“I Am Not Afraid:” Psalms 3

Psalm 3

A psalm of David, regarding the time David fled from his son Absalom.

¹ O LORD, I have so many enemies;
      so many are against me.
² So many are saying,
      “God will never rescue him!”
                         Interlude^[a]

³ But you, O LORD, are a shield around me;
      you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.
⁴ I cried out to the LORD,
      and he answered me from his holy mountain.
                         Interlude

⁵ I lay down and slept,
      yet I woke up in safety,
      for the LORD was watching over me.
⁶ I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies
      who surround me on every side.

⁷ Arise, O LORD!
      Rescue me, my God!
   Slap all my enemies in the face!
      Shatter the teeth of the wicked!
⁸ Victory comes from you, O LORD.
      May you bless your people.
⁸ Victory comes from you, O LORD.

                         Interlude

Footnotes:

Psalm 3:2 Hebrew Selah. The meaning of this word is uncertain, though it is probably a musical or literary term. It is rendered Interlude throughout the Psalms.

Without question, the truth of this Psalm must become foremost in our thinking, and living. There is an apple-crisp awareness that David has, he grips the facts, “I’m hated, and very many people struggle to resist me.” We just might relate. We understand at certain times of being snubbed and isolated and ignored. David was being pushed out of what was his rightful place.

At the end though, the God of David does triumph. And since David trails so close behind, he too will understand victory. But none of this is easy, it certainly is not a “given.” David has to work through this “patch” of awful darkness, in order to get into the light.

Commentary

V. 1, remember this, King David is being truly persecuted, and he isn’t paranoid. He understands being ostracized, and mocked as he walked down the street. There is as well, an idea of being hated by a whole lot of people. The word “many” is mentioned 3x in two verses. David is realizing the scope of all that he must endure. The slander, and mockery are intense. He seems to have become the ‘Richard Nixon’ of 1000 B.C.

V. 2, The people felt that David was beyond salvation. That he had simply sinned too much, and Absalom’s rebellion was just a reaping of what David had sown. He didn’t belong anymore in the “covenant of faith.” He was outside God’s love. This what the majority of people thought.

V. 3, 4, Pressed to the wall by this deep resentment, David makes his faith known. He declares that it is God who protects him, like a “shield.” He also pronounces that God is responsive to him; that God listens, and reacts to him. It seems that King David, who is mocked and villified by everyone, still has God’s ear!

V. 5, 6 There is peace, something special which is working through David’s life. This example of “sleeping” while people (10,000 enemies) encircle him is remarkable. Many of us would lose sleep if just one person is offended by us. But the masses David faced could have incapacitated him.

“I am not afraid.” This is an incredible declaration in the light of so much intense hatred. It is something bold, and confident, and perhaps a tad outrageous. But that is what grace is like to a watching world.

V. 7, 8, I suppose that this is a desire for justice. We agree that there is a right and a wrong. When we are “sinned against” we deep down want things to be restored. No one wants to live being hated and mocked. There is a profound sense, (it’s deep down ) and something innate. On several occasions I have experienced unjust situations, and am very much bothered to this day by those issues that have not been resolved.