Psalm 18: 35 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand has supported me; your help has made me great. 

This psalm is attributed to King David who is giving thanks to God for giving him victory over his enemies. The question that emerges for me relates to the “shield of your salvation”. What is David talking about?

While we can’t know for sure, I expect it has something to do with aligning with the will and ways of God via the law. I’m gonna copy below a note I have in my bible software about this verse. I don’t recall the source of this note, but here it is below:

“We are taught to recognize the moral rectitude of our God and deliberately to put ourselves in the way of blessing by doing that which pleases him. This is not salvation by works, for David is already the Lord’s, but blessing through obedience, which is still the position of the redeemed.”

As a Lutheran I am firmly grounded in the theological statement that we are “saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and not by works of the law”. In other words, my place before God is not determined by my ability to follow the rules faithfully and consistently, but by grace given to all people via the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

While this theology of grace is a great gift, it can make us complacent as it relates to observing the will and ways of God. Which is not a good thing. As the note I copied above states, there is blessing when we do that which pleases the Lord. We may not HAVE to, but it’s a gift to us. God’s ways give life and light and hope. Well, mostly.

Lord give us grace to embrace life as you designed it for us. Amen.