“Thou, O Lord, art a shield about me.

You’re my glory, You’re the lifter of my head.

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, You’re the lifter of my head.”

– Donn Thomas and Charles Williams, 1991.

That’s all the words in the song, and it serves as a great example of why we should think deeply about the songs we sing and the message behind them. 

“A Shield About Me,” happens to be one of my favorites. When you sing this song with variations of volume (sometimes softly and sometimes loudly), it is a deeply moving song. However, beautiful sound is not our only aim in song worship. The true beauty of a song is based on the message that it conveys, and this song is no exception to that rule. It is beautiful and powerful when sung well. But the simply phrased words, are where the real power is. 

The song comes from Psalm 3:4: “but thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head” (KJV). The heading ascribed to this Psalm is: A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom. The simple profundity of this Psalm should hit harder now. 

Place yourself in the shoes of David. Your own son is trying to kill you. How might you formulate a great eloquent song/prayer? I suppose it might be hard to find any words to convey what’s on your mind during a time such as that. Herein lies part of my appreciation for this song/psalm. When words seem to fail and you can’t even think of what to say, you can know Yahweh is the shield and He will lift your head. Thus, hallelujah! Hallelujah is essentially a form of “praise Yah” or praise be to Yahweh. 

When everything is in absolute chaos, my own house if falling apart and my son is trying to usurp the throne and kill me: God is faithful. God is sure. God is good. God will protect me. God will provide. God will ‘lift my head,’ — He will sustain me. Though there are foes all around me (hence the shield being “about me”), God is with me. 

Yes, in the simplest terms possible: God be praised. The song puts you in the shoes of David. As life crumbles around you, all you can do is cry out to God. I love the song because I love the message of the Psalm from which it comes. What might you do if your entire life was collapsing all around you? With few words but many tears, cry out to the God who cares.