God's Word: Shield of Safety

Lord, we thank you for your great grace, the grace that goes way beyond anything we can imagine, a grace that would stoop so low to take sinners such as us and bring us into your presence We thank you, Lord, that you've given us your word that we can come to understand your great grace and that, Lord, as we study it, we can come to understand the magnitude of your glory And thus, Lord, be the kind of people you want us to be Lord, we come with all kinds of distractions It's been a busy week Maybe today has been a very busy day

So many things on our minds, so many other places we could be, but we are here and the reason we are here is because we love you and we want to hear from you We know that, Lord, from you comes the words of grace We know that from you come those great words that comfort us and lift us up And may we be lifted this evening because of your word that provides for us a shield and safety We pray in Jesus' name Amen Amen Psalm 119 is where we're at. I don't know how many of you have had a chance to be with us through these last 14, now 15 sermons in Psalm 119

It's really beyond that because we had a four-week introduction, but this is the 15th section And the letter that begins this 15th section is a Hebrew word which means a prop or a pillar This word symbolizes a pillar or a prop so that it signifies for us the security and the safety that God gives to his people The psalmist would ask the Lord to uphold him, to lift him up And so this Hebrew word begins to illustrate for us what it is God does in our lives through his word The symbolism is unbelievable

And so we begin to understand that God's word provides for us safety, security, because it truly is our shield And that's the emphasis here in Psalm 119, beginning with verse number 113. I'll read the odd verses You read the even ones That's what we've been doing all along And so try to read them quickly Try to read them loudly Try to read them clearly All those things that those who listen, because they are steep in carnality and sin, that's why they're not here this evening, but that you might be able to have them hear what the word of the Lord says

Okay, verse number 113. I hate those who are double-minded, but I love thy law Depart from me, evildoers, that I may observe the commandments of my God Uphold me that I may be safe, that I may have regard for thy statutes continually Thou hast removed all the wicked of the earth like dross, therefore I love thy testimonies My flesh trembles with fear Psalm says that God was his hiding place, that God was his refuge, that God was his place of safety, that God was his shield

Tonight, as we begin our study, I want to take you through what the psalmist says concerning God being that hiding place, that refuge And maybe you're not able to turn with us as quick as you'd like to turn, but I'd encourage you to write these verses down because they become a great comfort to your soul as you begin to understand how God's word actually works in our life to secure us and to be that place of refuge where we can run and hide Turn back with me, if you would, to Psalm 5, or excuse me, Psalm 9, verse number 9

It says this, the Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. A stronghold is a place of hiding, and God during times of trouble becomes that for us Psalm 17, verse number 8 says, keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me in the shadow of thy wings The wings of God provide for us safety and security Psalm 27, verse number 5 reads as follows Psalm 27, verse number 5, for in the day of trouble he will conceal me in his tabernacle, in the secret place of his tent he will hide me, he will lift me up on a rock

Psalm 31, verse number 19, states it this way, how great is thy goodness which thou has stored up for those who fear thee, which thou has wrought for those who take refuge in thee before the sons of men Thou does hide them in the secret place of thy presence from the conspiracies of man, thou does keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues Chapter 32, verse number 6, in verse number 7, therefore let everyone who has godly pray to thee in a time when thou mayest be found, surely in a flood of great waters they shall not reach him

Thou art my hiding place, thou does preserve me from trouble, thou does surround me with songs of deliverance Psalm 46, verse number 1, in verse number 7, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our stronghold Psalm 57, verse number 1, be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in thee, and in the shadow of thy wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by

Psalm 59, verse number 16, reads as follows, but as for me, I shall sing of thy strength, yes I shall joyfully sing of thy loving kindness in the morning, for thou has been my stronghold and a refuge in the day of my distress Psalm 62, verse number 7, on God my salvation and my glory rests, the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God Trust in him at all times, O people, pour out your heart before him, God is a refuge for us

Psalm 91, verse number 1, reads as follows, he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust, for it is he who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence He will cover you with his pinions or with his feathers, and under his wings you may seek refuge His faithfulness is a shield and a bulwark

You will not be afraid of the terror by night or the arrow that flies by day, of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon

