Always a joy to be here. I was
talking to the person at the motel, and he said,
he said, you was just here. And I said, yes, it's not been just
a few weeks, but glad to be back. And it's always a joy to come
and be with you folks, and fellowship with you, and worship with you,
and I discount you. Dear friends, have your Bibles
turned with me this morning to the book of Psalms, chapter 3, and verse 3. Psalms 3, 3. Now, what I want to speak about
this morning is scattered throughout the book of Psalms, and I'll
pick out some of these, but there's more. I didn't realize it until
I got the concordance out, started looking, and the psalmist uses
this phrase many times throughout the book of Psalms. It says,
But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me, my glory, and a lifter
up of mine head. Oh Lord, art a shield for me. We see David's confidence is
in the Lord. You read the book of Psalms,
different Psalms, and you can just see this. And I often wonder
just where people's confidence, where it's located, where is
it at? David was in the Lord. You know, there's a lot of people,
their confidence in their self. Others, it's in religion. It's
in their doings or what they've done or going to do. But here,
David's confidence is in the Lord. He said, He's my glory. He's a lifter of my head. He's
my shield. This shield that it speaks of
here, I am told that it's like a buckler that is round about
In protection, round about, that surrounds a person entirely. The most time we think of a shield
is that which is movable, and that's also in the Bible. We
see in the book of Ephesians. But this is that which surrounds
a person. It's above, it's beneath, it's
around, within, and without. And David was a man of trying
circumstances. He knew war, he knew people conspiring
against him, deception, sorrow, but he also knew where to go. He knew the stronghold, didn't
he? And David, he said this, though my house be not so with
God, yet he is made with me and everlasting covenant, ordered
all things insured. And he said, this is my salvation
and my desire. So let me just say a few words
this morning about this. Lord art a shield. Believers
have a shield. That's my first point. We need
one. It's a necessity and we have
one. I read over in the 15th chapter
of the book of Genesis and I flipped to it just a minute ago. I said,
where is that? And so I opened up my Bible in
Genesis and there it was, sitting right on the front bench a while
ago. He told Abraham, he says, fear
not, I am thy shield. And he went on and he says, I
am thy great reward. Now what else would you want? In chapter 4, it is 4.12 here. Notice it. For thou, Lord,
wilt bless the righteous, and with favor wilt thou compass
him as with a shield. God's favor. He said in a compassion
as a shield. So it teaches us that God Himself
is our shield. His favor is our shield. Now
here's the thought is, what would you want as a shield? Could there
be anything any better this morning than Jehovah Himself? The Lord
Jesus Christ Himself is favor. A shield is used for defense. It's used for protection. It's
also used as a badge of honor. But a shield is essential. In the days of hand-to-hand warfare,
we know that there was a shield that was a piece of the armor
and there was darts and arrows and swords and how necessary
it was. When a fiery dart came, there
was a shield. When the sword came, there was
a shield. When the arrow came, So it wouldn't
find a way into the vitals of one's person. So let's talk about this a few
moments. Real Christianity is a warfare. You receive grace, there's going
to be opposition to it. If everything's just smooth and
rosy and you're not opposed and you fit anywhere and everywhere
You're on the Broadway. You never have any problems and
no opposition. But where there's grace, there's
opposition. Turn with me over to the book of Romans in chapter
number 7. And I have a few scriptures scattered
this morning. In Romans chapter 7 and verses
20, It tells us here, you can see
Paul here, now this is after salvation. Now, I've read commentaries
that tell you this and that, but this is after he was saved
on the road to Damascus right here. And notice what it says
here in verse number 20. Now, if I do that, I would not,
it is no more that I do it, but sin dwelleth in me. But I delight in the law of God
after the inward man. But I see another law of my members
warring against the law of my mind, bringing me into captivity
of the law of sin, which is in my members. O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death? And what
all dwells today in that of the O nature of man? The law condemns
us, and here he says, who shall deliver me? Now what's the shield? I thank God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. That's where the victory is.
That's our shield. Notice verse 1 of chapter 8. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus. Now here's the shielded. No condemnation. The blood of Christ, He talks
about sin here and it indwells in Him. What's the shield? The blood of Christ cleanses
us from all sin. Isn't that the shield? We have opposition in our day
It's been there every day, Christians, those of grace. You think about
what all goes on in our nation, lying, cheating, stealing, sin
abounds, and what all goes under religion. It's almost like anything goes.
But our shield is God. Our shield is Christ. Our shield
is His truth. The gospel of free grace is opposed,
and the depravity of man is hardly ever preached except in certain
areas and certain churches. They don't preach the depravity
of man. Sovereign election of God, and we see all these things
opposed. And there's a spiritual interest
of a child of God, and he needs a shield from it. And we have
one, and that's Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life.
