On July 7, after a day in the Lake District, we were driving with Chris and Brian Woodcock along a Motorway in northern England, when we saw the large electronic sign above the road flashing the message: AVOID LONDON. TUNE TO YOUR RADIO FOR MORE INFORMATION. So we turned on the radio and first heard the news about the terrorist bombings that had taken place that morning. It seemed like a dark cloud had fallen across the sky. Not only was there the tragic loss of lives, but suddenly the world seemed a scarier place. For the millions of people who travel in and out of London on public transport every day, an element of fear and insecurity had now been introduced to their daily routine. Just getting on and off a bus or an underground train now seemed like a high risk activity. Fear, suspicion and uncertainty now accompanied the mundane task of getting to and from work.

Psychiatrists tell us that all human being share two basic psychological needs; the need for security, and the need for significance. What happens when one of those needs, the need for security; the need to feel safe, is suddenly threatened? This threat can come in many forms. There is the obvious, primary threat to our physical lives and health that the terrorism attacks represent. And man is only one of the threats to our lives: natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis like the one that took so many lives on December 26 can also devastate lives and leave many living in fear. There is also the fear of contracting a life-threatening or disabling illness. All of these things can threaten our security; our sense of safety. They can cause us to lay awake at night, tossing and turning in anxiety.

Today, I want to look into the heart and mind of a man whose security was threatened. His own son turned against him. At a relatively advanced age, he was faced with the loss of his job. He was forced to leave his home. His reputation was attacked. Many of his friends deserted him. His life was threatened. And it all happened very suddenly. It was a situation that blew up in his face. Overnight, his whole security system crumbled. In describing the height of his crisis, he wrote these words: I lay down and slept. I woke again, because the LORD sustains me. Would you like to be able to respond that way to a crisis? Let’s take a look at this man.

His name is David. The psalm we are looking at this morning is Psalm 3. The situation he was facing is identified in the inscription at the beginning of the psalm. When he fled from his son Absalom. You’re probably familiar with the story, but let’s refresh our memories. The story is told in II Samuel 15-19 if you want to read it in detail. I am just going to hit the high points. One of David’s sons, a man by the name of Absalom, had a strong desire to sit on his father’s throne. Over an extended period of time he set out to secretly win the hearts of the people away from his father. At the opportune moment, he invited many of the leaders and influential people of the kingdom to a feast in a nearby city, and there proclaimed himself king in David’s place. He had done his homework well, his announcement was enthusiastically received and the rebel forces made plans to advance against David in Jerusalem.

David was caught unprepared, his armed forces were not assembled. He had no choice but to flee with nothing but the clothes he was wearing. Listen to this description as he left Jerusalem in II Samuel 15:30: But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. Every earthly thing he relied on, all his human security systems had evaporated within a few short hours.

Psalm 3 begins as David describes his feelings during those hours. O LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, "God will not deliver him."

Three times he repeats the word "many". As messenger after messenger had arrived at the palace, everyone had brought bad news of more desertions, more betrayals, more loyal counselors and military commanders who had gone over to Absalom’s side. Many! Many! More than he could count. More than he could calculate. Was there anyone left on his side?

Then, most painful of all, was the fact that many were taking this as a sign that it was all happening because God himself had deserted David. Many are saying of me, "God will not deliver him." God will not save him. God has gone over to the other side. Even God is for Absalom!

Have you ever felt overwhelmed, as David expresses his feelings in the opening verses of this psalm? "O Lord, how many are my foes! How many are my problems, my difficulties! I am overwhelmed! There is no hope! I am in despair! There is no help for me!" That’s where David was, as he left his home, his palace, his city, in despair and apparent disgrace, weeping as he went.

But somewhere during that awful retreat, sometime during that tear-stained flight from Absalom’s forces, David’s faith, built and forged in countless previous battles and challenges, kicked in. A simple, profound truth emerged into his consciousness. Like a drowning man, to whom someone has flung a life preserver, he grabbed it and hung with all his strength. Here is that truth: In every circumstance, God is my source of security. In the next few verses, he describes God in four ways.

First, 1. A shield around me. We see this in verse 3: But you are a shield around me. This word picture is a common one in the Psalms. This particular word is used to describe the smaller, round shield that the warrior carried into battle. He would hold it in one hand, while holding his sword or spear in the other. It could be moved around to parry whatever threat was presented from an enemy’s sword, spear or arrows. O LORD, God of heaven and earth, covenant keeping, promise-keeping God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the I AM of Moses, the God of Israel, YOU are my shield, my source of protection and security.

This image of God as a shield always brings to my mind one of my favorite Bible stories. It’s the story of Elisha, when he and the little town he was living in were surrounded by the enemy army of Syria. They had come specifically to find Elisha because he was consistently warning the Israelite army of the Syrian troop movements. Elisha’s servant sees the army and rushes to Elisha in a panic. "What shall we do?" Elisha answers calmly, "Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." The servant must have looked at Elisha as though he were crazy. But then Elisha prayed: "Lord, open his eyes." When the young man looked again, he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire, surrounding and protecting Elisha. God’s protection is not just hypothetical or spiritual. It is also actual and literal and physical, even if it is usually invisible to the human eye. God is our shield.

