When Life is Falling Apart, And It’s Your Fault (Psalm 3)

A Few Thoughts to Consider

Have you ever felt like everything in your life was wrong because of your poor choices?

The psalmist David was undoubtedly someone who felt this way. The setting for this Psalm is 2 Samuel 15-16, where David is on the run from his son Absalom. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed her husband, and now his kingdom is falling apart. Despite his remorse, he now faces the fruits of his actions.

To better help us understand the imagery of this text, Gerald Wilson writes,

There are a number of Hebrew words used to describe enemies. The most common (ʾoyeb) means “one who hates [me].” That is not, however, the term used here. Instead, the psalmist describes the enemy with the word ṣar (“oppressor”), from a root that emphasizes narrowness or constriction. The reference may be to hand–to–hand military struggle in the heat of battle. One can almost sense the panic as the psalmist, turning this way and that, seeking a way out, sees only the multitude of enemies pressing ever closer, about to overwhelm. Perhaps the image is of being tightly bound and unable to escape—something like what the victim of the boa constrictor experiences as the relentless coils draw ever tighter, cutting off escape and crushing life.[1]

Wilson notes, “The psalm is divided into three sections by the appearance of the Hebrew word selah at the close of each section…Each section exhibits a cohesive theme, and together the three sections offer coherent movement in the Psalm.”[2]

The first section in verses 1-2 focuses on David’s enemies. The second in 3-4 on God as a shield. And the third in 5-8 on deliverance.

This is a wonderful pattern to pray during times of self-caused distress. We start by bringing our problems to God. Then, we acknowledge he is our protector and recognize deliverance only comes through him. As verse 8 says, ^“Salvation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people!”