Refuge and Shield || Psalm 119:114 || Manna for the Mind #89

Welcome to Day 89 of the “Manna for the Mind” devotional! This series is about taking scripture passages (typically 1-3 verses) and building our understanding of their teachings through their context and connecting scripture. I believe that doing this helps us understand how to be the type of human that God created us to be.

Our passage today is Psalm 119:114. We will focus on understanding and comprehending how God is our refuge and shield.

Psalm 119:114

AMP	114 You are my hiding place and my shield; I wait for Your word.
NLT	114 You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope.
MSG	114 You’re my place of quiet retreat; I wait for your word to renew me.

God is our hiding place, refuge, shield, and place of quiet retreat. Because of this, we wait for God’s command to act because it is our source of hope. While I don’t have any study notes today, we’ll be doing a lot of word studies.

Refuge/Hiding Place is the Hebrew noun cether (say’-ther), which means a covering, secrecy, or hiding place. Specific to Psalm 119:114, it refers to a shelter that hides you. It comes from the Hebrew word sathar (saw-thar’), which means to hide and conceal. God, our refuge, is a place of protection that keeps us safe from our enemies. I don’t remember the verse, but there’s one that talks about how the enemy will shoot flaming arrows towards us. God’s being our place of refuge is him protecting us from those forces that want to harm us.

Shield is the Hebrew noun magen or meginnah (maw-gane’), which means a shield. It comes from the Hebrew word ganan (gaw-nan’), which means to cover, surround or defend. It’s, again, a place of protection. While the refuge is a place of protection, the shield is a direct line of protection that defends us in battle. I have this image of us hiding in a building God built for us while He is outside with a shield, taking the blows from the enemies’ arrows.

This shelter is shown in Psalm 31:20.

Psalm 31:20

AMP	20 In the secret place of Your presence You hide them from the plots and conspiracies of man; You keep them secretly in a shelter (pavilion) from the strife of tongues.
NLT	20 You hide them in the shelter of your presence, safe from those who conspire against them. You shelter them in your presence, far from accusing tongues.
MSG	20 You hide them safely away from the opposition. You hide them safely away from the opposition. As you slam the door on the oily, mocking faces, you silence the poisonous gossip.

Here’s what I see:

• God’s presence is in a secret, safe, and hidden place.
• We’re hidden from those who conspire against us, the conspiracies of humanity, and the opposition.
• God shelters us from those who accuse, mock, and cause us strife.

I often hear about going away to a quiet place or hiding in a quiet spot to connect and hear God. I wrestle with this often because I believe that God can also be heard in the chaos, but something about being quiet makes sense in this context. The chaos can be overwhelming, so being quiet where God’s presence is more boldly present can make us more aware of it. We are sheltered from the chaos when we listen and reflect on and with God. The world is full of conspiracies, strife, bullying, and more. Being in the presence of God allows those to quiet down and God’s love, mercy, and compassion to become clearer, allowing us to live into them more than what the enemies throw at us.

The goal of being in this shelter is shown in Psalm 61:4.

Psalm 61:4

AMP	4 Let me dwell in Your tent forever; Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah.
NLT	4 Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings! Interlude.
MSG	4 A lifetime pass to your safe-house, an open invitation as your guest.

Here’s a couple of crucial things:

• We want to live in God’s presence forever. In this context, the sanctuary or tent would be the sanctuary for the psalmist.
• This is a place of safety and refuge, protected by God’s presence.

We should be in God’s presence as often as possible. It’s not being in a church once or twice a week, but a place where we can be alone with God and embrace the promises and protection that God provides for me. God’s presence is shown through a covering of wings. This could represent the angels or the imagery of a mother bird protecting their young.

Father God, thank you for being our refuge and shield. Let us dwell in this place forever. Provide us protection from those who cause evil, anger, strife, and more. It’s in your name, we pray. Amen.