Psalm to David, who sometimes ran away from the face of his son Absalom. Reading Psalms in various life situations Ps.3:3. There is no salvation for him in his God
Psalm No. 3 (with Glory) listen:
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| Psalm 3 | Psalm 3 |
| 1 Psalm to David, who fled from the face of Absalom his Son, | 1 Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. |
| 2 Lord, why have we multiplied the cold? Many people rise up against me, | 2 Lord! how my enemies have multiplied! Many are rebelling against me |
| 3 Many people say to my soul: there is no salvation for him in his God. | 3 Many say to my soul, “He has no salvation in God.” |
| 4 But You, O Lord, are my Protector, my glory, and lift up my head. | 4 But You, O Lord, are a shield before me, my glory, and You lift up my head. |
| 5 With my voice I cried to the Lord, and He heard me from His holy mountain. | 5 With my voice I cry to the Lord, and He hears me from His holy mountain. |
| 6 I fell asleep, and smelled, and arose, for the Lord would intercede for me. | 6 I lie down, sleep and get up, for the Lord protects me. |
| 7 I will not be afraid because of the people around who attack me. | 7 I will not be afraid of the people who have taken up arms against me on all sides. |
| 8 Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God, for Thou hast slain all that are hostile to me in vain: Thou hast crushed the teeth of sinners | 8 Arise, Lord! save me, my God! for You strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. |
| 9 Salvation is the Lord, and your blessing is on your people. | 9 Salvation is from the Lord. Upon Your people is Your blessing. |
Glory:
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EXPLANATION AND BRIEF INTERPRETATION OF PSALM 3
By God's permission, David's faith was, during his life, repeatedly tested by God. In the struggle for power, David’s life was also attempted by his son Absalom, who prepared an armed uprising. Because of this, David was forced to leave Jerusalem and flee with some of his close associates from the persecution of Absalom.
Therefore, Psalm 3 has the following inscription - a Psalm to David, who sometimes ran away from the face of his son Absalom.
Ps.3:2 Lord, why have I multiplied the cold; Many people rise up against me.
« God! how many enemies I have!“In the Second Book of Kings it is narrated that with Absalom many rebelled against David, “many people rise up against me,” because Absalom “took the hearts of the children of Israel” through flattery and deceit, i.e. crept into their hearts (2 Samuel 15:6,12).
Almost the entire Israeli people adhered to Absalom, who decided to overthrow David and ascend to the throne of the kingdom of Israel. Therefore, in his prayer to God, David complains about the multitude of his enemies.
David loved his son Absalom and asked his commanders to spare his life in the event of the defeat of his army, and then he wept bitterly for his son when he learned of his death. So Jesus Christ wept over the destruction of His enemies and prayed for them.
Ahithophel, David's sincere friend and adviser, betrayed him, betrayed himself to Absalom's side, and then hanged himself. So Judas, one of Christ’s close disciples, betrayed Him and after that he hanged himself.
Ps.3:3-4 Many people say to my soul: there is no salvation for him in his God. But you, Lord, are my protector, my glory, and lift up my head.
David, prayerfully complaining to the Lord God about his many enemies, understands not only his external, visible enemies, but also his internal enemies, who in the soul of the prophet tried to arouse thoughts of despair in the mercy of God in order to more accurately destroy him. That’s why he says in prayer to God: “ Many say to my soul: in vain he hopes for God’s help; there is no salvation for him from God».
Just like the wicked Jews, cursing at Christ crucified on the cross, they said: “I trust in God: let him deliver him now if he wills” (Matthew 27:43).
Ps.3:4 But you, Lord, are my protector, my glory, and lift up my head.
But no evil suggestions of David’s enemies could shake the firmness of his faith in God; he always firmly confessed - both before people and before the face of the Omniscient God, saying as it were: let my enemies say that in vain, I hoped in vain in God: all of them are seduced. You, Lord, never abandon those who trust in You, I will always say this; You are my protector; You are my glory; In You alone do I boast, and You will not give me over to the reproach of my enemies. You lift up my head.
