Psalms 3

Psalms 3:1-8

Morning and Evening Prayers Psalms 3:1-8; Psalms 4:1-8 These psalms probably date from David’ s flight before Absalom, 2 Samuel 16:1-23. It is the perfection of trust to be able to sleep when our foes are many and set upon our destruction. So Jesus slept, Mark 4:38; and Peter, Acts 12:6. Be sure that you are where God would have you to be, and then resign yourself to His loving care. Even though pursued by the results of your sins, you will find that God will save you, on condition of your being contrite. Let us begin the day and close it with thanksgivings and prayers. Godly means having the power to love. Dost thou love God and His saints? Then know that He has set thee apart-that is, separated thee-for Himself. Seek His will alone. Be content to let the world go by. Thou hast no need to envy the prosperous worldling. God suffices for heaven; why not for earth?

I will not be afraid! Psalms 3:1-2 An enumeration of trouble. Though God knows all, it relieves the over-charged heart to make a full statement of anxieties and troubles. His foes were many. They quoted his sin as a reason for supposing that God had withdrawn his aid (2 Samuel 16:7-8). The word help is salvation; but salvation belongeth unto God (Psalms 3:8; Psalms 35:3).

Psalms 3:3-4 An expression of unfaltering trust. God our shield (Genesis 15:1) is for i.e., around us. Would that we found our glory in Him only (Jeremiah 9:23-24). It is a good thing to use the voice in prayer, as our Lord did. Words keep the heart awake (Hebrews 5:7). David looked to God as dwelling between the cherubim of the ark, the symbol of propitiation. He approached Him as sinners must do through the Lamb of God.

Psalms 3:5-6 An acknowledgment of mercy.It is the perfection of trust to be able to sleep under such circumstances without fear. But it is gloriously possible. So Jesus slept (Mark 4:38), and Peter (Acts 12:6). Let us be sure that we are where God would have us to be: then let us resign ourselves to his care. Though pursued by the results of our sins, we shall find that He will save us in them, if not from them.

Psalms 3:7-8 An urgent entreaty.For the third time the idea of salvation is introduced. The writer’s foes are looked upon as wild beasts, who, when their jawbone is broken and their teeth dashed out, are powerless to hurt. David speaks as if he felt that this work were already done and his foes’ rage futile. He turns from them to his people, led wrong by wily conspirators, and pleads that God’s best blessings may rest on them. So our Lord intercedes for us.