Last week, I introduced Part 1 of our message by saying that we have endured some crazy events in America during the first six months of 2020, with the impeachment trial; the Corona Virus pandemic; and then racial and civil unrest, accompanied with looting, rioting and terrible violence. And I mentioned how, during the quarantine period, the Lord laid a passage on both mine and my wife’s heart that gave us great comfort and confidence in God’s protection over our family; and that passage is Psalm 91. I’ve entitled this two-part sermon, “Under the Shadow of His Wings,” and today we will finish up with part 2.
Last week, when we looked at verses 1-8, we learned that even though we are witnessing some frightening things in our nation, that God will protect us. We discovered that when we dwell in the “shelter” or “fortress” of the Most High, that we can have peace of mind when wars and enemies rage all around. We saw how God will deliver us from the snares of the devil; and how He will shelter us from both physical and spiritual attacks, as long as we abide in Him. The Lord will protect us from terrorism and enemies, even plague or pandemic, when we wholly immerse ourselves in truth, which is found in the Word of Truth. So, with these assurances in mind, let’s continue looking at the benefits we have when we “dwell in the secret place of the Most High” (v. 1).
Kept Safe from Evil by His Angels (vv. 9-13)
9 Because you have made the LORD [Yahweh], who is my refuge, even the Most High [Elyon], your dwelling place, 10 no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; 11 for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. 12 In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. 13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
In verse 9, we are told that we need to make the LORD our refuge and dwelling place; or rather, we are to rest in Him. The word “LORD” is derived from another one of the Hebrew names for God, which in this verse is Yahweh. “His name is composed of four Hebrew consonants (known as the Tetragrammaton), which the prophet Moses . . . revealed to his people. As the name of the supreme being was considered too holy to be spoken, the consonants YHWH were used to remind one to say the word Adonai (LORD) in place of [God’s] name.”(1) So, the One whose name is so holy that it is above description is the one in whom we are to take refuge; and as a result we receive protection beyond words.
“We see in Exodus 3:14 that God uses ‘I AM’ and ‘Yahweh’ interchangeably, which tells us that ‘I AM’ is one way for us to translate the name ‘Yahweh.’ But why is it so significant that God’s name is ‘I AM’?”(2) In John 8:58, Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” Jesus identified Himself as “I AM.” He is Yahweh; Jesus is LORD. So, when we rest in Yahweh, we also rest in Jesus. In John chapter 15, Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit . . . If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:5, 7). One thing we might choose to ask for in these uncertain times is protection, and Jesus is saying that as long as we abide in Him and abide in Yahweh, we will be given what we ask; we will be given divine protection.
So, what might we ask protection from? Well, verse 10 gives us an idea. The word “evil” means, “misery, stress,” and “injury” (Strong’s). So, we can ask for protection from the harms of evil. For example, we can pray that rioting and civil unrest does not come to our town; and if we happen to be in a place where these things are occurring, we can pray that our family or business not be harmed. We can pray that racism would not lead to crimes against those with another skin color; and on the flip side, we can pray for ourselves and our family that they would not become victims of racism.
We might also ask for protection from the plague, according to verse 10. The word “plague” refers to “calamities which God inflicts upon men”(3) Now, the word “pestilence” used back in verses 3 and 6 is derived “from a word that signifies to speak, and speak out. The pestilence is a speaking thing; it proclaims the wrath of God amongst a people.”(4) This information tells us that some plagues are actually sent by God as punishment; but you will be spared. Do we believe that we will be spared from pestilence; that God can and will protect us? Allow me to share an illustration:
In 1576, plague hit the city of Milan. When Cardinal Carlo Borromeo, the Archbishop of Milan, heard about the plague, he went at once to the city. His council of clergy advised him to remain in some healthy part of his diocese until the sickness had run its course, but he replied that a bishop, whose duty it is to give his life for his sheep, could not rightly abandon them in time of peril. He asked, “Is it not a bishop’s duty to choose the higher course?”
So, back into the town of deadly sickness he went, leading the people to repent; and watching over them in their suffering, visiting the hospitals, and, by his own example, encouraging his clergy in carrying spiritual consolation to the dying. The entire time the plague lasted, which was four months, his efforts were fearless and unwearied. What was remarkable was, that of his entire household only two people died, and they were persons who had not been called to go about among the sick.(5)
So, let me ask a hard question, “What if pestilence and plague strike, and Christians do get sick and even die? Do we take it that we too have sinned? Do we get angry with God?” Listen to Charles Spurgeon’s perspective. He states, “It is impossible that any ill should happen to the man who is beloved of the Lord; the most crushing calamities can only shorten his journey and hasten him to his reward. Ill to him is no ill, but only good in a mysterious form. Losses enrich him, sickness . . . [or] reproach is his honor, [and] death is his gain. No evil in the strict sense of the word can happen to him, for everything is overruled for good. Happy is he who is in such a case. He is secure where others are in peril, he lives where others die.”(6)
So, according to Spurgeon, even if a Christian does get sick from the plague and dies, the Christian has not suffered evil or harm, because he or she more expediently enters into heaven to live forever in their eternal abode. No doubt, Spurgeon is thinking of Romans 8:28, which says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Going to heaven is the ultimate good that could happen to a believer.
