Psalm 84:11-12
(NLT)
For the Lord God
is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory.
The Lord will withhold
no good thing
from those who do what is right. O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
what
joy for those who trust in You.
Perhaps you have read Psalm 84 many times, recited it
responsively during a worship service, seen it quoted on a Christian calendar,
yet have you ever really meditated on the meaning of some of the words? For example, in these two verses, have you
stopped to ponder what is meant by God being your sun? Have you thought carefully about what it means
for God to give you glory? Have you
realized without having to be reminded about it that if you trust in Him, He
gives you joy?
The Lord God is your sun
When you think of the sun, what comes to mind? I think of at least three things---light,
warmth and energy. Luke 1:78-79 says
that “Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to
break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the
shadow of death,
and to guide us to the path of peace.” God is your sun who gives you light to oppose
and not fear darkness and death around you.
The sun also gives light to guide your life, light that puts peace into
your life, and light that energizes you every day just like the sun seems to
energize the day after the night or after a storm.
The Lord God is your shield
While the Bible does not relate God to the sun much, it
does describe God as your shield many times, at least 42 times in the Old
Testament, 14 times in the Psalms.
Shield is only mentioned one time in the New Testament---Eph 6:16 where
the shield of faith is part of the armor of God to protect us against attacks
from spiritual forces of darkness.
Indeed, God protects us spiritually like a piece of armor protects a
person physically.
The Lord God gives you grace
The Hebrew word for grace (“chen”) implies that you have
found favor with God. God gives you His
favor according to this verse and 68 other times in the Old Testament where
this word translated “favor” is used.
When you think of the word “favor”, what comes to mind? As a child, didn’t you like being someone’s
favorite, especially someone in authority?
Or if you never were someone’s favorite person, didn’t that hurt your
feelings? To do a favor for someone, doesn't that carry a thought of doing
something good and special for someone else?
God is on your side, God does favors for you, God wants you to smile and
be content with your life. Of course,
the grace of God given you to you also refers to His salvation through Jesus
Christ.
The Lord God gives you glory
You think of the glory of God, that God is to be
glorified, but not that man has any kind of glory. Yet the Lord God gives you glory. The Hebrew word translated as glory in this
verse is “kabowd”. Kabowd can have
several meanings, not only glory, but also honor, dignity, and abundance. I found two quotes that help me understand
the meaning of God giving man glory:
·
“The glory of God is man fully alive.” – St.
Irenaeus
·
“After God has once taken the faithful into his
favor, he will advance them to high honor, and never cease to enrich them with
his blessings.” -- John Calvin, found in
sermon on Psalm 84 by Pastor Steven Cole (http://www.fcfonline.org/content/1/sermons/060709M.pdf)
The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do
what is right and gives joy to those who trust in Him
Two wonderful promises here, both with a condition. The promises are good things and joy happen
to those who do what is right and trust in Him.
What you might think are good things may not be what God thinks are good
things for you, but if you are obedient to His Word and trust His wisdom, you
will not worry about what those good things are for you. You know that He will care for you and your
loved ones your entire life.
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