The Shield, 1
IN THE WORLD, we see that people protect themselves from the arrows of the enemy in battle with a shield. O Christian, our life is nothing other than a battle, and a battle against various enemies: a battle against the devil and his angels, a battle against the flesh with the passions and lusts thereof; a battle against an evil and hostile world, a battle against false brethren, a battle against secret and manifest enemies. The battle is unremitting and fierce. With what kind of shield then can we defend ourselves against the arrows of our enemies in this day of ferocity. The holy word of God directs us to faith and the name of the Lord, and the examples of all the saints indicate this, and all true Christians in the day of their affliction have recourse to this shield and thereby they are protected from the face of the enemy. Our God is refuge and strength, a helper in afflictions which mightily befall us. Therefore shall we not fear when the earth be shaken, nor when the mountains be removed into the heart of the seas (Ps. 45:1-2). In Thee have our fathers hoped, O Praise of Israel, they hoped, and Thou didst deliver them. Unto Thee they cried, and were saved; in Thee they hoped, and were not brought to shame (Ps. 21:4-5). Lord, Thou hast been our refuge in generation and generation (Ps. 89:1). With this shield, as by a strong wall, our forefathers were protected, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, just as has been written of them: He allowed no man to wrong them; and he reproved kings for their sake (Ps. 104:14). It was under this shield that Joseph, who was comely of body and soul, was protected, and the arrows of temptation and misfortune fired against him had no success. It was with this shield that Israel was protected when they came out from Egypt; they we defended from pursuing Pharaoh, their foe and persecutor, and from the enemies that they met along the way, who rose up against them; under this shield they were protected from their various foes, who were living in the Promised Land. Had it not been that the Lord was with us, let Israel now say, had it not been that the Lord was with us, when men rose up against us, then had they swallowed us up alive. when their wrath raged against us, then had the water overwhelmed us (Ps. 123:1-3). With it even the holy David, the King of Israel, turned back all his enemies, as he himself says: All the nations compassed me round about, and by the name of the Lord I warded them off. Surrounding me they compassed me, and by the name of the Lord I warded them off. They compassed me about like unto bees around a honeycomb, and they burst into flame like a fire among the thorns, and by the name of the Lord I warded them off (Ps.117:10-12). Under it, the prophets, apostles, hierarchs, martyrs, venerable ones, the desert-dwellers and all the saints, who from ages past have pleased God, were protected. They were protected in multifarious temptations, in misfortunes, dangers, in torments and in sufferings. It is under this unconquerable and secure shield that even today true Christians flee, and, thereby protected from the face of the enemy, they make bold to chant the most beautiful song: Our God is refuge and strength, a helper in afflictions which mightily befall us, and so on, … The Lord of hosts is with us, our helper is the God of Jacob (Ps.45: 1, 8). If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him give us all things? (Rom. 8:32). Saint Paul, a God-beloved soul, dared and triumphed over all hades and the power of the enemy. Beloved Christian, Satan and all his evil spirits entertain an unappeasable fury against man, and especially against the Christian, and like unto beasts in the night, they encircle him invisibly, and in various ways they rise up against him, and take pains to destroy him, sometimes through himself, sometimes through false Christians and other evil people, his servants. Who can be safeguarded from snares, their arrows, if the Lord by the shield of His goodness and the protection of the wings of His grace does not protect him? Truly, otherwise at every moment he would be destroyed! What Saint David sang of the old Israel and their being protected and covered by God is true: Had it not been that the Lord was with us, let Israel now say, had it not been that the Lord was with us, when men rose up against us, then had they swallowed us up alive. when their wrath raged against us, then had the water overwhelmed us (Ps. 123:1-3).