In verse 11, we are told that the angels will “keep you in all your ways.” The word “keep” means, “to hedge about (as with thorns),” and to “guard” (Strong’s). This information reminds me of how we often pray for God’s “hedge of protection” to be placed around His people. We also read that the angels will “bear you up.” This expression means, “carry, support, sustain,” and to “aid and assist” (Strong’s). Spurgeon says, “The protection here promised is exceedingly broad.” The angels could “repel demons, counteract spiritual plots, or even ward off the more subtle physical forces of disease.”(7)
One of his suggestions is that angels aid in spiritual warfare. I think this is indeed one of their forms of help. In Matthew chapter 4, we read where the devil tried to tempt Jesus into throwing Himself down from the highest pinnacle of the temple, by quoting Psalm 91, verses 11-12 to Him; but as Jesus remained focused on the Lord, the devil departed from Him. As Jesus stayed true to the correct spiritual meaning of Psalm 91, He won the spiritual battle; and afterwards the angels did indeed come and minister to Him.
I believe the angels can also help us during times in which plague strikes a nation and when persecution comes against the church. Spurgeon says, “One angel armed with the power and glory of God is stronger than a whole country. Earthly princes are subject to many changes and great unsurety of life and estate. The reason is, their enemies may kill their watch, and corrupt their guard. But what men or kingdoms can touch the Church’s watch? . . . How can that perish that is committed to keepers so mighty and faithful?”(8)
Verse 13 says, “You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.” The word “lion” can mean, “a wicked man” (Strong’s), but according to the Scripture, the devil is also said to be a lion. 1 Peter 5:8 warns, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” So, when you encounter a “lion,” or “a wicked man,” keep in mind that the devil is the one working through that individual.
Now, a “cobra” is a venomous snake. In Luke 10:19, Jesus said, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” The word “serpent” can be rendered as “dragon” (Strong’s); and in Revelation 12:9 we read, “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth.”
So, as the angels watch over us, we have power over the devil. Through the Lord’s help, by means of His holy angels, the people of God are dragon slayers and serpent tamers. Their dominion over the powers of darkness makes them proclaim, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name” (Luke 10:17).
Saved by Knowing His Name (vv. 14-16)
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. 15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation [yeshua]."
In verse 14, we are told that we will experience God’s deliverance when we set our love upon the Lord. To set our love upon Him means to set all our affections on God. It is “the bending of all our energies to one end – a ceaseless effort after one object,”(9) which is the Lord. “We have a similar expression in daily use . . . We say, ‘I have set my heart on such [and such] a thing.’ This is what God [wants] from us – an intense, single-hearted love. We must love Him with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our strength, and with all our mind, so that, like Jesus, we may delight to do His will.”(10)
To the one who sets his love upon the Lord, God will in turn “set him on high.” To be “set on high” means, “to be lofty” as “an inaccessible city,”(11) as in the word “fortress” back in verse 2. It means to be sheltered and protected from one’s enemies in a high and unreachable place. The Lord says that He will set him on high as he has known “My name.” When he has come to know My name. Now, the expression “My name” means, “the Name (as a designation of God)” (Strong’s) – the one and only Name; and that word “known” means, “to know intimately,” as in the relationship between a husband and wife. The way that we enter into an intimate love relationship with God, and thus come to know His name, is by confessing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
In verse 15, we read, “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer.” To call upon the Lord is to go to Him in “prayer.” I already pointed out how Jesus said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). Jesus also said in Matthew 21:22, “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive,” and we read in James 5:16 how “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” So, if we know the name of the Lord, then when we go to Him in prayer, bringing unto Him our request for healing and deliverance, He will answer. He will also be with us in our “trouble,” and that word “trouble” can be translated as, “adversity, affliction, anguish, distress, and tribulation” (Strong’s).
If we know God in an intimate relationship then, according to verse 16, we can add to this list of benefits “long life” and “salvation.” We are promised longevity of life here and now; and should that not be the case because of some unexpected disaster or plague, then we will have long life without end in eternity. All of the benefits in Psalm 91 ultimately boil down to the fact that we have been given salvation; but I believe this “salvation” mentioned in verse 16 to be a spiritual reference. You see, “salvation” in verse 16 is from the Hebrew word yeshua; and on the website called Jewish Voice, we learn that “Yeshua is the Hebrew word for ‘Jesus.’ This name means, ‘to rescue, to save, or to deliver’.”(12)
Time of Reflection
When we abide in Yahweh, and when we know His name, then we also abide in Jesus; and when we set our heart on Him, then we will be given what we ask in prayer, such as protection from evil and the plague. The angels will also keep watch over us and do battle against the devil when we find ourselves in spiritual warfare. And should we not see victory over the enemy in the here and now, for a reason known only to God, we most certainly will defeat evil when we cross over into eternity. In our eternal abode, we will always be secure as we abide in the presence of the Lord and set our heart upon Him in worship forever and ever.
But let me remind you that the only way to enter into that eternal place of refuge is when God shows us His salvation or yeshua. We have to know Jesus in order to abide in God and go to heaven. Romans 10:9-10 tells us how to know Yeshua, and to know salvation: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
NOTES
(1) Joshua J. Mark, “Yahweh,” Ancient History Encyclopedia, at https://www.ancient.eu/Yahweh/ (accessed June 9, 2020).
(2) Jenna Martin, “7 Meanings of Yahweh and Why It’s Such An Important Name for God,” https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/why-it-matters-that-god-is-yahweh.html (accessed June 9, 2020).
(3) Gesenius’ Hebrew Lexicon, Blue Letter Bible.
(4) Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: https://www.christianity.com/bible/commentary.php?com=spur&b=19&c=91 (Accessed June 9, 2020).
(5) Ibid.
(6) Ibid.
(7) Ibid.
(8) Ibid.
(9) Ibid.
(10) Ibid.
(11) Ibid.
(12) “Who Is Yeshua Hamaschiach?” Jewish Voice: https://www.jewishvoice.org/learn/who-is-yeshua (Accessed June 9, 2020).
