Psalms 91 Part One

The Condition and Safety of the Christian

Who Dwells with God

 Psalm 91:1-7

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

One thing for sure in the lives we lead, we will have hardships, trials and struggles. These will occur because we live in a world twisted by the sin of mankind, because evil people wish to do wicked things to us and because we often make bad decisions that bring us serious trouble. We all know the phone number we call when we are facing a dire emergency. We phone 911. I would like to suggest to you that when you face such a horrible tragedy you also consider reading Psalm 91:1 and the verses that follow. In this three part series let’s see what we can discover about our God and ourselves when we face a storm of life.

 

Main Point

The Christian who dwells and abides within the shelter will profess their trust and security in God and they will receive protection.

 

Psalms 91:1-8

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!”

 

For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper. And from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked.”

 

In verse one we see the description of the condition of someone who is facing a tremendous hardship. The Hebrew word “dwell” here means sit down in quiet, to remain, to settle, to abide or inhabit. This word is also used in Psalms 23 to describe how God can be a “shepherd, watchman or caregiver” of a man or a woman who dwells with the Lord. It states, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

 

When you dwell in the house of the Lord, you dwell in a most intimate and safe place. It is similar to living in a secure warm home on a frigid winter night with a storm raging outside and wolves circling the house. You know you cannot be touched. You know you are in the presence of someone who can protect and provide for you. You not only have a great overwhelming peace in your heart and mind; your soul is warmed by the joy of the presence of God in your life. It is a great place to be, especially if you are in the midst of a trial, struggle or hardship.

 

The condition of the follower of Christ in Psalm 91 is that they are dwelling in the Lord. They are in a good strong relationship with Him. They are a true believer in their Heavenly Father; trust in the salvation provided by His Son and are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. I should mention here that someone who has not accepted Christ as his or her Savior does not have this privilege. They may have some intervention of God in their life for protection, but only those who belong to the family of God receive the special protection that only God can give. It is also true that a follower of Christ who is out of fellowship with God, or who is not walking as they should, is not dwelling or abiding in the way that Psalms 91 describes here. They may receive protection from God, but God may also allow trials and hardships to bring the person back to a closer fellowship with Him. We should understand the main reason we should dwell with the Lord is not so we can receive His protection and shelter, but because of the joy and love we will experience from Him and by us for Him.

 

Verse 2 of this chapter informs us what comes from our heart, mind and soul to be spoken by our mouth when we dwell and abide closely to God in our relationship with Him. We testify to the fact that our God is our refuge and fortress. We proclaim that we trust in Him. Our faith rests in the fact that His character of purity, love and justice will prevail in our lives. This is one way you can determine if you are really dwelling and abiding in Christ. Do you bear witness of who God is to you? Do you speak of His working in your life? Do you share about how He works in your daily comings and goings? People can say a lot about God, but when they testify that they trust intimately in Him and speak of his protection over them despite the circumstances, you know and believe that they belong to Him as His child.

 

For the person who dwells and abides with the Lord there is deliverance and protection from a wide array of dangers and troubles as well as the fears associated with such experiences. Verse 3 mentions deliverance from the snares of fowlers. A fowler is a person who seeks to trap animals with a trap or net. Here it is used to describe a person who might wish to trap us in some manner that can cause us pain or trouble. They are seeking to cause us to stumble, to experience a loss of some sort in our life, be that economically, emotionally or physically. Here we are told if the condition of our Christian life is one of dwelling with the Lord He will protect us from such sneaky and tricky individuals.

 

Also in this verse there is the mention of protection from pestilence. Pestilence is a contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating such as the plague. To relate to this meaning we might consider the impact an outbreak of the Black Death, Smallpox, Cholera, Ebola, Bubonic Plague might be or of us contracting aids or even having a simple operation in the hospital only to be infected by a type of bacteria that is resistant to all antibiotics. God can protect us from any such diseases if it is His will to do so. There are stories of pastors and bishops during the great plagues in Europe who stayed with the sick populations to minister and serve and they never contracted the disease.

