Commentary - Psalm 3:1-2

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 3 is a morning psalm, a cry of trust from a man in deep distress. The superscription grounds this prayer in a specific, harrowing moment in David's life: his flight from his own son, Absalom. This was not just a political crisis; it was a profound personal and covenantal agony. The rebellion was not just against the king, but against the Lord's anointed, and it was led by David's own flesh and blood. The psalm moves from a candid assessment of the overwhelming opposition (vv. 1-2) to a declaration of confident faith in God as his shield and savior (vv. 3-4), to a testimony of God-given peace in the midst of the storm (vv. 5-6), and finally to a prayer for deliverance and a blessing upon God's people (vv. 7-8). This is a model for every believer who finds himself surrounded, betrayed, and slandered. The central lesson is that true security is not found in the absence of enemies, but in the presence of God.

The core of the enemy's attack is theological. They do not merely say, "We are many and you are few." They say, "There is no salvation for him in God." This is the ultimate spiritual assault, designed to induce despair. David's response is to look away from the multitude of his adversaries and to look directly to Yahweh. This psalm teaches us that faith is not a denial of reality; it is a reinterpretation of reality in the light of God's character and promises. The chaos is real, but God is more real.

Outline

Context In The Psalter

Psalm 3 is the first psalm with a historical superscription, immediately rooting the prayer book of Israel in the gritty realities of life. It follows the first two psalms, which serve as a thematic gateway to the entire Psalter. Psalm 1 establishes the two ways: the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. Psalm 2 establishes the cosmic conflict between the rebellious kings of the earth and Yahweh's anointed Son. Now, Psalm 3 presents us with a concrete example of this conflict. David, the Lord's anointed, is walking the path of the righteous man, yet he is besieged by the wicked. He is the king from Psalm 2, and the nations raging against him are, in this case, his own people led by his own son. This psalm therefore demonstrates how the righteous man lives by faith when the rebellion of Psalm 2 erupts in his own house.

Key Issues

A Son's Rebellion, A Father's Faith

The title of this psalm is essential: "A Psalm of David. When he fled from Absalom his son." This isn't abstract poetry; it's battlefield theology. Absalom, David's handsome and treacherous son, had stolen the hearts of the men of Israel and staged a coup. David, the mighty king, was forced to flee Jerusalem with a small band of loyal men, weeping as he went. But we must remember that this crisis did not spring from a vacuum. Years earlier, David had sinned grievously with Bathsheba and had arranged the murder of her husband, Uriah. Though God forgave David upon his repentance, the prophet Nathan had declared that the sword would never depart from his house (2 Sam. 12:10). Absalom's rebellion was the bitter fruit of that long-ago sin. David is not simply the victim of a political plot; he is a forgiven sinner living with the painful, real-world consequences of his past actions. This adds a layer of poignancy to his cry. He knows, on some level, that he brought this on himself. And yet, his past sin does not prevent him from crying out to God for present deliverance. This is a profound comfort for us. Our troubles may well be entangled with our own foolishness, but the throne of grace is never closed to us.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 O Yahweh, how my adversaries have become many! Many are rising up against me.

David begins with a raw, honest cry to God. He doesn't minimize the problem. He doesn't pretend the situation is better than it is. He looks the threat squarely in the face and reports it to his commander-in-chief. "O Yahweh..." He starts where every prayer must start, by addressing the covenant God by His personal name. Then he lays out the facts: the opposition is vast and growing. The word "many" is repeated for emphasis. This was not a small faction; it was a national uprising. The night David fled Jerusalem, he had about six hundred men with him. Ahithophel, his former counselor, advised Absalom to take twelve thousand men to pursue and crush him immediately (2 Sam. 17:1). David was drastically outnumbered. Faith does not require us to deny the numbers. Faith requires us to see the numbers and then to look beyond them to the one who is Lord of hosts.

2 Many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah.

Here David identifies the heart of the attack. It is not primarily military but spiritual. His enemies are not just attacking his body or his throne; they are attacking his soul. They are trying to sever his lifeline to God. Their taunt is the essence of satanic warfare: "God has abandoned you. Your sin has finally caught up with you. There is no help, no deliverance, no salvation for you in your God." They were likely pointing to his past sins, to his present humiliation, and concluding that God's favor had clearly been withdrawn. This is the most potent poison there is, the temptation to despair. It is one thing to have men against you; it is another thing entirely to believe that God is also against you. This is the lie the serpent has been whispering since the garden: "Has God really said...?"

And then we have that word, Selah. While its precise meaning is debated, it almost certainly functions as a musical or liturgical instruction. It calls for a pause, an interlude. It tells the singers and the congregation to stop and think about what has just been said. Ponder this. Let the weight of it sink in. The king is on the run, his son wants him dead, and the entire nation is shouting that his God has forsaken him. Pause. Feel the desperation. This is not a small thing. By marking this moment, the psalm invites us to enter into David's crisis, to feel the sting of the accusation, so that the declaration of faith that follows will land with its full, triumphant force.

Application

Every Christian will, at some point, find themselves in the emotional and spiritual territory of Psalm 3:1-2. You will face circumstances where the opposition seems overwhelming, where the numbers are not on your side. The adversaries may be external, people at work or even in your family who oppose your faith. Or the adversaries may be internal: besetting sins, fears, doubts, and anxieties that rise up against you. But the sharpest point of the spear will always be the one David felt here. The ultimate attack is the lie that says, "There is no salvation for you in God."

When that voice comes, you must do what David did. You must name the lie and drag it before the throne of God. The enemies of your soul want to isolate you, to convince you that you are uniquely disqualified from God's help. They want you to look at your circumstances, at your past sins, at your present weakness, and conclude that the case is hopeless. The gospel is the definitive answer to this lie. Our salvation was never located "in us" to begin with. Our salvation is "in God." It is in Christ. The accusation that there is no salvation for us in God is a slander against the finished work of Jesus. He is our salvation. So when the many voices rise up, we must learn to pause, take a breath (Selah), and then answer them not with an argument from our own virtues, but with a declaration of who God is. David is about to do this in the next verse, and we must learn to follow him.