Psalm 3:1–8

March 3rd, 2026| Topic: aBeLOG, Psalms | 0

Almost in a holy war, God’s people are often in danger of being annihilated by the myriad of their enemies, but their confidence in God is unbounded, their proximity to God unquestionable, and God’s might is unchallengeable, his deliverance inevitable, and his blessing incontrovertible.

Perhaps it is reflection of real life that the beatitude-laden and triumphal opening psalms of the Psalter (Psalms 1–2) are followed by a whole series of laments (Psalms 3–7). Life is not all good and, yes, bad things happen to good people, even to the people of God. Acknowledging the violent distresses facing the latter on this side of eternity, military terminology abounds in Psalm 3. Thereby, the military metaphor equates life (or at least the insalubrious parts thereof) to a war. That is to say: Get ready for the war that is going to be waged in life!

There may be hordes of enemies “against me” and “against me all around” (3:1b, 6b), but God’s shield is “about me” (3:3a). Clearly the focus in this crisis of 3:1–3 is upon God, and not upon enemies or their number. No wonder God is called “my glory” (3:3b): the glory of God’s people lies not in genes, status, accomplishments, portfolios, or resumes, but in God the deliverer and sustainer, the King of glory.

In the next section (3:4–6), the psalmist recounts what must have been an earlier similar situation of human call and divine answer amidst trouble that enabled him to sleep in peace at night: no nightmares, no insomnia, no worries. At that time, the emphatic “I—I lay down” at the beginning of 3:5 was made possible by the equally emphatic “Yahweh—He sustains me” at the end of the verse (separated in the middle by two verbs: “I slept” and “I awoke”). In short, the psalmist and all of God’s people do nothing—they just lie down and sleep. God does everything.

In the final section (3:7–8), first, there is an appeal to Yahweh with two imperatives in 3:7a, 7b (“arise” and “deliver”). Many were “rising” against the psalmist (3:1b), so his commensurate plea to Yahweh is “arise!” (3:7a).

Then comes the report of God’s response given as an already accomplished fact in 3:7c, 7d. The poetic structure is precise:

The enemies and their body parts are trapped inextricably between the actions of Yahweh. These adversaries don’t stand a chance!

While his “head,” the psalmist hopes, will be lifted by God (3:3b), he expects that God will requite all these enemies on the head (or at least on parts thereof: jaw and teeth, 3:7cd). While the violence makes the reader flinch, it is quite likely that the focus on jaw and teeth was to show these foes’ verbal impotence. They who had insulted the psalmist and his God, casting aspersions on the faith of the former and the faithfulness of the latter—“There is no deliverance for him in God” (3:2)—are now rendered speechless. With smashed mandibles and crushed teeth, not to mention mouths flooded with curdling blood. it was going to be a bit difficult for them to give an encore. That is to say, the blessing of God’s people often runs a parallel course with the bane of God’s (and his people’s) enemies.

And so the ones delivered by Yahweh are blessed by him as “Your people” (3:8b), enjoying a well-being granted by a Creator who desires shalom for his creation.

For more details, see my commentary on Psalms.