Elevation of the head, raising it upward means a state of joy and cheerfulness of the spirit, just as vice versa, bowing the head and drooping of the face is a sign of sadness and lamentation.
Ps.3:5 With my voice I cried to the Lord, and He heard me from His holy mountain.
By holy mountain the psalmist means those places of the special invisible presence of God, which in his time were especially sacredly revered by the Jews.
This is, firstly, the temple, or the then tabernacle of God, located on Mount Zion, and, secondly, heaven, “heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb. 12:22). Thus, the fifth verse of the psalm can be expressed in the following words: in grave sorrows, during the attacks of my enemies, I cried out to the Lord, and He mercifully accepted my prayerful cry, just as in His holy temple and in His heavenly Zion.
Ps.3:6–7 I fell asleep and fell asleep, and arose, as if the Lord would intercede for me. I will not be afraid of the people around who attack me.
Tmami in the Slavic language are called a great many people, or tens of thousands. Thus, the meaning of the sayings of verses 6 and 7 can be expressed as follows: “The Lord hears my cry of prayer, and therefore during enemy attacks, whether I sleep or wake, I am confident that the Lord protects and protects me. That’s why I’m not afraid of the great multitude of enemies surrounding me and taking up arms against me, even if there were tens of thousands of them.”
Ps.3:8 Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God: for thou hast slain all those who are hostile to me in vain, thou hast broken the teeth of sinners.
The word “resurrect” is used here not in the literal sense of resurrection from the dead, but figuratively. The Lord is called resurrecting, or rising from sleep, when He comes to our aid, and, conversely, is called sleeping when He does not come or does not provide His help.
Under the teeth of sinners, of course, according to St. fathers, the strength, or the strength of those who sin against David, or their slander and blasphemy. Therefore, crushing the teeth of sinners means depriving them of strength, strength, and destroying their slander.
Thus, having expressed confidence in Divine protection and intercession from his enemies, David also turns to the Lord with a prayer, so that He will again rise to protect him and save him from all those who are hostile against him in vain, innocently: “Arise,” he says, “Lord, to help me and save me, as before You have struck down all those who were hostile to me and, like despised ones, crush them with Your right hand.”
Ps.3:9 Salvation is the Lord's, and Your blessing is upon Your people.
At the conclusion of the psalm, the holy psalmist once again expresses deep recognition or confession that both he himself and the people with him owe their salvation from enemies to the One Lord, and that the blessing of the Lord rests on those people who hope in the Lord and seek His help : Not only do I owe my salvation to You alone, O Lord, but You also extend Your favor to all who confess Your name.
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From the first verse of Psalm 3 it is obvious that King David created this work when he fled from his son Absalom. This is a personal prayer of a king who was in trouble. Despite the fact that all of David’s enemies already thought that his situation was hopeless, he, God’s chosen one, felt under the protection and patronage of the Almighty. This gave him strength and the realization that the moment of his deliverance was near. Being surrounded by enemies, his only salvation, which formed the basis psalm 3. David's story is very sad. The only son took the side of his opponents, which forced the king to flee. His enemies boldly mock him, confident that the Lord has turned away from him and will no longer be the king’s protection. But on my own life experience David became convinced that at all times of his life, which was full of various wars and vicissitudes, the only “shield” for him was the Lord. Thanks to Him, the king won victories and basked in the rays of victorious glory. This beneficial communication became the impetus for trusting in the Lord in the difficult times that befell the prophet.
Salvation from the Lord in Psalm 3
Convinced that the Lord would not abandon him, David in some verses psalm 3 is already replacing mournful notes in his prayer with triumphant ones. This speaks of his confidence in the salvation given by the Lord. Previously, the Lord defeated the king’s enemies, so David can now ask Him about this. The main idea Three expresses the confidence of the prophet - he has no doubt that the Lord will deliver him from his enemies, and, therefore, speaks of this fact as if it had already happened.
