Psalms 84:9

9 Look on our shield,^[a] O God; look with favor on your anointed one.

Psalms 84:9 in Other Translations

9 Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.

9 Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed!

9 O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield! Show favor to the one you have anointed.

9 Look at our shields, glistening in the sun, our faces, shining with your gracious anointing.

9 Behold, O God our shield, And look upon the face of thine anointed.

9 Look at our shield, O God. Look with favor on the face of your anointed one.

9 Consider our shield, God; look on the face of Your anointed one.

9 God, look with favor on your anointed king. You appointed him to be like a shield that keeps us safe.

Psalms 84:9 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 84:9

Behold, O God our shield
Which may be considered either as the character of God, who is addressed, who was David's shield, and the shield of his people, to protect and defend them from their enemies, and is the shield of all the saints; this favour encompasses them as a shield, and his truth is their shield and buckler; his veracity and faithfulness, in keeping covenant and promises; and so is his power, by which they are kept unto salvation; see ( Psalms 3:3 ) ( 5:12 ) ( 91:4 ) , or else it belongs to other persons and things the psalmist desires God would behold, in agreement with the following clause. Jarchi interprets it of the house of the sanctuary, as a shield unto them; much better Aben Ezra of the king their protector; and makes the sense of the petition to be, that God would save our king; it is best to apply it to Christ, afterwards called a sun and shield; see on ( Psalms 84:11 ) , and to whom the following clause belongs:

and look upon the face of thine anointed;
meaning either himself, David, the anointed of the God of Jacob, who was anointed with oil, in a literal sense, king of Israel, by the appointment and order of the Lord himself; and his request is, that God would look upon his outward state and condition, which was a distressed and an afflicted one, with an eye of pity and compassion, he being deprived of sanctuary worship and service, and of the presence of God there; see ( Psalms 132:1 ) or rather he has a view to the Messiah, the Lord's Christ, or Anointed, the anointed Prophet, Priest, and King, anointed with the oil of gladness, the grace of the Spirit, without measure; and so the sense is, that though he and his petitions were unworthy of notice, yet he entreats that God would look upon his Son the Messiah, and for his sake hear and answer him; look upon his person, and accept him in him, the Beloved; upon his future obedience and righteousness, and impute it to him; upon his sufferings, and death he was to endure, to save him from his sins; upon his blood to be shed for the remission of them, as he had looked upon the blood of the passover, upon the doorposts of the Israelites, and saved them when he destroyed the firstborn of Egypt; and upon his sacrifice, which is of a sweet smelling savour; and upon his fulness, for the supply of his wants. Kimchi takes it to be a prayer for the speedy coming of the Messiah.

Psalms 84:9 In-Context

7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

8 Hear my prayer, LORD God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob.

9 Look on our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.

10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

Cross References

• 1. S Psalms 59:11
• 2. 1 Samuel 16:6; Psalms 2:2; Psalms 18:50; Psalms 132:17

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "sovereign"