Psalm 3:7

Note: It is interesting that there seems to be quite a bit of variance with the word here translated as arise. Gill directly opposes Poole and Augustine in their application as you will see below. Franz Delitzsch would compliment Augustine more than Gill as would James Strong. Yet while the application is the same between Delitzsch and Strong they too have some variance in their interpretation here; although it seems to be more a matter of grammar than anything. The word is quwm (Strong) or kumáh (Delitzsch) and signifies action as to arise, stand, become powerful, be confirmed, come on the scene, etc. So Gill might be off base a little here since he stands opposed to all others that I looked to here, even with their slight variances.

“Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God”
• […] it seems… probable, that, after having made mention of his confidence in God, he returns again to make the same prayers as at the beginning. He therefore asks to be preserved, because he was in imminent peril. JC
• Arise, bestir thyself on my behalf, and be no longer as an idle spectator of my miseries, O my God; who art mine by special relation and covenant, and I am thy son and thy servant; Lord, save thine own. Matthew Poole
• Awaking in health and safety, he feels grateful to Him whom he owes it (Ps. 2:5). God is said to arise when He takes a decisive part in what takes place in this world. The cry for help is… not… of a prophetically certain hope as in 6:9, 7:7, 9:5, etc., for the logical connection requires an appeal to previous experience in the present passage: they express facts of experience, which are taken from many single events down to the present time. K & D, Franz Delitzsch
• God sometimes, in the apprehension of His people, seems to be as if He was asleep: when He does not appear to them and for them, and does not exert His power on their behalf, then they call to Him to awake and arise… and it may be observed, that though David enjoyed so much peace and tranquility of mind, and was in such high spirits as not to be afraid of ten thousands of men, yet he did not neglect the right means of deliverance and safety, prayer to God… who was able to do it, and to whom salvation belongs: so Christ, his antitype, prayed to God as His God to save Him, and was heard by Him in like manner; so the saints call upon God in a day of trouble, cry to Him in their distresses, to be delivered out of them. JG
• It is not said to God, “Arise,” as if asleep or lying down, but it is usual in Holy Scripture to attribute to God what He doeth in us. Augustine
• Promises of salvation do not supersede, but engage, our petitions for it. His faith became triumphant. He began the psalm with complaints of the strength and malice of his enemies, but concludes it with exultation in the power and grace of his God, and now sees more with him than against him. MH

“for thou hast smitten all mine enemies on the cheek-bone”
• [This] may be explained two ways: either that in praying he calls to his remembrance his former victories, or that having experienced the assistance of God, and obtained the answer of his prayers, he now follows it up by thanksgiving: and this last meaning I am much inclined to adopt. In the first place, then, that he fled to God for help in dangers, and humbly prayed for deliverance; and after salvation has been granted to him, he gives thanks, by which he testifies, that he acknowledged God to be the author of the deliverance which he had obtained. JC
• Smitten, thou hast hitherto helped me, do not now leave me. Upon the cheekbone; which implies either contempt and reproach, as this phrase signifies; or the smartness and soreness of the blow, whereby, as the next clause explains it, their teeth were struck out; and so they did not only receive hurt themselves, but were disenabled from doing that mischief to others which they desired and were accustomed to do. Matthew Poole
• The idea of contempt is combined with that of rendering harmless in this “smiting on the cheek”. K & D, Franz Delitzsch
• To smite anyone upon the cheek is reckoned reproachful, and is casting contempt upon them; and the sense is, that God had poured contempt upon His enemies in time past, and had brought them to shame and confusion: hence he puts up the above prayer as a prayer of faith for salvation, founded on past experience of God's goodness. JG
• When God takes vengeance upon the ungodly, He will smite in such a manner as to make them feel His almightiness in every stroke. All His power shall be exercised in punishing and none in pitying. Oh that every obstinate sinner would think of this, and consider his immeasurable boldness in thinking himself able to grapple with Omnipotence! Stephen Charnock
• [God] silenced them and spoiled their speaking, blemished them and put them to shame, smitten them on the cheek reproachfully, had disabled them to do the mischief they intended. MH

“thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly”
• The teeth, i.e. their strength and the instruments of their cruelty. He compares them to wild beasts. Matthew Poole.
• David means, an ignominious end has always come upon the ungodly who rose up against him and against God’s order in general, as their punishment. The enemies are conceived of as monsters given to biting, and the picture of their fate is fashioned according to this conception. K & D, Franz Delitzsch
• He compares his enemies to wild beasts, and he declares that God hath broken their jaws, so that they could not injure him. CHS

