Psalm 3 "Salvation Belongs to the Lord"

Psalm 3:1, 7-8

¹O Lord, how many are my foes!
    Many are rising against me…
⁷ Arise, O Lord!
    Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
    you break the teeth of the wicked.

⁸ Salvation belongs to the Lord;
    your blessing be on your people! Selah

Comments:

[Continuing with my pattern of covering verses not previously discussed…]

Have you ever felt like David did? I have personally never experienced anything like the betrayal of his son Absalom or of people (including former trusted advisers) seeking to kill me, though many people around the world have experienced such senseless persecution. However, there have been moments when I have felt deeply wronged, and even times when I felt like there was perhaps an unjust conspiracy against me. But that does not vouch for the accuracy of my feelings. My feelings, though real, by nature are often are not objective. In David’s case they were spot on, in my case less so.  

David had a history of not striving to defend his own cause. He had several chances to kill King Saul, but, against the advice of his men, he would not raise his hand against “the Lord’s anointed” even after he himself had been anointed to take Saul’s place.

This weekend I have been out with the flu. And I realized that thousands of microscopic enemies have arisen against me. I have experienced a shocking inability to concentrate on anything but trying not to cough.

Like David—and innumerable others through the centuries—I cry out to God in my distress for he is my Savior! I am asking the Lord to metaphorically “strike those viruses on the cheek and break their teeth” to enable me to return to health and functionality. I know he is working in me through this.

I know that my current enemy is not really other people (flesh and blood) nor is it the germs/virus of my current challenge, but it is spiritual in nature. So while not failing to use interpersonal skills in my dealing with people and medicine, nutrition, and rest in my dealing with sickness, I put my trust in Jesus to be my deliverer—both from others and from myself. If “salvation belongs to the Lord” then why do we think we have to deliver ourselves, and treat others the worse for it?

One other thing that I find that I have to frequently re-learn is that the blessing of God upon his people often looks much different than I expect. I resolve to trust God in whatever way he leads. I want to walk in faith like Habakkuk, who, facing a situationally harsh future, concludes his writings,

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
    nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
    and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
    and there be no herd in the stalls,
 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
    I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
 God, the Lord, is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the deer's;
    he makes me tread on my high places. (Hab. 3:17-19)

Are we willing for God’s blessing to be upon us, or will we demand what we think we deserve?

Psalm 131 "Like a Weaned Child "

Psalm for Today = 131:2

¹O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
    my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
    too great and too marvelous for me.
² But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
    like a weaned child with its mother;
    like a weaned child is my soul within me.

³ O Israel, hope in the Lord
    from this time forth and forevermore.

Comments:

I have commented on this psalm several times, tending to focus on verse 1. Verse 3 is very similar in content to yesterday’s post. Remember, these songs would have been sung on the way to Jerusalem, and the pilgrim is reminded to hope in the Lord…

Remember, this is a "Song of Ascents" that would be sung on the journeys to Jerusalem for the great feasts of the Lord. I can see this verse answering the impatience of some that might arise along the way. "Are we there yet? How much further do we need to walk today? When is dinner? I'm hungry!" Time to break out Psalm 131!

Today, I want to revisit v. 2 for what it tells me about the status of my life in Christ using the simile of a “weaned child.”

^“But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
    like a weaned child with its mother;
    like a weaned child is my soul within me.”

Who “calmed and quieted” my soul? I did. It is my job to calm my soul…not someone else’s job to pamper me and coddle me because I am anxious and fussy! Too many today have not yet reached the “weaned child” stage of development, having been enabled by weak parents, teachers, and government. A child needs to learn early that while they are loved and protected, they are not the center of the universe, or to borrow my daughter’s phrase, “They are not the Queen of Narnia!” If a child learns that if they pitch a fit, they can get what they want, they will be insufferable by the time they are a teenager! Heaven help us if we are still living this way as adults! An inappropriate tantrum should disqualify our children from getting what they want, even if we had been prepared to provide it. However, a patient and loving trust is to be rewarded.

What is a weaned child? A weaned child has stopped nursing and is eating solid food. He has come to trust his mother to provide what he needs without having to scream and cry to be fed. There is a new level of patience and contentment that should be developed at this point. So have we begun to eat the solid food of the Word of God, or do we just want milk (nourishment without responsibility) and want it now?

What is the connection between this word picture and our lives today in Christ? The point is that God knows how to feed His children what they need and when they need it. We don't have to understand everything… we just need to journey with the Lord as those who trust. One of the prophets asked God some pressing questions about the timing of his plan in the world (i.e., How long? How come?) and got answers that weren't what he was expecting, yet he ended his writing with a prayer that epitomizes that attitude of a spiritually weaned child. After reading the prayer below, you might take the time to contextualize its rather agrarian word pictures into something drawn from your current economic/cultural situation.

A Prayer of a Weaned Child (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

“Though the fig tree should not blossom,

    nor fruit be on the vines,

the produce of the olive fail

    and the fields yield no food,

the flock be cut off from the fold

    and there be no herd in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord;

    I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

God, the Lord, is my strength;

    he makes my feet like the deer's;

    he makes me tread on my high places.”