Then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. And he said:

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
The God of my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation,
My stronghold and my refuge;
My Savior, You save me from violence.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

When the waves of death surrounded me,
The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry entered His ears.” – 2 Samuel 22:1-7 NKJV. 

While I was a Probation and Parole Officer, I received word that I had a new client in Ellis County, Oklahoma. Ellis County is a rural, somewhat isolated county. I had tried to contact the client, Charles, but had received no response. After arriving in Arnett, the county seat of Ellis County I learned that Charles owned a bar directly across from the courthouse. As I remember it, he was on probation for the non-violent offense of Knowingly Concealing Stolen Property.  

After learning about the bar, I walked across the street to find Charles at his bar. There were eight or nine men in the bar, and I asked them where Charles was at. Apparently, they discerned that I was some type of law enforcement and then they surrounded me. I learned from this experience that lone law enforcement officers in bars are not in the safest environment. 

It took some time, but I was finally able to convince them that it would be to the advantage of Charles to make contact with me to avoid having his probation revoked. Thankfully, I was able to finally leave that bar and a few angry men behind. Charles did make contact about a week later. 

King David knew what it was like to be surrounded: When the waves of death surrounded me,
The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.

David also knew what to do when he was confronted by this evil: In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry entered His ears. 

When we are surrounded by evil or by the cares and problems of this world we need to remember as David did that: “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
The God of my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation,
My stronghold and my refuge. 

Remember too that if you are a believer you are not alone, because you are surrounded by the love of God: For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).