Everyone hates you. Not only does your child dislike you, he desires to do away with you literally. In fact, he has recruited hundreds of people to help him. You go on the run to save yourself. Bookies are setting odds against you because they believe your God has deserted you.
Sound familiar? Good grief, I hope not.
However, that’s the status David finds himself enduring. His son Absalom has succeeded in recruiting an army to go against David. Absalom’s desire is to become king, so ‘goodbye Dad.’
Psalm 3 depicts David’s response to Absalom’s attempted coup.
The foundation of David’s response is his God. While the onlookers are saying his God has deserted him (verse 2), David knows otherwise. David stands rooted in his faith in his relationship with his Lord.
In the same verse, David also describes God as the one who lifts his head. I witnessed the ‘lifting of heads’ often as a basketball coach. Midway through practice, the players have their hands on their knees with heads hanging. Sharp breaths and parched mouths abound. They sense death is near.
The coach calls for a water break. Immediately, heads come up. Finally, relief. Like refreshing water, God lifts David’s head when he feels like quitting.
But the best part of verse 3 (in my opinion) is when David writes ‘my glory.’ He is calling God his glory. What does David mean?
The one Person David bestows glory upon is God. He bestows this glory through praise and worship. To explain, you could say something like the following: David glorifies God by giving honor to God through praise and worship.
Why would David do that? Because it gives affirmation as to whom God is, not only in David’s life, but also in the scope of the entire universe. God is God and no one else is. David’s worship and praise affirms that truth.
The word ‘glory’ also implies purpose. David recognizes God is his entire reason for being. David’s existence, his next breath, occurs only because God has deemed it so. In response to that, David centers his life upon His God. God becomes David’s purpose for life. That, in turn, results in glory to God.
Interestingly, is it possible we are God’s glory? Does God give affirmation to who we Believers are? If we say He doesn’t, then does that make Him an indifferent god who created us but doesn’t want much to do with us? However, by choosing us as His sons and daughters He affirms us.
Does He also provide us Believers purpose for living? The Westminster Shorter Catechism tells us exactly why He created us: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.
In this light, think of the Christian giants we revere: the apostle Paul, Martin Luther, Corrie Ten Boom and Dwight L. Moody as examples. They glorified God to the utmost through their praise, worship and work. In turn, God brought glory to them by affirming their work and life and by giving them the best purposes of their lives.
That leads to a final glorification of Believers. This glorification is described in 1 Corinthians 15:42-43:”So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;”
So, everyone hates David, including his own son. How does David react?
Psalm 3:5-6 tells us: “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.”
If it seems like the entire world has turned against you including everyone’s dog, cat and guinea pig, free yourself from that heavy burden by turning to God who loves you without conditions. From this moment, live in the glow of this reciprocal glorying in which your life is spent glorifying Him in every way. In return, He brings His glory to you by affirming you as His and giving you the best purposes ever. Embrace that. And sleep well.