Psalms 3, 4 and 5 were written by David when he was running from his son, Absalom who was trying to kill him. You can read the story in 2 Sam 15-18.
We all make bad decisions and choices in life, and sometimes our problems can be connected in some way to those decisions. David was not exempt. His son Absalom had rebelled against him and wanted to take his throne before he was even dead!
He had chosen Solomon to rule after him, the second son that he had fathered by Bathsheba after the first one who was born through adultery and murder had died soon after childbirth, yet his son Adonijah from a different wife of David had attempted to crown himself king while David was on his deathbed, but still alive. His own children were against him!
David ran for his life in the wilderness in his younger days. King Saul tried to kill him before he was crowned as king in Saul's place. He never lifted a finger against king Saul, ever, calling him the Lord’s anointed, despite this constant attack on his life, and on those who followed him.
Over the years of David’s life he faced many painful situations. Some of them self-inflicted, like not disciplining Absalom in his youth, or not punishing his general when he murdered people for selfish reasons instead of war, etc.
Yet He still called on God to rescue him. He recognized that despite his failings, he was still a son of the Most High. He was still the anointed king. And he could still rely on God to honor the covenant that God had made with him, despite erroneously feeling alone or deserted by God. God never walks away from us; we walk away from Him.
It is a good for us to see David’s hardship and feel the pain that he felt. We are not unique. We may also feel alone, and persecuted, but God wants us to know, we are in His hands if we allow Him to guide us through our hardships. God always uses our circumstances, no matter how twisted and bad we think they are, if we place them in his hands.
Psalms 3:5-6 notice the solitude and rest David continues to possess during turbulent times.
Psalms 5:3 speaks of exploring the morning where God hears our voice as we prepare a prayerful sacrifice and watch and wait for God to speak to our hearts. This is so beautiful because we know he was suffering. Do you suffer well?
Psalm 6 is the raw honesty with which David expresses his emotions. He doesn't hold back his pain or try to put on a facade of strength. Instead, he lays bare his soul before God, unafraid to admit his weaknesses and vulnerabilities. In verses 6-7, he writes, "I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes."
he was going through some serious trouble. He had so many things against him, as the anointed king whom Satan hates, that he was calling on God to bring a change in the tide.
We all have troubles in this broken world, as Jesus reminds us, (“in this world you shall have tribulation”) but sometimes things can seem to overwhelm us.
David had various things come against him over his life, from the time God pointed him out as the future king until he lay on his deathbed. It kind of put a target on his back from enemies, because Satan turns many people against his anointed children, but it was also coupled with bad decisions on David's behalf.
In a fallen world we continue to look to our Risen King no matter what the circumstances may be. There are people judge their God by their circumstances and people who judge their circumstances by their God. God is good all the time even when we are suffering disappointment and discouragement. Being honest with God about your pain is an important part of walking with God authentically.
With God great purpose can be born from deep pain.
Don’t waste your pain. You paid too great of a price for your pain. Don’t waste it. When you put your pain in the hands of Jesus you find purpose as Jesus converts hurt to fruit. The cross was a symbol of shame and guilt but now that Jesus has come it’s a symbol of hope and grace!
Pain becomes purpose and hurt becomes fruit when we place it in the nail scarred hands of our Savior.
We learn to process our pain correctly through consistently engaging in spiritual practices no matter the storm! These spiritual practices release something of the life of Christ deep within you sustaining you and developing you to be mightily used by God.
2 Cor 1:4 He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. MSG
Selah is used 71 times in 39 Psalms: The word selah is as mysterious as it is beautiful. While its exact meaning has been debated since the second century, Strong’s concordance provides multiple definitions.
Selah is a word used 74 times in the Hebrew Bible. Its etymology and precise meaning are unknown, though various interpretations are given. It is probably either a liturgical-musical mark or an instruction on the reading of the text, with the meaning of "stop and listen.
Other scholars contend that selah meant “forever” or that it was designed to prompt congregants to contemplate their relationship with the Lord. As the Amplified version of Psalm 3:4 reflects, “With my voice I cry to the Lord, and He hears and answers me out of His holy hill. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!”
The poetic verses are somewhat like those in the Psalms – many of the lines that include selah use it as a conclusion or break in the stanza. In fact, selah is included seventy-one times within thirty-nine Psalms. Thirty-one of these were directed “to the choirmaster” or director. It is easy to understand, then, why many people believe selah is a type of musical instruction.
Psalm 3:2 Many are saying of me, “There is no help [no salvation] for him in God.” Selah. AMP / Haters gonna hate
Psalm 3:4 With my voice I was crying to the Lord, And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah. AMP
Psalm 3:8 Salvation belongs to the Lord; May Your blessing be upon Your people. Selah. AMP
Psalm 4:2 O sons of men, how long will my honor and glory be [turned into] shame? How long will you [my enemies] love worthless (vain, futile) things and seek deception and lies? Selah. AMP
Psalm 4:4 Tremble [with anger or fear], and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed and be still [reflect on your sin and repent of your rebellion]. Selah. AMP
Psalm 7:5 Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me; And let him trample my life to the ground And lay my honor in the dust. Selah. AMP
Psalm 9:16 The Lord has made Himself known; He executes judgment; The wicked are trapped by the work of their own hands. Selah. AMP
Psalm 9:20 Put them in [reverent] fear of You, O Lord, So that the nations may know they are but [frail and mortal] men. Selah. AMP
GP2RL: Purpose times of selah this week where you pause and rehearse God’s faithfulness in the good times and in times of lamenting.