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Articles
Salvation belongs to the Lord
The beauty of the Psalms is conveyed in a variety of manners. The use of Hebrew poetry and its various parallelisms give depth to even the shortest of the Psalms. The imagery and figures that are contained throughout the Psalms paint a picture of salvation, love, security, and great sadness for sin. The Psalms offer to us much more than simple memorization of certain verses, but rather in their application we find the pathway to a stronger and more reliable spiritual life with God. Our knowledge of the Psalms will indeed make us into better Christians suited against the battles of this life.
The Psalmist David wrote many of his psalms in the midst of tremendous trials throughout his life. David wrote one of the greatest individual laments, when he was confronted with the sin he had committed with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12). When a person reads the 51st Psalm, he is moved by David’s devotion to make things right with his God. David serves as a beckon of light in his attitude toward sin and its consequences. David also serves as a tremendous influence for those enduring the trials of this life. One such example is found in the 3rd psalm. David had been driven from Jerusalem by his son, Absalom, and in the midst of those dark days, David called out to his God for deliverance and security.
The Psalm begins with describing the historical rise of David’s adversaries – “O Lord, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me” (Psalm 3:1). Absalom had taken counsel from Hushai concerning the pursuit of David. He instructed Absalom to assemble all the men of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, to march against David and his mighty men (2 Samuel 17:8-12). The number of Israel’s men was said to have been “as the sand that is by the sea in abundance” (2 Samuel 17:12). When David is informed of this coming battle, he goes to his Father in prayer.
David’s faith in the deliverance of God was unwavering. While men were proclaiming, “There is no deliverance for him in God” (Psalm 3:2). David trusted in God! David did not allow the appearance of these adversaries to distract him from faithfully trusting in God. David wrote, “I was crying to the Lord with my voice, and He answered me from His holy mountain” (Psalm 3:4). The Lord heard the cries of His righteous one and immediately went to action on David’s behalf. The calm that must have rushed over David’s heart, when he knew that God was on his side, is directly upheld by David’s restful night of sleep – “I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me” (Psalm 3:5).
Finally, the day of the battle had arrived and David’s mighty men were victorious over the army of Absalom and Hushai (2 Samuel 18:7-8). David’s trust in the Lord’s deliverance was once again proven absolute. As David cried out, “Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God!” (Psalm 3:7a). The Lord heard David’s cry and delivered him. In conclusion, David wrote, “Salvation belongs to the Lord, Your blessing be upon Your people!” (Psalm 3:8).
The example of David contained in this psalm should motivate us to a deeper trust in God’s deliverance. While we may struggle to understand the complexities of our trials and the pain that we must endure at times. May these never distract us from manifesting our total trust in God’s ability to deliver us from the greatest of harms. David’s enemies arose on every side, but this did not deter his devotion to his God. May God bless our efforts to imitate David and his trust in God throughout our lives!
