Reading Proverbs – 30:5 The Shield of Faith
It would be an interesting exercise to take every proverb listed in the book of Proverbs and sort them by topic. Nearly 2 weeks ago we covered this verse:
… and here we are on the same subject. I wonder too – in how many verses across the entire Bible does God speak of His protection, or just say, “I am here”? We’re defenseless in so many ways, and it can be a great comfort to meditate on an all-powerful God who is present, or who will intercede on our behalf, or who limits what we must endure.
There is one difference in this verse though – here He is a shield rather than a tower. A shield is something that protects us, it’s true, but now we are on the attack rather than defense; in fact it’s more for deflection than outright protection (there’s got to be a song in there somewhere).
When we stand up for the Lord, our job is to trust the shield while we use the sword. Paul connects directly to this thought and this verse when he exhorts us to ‘In all circumstances take up the shield of faith’ (Eph 6:16 ESV) -
Here’s Baring-Gould, quoting from Matt 16:18 in his glorious hymn:
Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,
But the church of Jesus constant will remain.
Gates of hell can never ‘gainst that church prevail;
We have Christ’s own promise, and that cannot fail.
Sabine Baring-Gould, Onward Christian Soldiers
Dave Travis
Rose
Thanks for this great synopsis. (BTW, “No Name” near bottom of your list was Mel Lawrenz, Elmbrook...
Jon Reid
