You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the LORD ? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn. Psalm 18: 28-36, NIV.
Loving LORD, as we continue our study today. We are waiting to hear marvelous things from Your Word, so please prepare us for this study. In the name of Jesus we humbly pray! Amen.
As we continue with our study today, we come upon another one of David’s affirmations of faith in the power of Almighty God! It is no small wonder that in spite of David’s grave sin in the sight of God and man, he was able to get back on his feet, and “see the salvation of the LORD in the land of the living” (Psalm 27: 13)! He knew in whom he had believed. He knew that he served a God who does not cast off His people, and certainly not in their lowest moments. He had found God to be a shield, not only for him, but for all who put their trust in Him! During this devotional I began to ask myself the question: Why having God as his shield meant that much to David? I almost shouted for joy as the Spirit of God brought to my mind the scene of the battle between David and Goliath! Permit me to share with you, some of the insights that I received:
Several months ago my devotional centered around David. Perhaps some of the thoughts I shared then, will be repeated in this devotional, or, the Spirit of God may give us some entirely new food for thought. As we think about a shield, the first thing that comes to our mind is protection. The word itself can be used as a synonym of protect. Example: “Shield the child from the rain.” David knew from personal experience that God was indeed his shield. I counted at least six psalms of David (including this one) where he refers to God as a shield (Psalms 3: 3; 5: 12; 18: 35; 28: 7; 59: 11; 144: 2). Knights had shield-bearers who went before them carrying their shields. There is something rather interesting about the scene of the battle between the Philistine and David. After David took off the bronze helmet and the coat of mail that Saul had put on him, because he could not “walk with these,” let us read how Holy Writ depicts what follows:
“And he [David] drew near to the Philistine. So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him” (1 Samuel 17: 40, 41, emphasis provided). As the two draw near to engage in battle, unlike the Philistine, there is no shield-bearer going before David (that is, as far as human eyes can see)! Scripture informs us that David knew he was not facing Goliath by himself, “Then David said to the Philistine, ‘ “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand . . . that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands” ‘ (45-47). You see my friends, long before this encounter with the giant, David had made God, his eternal shield! Listen to this: “I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved” (Psalm 16: 8, emphasis provided).
In today’s society some would consider David’s behavior presumptuous. Some would even describe it as suicidal! But David’s words tell us where his heart was – he had put all of his faith in the one and only God, the LORD; the one and only Rock, our God! So can you and I! The truth is, only our God is LORD over all the earth; over all the circumstances of life. He is the only Rock that will remain standing long after all human philosophies have crumbled! He is the Rock on which we can build our lives, our hopes, and our homes!