Remember Who He is

In answer to whoever pings me and says, "That's a Greek shield, not an ancient Hebrew one!" I will simply say, yes, I know. The important thing is to recognize it as a shield....not the era in which it was used. 

You would be amazed at some of the correspondence I get! (Grin)

But I digress.

Last time we studied, we noticed that the first two verses of Psalm 2 were filled with David's focus on his frightening circumstances . . . he was looking around himself, here on earth. In verse three, he starts to look UP. And it's going to be great advice for all of us.

But You, O Lord, are a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
4 I was crying to the Lord with my voice,
And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.   (Psalm 3:3-4)

When our lives seem to be unraveling, it's vital for us to remember Who God is and to call out to Him in our prayers. 

The first thing that David says about God is that He is our shield. All through the Psalms, we will see references to God as a shield to those who trust in Him. But wait! We see this before David's songs, too! 

Waaaaaaaaaay back in Genesis, God tells Abram:

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,“Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great.”  (Genesis 15:1, NASB)

That verse, and others in Psalms that tend to be our favorites when we are struggling with adversity, all illustrate the fact that mean God is our protector and our defender.

For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord,
You surround him with favor as with a shield. (Psalm 5:12)

And it's very personal, too, as our faith in the Lord is personal. David says the Lord is a shield "about me," and in Psalm 5, he says the Lord surrounds the righteous with favor. These are not the actions of a god who is disinterested . . . no, they are the outpourings of our God's love on us.

The next thing David says is that it's God Who is his glory - not the acclaim of his subjects, or the power that he wielded, nor the wealth and beautiful things he had accumulated in his palace and grounds. He is acknowledging that his relationship with God is his only claim to glory. Whether David is restored to his earthly wealth and prominence or not, doesn't seem to matter to him. God is his glory. 

On God my salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. (Psalm 62:7)

David next calls attention to Who God is (in the last part of verse three) by using an ancient expression, "to lift up the head." The Hebrew people would find this familiar when they heard it; it means to restore someone who is cast down. Sometimes it would be that a person was being restored to his position or his or her dignity. Like here, where Joseph is speaking to the Pharaoh's cupbearer:

within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer. (Genesis 40:13)

To believers today, it can refer to God restoring to us the joy that we had, before the boulder of adversity fell on us. Before the situation got so bleak and our spirits became depressed. It reminds us that God humbles the proud, but He lifts up the meek who cry out to Him. He brings joy to those who need restoration of their joy.

“The Lord makes poor and rich;
He brings low, He also exalts.
8 “He raises the poor from the dust,
He lifts the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with nobles,
And inherit a seat of honor;
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He set the world on them.
9 “He keeps the feet of His godly ones, (I Samuel 2:7-9a, NASB)

The final attribute that David calls our attention to (in verse 4), and that he was focusing on in the midst of his trial, was that God is a prayer-answering God. Praise Him!

The "holy mountain" that David mentions is Mount Zion in Jerusalem; that is the location of the ark of the covenant. The Levites had started out to carry the ark and join David in his escape, but David had sent them back to the city. He had explained that if he found favor in the sight of God, then God would bring him back to the city and the ark. He said, too, that if God said "I have no delight in you," then he would accept what "seems good to Him." If the Lord did not restore him, David would still bow before Him in worship and prayer. And another important note is that even though David was separated for now from the symbol of God's dwelling place, this separation was not an obstacle to his prayer life!

No matter where we are or what kind of difficult circumstances surround us (even if they are of our own making, because of our own sin or failure) we can humble ourselves before our Lord. We can cry out to Him for grace and KNOW that He will hear and answer us, according to His purposes.

Yes, David knew well Who God is. And he "grabbed hold of" God's hand in prayer.

What happened next?