Psalm 94, verse number 22, I'm sorry, Psalm 142, verse number 1, says this, I cry with my voice to the Lord, I make supplication with my voice to the Lord, I pour out my complaint before him, I declare my trouble before him, when my spirit was overwhelmed within me, thou didst know my path, in the way where I walk they have hidden the trap from me, look to the right and see, for there is no one who regards me, there is no escape from me, no one cares for my soul, I cried out to thee, O Lord, I said, thou art my refuge, my portion in the land of the living

Then Proverbs chapter 14, verse number 26, reads this way, in the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and his children will have refuge, the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death You see the Bible speaks clearly about God being our refuge, God being our stronghold, God being our hiding place, he wants us to run to him, he wants us to find security in him, when everybody is against us God is for us, and therefore he wants us to find rest with him and him alone

Remember way back in Genesis chapter 15, Genesis 15 verse number 1, after these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision saying, do not fear Abram, I am a shield to you, your reward shall be very great

When Abram had just rescued his nephew from the kings of the earth, God knew that he needed to have a word of encouragement, in Genesis 15 it's the first time the phrase the word of the Lord is ever used, because when the word of the Lord speaks it provides for us a shield, and God says to Abraham, I am your shield, you need not fear what men can do, I will protect you Abram, I will watch over you, boy what comfort that brings to us, because people come against us, they speak against us, they are at odds with us because of our faith in Christ, but we trust in God who is our shield, we trust in God who can protect us, who can guard us under his wings, where we can hide, there can be a place of shelter, so we run to God, and we receive the protection that only he can give

