52 soldiers from the small town of Seadrift, TX went off to fight WW II. The photos of these soldiers were placed inside a church there in the small town. During the war, 15-20 mothers gathered around those pictures of these 52 soldiers during their time away. They prayed Psalm 91 as they knelt together asking God to bring their sons home. God heard the prayers of these mothers and all 52 sons came home from all over the globe. One of the survivors said this, “We knew God was going to take care of us. Our mothers were praying for us, and everybody here at the church was praying.” Another of the soldiers said this, “Well, we knew that we were in the hands of God.”
2020 has been a roller-coaster year for most of us. How poised are you when anxiety? People cope with worrying in a number of ways — some drink to dismiss it while others shop for a distraction.
Psalm 91 can steady you when anxiety crashes down on you. If Psalm 91 isn’t already special to you, then my hope is for you is that it’s about to be. Psalm 91 has been connected to soldiers and policemen for the past century or more.
I don’t think Psalm 91 is rabbit’s foot that can guarantee your loved ones safety in this world. But I do think Psalm 91 offers you a great deal of peace in a world where peace is missing. Because it’s a rich storehouse of protection when evil hot’s breath is breathing down your neck.
To understand the richness of this psalm, you need to go back to the middle part of last century.
On January 8, 1956, Jim Elliott and 4 of his closest friends were speared to death on a sandbar in a remote area of Ecuador. The five men were trying to reach a violent tribe of Indians in the remote rainforest for the first time in history with the gospel of Jesus Christ. All five were young men, ranging in ages of 27-32 years of age. When Elisabeth Elliott, Jim’s wife wrote a book to tell their story some years later, she choose the words of Psalm 91. She entitled her book Shadow of the Almighty pulling the very words from the first verse of Psalm 91. Why would anyone choose to describe the tragic murder of her husband and his 4 good friends with the very psalm that promises to protect such people?
Hold onto that question because it’s right here that we need to be careful with the words of this psalm – really careful. We need to be vigilant here for there is a superficial way of reading these TREMENDOUS words of comfort and protection. Psalm 91 has the unusual distinction of being the only passage of Scripture we know Satan has quoted. Yes, Satan superficially quotes Psalm 91 to derail Jesus from His mission. Yes, Satan quotes Scripture to Jesus and of all the passages he had to choose from, the evil one picked Psalm 91.
Don’t allow Satan’s superficiality to rob you of the comfort of this psalm.
Psalm 91 teaches us that no matter what happens to the genuine child of God… … no matter how dark the hour may be, we can say with confidence, “I will not fear.”
1. Rely on God for Your Shelter
When you feel the hot breath of evil on you, turn to the God as your shelter: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust’ (Psalm 91:1-2).
Psalm 91 is written by one who knows for CERTAIN God both guides and guards through the evils of life.
1.1 God’s Four Names & Metaphors
Look carefully for the first four verses have four names for Almighty God. God is first called “the Most High.” When you refer to God as your “Most High,” it cuts every threat down to its proper size, doesn’t it? Secondly, He’s called “the Almighty.” Then in the beginning of verse 2, God is referred to as “the Lord” and behind that is the Hebrew name Yahweh. Lastly, He refers to God as “my God.” “Most High,” “the Almighty,” “the Lord,” and “my God.”
I love the fact that he piles all four names up in the space of no more than two verses. The piling up these names speaks of how important God is and protective God is.
1.2 Four Metaphors
Notice there’s also four metaphors here as well. God is our “shelter” and “shadow” (in verse 1) and He’s our “refuge” and “fortress” (in verse 2). There is image after image after image that says, “God will protect you.”
1.3 My Shelter
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1).
The word means, “secret place,” and it’s a place of privacy and protection. What do you think of when you think of a “shelter?” Maybe you had a secret place a child where you could get away from your parents, your brothers and sisters, and the older kids that wanted to beat you up? There are tornado shelters and bomb shelters. Historically, even the president gets away to a shelter of sorts, Camp David. There’s even the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado. Known as NORAD, its 2 blast doors weighing in at 25 tons each and it sits behind 2,500 feet of granite. All of this to shield our nation’s critical personnel in a time of nuclear war. It seems everyone has a place to get away. Where is your place of safety, your refuge? For the genuine believer, God is our shelter.
