Psalm 3

The life of a righteous man in a wicked and perverse generation is a life of intense prayer. Like Elijah, he may feel as if he is the only one left standing who is fighting for the truth. He looks around and sees many enemies.

Some of them are obvious foes who rise up against him publicly. They may be powerful people who are willing to threaten him with the forces at their disposal. Some pose as friends, but he is perceptive enough to know that not everyone who smiles and nods is a friend. Professions of love are not always what they appear to be. A kiss can be an appointed sign of betrayal.

A man may be insightful, but only the Lord could know what is said about Him in secret gatherings. Hidden enemies congregate behind closed doors with those who are more obvious opponents. Some even use the Name of God as if they are the godly ones, though they have gathered in secret to make their plans to kill an innocent man. They measure out spiritual facts from their lofty pretense of holiness. “There is no salvation for him in God,” they pronounce. Others nod in agreement.

But the Lord is with His righteous servant. If every man is a liar, God is true. He knows what is in a man. He does not have to ask anyone what whispering people are saying. He is able to discern the deep intentions of those who claim to be His friends. Like the sharpest knife, He can divide between joints and marrow deep in a man's bones. He is able to separate the life of a mortal from the spirit in him that is eternal.

This glorious God is a shield to His true servant. The righteous man knows this. The proctection of the Almighty is all around him. When his body would be cast down in grief and trouble, God lifts up his head. His soul sees heavenly realms even in his contemplation of the hills and the clouds. He takes in the beauty of trees and streams, and he knows that a better kingdom will come.

The greatest righteous Man, Jesus of Nazareth, knew heaven far better than Elijah, David, or Jeremiah. This great Son of God came from that realm and was born into this world as a man who immediately had many foes. When His birth became known to Herod, the scheming king devised a plan of deception and murder. The life of Jesus the Messiah was always in danger. But His God was His shield, and no man could take away His life until the time for His appointed sacrifice had come. No force was necessary to capture Jesus after He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemene. He freely gave Himself as the Lamb of God so that His disciples might live.

In the days of his flesh, He offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to God in heaven. He turned to the One who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. God answered Him from His holy hill.

And yet Jesus died. If God heard Him, why did He die? There are many deaths that are necessary, despite the earnest prayers of thousands. Normally we do not know how a particular death fits into the perfect decree of God. But in the case of the Messiah, we understand why He laid His body down and slept the sleep of death. The Lamb of God was slain for our transgressions.

Yet when Jesus the righteous woke again from that sleep, He rose to resurrection imortality. The Lord sustained Him through suffering, through death, and into resurrection life. He slept as the Lamb for us, and He woke again as our King and Redeemer.

Because He lives, the righteous need not be afraid, even if many thousands of people have surrounded us with evil intentions. We have an Advocate at the right hand of the Father, Jesus Christ. God will rise up to save His people from many oppressors.

The cross and the resurrection of Christ assure us of a very weighty lesson: Even if an enemy takes your life, he cannot separate you from the love of God. God will bring you to His holy hill. This is the ultimate salvation.

We may cry out to God, “Save me, O my God!” We may call out to Him with tears for someone we love. And yet death may come in a moment. Remember that the fullest salvation is far better than life in a world of oppression, where enemies of God may use His Name as they plot to murder the innocent. We should not think of heaven as a lesser salvation.

Meanwhile, the Lord knows how to deal with His enemies. Yet we who were far off from God have been brought near to Him in Christ. He is our beloved, and we His. He is in us, and we live in Him. These blessing are true even now.

But for those who persist in hatred and rebellion, turning against the Lord and persecuting His church, what can they expect from the Almighty? God will strike all the enemies of Christ on the cheek. He will break the teeth of the wicked.

Salvation belongs to God, and to His Christ. Because of His willingness to lie down in the death that we deserved, and because of the power of His indestructible life expressed gloriously in His rising up from that death, the blessing of our Almighty Lord will be on His people forever.