If you go back to Psalm 3, verse number 3, it states these words, Psalm 3, but thou O Lord art a shield about me, my glory and the one who lifts my head, folks God is the one who lifts your head, God is the one who can keep you looking upward, God is the one who protects you as a shield protects an individual, and he is the one who can set your feet aright, over in chapter 5, verse number 12 it says, for it is thou who does bless the righteous man O Lord, thou does surround him with favor as with a shield, Psalm 28, verse number 7 says these words, Psalm 28, verse number 7, the Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart trusts in him and I am helped, therefore my heart exalts, there's something about recognizing God as my shield that causes my heart to sing for joy, Psalm 33, verse number 20, says these words, our soul waits for the Lord, he is our help and our shield, over in Psalm 84, Psalm 84, verse number 11, for the Lord God is a sun and a shield, the Lord gives grace and glory, no good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly, O Lord of hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in thee, Psalm 115, verse number 9, O Israel, trust in the Lord, he is their help and their shield, O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord, he is their help and their shield, you who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord, he is their help and their shield, why do I give you all those verses, I give them to you because you need to understand that the psalmist realized that his only protection was in God, we look for ways to to find protection, we look for ways to to find security, we look for for ways to to to be safe, but it's God who secures us, it's God who is our refuge, it's God, it's God in whom we should run, he's the one who is our shield, and so the psalmist now in Psalm 119 explains the fact that God is his hiding place, God is his refuge, now why does he need a shield, let me give you four reasons why he needs a shield and then I'll give you four responses that the psalmist gives because God is his shield, okay, four reasons as to why the psalmist would need a shield, it begins in verse number one, it says I hate those who are double-minded but I love thy law, you know it's something unique about the godly man, the godly man always hates what God hates, it's a good thing to hate what God hates, it's a good thing to love what God loves, but the psalmist hated the double-minded, now maybe your text says I hate vain thoughts, both are true, let me help explain it to you, vain thoughts are empty thoughts, vain thoughts are futile thoughts, vain thoughts have no permanence, vain thoughts have no substance, they mean nothing, and the psalmist says I hate the double-minded, now the word double-minded is a word in the Hebrew which means to halt or literally to leap, same phrase used over in first Kings chapter 18, when Elijah said to the people of Israel how long will you hesitate or halt between two opinions, in other words how often will you continue to leap between two opinions, if God be God serve him and follow him, but if Baal be God serve him, because you can't serve them both, you see the double-minded man is a vain man, he's an empty man, why is he empty in his thought life, because he can't make up his mind, he goes from pillar to post, he goes from one thought to the other, he cannot make up his mind as to what he wants to do and who he wants to serve, and the psalmist says you know I hate people like that, because I need people who are committed, I need people who are strong, who can make a decision, Elijah wasn't happy with Israel, when they would not make up their mind, when they would leap from one person to the other or from one trustworthy thing to another or a semblance of trustworthiness, because they couldn't make up their mind as to what it is they believed, remember James way back in James chapter 1, he says this in verse 5, if any of you lacks wisdom let him ask of God who gives to all men generously and without reproach and it will be given to him, but let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind, for let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man unstable in all his ways, the double-minded man has no stability, if you have no stability you have no security, the psalmist would look to God as his hiding place, the psalmist would look to God as his shield, but the double-minded man is the two-souled man, he can't make up his mind of what he wants, why? because he has a vain imagination, he has empty thoughts, there's no permanence there, over in James 4, James speaks of it again in verse number 8, draw near to God and he will draw near to you, cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded, now that's unique because the phrase for sinners that James used is the phrase that only signifies the unbeliever in scripture, so James is saying that the sinner needs to be purified, the sinner is the double-minded individual, he is the one who has the vain imagination, he is the one who cannot make up his mind what it is he wants to do, now why does the psalmist need a shield? why does he need God as a shield? why does he need God's word as a place of safety? because he knows in his own heart that there are times he has vain imaginations, there are times he himself can be double-minded and not have stability, he needs some kind of security, he knows it only comes from God, and is it not true that our minds can become so fickle, our minds can become so distracted, maybe your mind's distracted this evening, maybe you're not focused on what it is we're talking about, maybe you're thinking about whether or not you got your TiVo set at home to record the television show you're missing because you're here, or maybe you're thinking about what it is you're going to be doing when the service is over because you got plans with somebody that you have set up in advance, our minds can become so distracted all the time and usually they think on things that really mean nothing at all, the psalmist knows that, he knows that about himself, we can begin to daydream in