Staying Behind God’s Shield of Protection

“Psalms that Make Me Psing” Series

A Message by Jim Hammond from Psalm 5

Aberra Wata worked with Christian youth in the southern part of Ethiopia during the time of Communist rule (1974-1991). He reported the following story to fellow missionary John Cumbers:

Word came from the commandant that the Party leaders had studied my report about the work among the Christian young people. The authorities decided I had to be executed because of my "treasonous" words.

"The only way you can overturn this sentence," said the commandant, "is for you to deny that you are one of the believers."

What could I say? I told the commandant, "If they execute me, I will be immediately with the Lord."

The commandant replied, "That's what I expected you to say."

As I awaited execution in prison, my Savior gave me songs to sing I had never heard before. He turned me into a composer. [My fellow prisoners and I] reveled in the joys of praise to our God. The guards kept trying to silence us, but with the threat of execution hanging over us, why should we keep quiet? Seven men had come to Christ in that prison, and we all sang together.

One particular guard took delight in mocking us, yelling at us, and insulting us. He would put filthy words to the tunes we sang. One night he patted his revolver and promised, "Tomorrow morning at this time you won't be in the land of the living."

Just after midnight that evening a tremendous storm burst on the town and the prison. Huge hailstones fell, wrecking several roofs, including the one where the insulting guard was sleeping. He became terrified, pulled out his revolver, and shot at random into the darkness, using up all the bullets he had promised would finish us off the next day.

One by one the roofs were taken off the commandant's house, and the offices of the chief judge, the administrator, and his deputy. The prisoners in cells three, four, and five got a soaking from the rain too. We were in cell one and were kept dry. There were a lot of wet and unhappy people in Yavello that night.

At nine o'clock the next morning, while expecting the cruel guard to fulfill his promise to shoot us, we observed a remarkable sight. That same guard was pushed into our cell, without his uniform, by the commandant, who was whipping him with his belt. Other people in the background were yelling, "We told this man to leave the believers alone, but he refused, and so God has sent this terrible punishment on the town and prison. He deserves to be given some of his own medicine."

After some time the guard was released and given back his uniform. He told us, "I know that the Lord was with you. I know the way I should have treated you, but Satan persuaded me otherwise. Please forgive me." We did, and several more men came to Christ in the prison.

Citation: John Cumbers, SIM missionary in Ethiopia during the communist years, found on PreachingToday.com

David knew what it felt like to have such enemies as these. He also knew what God’s protective shield felt like. He writes about these experiences.

Focus: We need to stay within the shielding protection of God’s grace and mercy.

Psalm 5:1-12 (NIV)

For the director of music. For flutes. A psalm of David.

Give ear to my words, O Lord,

consider my sighing.

[2] Listen to my cry for help,

my King and my God,

for to you I pray.

[3] In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice;

in the morning I lay my requests before you

and wait in expectation.

[4] You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;

with you the wicked cannot dwell.

[5] The arrogant cannot stand in your presence;

you hate all who do wrong.

[6] You destroy those who tell lies;

bloodthirsty and deceitful men

the Lord abhors.

[7] But I, by your great mercy,

will come into your house;

in reverence will I bow down

toward your holy temple.

[8] Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness

because of my enemies--

make straight your way before me.

[9] Not a word from their mouth can be trusted;

their heart is filled with destruction.

Their throat is an open grave;

with their tongue they speak deceit.

[10] Declare them guilty, O God!

Let their intrigues be their downfall.

Banish them for their many sins,

for they have rebelled against you.

[11] But let all who take refuge in you be glad;

let them ever sing for joy.

Spread your protection over them,

that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

[12] For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous;

you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Dear Lord,

I. Listen to my words, but listen to my groaning as well.

Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing.

Lord, you know I’m not good enough with words to express what I need to express hear, so would you listen not only to my words but to my heart, my inarticulate groaning?

II. I need help

[2] Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.

State your allegiance to your King and God.

Set your allegiance

III. Morning by Morning I pray and wait in expectation

[3] In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

The secret of a close relationship with God is to pray to him earnestly each morning. We need to develop the morning by morning habit. Do you have a regular time to pray and read God’s Word?

In Point Man, Steve Farrar tells the story of George McCluskey. When McCluskey married and started a family, he decided to invest one hour a day in prayer, because he wanted his kids to follow Christ. After a time, he expanded his prayers to include his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Every day between 11 a.m. and noon, he prayed for the next three generations.

As the years went by, his two daughters committed their lives to Christ and married men who went into full-time ministry. The two couples produced four girls and one boy. Each of the girls married a minister, and the boy became a pastor. The first two children born to this generation were both boys. Upon graduation from high school, the two cousins chose the same college and became roommates.

During their sophomore year, one boy decided to go into the ministry. The other didn't. He undoubtedly felt some pressure to continue the family legacy, but he chose instead to pursue his interest in psychology. He earned his doctorate and eventually wrote books for parents that became bestsellers. He started a radio program heard on more than a thousand stations each day. The man's name was James Dobson. Through his prayers, George McCluskey affected far more than one family.

Citation: Loyal J. Martin, Newton, Kansas. Leadership, Vol. 16, no. 4.

Do you pray in such a way that you can watch for a response?

Make sure your prayers are specific
Pray with expectation
how to wait in expectation, Prayer Journal 4 column concept, Date, request, answer, date.

