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` As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: He is a
buckler (shield) to all them that trust in Him' (2 Sam. 22:31).
` Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness
hath made me great' (2 Sam. 22:36).
In days when trouble increased, when many rose up against
David, when many said that there was no help for him in God,
when he was suffering the agony of Absalom's treachery, he
could still say: `But Thou, O LORD, art a shield for me: my
glory, and the lifter up of mine head' (Psa. 3:3). Again, on
another occasion, when David felt that if the Lord should be
silent to him he would `become like them that go down into the
pit', he said: `Blessed be the LORD, because He hath heard the
voice of my supplications. The LORD is my strength and my
shield: my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped' (Psa.
28:1,6,7). The longing soul, separated from the fellowship and
worship of God's people and God's house, cried: `Behold, O
God our shield ... the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD
will give grace and glory' (Psa. 84:9,11).
Here is a cluster of precious passages. Each is illuminative of
one or more of the many phases of grace. `Shield and exceeding
great reward'; `Shield and hiding place'; A shield provided by
One whose ways are perfect, whose `condescension'
(gentleness) indeed makes great, Who is Salvation and Strength
as well as Shield, Who protects when men oppose, deny or
betray, and who gives both grace and glory.
David's heart trusted, and the Psalmist added `I hope in Thy
Word' (Psa. 119:114).