Seventh-day Adventist Bible CommentaryPsalms 3

How are they increased! Absalom had a large following. Nearly all Israel had revolted (see 2 Sam. 15–17, especially 15:6, 13; see also PP 727–745). That rise up against me. Similar to the expression used by the Cushite who brought the tidings to David of the failure of Absalom’s defection (see 2 Sam. 18:31, 32).

Soul. Heb. nephesh, here, as frequently in the psalms, an idiom for the personal pronoun. “Which say of my soul” is equivalent to saying “which say of me.” No help for him. So desperate is David’s condition that his enemies present the situation as beyond the help of God (see Ps. 71:10, 11). Selah. See p. 629. In this psalm “Selah” appears to mark a division between stanzas.

For me. Or, “round about me.” God had assured Abraham that He would be his shield (Gen. 15:1; cf. Deut. 33:29; 2 Sam. 22:3; Ps. 28:7; 119:114). The lifter up. When David fled, he was bowed under his humiliation (2 Sam. 15:30). Now God enables him again to hold up his head. (see Ps. 27:6).

I cried. The form of the Hebrew verb thus translated frequently expresses repeated, habitual acts. The verse may thus be understood as observing that whenever David cries to God, God answers. “Prayer changes things.” His holy hill. Zion (see on Ps. 2:6). David had removed the ark to the sacred city, and it was natural that he should regard that fortress as the peculiar dwelling place of God. The Heb. har, “hill,” should preferably be rendered “mount.” In Ugaritic literature (see p. 618) “holy mount” often designates the heavenly abode of their deity (see Isa. 14:13).

I laid me down. The pronoun “I” is emphatic. David represents himself as in danger of attack at any moment during the night, hunted and cursed by his enemies, nevertheless able to lie down in peace and sleep, so great was his trust in God. Since everything was in God’s hands, he had a sense of complete protection. His sleep was not mere weariness or indolence or presumption; it was an act of faith. Internal calm nerved him for the next day’s fight. The Lord sustained me. The first waking thought is one of recognition that God had honored the trust placed in Him, even as his last thought on going to sleep had been one of complete confidence. The psalmist is strengthened to meet the needs of the day. The last thoughts of the night are often the first thoughts of the day. Note the sudden dramatic change from depression to triumph. Such is the benediction of the night and the promise of the new day (see Lam. 3:22, 23).

Ten thousand. With God as his helper, David was undismayed at the numerical advantage of his foes (see Ps. 27:3; cf. Deut. 32:30).

Arise. God is called to come to the psalmist’s help. Compare Israel’s watch-word when the camp set forward (Num. 10:35; cf. Ps. 68:1; 132:8). Thou hast smitten. The Hebrew verb form here may be regarded as a perfect of certainty or a prophetic perfect. In the former, events that are confidently expected are

conceived and described as having taken place. The latter describes a future event as having actually happened. The psalmist expresses his confidence that God will crush his enemies; the result is here regarded as an accomplished fact.

Unto the Lord. The psalmist makes no claim that he can save himself. To the enemy who mockingly asserts, “There is no help for him in God,” David replies, in effect, “To God alone belongs my help, at all times and under all circumstances.” Upon thy people. In his magnanimity David turns his thoughts away from himself and his own peril to the condition of his people, his nation, not only those who had remained faithful to him, but those who had revolted. What a sublime ending to a hymn of trust!