Psalm 3; 2 Samuel (2 Kingdoms) 15-18, Psalm 22/23, Isaiah 60:1
We have already briefly touched upon Psalm 3 at the beginning of this series of the Psalms, since some of its verses are joined together with Psalms 1-2 at the beginning of Great Vespers. However, during Matins, the entire Psalm is recited silently by the priest, along with five others (37, 62, 87, 102, and 142) in a sequence known as the “Six Psalms.” These are said along with prayers in front of the Holy Table and in front of the Holy Doors. It is a solemn time, and meant to take place with no movement, because it is meant to remind us of Christ’s Second Coming and the final Judgement. Let us look at the entire psalm:
A Psalm of David, when he was fleeing from his son Absalom.
O LORD, why do those who oppress me multiply?
Many rise up against me;
many are saying to my soul,
“There is no salvation for him in his God.”
But you, O LORD, you are my protector,
my glory, and the One who lifts up my head.
With my voice I cried to the LORD,
and he hearkened to me from his holy mountain.
I lay down and slept;
I rose up, because the LORD will support me.
I shall not be afraid of ten thousands of people
who are setting themselves against me all around.
Arise, O LORD!
Save me, O my God,
For you are the One who strikes down all who hate me, though in vain;
You shatter the teeth of sinners.
Salvation belongs to the LORD,
and may your blessing be on your people!
Psalm 3 reminds us of that terrible episode in King David’s life when he had to flee from his very own son, Absalom. We find this recounted in 2 Samuel (2 Kingdoms) chapters 15-18. In reading it, those of us who are parents of older children may well be moved by the grief of a father insulted and harmed by his own son—just as God was insulted and attacked (on Good Friday) by humankind, the very creature that bears His image. Of course, for David the attack of Absalom came with many of the subjects of Israel, who joined with Absalom in order to place him on the throne. As the Scriptures say, “Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel… And the conspiracy grew strong, and the people with Absalom kept increasing” (2 Sam/Kingdoms 15:6, 11).
Similarly, God’s anointed was betrayed by one who sat at table with Him, but also betrayed by a coalition of His own people (Sadducees and Pharisees), with the Roman rulers. On top of this, His own disciples even denied that they knew him! In an apt foreshadowing of this terrible betrayal of the God-Man, the Psalmist cries out, “Why do those who attack me multiply?” This language of multiplied foes, plus a clear recollection of the historical situation will prevent any who are tempted to blame Jesus’ death upon the Jewish people alone. It is all-too-easy to point the finger, and to forget that the things written about Israel and the Jewish people are written as “warnings for us” (1 Cor 10:11). All of humankind has turned its back on the King of Kings and is responsible for His death—that very death that saves us! We are all called to repent. In the current political turmoil, the Orthodox believer is called to humility, and should take responsibility for the harm each of us inflicted upon God, for the sin of the world (not of a single people!) brought about the crucifixion. We should not be distracted, scapegoat the descendants of the historic people among whom that great drama took place, and thus put a stumbling-block in the way of their return. For the God-Man came to put away all human enmity, and to reconcile Jew and Gentile in himself.
The language of the psalm is fearfully and wonderfully active. Enemies rise up, God lifts up the head, the fearful one cries out and is heard from on high, he lies down to rest, and then is raised up, he calls out for God to arise, God strikes the “biting” weapons of the enemy, and God blesses His people. Here, too, is a rhythm with which we can sympathize: danger, calling out for help, resting in assurance that the help will come, being raised up personally, calling out for God to put an end to injustice, God’s answer, and God’s blessing. Perhaps the ability to sleep even when thousands are gathered against us is beyond the trust-level of most of us: but it certainly reminds us of Jesus’ ability to rest in God during times of danger—for example, when the boat was storm-tossed! Before us is put the ideal regarding what to do when in times of extremity. The Psalm begins by addressing God, and ends with that same LORD’s blessing.
It would seem that the rhythm of the Psalm corresponds also to that poignant Psalm that Jesus recited while on the cross. He begins, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Psalm 21/22:1), goes on to recognize that God is highly exalted, speaks about the importance of trust, continues to call for help in adversity, and then finally speaks about God’s glory among His people, and celebrates that “He has accomplished it.” In the gospels, the details of Jesus’ humiliation, so starkly represented in the midst of Psalm 21/22, are narrated. But the two specific words that we hear from Jesus Himself are His invocation of God, taken from the first verse of the Psalm (Mark 15:34//Matt 27:46) and His triumphant “it is finished” (John 19:30), which recalls the last verse of the Psalm. The beginning and the end of the Psalm tell us all that we need to know—God is our helper, to whom we must call out; God will bring all to a conclusion, despite everything that we see surrounding us. What the Psalmist experiences in Psalm 3 and Psalm 21/22 are detailed for us in the Passion accounts.
In speaking of Psalm 3, the historian Eusebius of Caesaria reminds us that the same God who saved David in the wilderness is the one who has rescued all the dead from Hades, including King David himself. Eusebius rejoices: “I have trusted my defender, the victor over death, who, after the bronze gates were torn down and the iron bolts thoroughly broken, opened the gates of death that had been closed for ages, and with those people known to him, from which number was David, he prepared for the resurrection life” (Commentary on the Psalms 3.7; PG 23.97). David looked for rescue from his own son, Absalom, and received it; the LORD Jesus looked for support in going through an ordeal that He had to see through to the very end, in order to break the power of the enemy for all of us.
The teeth, or power, of God’s adversaries are, of course, finally broken on the morning of the resurrection, which we celebrate every Sunday morning in a “little Pascha.” Here is where the word “arise” takes on various meanings for us. We call on God to arise: and so, as a “man of war,” the God-Man arises, and puts down the enemy, Satan, who had plotted vainly against us! But we use the word “arise” not simply to speak of preparing for battle, but of actual resurrection. That first Sunday morning saw the vanquishing of death, which would mean glory for all those who follow the Risen One. The prophet Isaiah envisages this radiant morning thus:
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you…
the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Lift up your eyes all around, and see;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from afar,
and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and exult.
(Isaiah 60:1-5)
Hope for this final resurrection colors everything that we do and everything for which we hope. Because of it, there is also a rising up in confidence every day: we know, through the resurrection of Jesus that the Father cares for us, even now. We have, then, several “arisings” to celebrate: We call upon God to “rise up!” and vanquish the enemy. We remember the marvelous rising up of the new Adam, Jesus, on Pascha morning. And we look to the “rising” in glory of those who follow Christ.
The Father’s blessing did not rest only on the One who called out to Him from the cross—though Father and Son were never truly separated. His blessing rests upon all of us who are in Christ. Because of what Christ has wrought for us on the cross, in Hades, and on the Eighth Day, we know what it is to say “Your blessing be upon Your people.” As the commentator Theodore of Mopsuestia declares, “What is this blessing of the Lord? Without a doubt it is peace” (Commentary on the Psalms 3.9; CCL 88A: 20-21).
As those who have received this peace, may we use the confidence that we have received from Christ to pray for the peace of those who are in turmoil at this very time in our world. For they, too, are the beloved of God. Arise, O LORD, and give those who hate each other your peace!
Edith M. Humphrey 