In this week’s Crisis Counsels our focus is Psalm 3, a psalm written by King David during the rebellion of his son Absalom. Absalom had advanced on Jerusalem with a large armed force, and David, who escaped from the city, was forced to try to quickly assemble his followers. In his condition of weakness and peril, David prayed to God:

Rise up, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.
Psalm 3:7

Like many of the Psalms, this one is blunt! David asks God to punch his opponents in the jaw. We are perhaps taken aback by such language, but David was in the midst of very rough times. He was about to be attacked, and it would only be a forceful response that would stop Absalom.

David’s own soldiers would eventually enter into battle against Absalom; but it is very significant what David does in this Psalm – he looks to God as the One who would truly bring deliverance. In our own times of challenge, we know that we need to use all of our human abilities to meet each challenge. But Psalm 3 guides us to realize that it is not up to us alone. When we confront great perils, we can look above all to God, and know that God will be at work with delivering power.

Prayer – O Lord, we look to You to rise up and deliver us when we face times of trouble today. Share on X

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About the Author

Dr. David A. Palmer has been the senior pastor at the United Methodist Church of Kent since 1995. He has a B.A. from Wittenberg University, a Master of Divinity from Duke University, and a Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary. A native of Wooster, Ohio, he has served three other churches in east Ohio before coming to Kent. He and his wife, Mavis, have three children.