Psalm 3: Waking Under Siege
Context opens this psalm like a torn curtain: “A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son” (2 Samuel 15–18). Picture the geography: David slipping over the Kidron, climbing the Mount of Olives in the dark, sandals grinding dust, loyalists whispering, the Ark sent back to Zion (2 Samuel 15:25–26). The king lays down in the open with enemies multiplying. That he “slept” is not a trite detail; it is the miracle at the center. Faith, here, is measured not by bravado, but by the ability to close one’s eyes.
Three Selahs: A map of the soul - Verses 1–2: the swelling tide. The Hebrew repeats “many” (rabbim) like drumbeats. A chorus of cynics sneers, “There is no salvation for him in God” (English Standard Version). The assault is theological before it is military. - Verses 3–5: the turning. “But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head” (English Standard Version). “Shield” (magen) is common, but “about me” uses ba‘adi—“around/for me, on my behalf.” A small Iron Age shield protects only the front; David claims a 360-degree God. He prays, sleeps, wakes—miniature resurrection. - Verses 6–8: the rising. He names ten-thousands and does not tremble. He invokes the ancient battle-cry, “Arise, O LORD!” (kumah YHWH; cf. Numbers 10:35). In the wilderness, the Ark rose; now the Ark stays in Zion, yet David still expects God to rise. This is trust purged of props.
Sleeper, Awake: the morning as a small resurrection “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me” (English Standard Version). Early Christians heard here Christ’s passage through death to dawn. Augustine took “the lifter of my head” as the Father raising the Son and the Church lifted in Him. To sleep in danger is not denial; it is a sacrament of dependence, an enacted creed. Every morning re-enacts Easter in miniature: I was kept, therefore I rise.
The jaw and the teeth “Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked” (English Standard Version). In the ancient Near East, to smash the jaw was to silence mockers and disarm predators. David does not ask to savor revenge; he asks God to de-fang what devours. The line rhymes with Psalm 58:6 and echoes the broader biblical theme: God shatters powers that consume the poor and the faithful (cf. Psalm 74:13–14). The violence is judicial, not spiteful—God interrupts the bite.
From private fear to public benediction The psalm ends where true leadership always ends: “Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people!” (English Standard Version; cf. Jonah 2:9; Revelation 7:10). The pronouns move from “me” to “your people.” Lament matures into intercession. Even in exile, David acts like a king by carrying others into God’s presence. Christ perfects this: afflicted, He blesses; surrounded, He intercedes.
Literary artistry and a note for Western ears - The structure moves complaint → confidence → cry, with “Selah” as a musical hinge—likely a pause for lifted voices or lifted heads. - “Glory” (kevodi) here is striking; the fugitive says his honor is not on the throne behind him but in the Presence before him—“from his holy hill” (har qodsho), Zion’s mount, though the temple was not yet built. David refused to treat the Ark as a charm; he trusted the God who hears without trinkets.
Practice - Pray Psalm 3 at daybreak. Name your “many,” then pause. Lift your head—physically if needed—when you say verse 3. - End, as David does, by blessing the Church.
Suggested cross-references - 2 Samuel 15–18; Numbers 10:35; Psalm 4; Psalm 27:6; Psalm 58:6; Psalm 74:13–14; Jonah 2:9; Revelation 7:10.
A hymn to sing - A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (for the shielded, God-warrior theme).
Prayer Shield about us, Glory before us, Lifter of our heads—teach us to sleep in Your keeping and to rise in Your strength. De-fang what devours, silence lies with Your truth, and turn our private fears into blessings for Your people. Arise, O Lord, and let Your salvation—Yours alone—be known in us today. Amen.