Psalms 3:1 O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. Selah
3 But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. 8 Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people! Selah
Devotional:
Except for the riot police, most people today don't handle shields. We do hide behind windshields, though, every time we're in an automobile. Shields protect from harm.
God calls himself Abraham's shield in Genesis 15:1. And in the Psalms all God's people learn to say, "The LORD God is a sun and shield" (Ps. 84:11), "His faithfulness will be your shield" (Ps. 91:4), "He is [our] help and shield" (Ps. 115:9-11).
The man in Psalm 3 is in great danger. An enemy may be behind him, just around the corner, or hiding beneath a bush. But David has protection: "You are a shield around me, O LORD." This Shield covers him from sunrise to sunset: "I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me."
Like David, some of us may be followed by malicious people who try to harm us, but most of us have different kinds of enemies. We are pursued by forces, powers, disappointments, adversities, temptations, accidents, and events of all kinds that make living hazardous and difficult.
But we confess: God is my shield. At night I will sleep, for God's hand is my pillow. And when I awake I will walk in his presence. "You are a shield around me, O LORD."
