Do you long for protection? Are you afraid or panicked at the thought of sickness, uncertain of the future, and fearful of what might happen to you? In today's lesson, we will address these concerns as we abide together in the secure shelter of Jesus.
“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.” 3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. 5 You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8 You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. 9 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.11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.12 On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.13 You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. 15 When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Psalm 91:1-16
As a child, perhaps you played Blind Man's Bluff - a game of being blindfolded and turned around and around and then told to find the people near you. Robbed of your sight, you would have groped around, hands stretched out in front of you, trying to find someone by the sounds they made. