For you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield.
(Psalm 5:12 NIV)
When I read this verse, it comforted me, and I hope it comforts you too. This verse says that God blesses the righteous. Then, it tells us one way God blesses us—by covering us with his favor like a shield. That all sounds very nice, but let’s think carefully about the beautiful truth God shares with us here.
God Gives Us a Shield
This verse says that God gives us something to use as a shield. However, we only need a shield if we are in some sort of battle. This one verse reminds us of a truth reiterated throughout the Bible that our ordinary lives are part of an ongoing war (Ephesians 6:12). Indeed, if you have put your trust in Jesus, you are at war with your old self, with the sinful temptations that come through the world, and with the devil. We are at war. Yet, while we are at war, God gives us a shield.
What does God say he gives us as a shield?
His justice? His might? Rather, I was surprised to read what God says he provides to act as our shield: his favor. Another way to translate this is God’s acceptance, his goodwill, and his delight.[1] God’s delight, favor, and acceptance of us acts as our shield.
What keeps us safe from the arrows and spearhead and sword of our enemy is the declaration of God that we are cherished by him. God declares that we are his beloved, that he is for us and not against us, that we are loved by him, that we are righteous in his sight (Romans 8:31; 2 Thessalonians 2:16; Romans 3:22).
Who Are “The Righteous”?
If we are honest, we know that we cannot honestly identify as “the righteous” (Romans 3:10). However, the good news about Jesus declares that anyone who believes in Jesus receives the righteousness of Jesus as a gift. Therefore, “The righteous” includes anyone who has put their faith in Jesus (Romans 3:21-24).
God Covers Us with His Favor Like a Shield
We who believe in Jesus go into spiritual battle every day covered not only by the truth that my God is strong and fighting for me, or that my God will win, or that my God is just and evil will ultimately be judged, although these are truths that also defend us from the enemy. As we go into battle, God surrounds us with this truth, according to Psalm 5:12, that our God delights in us. We have his smile, we have his heart, and he is favorable towards us in the fight.
If you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, today as you walk into the battles of life there is a heavenly glow about you, the protective barrier of God’s delight in you and his smile upon you.
If you have not put your faith in Jesus, believe in him today, and you will be forever freed from his just wrath toward your sin and brought into his loving favor from today to eternity (John 3:16).
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Source
[1] https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h7522/kjv/wlc/0-1/