Shield

At a certain point in Abram's life, the LORD came to him in a vision. Before this point, Abram had heard the voice of the LORD, but this is one occasion when he sees Him:
"After these things, the word (dabar) of the LORD came (root: to bend, to turn aside, to lodge, to desire, to wait for longingly) to Abram in a vision saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."   Gen. 15:1
This vision came to Abram after he had freed the captives from the heathen kings, and had given a tithe of all to Melchizedek, king of "peace", priest of the God Most High (Gen. 14:18-20).
The Word, who had been waiting longingly, desiring to lodge, bent down, and appeared to Abram, and described Himself as Abram's shield (defend, cover, surround, also including the concept of a prince or ruler as protector) and his "exceedingly" (abundance to a great degree, showing magnitude of force and might) "great" (become great, numerous, multiply, increase) "reward" (wages, passage money, prepare a banquet, make a feast, prepare a building for a banquet, entertain as a guest).
This is the first mention in scripture of the Lord as a shield. Because of the words spoken to Abram in this vision, and for other reasons that we will see below, I believe Abram saw a vision of Jesus. In this post, however, I would like to look more closely at the idea of the LORD as a shield.
In the last words of Moses to the children of Israel before he dies, he proclaims:
Happy are you, O Israel!
Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD,
The shield of your help
And the sword of your majesty!
Your enemies shall submit to you,
And you shall tread down their high places,"     Deut. 33:29
Because the LORD is the shield and sword of Israel, Israel is happy and victorious over enemies.
When David was delivered from all of his enemies, and from Saul, he declared:
"...the God of my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation,...
My Savior, You save me from violence...
You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your gentleness has made me great.
You enlarged my path under me..."     2 Sam. 22:3, 36-37
The LORD as shield also has other qualities:
"For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous;
With favor, You will compass (surround, encircle with protection as with a crown, crown-bestower) him as with a shield."    David in Ps. 5:12
In shielding us, the LORD wraps Himself around us, like the encircling of a crown upon our heads. The encircling actually crowns us.
Not only is the LORD the shield of an individual, as David declared, and of a nation, as Moses declared, but He is the shield of the whole earth:
"God reigns over the nations;
God sits on His holy throne...
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
He is greatly exalted."   Ps. 47:8-9
The tone of the above psalm is great exultation:
Oh, clap your hands all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
For the LORD Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth..."  (v. 1-2)
Moses declared that Israel was to be happy because God is their shield and sword. This psalm above commands all peoples to clap their hands and shout in joy and triumph over the God who owns the shields of the earth.
Why is it so important for God's people to know, and to clamorously celebrate His shielding of us, our nation, and the whole earth? It is because His shielding can be removed.
The Song of Deborah celebrates the LORD's great deliverance of Israel. In her song, however, she reminds Israel of its former condition:
"They chose new gods;
Then there was war in the gates;
Not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel."   Judges 5:8
As Israel turned from God, and celebrating Him, they lost their protection, and became victims of war and violence. War came to the very gates of their fortified cities. Their own defenses accomplished nothing. They had lost the Great Shield of Israel.
As King Saul turned away from God, and from celebrating Him, his shield became useless as if it had never been anointed. David proclaimed that all of Judah ("Praised", root-to confess or laud, give thanks, to cast down, to shoot arrows) should teach their children The Song of the Bow, which was recorded in the Book of Jasher (see Josh. 10:13 , recording the miraculous event when the sun was caused to stand still, so Israel could defeat its enemies).
David goes on to say:
"O mountains of Gilboa ("bubbling fountains"),
Let there be no dew nor rain upon you,
Nor fields of offerings.
For the shield of the mighty is cast away (rejected as loathsome, defiled, abhorred) there!
The shield of Saul not anointed with oil (as if he had never been anointed)."   2 Sam. 1:21
Not only was Saul destroyed at Gilboa, but the land suffered by being dried up at a place that should have been filled with bubbling springs.
Saul turned to fear and pride instead of God, but David remained steadfast. Even as David had his lowest moment, fleeing from his own son who had plotted against him, he cried out:
"LORD, how they have increased who troubled me!
Many are they who rise up against me.
Many are they who say of me,
"There is no help for him in God." Selah.
But, You, O LORD, are a shield for me (around me),
My glory and the One who lifts up my head."   Ps. 3:1-3
In the New Testament, the apostle Paul reminds us to put on the whole armor of God, and above all, taking the shield of faith, with which we will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one (Eph. 6:16). As we have seen above, that shield is a Person, and He is to be lifted up with great, effusive, thundering praise!

Praise our Father, Who is a shield around us, our nation, and the whole earth.

"Thou, O LORD"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aYRfUmGpmo