The Psalms are filled with songs of praise for God. Promises of what we have in our Heavenly Father. We're going to go through the 91st Psalm. It's one of the most beautiful & uplifting in the book. Psalm 91 is a promise of security & protection from the enemy & blessings the Lord will give to those who follow Him faithfully. Let's dive in.
Verses 1 & 2 are about the security we have in the Lord. Someone please read Psalm 91 verses 1 & 2. (1)“The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty. (2)I will say concerning the LORD, who is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.”
What do these verses say to you? What do we have when we're in a refuge & fortress?
The words “high” and “almighty” point out the power of God as the sovereign ruler of the world. God is higher & greater than all other creations. The word “almighty” is from the Hebrew word shadday. Some scholars believe this could be related to the Akkadian word sadu which means breast or mountain. When used of God it refers to His ability to supply abundantly. What do you notice about the word LORD in verse 2? What does that mean? The word LORD in all caps. This is the Hebrew name Yahweh; the name for God’s true & complete nature. This word expresses God in His fullness as Lord & Creator. It's their word for the most supreme being. The “shadow of the Almighty” most likely refers to the shadow of God's wings. It relates to care & protection of the covenant.
The phrase “I will say concerning the Lord” expresses the psalmist's faith toward God. He will say these things with assurance concerning God. God is “my refuge and my fortress”. When we are in trouble we seek safety. To a city a fortress is a structure offering safety & protection for the inhabitants of the city. In the same way God offers this for His children. Verse 2 concludes with saying, “my God in whom I trust” Who can we trust more than our Heavenly Father who only speaks words of truth & assurance? He will not tell us something that is false.
We know we can count on God to do what He says. What are some ways God has proven to you that He is reliable?
“(3)He himself will rescue you from the bird trap, from the destructive plague. (4)He will cover you with his feathers; you will take refuge under his wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield. (5)You will not fear the terror of the night, the arrow that flies by day, (6)the plague that stalks in darkness, or the pestilence that ravages at noon. (7)Though a thousand fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, the pestilence will not reach you. (8)You will only see it with your eyes and witness the punishment of the wicked.”
What's the psalmist telling us in these verses?
The psalmist listed how God delivers His children from different attacks. He writes that God will rescue believers from the bird trap. This is a familiar image of hunters trapping birds in nets & snares. It describes attempts on the life of the person. God will also deliver him from “the destructive plague”. Here again is a life-threatening enemy.
After listing these threats from which God will save us the psalmist writes how He could do these things. “His faithfulness will be a protective shield” We are protected by God's faithfulness. People can let each other down when we make promises. Not all people can be counted on as being faithful to their word. God is faithful & will not do that. We are shielded by God's faithfulness. We can trust what He says.
One example we can look to where God shows He is faithful in spite of circumstances is that He kept His promise to Abram. Someone please read Genesis 17:4-7. Here we see a couple things. First God tells Abram that he & Sarah, ages 99 & 90 respectively, will have a child. They are well past the age of being able to have children. We also see that God changed Abram's name to Abraham. This shows God's authority over him. The name Abram means “exalted father”. That name indicated that Abram came from royal lineage. In Hebrew the name Abraham sounds like ab hamon which means “father of a multitude”. God kept that promise when their son Isaac was born. From Isaac came King David whom God declared would always have a dependent on the throne. Someone please read 2 Samuel 7:16. God's promise to David was fulfilled with the king's most significant descendant in our Lord Jesus. Whose position on the throne of God is established forever.
God promised Abraham, at his great age, that he would be the father of all nations. The Lord faithfully fulfilled that promise with Jesus Christ! That is just one example of the faithfulness of God in spite of the circumstances. There are many many more.
Verse 4 says God “will cover you with his feathers”. This alludes to the cherubim surrounding the ark of the covenant. The Lord covers the psalmist protecting him from any danger.
God promises to protect us from terrible things. The greatest of these protections is He will protect us from eternal separation from His presence through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus. We can also list ways He has shielded us from harm in life. The biggest one for me is that He saved my physical life, & subsequently my spiritual life, on June 4, 2006 when I didn't die in that wreck. Would anyone else like to share examples of how God has been a protective shield for you?
He then says that we will be protected from dangers that are seen & unseen. Verse 5 talks about the terror of the night & the arrow that flies by day. The night is when terrible things are prone to happen. To name a few there are wild animals hunting prey, invasion of enemies, murders, thefts, and, robberies. When a man has committed himself and his family to the care and protection of God he has no reason to be anxious or worried because of these things. We are under the impenetrable shield & protection of almighty God! As for “the arrow that flies by day” it is reference to the attack of the enemy's weapons of of war. Arrows & weapons like that were commonly used in those times.
