Mensa Otabil - God's Favour
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We conclude our study of Psalm 5 today with verse number 12: «For you, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor you surround him as with a shield.» So David concludes his thoughts in this verse on a note of God’s faithfulness and who God is. If you look at how he began the prayer from verse number one and right through, it’s been a journey of learning how to pray, how he approaches God in the morning, and how he arranges his prayer before God. He talks about all his enemies who have come against him, then he rejoices in the Lord. Now his heart is settled in God’s faithfulness. Prayer, when it is very heartfelt, goes through a similar journey, but we end on God’s faithfulness; that He is good, His mercies endure forever. So while the Lord punishes the wicked, He shows His faithfulness to the righteous, and His favor to the righteous. One receives punishment; the other receives favor.
Two main thoughts that we would look at today: first, that the Lord blesses the righteous. The Lord blesses the righteous; that’s something we have to settle in our hearts. The righteous in the New Testament are those who have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, whose righteousness does not come from their own goodness but from the goodness of Christ. Those who trust in Jesus Christ, those who have been washed by the blood of Jesus, these are those who are called the righteous. When we give our lives to Christ and trust Him for salvation, and lean on Him every day of our lives, the Bible says here that God’s blessing comes upon us. When God’s blessing is upon you, no curse of the enemy will attach itself to you. So if you’re going through a bad patch in your life, a difficult phase, just remember: if you are the righteousness of God in Christ, God will bless you. God’s blessing is upon you.
The second thing we would note is that God favors the righteous; He shows kindness to those who are righteous, and He favors them. I like how David puts it: he says, «With favor you surround him as with a shield.» God’s favor is like a shield around us. Now, why does David use this analogy? Because the shield was a very important weapon in war in the days of David. People don’t use them in modern warfare, but it was a very important weapon. Normally, when people would go into battle, maybe a troop would be moving and there would be enemies against them; one of the things they would do is join their shields together and cover themselves under the shield. There would be a joining of shields that surrounds the troop, so that when you shoot an arrow against them, it hits the shield, not the people. So David says God’s favor is like a shield around me. In other words, because God has favored me, I am protected; I am canopied under Him.
The Lord’s favor does not only do you good; the Lord’s favor also covers you. The Lord’s favor surrounds you; the Lord’s favor protects you. As you get ready to go into a new week, may the favor of the Lord surround you like a shield, and may the Lord cover you from every snare of the fowler, from every attack of the enemy, from evil words that have been spoken against you. All those arrows will hit the shield and bounce back because the Lord has covered you with favor as a shield. It’s going to be a good week for you next week, and I’ll start teaching something new from tomorrow.
So, let’s pray; let’s share a word of prayer together. Say with me: Heavenly Father, you bless the righteous with your presence. Let your favor surround me all around as a shield. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.