It's Christ. Turn with me over to 1 Peter.
Here again is 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse number 8. Think about this verse for just
a moment here. It says, Be sober, be diligent,
because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about
seeking whom he may devour, whom resist steadfast in faith, knowing
that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren
that are in the world. Notice what it says, your adversary.
It says, resist with a shield of faith. Has he not devoured
many? Oh, he pretends that he is on
your side, on the side of people. We see him acting very early
with Eve, don't we? He says, God Keeping something
back from me, in essence, is what he's saying. You know, the scripture says
he's a liar and a murderer from the beginning. That's what the
scripture says in Satan. He's always on the move. He looks
for opportunities. He's crafty. He's subtle. He
has devices. Bob said, we're not ignorant
of His devices. He has fire in our hearts. Now
what's the shield? Verse 10, but the God of all
grace. Isn't that the shield? The God of all grace. Who has
called us unto His eternal glory by Jesus Christ. After you've
suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen and settle
you. The God of all grace is our shield. We need a shield from ourselves. Peter did, didn't he? Oh Peter, we look at him and
we think about him and he thought he had strength for
that which would come. And he didn't have that strength. Peter thought he was strong in
himself. He even said to the master, said, I'm willing to
go to prison and to death and rightful at that time. But a little damsel, a little
girl, Charged him of being with Christ. And the Bible says, he
swore and cursed, and said, you're not that man. There was a shield. Christ prayed that his faith
fail not. It got weak, didn't it? That was Christ's prayer. Let me pray that for all these
children. If they fail not. We need a shield from their self
will. I had a young man to tell me
one time. He said, I said, it's going to
cost you. He says, I don't care what the
cost is. I'm going that way. And he went that way. And I won't
finish the story. But he said it didn't make either
of us the cause. Oh, from our self will, Lord,
thy will be done. As you've mapped it out in heaven,
let it be done on earth. And we need a shield from that
of our self will to the Lord's will. Pride? I heard a story one time,
said a fellow, said I'm humble and I'm proud of it. But the Bible says pride goeth
before a fall, doesn't it? Pride will keep you from forgiving
one another. What about our tempers? We need
a shield there too, don't we? How often does a quick temper
get people in trouble? and a hasty temper. The old Adam, if it gets out
a little bit, it's just like water, isn't it? It goes. So we need a shield against sin. We need a shield against Satan.
And we need a shield against ourselves. Turn with me over
to Psalms 84. We'll look at a couple more verses
right here in the book of Psalms. Psalms 84 and verse 9 and verse number 11. There's many more verses in the
book of Psalms along this line. Behold, O God, our shield. And look upon the face of thine
anointed. Who is thine anointed? That's
Christ, isn't it? That's Him. Look at verse 11. For the Lord
God is a sun and shield. I like this. The Lord will give
grace and glory. Now those two always go together. Now, you're not going to have
glory if you don't have grace. And if you've got grace, you're
going to have glory. They go together. You can't separate
them. Said the Lord God is a sun and
a shield. Now, the sun, we can look at
it in many ways. But I'm going to give you some
ways here. But there's many other ways you
can look at the sun. It warms and it does different
things, but I want to look at it as light, the sunlight. And it tells us, Lord God is
a sun and a shield. This light shows us more and
more of our sinfulness, our guilt, how enormous that it is. The
psalmist said, mine iniquities are like a sore burden. Too heavy
for me to bear. That's what light shows us. But what's the shield? They're laid on Christ. They're
put on Him. Put on Him our sins. We see our sinfulness. It was
the shield that laid on our surety. It laid on Him. I like that,
where it says, Peter says, He'd bury our sins in His own body,
on the tree. He'd bury them away! The Scripture
says, as far as the east is from the west, and the sea where they're
forgotten, He'd cast them behind His back, removal. Something else that light does,
it shows us that there's an impossibility of that of working out our own
righteousness. We have none. But what is a shield? And here's the shield of it is,
that the righteousness of Christ is given unto us. A perfect righteousness. Why
would you want to cling to your righteousness when the Bible
says it's filthy rags when there's a righteousness of Christ? Said
they went about to establish their own righteousness. And
here's the shield you gained. But the shield is that Christ
is our righteousness, a perfect and a complete righteousness
that covers us. Light. would show us the need
of deliverance from that of our very enemies. And at the same
time, it shows us that God's our shield. He's our great deliverer. I presume that you've seen it
once in a while. Oh, come great deliverer, come. Think about God's holiness. How
can we come before Him? Isaiah, when he saw the Lord
high and lifted up, he said to Seraphim, cried, holy, holy,
holy, the Lord of hosts. And he says, woe is me, for I
am undone. Now, what's the shield? He says, I'm undone. The shield
is what Christ has done for us. what He's done. The Bible says we have access,
Ephesians chapter 2, by Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit of
God. How else are we going to come?
