Psalm 3: Praying Our Troubles

Context: King David was escaping from the pursuit by Absalom.

2 Samuel 17:1-4 NIV

[1] Ahithophel said to Absalom, "I would choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David. [2] I would attack him while he is weary and weak. I would strike him with terror, and then all the people with him will flee. I would strike down only the king [3] and bring all the people back to you. The death of the man you seek will mean the return of all; all the people will be unharmed." [4] This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the elders of Israel.

The Disdain of the Enemies (vv1-3)

The Dependence on God (vv4-6)

The Deliverance of God (vv7-8)

Verses 1 – 2: DAVID SEES TROUBLE David calls God by the name LORD. David is a friend of God, so he uses a special name, LORD, with 4 capital letters. In Hebrew it is YAHWEH. Absalom and his men call God ELOHIM which we translate God. They do not use the special name. Every day more people followed Absalom. Absalom and his people said, "God will not save David". David was afraid so he prayed for help.

Verses 3 – 4: DAVID LOOKS TO THE LORD Verse 3 tells us that David prayed. He asked the LORD to be a shield over him. David wanted the LORD to hide him from Absalom. David wanted to see the glory of God again. The glory of God is like a light inside God. It shines brighter than the sun! God has this glory because he is holy. David prayed this aloud and the LORD answered him. The holy mountain is Mount Zion, where the Jews thought that God lived. For us it is heaven, God's home. "Lifted up my head" probably means "made me into a king".

This was about 35 years before.

Verses 5 – 8: THE LORD ANSWERS DAVID The LORD answered David when he prayed. The LORD answered by doing something. He did not say anything. The LORD had already hit the enemies of David in the teeth. This is what you would do to a wild animal. It happened when David became king. David wants it to happen again. He also wants good things to happen to all the people of the LORD.