Arise and Deliver

Lord, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.^”

But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
I call out to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.

I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.

Arise, Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.

From the Lord comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.

Psalm 3:1-8

This story of David’s heartbreaking conflict with his son is told in 2 Samuel 3, 13-19, I Kings 1-2, and I Chronicles 3:2. It is a sordid, terrible story of family abuse; violence between siblings that led to Absalom’s challenge for his father’s throne. The young man actually attracted a following for his rebellion, and caused David great anguish, even to the point of fleeing Jerusalem, to escape the murderous rage of his son. This grievous distress was one of several visited upon David’s household as a result of his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband. God’s prophet Nathan pronounced David’s punishment in 2 Samuel 12:11-12. The consequences of a believer’s sin can seem almost unbearable, but David escaped the sin unto death (2 Samuel 12:13) by finally confessing his transgression. I John 1: 9 had not yet been written, but it was always a principle with any believer in God. In verse 14 the reason for such severe discipline was clearly stated: “because you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme..” What a nightmare.

Even in the midst of this horrendous conflict, which David had brought upon himself by his selfish behavior, he never lost his faith in the perfect provision of God. That is the characteristic of a true believer. We are not perfect people, but we know a perfect Lord, and we know He loves us in spite of our failures and stupidity. He loves us. He cares for our needs. He provides for us in all circumstances, even while we are under his chastisement. Like a spanked child longs for his mother’s comfort, we long to be comforted and assured by our Lord, even in the midst of our discipline. This Psalm is David’s expression of that familial relationship with the God of all comfort.

David’s enemies abound, but he trusts in the shield of the Lord around him. He calls on the Lord, and receives the assurance he needs in this distress. Even in the midst of military conflict, David can lie down and rest, knowing the Lord will sustain him while he sleeps. The Lord will deliver His Own. God’s people are continually blessed.

This Psalm, and 4,5,6 and 7 are prayers of trust in God for strength, support and comfort in tribulation. There is a prophetic application to the remnant of Israel as they will await the Lord’s deliverance during the Great Tribulation, when they are being oppressed almost to the point of annihilation. Satan has always pursued the destruction of Israel, because they are God’s chosen people, and God intends to fulfill all His promises to them. They are not forgotten. Not by God, and not by Satan. As the end of this earth draws nigh, that small remnant of believing Jews will be awaiting the return of their Messiah, while the Satanic raging nations will be closing in to finish them off.

In these sorrowful, yet hopeful prayers of David, he represents Israel in her persecution by the world. As with David, some of their adversities have been earned by Israel’s arrogant neglect of God’s truth, but that does not change the Lord Who loves them, and Who will, before it’s too late, gather them home.