IV. I know Your Uncompromising Holiness

[4] You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell. [5] The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong. [6] You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men the Lord abhors.

Wait a minute…how can the Psalmist say God hates all who do wrong? I thought God loves everybody? Doesn’t he? To answer this let’s start with what we all agree on. God loves people. God hates sin. God is not indifferent towards sin. Any sin. He will judge sin. That judgment is an expression of his wrath. That wrath is unleashed on those who are judged. You could say that those who are judged or will be judged receive the wrath of his hatred. Think in terms of God’s holiness as it relates to covenant love. It would be wrong for God to be indifferent toward sin.

There are only two possibilities, that we come under the shield of his love through mercy, or we are exposed to his wrath for our sins.

Don’t confuse yourself with the idea of unconditional love.

You have to define what you mean by God’s Unconditional Love. If by “unconditional” you mean that God loves everyone equally and treats everyone equally regardless of any condition. That is false. There is no heaven and hell if this were true. There would be no justice, or judgment, or consequences at all for sin if this were true. God’s blessings are always based on a condition;.

God’s love is unconditional in this sense. Grace and mercy is available to everyone. God’s love is unconditional also in this sense: he does not base his acceptance of us on our righteousness, or our measuring up, but on Christ’s merits if we come under his provision for us. If you refuse his provision for us, if you do not respond to God’s grace and mercy, you have removed the only condition that can save you. Are you then the recipient of unconditional love? No. Out from under the shield of grace and mercy, you are going to be exposed to the full wrath of God. You become the objects of God’s hatred.

Do you know God’s uncompromising Holiness or are you still fooling yourself with the idea that God is indifferent towards sin?

A. So, I don’t come on MY Merits

In contrast with such wickedness David did not then do like the Pharisee did putting confidence in his own virtues. Rather he stressed God’s mercy (hÖesedÔ)-- covenant love) toward him. By this covenant love he could approach the temple and worship the Lord in reverence.

[7] But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple.

B. Lead me in Your Righteousness

[8] Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies--make straight your way before me.

V. I leave my enemies in your hands

[9] Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit.

[10] Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.

What enemies was David thinking of when he wrote these words?

Ø Perhaps it was Saul who spoke words of appreciation when David played the harp for him, but attempted to Kill David with by pinning him to the wall with his spear. (1 Samuel 19)

Ø Perhaps it was when Saul promised his daughter in marriage, as long as David killed 100 philistines and brought 100 foreskins as the bride price. Saul was using Michal as bait, hoping the Philistines would kill David. Perhaps he learned from Johnathan, Saul’s son, David’s friend, that Saul was disappointed when David came back with 200 foreskins rather than 100. Rather than rejoicing in his success, Saul was upset that David was still alive. (1 Samuel 18)

Ø He might have also been thinking of Michal his wife who told David to hide, but when pressed in the matter, rather than defending him, to protect herself accused David of threatening her life if she didn’t protect him. (1 Samuel 19)

A. So I Can Sing for Joy In your protection

[11] But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

[12] For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Last night I was awakened in the night more than once by the barking of our beagle—Baylee. Now Baylee’s bark is big for a little dog. It is a bark we must carefully monitor if we are to keep happy neighbors.

I put my face up to the screen window and said as I usually do, “Baylee, quiet.” To which she usually responds. But this time it was only for a moment before she started barking again. I had to take this to stage two disciplinary action. I put my clothes on and went outside to give her a mild scolding, grabbing her by the collar and looking her in the eye and saying again. “Baylee, Quiet!” I went back to bed. I soon heard what I thought was the problem. Just outside my bedroom window, which faces the street, I heard footsteps on the rock landscape and the scuffling sniffing sounds of a large dog.

Now, Baylee’s in heat, so I thought, I better go out and scare the large dog away. Just as I made that decision, Baylee was barking again. This time, I went out the front door, and turned on the porch light. The dog was still just around the corner in the dark and I couldn’t see it. But I heard it on the rocks again.

I went in and got a flash light. When I came out to shine the flashlight, I discovered not a big dog, but the biggest Javelina I’ve ever seen. It’s glowing eyes in the dark looking right back at me. It made me want to bark.

It didn’t strike me until this morning, that Baylee was doing the Psalm 5 prayer. Calling out to me, Help!”

Now let’s talk about the “favor of the Lord” that “surrounds with a shield of protection”. Baylee lives in the favor of her master. She feels brave enough to bark for one reason. A five foot chain link fence of protection, with closed gates.

This protection is not without condition. The condition is you stay in the protection when give the option. If you open the gate and run out from that protection or allow an evil threat within that’s another matter. I’ve seen bailey, run and turn tail from dogs as soon as dogs come at her. But put her on a leash and have her stand with her master and she’s a barking terror. What’s the difference? When she senses her protection, she is bold and courageous. Sound familiar?

What about you? Have you ever run out from under the shield, like a mouse running to the cat to be ravaged? Have you ever opened the gate to danger, or to evil?

Lord, please cleanse my heart, that I might want to be under your shield. Renew my mind, renew my thoughts, transform my desires. Lord, please cover me again with your favor, with your shield. Help me to want to remain under your protection. Forgive me for running away from you. Help me to run to you. Guard my thoughts, cleanse them, cleanse my heart. Help me to establish the morning by morning renewal of which David became intimately familiar.