Psalms 3:1

_LORD, HOW ARE THEY INCREASED THAT TROUBLE ME! MANY ARE THEY THAT RISE UP AGAINST ME._ Title. - A PSALM, х_ MIZMOWR_ (H4210), from the Piel conjugation of _ ZAAMAR_ (H2167), to sing]. Gesenius explains it 'a song cut or divided in rhythmical numbers.' Mendlessohn, 'a song accompanied by a musical instrument, by which it is divided into portions.' But Hengstenberg takes the root х_ ZAAMAR_ (H2167)] to mean to decorate, dress, adorn (compare Hebrew, Leviticus 25:3; Isaiah 5:6, where the word is applied to the dressing of a vineyard): hence, to sing to the Lord in ornate speech and with well-executed music: so the Hebrew is used...

Sacred history teaches that David was not only dethroned, but forsaken by almost all men; so that he had well nigh as many enemies as he had subjects. It is true there accompanied him in his flight a few faithful friends; but he escaped in safety, not so much by their aid and protection as by the hiding-places of the wilderness. It is therefore not wonderful though he was affrighted by the great numbers who were opposed to him, for nothing could have taken place more unlooked for, on his part, than so sudden a rebellion. It was a mark of uncommon faith, when smitten with so great consternation, to venture freely to make his complaint to God, and, as it were, to pour out his soul into his bosom. (38) And certainly the only remedy for allaying our fears is this, to cast upon him all the cares which trouble us; as, on the other hand, those who have the conviction that they are not the objec...

1-3 An active believer, the more he is beaten off from God, either by the rebukes of providence, or the reproaches of enemies, the faster hold he will take, and the closer will he cleave to him. A child of God startles at the very thought of despairing of help in God. See what God is to his people, what he will be, what they have found him, what David found in him. 1. Safety; a shield for me; which denotes the advantage of that protection. 2. Honour; those whom God owns for his, have true honour put upon them. 3. Joy and deliverance. If, in the worst of times, God's people can lift up their heads with joy, knowing that all shall work for good to them, they will own God as giving them both cause and hearts to rejoice....

PSALM III _David complains, in great distress, of the number of his_ _enemies, and the reproaches they cast on him, as one forsaken_ _of God_, 1, 2; _is confident, notwithstanding, that God will be his protector_, 3; _mentions his prayers and supplications, and how God heard him_, 4, 5; _derides the impotent malice of has adversaries, and foretells_ _their destruction_, 6, 7; _and ascribes salvation to God_, 8. NOTES ON PSALM III

LORD, HOW ARE THEY INCREASED - How are they multiplied; or, how numerous they are. Perhaps the idea is, that at first they seemed to be comparatively few in number, but had now so multiplied as to endanger his crown and life. This is an appropriate expression on the supposition that it refers to Absalom. At first the number of those who adhered to Absalom was not so great as to excite much alarm; but by the arts of a demagogue, by complaining of the government, by saying that if he were made a judge in tim land, every man would have justice done him 2 Samuel 15:4, he won the hearts of the people, and gathered so many under his standard as to make it necessary that the king should flee from Jerusalem to a place of safety. THAT TROUBLE ME - literally, my enemies. The allusion is to those who were now enlisted under Ab

EXPOSITION Tins psalm is entitled, "a Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son;" literally, "in his flight from Absalom his son." The historical correctness of the title has been questioned (Hitzig, De Wette), but without any sufficient reason. The Davidical composition is almost universally allowed. If it be asked at what time during the flight the psalm may be supposed to have been written, the best answer would seem to be that of Paulus, "on the eve of the battle which is described in 2 Samuel 18:1." 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 agai

LORD, HOW ARE THEY INCREASED THAT TROUBLE ME?.... David's enemies increased in the conspiracy against him, 2 Samuel 15:12; the hearts of the men of Israel were after Absalom, and against him. Christ's enemies increased when Judas with a multitude came to take him; when the body of the common people cried out, Crucify him; when the assembly of the wicked enclosed him, and pierced his hands and his feet. And the enemies of God's people are many; the men of this world are against them; legions of devils oppose them; and they have swarms of sins in their own hearts; and all these give trouble. David's enemies troubled him; he wept as he went up the hill, to think that his own son should seek to destroy him; that his subjects, whom he had ruled so long with clemency, and had hazarded his person in war for their defence, and to protect them in their civil and religious rights, should rebel aga

These may be called very properly morning and evening Psalms. The third Psalm is the morning Psalm. A psalm of David when he fled from Absalom, his son. A dark hour that for David, preceded by the shadows of his own sin, and now deepened by the horrible hatred of his own favorite child, who conspired to take his kingdom and his life. Psalms 2:1. _LORD how are they increased that trouble me!_ As if he could not measure his troubles. He stands amazed. He makes his appeal to God. Psalms 2:2. _Many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah._ That is the worst of all, when they begin to ridicule his religion. He was a man who had said much of his faith in God; and in former days he had done great mar

Psalms 3 SORROWS AND TRIALS OF THE GODLY REMNANT (3-7) _ 1. Persecution and comfort (Psalms 3:1)_ 2. Arise Jehovah! Save me, O my God (Psalms 3:5) The five Psalms which follow bring before us the godly remnant of Israel, their sorrows and trials during the end of the age, while the expected Redeemer and King has not yet come. While this is the dispensational aspect, the application is wider. The trials and sorrows are common to all saints, who live in accordance with their calling apart from the world which rejects Christ; and the comfort belongs to them likewise. Psalms 3:1. The Psalm was written by David when he fled from th

III. A MORNING HYMN OF TRIUMPH AND PEACE. It is a king or party leader who speaks, but who he was or when he wrote we cannot say. The conjecture in the title is of no value except as an extreme instance of failure on the part of editors to understand the Ps. before them and the real character of David their hero. There is no trace of the pathos natural in such a situation (contrast 2 Samuel 18). No tenderness mingles with the thought of victory. The Psalmist was hard beset. He cried to the God who lived in the Temple. The victory was won. The Psalmist sleeps in peace, and awakes full of trust now that his enemies have suffered a crushing defeat. Psalms 3:6_ d._ Translate people, not the people. Psalms 3:7_ a,_ Yahweh has already saved him....