4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Psalm 91:4-7
If you have ever seen a chick under the wings of its mother you’d understand. Its the very picture of protection, love, warmth, closeness.
Close as a chick under the wings of its mother. Refuge, shelter, shield, buckler. All defensive terms used in this Psalm. Truth, sometimes translated here as faithfulness, is a shield and buckler. Paul uses the same metaphor in Ephesians 6 which speaks of the armor of God. The shield of faith or faithfulness as defense against the forces of darkness. Same thing. A buckler could be a small round shield or perhaps a shield that surrounds the whole person. In the context of Psalm 91, I’m thinking the latter is correct.
The shield of faith or faithfulness in Eph 6 is that “with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Interesting parallels between Psalm 91 and Eph 6, the shield as protection from arrows. Arrows of the evil one. Lies, accusations, persecution, fear, intimidation, depression, deception. All flaming arrows, very effective against the unprotected mind and heart. The forces of darkness are energizing the wicked. The flaming arrows are flying. The terrors of the night, the pestilence that walks by night and the destruction at noonday; thousands falling around us. Sounds like what we see all around us today as the wicked have grown strong and the darkness of a culture that has not only rejected the God of Israel but has called upon the names of other gods.
But the Psalm says thou shalt not be afraid of any of this. That none of it will touch you – if you are in the shadow of the Almighty behind the shield of His faithfulness, His truth. You shall not be harmed if you are under HIs wings.
Wickedness is on the increase. Restraint is being removed. They seem in control and forcing their will upon the righteous. They are having their day. But in this time of darkness, in this day of the wicked, there is the shelter of the Almighty. A fortress to all who come in. A shield and a buckler against the flaming arrows of the evil one. A covering of protection for those who place their trust in the Lord. The restraint, the only thing holding back the full advancement of wickedness and evil is the Holy Spirit filled church. One day wickedness will have no restraint. The church will be removed from the earth in advance of the coming judgement of God. The wicked will be judged.
Do you trust Him? Do you believe His Word?
Come into the fortress. Get behind the bulwark. Hold up the shield of faith. The wicked are having their day – but the day of the Lord is coming. In that day, you will most definitely want to be very close to the Lord. Jesus said “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Mat 11:28).
For all those who will, it is time to come in. Time to repent. Time to believe upon the name of Jesus – the doorway into the fortress.
