Guardian Angels

The guardian angels (11) express the psalmist’s confidence in God’s protection, security and provision. They are not necessarily supernatural winged beings: the wings of verse 4 may refer either to the image of the protective mother bird or to the cherubim in the Temple (1 Kings 6:23-28). The psalm is rich in word-pictures that describe God’s provision and protection. But, like Jesus, we must be careful not to apply its language literally, but rather to understand it in its context, and appreciate its intended meaning. The promise of protection is not an invitation for us to be foolhardy or put God to the test, but a challenge to us to trust in him (Matt. 4:5-7).

The Psalms of Confidence (Psa. 4,11,16,23,27,62,121,125,131) call on us to trust in God, giving grounds for our confidence. They invite us to count our blessings and look to God in trust, faith and devotion. Unlike the Psalms of Lament, they do not express doubts, ask questions, complain or argue with God. This psalm should not be taken as a pledge that nothing bad will ever happen, however, or that God fails in his duty if he does not protect us, but rather that we are called to put our trust in God and thank him for all that he is.

Take the images of this psalm and translate them into the realities of life today. Word-pictures hover between literal and metaphorical realities. Hebrew poetry is very concrete in its images, but it needs unpacking. How many ideas of protection, shelter, refuge or shield are there? How are the different problems conveyed using images? And how is the presence of God–his name, his character and his activity–made real? Were we to rewrite the psalm today using modern thoughts and ideas, how would we express the same confidence in God?

Write and share your own “psalm of confidence,” using contemporary images for God’s protection, the problems we face and the presence of God.