1.4 My Shadow
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). If you start a new job, you will “shadow” someone all day long. You don’t have to be too close to see someone’s shadow. But you know you have to be really close to someone to stay in their shadow, right? How close are you to God? Do you shadow Him?
1.5 What Do You Fear?
Now, I have found that just about everyone is afraid of something.
Howard Hughes was so afraid of germs that he used four boxes of tissue paper every day, wiping off everything he touched.
Evil Knievel, the dare devil stuntman of my childhood was afraid of airplanes.
Nicole Kidman fears butterflies and Matthew McConaughey gets anxious around revolving doors.
Augustus Caesar was afraid to sit in the dark.
Some of you fear a virus while others of you fear an election. Maybe 2020 has highlighted one of your fears. Yes, just about everyone has a fear of something.
Did you hear about the hitch-hiker who was picked by the side of road. After a few miles, he turned to the driver and said, “Weren’t you afraid that I might be a serial killer?” That’s when the driver responded, “Not really because the odds of 2 serial killers in the same car is infinitesimally small.”
Yes, we all have fears. But listen again to the psalmist in verse 2: “I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust’” (Psalm 91:2).
1.5 I Personally Trust God
It’s as if he says, “Let me offer you a word of personal testimony. God, my refuge and stronghold. He is the One in whom I ever trust.” This isn’t a one-time trust but it is a repeated trust. How does this trust thing work?
1.6 Flying a Plane
Certainly prayer, a back and forth with God as talk to Him about everything in life. Imagine if you and me are flying across the great state of Texas in a private plane and we are joined by an experienced pilot. You hear the pilot say to me, “Do you want to fly the plane?” Now the two of us are sitting side by side, and I say “Yes, I’d love to do that!” And he says, “All right, you have the control, Scott.” And you know, I’m doing it all! We’re flying on a beautiful sunny day without a cloud in the sky! Folks, listen - Don’t ever fly with me if that guy’s not there. I mean, don’t ever trust me to do that. Here’s the truth: He could do it without me but I couldn’t do it without him.
That’s exactly how trusting Christ with this life is: He can do it without you but you cannot do it without Him. Back in verse 2, there’s a peace of mind because He continually and constantly trusts in God.
1.7 Rank Your Trust Level
Rank your level of trust in Jesus, will you? If 1 is the lowest amount of trust and 10 is the highest, what number would you give yourself.
1. Rely on God for Your Shelter
2. Realize God is Your Ultimate Refuge
The psalmist’s given you his personal testimony and now he wants you to know that you can trust God to deliver you. In verse 3, Psalm 91 turns from the personal pronoun “I” and “my” in verse 2 to third person pronouns. Let me show you: “For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence” (Psalm 91:3).
What does this mean? Verses 3-13 work like an advertisement. Verse 1-2 is how the product works for this guy but you now he wants you to adopt God as your God. The psalmist trusts God so greatly that he is an advertisement for God.
A wise man says, “Tomorrow has two handles: one is fear, and one is faith; and you can take it by either handle.” Which will you choose?
2.1 Protection from Every Side
Beginning in here in verse 3 he lists six perils that he’s confident God will protect you from all of these dangers.
1. “he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler” at the beginning of verse 2.
2. “he will deliver you from the deadly pestilence” at the end of verse 2.
3. “You will not fear the terror of the night” at the beginning of verse 5.
4. “You will not fear the arrow that flies by day” at the end of verse 5.
5. “You will not fear the pestilence that stalks in darkness” at the beginning of verse 6.
6. “You will not fear the destruction that wastes at noonday” at the end of verse 6.
God is compared to a comprehensive insurance policy in Psalm 91. God offers amazing and versatile protection.
Look at the confidence this guy has in verse 7: “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you” (Psalm 91:7).