church, as we drive, at work, at play, and our thoughts can begin to wonder, wonder, excuse me, not wonder, but wander, and so the psalmist understands his own sinfulness, he understands that his mind can become double-minded, he can begin to waver between his trust in God and his trust in something else, that's why the bible says you can't serve two masters, you either serve God or you serve money, but you can't serve them both, and sometimes is not true that as Christians we find ourselves leaping from one thing to another, because we can't make up our mind as to what it is we should be doing, and yet God's word spells it out very clearly, God is our shield, God is our place of safety, it's him we should trust, it's him alone we should give our lives to, you see our minds need to be completely saturated with the scriptures, we got to think on the things, as Paul said in Philippians 4 verse number 8, those things that are true, right, we think on so many things that aren't true, and then think of the things that are honorable, that are praiseworthy, think of the things that are pure and holy, how many times do we find ourselves thinking on things that are undefiled, thinking among things that are impure, thinking about things that are false and not true, things that aren't praiseworthy, things that are not honorable, we tend to think on a lot of different things, but do we think on the one thing that God wants us to focus in on, we need to be people whose minds are captivated by the Christ, whose minds are saturated with the scriptures, whose minds are devoted to doing what God says in his word, those are the kind of people that honor God, and those are the kind of people who recognize God as a shield of safety, the psalmist knows personally in his own life that there is all kinds of distractions in his own mind, he understands that, and so he realizes he needs a shield, because there are so many distractions in his own mind, number two, notice this, not only personally, but socially, and that is this, that is there is the presence of those who do evil, he says in verse number 115, depart from me evil doers, that I may observe the commandment of my God, depart from me evil doers, you know we need to understand something about our responsibility as Christians, we are to be lights in the world, we are to be salt in the world, that's what God calls us, he calls us salt, he calls us light, that's who we are, therefore we need to make sure that when we are around the unbeliever, that's exactly what we are, the psalmist says depart from me evil doers, we as Christians sometimes like to be around the evil doer, we like to be around the people of the world, that's not a good thing, the only reason we are to associate with the unbeliever, listen carefully, is to share with them the gospel, there is no other reason to associate with the unbeliever in any kind of relationship except to share the gospel, now I know you work with some of them, okay, you have to do that, so you go to work, but you are to be a light in that place of employment, you sometimes go to school with the unbeliever, so therefore you need to be a light there, but as you are there, you need to make sure that as you begin to build bridges of relationship, you build bridges to share the gospel, you see, we tend to forget why we are here, and we don't have what the psalmist has, that inner passion that says depart from me, you evil doers, we tend to like to be around the people of the world, that's not a good thing, because bad company always corrupts good morals, it always does, 1st Corinthians chapter 15, we got to be very careful, yes, we are to be salt, yes, we are to be light, but the way you do that is to make sure that you control the conversation, you make sure that you control the places you go, so that you're always leading people toward Christ, that's our responsibility, you don't want to be around the evil doer just to have fellowship with them and to sit down and have a good time with them, that's not what it's about, you got to share the gospel with them, if you're not doing that, what are you doing? So well, I'm trying to do some kind of relational evangelism, what's that? What's relational evangelism? Evangelism is sharing the gospel, the good news of Christ, that's what evangelism is, and we've got to regroup and rethink what it is we are about, and that is spreading the good news of Jesus Christ, and the psalmist knew he needed a shield from God, because there was so much corruption around him, and there was so much temptation within him, that he wanted to be protected from those things, so he cries out, depart from me, you evil doers, why? Because he didn't want to be distracted from keeping the word of God, see the inference is this, is that the more we're around the unbeliever, and the more we associate with the unbeliever, the less likely we are to obey the word of God, and the more likely we are to disobey the word of God, and so we need to come to grips with the reality as to what it is we're doing, where we go, what we say, and how we govern the conversation, you can do that, you can be in charge of that, the next time you go to your office party, maybe it's a Christmas or Thanksgiving, and every year you have that office party, and you got to go, because your boss says you got to be there, hey listen, you go, but you go, and you lead in the right way, and you govern the conversation, and you know what, nobody's going to want to talk to you, and they'll stop inviting you to the office party, they will, they won't invite you anymore, because you're going to share the gospel with people, see we need to come to grips with why we are here, we have lost focus, we are here to share the gospel, and if we are here to associate with the unbelieving world, and to be involved in what it is they're doing, we got to be careful, as parents, we got to help our children to understand that as they are in a school, they have got to be so different than everybody else in that school, they can't become friends with the evildoers, because they then will become partakers of their evildoings, you