My Strength and My Shield

My Heart Trusted in Him

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Paul wrote, “Be strong in the Lord” (Ephesians 6:10). Long before Paul, a psalm writer found that the Lord Himself was his strength.

A cry for help. He prayed, “To You I will cry, O Lord my Rock: Do not be silent to me” (Psalm 28:1). He needed God to answer him.

My Rock. The writer called God “my Rock” (28:1). A rock is solid and does not move. God is that steady.

Lifted hands. “Hear the voice of my supplications When I cry to You, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary” (28:2). He turned toward the place where God met His people.

God heard. Then his prayer turned into praise: “Blessed be the Lord, Because He has heard the voice of my supplications!” (28:6).

Answered prayer. Between his cry and his song, God answered. Prayer is never wasted, because God hears.

Strength and shield. “The Lord is my strength and my shield” (28:7). God made him strong inside, and God kept him safe.

Trust and help. “My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped” (28:7). He trusted God first, and then God helped him.

A happy song. “Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him” (28:7). God’s help turned into a song.

For all His people. “The Lord is their strength” (28:8). God is strength for everyone who belongs to Him, not for one person only.

A shepherd’s care. “Save Your people, And bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also, And bear them up forever” (28:9). The writer asked God to care for His people the way a shepherd carries his sheep.

God’s own people. His inheritance means the people who belong to Him, His treasured family.

Strong in the Lord. Our strength is not in ourselves. The Lord is our strength, and He shares it with His children.

When you are afraid. You can cry out to God the way the psalm writer did. Tell a parent or a grown-up you trust too.

Sin, the cross and new life. We cannot make ourselves strong enough to fix our sin. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again. Everyone who trusts Him is forgiven and helped.

What this means for you. When you need help this week, tell God first. Then thank Him when He helps you.

Paul commands believers to “be strong in the Lord” (Ephesians 6:10). Psalm 28 shows a believer who learned that the Lord Himself is his strength.

The cry (28:1). “To You I will cry, O Lord my Rock: Do not be silent to me, Lest, if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.” The pit means the grave. The writer knew he could not stand without God.

My Rock (28:1). The writer prays to the Lord as “my Rock,” the One who does not shift when everything else does.

Hands lifted (28:2). “Hear the voice of my supplications When I cry to You, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.” He turned toward the place where God met His people.

Prayer answered (28:6). “Blessed be the Lord, Because He has heard the voice of my supplications!” The prayer that began as a cry now turns to praise.

Heard. The writer went from crying “Hear the voice of my supplications” to singing “Blessed be the Lord.” The same God who heard him hears every believer who calls on Him.

Strength and shield (28:7). “The Lord is my strength and my shield.” Strength is power given within; a shield is protection around. He is both.

Helped (28:7). “My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped.” Helped is ’azar (say: ah-ZAR), to come to someone’s aid. Trust came first; God’s help followed.

Joy (28:7). “Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.” God’s help leads to worship.

Their strength (28:8). “The Lord is their strength, And He is the saving refuge of His anointed.” His anointed was the king God had chosen. The strength that held up the king holds up all God’s people.

Shepherd them (28:9). “Save Your people, And bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also, And bear them up forever.” To bear them up is to carry them, the way a shepherd lifts a lamb.

Received, not produced. Strength is received from the Lord, not produced by effort.

The deeper need. Every person has sinned, and no effort can make a sinner strong enough to stand before God.

The answer. “Christ died for our sins” and “He rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). He died on the cross for us, and all who trust Him are forgiven and helped.

Application. Write Psalm 28:7 on a card. Read it when you feel weak, and pray it back to God.

Both Small and Great

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Paul wrote about “the shield of faith” (Ephesians 6:16). Faith is trust. In Psalm 115 the psalm writer calls everyone to trust the Lord, who is “their help and their shield.”

Trust in the Lord. “O Israel, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield” (Psalm 115:9).

The priests too. “O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield” (115:10). The house of Aaron was the family of priests who served God.

Everyone who fears Him. “You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield” (115:11). This call reaches everyone who loves and honors God.

The same help for all. Each group hears the same promise. God is help and shield for every one of them.

Help. Help means God comes to stand beside His people when they need Him.

Trust, not size. God’s help is not only for strong or important people. It is for everyone who trusts Him.

Not like idols. Idols made by people cannot see, hear or help. Only the living God can help.

God remembers. “The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us” (115:12). Mindful means God keeps us in His thoughts.

Small and great. “He will bless those who fear the Lord, Both small and great” (115:13). Small and great means everyone, young and old, little and big.

Children too. You are not too small for God to notice. He blesses children who trust Him.

Families. “May the Lord give you increase more and more, You and your children” (115:14). The writer prayed for God’s blessing to reach parents and their children.

The Maker. “May you be blessed by the Lord, Who made heaven and earth” (115:15). The One who made everything is strong enough to help.

A shield of faith. When we trust God, He Himself is our shield. That is what makes the shield of faith strong.

The good news. We have all trusted other things instead of God, and that is sin. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again. Everyone who trusts Him is forgiven.

What this means for you. Tell God this week that you trust Him, and name one way He has helped you.

Paul says faith is a shield (Ephesians 6:16). Psalm 115 calls God’s people to trust the Lord, because He Himself is “their help and their shield.”

Israel (115:9). “O Israel, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield.” The whole nation is called to trust.

The priests (115:10). “O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord.” Even those who served at God’s altar needed to trust Him, not their own service.

All who fear Him (115:11). “You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord.” The call reaches everyone who reveres God.

No one left out. Israel, the priests and all who fear the Lord hear the same call and the same promise.

Help and shield. Help is God coming to His people’s side; a shield is His protection around them. Both rest on Him, not on the one who trusts.

Idols cannot help. Idols have mouths and eyes, but they cannot speak or see. Only the living God can answer trust.

Remembered (115:12). “The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us.” God has kept His people in mind, and He will keep doing good to them.

Small and great (115:13). “He will bless those who fear the Lord, Both small and great.” Age, size and rank do not limit God’s blessing.

Children included. “Both small and great” includes the youngest believer. God’s blessing does not wait until someone is grown.

Generations (115:14). “May the Lord give you increase more and more, You and your children.” The blessing reaches from one generation to the next.

The Maker (115:15). “May you be blessed by the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” The Creator is able to keep His promises.

Faith’s shield. The shield of faith is strong because of the One trusted. Faith looks away from itself to the Lord.

Our failure. Every person has trusted lesser things than God. That is sin.

The answer. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). He died on the cross and rose again, and all who trust Him are forgiven.

Application. List two things people often trust instead of God. Then write a short prayer telling the Lord that you trust Him.

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Complete all sections to finish!

Read each section and answer the questions correctly.