Psalms 3:5
in Psalms 3I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for Jehovah sustaineth me.
KJV
I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me.
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This verse in Psalms 3
Commentary
13 notes on this verseAs in the previous psalm so here the future is prophesied.… "I lie down, and I sleep" is spoken prophetically, namely, I will lie down, I will sleep, I will rise up, because you, Oh Lord, are my sustainer, my glory and the lifter of my head.… For "sleep" indicates death, concerning which the future is prophesied for us.
This site's exposition
I lie down and sleep
on Psalms 3:5-6
He lies down, he sleeps, he wakes, and the LORD sustains him. Spurgeon marked what that takes, a man surrounded by foes able to lie down and sleep. Verse 6 names the myriads on every side after the sleep.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
The words, "I slept, and took rest; and rose, for the Lord will take me up," [Psalm 3:5] lead us to believe that this Psalm is to be understood as in the Person of Christ; for they sound more applicable to the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord, than to that history in which David's flight is described from the face of his rebellious son. And, since it is written of Christ's disciples, "The sons of the bridegroom fast not as long as the bridegroom is with them;" [Matthew 9:15] it is no wonder if by his undutiful son be here meant that undutiful disciple who betrayed Him. From whose face although it may be understood historically that He fled, when on his departure He withdrew with the rest to the mountain; yet in a spiritual sense, when the Son of God, that is the Power and Wisdom of God, abandoned the mind of Judas; when the Devil wholly occupied him; as it is written, "The Devil entered into his heart," [John 13:27] may it be well understood that Christ fled from his face; not that Christ gave place to the Devil, but that on Christ's departure the Devil took possession. Which departure, I suppose, is called a flight in this Psalm, because of its quickness; which is indicated also by the word of our Lord, saying, "That you do, do quickly." [John 13:27] So even in common conversation we say of anything that does not come to mind, it has fled from me; and of a man of much learning we say, nothing flies from him. Wherefore truth fled from the mind of Judas, when it ceased to enlighten him. But Absalom, as some interpret, in the Latin tongue signifies, Patris pax, a father's peace. And it may seem strange, whether in the history of the kings, when Absalom carried on war against his father; or in the history of the New Testament, when Judas was the betrayer of our Lord; how "father's peace" can be understood. […]
The prophetic psalms are by no means silent on the subject of [Christ's] resurrection.… What other meaning can be taken from these words in Psalm 3, sung in the person of Christ?… For, unless one sees in this sleep the death, and in this awaking the resurrection of Christ thus prophesied, one is reduced to the silly supposition that the prophet wished to communicate to us the really remarkable news that he himself fell asleep and later on woke up!
Do not let these words, where he says, "since the Lord took me up," strike your minds as meaning that Christ himself did not raise up his own body. The Father raised him up, and he also raised himself up. How shall we prove to you that he raised himself up? Call to mind what he said to the Jews: "Pull down this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
This psalm can pertain to David or to Christ, and through him to all the saints.
The Medieval Church1 voice
There follows, "I slept." Here he shows in what he was heard -- because he rose. Now there is a difference between the dead and one sleeping: because the dead does not rise again. Job 14: "Do you think that a dead man shall live …
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It is a great mercy when we are in trouble to have our minds stayed upon God, so as never either to eat or sleep with trembling and astonishment. (3.) Some of the ancients apply it to the resurrection of Christ.
I laid me down and slept,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
David's faith enabled him to lie down; anxiety would certainly have kept him on tiptoe, watching for an enemy. Yea, he was able to sleep, to sleep in the midst of trouble, surrounded by foes. "So he giveth his beloved sleep." There is a sleep of presumption; God deliver us from it! There is a sleep of holy confidence; God help us so to close our eyes! But David says he awaked also.
David's faith enabled him to lie down; anxiety would certainly have kept him on tiptoe, watching for an enemy. Yea, he was able to sleep, to sleep in the midst of trouble, surrounded by foes. "So he giveth his beloved sleep." There is a sleep of presumption; God deliver us from it! There is a sleep of holy confidence; God help us so to close our eyes! But David says he awaked also. Some sleep the sleep of death; but he, though exposed to many enemies, reclined his head on the bosom of his God, slept happily beneath the wing of Providence in sweet security, and then awoke in safety. "For the Lord sustained me." The sweet influence of the Pleiades of promise shone upon the sleeper, and he awoke conscious that the Lord had preserved him. An excellent divine has well remarked—"This quietude of a man's heart by faith in God, is a higher sort of work than the natural resolution of manly courage, for it is the gracious operation of God's Holy Spirit upholding a man above nature, and therefore the Lord must have all the glory of it."
I laid me down and slept - He who knows that he has God for his Protector may go quietly and confidently to his bed, not fearing the violence of the fire, the edge of the sword, the designs of wicked men, nor the influence of malevolent spirits. I awaked - Though humanly speaking there was reason to fear I should have been murdered in my bed, as my most confidential servants had been corrupted by my rebellious son; yet God, my shield, protected me. I both slept and awaked; and my life is still whole in me.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I laid me down and slept - Notwithstanding these troubles and dangers I had such confidence that God hears prayer, and such calm trust in his protection, that I laid me down gently and slept securely. The psalmist mentions this as a remarkable proof of the divine protection and favor. He was driven from his capital, his throne, and his home. He was compelled to wander as a poor fugitive, accompanied by only a few friends. He was pursued by enemies, who were numbered by thousands.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
I cry unto the Lord with my voice: – i.e. unto the Lord with my voice, for I cry to Him by reason of (my) distress.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
I lay down and slept My heart was clogged from worry and fear.
But Thou, Lord, art a shield about me: – the opposite of their words who are saying that there is no hope for me in this world, nor in the world to come. Thus they are thinking and saying; but Thou wilt deal with me in the very opposite way and wilt be a shield about me to deliver me in this world and a shield about me in the world to come.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 1 further source is cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| שָׁכַ֗בְתִּי | shakhavti | I lay down | H7901 → | 212 times |
| וָֽאִ֫ישָׁ֥נָה | vaishanah | and I slept ! | H3462 → | 19 times |
| הֱקִיצ֑וֹתִי | hekitzoti | I awoke | H6974 → | 22 times |
| כִּ֖י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃ | yismekheni | he sustains me | H5564 → | 48 times |
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
שָׁכַ֗בְתִּיI lay down
shakhavtiH7901 →212 times
וָֽאִ֫ישָׁ֥נָהand I slept !
vaishanahH3462 →19 times
הֱקִיצ֑וֹתִיI awoke
hekitzotiH6974 →22 times
כִּ֖יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יִסְמְכֵֽנִי׃he sustains me
yismekheniH5564 →48 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 26:3You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
it leads to
- Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
- John 16:33
I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
- John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.
- Jeremiah 17:7–8
But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.
- Psalms 9:10
Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.
- Philippians 4:7
Through
Psalms 4:8I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:24
When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you rest, your sleep will be sweet.
- Job 11:18–19
You will be secure, because there is hope, and you will look around and lie down in safety.
- Psalms 16:8–9
I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
- Proverbs 3:24
About Psalms
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 3; Augustine of Hippo, City of God 17.18; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 305:3; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Eusebius of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 3:6; Jerome, BRIEF COMMENTARY ON PSALM 3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.