Tag: shield

December 19 –  Tested Blameless Protection

“As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.”  Psalm 18:95  (NASB)

As we move day to day looking for and finding promises in every book of the Bible, the Book of Psalms is not out of the ordinary. We’ve already found many promises in these songs written by David and many others which bring praise, worship, honor, and adoration to our Lord God. As we often notice and underscore, God’s Word is true and powerful. The New Testament book of Hebrews (4:12) says God’s Word is living, active, and sharp.  Today we find the promise that God’s way is blameless – that means it’s never wrong and will never lead us astray from the path He places us upon. We also have the promise that it is ‘tried’ which means tested and proven to be true. No errors or mistakes or falsehoods will be found in the original manuscripts of the Bible inspired by God through human writers. Third, God and His Word is a place of refuge, a safe place where we are shielded from the attacks of our evil enemy. Why can we know it’s a safe place? Because it’s God’s true and trusted revelation of His will and it’s able to judge our heart’s thoughts and intentions.  

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 October 14 – Pinions and Bucklers

“He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. ” – Psalm 91:4 (ESV)

The imagery in this verse will be very familiar to anyone who has lived where their chickens have the run of the yard. When a hen’s brood has hatched, her chicks follow her wherever she goes. She leads them to food and they learn how to find it for themselves. If ever the shadow of a hawk passes over the hen she senses the danger and sends out a call to her chicks. They run to her and hide under her spread her wings. Her wing feathers keeping them safe from the sharp eyes of the hawk who can swiftly dive and snatch up the small chicks for a meal. That’s a metaphor the psalmist gives us of God’s faithful protection. God will cover us with his ‘pinions’ and we find refuge under His ‘wings.” Our God is spirit and doesn’t actually have wings or feathers but the psalmist says it this way to help us visualize God’s protection. It’s God’s faithfulness, not ours. God’s faithfulness is like a shield or buckler – a small shield worn on the arm. God, our protector, promises refuge and safe places we need. When we face threats from the devil we need protection.

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