Les Psaumes 3:7 Midrash : Midrash Tehillim

"I will not fear the multitude of people, when they come against me in battle." This is what Moses said, "These nations are more numerous than me" (Deuteronomy 7:17). But what is written? "You shall not be afraid of them" (Deuteronomy 7:18).

Another thing to conquer in music. As it says in the scripture (Proverbs 11:10), "When the righteous thrive, the city rejoices." What is written above this verse (Psalms 3:8)? "Rise up, O Lord; deliver me." And now, I play for the Lord when the wicked perish. Similarly, we find (Exodus 14:31) "And Israel saw the great power." Immediately after (Exodus 15:1), "Then sang Moses." And they said (Judges 5:1), "Then sang Deborah." And so it says (Psalms 3:8), "Rise up, O Lord; save me, O my God." And afterwards (Psalms 3:7), "For you have smitten all my enemies on the cheekbone; you have broken the teeth of the wicked." For when You struck them on the cheek, they had no embers, nor wounds. You broke the teeth of the wicked. A parable to what is this matter similar? To two people who walked on the same road, one righteous and the other wicked. They found a tavern and said to each other, "Let us enter this tavern and eat." They both entered together, and the wicked one saw many blessings of fish, cattle, sheep, and birds. He said to the righteous one, "Why don't we give money and partake?" The righteous man said to the wicked one, "Is today the day that this inn is reopening for us? If today is the first day it opened, we used to inspect it. In the end, they both entered the inn and sat separately. The wicked man would say to the innkeeper, "Bring me one portion of peas, bring me a cake, bring me whatever you have." Then the righteous man said to the innkeeper, "Bring me one glass of beer and bring me one bowl of lentils." They sat and played against each other. The wicked man said about the righteous man, "See how foolish he is? All these blessings are before him, and he eats lentils." The righteous man saw how the wicked man was mocking him and said, "See how foolish he is? He eats and breaks his teeth." The righteous man then asked for two cups of wine to bless them, paid for the little he ate, and left in peace. The wicked man stood up to leave and said, "Let's settle the bill." The righteous man asked, "How much did you eat of the lentils?" The wicked man replied, "Only one portion." The righteous man said, "No, it was two." This led to an argument between them, and the innkeeper started breaking his teeth again. This is why it is said, "The teeth of the wicked shall be broken" (Psalms 3:8). The wicked say, "How can God know?" (Psalms 73:11), and the righteous say, "For there is no word on my tongue, but You, O Lord, know it all" (Psalms 139:4).

To the chief musician, with stringed instruments. Hear my prayer, O God. The verse says (Proverbs 10:9), "He who walks in integrity walks securely." This is referring to David, as it says (Psalm 41:13), "As for me, You uphold me in my integrity." And "He who perverts his ways will be known." This is referring to Ahithophel, as the verse says (Proverbs 26:26), "Though his hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness will be revealed before the assembly." David did not love anyone as much as he loved Ahithophel, despite their disputes. Ahithophel was his counselor for all his counsel, as it says (1 Chronicles 27:33), "And Ahithophel was the king's counselor." When David heard that Ahithophel was involved with Absalom, he said (2 Samuel 15:31), "Please, let me have counsel and guidance from Ahithophel." David was not afraid of anyone except for Ahithophel. That is why David said, "Hear my prayer, O God, and do not ignore my plea. Listen to me and answer me. My heart pounds in my chest at the thought of my enemy's threats. Do not let the voice of my enemies cause me to stumble because of the sin of the wicked." God said to him, "Did you not say, 'If an army besieges me, my heart will not fear'?" (Psalm 27:3) and "I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side." (Psalm 3:6) David said before God, "Give me those who pursue me, and I will overtake them and not turn back until they are consumed." But this is not referring to Ahithophel. Similarly, he says that no enemy will shame and lift me up. He is greater than me. And he also says, "You, human, are like my esteemed warriors and scholars. What is like my order? That he arranges for me the laws. My warriors and scholars, who trained and taught me, were my rabbi." And he also says, "Together we will sweeten the secret." What is the feeling? As we learn in the daily offering in Yoma 12b, on the 24th, he broke into tears, and there were four expressions there. And why did Rabbi Yochanan say? To feel all the help, as it is said, "In the house of God, we walk with feeling." My scholars, those who inform me of the outcomes of knowledge. Once he finished his prayer, as it is said in 2 Samuel 15:32, "David reached the top where he worshipped God, and there he met Hushai the Archite." When David saw him, he said, "If you go with me, you will be a burden to me. But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I am your servant, O king; I was formerly your father's servant, but now I am yours,' then you can counteract Ahithophel's advice. Then David said, "Lord of the world, I call out to you," as it is said, "To the God of gods, I call out, and the Lord saves me."