Psalm 3 ends with words of moral teaching - salvation comes from the Lord and the psalmist’s prayer for the righteous, pleasing to God. For believers who consider themselves His people, the third Psalm instructs them to pray in difficult and dangerous circumstances, not forgetting that salvation comes from the Most High and they must trust in Him in order to sleep peacefully.
Interpretation of the meaning of Psalm 3
Based on his sinful experience, the prophet David, using the verses of Psalm 3, teaches Christians to live a chaste life, so that no one does evil or despises the laws of God. Using his example, David showed what happens when you bring trouble into someone else's house - trouble rose up against him from his own home. Domestic disasters are the result of his sins and God determines those in his household who punish the sinner. Psalm 3 predicts the temptations coming to a person from the enemy, when he is persecuted by his own and many rebel against him.
Text in Russian Psalm 3
God! how my enemies have multiplied! Many rebel against me; many say to my soul: “He has no salvation in God.” But You, Lord, are a shield before me, my glory, and You lift up my head. With my voice I cry to the Lord, and He hears me from His holy mountain. I go to bed, sleep and get up, because
Psalm to David, who sometimes fled from the face of Absalom his son, 3
Lord, why have you multiplied the cold? Many people rise up against me, many people say to my soul: there is no salvation for him in his God. But you. Lord, my Protector, be my glory and lift up my head. With my voice I cried to the Lord, and He heard me from His holy mountain. I fell asleep and fell asleep, and arose, as if the Lord would intercede for me. I will not be afraid of the people around me who attack me. Arise, Lord, save me, my God, for You have struck down all those who were at enmity with me in vain: You have crushed the teeth of sinners. Salvation is the Lord's, and Your blessing is upon Your people.
Psalm 3 in Russian
Interpretation
Ps.3:1. Psalm to David, who sometimes ran away from the face of his son Absalom.
So says the inscription presented to the psalm. For the psalm says that the face of the prophets suffers persecution from the Jewish people. “David,” the longed-for interpretation is given, and such is the face of the prophets. And therefore, just as Absalom plotted indignation against his father, that is, David; so the Jews rebelled against the fathers of their prophets, not accepting God's commands, but opposing them.
Ps.3:2. Lord, why have you multiplied the cold?
The phrase “that” is used instead of “very”.
Ps.3:3. There is no salvation for him in his God,
That is, God will not save him. For they looked only at the sin he had committed, not knowing his repentance. And this clearly shows that the psalm is talking about David. For to rebel is actually said about those who were formerly subject to citizenship, and then undertook war.
Ps.3:4. You, Lord, are my protector.
Words befitting the faith of a prophet who unshakably endures so many misfortunes and hopes that he will not be abandoned, but on the contrary, will find help for himself, ascend and receive the kingdom. For this, according to the interpretation of some, means: “lift up the head.” Therefore, the glory of the righteous is God in whom he trusted; and to whom God is the glory, he will lift up the head.
Ps.3:5. I cried out to the Lord with my voice.
This saying teaches that in difficult circumstances one should resort to no one other than God. First he placed a prayer, then, after the diapsalma, thanksgiving for receiving what was asked. Now he turns his face to us, tells how he prayed and was heard, and says: “I cried out to the Lord with my voice.” By “voice” we should mean the mental petition of the mind to the God of all. For he is not talking about crying, but about prayer spoken with the mind. The words: “hearing me from the mountain” are said in accordance with the generally accepted image. For they thought that God lived in the tabernacle, because from there the prophetic answers were given to the priests. Or: “from the holy mountain” means: from heaven, which is the meaning of the expressions: “to your holy mountain” (Ps. 14:1), and: “draw near to the eternal mountains” (Mic. 2:9). The holy mountain of God can mean the mountain from which God, the Only Begotten of God, hears those praying, and about which it is said: “The mountain of the Lord will be revealed in the last days” (Is. 2:2); because this saying signifies the appearance of the Lord at His coming at the end of the ages. Or: “from the holy mountain,” from heaven. And the holy mountain of God is the supernatural knowledge of God.