You’ve probably seen football players doing a pre-game huddle chant. I can picture this be said like a football player in the middle of his teammates around him before the game. Or maybe the emotion of a Mel Gibson in Braveheart just before the battle scene. I think verse 7 is said with tremendous emotion. Hear again the confidence behind it, “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you” (Psalm 91:7).
2.2 Mother Bird
Notice there are two images in verse 4 to help you value God’s protection: “He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler” (Psalm 91:4).
The first image is a mother bird sheltering and protecting her young. You can see a mother bird protecting her young by spreading her wings over them, protecting them from the rain, from the sun, from predators. Most of the pictures of God inside the pages of the Bible are as a King, a Father, or even as a Rock. This image is unusual and it deserves your full attention. This image of God as a protective mother bird hovering over her children is given to ensure we don’t misunderstand God. We don’t need to think of God as remote and distant as simply a great King. The Bible is teaching us that He is protective as mother would be for her children.
Year later, Jesus spoke of Himself as a protective Hen: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing” (Matthew 23:37)! But they would not “dwell” in the shelter of the Most High. Instead, they cried out for the crucifixion of the Son of God.
2.3 A Soldier’s Shield
Circle back to verse 4 with me where we see a 2nd image: “He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler” (Psalm 91:4).
“a shield and buckler” are two forms of total body coverage for a soldier, a warrior. A “buckler” is a kind of shield worn on the arms to deflect blows that are coming your way. His faithfulness is both a body shield and an encircling shield to anyone who trusts in Him. He can combine the motherly images of hen and her chicks but also the picture of soldier who protects
2.4 London Cholera Outbreak
I have read this Psalm a 100 times but have never really noticed the words “pestilence” here until this last week. I find it fascinating that Psalm 91 mentions pestilence twice: “For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence” (Psalm 91:3). “You will not fear … the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday” (Psalm 91:5a, 6b).
Ours is not the first pandemic that Psalm 91 has helped. Go all the way back to 1854 in the city of London and you have a pretty well-known cholera outbreak in the Soho district of London. The sanitation was so bad that people were drinking contaminated water but no one realized this was the problem. In the period of just three days, 127 people did and ¾ of the people fled the area. The mortality rate was over 12% in a matter of three months’ time.
Dr. John Snow, known as father of epidemiology, didn’t know about germs as of yet but he cheerfully traced the patterns of outbreak. Many of the victims were treated by none other than nursing legend, Florence Nightingale herself.
Now, during the height of this plague and when no one quite knew how to stop it, a shoemaker carefully handwrote a sing above his shop. It wasn’t his store’s name or even an advertisement to sell more shoes.
Instead, the he wrote the words of Psalm 91:9-10 above his shop in his own handwriting: “Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place — the Most High, who is my refuge— 10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent” (Psalm 91:9-10).
God’s people have been finding shelter from Psalm 91 for centuries now.
1. Rely on God for Your Shelter
2. Realize God is Your Ultimate Refuge
3. Remember God Isn’t Your Rental
You’ve heard the personal testimony in verses 1-2 and then we’ve heard the advertisement in verse 3-13. Finally, God speaks in verse 14-16. Let all the earth be silent for the voice of the Lord is now speaking. Note carefully the person God protects in verse 14: “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name” (Psalm 91:14).
“Holds fast” pictures someone who continues to hold on. This isn’t a one-time “hold” or a throw-away prayer, but a continual trust in the Lord.
3.1 God Isn’t a Rental
Connect verse 14 all the way back up in verse 1: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). He speaks of finding a home with God. The Bible doesn’t say, “He who [rents a room] in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). The Bible doesn’t say, “He who [spends the night] in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). To “dwell” is to make your home with God. Whoever makes his home in the covering of the Most High in the shadow of Almighty, he will find his lodging.
