Salvation belongs to the Lord

Read the text.

Background

The first two psalms were introductory psalms. This 3rd Psalm is a powerful testimony to the reality of God’s saving power. In a way, this can be an introduction to the rest of the Psalms. Unlike the first two psalms, this psalm has a very specific historic context. Its title says that it is a Psalm of David, Slide when he fled from Absalom his son. The context of this psalm is recorded in 2 Samuel 15-18. King David is fleeing from his son Absalom who was rebelling against the throne. He had crowned himself king over Israel and now had men pursuing and trying to kill his father David. This psalm is a confident prayer from David as he was surrounded by many enemies. As they increased and it appeared that he had no hope, David relied on God for his deliverance and protection.

This psalm is traditionally known as a morning psalm. Morning as in morning and evening. Based on the words of verse 5—that David slept and then awoke—it is traditionally believed to refer to the day after David fled from Jerusalem and Absalom claimed the kingship for himself.

This is a lament psalm. Slide. Lament is a major theme in the Bible, especially in the book of Psalms. To lament is to express deep sorrow, grief, or regret. The psalms of lament consist of beautiful poems or hymns that express human struggles. Laments are the largest category of the psalms, making up about one third of the entire book. These psalms are prayers that lay out a troubling situation to the Lord and make a request for His help.

There are two types of lament psalms: community and individual. Community laments usually dealt with issues of a national crisis. These involved battles or the destruction of Jerusalem. Individual laments address various isolated troubles—problems faced by one person.

The lament psalms express intense emotions, real human struggles, and the anguish of heart experienced by the people of Israel as they lived out their faith. The men and women of the Old Testament were as real as we are today. Sometimes we read through the Bible and just picture it as a story of people, but there were real people who went though the same things we go through today. They would rejoice and sing and laugh, they would argue and confess, and they would lament and mourn. They would express their emotions to God in prayer just as we do today.

Let’s Dive Into the Psalm

Psalm 3:1–2 NASB95

O Lord, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me. Many are saying of my soul, “There is no deliverance for him in God.” Selah.

The strange word at the end here, “selah,” is some sort of musical notation. No-one knows for sure what it means, but the best guess is that it calls for a pause. As you read through the psalms, pause and think about what you just read, or how you can relate to the psalm; maybe you have gone through or are going through a similar situation right now. Remember, these are real people just like us.

We see the Hebrew root word (rahb) show up three times in the first two verses; increase and many twice. This is the same root word that God used to command man to “multiply” and fill the earth in Genesis 1:28 and also in God’s promise to Abraham that he would “multiply” his descendants exceedingly in Genesis 17:2.

The problem in this psalm is that the situation is reversed. It is the enemies of God and David who are multiplying. These people involved in his sons’s rebellion are aggressively and actively attacking David and driving him away from the palace into the wilderness and surrounding him.

And they are crying out, “There is no deliverance for him in God.” Deliverance is the Hebrew word “yeshua,” and can also be translated as salvation. The Hebrew word also has the meanings of to help, save, or provide victory. But the root word is “yeshua,” and it means in the context here physical salvation—a means of preserving one from harm or unpleasantness. The adversaries were declaring that God would not rescue David. They were taunting him in the fact that he had no hope of being delivered by God. This arrogant remark was designed to say that God had abandoned David. They probably knew that God had left Saul and are now thinking He has left David. They could be pointing out sins in his life (Bathsheeba).

But let’s look at David’s response.

Psalm 3:3–4 NASB95

But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head. I was crying to the Lord with my voice, And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.

David refers to God as a shield about him. Referring to God as a shield is common throughout the Psalms. Shield is used 22 times referring to God. It represents God providing protection during a time of attack.

Psalm 18:2 NASB95

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 18:30 NASB95

As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

Psalm 144:2 NASB95

My lovingkindness and my fortress, My stronghold and my deliverer, My shield and He in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me.

Psalm 84:11 NASB95

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

David recognizes the danger of his situation. He is aware of all the enemies around him. But he doesn’t focus on his enemies but on God. This is a lesson for us all. Slide. Focus on God, not your circumstances.

Slide. David then mentions “my glory.” Identifying God as “my glory” is a more unusual description than the Lord is my shield. The Hebrew word means literally “heavy” and is often used of a person’s reputation or significance, sometimes being translated as “honor.” David is saying that he has found his own significance coming from his relationship with the Lord and not his own strength. If it was up to his own strength, he is in a lot of trouble here. But he’s relying on God and His significance.

“The One who lifts my head.” When we face daunting situations, our heads can hang. We are gloomy and down-trodden but David says it’s the Lord who lifts my head, He lifts my spirit. It makes me think about the verse the joy of the Lord is my strength. The joy of the Lord gives us the strength to reach out for His love and salvation.

“I was crying to the Lord with my voice, And He answered me from His holy mountain.” The word “answered” expresses the idea of completed action in the Hebrew. It seems to be used here in the sense of confidence that God always answers.

