Day 265: He will lift up your head - Psalm 3

A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom. 1-2 Lord, how my foes increase! There are many who attack me. Many say about me, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah 3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head. 4 I cry aloud to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. Selah 5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me.

6-8 I will not be afraid of thousands of people who have taken their stand against me on every side. Rise up, Lord! Save me, my God! You strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the Lord; may your blessing be on your people. Selah Psalm 3 from the Christian Standard Bible (Note: The word 'Selah' is thought to be a music interlude or a pause to reflect)

Could there ever be a darker time in life than fleeing from your own son who wants to destroy you? Yes there could! What if this son's sister had been raped by one of your other sons, and he had already killed that son in revenge? The picture is darker still. What if all this happened not many years after you had committed adultery and quietly arranged for the husband of the one you'd sinned with to lose their life. That's the stark, tragic background to this Psalm. One can understand why many were saying of David “There is no help for him in God.” At very short notice David had to to flee from Jerusalem because his son Absalom was on the way with the mob he'd gathered around him to make him King. Under such terrible circumstances a natural response of anyone would be for their head to droop in despair, perhaps with a renewed sense of guilt and shame, and to toss and turn through a sleepless night. Yet what is the amazing response of David in vs 3-5?

While the phrase 'lift up my head' probably refers to being eventually exalted over his enemies, the picture easily comes to mind of a parent tenderly touching the chin of a downcast child and lifting their face up to see the love streaming from the parent's face. The child knows instantly that, whatever pain or fears have made their heads droop, someone cares for them and will protect them. But how could David be so expectant of God's love and care when he had let the Lord down so unbelievably badly?

The answer is, firstly, because of what God is like. In Psalm 86:5 this same David said of God: “Lord, you are good, and forgiving, abounding in kindness to all who call on You.” David knew God was like that from what had God said of Himself. In Exodus 34:6-7 God said to Moses that He is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Those words show that sinful actions can have lingering sorrowful consequences, something David was experiencing, but the first part was on God's abundant mercy and willingness to forgive our foulest deeds. But the guilty won't be cleared if there is no repentance on their side. So the second reason for David’s confidence was because of how he had responded to his horrible turning aside from God's path.

We know from other Psalms that he DID repent of the terrible deeds he'd done. In Psalm 32:5 he says: “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I didn't cover my iniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord', and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” In Psalm 51:2,10-11 he prayed: “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, cleanse me from my sin! Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.” That's why David could confidently ask God, in vs 6-8, to break the power of those seeking to destroy him.

It's the confidence we also can have when threatening situations, or sin and failures in our life, cause our heads to droop in despair. True repentance reaches out to God who is able to lift up our head. His compassion and mercy overflows. He is a shield to all who seek His refuge. We need only look to Calvary to see how great that mercy is, and why even the greatest of sinners can be forgiven. It's through Jesus Christ that He lifts up our head.

The song version of this Psalm is unusual but has some thoughtful illustrations with it. It's at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XRmyuOlGSk&ab_channel=BibleinSong