HEBREW WORD STUDY – SHIELD – MAGEN – מגנ  

Psalms 3:3 “But thou O’Lord art a shield to me, the glory and the lifter of my heard.”

This Psalm was written in probably the worst moment of David’s life.  His beloved son, whom David named Absalom which means father of peace, had been anything but peaceful. He revolted against his father, started a revolution, seized the throne from his father and sent his father off into exile with a few of his followers, and then formed a posse to go out after him and kill him.  Then if things were not bad enough, as David was fleeing the kingdom with his few loyal followers, some Benjamite starts throwing rocks at him shouting out that he is getting what he deserves.

One of David’s loyal servants steps up and says: “Why should this dead dog insult the king, you just say the word and I’ll go lop his head off.”   I have always been moved by David’s response. “No, let him throw rocks, perhaps God will have some mercy on me.” Here David was at his lowest point, he was a failure as a king, his vocation or career was gone. He had lost everything, his wealth, power, and friends, and probably his worst feeling was that he had failed as a father. But I think there was something worse than that, he probably felt he had failed God.  I believe when he instructed his servant to let the Benjamite continue throwing rocks at him, he really believed God was behind it, that God was trying to show him how he had abused the power He gave him.

I think many of us at one time or another have faced a real failure and as a result of that failure, someone starts to throw “rocks” at us.   I remember such a time in my life and someone that I had really hurt due to my own selfishness started to throw verbal rocks at me.  A loyal friend suggests I not stand for it.  But, like David, the only thing I could think was: “No, let that person continue to throw the verbal rocks, perhaps this realization of my personal failure will lead me back to God.

It is at this point that David said the Lord was his shield.  The word shield is magen which is a play on the word negan.  Magen means a shield, a protector.  Indeed the Lord is a shield and protector.  The word negan which means music or music played on a stringed instrument. David was a musician who played a stringed instrument.  When he would go through a time of stress, he would retreat and play his stringed instrument and in that music, he would find a sense of peace.   David was not only saying God was his protector, but that God was his source of peace in times of great trial. .

Not only that but God was the lifter of his head.  The word lifter is merim.  This is found in a Hiphil (causative) participial form.   God is the one who is causing his head to be lifted up.  He is totally discouraged.  There may have been encouraging reports that all is not lost.  He may have had followers who declare their loyalty to him and would fight to the death to reestablish him on his throne. Yet, none of that would encourage him.  It was only God and God alone who could encourage him.  When things get tough, we look to the natural to encourage us. We see an improvement in the economy or get a compliment from the boss and suddenly we are encouraged again and our head is lifted up again.  Yet, David said that it is God and only God who can lift his head and offer encouragement.

Also, this is in a participial form.  This would create a picture of God continually lifting David’s head.  It is almost like God is saying to David, “Come on David, I know you blew it, but look at me.”  God continually raises David’s head so he can look at Him and see that He is forgiven, that God still does love him.

When I face my greatest fear, I search through the natural for encouraging signs.  Yet the only true source of encouragement lies in the magen (shield), the revealed knowledge of God and his loving-kindness, but it takes the Nun faith in that revealed knowledge and loving-kindness for it to be a shield.

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