My Shield and My Joy

“Give ear to my words, O LORD,

Consider my meditation.

Give heed to the voice of my cry,

My King and my God,

For to You I will pray.

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD;

In the morning I will direct it to You,

And I will look up. . . .

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;

Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;

Let those also who love Your name

Be joyful in You.

For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous;

With favor You will surround him as with a shield.”

(Psalms 5:1-3, 11-12 NKJV)

Another of the psalms directed to The Chief Musician, this heartfelt cry is specifically meant to be chanted or sung with flutes, or some sort of wind instrument. In a typical lyrical parallelism, David opens with three distinct cries for the Father (Give ear, Consider and Give Heed) and also uses three different names for God (My King, my God, O Lord).

Note that in verse 3, David says he seeks God in the morning. Scriptural examples are myriad of communing with God to open the day, including Jesus, who was often reported to have separated Himself early in the morning for prayer. As Paul reminds us,, our attitude should always be one of prayer, but opening the day with a dedicated, special time of interaction with the Father has proven to be invaluable.

The next phrase brings an image to mind; “And I will look up.” I can picture the penitent David looking up toward heaven as a child, having repeated, “Look, Dad!” multiple times will look expectantly to their parent.

At the end of the psalm, having presented his case before the Almighty Judge,

David closes with decrees of confidence. May such faith and joy be ours, as we realize with David that God is our defense and our shield. Consider the function of the shield. It allows one to advance or retreat with confidence. So long as the shields hold, no harm will befall.

“The LORD is my strength and song,

And He has become my salvation.” (Psalms 118:14 NKJV)

Related Scriptures

“Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have relieved me in my distress;

Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.” (Psalms 4:1 NKJV)

“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:26-27 NKJV)

“LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble;

You will prepare their heart;

You will cause Your ear to hear,

To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,

That the man of the earth may oppress no more.” (Psalms 10:17-18 NKJV)

“From the end of the earth I will cry to You,

When my heart is overwhelmed;

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” (Psalms 61:2 NKJV)

“Listen! The voice,

The cry of the daughter of my people

From a far country:

‘Is not the LORD in Zion?

Is not her King in her?’

‘Why have they provoked Me to anger

With their carved images—

With foreign idols?’” (Jeremiah 8:19 NKJV)

“Evening and morning and at noon

I will pray, and cry aloud,

And He shall hear my voice.” (Psalms 55:17 NKJV)

“But to You I have cried out, O LORD,

And in the morning my prayer comes before You.” (Psalms 88:13 NKJV)