Psalm 3

“Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me, ‘There is no help for him in God.’ (Selah) But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head. I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. (Selah) I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; you have broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is up on Your people. (Selah)” Psalm 3:1-8 (NKJV)

I am embarrassed to admit it, but my wife and I used to own a little Chihuahua. She was 50% tremble and 50% rage. The typical Chihuahua is a Pit Bull cursed with a Guinea Pig’s body. A few years ago, we noticed our Chihuahua’s breath was increasingly horrible, so we took it to the veterinarian. Turns out, the dog had severe gum disease that required the vet to pull every tooth from the dog’s mouth! I used to be hesitant to pet the dog for fear of getting bitten. Not after that! The dog could bristle, growl, bark, and bite. It just couldn’t do any damage.

This is like the picture the Lord is painting with David’s psalm. God had broken the teeth of David’s enemies and took the bite right out of them! And He does exactly the same for us through Messiah Jesus.

“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus, Messiah.” 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 (NKJV)

And who were David’s enemies? At the time this psalm was penned, David was pursued by his own son, Absalom (along with the majority of Israel who had previously pursued David under Saul’s reign). Why would a man’s own son seek to kill him? Well, the short version is that God punished David for killing Uriah the Hittite, whose wife, Bathsheba, David, had gotten pregnant. God told David that people from within his own house would rise up against him. So, was that it for David? Was there no forgiveness for him? David was a broken man, and he sought the Lord’s forgiveness. However, he did not want to presume the Lord owed him anything. Consider David’s words as he fled Jerusalem as compared to Psalm 3.

“And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people crossed over. The king himself also crossed over the Brook Kidron, and all the people crossed over toward the way of the wilderness. There was Zadok also, and all the Levites with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar went up until all the people had finished crossing over from the city. Then the king said to Zadok, ‘Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me back and show me both it and His dwelling place. But if He says thus: “I have no delight in you,” here I am, let Him do to me as seems good to Him.’” 2 Samuel 15:23-26 (NKJV)