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."
God has shown us that He is our refuge and fortress. He is our secret place to hide from the sin-filled world. We can trust Him. He is our deliverer from pestilence and from the individual who wants to snare us with sin. In this next verse, there is an even better picture of God's amazing Grace and Mercy.
When I was a child, I was always fascinated with animals and birds. My mother was never sure what I might bring home to raise as my own. There was a rabbit, a lizard, turtle, two pairs of fish. One day I noticed a bird's nest outside and somewhat down from my Grandmother's kitchen window. The location was perfect for watching the mother and father birds making the nest. After days of work, Mama bird decided it was time to stay in the new home. Shortly after, she had a full nest of eggs. The amazing thing is that she was so dedicated to making certain the eggs were not left alone or that they didn't get cold. She very carefully arranged them so that she would be able to sit on all of them at the same time. If one moved outside her feathers, she put her wing over it and brought it back in. Father came back with food for her while she sat attentively on the nest. When the time came, the eggs started to hatch. Five baby birds began to cheep. They almost always had their mouths open for something to eat. The father diligently brought food for them. But Mama kept them warm and safe from harm of any kind. The parents made certain that they were fed and cleaned. Mama and Papa attended to each need. Only when a baby would get too active and fall out of the nest were there any dangers. The parents hovered around the child until they could get it back into the nest where it was safe once more.
Isn't our Father like that? The verse states "He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust:". Doesn't the idea of our Father covering us with Himself and making sure we are under His wing sound incredible? Just as the Mama bird cares for her young, our Father cares for us, His young. We are fed, cleaned up, kept warm and safe. The times we have fallen from the nest are the times when it seems that there is no way out. Yet, our Father has given us a way of escape (I Corinthians 10:13). If we will simply run to Him when things are out of hand, when we have done something wrong, He is there to lift us up to the high place and gather us under His wing. We can nestle in the feathers of our Lord in complete safety, warm and comfortable. Incredible picture, isn't it? Because we are children of the King, we have that inheritance if we only ask.
The last part of that verse is: "his truth shall be thy shield and buckler." Until I talked to my husband about this, I had no idea what a buckler was or what type of shield this verse is refering to. It is really important that you see this picture. In the times when Rome was ruling the world, the soldiers had an amazingly huge shield to use going into battle. This piece of equipment was large enough to cover the entire man. If the army was advancing on the enemy, often the soldiers would cover themselves with these shields, walking close enough to each other that the shields overlapped. The next row of soldiers would hold the shields up in the air thus making it impossible for the foe to throw spears or shoot arrows at them. All the efforts of the enemy were of no effect because the shields would stop all weapons of that type. The equipment was so large that, if the soldier was wounded or died, the companions put him on the shield and carried him off the battle field.
The next piece of gear is the buckler. This one was a mystery to me. I had never heard of it before. The soldier would strap a much smaller, often round, shield onto his left arm with a leather strap. This type of equipment was used to fend off close combat strikes by the enemy swords. Soldiers could then cover themselves while using their own swords.
What God wants us to know is that His Truth, the Word of God, is enough armor for us (Ephesians 6:10-18). Not only have we been invited to sit in the secret place under our Father's wing but we are also given armor to protect ourselves when the enemy comes at us with everything he has to offer. Imagine being able to hold up that enormous shield to cover yourself totally. In close combat, that buckler sure comes in handy to fend off the fiery darts or swords that the opponent has sent your way.
In all of this, the picture is one of safety, security, and peace. No matter what is going on in your life, God is there to protect you, shield you, care for you, comfort you and will be just like the parents of the baby birds when you fall from the nest. But there is one thing you need to remember. The parents of the babies only came when they heard the cries of the child.
Come to the safety of your Heavenly Father today and enjoy the Peace that passes ALL understanding.
Click here for Psalm 91:3
Click here for Psalm 91:5
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