“For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” Psalm 84:11

Psalm 84:10-12
The psalmist calls God a “sun and shield.” These images remind us, as the late Old Testament scholar Derek Kidner put it, that God is “all that is outgoing and positive,” and “all that is protective—the answer to fear and defeat.” Or, as Charles Spurgeon said, God is “the source of all good” and “a defense from all evil.”
But when sinners dwell in darkness, we see the sun differently. We shrink from it because it exposes our sin and threatens to burn us. So how can we know God in a way that blesses us like this?
For us to know God as the beneficent “Father of the heavenly lights,” as James calls Him (1:17), He must first “shine in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6b). When the light of Jesus shines and overcomes our heart’s darkness, God becomes a pleasant thing to us, a protector instead of a prosecutor. We can look forward to the day when there will be no sun because Jesus Himself will be our everlasting light and glory, banishing darkness forever.



Scripture Focus

Psalm 84:10-12

Insight

Christ’s glory shines on you, and His protection surrounds you. In what ways do you expect God to be your sun and shield today?

Bible In A Year

  • Isaiah 14-15
  • Psalm 78
  • John 19

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