This is a wonderful statement David made in his time of trouble.

Psalms chapter 3’s title is “A Psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom.

Amnon, also a son of David had raped his own sister and then cast her away afterwards. Absalom was furious about this and so was David, but David didn’t do anything about it. If the stories were chronological, this would have occurred after David had fallen for Bathsheba and arranged for her husband to die in battle by sending him to the front lines.

What was David to do? Could he punish Amnon for sexual immorality, when David’s own sexual immorality had led to the arranged killing of Uriah?

How many lives did David’s sin destroy?

Could he choose to do nothing and keep this issue within the family and silently sweep it under the rug? David did choose to stay silent.

He chose not to render a punishment on Amnon.

Absalom held an event and invited Amnon. Absalom’s servants killed Amnon and David’s other sons fled.

In 2 Samuel, we read that David mourned for his son every day. Yet it was Absalom he mourned for, not Amnon.

You see, David didn’t kill Amnon, but after time had passed, he was comforted that Amnon was gone.

David wouldn’t kill his own son, but eventually was consoled that someone else had rendered the justice that he would not or could not have done.

It was Absalom that David longed to reconcile with.

David sent Joab to bring Absalom back to Jerusalem. After a few years, Absalom started rallying the people behind him and lied to them saying that the King would not see them, and they would not get justice.

This back story brings us to Psalm 3:4 where David is running from Absalom and his followers.

David writes, “my glory”. The word “glory” here can refer to brilliant light or splendor. Yet let us not forget that David is saying “my glory”; “my brilliant light”; “my honor”; “my respect”; “my reputation”; “my renown”; “my purity”.

This is the same David that prayed “create in me a clean heart”. David knew he had no purity aside from whatever God placed in him.

When his own son was trying to overthrow him and take the throne and the kingdom, David was reminding himself that his worth was found in what God thinks about him and not what man thinks about him.

“You keep my head high” means that God had shown David honor by giving him victory over his enemies.

David could hold his head high because he had no shame or disgrace.

If David had shame or disgrace over not dealing justice for the sins of Amnon, that shame was now gone.

He could have his head raised up by God.

It is important to note that David did not want his enemies dead, and he wanted to reconcile with Absalom. He loved Absalom and all of his children, no matter what they did.

David was on the run for his life. He had essentially arranged to bring Absalom back to live in Jerusalem with the kindest of intentions and yet Absalom used the time to plot against him.

I won’t detail the ending to this story, but Absalom died rather horribly and not by David’s order.

Despite all that happened, David still loved his enemies, even to a fault perhaps.

I think this is an early example of how Christ loves the sinner and how much our Heavenly Father loves all of His children.