Diapsalma is either a change in the musical mode, or a turn in thought and the power of words.
Ps.3:6. I fell asleep and fell asleep.
He talks about the sleep of the mind, from which he fell into sin. And what was said: “I arose” means: having been worthy of God’s change, I became better from the evils that befell me.
Ps.3:8. For You have struck down all those who are at enmity with me in vain.
Smite, crush, or smite. He prays to God for a speedy uprising or revenge on enemies. “In vain” has enemies who give no reason for hatred. He calls the teeth of sinners either the strength of those who sin against him, or their slander and blasphemy. Or the teeth of sinners are unreasonable thoughts that appear unnaturally in us; because using our thoughts as teeth, opponents often approach us to devour our flesh, that is, what is generated by the flesh. For “the matter of the flesh has been revealed,” says the divine Apostle (Gal. 5:19). The Psalmist speaks of teeth in a figurative sense, taking the image from animals whose strength lies primarily in their teeth, so that by breaking their teeth they become harmless. For both murderers and bloodsuckers are worse than the most bloodthirsty animals, or are likened to them.
Ps.3:9. The Lord's salvation is.
“Save me, O Lord,” says David (Ps. 3:8). But I beg that this extend to all the people. One should know that the entire psalm can be attributed to the human race, which has sinned and for this is most betrayed by mental enemies, but who cried out in sorrow and was heard by God and saved by His resurrection from the dead and the defeat of the demons that were hostile to us. For He is “the limbs of lions,” the Lord who crushed (Ps. 57:7); He, or from Him, is salvation. I do not place my hope in man, says David, but from You we expect salvation, both I and Your people, who together with me are being fought by enemies.
Each of David's psalms was written as a result of some event that happened in his life. Very often these are difficult events, moments of testing, despite the fact that many songs do not have a historical explanation and context, Psalm 3 at its beginning makes it clear exactly when and under what circumstances this song of hope in the Lord was written.
History of writing
Despite many trials and difficulties in life, David always remained steadfast in one thing - his hope in the Lord. He was persecuted by enemies more than once, but always during such periods, in addition to psalms-lamentations, the psalmist also had joyful, hope-filled works. Psalm #3 was written during one of these times in David's life. At the beginning, the author himself states “when he fled from his son Absalom,” which gives readers an understanding of the historical context of the writing.
In Psalm 3, David calls not to forget the mercy of God, which repeatedly overshadowed him
David's son Absalom won over several respected and powerful people in Israel and led a rebellion against his father. David was forced to flee the city to escape with the small number of people still loyal to him. The state of the king then is difficult to imagine: he is sick, his son rebelled against him, his friend betrayed him, he has nowhere to run, and no one is ready to accept the fugitive. David's external and internal state is extremely broken.
Important! Historians claim that this psalm was written after the flight from Jerusalem, when most of the army was behind Absalom, and the king was forced to fear for his life.
That is why the beginning of the psalm is characterized by a sad mood and a description of the hopelessness of the situation, but by the middle the author’s mood changes, because he understands that the Lord has not abandoned him anyway.
The theologian Lopukhin says that it was the Almighty who became the source of confidence in the future for the fugitive. Thus the psalm turns from lamentation into praise to the Lord.
Interpretation
A detailed description of the history during which this text was written is set out in the second book of Kings, chapter 12. But in order to better understand the author, you should first read the psalm; below it is given in Old Church Slavonic and Russian, for a better understanding of readers.
Lord, why have you multiplied the cold? Many people rise up against me, many people say to my soul: there is no salvation for him in his God. But you, Lord, are my Protector, my glory, and lift up my head. With my voice I cried to the Lord, and He heard me from His holy mountain. I fell asleep and fell asleep, and arose, as if the Lord would intercede for me. I will not be afraid of the people around me who attack me. Arise, Lord, save me, my God, for You have struck down all those who were at enmity with me in vain: You have crushed the teeth of sinners. Salvation is the Lord's, and Your blessing is upon Your people.
1. Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son.
