John Calvin Commentary Psalms 35:2

"Take hold of shield and buckler, And stand up for my help." — Psalms 35:2 (ASV)

Take the shield. These words certainly cannot be applied, in the strict and proper sense, to God, who has no need of the spear or buckler: for by the breath of his mouth alone, or merely with his nod, he is able to overthrow all his enemies. But although such figures at first sight appear crude, yet the Holy Spirit employs them to accommodate the weakness of our understanding, for the purpose of impressing more effectively upon our minds the conviction that God is present to aid us.

When troubles and dangers arise, when terrors assail us on every side, when even death presents itself to us, it is difficult to realize the secret and invisible power of God, which is able to deliver us from all anxiety and fear; for our understandings, which are unrefined and earthly, tend downward to the earth.

Therefore, so that our faith may ascend by degrees to the heavenly power of God, he is here introduced armed, like humans, with sword and shield. In the same way, also, when he is in another place termed a man of war, it is undoubtedly to accommodate the imperfection of our present state, because our minds, due to their limited capacity, could not otherwise comprehend the extent of that infinite power, which contains in itself every form of help and has no need of aid from any other source.

This, therefore, is a prayer that God, by the exercise of his secret and intrinsic power, would show that he alone is able to encounter the whole strength and forces of the ungodly. Some suppose that the Hebrew word צנה, tsinnah, used here, means a dart, or some other kind of weapon; but as we have already seen in Psalm 5 that it properly signifies a buckler, I see no reason why it should be differently interpreted in this place.

Nor is it at all inconsistent to connect here, as is often done in other places, the buckler and the shield. If the expression used here had been designed to signify a dart or a similar weapon, it would have been more natural to connect it with the spear, which is mentioned in the following verse. David, then, first mentions defensive armor, praying that God would sustain and repel the assaults of the enemy.

The Hebrew word ריק, rik, which signifies to unsheath, or make bare, I take simply to mean to draw out, or bring forth.

The Hebrew word סגור, segor, which I have translated to oppose, literally signifies to shut or to close. But since David’s meaning is that God, by setting himself as a wall or rampart, would prevent his enemies from approaching him, it appears to me that I have faithfully translated it. At the same time, if anyone should prefer the translation to shut, or close the way, or to impede it by some obstacle, the meaning is substantially the same. The opinion of those who contend that it is a noun is not at all probable.