A shield around me
Psalms 3:3-4 - This psalm is a reminder that God loves His people, hears their prayers, and answers those prayers.
“But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain.”
Psalms 3:3-4 NIV
Psalm 3 is unique in that it is the first psalm accompanied by a title: “A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom”. What makes that so special? I like what 20th Century theologian James Montgomery Boice said about the titles of psalms. He felt that since they were in the original Hebrew texts, “They are to be taken with absolute seriousness throughout.”1
At this point, David was in serious trouble (a common occurrence!) and his son had led a successful rebellion against him. As we find out in 2 Samuel Chapters 15-18 where all of this mayhem is fully described, even many of David’s friends and political allies had joined with his son.
Even in this time of feeling abandoned by many people, David still had one powerful ally — the Lord. He felt protected, seeing God as “a shield around me”. Shields were crucial armor in warfare at the time, and here David saw God as protecting him not only from the front, but all around his body. David knew that God is everywhere and all-powerful, a shield that would protect him in any and all battles.
With the next words, “my glory”, David acknowledged that his former accomplishments and status as king were not the source of his honor and dignity — those attributes came from God. David often expressed this deep humility, and recognized that any glory that came to him was due to his relationship with God. These words calling out God as “my glory” are reflective of believers who realize that their worth and identity are from God alone.
David’s praise of the Lord as “the One who lifts my head high” is metaphorical. In most cultures, bowing one’s head is (and was) symbolic of defeat and shame. On the other hand, a lifted head signifies confidence, hope, and victory. David trusted God to rescue him from his predicament, so even in this perilous time he could hold his head up high. Looking ahead to the hope of resurrection and redemption found in Christ, all who trust in Him can hold their heads high.
In the next verse of this couplet, David says “I call out to the Lord”, emphasizing that his prayers were vocal and emphatic, something common in ancient Israel. Today’s believers like to worship (praise, not prayer) publicly, but almost always pray silently and privately. For myself, my most effective intercessory prayer has come when I have spoken aloud in prayer rather than prayed silently.
David knew what would happen when he called out to God — “He answers me from His holy mountain.” There was no doubt in David’s mind that God was not indifferent to his predicament and that He would answer. Jesus taught us that God hears our prayers through Him: “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:13-14).
This psalm is a reminder that God loves His people, hears their prayers, and answers those prayers. He may not always answer our prayers in the manner or timeframe that we expect, but His answers are always to our benefit.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Lord, we thank You for your faithfulness to us, and for Your eternal promise to answer us when we call out to You. We pray to You in the name of Your Son and our Savior Jesus, AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.
BibleHub was accessed on February 22, 2025 for commentary on Psalms 3:3-4.
Commentary quotations from Enduring Word are used with the written permission of the author.
Quotation from David Guzik’s Enduring Word commentary on Psalm 3