Bible Strands
Psalms 7:10
My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David speaks directly to God, positioning himself as the petitioner following his request in verse 9 for God to end the wicked’s evil and establish the righteous.
The words — מָֽגִנּ֥/י (ma.gi.N/i) translates literally to “my shield,” and מ֝וֹשִׁ֗יעַ (mo.Shi.a') means “a deliverer.” The text states God is the shield who delivers those with upright hearts, not that God merely watches or that the believer possesses the shield.
The thread — This motif appears in Genesis 15:1 where God identifies Himself as Abram’s shield, and in Psalms 84:11 where the LORD is called a shield who withholds no good from those walking uprightly.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that divine protection and deliverance are actively positioned for the morally upright rather than earned by merit. It requires the reader to align their heart’s direction with God’s standard of uprightness to receive the stated deliverance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.
Cross-references
- Genesis 15:1 After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
- Psalms 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
- Psalms 125:4 Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, and to the upright in heart.
- Proverbs 28:18 He who walks with integrity will be kept safe, but whoever is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall.
- Job 8:6 if you are pure and upright, even now He will rouse Himself on your behalf and restore your righteous estate.
- Proverbs 2:21 For the upright will inhabit the land, and the blameless will remain in it;
- Proverbs 11:20 The perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD, but the blameless in their walk are His delight.
- Psalms 3:3 But You, O LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.
- Psalms 18:1 For the choirmaster. Of David the servant of the LORD, who sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love You, O LORD, my strength.
- Psalms 89:18 Surely our shield belongs to the LORD, and our king to the Holy One of Israel.