 

Verse 4 very sensitively and visually illustrates how God protects us. It describes his protection as like that of a mother hen or similar bird that spreads her feathers out over her baby chicks. There is a story told of a young boy who lived on a farm. There was a fire in the chicken coop and all the hens died. Their blackened burnt bodies lay in the chicken yard. He walked into the yard and decided to kick one black smoldering mother hen. As the poor lifeless body rolled across the ground several young baby chicks scurried across the ground totally unharmed. God cannot be harmed by any danger or power and will protect us with His omnipotent character.

 

The verse continues telling us that His Truth, God’s Word is our shield and buckler. We know a shield is a large piece of metal or hardwood that is used as a defensive weapon in battle. It can deflect sword thrusts and flaming arrows. It can be moved to protect someone from any direction of attack. A buckler is a very small shield about 12 inches in diameter that is used to deflect the blows of an enemies’ weapon. We see here a description of God’s protection in the form of a small but strong shield deflecting the blows from life’s attacks or satanic attack. All of these descriptions are given to us so we can somehow understanding the protection that God with all His power can provide. We cannot fathom how His power works nor how massively strong it is so He includes these descriptions in His Word so we can come close to understand His ability to keep us safe. He does not have wings or feathers. He does not carry a shield or a buckler. But when we dwell in His presence by loving, serving, worshipping, obeying and fellowshipping with Him we are protected. When we have this degree of powerful protection we can have strong trust in the God who loves us.

 

Verse 5 continues telling us we will not fear the terror of night. At night, terror can grip our heart as we lay our head on our pillow and are left along in the quiet to face our specific personal trial, hardship or pain. Nighttime is hard during a trial because the activities of the day are no longer distracting us from our pain, suffering and fears. We are isolated in the dark to contemplate our predicament. But, for the follower of Christ, God is both in us and with us even in the dark of night so we have no cause to fear. If we dwell in His presence and abide in the knowledge of who He is we are assured of His protection and care. This is easier said than done for it takes faith to believe and none of us have perfect faith. We often struggle if we try to trust in our own strength. The arrow that flies by day represents the attacks from adversaries both physical and spiritual. People can attack us in many ways and we know of demonic spiritual oppression as well. Both of these need not be feared if we dwell in the presence of our God.

 

Verse 6 again repeats for emphasis the protection the Christian who dwells in God has against the “pestilence that stalks in darkness.” At night as our body lays immobile and often sickness and disease can invade our bodies and organs while we rest. God can protect us while we are fast asleep for He never sleeps. At mid-day our bodies have been challenged all morning and the heat of the noonday sun can sap our strength leaving us easy prey for a virus or bacteria to take advantage of us. This portion of verse 6 may also refer to the possibility of attack from enemies as well. In the dark you can hide but at noonday you are exposed in the sunlight and easily visible to attack from enemies. This verse substantiates our faith that whether something seeks to destroy us at night or midday, God will always protect us from danger.

 

Verse 7 is difficult to understand unless you take it in the context within which it was intended. Most commentators view this as encouragement to a soldier in battle. If he is to survive the onslaught of the enemy he must dwell in the presence of the Lord. If he does, the Lord will protect him while his comrades who do not rely upon God fall by both his sides. The greater numbers who fall on his right emphasize the protection he receives. The right hand is usually considered the dominant and more powerful human hand. With more comrades falling on the soldier’s right side it hints that a greater force is approaching from this side, but still again God protects him. An application for us today is we may see fellow countrymen falling prey to sin and evil. We may see moral failure in friends and neighbors because they do not rely upon the Lord for guidance and strength. We may see the whole country go down around us because of bad choices in lifestyle and morals, but when we stay close to the Lord and dwell within His protection we will not only survive, we will also see in verse 8 the judgment of the wicked who have been all around us. We will witness this with innocent eyes because we have remained obedient and faithful to our Lord and Savior and have walked in His path and kept in step with the Holy Spirit.

 

Psalms 9:9-10

“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”

 

Nahum 1:7

“The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,”

 

Isaiah 43:1-2

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.