Today, Friday September 30
“Save Me, O My God”
Psalm 3:1-8
A PSALM OF DAVID, WHEN HE FLED FROM ABSALOM HIS SON.
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 upon Your people. Selah
Today, I trust you will continue to pray with me for the dear people in the state of Florida who have been devastated by the monster hurricane Ian. We should also be praying for those in its path in the Carolinas and Virginia. The title that I have given this Psalm that comes from verse 7, “Arise, O LORD; Save me, O my God!” could have been the prayer many of our dear friends and family prayed in the midst of the storm. I’m sure it is one that all of us have prayed at different challenging and difficult times in our lives.
In preparation for studying this Psalm I would suggest reading 2 Samuel 12 through 18. In these chapters you read the story behind the writing of this prayer of David. Before we start studying the contents of it, today we will share some interesting things about the Psalm itself.
Then this is the first psalm in the Hebrew hymnbook that is actually entitled "a psalm." The Hebrew word is mizmor and means "to pluck strings." This is the first psalm with a historical title: “A Psalm of David "when he fled from Absalom his son." It is certainly unknown who invented or placed them where they are; but it is unquestionable that they have been so placed from time immemorial; they occur in the Septuagint, which contains also in a few instances titles to Psalms that are without any in the Hebrew; and they have been copied after the Septuagint by Jerome. The Septuagint was the earliest extant Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew done by Jewish translators.
Psalm 3 is also the first prayer in the Psalms, and the first psalm attributed to David. The Book of Psalms is divided into five books. All the psalms in Book I (Psalms 1-41) are attributed to David except Psalms 1, 10, and 33. Remember when we studied Psalm 2, that Peter in his message assigned it to David in Acts 4:25.
Psalm 3 is categorized as a "personal lament," and there are many of these in the collection (Psalms 3-7, 13, 17, 22, 25-28, 35, 38-40, 42-43, 51, 54-57, 59, 61, 63-64, 69-71, 86, 88, 102, 109, 120, 130, 140-143).
David wrote the psalm after he had fled Jerusalem when his son Absalom took over the throne (2 Sam. 15-18). The king and his attendants had crossed the Jordan River and camped at Mahanaim.
This is also called a morning psalm based on verse 5. Psalm 4 was written during the same events and is considered an evening psalm (4:8). It's possible that Psalm 5 also fits into the same time period, as well as Pss. 42, 43, 61, 62, 63, 143. (See 5:3, 8-10.)
Trials and sorrows are shared by all godly people, regardless of who they are or in what period of history they live. The comfort given in these psalms is for all of God's children. There are three ways to look at these psalms. The primary interpretation, of course, concerns the personal experience of David. Then there is a direct application to the nation of Israel to the godly remnant in the Great Tribulation. There is also an application to God's people everywhere at any time in the history of the world. If we look at the psalms from this point of view, they will become more meaningful to us.
God bless!