May 17, 2018 - - Psalm 84:9 The Strong Shield

Behold our shield, O God;

look on the face of your anointed!

Psalm 84:9 ESV

When a Christian sins--and we all sin--the just anger of God falls on His anointed. The Word "anointed" is Messiah. Jesus is our Messiah. The Messiah Jesus shields us from the anger of our Holy Father by pointing to His accomplished work on the cross. We are free because He took the punishment we deserved. He is our shield.

What a glorious prayer! What a great hope: "behold--God our God--look at the One Who is shielding us: Your beloved Son, our Saviour, Jesus". As we contemplate this, our joy grows and our desire becomes this~to conform more and more to the will and way of God.

Spirit of the Living God, plow up the soil of my heart and remove the tangled weeds of sin. Dig out the long runner roots of those same weed which are often deeply buried and hidden from my understanding. Sift out the seeds of the weeds of sin. Spirit of God, in the confidence of the accomplished work of Jesus, the anointed One, help me to confess my sins. Renew in me these lush plants: serving God in the joy of my salvation along with increasing the desire to please the heavenly Father by thought, word and deed and all of this in Jesus' Name. Amen.