What is His holy mountain? Slide. That would be Zion. This is where God’s earthly throne was, Zion on Jerusalem where the tabernacle was and sacrifices were made and where the temple would be built and God would dwell among His people. That’s where God was and that is where He answered David from.

As I am reading through this psalm, I notice that David has the same attitude and theology of the apostle Paul summarized in Romans 8:31.

Romans 8:31 NASB95

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

Who can be against us if God is for us? Who can defeat and conquer us if God is a shield for us? No one. Period. David knew this and wasn’t afraid. He had confidence in God. How much confidence? Look at this next section!

Psalm 3:5–6 NASB95

I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me round about.

To “lay down” and to “sleep” are poetic and tangible ways to describe David’s state of security. Only a person who feels secure and safe will be able to sleep without troubling thoughts. Since God is known for His sustaining protection, he could relax during these most trying of circumstances.

Has this happened to you? If you’ve had something on your mind and something you’re concerned about, it can be difficult to sleep. The thoughts play over and over again in your head and you can’t stop thinking about them which keeps you awake at night and unable to sleep. David says he has 10,000 men surrounding him. It sure looks like he is in trouble but he was at peace and confident that he would wake up the next morning because he knew the Lord would sustain him. Even though he was surrounded by enemies, his security wasn’t connected to his circumstances. Confidence in God’s protection should not and does not depend on your circumstances. Our focus can’t be on ourselves, other people, or our circumstances. We must always stay focused on God.

I want you to show you how much confidence David had in God. Zadok the priest and all the Levites left the city as well during this rebellion. They came to David carrying the ark of the covenant with them (this is God’s presence among His people). David tells Zadok,

2 Samuel 15:25–26 NASB95

The king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the sight of the Lord, then He will bring me back again and show me both it and His habitation. “But if He should say thus, ‘I have no delight in you,’ behold, here I am, let Him do to me as seems good to Him.”

David insisted that Zadok and the Levites return the ark of God back to Jerusalem. He knew that if it was God’s will for him to return as king he would. He says “if I find favor in the sight of the Lord, He will bring me back again.” He trusted in the sovereignty of God. His fate was in the Lord’s hands.

Psalm 3:7–8 NASB95

Arise, 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. Salvation belongs to the Lord; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.

David is crying out to God here! Arise Lord or rise up! Save me! Defend me from my enemies! The word he uses to refer to God here is Elohim, which means Mighty and Majestic One. So we know that our Mighty God is able to save Him. He is calling and pleading for God to intervene on his behalf.

You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek. Smitten means to make a sharp, physical strike. This was an insult intended to bring them to their senses and place them into submission before God and the rightful king. You have shattered the teeth of the wicked. David is using bold imagery of their destruction. The verbs used in these two lines are expressions of his confidence in God. David was so sure that God would destroy his enemies that he wrote as if it had already happened. David was confident that God would deliver him.

Now on a quick side note, is the way we should respond to our enemies? Should we react the same way as David towards people who afflict us? No. This is not a correct response for a Christian. Jesus said,

Luke 6:35 NASB95

“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

We are to love our enemies, and pray for them, not wish that God will smash their teeth in. By the way, those “ungrateful and evil men” that God is kind to? That’s us! So we shouldn’t react to our enemies the same way David is crying out here.

Slide! Salvation belongs to the Lord! Deliverance comes only from Him! This is a timeless theological truth—only the Lord can be trusted to save His people. God can save you and bring His blessing upon you if you cry out to Him. Pray to God if you’re facing similar circumstances. The salvation here is a broad-sweeping, all inclusive deliverance, whether in the temporal or eternal realm. Cry out to God and He will save you.

How does this point to Jesus?

How does this point to Jesus? Because we know that all of Scripture is about Him.

Remember I told you the Hebrew word for deliverance is Yeshua? Does that sound familiar to you? How about the name of Jesus? Jesus is a form of the Hebrew Joshua, Jeshua, or Jehoshua, all have the basic meaning of “Jehovah (Yahweh) will save.” The angel told Mary in Matthew 1:21,

Matthew 1:21 NASB95

“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

This is a divinely appointed name, Jesus, chosen by God, because He will save His people from their sins. Jesus Himself is the salvation. By His own work He will save His people from their sins.

When we read, salvation belongs to the Lord, it can be included in the moment, but it also was all-encompassing and could include eternal matters. Salvation does belong to Jesus alone. Jesus said,

John 14:6 NASB95

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Jesus is the only way to gain access to God. He is

In verse 4 we read that God answered David. We can be confident that God will answer us if we cry out to Him.

Now this was a lament psalm. Lament means to have deep sorrow, grief, or regret. Have you lamented over your sin? Have you had deep sorrow over the sin in your life? Have you cried out to God for forgiveness for offending Him? Have you experienced intense emotion and aguish of heart experienced?