You, Lord, are a Shield. Day 5. Psalm 3, Jan 5th | Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Psalm 3

A Psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.

¹ LORD, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
² Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”

And did God deliver David? He most certainly did.

Do not worry about what other people say. They are like you and me, people of limited intelligence and vision.

Do not fear evil words and evil predictions. God holds our future in his hands. God is a shield around us. These words have no power to hurt us.

Put your faith in the omnipotent one.

³ But you, LORD, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
⁴ I call out to the LORD,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.

God is a shield not just in front of David, but all around him.

A shield all around us who fly to the shelter of his strong tower. To the shelter of his arms.

He bids us lift our heads high—and look upwards—no matter what our circumstances.

We call out to him in our despair, and he answers us.

⁵ I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

⁶ I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.

Cast your cares on God, and sleep. He is stronger and more powerful than tens of thousands of enemies, and his plans for your destiny WILL NOT be thwarted.

⁷ Arise, LORD!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.

My goodness, is it okay to pray like this? I have no idea, but I do know that David was a man after God’s own heart. I do know that all human beings have a craving for justice implanted in their hearts. I do know that justice is done, frequently on this earth, always in heaven.

I do sometimes pray, “Vindicate me against my adversary,” Luke 18, because that it is a prayer Jesus said neither the unrighteous judge nor God can resist. Still this prayer is just a way-station in the stages of forgiveness.

As my spirit is purified, I hope to pray like Jesus, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

But we need to be honest, as we go through the stages of forgiveness. I think I am at, “I forgive you myself, and I am so grateful that there is a just and righteous Judge into whose hands I can commit my cause.”

⁸ From the LORD comes deliverance.

May your blessing be on your people.

I breathe deeply, my tensed shoulders relax at these words. May your blessing be on your people indeed, Lord.