Having read through Mark's gospel and aware that I'm about to start a major series from John, I thought I'd spend some time reflecting on the psalms. When I first became a Christian reading the psalms usually involved picking a number between 1 and 10 and starting there, reading every tenth psalm. Needless to say not many people chose 9 as their number!
Well it's been over 30 years since those days and my appreciation for the psalms has grown and developed over those three decades. Today I read psalm 3, a poem written by David when he had to leave Jerusalem at the time of Absalom's coup. I don't suppose David knew whether he would ever return to the city, or rule as king again. To be honest he probably was more concerned that his life was under threat than either of those two things.
So it is that we read a prayer of hope and trust and submission to God's purposes. Leaving the city as he had, David looks to God rather than the military might or the army for support. It is God who lifts my head high. He also remembers the people as he seeks God blessing upon them as the psalm ends.
There are times when David seems to call on God to destroy his enemies and to shatter his opponents, but not this time. This time it's all about trust and assurance that God will do what God alone can do.
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