Shieldmaidens of Zion

“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the City of our God, even upon His holy Mountain. Mount Zion...is the joy of the whole earth, and the City of the great king. In the palaces thereof God is known for a refuge. For lo, the kings were gathered, and went together. When they saw it, they marveled: they were...suddenly driven back. As we have heard, so have we seen in the City of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it forever...we wait for Thy loving-kindness, O God, in the midst of Thy Temple. O God, according to thy Name, so is Thy praise unto the world’s end: Thy right hand is full of righteousness. Let mount Zion rejoice, and the daughters of Judah be glad, because of Thy judgments. Compass about Zion, and go round about it, and tell the towers thereof. Mark well the wall thereof: behold her towers, that ye may tell your posterity. For this God is our God forever and ever, He shall be our guide unto the death” (Psalm 48, Geneva Bible).

Alright, I suspect I’ll annoy folks on a few sides of this issue, but let me say: I’ve always thought our sisters in Christ make potentially great worship leaders. However, in light of the Scriptures, I wonder if the model for the sister-in-Christ-as-worship-leader should be the contemporary emoting dramatist or Tolkien’s Éowyn, shieldmaiden of Rohan.

• “And Miriam the Prophetess, sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women came out after her with timbrels and dances [cf. Psalm 81:2; 149:3; 150:4]. And Miriam answered the men, ‘Sing ye unto the Lord: for He hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath He overthrown in the sea’” (Exodus 15:20,21).
• “When they came again, and David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, the women came out of all cities of Israel singing and dancing to meet king Saul, with timbrels, with instruments of joy, and with rebecks. And the women sang by course in their play, and said, ‘Saul hath slain his thousand, and David his ten thousand’” (1 Samuel 18:6,7,).
• “The Lord gave matter to the women to tell of the great army. ‘Kings of the armies did flee: they did flee, and she that remained in the house, divided the spoil’” (Psalm 68:11,12).

The context of the sisters’ song: God’s saving victory over His and His people’s enemies.

From the Baptist Catechism: Q30. How does Christ perform the office of a king? A. Christ performs the office of a king, in subduing us to Himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all His and our enemies.

Consider this, sisters, and lead us by proclaiming the victory of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Back to Psalm 48.

• Commission to the daughters of Zion: “Let mount Zion rejoice, and the daughters of Judah be glad, because of Thy judgments.”
• The dance of the daughters of Zion: “Compass about Zion, and go round about it, and tell the towers thereof. Mark well the wall thereof: behold her towers, that ye may tell your posterity.”
• The song of the daughters of Zion: “For this God is our God forever and ever, He shall be our guide unto the death.”

No introspective pathos/schmaltz here. They sing of the victory and might of God in the midst of and on behalf of His people. Sing and dance among the battlements, shieldmaidens of Zion.