Psalms 91:4— “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.”
This is perhaps my favorite Psalm and one of my favorite verses in the Bible begins this chapter. The entirety of this Psalm is saturated in worship, adoration, praise and thankfulness towards the Lord. Here in verse 4 we find how God hides us under his feathers, which shows both His protection of the saints as well as God’s placing a robe of His righteousness upon those that believe on Him. We also see the faith under God’s wings, meaning God has the strength in those wings to protect us. But the topic for today’s devotion is found in the last part of this verse.
The psalmist makes it clear that our shield from all harm in this life is the truth of God. We, therefore, know that the psalmist is referring to the Word of God, for it is the entirety of God’s truth that He has given and preserved throughout every generation for man to know the truth. Furthermore, notice the phrasing of the verse: “his truth shall be.” Shallmeans that there is an opportunity available to us.Shalt does not refer to opportunity, but is used with certainty (i.e. – a commandment or promise of God). Take the first two parts of this verse for a distinction between the two: There is the possibility for God to cover us with his feathers, but in order to receive such we must declare in our hearts what the psalmist has declared in verse 2 (“I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”). Then once we are under his feathers (or close to the side of God) we shalt (or with certainty) we will trust in God’s wings because we have already seen our prior faith rewarded and will continue to trust in God so long as we remain close to Him under His wings.
I went through all that explanation for this point; the existence of God’s truth dose not equate to inherent protection for believers. The truth is available to shield us, but it is not guaranteed unless we choose to use the truth as a shield. The promise of this section of the verse is that the truth of God is a shield far stronger than anything the world can throw at it. The condition to receive that promise is the utilization of that truth as a shield.
We know that the Word of God is called a shard two edged sword in the Bible. The word of God is a weapon, but the truth contained is the shield. When properly wielded, the sword will cut away that which keeps us from being covered with the feathers of God and will motivate us to get closer to God’s side. The truth that God reveals to us as we rightly dividing the Word can be utilized to shield us from anything that would seek to sever our fellowship with God.
I had some points on what the truth of God protects us from, but God took this devotion in a different direction. Needless to say, God’s truth can protect you from People, Principalities and Pride’s Defiance. What’s more, no matter what you may face in this life there is a truth from the Word of God to shield you from it.
I’ll say this in closing. The Apostle Paul tells us, when writing of the Armor of God, that above all we should take up the shield of faith. Is this a contradiction within the word of God? Of course not, don’t be obtuse. This is where that delineation between shall and shalt comes into fruition. IF we have enough faith in the truth of God to saturate our lives with that truth, THEN His truth shall be our shield and buckler. The psalmist talks of what the shield is constructed of, truth. Paul talks of what is required in order to take up the shield and reap the reward of its protection, faith in that truth.
Your fellowservant in Christ,
Bro. Jordan Foster
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