Psalms 3:3
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3 But thou, O LORD, [Yahovah] art a shield [magen] for me; my glory, [kabowd] and the lifter up [ruwm] of mine head. [ro'sh] KJV-Interlinear
3 But Thou, O Lord, art a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head. NASB
The Lord is our shield, our glory, our hope.
The shield is a weapon of war, used in self defense against all attacking enemies and their weapons.
Defenseless and unless, we have some sort of shield to fend off all assaults on our person, man is useless on his own, and useless unless he has some sort of shield to fend off the assaults of life. God provides that defensive shield, Gen 15:1; Deut 33:29; 2 Sam 22:3; Ps 28:7; 119:114; 144:2; 33:20; 84:11; Prov 30:5.
In this world we are helpless. The world is greater than all of us collectively. Only Christ is greater than the world, and only through Christ do we have some semblance of defense against the world.
Bible doctrine is that defensive shield, insulating and reinforcing our soul, placing us within His fortress, before His Temple, in the presence of His Throne of power and sovereignty. Refer back to Psalm 1.
Without Christ, without doctrine, without spiritual growth, we are nothing, dust in the wind, helpless and without hope.
I asked the question online about what folks thought about Obama and his muslim beliefs. Some commented that it was not a bible study question. But in fact it is.
If the leadership of our country, opposes Christ, if those who elected him oppose Christ or are indifferent, does that not have an impact on us, on our country, on the world as a whole? Weak leadership points to a spiritually weak society, and that means trouble.
God is our glory.
As man, we are all nothing more than specks of dust. From dust, the basic elements of the world, He formed us all. From nothing, He created our human life and soul. Bringing the two together, He made is alive in this world. From faith, He again created out of nothing, our human spirit giving us eternal life and the opportunity to live forever with Him in heaven.
Where then, is our glory? Is it from the dust? Is it from our elements? Is it from our own innovation and creation?
No.
Of himself, man is nothing. We only become something when we were made alive, when we learn doctrine, which is truth, when we become complete through spiritual growth, and it is not us who accomplish’s this, but God.
He lifts up our head. That is hope. Without God there is no hope. Without hope there is no future.
When we are burdened and in despair, our heads droop down. And it takes something greater than our despair, something that lifts us up out of that despair, to bring hope of something better. God and only God can accomplish that.
One of the things that is severely lacking in this world is respect.
Men are commanded to love their wives. Women are commanded to respect their husbands. Children are commanded to honor their parents.
Respect is the common thread that holds society together. When it is lacking then trouble rises and destroys the very fabric of society.
Inordinate ambition, adversarial competition, arrogance, approbation, ego and so forth, raise the levels of disrespect in the world, and indifference or rejection of God, of Christ, of doctrine, of Gods mandates, all contribute to the destruction of life.
And then we would have no hope, no honor, and certainly no shield to guard us from an unraveling world.
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