got to be careful, so you got to make sure you hold your children accountable, what kind of conversations they have throughout the day, who they talk to, where they go, do you know, if your children have cell, I can't believe how many kids got cell phones today, unbelievable, I mean I grew up, my parents had to trust me, they had to trust where I went, okay, and if they couldn't trust me, guess what, I didn't go anywhere, I stayed home, remember those days, you had to put a quarter in to call mom and dad, you know, that's the way it was, a pay phone, but now everybody's got a cell phone, everybody's texting back and forth and doing this kind of thing, and nobody's really communicating anymore, we just kind of do it through cell phones nowadays, but everybody's got cell phones, why, why, well a lot of parents can't trust their kids, that's why they got cell phones, they want to know where they're at, they want to be able to call them, but you don't, do you know who your kids are calling, do you check their phones, do you check them every single day before they erase them, see that's what you got to be doing, you got to hold your kids accountable, because who are they talking to, do you know who they're talking to, do you know who they're conversing with throughout the day, is it an evildoer, is it a born-again believer, is it someone who loves the Lord, and what kind of messages are they sending back and forth as they text them, you see we have a, we have a rule with our oldest son, we read all text messages, the ones he receives and the ones he gives, we read them all, can't erase them until mom and dad read them first, don't you trust your son, it's not about trusting my son, it's about holding my son accountable for all that he does on his phone in the privacy of his room, we want to know what he's doing, know who he's talking to, we want to know who he's saying, what he's saying to, see, why don't you folks do that, why don't we find out what our children are doing, because the psalmist says, depart from me, you evildoers, if your child likes to be around the evildoer, there's a problem, and you got to be able to step in and lead them in the right way, it's because they don't sense God as a place of refuge for them, they don't sense God as their shield, because when you sense God as your protector, when you sense him as your shield, you want to hide from the world, and you want to hide under that shield, because you want to maintain a pure lifestyle, you want to maintain a holy lifestyle, boy, that's so important, and so I think that as we read about what the psalmist says, you begin to understand the reason he needs a shield, the reason he needs safety that comes from God and his word, is because personally he knows about his mind, he knows how that mind can become distracted, he knows how easy that mind can become deceived, and he hates it, he hates it, and socially he knows about the doers of evil, and how they can get him to move away from that which is true, I love what the book of Proverbs says, the book of Proverbs is filled with all kinds of admonition to us, you know, Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 6 verse number 17, come out from among them and be separate, be distinct, be holy, come out from among them, he doesn't say go in among them, he says come out from among them and be separate, you find this difficult in dating and romantic relationships, people like to do missionary dating, thinking that they can date this individual and lead them to the Lord, and next thing you know they become emotionally involved with this individual, and next thing you know they're married, next thing you know they're trapped in that relationship, they can't get out, it's too late, they're married, because they would not heed the counsel of the word of God, that they were not to be unequally yoked together with the unbeliever, got to be careful, over in the book of Proverbs, the 22nd chapter, 24th verse, it says these words, do not associate with a man given to anger, or go with a hot-tempered man, lest you learn his ways and find a snare for yourself, they had a thing on 2020 not too long ago about young girls who get themselves involved with young men who are angry men, and captivate them in a relationship, and they become ensnared in that relationship, the book of Proverbs says don't associate with a man who's got a hot temper, why? because you become ensnared, you become trapped, you've got to be careful, the bible gives all kinds of warnings, over in Proverbs chapter 24, verse number 21, it says this, my son, fear the Lord and the king, do not associate with those who are given to change, for their calamity will rise suddenly, and who knows the ruin that comes from both of them, so now the book of Proverbs says, not only don't associate with angry people, hot-tempered people, but don't associate yourself, listen carefully, to people who can't make up their mind, who are always given to change, because you can't trust them, you never know what they're going to do, and the next thing you know, calamity arises, you find yourself entrapped in the calamity, see the bible speaks clearly about how it is, and who it is we are to associate with, and the psalmist cries, depart from me, you evildoers, because I want to keep the law of God, you see, he knows how susceptible he is to fall away from the truth, we all are, you know, God forbid that we should walk into our schools, or our universities, or the workplace, and act like we're teflon, that nothing can stick to us, that's just not the case, the psalmist knows that, he knows how susceptible he is to sin, he wants to be extremely careful, because socially he needs to depart from the evildoer, he understands that, people say, well, you know, if I do that, I'm not going to have any friends, who needs friends like that, I mean, come on folks, what kind of friend do you want, are you that desperate, I mean, is that the kind of friend you want, an evildoer, somebody's going to lead you away from the Lord, no, you know, God is our shield, see, the psalmist knows he needs protection, see, you might