“The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.”
Amazing Grace by John Newton, Verse 4
I looked up the word “shield” on Biblegateway.com and it references “shield” 22 times in the book of Psalms alone and 96 times in the Old Testament. God has not only promised to be good to us but he has also promised to shield us, to be like a shield between evil and us. John Newton picks up this idea in his fourth verse.
We might not identify with the idea of shield as a protective weapon of war. We might think more of a coat of arms that defines our family identity, hung over a fireplace, and passed through the generations. King David in Psalm 18 identifies a shield as a rock we can stand on, fortress we can run to, the symbol of a deliverer we see coming to our rescue, and horn of salvation. All are synonyms for shield. God is a being in whom I can take refuge, who stands between danger and us.
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress,
and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold.” Psalm 18:2
What might God be shielding you from today? How would you like him to stand between others you care about and danger? These are good seeds for prayer and praise. Only a risen Savior can shield us today!
On the Way to Wonder 