God, Our Refuge

Psalm 91

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust."

3Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.

4He shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

5You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,

Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

6Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,

Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

7A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.

8Only with your eyes shall you look,

And see the reward of the wicked.

9Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,

Even the Most High, your dwelling place,

10No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; 11For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.

12In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

13You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,

The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

14"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

15He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble;

I will deliver him and honor him.

16With long life I will satisfy him,

And show him My salvation." (NKJV)

There are four things we can learn from this passage.

I. God is Our Refuge (Psalm 91:1-4)

Psalm 91

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust."

3Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.

4He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

The word used here for refuge is machceh (makh-she’). This word can mean a shelter from rain and storm or shelter from danger. It also has the meaning of hope and trust. In this passage, the psalmist uses the picture of a bird protecting its young.

This week I was reading about the female ruffed grouse and how she protects her young. Because young grouse chicks are very sensitive to dampness, mother birds brood them under their wings, keeping them dry and warm during wet weather and at night. The mother grouse will heroically defend her young against intruders with a sharp piercing cry and by extending her foliage to appear twice her size.

The psalmist was aware of how mother birds protected their young and saw this as a picture of how God protects His children. Just as the young grouse chicks find security and warmth under their mother’s wings, so we in Christ can find security and warmth under the wings of God’s protection. God truly is a shelter from the storm.

II. Because God is Our Refuge, We can have peace (Psalm 91:5-8)

5You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,

Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

6Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,

Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

7A thousand may fall at your side,

And ten thousand at your right hand;

But it shall not come near you.

8Only with your eyes shall you look,

And see the reward of the wicked.

This passage says: “You shall not be afraid of the terror by night.” How can we have peace in the midst of the storm?

Illustration:

There is a story of a soldier in the midst of a ferocious battle. He is desperately digging for cover, as shells are exploding and bullets were flying around him. While digging, he soon discovers a silver cross. He notices someone jump into the foxhole and recognizes him to be an army chaplain. Holding the silver cross in front of the chaplain, he asks: “Hey, do you know how to work this thing?”

This is a question many in the world would ask us in the church. How can we have peace when there is turmoil around us? It was during a perilous time in his life when the Apostle Paul wrote the church at Philippi about peace.