Personal Summary:

We have a multiple recurring themes in these first three Psalms. In this verse we see one of them realized. In Ps. 1 the wicked were compared to the chaff that blows away in the wind (1:4), told they will not even be able to stand in God’s presence (1:5), and that they will perish (1:6). In Ps. 2 we are told that God mocks the wicked (2:4), that He will express His wrath and displeasure against them (2:5), that Christ will utterly destroy them (2:9), and that the wicked will perish and feel His wrath if they do not repent (2:12). Now in Ps. 3:7 we see the destruction of the wicked yet again. Here the wicked are pictured as brute beasts, animals, monsters seeking to prey upon and destroy the people of God and David specifically.

The great arrogance of mankind is that we think because we have not seen immediate repercussions that we are ok and become ever more emboldened in our sin, the wicked especially so. They think because they have seen some small measure of success in their persecution of God’s people that they may do so with impunity. But even their temporal success is measured by God and their wickedness will be paid for. God will not be long-suffering forever. One day they will hear the thunderous roar of an angry God that demands of them to, “prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.” (Job 38:3) Oh! the fear that will overwhelm them in that moment! Even the righteous crumble in the presence of the Lord (i.e. John, Isaiah, Job), how much more so the wicked? We know we have been forgiven and we still melt in the presence of an almighty God. They would do well to heed the wise words of Stephen Charnock when he says, “Oh that every obstinate sinner would think of this, and consider his immeasurable boldness in thinking himself able to grapple with Omnipotence!” When that day comes their will be no more striving, only the full force of God’s wrath born against the wicked in convicting and punishing them for their iniquity. Let the wicked repent, let the righteous rejoice, for God does reign now and forever more!

Another thing that has been seen in this Psalm is a pattern for godly living, and this continues in this verse. We know from 3:4-6 that we are to be a people of prayer, faith, and confidence. Each of those things compliments and builds upon the other. Now the layering continues, for now we are to be thankful. We are to praise God for what He has done for us, be grateful for all that he has done for us, not the least of which is salvation. How often do we thank God for salvation? I now often make a point of doing this in my prayer time. How immense a thought to think that God, in the scope of eternity, has always loved and chosen us in spite of knowing what our hate and sin against Him would be; the Son asked for us as His inheritance and voluntarily laid down His life for us knowing we would revile and reject Him throughout the course of time; The Spirit calls with a call we would otherwise happily refuse and then sanctifies us, conforming us to the image of the Son throughout our lives until we finally come home to see our blessed Redeemer; and we are preserved until our Lord comes again not by our strength or actions but by God Himself. It is a comforting thought for me to know that in the scope of time God has always loved me since before the foundations of this earth were even laid and that He is the security for my soul, accomplished entirely by Him. How can I not give thanks and praise for such a reality? One who deserves it least has always been preferred amongst men by God with all of the other saints through all of time.

Should our thanks stop there though? In the Western world specifically I think we tend to forget how blessed we are. We have challenges that others don’t for sure, but we have luxuries that most can’t even imagine either. It isn’t just that our necessities are met and we must give thanks for them, even though we should, but we lead extravagant lifestyles to be sure. I don’t want to make this an indictment or discussion about the evils of materialism, this isn’t the time or place, but we must at some point stop, and realize just how good we have it that we live so well and so free from persecution. God has given it to us and we must give thanks. It isn’t owed us in any way. Paul tells us that we are to be content and give thanks if we have “food and raiment.” (1 Tim. 6:8) Who here can claim that the Lord has given them only clothes and food? Stop, take stock of your life and give thanks. Is it salvation you cherish? Give thanks. Is it you wife or husband? Give thanks. Is it your kids? Give thanks? Your temporal needs being met and even exceeded? Give thanks. Living in a country that guards your right to worship God openly, freely, and without interference? Give thanks, give thanks, give thanks! All of these things are blessings and all of them are more than any of us deserve.

Through experience we, like David, see the realities of the Lord’s hand in our lives played out over and over again. Through difficult times and trials, when we had thought the day was lost, He has consistently delivered a victory, met our needs, and grown us. Have faith in God, pray diligently to Him daily, be confident that His will will be accomplished to His glory and your good, and praise Him continually, for He is God and he is worthy of all praise and honor! “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” (Heb. 13:15)