You have smitten all my enemies

Psalm 3 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Morning Prayer of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

O Lord, how my adversaries have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
² Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no deliverance for him in God.” Selah.

³ But You, O Lord, are a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.
⁴ I was crying to the Lord with my voice,
And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.
⁵ I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
⁶ I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me round about.

⁷ Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God!
For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek;
You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.
⁸ Salvation belongs to the Lord;
Your blessing be upon Your people!

In Matthew 10:34-36 Jesus says:   “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.”   In Mark 3:20-22 It says:   He came home, and the crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.” The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”      Jesus not only said that we would possibly face having those who are close to us, even our families, turn against us; He understood what that was like. His own family doubted who He was. He was betrayed by one of His own disciples; denied and abandoned by the others. For Jesus it seemed that the whole world was against Him, having committed no crime, He was sentenced to death. In John 15:18-25 Jesus says:  “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yetbecause you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.Remember the word that I said to you,‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.Butall these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin,but now they have no excuse for their sin.He who hates Me hates My Father also.If I had not done among themthe works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they haveseen and also hated both Me and My Father.But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law,‘They hated Me without a cause.’”     It may seem at times that the whole world is against us too, that we are hated without cause, even by some of those who are closest to us.

David, the psalmist, also experienced and knew the hardship and difficulties of rejection, having those who were close to Him turn against Him. He knew what it was like to seemingly have the whole world against him. David was disregarded and scorned by his brothers. He was hunted and chased by king Saul and his armies, although David served him faithfully, ate at Saul’s table and was even given his daughter as a wife. David even knew the heartache that came from having his own son, Absalom reject, overthrow and want him killed. The Psalms are filled with David’s prayers, his praises and his entreaties to God through all he experienced. In today’s text, Psalm 3, a:   Morning Prayer of Trust in God. A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son, he says:     O Lord, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me. Many are saying of my soul, “There is no deliverance for him in God.” Selah.   This too happens to those who are like Jesus. When Jesus was on the cross, it says in Matthew 27:39-43:  Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”     David continues in Psalm 3:  But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head. I was crying to the Lord with my voice, And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me round about.    God’s encouragement and promise to us is:  "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:6) Jesus says:  “I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)  In Psalm 91:7-10 the psalmist says:  A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you.  You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked.For you have made the Lord, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent.

In today’s text he says:  Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God! For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek; You have shattered the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the Lord; Your blessing be upon Your people!      See, here’s the thing for us: The Lord has indeed smitten all of our enemies. He has already won the war against evil, against sin and death, and so against anything that could harm us. Colossians 2:13-15 says:  He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.    Jesus won the victory for us on the cross, and:   we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (Romans 8:37) In Psalm 23:4, the psalmist says:  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.   Psalm 56:11 says:  In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?     In Matthew 24:9-14 Jesus says:  “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.Thenmany false prophets will rise up anddeceive many.And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will growcold.But he who endures to the end shall be saved.And thisgospel of the kingdomwill be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”      We may indeed face battles in our lives. It may seem as though the whole world is against us. But one thing we have and can hold onto, although the battles are real, the war has been won. Jesus was, is and always will be victorious. All we need to do is to endure to the end, walking in the promise and the protection of the victory He has won. He has smitten all of our enemies!

Thank You heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ, that as You said on the cross: It is finished! The victory has been won, then, now and forever, and by Your precious Holy Spirit, I can walk in that victory, today and every day.  Amen.