Psalm 3 Continued…
Fleeing from one’s own son must have been not only humiliating but terrible and heart wrenching as well. In 2 Samuel 15:30 it says, “But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up.” David’s broken heart is laid bare for us in this text. A little later we read:
2 Samuel 16:5-8
As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you man of blood, you scoundrel! The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a man of blood!”
David was at his lowest point as king. Not only did he flee from the coup surmounted by his own son but now this horrible man, Shimei, proceeds to curse the king on his flight away.
It is a dark moment. And David records his thoughts in the first two verses of Psalm 3.
Psalms 3:1-2
O Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.”
David is echoing the sentiment of Shimei here. God has done this, or at least, that is the implication of Shimei’s words. We’ve all thought that, haven’t we? We’ve all had a terrifically difficult circumstances and thought, “This is exactly what I deserve! God is doing this because I wasn’t as good of a follower as I should have been.”
But that is not how our God works. He doesn’t wait for his opportunity to pounce on us and squash us like a bug. God loves us and desires to have us lift up our eyes to him in our low moments.
PRAY
Father, help me to turn to you when everything is dark and I feel there is no way out! Help me to keep my eyes on Jesus when my mind and my ears are being filled with lies.