We have to have a shield, don't we? To come before the Holy,
that the seraphim scribe, Holy, Holy, Holy. Our shield is Christ. What about the justice of God
when we are worthy of death and wrath? And again, that shield
is Christ died for us and took our place and stood in our very
stead. In His suffering, He's paid all
the debt. It's all paid. That's the shield. Christ died and raised for our
justification. Turn with me to the book of Romans.
And I just looked at this today, this morning, and think about
this. Notice the answers here in the
book of Romans in the eighth chapter. And it says, it talks
about, it says, what shall I say to these things? If God be for
us, who can be against us? Isn't that a shield? God be for
us, who's going to be against us? They spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all. How shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. There
again is the shield. Who is He that condemneth? It
is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is at
the very right hand of God that maketh intercession for us. So
here's the shield. Justice was completely satisfied
by the Lord Jesus Christ in a way that none can put a charge to
you. Boy, that's a salvation, isn't
it? That's salvation. Oh, this light, it shows us our
nothingness. But it shows us the divine sufficiency
of God. That we deserve nothing, but
the shield gives us glory. Gives us eternal life. It's a
free gift. The psalmist says, Oh Lord, art
Thou a shield for me? We need defending and protecting
and think about all the heresies. I just won't go into this, but
all the hearses that surround, we need to shield them. It's
God's truth. It's Christ who is true. All
the enemies. It's not by might and power,
but it's by my Spirit. God said that we are protected
and preserved. Our Heavenly Father shields us
by His fixed decree. Says to the enemies, hitherto
thou shalt go no farther. How about that? He fixes time, place, events. It's all in His purpose that
we're gathered here today, isn't it? He fixed this event, this
place. Have you ever thought about why
you weren't here a thousand years before or a thousand years later?
You're here right now. Right now. Oh God, Thou art a
shield for me. Now, who or what is going to
penetrate this shield? There's this purpose of love
and grace. Now, is he going to be defeated? Is the Son's perfect work of
redemption, is it going to fail? Well, he's not going to fail,
is he? Shall not fail. It's the mighty
operations of the Spirit of God. Is it going to fail? Is not the power of darkness
defeated? Now this shield must be penetrated
or destroyed before there's danger. Aren't you glad today that the
shield is the Lord God? The Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit,
Thou art a shield for me. Other shields may look good. They might be fancy made and
have brilliant colors and tools, but they may wear out. They may be stolen. They may
be broken. They may be carried away by the
enemies. But ours can't. Ours can't be
broken. Can't be stolen. It's not going
to wear out. I thought about God. He's given
all of these years and He's no less today, isn't He? After He's
given all these years. No less. He's not going to wear
out. And He's certainly not going
to be carried off. Lord, God's our shield for time
and eternity. Turn with me to Psalms 115. And again, we find here in Psalms
115, verse 9, O Israel, trust thou
in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. Verse 10, O house of Aaron, trust
in the Lord. He is their help and their shield.
Verse 11. Ye that fear the Lord, trust
in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. Turn with me to Psalms 119. Verse
114. Thou art my hiding place. He's the Rock of Ages, isn't
He? Thou art my hiding place and my shield. Psalms 144, verse 1 and 2. Blessed be the Lord, my strength,
which teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight. My goodness,
or mercy there. There's a thousand mercies, aren't
there? Pleasance and mercy. My fortress. The fortress is
a place of safe abode. Deliver. And again, here's one
that delivers from the enemies. Then what does it say? My shield. My shield. And He is whom I trust. How blessed it is to ponder and think as a psalmist
did, Lord, thou art my shield. The Jehovah God is a shield for
you. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy
Spirit, is a shield that surrounds you. Over top of you, underneath,
surrounds you. within and without. Blessed be
the name of the Lord. Our Father, these precious verses,
may that we ponder them and we think about this and we just
want to worship Thee who is our shield. Oh, blessed be Thy name. Use the message today to bring
Glory to the Lord Jesus Christ and to Thee we pray. Bless you people. May they ponder
and think upon this, the greatness of You being the shield. All the shields of man that He
would come up with is nothing, but we see the greatness of this
shield. We thank You. We praise You in
Christ's name, Amen.