A PSALM OF DAVID, WHEN HE FLED FROM ABSALOM HIS SON.

Absalom was David’s third son. His second son, Chileab, is never mentioned after reference to his birth, and the assumption is that he died early on. David’s firstborn son was Amnon. The story of how Amnon died is a sordid one.

Amnon raped his half-sister, Tamar, and Absalom, Tamar’s brother, swore revenge. It took two years but finally Absalom arranged for Amnon to be killed. Fearing punishment, Absalom went into exile for three years. When he finally returned to Jerusalem, David refused to see him. Two more years passed before David and his son were reunited, although even then they weren’t reconciled.

Absalom’s plot to take the throne from his father probably emerged gradually. He began by currying favor with the people (2 Sam. 15:1–6). He portrayed himself as one who was interested in people by telling them he was far more capable of helping them with their troubles and securing justice for their complaints than was David. According to 2 Samuel 15:6, “Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.”

Once Absalom felt secure in his position, he made his move. He went to Hebron, assembled his followers, and had himself anointed king (2 Sam. 15:7–12). With a considerable army behind him, he marched against his father in Jerusalem and forced David to flee (2 Sam. 15:13–17). Following a shameful period of absence from his throne, the armies of David eventually prevailed. Absalom was killed, contrary to his father’s express wishes, serving only to intensify the latter’s pain.

What an amazing scene: David, driven from his throne, subjected to indescribable humiliation, not by a pagan Gentile king but by his own son! Absalom’s treachery and rebellion must have crushed David’s heart. Here is the important point: it was while David was fleeing the armies of Absalom, broken by the spiteful betrayal of his own child, that he sat down and wrote the words of Psalm 3.

What we need very badly these days is a company of Christians who are prepared to trust God as completely now as they know they must do at the last day. For each of us the time is surely coming when we shall have nothing but God. Health and wealth and friends and hiding places will all be swept away and we shall have only God. To the man of pseudo-faith that is a terrifying thought, but to real faith it is one of the most comforting thoughts the heart can entertain.

Or it could be his way of saying, “I have no glory of my own. I put no trust in my fame or fortune. You alone, O God, are the joy, boast, and glory of my life.”

There was always and only One who was able to restore his strength and straighten his body and give him reason to hold his head high.

When a believer gazes too long at his enemies, the force arrayed against him seems to grow in size until it appears to be overwhelming. But when he turns his thoughts to God, God is seen in his true, great stature, and the enemies shrink to manageable proportions.

This bold summons “arise” is common enough in the psalms (Ps. 7:6; 9:19; 10:12; 17:13; 74:22) and is obviously derived from the old prayer that Moses was wont to use (see Num. 10:35) when the ark of the covenant was taken up to lead the children on Israel on their march to the Land of Promise and against their many foes.

This psalm is pointing forward to a greater king and a greater salvation. This makes all the difference for us as Christians. Psalm 3 strengthens us through the gospel. We look to Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith, and in this psalm we see the pattern of his life. His suffering led to glory because God sustained him.

God may not save you from shame and death like he saved David, but he will save you through shame and death like he saved Christ.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Romans 6:5)

You may be hard-pressed. Your family or close friends may turn against you. You might lose your job. You might lose your life. Your own children may turn against you, steal from you, hurt you. The promise of the gospel is that you will lie down, sleep, and wake up again, for the Lord will sustain you.

[H]e who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us … into his presence.…

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:14, 16–18)

If you believe this, you will be able to sleep in peace. You will be able to face death with confidence, knowing that God will sustain you.

Sometimes our circumstances don’t turn out for the better. But no matter what transpires, of this you may be sure: God is a shield about you. He is your glory. He is the one who will lift your head.