Salvation Belongs to the Lord
“Salvation belongs to the Lord; may your blessing be on your people.” – Psalm 3:8, CSB
“…this is also an evening psalm for the ordinary believer, who can reflect that his troubles are nothing beside David’s, and David’s expectation nothing beside his.” – Derek Kidner
One of the qualities of the Psalms that catches our attention is the way that some of there boldest and deepest confessions of faith come from dark and hard moments. Psalm 3 is no exception. Here we have a moment from King David’s life of deep fear, betrayal, and pain. And here too, we find profound statements like, “Salvation belongs to the Lord.” This should form for us two sources of encouragement. One is of course the statement itself. What a good reminder for us, people who often need saving, salvation belongs to the Lord. It isn’t some side quest for God to rescue His own. It’s His normal activity. It’s His wheelhouse. Find yourself in need of rescue? No worries, God’s literally got this; Salvation belongs to Him. Secondly, notice the overall pattern here and be encouraged. We need not wait for all to go well or be good to worship God deeply or to explore indepth our faith. No, our troubles are a great proving ground for our faith. King David is only one of a myriad of Biblical characters that lived this out. Many of the Psalms have the duality of a serious problem, trouble, or peril AND a deeply cherished reality of faith. If we think that our faith shines brightest in the calm clear skies of life’s great moments, we’ve missed this very key reality. It is in the darkest, hardest, moments that our faith and our God beam brightly. King David says, salvation belongs to the Lord, even as he is on the run from a son with murderous intentions. Out of that great dark shines this light, God is my Rescuer. I have no other hope. I need no other savior. I’ve God and He is enough; even more than enough no matter what comes.
Questions for application:
1. Reflect on a dark season in your life; how did God reveal Himself to you? What promise or reality of faith settled in your soul during that time?
2. How will you remember and hold the promises of God as you go forward on life’s journey?