Page 67 - The Poetic Books - Student Text

important and that it was really just his own faith that was helping him, at that moment
110
his faith disappears.

After the first reference to refuge and trusting in God, the call sounds out over and over. Note some of
the connections:

13:5 I trust in your unfailing love.
22:4 In you our ancestors put their trust…and you delivered them.
26:1 I have trusted in the LORD and have not faltered.
28:7 My heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
31:6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols; as for me, I trust in the LORD.
32:10 The LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him.
40:4 Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD.
44:6 I put no trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory.
49:5-6 Why should I fear…when wicked deceivers surround me, those who trust in their
wealth?
56:3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in God.
56:11 In God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?

Psalm 3 provides a good example of how taking refuge in God works out in daily life. The writer, King
David, is in trouble with man foes. He trusts in God, however, to deliver him (3:2, 8). God is his shield
(3:3). A more careful look at the psalm deepens the concept of taking refuge in God.

The heading of Psalm 3 is in complete contrast to the victory of Psalm 2. The occasion is David’s flight
from Absalom. (See 2 Samuel 15-18.) Absalom fills the role of someone rising up against the LORD and
against his anointed (Ps. 2:2). David, in writing Psalm 3, deliberately uses the language of Psalm 2. His
response to the threat is to call out to the LORD, “and he answers me from his holy mountain” (3:4; 2:6).
David does not fear “though tens of thousands assail me on every side” (3:6; 2:11). Even some of the
interactions of Psalm 3 reflect Psalm 2. “The Kings of the earth say, “Let us break their chains (2:3).” In
Psalm 3 many say, “God will not deliver him (v. 2).” Psalm 2 promises that rebellious people will be
dashed to pieces (v.9), and Psalm 3 speaks of the teeth of the wicked broken, never to be used again to
tear at the righteous (v. 7).

As we ponder this psalm and its connection to Psalm 2, we wonder if God’s answer to David’s prayer is a
good night’s sleep (v. 5). Is that the response from God (v. 4), or is something else intended? David, after
all, is recognized as a prophet. He gave “inspired utterances” (2 Sam. 23:1; cf. Acts 2:30). His real-life
situation is desperate. We would expect something more from God than rest for one night. Perhaps
“David’s words In Psalm 3 [are] prophetic of the coming eschatological king portrayed in Psalm 1-2.”
111

110 J. Gresham Machen, What Is Faith, 177.
111 Robert L. Cole, Psalm 1-2, 147.
66