think this is for weak people, I'm a weak guy then, I need protection, I need a shield, I need someone who will watch over me, that's God, that's why he's giving me his word, because it provides that shield that I need to protect me from the onslaught of evil, so personally he needs a shield, why, because of the problem of his own mind, and then socially he needs a shield, because of the presence of evildoers in his life, and then thirdly, he needs a shield, because potentially there is, excuse me, discouragement, depression, and defeat that comes unless God is my source of refuge, listen to what he says, he says these words, sustain me according to thy word that I may live, and do not let me be ashamed of my hope, uphold me that I may be safe, that I may have regard for thy statutes continually, the psalmist is asking God to uphold him, he's asking God to sustain him, why, because he knows how prone he is to defeat and discouragement, so he knows potentially there's a problem, that if God's not his refuge, if God is not his shield, if God is not his place of safety, and he begins to wander away from that, he becomes very insecure, very discouraged, and faces defeat, so he asks for God to uphold him, to sustain him, you see, you need to understand something about depressed people, depression is defined by misplaced dependency, a depressed person has a misplaced dependency, they have depended on something else, or someone else to do for them what only God can do, and they are so enraptured with that individual, or with that thing, that they have put all their trust in it, and when it doesn't come through for them, they can't handle it, they can't make it, they are distraught, because they have nothing else to rely on, and they have misplaced their dependency, they have shifted from God to something else, or someone else, and you got to be careful about that, the psalmist realized that he needed the word of the Lord to uphold him, because if God's word didn't sustain him, if God's word didn't lift him up, he'd be defeated, he'd fall down, he understood that, and so he recognizes the potential of the all-consuming cycle of discouragement, depression, and defeat that could happen in his life, if he goes outside the shield of protection, the shield of safety, who is God himself, remember Isaiah 41 verse number 10, the Lord said this, do not fear for I am with you, do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand, don't be anxious, don't be afraid, don't be looking around you for some kind of help, I am going to uphold you with my righteous right hand, I will take care of you, I will watch over you, I am your protector, I am your shield, I am your place of safety, I am your stronghold, I am your refuge, come to me, and I will protect you, come to me, I will take care of you, but you got to come to me, the psalmist understood that, so he knows about the potential problem, he says, uphold me, sustain me according to thy word, that I may live, see God's word imparts life, Lord, I need you to give me your word or I am not going to make it, I wonder how many of us have come to that point, Christ said that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, right? That's what Christ said as he quotes back the book of Deuteronomy, the law of Moses, he begins to help us understand the importance of the word of God that it is truly our life, it is our sustenance, it's what keeps us alive from day to day, but very few of us as Christians ever see that, we know that God's word is our life when the very first thing we do when we awake in the morning is grab it, we grab hold of it, we wake up and we reach for it because it's our life, so we understand that, those who don't see it as their life, they get up, they got the LA Times, they got the percolator going man, the coffee's steaming out of there, they're just sitting back watching the morning news trying to figure out they're going to be in traffic or not and maybe they'll get to the word of God because they don't see it as their life sustenance, but those who see it as their life sustenance, you know the LA Times, it can wait, you know, and then whether there's a traffic jam or not, you still got to go to work, right? I mean come on folks, you still got to get there, if there's a traffic accident, there's a traffic accident and you know, you just need to be in the word of God, the psalmist knew that he needed to be upheld by God's words so he would live, remember Moses' words way back in the book of Deuteronomy, it's Deuteronomy 32, Moses said these words, when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, he said to them, take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today which you shall command your sons to observe carefully even all the words of this law for it is not an idle word for you, indeed it is your life and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you are about to cross in the Jordan to possess, these words are not empty words, they're not vain words, they're not futile words, they are your life and when you go into the land of Jordan to possess that land, you need the word, you need these words, see we know that we understand God is our shield and God is our refuge and God is our protector when we are so enraptured with the we cannot let it go, we cannot let it go, Psalmist knew that, uphold me Lord by your word, I need to live, I need to live, some of you here tonight are just existing, you're barely making it from day to day but you're not living as God wants you to live, that's because you don't sense the word of God as your daily life's sustenance and when you do, God will lift up your head because you'll sense God as your protector and preserver of your life, the sustainer of your soul, the one who can do for you what no one else can do, children can't do it, spouse can't do it, your boss can't do it, your job can't do it and no amount of income will do it but God can because God is your life, he's given us his word for life, so the reason wow man, 15 minutes left, jeepers man, time is flying by, the reason he needs a shield personally is because he understands