Devotion for 3 January 2008

PSALM 3

By David – Ps 3, 4 & 5 are written by king David when he was on the run. Absalom, his son, rebelled & was hunting him down to kill him. 2 Samuel 15:13-14

Big Trouble Brewing

“God! Look! Enemies past counting! Enemies sprouting like mushrooms, mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery: ‘Hah! No help for him from God!’” Psalm 3:1-2 (Msg)

While we can see that calamity has befallen king David, he remains worshipful. Three times we see the word ‘Selah’ being used (v2, 4 & 8). Selah could either mean ‘pause or moment of silent meditation’ or ‘lifting up of voices or the lifting up / blowing of trumpets’ or ‘musical interlude’. Selah occurs 71 times in the book of Psalms, so we should start getting used to that.

David directed his thoughts towards God in worship and could see Him strengthening him in the following ways:

- Shield him from harm, v3a
- Restore his dignity, v3b
- Answer his cries, v4b

Therefore, David could...

- Sleep, v5a
- Wake up feeling rested, v5b
- Face his problems without fear, v6

What’s getting to you today? Take time to do a ‘Selah’. God will strengthen you & help you face the issues that are at hand.

References for the short write-ups for all 5 books of Psalms:
1. Psalms, classic Libray Edition by Marilyn Hickey
2. ‘Be Worshipful’ / ‘Be Exalted’ by Warren W. Wiersbe