Second, 2. My glory. The NIV translates it "you bestow glory on me." The original text states it more simply. You are my glory. The root meaning of this word describes something that is heavy; something of significance and value. At a time when all of the external props of David’s significance, his throne, his crown, his palace, were all at risk and apparently lost, David took stock. What he found was that God himself was the one that gave weight, meaning and significance to his life and experience. "If I still have God, I am intact. My weight, my significance, my meaning is intact as long as God is by my side. God, you are my glory!"

Third, he refers to God as 3. The One who lifts up my head. David left Jerusalem with his head bowed and covered. It was a sign of mourning and disgrace, of shame and humiliation. Symbolically, in Biblical language, to have one’s head lifted up was to be restored and to be brought back to a place of honor and respect. This same idiom is used in the story of Joseph to refer to Pharaoh’s butler who was brought from prison back to his position in the palace. God is the one who can restore us.

But I believe that this is more than just a symbol. There is a literal aspect to it as well. When a person is discouraged, depressed, and defeated, this has an actual physical effect on his posture. It literally weakens the muscles and causes them to go slack. The head bows, the shoulders slump. This is dramatized in a simple way in the world of sports. I watched some of the British Open golf championship this past week. It’s interesting to analyze body language. You could see it almost universally in the response of the golfers to a missed putt. Their heads would fall forward, and their shoulders would slump. If it was a particularly critical miss, they might even go down on their knees. But what was the response when a putt went in the hole? The head was up, the shoulders were straight, the hand would pump.

When life gets us down, when our head is bowed and our shoulders are slumped in fear and despair, who is the one who will lift our head? O LORD, you are the one who lifts up my head.

Fourth, he remembers God as 4. The prayer-answerer. We see this in verse 4: To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. The tenses of the verbs here are timeless. David is describing a timeless truth describing his past and present experience and his future expectation.. Whenever I cry to the LORD, he answers me. He describes God as residing on his holy hill, a reference to the tabernacle and it’s position on the heights of Jerusalem. Wherever I am, I can cry to you and you answer me. David had a long experience of reliance on God. From his days as a shepherd, protecting his father’s sheep from lions and bears, to his single handed combat against the giant Goliath, to his years fleeing from the soldiers of King Saul, David knew that his God was a God who answered prayer.

David’s meditation on the character and past actions of God had a powerful effect. We see it in verses 5-6. I personally think the translators of the NIV have not rendered the tenses of the verbs accurately in this verse. I believe a better translation would follow the KJV: I lay down and slept. I awoke, because the LORD sustains me.

David’s perspective here is that of the morning. He has awakened from a night of sleep. He reflects on that: I lay down and slept. I woke up refreshed. Why? Because the Lord is the one who sustains me. Because of that, look at verse 6: I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.

This is the message of this psalm. In every circumstance, God is my source of security. If God is by my side to sustain me, I am not afraid no matter how many are gathered against me. Abasalom’s forces were still gathering as he spoke these words. Yet David was no longer afraid. So strong was his confidence that he was able to lie down and get a good night’s sleep. Maybe he too was given eyes of faith to see the armies of God camped around him.

Now, awake and refreshed, his faith in God renewed, he prays boldly and confidently in verse 7: Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you smite all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.

In vivid language he remembers all the times in the past that God has delivered him and defeated his enemies and he turns those memories into bold imperatives. Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! He remembered the fundamental truth: In every circumstance, God is my source of security.

He comes back in verse 8 to repeat this truth in simple terms: From the LORD comes deliverance. I prefer the translation: Salvation belongs to the LORD. In these words, he answers the doubters and mockers of verse 2: God will not deliver him. Or as another translation says: There is no salvation for him in God. The key is that it’s the same word in both verses. In verse 2, the mockers cry "There is no salvation in God." In verse 8 David confidently responds: "Salvation, deliverance, belongs to God." It is his special domain, his specialty. It is what he does. And he will do it for me. In every circumstance, God is my source of security. He is my deliverer.

I find the final words of this psalm and prayer especially touching. David, the king, looks beyond how the immediate circumstances affect him personally, and he prays for his people. Civil wars, rebellions, coup and attempted coups are devastating to a nation. As the African proverb says: "When elephants fight, the grass gets trampled." And so he prays: Your blessing be on your people!

I don’t know what may be threatening your security today. I don’t know what it is that tends to keep you awake at night. The sources of our fears are many and varied. And here is the reality! These fears are justified. The world we live in is not a safe place. The perils are many and they seem to be multiplying. If we wait for perfectly safe circumstances in order to get a good night’s sleep, we may never sleep again! But where does our security lie? It does not lie in our circumstances. It lies in God. He is our shield. He is our glory. He is the one who will lift our head. He is the one who will hear our prayers. David knew the same secret that Paul did, when he wrote Philippians 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. In every circumstance, God is our source of security.