Psalm 3

Had a great 1:2 Bible study last night with the guys, looking at Psalm 3:

A psalm of David.When he fled from his son Absalom. 

1 O LORD, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!

2 Many are saying of me, "God will not deliver him."  

3 But you are a shield around me, O LORD;
you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.

4 To the LORD I cry aloud,
and he answers me from his holy hill.

5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

6 I will not fear the tens of thousands
drawn up against me on every side.

7 Arise, O LORD!
Deliver me, O my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.

8 From the LORD comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
 

 We talked about David's situation and the context of the Psalm (vv1-2), about his confidence in God's presence (v3), God's willingness & ability to hear & answer prayer (v4), the peace and rest that trusting in God the Father brings (vv5f) and God's justice and vindication of his people (vv7f).
 
And we applied it to our own lives - the state of the nation, the problems of working in a secular environment etc. (not dissimilar to Daniel 3 & 6).


But no study of the Psalms is complete without asking if and how it maight point to Jesus. Here we found Matt 27:41-43

So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’       (Matthew 27:41-43 ESV)

So Jesus too was mocked for trusting God to deliver him, and we're reminded that our deliverance will come not now, but later when the power of the resurrection that is at work in us by grace through faith is shown to be real.