Remember to live in the Shelter of the Most High Psalm 91:1-16
Do you have favourite verses or chapters in the Bible?
Each of us probably has a specific verse or chapter that we remember.
It could be a specific promise of God, or perhaps a verse of encouragement, or a verse that speaks of God’s love and mercy towards you, or one of the many powerful prayers recorded in the Word of God.
It’s fair to say that this life is filled with its share of problems.
Some are small and some are huge and when we are in the midst of a difficult circumstance its good to be able to remember God’s word and draw strength from it.
We all need a place to go to when we’re stressed or sad, tired or lonely, fearful or tempted, disappointed or discouraged - a place where we can unload our burdens and get some relief.
This morning I want us to consider Psalm 91, a Psalm that has been and continues to be a source of strength, hope, promise and encouragement.
Psalm 91 is an expression of the child of God’s confidence in divine protection and deliverance.
When we feel insecure and inadequate,
we need a refuge - a shelter.
We need a retreat.
Prayer can transport us to that place!
In the Bible there are conditional and unconditional promises of God.
Most promises that begin with the word “if” are conditional.
We can claim the promises of Psalm 91 if we meet the requirements that is If we make the Lord our refuge, If we make the Most High our shelter, then God promises to do something amazing - He will rescue us and save us.
Let’s start with Verse 1: Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty Psalm 91:1
Notice the requirements of Psalm 91:1
“Those who live” - not visits, not professes,
not wishes, not rejects, Lives. Stays. Remains.
John 15:4 says “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”
In Hebrew the word translated as Shelter is סָתַר (say’-ther) literally means “a hiding place - to cover, to hide covertly or secretly”.
In fact in Psalm 32:7 it is translated as “hiding place” - “you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory.”
In this place of shelter place there is protection and provision for those who believe in God and trust Him in every situation and circumstance.
God’s miracles of protection and His power to keep the people of God in the face of great difficulties are seen time and again throughout the Bible and many know that power and protection today.
The people who see you in your car,
or in the office, or in the supermarket,
or in the restaurant, or in Costa Coffee,
probably do not realize that you are actually dwelling and abiding in Christ.
They just see another person going about the business of the day.
They do not know that you are a child of the king and that your life is hid with Christ in God.
They have no understanding that you are a member of the real royal family.
Even if you tell most of them,
they will either think that you are mad,
or they will simply not understand.
They cannot see the shadow of the Almighty on your life either.
But the spiritual world can. Both the angels and the demons know the truth about you, and they marvel at who you are in Christ.
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Verse 2: This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
He is my God, and I trust Him.
This is an act of your will.
You have a choice whether you say it or not.
You also have a choice as to whether you do it or not.
I know that there have been times in my life when really I have been lying.
I have said that I trust in the Lord,
but hidden away to everybody,
except the Lord and myself,
is fear and uncertainty.
Sometimes my words have been cheap.
I have said that I’m not worried, but really I am. That is the time when I need to go back to the Lord and see what His promises and assurances are.
Remember Proverbs 18:10 reminds us The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to Him and are safe.”
or the words of Proverbs 29:25 “Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety.”
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He is my God, and I trust Him
To trust in something is to put your faith in it.
It is to rest to the point that no troubling concern remains.
Let me remind you that 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you”
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Verse 3 For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.
This is an ongoing rescue.
It is not something the Lord might do;
it is something that He is doing.
The word rescue is also the word salvation.
The Lord’s salvation is ongoing.
Yes, when we repented and accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour He did save us.
But He also continues to save us.
Psalm 34:17 reminds us “The Lord hears His people when they call to Him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles.”
Our eternity is secure because of the Lord’s continuing rescue.
God is interested in our lives right now.
That is why He has given us the Holy Spirit to work in our lives and to work with us during times of trouble.
The biggest traps in our lives come from Satan.
He is constantly trying to cause us difficulty.
He loves to try and trip us up, or entrap us.
But, the Lord continues to rescue us.
His angels are working on our behalf without us being conscious of it.
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Verse 4 He will cover you with His feathers.
He will shelter you with His wings.
Again this is an ongoing protection.
He is doing it. He is like a mother hen protecting her chicks.
This is protection from both birds of prey and also from stormy winds.
His faithful promises are your armour and protection.
Remember the words of Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armour of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.
16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.
17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
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Verse 5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day.
The Peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but the confidence that He is there with you always.
We need to remember His promises and assurances.
Terror exists, problems are real - The verse does not tell us to live in denial - But it does tells us that we do not need to be afraid of them.
We are to fully place our trust in the Lord.
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Verse 6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
It does not matter if the plans made against us are ones we are aware of (daytime) or ones which we never know about (night time) we do not need to live in fear.
Jesus knew that fear itself would be a real enemy.
Jesus constantly warned His disciples not to be afraid. He told them, “Fear not.”
Isaiah 26:3-4 says of God “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.”
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Verse 7 Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.
John Paton was a missionary to the New Hebrides.
He had aroused the enmity of the local native chief by his successes in the Gospel, the chief hired a man to kill the missionary.