Many of you don’t “dwell” with God, you simply spend the night with Him as if you were spending the night in a hotel. Maybe you simply rented a place with Christ for a brief spell when you were younger but you’ve moved on now. You left to find better accommodations. You come back to God’s place from time to time but you don’t like living here – it’s too restricting. But when you realize the “new digs” left you unprotected, you throw your arms up in the air blaming God. The one who is protected is the one who “dwells” with God, not rents a loft or spends the night. Don’t expect God’s protection in your den of iniquity. God says, “I extend my protection for the person who ‘he holds fast to me in love.’
3.2 Satan’s Omission
I mentioned this in the beginning, but it’s worth bringing up again. Satan took Jesus to the tippy top of the Temple complex (Luke 4:1-14). About thirty years later, Jesus’ half-brother James was thrown to death from this part of the Temple as well. We are not sure of the exact location but more likely it’s the “royal porch” on the temple’s southeast corner. This part of the Temple Complex loomed over a cliff and the Kidron Valley, some 450 feet below. That’s about the same height as the fifth tallest building in downtown Fort Worth, the Omni Fort Worth Hotel. From this height, Satan now quotes Scripture to make it appear that taking a leap off this part of the Temple would be perfectly orthodox.
Compare the original words of Psalm 91 to Satan’s quotation of it: “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11).
“for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you…’” (Luke 4:10).
Do you spot the missing piece in Satan’s quote? Satan stopped quoting Psalm 91 with the words, “in all your ways.” “Who’s ways,” you ask? God’s ways. No wonder Satan omitted this part. But the words “in all your ways” are essential to the right understanding of the text. Satan quotes (and twists) Scripture for his purposes in our story.
3.3 The King’s Highway
Don’t you realize my Christian friend that when you travel along the King’s Highway you have the King’s protection. But when you take a private road, you must protect yourself. And when you meet the robbers and the thieves along your private road, don’t anticipate the angel’s protection. For the angels are lined up along the King’s Highway.
Be leery of the road of presumption.
When Satan told Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you…’” (Luke 4:9-10).
… this is the temptation to presumption.
You’ll hear someone say, “Well, we are all God’s children, so we may do as we like.” Or, “We are saved by grace and we can do whatever we please.” That is deadly presumption. You need to be on guard for Satan’s temptation to you. You will hear Satan’s voice tempting you just as he did the Son of God. You say, “Pastor, I’ve sinned before and God didn’t do anything to me.” Just because you’ve been successful in escaping God’s judgment once, why would you tempt the Lord again?
3.4 Jonah
Do you think just after Jonah escaped from the whale, he thought to himself, “I think I’ll try that again.” Do you think after he was thrown into the sea from the ship and swallowed by a whale, that he ever wanted to be thrown into the sea again? How would he know if he sinned again like this that another whale would swallow him? What if God sent a shark the next time?
If you have been miraculously delivered once from the depths of your sin, do not put yourself into this position again? You may not find yourself in a whale’s mouth next but a shark’s mouth. You ventured out of your marriage and escaped, do you think you can get by with it again? Your honesty at work was sloppy at best this past summer, do you think you can escape doing this again? You hang out with people who are filling your head with lies and half-truths. Why do you think that because you were successful in one wrong action that God is willing for you to repeat it? Why not instead think this way, “God was really kind and merciful to me for not punishing me then, but I am never running this risk again.”
If you go the way of worldliness, don’t expect the angels to protect you along your path. If you go your own way, don’t expect the angels to protect you along your path. If you want the King’s protection, follow the King’s highway: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
3.5 Conclusion - Jim Elliott
Someone who is thinking says, “But Jim Elliott and his 4 friends walked the King’s Highway and they were speared to death? Where was God’s angels then? Where was God’s protection for them?” Jesus told the Twelve, “You will be delivered up … and some of you they will put to death. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish” (Luke 21:16a, 18). You can gain life even in death by staying in Christ’s shadow.
A martyr’s widow can say her dead husband is in the Shadow of the Almighty. Some of you live with your souls in jeopardy of hell itself. Some of you will die walking God’s path for your life. And in even in death, you will never be more alive. Christians have a poise in the face of anxiety because of the close relationship of Christ to each of His children.
