November 28

But You, O LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head. — Ps 3:3 BSB

If your soul has ever been blessed with a taste of God’s mercy, a sip from the refreshing stream along your journey; if your conscience has ever been touched by the application of Christ's atoning blood, or if the love of God has ever been poured out in your heart by the Holy Spirit, then when the law comes to curse you, always remember that Jesus Christ stands as the shield between you and its curse. For those who believe, the law has nothing more to do with you. It cursed Jesus Christ on your behalf. As the Apostle declares, “He was made a curse for us,” and “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree.” Therefore, the law no longer holds any claim against you who believe in Christ. Jesus intercepted the curse for you, and by bearing it himself, he carried it away, leaving you untouched.

It is a precious act of faith when you can embrace Christ and hold him up as a shield between the law and your conscience. This seems to be hinted at by the Apostle when he says, “Above all, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the fiery darts of the wicked one,” for many of these darts come from the law itself. It is a special act of faith to take Christ in your arms, holding him up before the law, and saying, “Law, you have nothing to do with me. Jesus has fulfilled all your righteous demands and borne all your dreadful curses. He is my shield, protecting me from your condemning sentence, and all your curses are powerless against me because they all fell upon him.”

This is a special act of faith because we cannot do it unless divinely enabled. Otherwise, it would only be an act of presumption. It is also a rare thing to be empowered to take Christ in this way and hold him up as a shield against the law’s curses. But when it is done under the influence and operation of the Holy Spirit, it is an act of faith that God approves and honors. There is no other shield that can block the law’s terrible curse.