In verse 6 we see “a plague that stalks in darkness, or the pestilence that ravages at noon”. This is reference to the terrors of night & arrows by day in the preceding verse. The plague that stalks in darkness could be called the “terror of the night”. “Pestilence that ravages at noon” is a description of a battle, and parallel to the “arrow that flies by day,” The author of this Psalm wanted the people to know that no matter what threat may be out there we can rely on God to be there to protect us. There is nothing in existence from which He cannot protect His people! NOTHING!
The psalmist then writes, “Though a thousand fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, the pestilence will not reach you.” We can rely on our Heavenly Father to protect us when a virus is crippling the world. He will be our shield & safety. This promise of protection does not give us the right to act irresponsibly. God gave us what we need to do as much as we can to to preserve our own life.
“(9) Because you have made the Lord—my refuge, the Most High—your dwelling place, (10) no harm will come to you; no plague will come near your tent. (11) For he will give his angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways. (12) They will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. (13) You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the young lion and the serpent.”
What do we see in these verses?
Because the believer has made the Lord his refuge & habitation no evil be able to access him. When we choose God for our trust & rest, evil forces will not be able to touch us. As verse 10 says, no harm will come to us. Tony Evans Bible Commentary says, “The one who makes God his refuge will not experience harm because the Lord has commissioned his angels to watch over him. This tells us that believers have angels divinely assigned to protect and strengthen them from spiritual dangers—which are depicted here as wild beasts. Only in eternity will we know how many dangers, toils, and snares angels have protected us from.”
Angels will protect us continuously in all our ways. We have heavenly body guards! Angels are mighty in power & care. They are gentle & support us with their hands. They will not let harm come to us. They also give us power over fierce animals such as the lion & the cobra. The devil is depicted as both a lion & a serpent in the Bible (1 Peter 5:8, Genesis 3:1). To protect followers, God gives us power to overcome the great deceiver. Verse 13 states that we have the power to tread on the lion and the cobra & trample them. By the strength of the Lord we will completely defeat Satan in his trials to bring us down. The devil will NOT prevail!
Have you ever gone out trekking through an area you don't really know? You know dangers could be out there but you still want to explore this region. Were you nervous? How did you protect yourself?
In many ways moving into the unknown of the future is like walking over new terrain. We don't know what dangers may lie ahead. We know they are there but we cannot see them. There is no need to fear these elements that intend harm for us because God's angels are protecting us. God's angels will support us with their hands so we will not strike our foots against the stone (91:12). We are also protected from threats of wildlife like lions & dangerous snakes. The most dangerous serpent, Satan, quoted verses 11-12. He tried to get Jesus to throw Himself from atop the pinnacle of the temple by saying “He will give his angels orders concerning you, and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” (Matthew 4:6). The serpent did not have his way. Those who seek the Lord for refuge have the same protection from dangerous beasts. These dangers are ineffective when one is in the shadow of the Almighty.
(14)“Because he has his heart set on me,I will deliver him; I will protect him because he knows my name. (15)When he calls out to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. (16)I will rescue him and give him honor. I will satisfy him with a long life and show him my salvation.”
Verse 14 uses the phrases, “Because he has his heart set on me.” and “...because he knows my name.” When we have a close relationship with someone we know their name & their characteristics. God wants us to have that close of a relationship with Him as well. When we have our heart set on Him & truly know what's in His heart He will deliver us from evil of all types. When we call out for help God will hear us. He or His angels will be there in this time of need. Verse 15 says when we call out to Him He will answer & be with us in times of trouble. Verse 15 says, “I will rescue him and give him honor.”. Think about that. The most powerful Being in existence will give honor to you & me when we call on Him. The power of prayer. That is awesome.
In the final verse of this Psalm God tells us that He will bless His followers with long life & salvation. When we faithfully follow God's will in our lives we will complete the mission He has for us.
After going through this promise from the Almighty what do we have to fear? Nothing if our hearts are with the Lord. Every word spoken by God is reliable & true. In Him we are safe!
Psalm 91 is a powerful promise to all believers from the Almighty that we have His protection. He shelters us when we are afraid, weak, or in trouble. It's a picture of how we should put our full trust in God trading fears for faith. By placing our trust in the Lord & pledging daily devotional to Him we acknowledge that God will keep us safe.
