This song was written from Psalm 3:3-4
“But You, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from His holy mountain. Selah. “
This is a psalm of David. It was sung when his son Absalom rebelled against his father David's monarchy, and David abandoned everything and fled from Jerusalem to save his own life. This event made everyone think that this was the end of David's time. Nevertheless, the confession that came out of David, who was cornered, was the words, "God, you are my shield!"
It is unlikely that any of us will face such situation like David did. But look at the scripture just before this (verse two).
“Many are saying to me, ‘God will not deliver him. Selah.’”
When we are disappointed, betrayed, or discouraged, as in verse 2, we are tormented and afraid by the words that people throw at us, and the negative thoughts rise within us. I think most of us can relate to this kind of situation.
David knew that God was his "shield" in such situation. In Ephesians 6:16, the Bible says about the "shield":
“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
Flaming arrows are negative words and judgments that are shot at us. They have the potential to do enough damage to destroy us. The role of the shield is to extinguish all flaming arrows fired by the evil one. Even in situations where we are being criticized, when we turn our hearts to God who loves us, and have faith in God's promises, God will extinguish all the flaming arrows shoot into our hearts. In all circumstances, God will protect peace of mind, give us rest, and restore our strength to move forward.
You may be slandered by the people, causing some scar, and suffering in your heart. We have various communication methods like SNS, internet, text messaging these days. Sometime the flaming arrows are shot to us from unexpected places. Many of us will be troubled and lose the peace in our heart. But our Lord is the shield that surrounds us and protect our hearts from those negative words and judgments. The Lord will answer to our voices in his protection.
I hope this song will encourage you to trust our Lord as shield of salvation. I pray that the peace of God will reign your heart in all circumstances.