podcast

435_Trusting God’s salvation in distress

Psalm 3 O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah

3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

5 I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.

7 Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.

8 Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people! Selah

Years ago, in the Korean War, a young soldier found himself surrounded by the enemy. His entire unit had been wiped out, and he was the only one left alive. Wounded, cold, and terrified, he crawled into a foxhole and whispered. “God, if you’re real, please help me.” Somehow, coat tightly wrapped around him, he fell asleep, despite the gunfire in the distance. Morning came, and to his shock, he was still alive. The enemy had passed him by in the dark. Later, he would often say, “That night, I knew God was my shield. I should have died—but I slept like a child.”

These words echo the opening verses of Psalm 3. “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.” The psalm dates from the darkest moments in King David’s life—a time of betrayal and humiliation by his own son Absalom, who claimed the throne. Yet it testifies to his trust in God’s salvation in deep distress.

Psalm 3 and 4 are often referred to as the morning and evening psalms. The attempted coup by Absalom was the bitter fruit of David’s earlier sins. Years before, David took Bathsheba to his bed while she was still married to Uriah, one of his greatest soldiers. He fathered a child by her and plotted the death of her husband lest his own sin be discovered. For nearly nine months, David continued as if nothing had happened—until the prophet Nathan confronted him. When Nathan said, “You are the man,” and David realized that God had not overlooked his sin all along, his heart broke in repentance. Ashamed and penitent, he pleads, in Psalm 51, “Create in me a clean heart, O God… restore to me the joy of your salvation.”

Although David was forgiven, Nathan also declared the consequences for the blasphemy he had brought on the Lord’s name, since he was known everywhere to be the Lord’s servant: “The sword shall never depart from your house.” His daughter Tamar was violated by her half-brother and his eldest son, Amnon, who was killed in revenge by Tamar’s brother Absalom. Now Absalom had stolen the hearts of the people and was hunting him down. David fled Jerusalem barefooted and weeping. As he and his loyal men crossed the brook Kidron, a Benjamite named Shimei hurled stones and curses, accusing him of being a man of blood who deserved everything he was getting. David was too crushed to rebuke him, much less order his execution for treason.

This is the setting of Psalm 3. David begins with a sigh, “O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, ‘There is no salvation for him in God.’” This dreadful accusation was worse than the treachery of Absalom or of Ahithophel his trusted counsellor, or even the loss of his throne. He could not blame God for turning his back on him.

But David knows his God, the God of transcendent justice but breathtaking mercy. David lifts his eyes to God. “But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” He doesn’t say, “You were,” or “You might be,” but “You are.” Even as he flees barefoot, even as curses rain down, even as enemies multiply—David knows that God hasn’t changed. God is still his protector. God is still his glory. God is still the one who lifts up the downcast head.

David refused to let go of grace. He did not let guilt suppress his faith. Forgiven, he knew God would also sustain him. He recalls how, in the darkest hour,. “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.” This is the peace that originates in trust in the character of God—not in the absence of danger, but in the presence of a faithful Deliverer. Even so, Peter slept peacefully the day prior to his planned execution by King Herod.

Yet this was no passive trust. David didn’t simply give up and let things happen. He got up the next morning, full of courage, declaring, “I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.” The fear subsided in the presence of his persevering faith. He remembered that God had set His king on Zion, and no rebellion could overthrow God’s promises.

David boldly pleads: “Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.” More than revenge, he pleaded for justice and deliverance, from the LORD whom he trusted, knowing that the battle belongs to the Lord. His firm hope was: “Salvation belongs to the Lord.”

Centuries later, a prophet named Jonah echoed these words in the belly of a fish: “Salvation comes from the Lord.” Jonah was running from God. Yet even there, he knew and trusted God’s salvation. This is the truth: at our weakest, God multiplies his strength. His salvation is not earned by us, nor revoked by our failure. It is His to give, and He delights to give it to those who call on His name.

David’s song ends with a prayer: “Your blessing be on your people!” In his pain, David’s thoughts turned to his people. He was so far from thinking that God had forsaken him, that he even prayed for his people. If his people would always remember that their salvation was of the Lord, this would be their true blessing.

We all go through times when enemies seem many, friends seem few, and even God feels distant. Betrayal may knock the wind out of us. Our past failures may haunt us. But God’s grace is ours if only we believe in his promise. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, if we confess them. His promise is our anchor. And having forgiven us, he has begun a good work in us. He will carry it to completion.

Let our grief not stop with prayers for vindication and justice for ourselves. Let us lift our thoughts to those around us. Let us pray for them to receive the blessing of God. Let us show them and tell them that God is our shield, our glory, our Savior. And he can be theirs as well.

David turned his story of guilt and grief into a psalm of praise. Let us take heart from his example and trust Him. Let us lay down our fears tonight and wake tomorrow, knowing that salvation belongs to the Lord.