Psalm 3 - A Shield Around Me

We don’t know who wrote all the Psalms, but we know that half of them (73 out of 150) were written by David. The story of David’s life is told in the Old Testament books of 1 and 2 Samuel. It’s an amazing story of ups and downs, success and failure, love and war, times of blessing and moments of judgment. David was a great King and yet at the heart of his story lies a tragic and painful episode where his own son Absalom turned completely against him. Absalom plotted to overthrow his father and steal the throne from him. At one point in the story (1 Samuel 15) David is forced to flee for his life. Isolated in the wilderness David is terrified that his own son will find him and have him killed.

Psalm 3 begins with a title. It is ‘A psalm of David’, and we’re told it was written ‘When he fled from his son Absalom.’ There’s an intensity about this psalm, an urgency. These are not words written in a palace or sitting at a desk. These are words written by somone who literally fears for their life, someone on the run, someone desperate to find somehwere to hide.

David is honest with God, he names the things he’s afraid of. He is specific and tells God how he feels. It’s at this moment in vs 3 that fear gives way to faith. Speaking directly to God David says ‘you, LORD are a shield around me.’ This thought lifts David’s head and encourages him to ask for more help.

When you think of the storm gathering around David it’s amazing how he comes to the words of verse 5: 

‘I will 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.’

Pause for thought: In the wilderness, with many things to fear, David lies down and sleeps well, deeply trusting in his God. Are there things that you fear at this time? You can be honest with God. Picture Him as your shield, your deliverer, the One who answers you with His presence.