it’s some kind of instruction to people when they’re singing the psalm, as to what they’re to do.

This word also is found more often in Psalms than in any other book. It’s found 75 times in the Bible—71 of those times are right here in the book of Psalms. It’s also found one time over in the book of Lamentations and three times in the book of Habakkuk. But all the rest are here in the Psalms.

So it’s some kind of musical notation that has to do with singing in some way. The argument goes on about what it really means, but we don’t know. If I find out, I’ll tell you.

The first two verses form the opening section, describing David’s present circumstance—the pain and the difficulty he’s in at the moment. And that’s possibly why the word selah is used there.

“You, Adonai, Are a Shield About Me” – Magen David – Psalm 3:3–4

In verse 3, the tone changes:

“But You, Adonai, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to Adonai, and He answered me from His holy hill.” (Psalm 3:3–4)

“God’s a shield about him. God is his glory and the One who lifts his head. 

I cried aloud to Adonai, and He answered me from His holy hill.” (Psalm 3:3–4)

That word “shield” is the word magen (מָגֵן).

Again, it’s used more in the book of Psalms than in any other book. It’s used 19 times in Psalms.

In Hebrew, the Star of David is called the Magen David (מָגֵן דָּוִד)—the shield of David. So when you hear of Magen David, I know there’s a kosher wine called “Mogen David,” but Magen David is referring to the Star of David, the six-pointed star.

No one knows exactly where this symbol comes from. There are many theories about it. One of the things I find interesting is that if you count the small triangles around the outside, there are six small triangles with a large area in the middle. Some suggest this is a picture of the six days of work that sit around the Sabbath, which is in the middle.

It’s also a picture of two triangles. One triangle is pointing upward; the other triangle is pointing downward. The upward-pointing triangle would be us. The downward-pointing triangle would be God. And we are superimposed upon each other. As we seek Him and draw near to Him, He draws near to us. And what’s the result? A star—a source of light in the dark world.

There are many insights and ideas around this unique symbol. Some people want to say, “Oh, it’s an occult symbol; we shouldn’t use it.” Maybe it was. But you have to remember that if it ever was an occult symbol used by the enemy, where did the enemy get it? The enemy is a thief, and everything he has, he stole from us. He stole from God. And according to the Torah, a thief always must pay back at least double what he takes.

So I’m tired of allowing myself to be robbed by the enemy. And so if this was an occult symbol, I simply don’t care—I’m taking it back. And I’m going to use it so that when we see this, we don’t think of something occultish or satanic. I think of the Jewish people. I think of the shield of David. I think of the light in the dark world. I think of the six days of work and the day of rest around which they center themselves.

So I encourage you: don’t be a victim of “pagan-noya” and allow the enemy to rob you of everything. Give things new meanings and redeem them back and use them for God’s glory.

Real Faith: “I Lay Down and Slept” – Psalm 3:5–6

Now, if I was in David’s circumstances, I’d be pacing the floor at night. I’d be trying to sleep and not being able to rest and relax. But what does David do in verse 5?

“I lay down and slept; I woke again, for Adonai sustained me.” (Psalm 3:5)

In other words, “My son who’s wanting to kill me, he didn’t get me. None of his friends came in and attacked me and took my life in the night. I lay down and slept, and I woke up. God protected me.”

This is real faith.

This took place later in David’s life. We think he was about 65 years old, and we know he died around the age of 70. So he had walked with God for quite a while. His faith in God was great, and so he could sleep at night even when these horrible, horrible things were happening to him.

This reminds me of Peter over in Acts 12. Peter has been chained up in prison, and he probably expects to be executed the next day. You can read about it in Acts 12:6–7:

“Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And the chains fell off his hands.” (Acts 12:6–7)

So even Peter, when faced with pretty certain death in the morning, could sleep, because his faith was in God. He rested in his Protector, his Shield.

David then says:

“I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.” (Psalm 3:6)

He does not say that he was not afraid; he says, “I will not be afraid.” This is a choice of courage.

Fear Is Illegal for the Believer

One of the things I find most concerning in these days is the lack of courage in people, especially in people who call themselves people of faith, who are believers. We should be fearless.

As George MacDonald wrote:

“Fear is illegal for the believer.”

If you’re a believer, you don’t fear. If you’re fearing, you’re not believing, because faith and fear cannot dwell in the same place.

The only thing we are ever to fear is God Himself. That’s a holy, loving fear. But when we give our fear to anything else other than God, we’re giving something to others that belongs only to Him. We’re robbing God of what belongs to Him and giving it to something else—and in that case saying that thing is “god” more than God is, because I fear it more than Him.