2. Lord! how my enemies have multiplied! Many are rebelling against me
3. Many say to my soul: “He has no salvation in God.”
4. But You, O Lord, are a shield before me, my glory, and You lift up my head.
5. With my voice I cry to the Lord, and He hears me from His holy mountain.
6. I lie down, sleep and get up, for the Lord protects me.
7. I will not be afraid of the people who have taken up arms against me on all sides.
8. Arise, Lord! save me, my God! for You strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.
9. Salvation is from the Lord. Upon Your people is Your blessing.
After careful reading, you should parse it line by line:
Important! Psalm 3 is an excellent example of how people need to act in trials and tribulations: not to forget about the mercy of God, which has repeatedly overshadowed a person. One should rely only on the Creator, for no one can go against Him. Reading rules
This text is included in the Six Psalms - prayer texts that make up the evening Orthodox worship. You can read the psalm at home evening time, during prayer, but it is better to set aside time for the evening service. During it, the lights are turned off and psalms are read in the twilight; the source of light is often only the lamp in the hands of the priest.
The external and internal state of David depicted in the psalm is so consistent with his situation during the persecution from Absalom that it fully corresponds and is consistent with the indication of the time of origin of the psalm given in the inscription. It is impossible to indicate exactly at what moment this psalm was written, but one can think that after his flight from Jerusalem, when with David there was only a small group of people devoted to him, on the side of the enemies there was a huge mass that energetically pursued David, so that, Apparently, salvation could not be expected for him (Ps. 3_3), and he himself feared for his life (Ps. 3_6).
In the first part of the psalm, David (2–3) speaks about the degree of danger for him from many enemies, in the second (4–9) he expresses his faith in God and confidence in obtaining salvation for himself and worthy punishment of his enemies.
Ps.3:2. God! how my enemies have multiplied! Many are rebelling against me;
Ps.3:3. Many say to my soul: “He has no salvation in God.”
“How have my enemies multiplied!”, an expression of David’s fear of the increasing number of his enemies. - “They say to my soul” - they talk about my life, fate, they doubt the possibility of salvation for David, in view of his apparent defenselessness and hopeless situation.
Ps.3:4. But You, Lord, are a shield before me, my glory, and You lift up my head.
Ps.3:5. With my voice I cry to the Lord, and He hears me from His holy mountain.
David's previous life, full of vicissitudes and numerous wars, clearly convinced him that his true intercessor, who brought him glory and victories, was and is God, to whom he turns in his present situation.
Ps.3:6. I lie down, sleep and get up, for the Lord protects me.
Ps.3:7. I will not be afraid of the people who have taken up arms against me from all sides.
In the fact that David, surrounded by enemies from everywhere and expecting his death from minute to minute, nevertheless “lies down, sleeps and gets up” alive, he sees direct divine help, His intercession (“for the Lord protects me”), why he already ceases to be afraid of the enemies pursuing him and surrounding him from everywhere, and the nature of his prayer to God changes, from a mournful one to a solemn hymn.
This rescue of David was a consequence of Absalom’s rejection of the advice of Ahithophel, which proposed the immediate pursuit of David, and the acceptance of Hushai’s proposal to act slowly and carefully, which made it possible for David to cross the Jordan and avoid imminent danger. In this David sees help from God.
Ps.3:8. Arise, Lord! save me, my God! for You strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.
Ps.3:9. Salvation is from the Lord. Upon Your people is Your blessing.
"Rise up." David prays to God not only for his salvation, but also for punishment of his enemies; “teeth” in animals – their strength; the teeth of the enemies - all the strength of the enemies. David is confident in the inevitable punishment of his enemies, whom he sees as if already punished, but for the righteous he prays for mercy before God.
This psalm is the first of the so-called six psalms, which is part of Matins. The latter has its purpose - to give thanks to God for preserving life during the past night with a prayer for the sending of prosperity in the coming day, with which this psalm is in agreement (“I go to bed, sleep and get up”; “Arise, Lord! Save me”). .