Don’t Be a Cover Judge – Psalm 3
Don’t judge a book by its cover. We are told that time after time, knowing full well that it is not really about a book and its cover. It is, instead, a warning against forming an opinion about something, or someone, before learning the full story or getting to know the person beyond their appearance. And yet, time after time we ignore those words, and do exactly that. I believe we all have stories where we were not faithful to this lesson. In fact, I was retaught it this week. Without going into detail, I met someone this week and formed an early opinion, only to be blown away by who the person actually is beyond the surface appearance. Perhaps one of these days I will have it permanently engraved in my head to simply not formulate an opinion before spending time with the individual.
What does this have to do with this entry on our Psalms Chronicle journey? Well, Psalm 3 starts off with a middle-aged David on the run, hiding from his own son, Absalom. Let’s just stop there and really think about this. David is king, probably about 60 years old, and fleeing from his own flesh and blood, a son who has formulated a coup to overthrow his dad. Did you get that? The king…the guy ruling the country…the man who was a legend for singularly taking on and killing the pompous, loud-mouthed Goliath, is now in the fight of his life, against his son, who the Bible describes as the best-looking man in all of Israel, and who is said to have cut his hair once per year, with the cut hair weighing in at a whopping five pounds. I cannot imagine his budget for gel and mousse. Wonder what his stylist thought when Absalom walked into the salon for his annual trim?
Now, David is in the throes of despair…at least that is what those who are pursuing him want us to believe. Here is David’s in his own words, “O Lord, how many are my foes. Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God.” Did you catch that? Those chasing after him believed God had abandoned him. And if David listened to his enemies, he might never have written the rest of the chapter. Thank goodness he didn’t, because the words that follow are some powerful ones. Here are a few selections: “You, Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” “I lay down and slept…for the Lord sustained me.” “I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me.” And then my favorite, “Salvation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people.” Do those words sound like someone in distress? I don’t think so either. Instead, those are the words of someone who is confident in the ability of his God to protect and save him.
It is that classic judging a book by the cover. David in the crosshairs, thousands hunting him down, no one has anything good to say about him…so he should be a total wreck. I know I probably would be. But David who has seen his share of ups and downs finds himself resting in the protective arms of his Lord. Psalm 3 is a tale of two stories. The first two verses are a complete 180 from the next six verses. The end is not like the beginning. The conclusion is a complete opposite of the opening salvo. The David that his pursuers want is not the David under the protection of God. Alas, the book is not like the cover.
