Psalm 3

A psalm of David, regarding the time David fled from his son Absalom.

1 O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me.

2 So many are saying, “God will never rescue him!”

Interlude

3 But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.

4 I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain.

Interlude

5 I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me.

6 I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies who surround me on every side.

7 Arise, O Lord! Rescue me, my God! Slap all my enemies in the face! Shatter the teeth of the wicked!

8 Victory comes from you, O Lord. May you bless your people. (NLT)

WERE THIS PSALM A MOVIE, the folks who rate films according to their suitability for children would probably give it an R rating for violence and strong language. True, David was under extreme duress when he prayed this; his son Absalom had led a full-scale rebellion, and many were trying to kill him. But still, aren’t some of these words excessively violent for a Christian? Aren’t we called to a higher and gentler standard?

Some modern Christians have even excluded psalms like this from use in lectionaries and prayer books. What are we to make of this? I’ll let one renowned scholar answer for me:

This is unmitigated nonsense. The enemies here are the real enemies, the adversaries of the soul, those hostile forces spoken of in the very first verse of the Book of Psalms…To relinquish any one of the psalms on the excuse that its sentiments are too violent for a Christian is a clear sign that a person has also given up the very battle that a Christian is summoned from his bed to fight. The psalms are prayers for those engaged in an ongoing spiritual conflict. No one else need bother even opening the book.*

The New Testament urges us to see the warfare as spiritual, but that changes nothing about the language and attitudes we should use to pray. Our adversaries may not be “flesh-and-blood enemies,”** but they are enemies nonetheless. These spiritual powers wage war against our very souls***—which Jesus said is a far greater evil than anything mere flesh-and-blood powers can do.

Do you pray fervently for protection for yourself? For your family, for your friends, for the persecuted church?

But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. (3)

Paul said we should put on the whole armor of God to fight this spiritual battle.**** We put it on with prayer, by praying “in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.”***** The spiritual armor we wear to fight the battle is not only a collection of inanimate objects, of “things.” God is our armor. As David puts it here, “But you, O Lord, are a shield around me.” Merely to pray is to be surrounded and protected by God. So remain under his protection—by praying!

I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me. (5)

For centuries the church has recommended praying this prayer in the morning, thanking God for what is easily overlooked by many of us—that when we let go and fell into sleep the night before, God took care of us, even as he ran the universe, watched over little birds, and kept track of the hairs on our heads.****** We have no guarantees that we can fall asleep and wake again, apart from God’s kindness. With this in mind, pray these words when you awake from sleep each morning.

Victory comes from you, O Lord. May you bless your people. (8)

Declare God’s ultimate victory over the things that appear formidable, even overwhelming. You might list concerns that seem insurmountable:

• war and famine across the globe
• poverty and hopelessness
• HIV/AIDS
• estranged couples and wayward children
• depression

Then say after each, “Victory comes from you, O Lord. May you bless your people.”

*Patrick Henry Reardon, Christ in the Psalms (Ben Lomond, CA: Conciliar Press, 2000), 6.

**Ephesians 6:12

***1 Peter 2:11

****Ephesians 6:13-17

*****Ephesians 6:18

******Matthew 10:28-31