I’m reading from Psalm 3 and verse 3 where David uses three relative clauses to describe his Lord. The first one is “But Thou, O LORD, art a shield for me.” The word shield in the Hebrew means more than shield, David meant it as a “buckler, round about” (British Museum). Jehovah is our BUCKLER and shield forevermore! A shield on every side and a shield within! Mr. Spurgeon says “What a shield God is for His people! He wards off the fiery darts of Satan from beneath, and the storms of trials from above, while at the same instant, He speaks peace to the tempest within.,” The second clause David uses as descriptive to his Lord is, “Thou art my glory.” So what if I am driven into exile, or even from the face of the earth, ‘God is my glory’. So what if my name is defamed, and put to shame, ‘God is still my glory’. If our little Church is kept in obscurity from now on, will that diminish its glory? Not if the LORD is its glory. I may never have my glory here and that’s the better, but I will have it one day, “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together” (Rom.8:17). Then the third clause is that his Lord is “The lifter up of my head”, have you ever been down, down so low and so bad that nothing or anyone could help you up? God can put you there and He can fix you so that only He can lift you up (Read Ps.42:5-11). Though you may see me hang my head in sorrow, I shall at length, and by His grace, lift it up in joy. Here is a wonderful trilogy…Defense for the defenseless…Glory for the despised…and Joy for the comfortless. Then in verse 4 David cries, “I cried unto the LORD with my voice.” The Lord, I’m sure, hears the silent prayer of the soul as well as the vocal prayer. I believe one in trouble may get God’s attention better in his closet lifting up his voice in a sincere cry. Our enemies lift up their voices against us; why not lift our voices to Him who is for us? Observe this sweet divine cordial, “And He heard me from His holy hill.” We need not fear a frowning world or a conspiring devil while we have a prayer-hearing God to rejoice in. David’s sweet consolation is found in verses 5 and 6, “I laid me down to sleep.” How may we find sweet repose in the midst of the warzone? Not in anything we can do, but in faith in a covenant-keeping, prayer-hearing, prayer-answering God. Anxiety will keep us on tiptoe looking for the enemy; FAITH will lay us down to sleep. “I awaked.” What did he find, that his troubles had vanished, NO, that His God had sustained him in the midst of them. “Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come, Tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” ~~Terry Worthan, 1938-2022
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