the problem of his mind, socially he understands the presence of evildoers all around him, potentially he understands the difficulty of discouragement and defeat and finally because of the punishment of the wicked, the punishment of the wicked, he says this verse 118, thou hast rejected all those who wander from thy statutes for their deceitfulness is useless, thou hast removed all the wicked of the earth like dross, therefore i love thy testimonies, see finally he understands the punishment of the wicked, that's where it's all going, these people are like dross, you know dross is like like rust on metal and dross is something that needs to be done away with and that's how God treats the wicked, he treats them like dross, he wipes them off wipes it off and discards it and because God is going to remove the wicked and God is going to reject the wicked individual, God is motivating him to live a righteous life, see what God does with the wicked motivates me to live for God, it motivates me to live for him and that's why he needs a shield because he wants to remove himself from any association with the wicked because he knows where they're going, he knows what's going to happen to them and he needs to be protected by God because only God can protect him, which leads us to point number two and that is his response to that shield, number one is this he delights in the law of God, twice he says i love your law i love your law, verse number 113 i hate those who are double-minded but i love thy law verse 119 thou hast removed all the wicked of the earth like dross therefore i love thy testimonies he delights in the law of God, this is his response to God as his protector as God is his refuge, he delights he desires his God enough to delight in him i wonder if you could say that you love the law of God, you truly love the law of God more than anything else you are all consumed with the testimonies of God you can't wait to be in the word of God, you can't wait to be with God in his word you see you know how does your wife or your husband know that you love them because you will do everything you can to be with them, that's how they know you love them they know you love them because you can't wait to be with them, you can't wait to speak with them you can't wait to hold them, you can't wait to communicate with them, you can't wait to be alone together with them, now they know that they are preeminent in your life, well the same is true with the Lord, you can't wait to be with him, you love him so much you can't wait to communicate with him, you can't wait to have him communicate with you through his word, you just can't wait for those things because that's all consuming to you, that was a psalmist, I hate this, the double-minded but boy I love the law of God, I know Lord what you're going to do with the wicked therefore I love your testimonies, I love everything about you God, I love everything you have to say God I just love it, he delights in the law of God and number two not only does he delight in the law of God but he depends on the law of God, he depends on it, he says in verse number 14 thou art my hiding place and my shield, I trust, I wait, I hope for thy word, that's a cry of dependence because God's my shield I am dependent upon him, I will wait for him, the word wait is a in the Hebrew is a word that that means to wrap around, in other words you are wrapping your trust in one object, in one object alone and that is the Lord God of the universe, he goes that's me and I am depending upon God for everything and then number three is this, that he would do what God says, verse 115 I will keep your commandments my God, verse 117 I shall observe your statutes continually, I'm going to do what God says, my response to God as my shield is that I will obey all that he says, I will do what he says and I will do it continually and then fourthly the fourth response is that he will demonstrate his sense of accountability to God, listen to this, this verse is so good he says this, my flesh trembles for fear of thee, I love that, how many of you have a flesh that trembles for fear of God, that was a psalmist, his flesh would tremble, it would shake, it would shudder, he'd sweat for fear of God and I am afraid of thy judgments, see that verse isn't very real to us anymore because of modern day preaching, modern day preaching is so much centered on man and not centered on God that we think God is at our disposal to do for us and because of the man centered preaching and not God centered preaching we have lost all sense of the holiness and righteousness of God, listen to Isaiah chapter 8 verse number 13 it is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy, he shall be your fear, he shall be your dread, wow, how many of us are actually afraid of God, some people say well that's not what it means, perfect love casts out fear, that's what 1 John says, perfect love casts out all fear, yeah fear of condemnation and fear of damnation sure, but let me tell you something Psalm 130 verse number 4 says there is forgiveness with thee that thou mightest or mayest be feared, why does God forgive you of your sin, so you go to heaven, no, he forgives you of your sin, so you'll fear him, because Romans 3 verse number 18 says that there is no fear of God before the eye of the unbeliever, you see what marks the believer from the unbeliever is that the believer is desperately and deathly afraid of God and the unbeliever isn't, that's the difference between the believer and the unbeliever, the believer lives in the fear of God all day long as the book of Proverbs says, he knows that God is his dread, he knows that his flesh trembles in the presence of Almighty God, but the unbeliever he has no fear of God before his eyes, he doesn't care about God, listen to Malachi 2 verse number 17, the unbeliever pagan says where is the God of justice, he is nowhere to be found, over in Zephaniah chapter 1 verse number 12, the unbeliever says the Lord will not do good and the Lord will not do evil, in other words the Lord doesn't do anything and then over in 2nd Peter chapter 3, the pagan scoffs