The man went to the missionary’s house, but instead of murdering Paton he returned in terror, saying he had seen a row of men, dressed in white, surrounding the missionary’ home.
The chief thought the man had drunk too much whiskey and encouraged him to try again.
The next time others of the tribe accompanied him. That night they all saw three rows of men surrounding Paton’s home.
When the chief asked the missionary where he kept the men in the daytime who surrounded his house at night, Paton, knowing nothing of what had happened, disclaimed the whole idea.
When the chief in his amazement, told his story, the missionary realised the natives had seen an angelic company that God had sent to protect him.
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Verse 8 Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished.
Bill Hybels, in his book Too Busy Not To Pray wrote
Sometime when you’re in an airport, observe the difference between passengers who hold confirmed tickets and those who are on standby.
The ones with confirmed tickets read newspapers, chat with their friends or sleep. The ones on standby hang around the ticket counter, and pace back and forth.
The difference is caused by the confidence factor.
If you knew that in fifteen minutes you would have to stand in judgment before the Holy God and learn your eternal destiny, what would your reaction be?
Would you smoke and pace?
Would you say to yourself, “I don’t know what God’s going to say--will it be ’Welcome home, child,’ or will it be ’Depart from me; I never knew you’?
When we stand at the judgment throne we will see, the wicked rewarded for their evil deeds.
Listen to Psalm 32:10-11 “Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord.
So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!”
Friend, Jesus has paid the price for your Salvation, because of what He has done, it is all of Him not of you.
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Verse 9 If you make the Lord your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter
God is our refuge, God is our shelter.
We dwell in Him, and He lives in us.
Your body is a dwelling for two inhabitants: you and the Holy Spirit.
Maybe if we really grasped that truth it would really change the way we live our lives.
Maybe it would change what we do,
change what we look at, change how we behave, change what we say, change our attitude and our actions.
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In the Old Testament we read about the establishment of cities of refuge.
They were five cities set aside for those guilty of certain crimes to live in free from harassment.
They had to remain there until the death of the High Priest.
The place of refuge we have in God is different.
We were guilty. And we have escaped into the Lord as our refuge. We remain there, not until the death of the High Priest, but BECAUSE of the death of Jesus Christ.
Our dwelling is where we live - we’re not just an occasional guest.
Our relationship with God should not consist of just occasional visits.
Especially if that visit is solely for the purpose of helping us out of trouble.
Jesus reinforced this insight when he said, “But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” (John 15:7)
It would be easy for us to zero in on the last part of Christ’s statement and fail to grasp the significance of the first part.
We love the “you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” part of Christ’s promise.
We ignore the condition: IF, if we’re going to ask so that God answers our prayers, we must “remain” in Christ and His words must “remain” in us.
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Verse 10 no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your home.
Think about this truth.
If God is our refuge, our place of safety, how can plague come near Him? We are eternally safe in God.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray “Deliver us from evil,” or “Deliver us from the evil one.”
Friends, if you are in Christ this morning, God has already delivered you from evil and continues to keep you safe.
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Verse 11 For He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go.
Isn’t it amazing to know that God has appointed a group of angels to guard and protect us.
We may joke about them, or treat them lightly,
but they are actually warrior angels sent to fight on our behalf, and to minister to us as and when we need them.
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Verse 12 They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
Jesus, Himself, was protected by the angels of God when the people from Nazareth wanted to throw Him from the cliff. (see Luke 4).
To throw someone down was the beginning of stoning them.
They would want to break the persons leg, or cause them such an injury that he would not be able to run away, or duck and dive. The angels ensured that Jesus would not dash His foot against a stone, or be injured by a stone in any other way.
His time had not yet come.
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Verse 13 You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
What appears to be above your head is really under your feet. The devil is called a roaring lion, the old serpent.
Be at peace in God, Satan is a defeated foe. Crushed and trampled by our Almighty God.
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Verse 14 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name.
We may love Him because He first loved us, but with that love comes our salvation and God’s continued protection.
His name is higher than any other.
His name brings blessing.
Our salvation in in His Name.
It is more than just knowing the Name of God.
It is knowing and loving the one whose name sets us free.
We know His name, we can use His name,
we pray to Him in time of trouble, we use His name in prayer and we have the assurance that He will listen and He will answer.
In His Name the enemy is defeated.
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Verse 15 When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honour them.
What a wonderful promise from our Lord.
Actually it is not just a promise, it is a fact.
We call upon Him; He answers us.
He is with us in trouble.
He does rescue us.
And though we may feel unworthy, He does honour us.
We close with Verse 16 16 I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”
You cannot get a longer life than eternal life.
And eternal life is quality life.
Be encouraged - as believers, you and I have no grounds for fear, or reason to despair.
No circumstance or situation can crush us,
when we draw close to God.
We have no idea how long the onslaught of trouble might last or how deep the troubled waters may get, but they will pass and we will have eternal salvation.
Remember the Eternal, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Ever-Present God is not only our Refuge but is our Strength.” Know Him. Love Him. Trust Him
AMEN
