Heb. sinnah, a large shield that is said to have covered the whole body (not the magen of Ps. 3:3). As the shield is thrown around the soldier in the day of battle, so God gives complete protection to the righteous. The psalm closes with the psalmist’s avowal of perfect trust in God’s complete protection. The Bay Psalm Book paraphrases the verse: “And wilt him crowne as with a shield, with gracious acceptation.”
With a morning prayer such as this, the psalmist is ready to meet the onslaughts of the day’s foes. Spurgeon has appropriately remarked, “Let us give to God the mornings of our days and the mornings of our lives. Prayer should be the key of the day and the lock of the night. Devotion should be both the morning star and the evening star. If we start the day right, we shall be more aware of God’s presence through its hours, and surer of coming to our beds at night with quietness and confidence in our hearts.”