and says where is the promise of his coming, he's not going to come again, no he's not that way, but the believer, oh he knows, that's why the angel in heaven in the book of Revelation preaches the gospel, remember in the book of Revelation, remember there are 3 avenues by which the gospel is presented, there's 144,000 Jewish evangelists, there are the 2 witnesses, one like Moses and one like Elijah, maybe they are Moses and Elijah, who knows, we won't be there to see but whoever it is, there are going to be good witnesses and then there's this angel that flies around in midheaven, listen to what it says, Revelation 14, I saw another angel flying in midheaven having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people, so this angel is going to fly around midheaven, going to preach the eternal gospel, he's going to say with a loud verse these words, you ready, here they are, fear God, fear God and give him glory because the hour of his judgment has come and worship him who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the springs of water, the angel is going to say stop fearing antichrist, stop fearing your fellow man and start fearing God because if you don't, you will die in your sins, you see the fear of the Lord in the Old Testament is the New Testament equivalent to salvation because those who fear the Lord are saved from their sin, so the psalmist says very clearly in Psalm 119, my flesh trembles for fear of thee and I am afraid of thy judgments, he understands the fear of the Lord, I wonder if you do, you see when you respond to God as your shield, as God is your place of safety, you demonstrate your sense of accountability to him, that you know who he is and because of him, you fear him, you say well what does that mean, it means some kind of reverential awe, we've tried to redefine the word fear, if you do a word study of the word fear, it means this, write it down, fear, exactly what it means, absolutely afraid to death, fear, anybody who encounters the living God in the scriptures is deathly afraid of God, deathly afraid, people say well you know that's not really good for your self-esteem to be afraid of the living God, really, really, well the Bible says these words about the fear of God, listen carefully, the fear of the Lord prolongs life but the years of the wicked will be shortened, you fear the Lord, you prolong your life, listen to this, the fear, in the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence and his children will have refuge, the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life that one may avoid the snares of death, you know that when you fear the Lord, listen carefully, your children are protected, remember Amram and Jacobet, the parents of Aaron, Miriam and Moses, you can read about it in Hebrews 11, book of Exodus, it says they did not fear the king's edict, oh guess who else didn't fear the king's edict, Moses, Miriam and Aaron, Aaron became Israel's first great high priest, Miriam became that great prophetess and Moses the greatest leader Israel ever had, why? Because he had two parents who feared the Lord and didn't fear the king, when you fear God and no one else it has a profound effect on your children, that's why it says in Proverbs 14, in the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence and his children, whose children? The children of those who fear the Lord will have refuge, will have strength, will have security, will have protection, I love Proverbs 19.23, listen to this, this is so good, Proverbs 19.23 says in the fear of the Lord or the fear of the Lord leads to life, so that one may sleep satisfied untouched by evil, you have trouble sleeping, the fear of the Lord says that one sleeps satisfied untouched by evil, the Bible says this about the fear of the Lord, you fear the Lord, trust in the Lord, he is their help and their shield, he will bless those who fear the Lord, the small together and the great, he preserves your way, Proverbs 33.18, behold the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope for his lovingkindness to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine, God protects those who fear him, oh taste and see that the Lord is good, how blessed is the man who takes refuge in him, oh fear the Lord you as saints for to those who fear him there is no want, the young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they who seek the Lord shall not be in one of any good thing, why? Because they fear the Lord, why do they seek the Lord? Because they fear the Lord, isn't it interesting that your place of refuge is the place you're afraid of, your place of safety is the place you fear, the presence of Almighty God because it's in him you have security, he is your shield, listen to this, who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose, the secret of the Lord is for those who fear him and he will make them know his covenant, the secrets of the Lord are revealed to those who fear him, listen to this one, Psalm 128, how blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walk in his ways, when you shall eat of the fruit of your hands you will be happy and it will be well with you and your wife shall be a fruitful vine within your house, your children like the olive plants around your table, behold for thus shall be the man be blessed who fears the Lord, God says if you fear me you have a changed future, you have a changed fortune, you have a changed family, your wife will glop onto you like a vine, when you fear the Lord, what do vines do? Vines always cling and vines always climb and the man who fears the Lord has a wife who just won't let him out the door and just keeps growing spiritually, why? Because she sees a man who is so afraid of God that he runs to him for safety, let's pray, Father we thank you for the word of the Lord, what a joy it is to know the truth that's there, I pray that we would be the kind of people who fear only God, who tremble before him and are afraid of his judgments because we know the holiness of our God, pray that we'd see you as our shield of safety, run to you and be safe, in Jesus name we pray, Amen.