Salvation is still available

Psalms 3

O Lord, how many are my foes!
    Many are rising against me; ² many are saying of my soul,
    there is no salvation for him in God. Selah^[a]

³ But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
    my glory, and the lifter of my head. ⁴ I cried aloud to the Lord,
    and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

Psalms 3 starts with a title that tells us David wrote this when he was running away from Absalom his son.  David had invested his life to establishing a people who worshiped God.  His children turned against him.  He was fleeing literally for his life.  He could see Absalom’s army growing larger and their discontent for him growing angrier.

Listen to his complaint.  Those against him are growing in numbers.  They are also becoming more vocal in their disdain for him.  But it is the accusation against his character that has the greatest punch.  “Many are talking about him”.    There is no deliverance, help, no one to save him…not even God.

David really had to wonder if God had rejected him.  He had seen rejection before…that is before he was king.  Saul had killed his thousand, but David had killed ten thousand.  The people were applauding David as hero, and Saul as a “has been”.  “Is it true that now God has rejected me?” David thought. 

The Hebrew word for salvation is Yeshua.  It should look or at least sound familiar, it is the Hebrew word for Jesus.  Listen to that Phrase again.  Many are saying , “there is no Jesus available for him any longer in God.”  Or look how he runs…surely Jesus has nothing left for him.  Look at the end results of all his victories, goals, campaigns, worship to God has brought David to this.  He has nothing, and the people have rejected him,  Our past accomplishments do not protect us from the accusations of the enemy.

David changes his focus from the Horizontal to the vertical.  Yes it is true that there are many who have rejected him.  BUT YOU  YAWEH.  David looks to God for help.  And THE LORD is described as a shield.  The primary purpose for a shield is protection from attacks of the enemy.  True David was fleeing for his life….but the biggest attack was the words….there is no help, no Yeshua, salvation, deliverance available for David any longer. 

How does the Lord become a shield against destructive and accusatory words?  First, we need to ask in faith that God would stop the words from having their full effect upon our lives.  Second, we ask that God would protect our heart and mind from being infected with poison of “getting even” or the contagiousness of “bitterness” or the jadedness of a “critical spirit”.  Our mouths will reveal if our heart has been contaminated. 

 Third, the new testament says that “faith” itself is a shield.  Just wishing things were different is not faith.  Nor is explaining to others about the trial that you are experiencing an expression of your faith.  Faith will require you to have some type of action that will make you feel  vulnerable and exposed.  Someone may say, “are you just going to let them say that about you?”  But His shield will protect your  heart.  Matt 5:11-12 ¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

There is yet another principle for protection in this passage.  David says that THE LORD is his glory. This is the same Hebrew word that describes God’s character.  Kavod in Hebrew.  And carries the idea of weighty.  We really don’t have a good word to capture glory…but it carries the idea of something tangible.  David is saying that God’s presence is something almost tangible for him.  It is not just mear imagery, rather it is tangible.  We would use the expression “are you worth your weight in gold”.  David is declaring where he is doing his banking of TRUST.  Despite his circumstances, David is putting all of his stock in GOD.  His focus is not horizontal or on other people…It is on  God.

God is “and the lifter of my head.”  Why would he need his head lifted.  When we are weighed down, our countenance falls.  God is the one to lift up our countenance when we begin to look at Him.  This is not just semantics.  Physically look up when we are weighed down.  “I lift my eyes up unto the heavens…”  The one who sees all that is happening to us , has the best perspective In how to navigate our lives.  Physically lifting our eyes puts us in the position to see his answer.  If you are going to follow someone you can’t keep looking at your toes

May we walk with our heads lifted high

To serve our King and our Lord