Psalm 3:3

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 3:1-3

The title of this psalm and many others is as a key hung ready at the door, to open it, and let us into the entertainments of it; when we know upon what occasion a psalm was penned we know the better how to expound it. This was composed, or at least the substance of it was meditated and digested in David's thought, and offered up to God, when he fled from Absalom his son, who formed a conspiracy against him, to take away, not his crown only, but his life; we have the story, 2 Sam. 15:1-16:14... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 3:3

But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me ,.... Or "about me" F1 בעדי "circa me", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Muis, Ainsworth, Cocceius, Michaelis. protecting and defending me. David was a military man, and often alludes to military affairs; and borrows words from thence, expressive of his great security from the Lord; see Psalm 18:2 . So Jehovah the Father was a shield to Christ, in his infancy, from Herod's rage and fury; and afterwards from the insults of the Pharisees, and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 3:3

Thou, O Lord art a shield - As a shield covers and defends the body from the strokes of an adversary, so wilt thou cover and defend me from them that rise up against me. The lifter up of mine head - Thou wilt restore me to the state from which my enemies have cast me down. This is the meaning of the phrase; and this he speaks prophetically. He was satisfied that the deliverance would take place, hence his confidence in prayer; so that we find him, with comparative unconcern, laying... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 3:3

Verse 3 The copulative and should be resolved into the disjunctive particle but, because David employs language full of confidence, in opposition to the hardihood and profane scoffings of his enemies, (39) and testifies that whatever they may say, he would nevertheless rely upon the word of God. It besides appears that he had previously entertained an assured hope of deliverance, from the circumstance of his here making no mention of his present calamity as a chastisement inflicted upon him by... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 3:1-8

The composition is made up of three parts—a strophe, an antistrophe, and an epode, each terminated by the word selah. Some critics, however, make out four parts, by dividing the epode. But the absence of the word selah at the close of 2 Samuel 18:7 is against this. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 3:1-8

A morning song in perilous times. In this case, as in others, the words which in our version form the title of the psalm are in the Hebrew its first verse. And they enable us, with less than the usual uncertainty, to fix on the historic occasion on which it was written. This is one of those psalms which come under those in the first division of the introductory homily. It is an historical psalm, and as such it must be studied and estimated, £ As an illustration of the way in which... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 3:1-8

David's dependence on God. This psalm written by David at the time of Absalom's revolt, reminds one of the poet's lines— "Most wretehed men Are cradled into poetry by wrong; They learn in suffering what they teach in song. I. A COURSE OF AGGRAVATED TROUBLE AND DANGER . 1 . Caused by a tenderly beloved son. And yet David never mentions him; a sign how deeply he was wounded. The silence tells more than speech would do. 2. Not only his throne , but his life ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 3:3

But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me ; or, about me(see the Revised Version). (For the sentiment, comp. Genesis 15:1 ; Deuteronomy 33:29 ; 2 Samuel 22:3 ; Psalms 28:7 ; Psalms 33:20 ; Psalms 84:9 , etc.) The expression has peculiar force in David's mouth, who, as a "man of war," fully appreciated the saving power of a shield. My glory (comp. Psalms 62:7 ). And the lifter up of mine head . As God had raised up David to the throne ( 2 Samuel 2:4 ; 2 Samuel 5:3 ), and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 3:3

God the believer's Glory. "My Glory." When Joseph said to his brothers, "Ye shall tell my father of all my glory," he meant the dignity and power to which God's wonder-working providence had raised him from the dungeon. In an hour it had suddenly become his; and any hour death might as suddenly bereave him of it. When God says, "My glory will I not give to another," he speaks of that which is eternally, essentially, unchangeably his own. But in the text, faith boldly blends these two in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 3:3

Bright morning after a dark night. I. THE SORROWS OF THE NIGHT . The darkness without images the darkness within. 1 . There is the consciousness of danger. Enemies are numerous. Thrice are they called "many." They are also strong and merciless—wild beasts that make the night hideous with their roaring. 2 . Worse still, there is the feeling of helplessness. Friends are gone. Solitary and forsaken, all seems lost. There is no star of hope to break the gloom. The... read more

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