“LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.” (Psalm 3:1–2)
David committed a great sin before the LORD by taking Bathsheba and arranging for her husband, Uriah, to be killed in battle. Later, his son Absalom rebelled against him, seeking to drive his father from the throne and make himself king. As the hearts of the people of Israel turned toward Absalom, David was forced to leave his palace and flee for his life.
At that time, many people said of David,
“There is no help for him in God.”
There was certainly an element of God’s discipline for David’s sin in the suffering he endured. Through Nathan the prophet, David had been confronted with his sin, and as a consequence, great sorrow came upon his family and his kingdom. Yet this event also serves as a foreshadowing that points us to Jesus Christ, who would one day come and suffer.
David suffered because of his own sin, but Jesus suffered in our place for our sins. When Jesus was crucified, people mocked Him as though He had been abandoned by God. Those who passed by reviled Him, and the chief priests, scribes, and elders mocked Him as well. Even the thieves who were crucified with Him insulted Him.
“He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.” (Matthew 27:43)
These words are strikingly similar to what people said of David:
“There is no help for him in God.”
Even today, Satan whispers the same lies to us:
“There is no help for you in God.”
“God has abandoned you.”
“There is no hope left for you.”
What Satan seeks to take from us is not merely our peace or joy. What he truly seeks to destroy is our hope in God.
“But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.” (Psalm 3:3–4)
When David fled Jerusalem because of Absalom, he covered his head, went barefoot, and wept as he climbed the Mount of Olives. David, who had once ruled as king, had now been driven from his palace and brought so low in shame and humiliation that he could scarcely lift his head.
Yet even in such circumstances, David confessed that God was “the lifter up of mine head.” If David had looked only at what was happening before his eyes, such a confession would have been impossible. He could say this because God had given him a promise.
“But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.” (2 Samuel 7:15–16)
David was under God’s discipline because of his sin, but he believed that God had not therefore abolished the covenant He had made with him. Though David was now fleeing in tears with his head covered, he believed that in God’s appointed time, the LORD would lift up his head again. And after passing through much suffering, David eventually returned to Jerusalem and was restored to his throne.
In this event, we can see a remarkable foreshadowing that points us to Jesus Christ, who was to come.
Just as David went up the Mount of Olives weeping, Jesus, the Son of David, also prayed in deep anguish in Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives before the cross. So great was His agony that Scripture says, “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44).
But Jesus experienced a far deeper humiliation than David. David suffered because of his own sin, but Jesus, who was without sin, suffered in order to bear our sins. He was despised and rejected by men, was crucified, died, and was laid in the tomb. Jesus descended to the lowest place.
But God did not leave Jesus in that place of humiliation. He raised Him from the dead and highly exalted Him. God lifted up the head of Christ.
Philippians 2:8–9 says,
“He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.”
And wonderfully, God has not only lifted up Christ, but has also lifted up those who are in Christ.
Because of our sins, we were people who could not lift our heads before a holy God. But when Jesus was raised from the dead, God also made us alive and raised us up with Him, for we are united with Christ.
“And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6)
Therefore, David’s confession that God is “the lifter up of mine head” becomes a precious confession for us as well. We could not lift our heads because of our sin, but God has forgiven us and raised us up in Christ.
“I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.” (Psalm 3:5–6)
David could say that he would not be afraid even if ten thousands surrounded him because he knew that God had answered his cry. Earlier, David had confessed,
“I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill.” (Psalm 3:4)
The holy hill refers to holy Zion, where God’s presence and kingship were revealed. God established David as king there and placed the ark of the covenant there, revealing His presence and His rule. God’s presence in Zion and David’s kingship foreshadowed Jesus Christ, who was to come.
David was a sinner who had committed grievous sin, yet he cried out to God. He could call upon God despite his sin because he believed in the Christ who was to come. David knew the gospel—that a person is not justified by his own works, but by the grace of God who forgives sin. Thus he confessed in another psalm,
“Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” (Romans 4:7–8; cf. Psalm 32:1–2)
God heard David’s cry from His holy hill and answered him. Though David was a sinner, he could receive God’s answer not because of his own righteousness, but because of the atoning work of Jesus Christ that would one day be accomplished on the cross.
Therefore, God’s answer from His holy hill was an assurance of grace to David that God had not abandoned him. And when David lay down, slept, and awoke again, he recognized that God was still sustaining him.
Because we awoke yesterday and again today, we tend to assume that we will certainly open our eyes tomorrow morning. Yet waking again tomorrow is not something guaranteed to us. We are able to sleep and awaken again only because God sustains our lives and graciously preserves us.
David had committed great sin, and if God had taken his life, he would have had nothing to say in his own defense. Moreover, countless enemies surrounded him and sought his life. Yet the night passed, and David opened his eyes again. The very fact that he was still alive was evidence of grace—that God had not abandoned him but was still sustaining him.
Because David believed that the God who had sustained him through the night would sustain him again that day, he could confess,
“I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.”
“Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.” (Psalm 3:7–8, KJV)
Scripture tells us that there is a season for everything under heaven and a time for every purpose.
“A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up.” (Ecclesiastes 3:2–3, KJV)
God does not remain silent forever. There is a time when He rises to act. When God arose in judgment in the days of Noah, the world was covered with water, and the voices of those who opposed Him were silenced. Sodom and Gomorrah likewise came under God’s judgment and were destroyed by fire and brimstone.
David did not seek to save himself by his own strength. He knew that his salvation belonged to the LORD. Therefore, he cried out,
“Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God.”
And he confessed that God had struck all his enemies upon the cheek and broken the teeth of the ungodly.
When the people of Israel suffered under slavery in Egypt, they too cried out to God. God heard their cry and sent Moses to deliver them from Egypt. God does not turn away from those who cry out to Him.
Yet David’s prayer does not end with his own deliverance. Even when many had betrayed him and followed Absalom, he prayed for God’s people.
“Thy blessing is upon thy people.”
In David’s prayer, we see a glimpse of the heart of Jesus. Jesus said,
“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)
And on the cross, Jesus prayed for those who crucified Him:
“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
The heart of Jesus, who prayed for forgiveness and grace even for those who opposed Him, was already faintly reflected in David’s prayer as he asked God to pour His blessing upon His people.