Our faith in God should be so strong that He is the only One to whom we ever give fear. And it’s not necessarily a fear where we’re shaking in our boots, but it’s an awe. It’s a love and respect such that our only concern is that we would ever disappoint His great loving Father’s heart.

So let’s not give to other things what belongs only to God. Let’s fear Him and Him alone. And if we fear God, we don’t need to fear anything else, because He’s the One with whom we have to do. He’s the One who runs the world. He is our Master and He is our King. Nothing else is.

“I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.” (Psalm 3:6)

I suggest that in the margins of your Bibles you put “Psalm 91” next to this verse—a wonderful psalm that is worth memorizing and that is to be read whenever you’re tempted to be afraid.

“Arise, Adonai, Save Me” – Breaking the Teeth of the Wicked – Psalm 3:7–8

The last two verses form the final section. It’s David’s prayer of truth:

“Arise, Adonai! Save me, O my God! For You strike all my enemies on the cheek; You break the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to Adonai; Your blessing be on Your people. Selah.” (Psalm 3:7–8)

“Save me” is hoshi’eini / yeshani—that yeshuah word again, but in a verb form: save me, rescue me, O my God.

“For You strike all my enemies on the cheek; You break the teeth of the wicked.” That sounds pretty violent, but it’s a poetic expression of two things:

• “You strike my enemies on the cheek” – that means they can’t talk anymore.
• “You break the teeth of the wicked” – that means they can’t bite anymore.

There are only two ways an enemy can affect us: through their talk, where they destroy our character; and through physical pain, physical hardships they bring us, like biting, causing physical harm. Speech and physical harm—how else can anyone hurt us?

But God “strikes them on the cheek”—now they can’t talk. He “breaks out their teeth”—now they can’t bite. God can deal with our enemies.

So we should cry out to Adonai instead of crying at the enemies, or just crying in self-pity. Cry out to God—and I mean literally cry out to Him.

I’m going to suggest an exercise to you that I have found works so well. I learned it from a rabbi, and whenever I do this, God rises up and helps. It’s a way of crying out to God silently, because sometimes you’re in a place where raising your voice would be alarming and would not be appropriate.

But inside, in the silence of your own soul, you can cry out to God. You can scream out to Him and truly do this internally. And when you cry out to Him, “God, help me!”, you’d be amazed at what happens.

Then we come to our final line:

“Salvation belongs to Adonai; Your blessing be on Your people. Selah.” (Psalm 3:8)

We look to so many things for our rescue. But there’s only one thing—one Person—we really need to look to, and that is our Lord and our Master. Yeshuah—salvation—belongs to Adonai.

“Your blessing be on Your people.” And then it ends with a final Selah.

Blessing vs. Contentment

When we started our psalm studies in Psalm 1, it opens with:

“Ashrei ha’ish” – “Contented is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scorner.” (Psalm 1:1)

Ashrei means “contented,” not “blessed.” But here, in Psalm 3:8, the word is berachah, “blessing.”

What is the difference between blessing and contentment?

• Blessing is God’s choice. It’s His option.
• Contentment is ours.

God can bless. But contentment is something we choose. It’s something that we take steps to be.

So, I want God’s blessing in my life, and that’s His to give. And He does, in so many ways. But contentment is something I must choose.

When we get to the end of this psalm, it would appear that David is choosing contentment when everything around him is in chaos and turmoil.

Mizmor – Writing a Song in the Midst of Chaos

I want to finish this psalm with the first word. The first word of the psalm at the top says, “A psalm of David.” We learned that the general word for Psalms is Tehillim (תְּהִלִּים). And so this series is called Tehillim Talks—“Psalms Talks.”

But tehillim is not the word used here. The word for “psalm” used here is mizmor (מִזְמוֹר), which comes from the word zemer (זֶמֶר)—a song.

This psalm is a song that David wrote.

When you expect him to be crying, filled with self-pity, filled with fear, filled with turmoil, what does he do?

He writes a song.

Because David had walked with God long enough to know that amidst the sorrows of this life and the unfairness and the persecutions and the tzarim—the attackers and the hard things people bring against us—he knows that even the most beautiful songs have some minor keys, some sad chords, but there’s still a song.

If we can just expand our perspective, instead of getting tunnel vision caused by fear and concern, step back, stretch out the perspective, and begin to realize that God controls the world and everything happens within His will, we can not only be blessed—we can experience contentment; we can write a song in the midst of chaos.

Remember, these 150 psalms are 150 portraits of truth, statements of truth, weapons of truth. And truth is our weapon against whatever comes against us. So let’s learn how to use it.

Thank you for watching this teaching. I look forward to meeting you back again as we look at Psalm 4.

Shalom.

Links
Read Psalm 3, 1, & 91