He who
dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. Psalm 91:1 NKJV
Can
you recall being scared when you were a small child? I think most of us can because being
frightened of something is a very common occurrence, especially when one is
young and everything around them seems larger and more intimidating. As we grow, that fear eventually diminishes
somewhat, yet there are times, even as adults, that we can become frightened by
circumstances which seem out of our control.
Most often, when we were young, we ran to our parents when we were
frightened. As adults, many times we can
feel alone with our fears, yet in the case of those who believe, we have a Father we can go to for assurance.
This
Psalm is one which many have turned to in time of need, especially when the
assurance of the Father’s protection is the greatest desire. In the times in which we find ourselves today
as believers, watching the world become more and more hostile to the message of
God and we who choose to follow, it would appear that reassurance from our
Father is becoming more and more important to a good many. I want to share just a few of my thoughts on
this Psalm this morning, and hope that as you read the promises given to us as
believers in Him, you will be reassured of our safety in the Fathers’ hand.
I will
say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will
trust.” Psalm 91:2 NKJV
Did
you notice in verse one that the promise of these blessings are reserved for
those who “dwell” with God? Another way
of saying this would be “living in close fellowship” with God. How often as children were we scared while
holding our Fathers’ hand? It was
usually when we were off on our own that we became frightened and felt the need
to run back for reassurance. If we as
believers “dwell” with God, and “abide” in His presence, we can truly claim
that He is our refuge and fortress, and we can trust Him to protect us from all
who would wish to do us harm.
Surely
He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, And from the perilous
pestilence. He shall cover you with His
feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your
shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the
arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the
destruction that lays waste at noonday. Psalm 91:3-6 NKJV
How
old were you when you became aware of the power of a promise? I can recall when my daughters all began to
ask me to “promise” to do something.
They even took it a step further with a little thing they called a
“pinky swear”, which was a promise made while hooking our two little fingers
together. How much stronger of a promise
do we need than the promise from the God of the universe that He will deliver
us from any sort of attack that those who seek our destruction might attempt. Our Father tells us plainly we have nothing
to fear if we take refuge under His wings.
A
thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it
shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of
the wicked. Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even
the Most High, your dwelling place,
Psalm 91:7-9 NKJV
Not
only do we have the promises of assurance and deliverance, we are also given
here the promise of God’s judgment upon those who would do us harm. How often do we read in the scriptures of the
righteous crying out to God “how long o Lord?”, yet here we see
the promise that we will have the opportunity to watch God execute judgment on
the wicked. Yet again, though, we are
reminded that the promise is only for those who choose to make God their refuge,
and act upon that choice by dwelling with Him in close fellowship.
No evil
shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His
angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they
shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon
the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample
underfoot. Psalm 91:10-13 NKJV
I
don’t know, but suspect that this is the passage which has produced the idea of
a guardian angel who watches over each of us.
Yet God goes a step further and tells us that we are given the
protection of angels, “plural”, to watch us as we walk in our relationship with
Christ. The Hebrew word for charge means
to command, or give orders to, and I for one am glad that He has done that for
me. I have personally experienced on
more than one occasion what we are promised here, and there is no doubt whatsoever
in my mind that my safety in a few circumstances was a direct result of this
promise.
“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. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will
satisfy him, And show him My salvation.” Psalm 91:14-16 NKJV
What
better promise can our Father give us than the promise of eternal life spent in
His presence? Because we choose to love
Him, He will deliver us and eventually set us with Him “on high”. Because we call out to Him by name,
He will answer. He will be with us in
times of trouble and not only deliver us, but even give us honor and glory for
choosing to trust in Him for our salvation.
Best of all we are promised a life of satisfaction, knowing we have
served Him well by making the choice to rely on Him for our every need.
Whatever
might come our way, especially in these days approaching the end, isn’t it
reassuring to know that not only do we have our Father’s promise of protection,
but ultimately the promise of eternal life spent in heaven with Him, which no one can take away.
Keep
watching.
