This episode looks at Psalm 3:6, “I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.” We wake up in the morning with confidence because God sustains us. We can pray a morning prayer denouncing the trials that we face, not because of our own faith or might, but because God sits on the throne.

This episode looks at Psalm 3:5, “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.” Even in overwhelming crisis, God gives his people sleep! We thank him for rest, and we acknowledge every morning that we are alive another day only because God kept us here and prepared this day for us.

This episode takes a look at Psalm 3:4, “I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah.” God hears our prayers from his throne! He controls all things at all times in all places, and he hears our prayers. Praise God!

This episode looks at Psalm 3:3, “But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” When we are in crisis we need to pour our hearts out before God and then transition to looking at God himself and the way he defends the defenseless, gives glory to the gloryless, and gives joy to the sorrowful.

The end of Psalm 3:2 hits us with a special word in the Psalms, “Selah.” This word, even if we can’t determine an exact corollary for translation, prompts us to pause and reflect. It prompts us to ask God to tune our hearts to the melody of the Psalm.

This episode takes a look at Psalm 3:2, “many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. Selah.” David continues detailing the crisis he is walking through. He laments how others are cursing him, saying God doesn’t want to save him and that his trials are simply a result of his own evil (cf. 2 Sam 16:5–8). We can reflect on this situation by praying that in our own times of despair we would not allow the Devil to accuse us and say we are not save-able—that even if we repent God doesn’t want us because we are so evil. Christ disarmed the Devil of this weapon on the cross!

This episode takes a look at Psalm 3:1, “O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me;” When David faces a crisis, when his enemies multiply and he feels abandoned, he runs to Yahweh in prayer. God invites us to do the same.

This episode looks at the superscription to Psalm 3, “A Psalm of David, When He Fled From Absalom His Son.” We can understand deeper the idea of lament by seeing the deeply personal circumstance from which this Psalm arose. David’s son rebels against him and he must flee his own palace (cf. 2 Sam 15–19). We also see how Jesus does the same things years later as he is betrayed by one of those closest to him.

This episode takes a look at Psalm 2:12, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” This verse has plenty of connections back to Psalm 1. We see that those who will not believe in the Son perish in the way of the wicked. The righteous find refuge in him as they meditate on God’s instruction, and thus they find happiness and joy as well.

This episode takes a look at Psalm 2:11, “Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” What does it mean to fear God? And how can we also delight in him at the same time?