"The LORD God is a sun and shield."
For us pilgrims and sojourners, the inspired Word of God is a powerful source of encouragement. Consider this passage from David, the inspired King of Israel:
"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You! ~ Psalm 84:11-12 NKJV
Can you imagine what would become of our planet if someone pulled the plug on our sun? What if the sun stopped working? Or what if the sun refused to rise in the east? What would happen to plant life if the sun stopped warming the globe? And how would animals be impacted if the sun called it quits?
Needless to say, the sun is absolutely vital to all life on planet Earth. Some might even say the sun is responsible for all life. Many cultures, like the ancient Egyptians and the Romans, worshipped the sun as a god, because from an earthly perspective, there would be no life without the sun.
And I think that's what the psalmist has in mind when he declares, "For the LORD God is a sun..." In the same sense that the physical sun is vital and responsible for all life on earth, the believer knows it is actually God, the Sun of righteousness, who is the true source of life itself! JAH is the one, behind the curtain so to speak, controlling the sun, the moon and the stars! As believers, we also know it is our God who controls every breath we take and every beat of our heart!
JAH is the source of all life, therefore He is a sun. But He is also a shield. If the sun speaks of God's provision, then the shield speaks of God's protection. Bible teacher Woodrow M. Kroll states, "In Him we find both warmth and protection. His steady rays direct our paths. Yet, when we encounter trouble, He is our shield, the one who preserves our going out and coming in." Matthew Henry writes, "We are here in danger, but he will be to us a Shield, to secure us from the fiery darts that fly thick about us; with his favor he will compass us as with a shield." Praise God for being our sun and shield!
The psalmist continues, "the LORD will give grace and glory. Again, let's hear from Brother Henry. "And what is grace, but heaven begun below in the knowledge, love, and service of God? What is glory, but the completion of this happiness in perfect conformity to, and in full enjoyment of him for ever? If he have begun to give us grace, his grace will be sufficient for us, and will assuredly ripen into glory. Both are God's gift, his free gift."
Believers in Christ Jesus will be eternally grateful for God's free gift of grace and glory. For when we received, by faith, the free gift of heaven's grace, it secured for us the promise of heaven's glory! Amen and praise the LORD!
And speaking of promises, the Spirit-inspired King, closes this verse with a wonderful promise: "No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." It's a wonderful promise indeed! It puts me in mind of Psalm 34:9-10, "Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing." Amen!
Brothers and sisters, let us arise and take hold of these powerful promises from the Most High! He is a sun and shield. He will provide for us and protect us. JAH will give grace and glory. Heavenly grace here secures for us the promise of heavenly glory in the hereafter. And as we live our lives now between His grace and His glory, JAH promises no good thing will He withhold from us as we walk faithfully in the light of His Word.
So be encouraged fellow pilgrims! JAH is a sun and His Word is as faithful as the sun. Let us arise and lift up our eyes unto the hills from whence cometh our help. Our help cometh from the LORD, who made heaven and earth! Our God is a good God, a Mighty God! And if God be for us, who can be against us??
Join me as I join King David in proclaiming," O LORD of hosts, blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man [or woman] who trusts in You!"
Grace, Peace and Jahspeed!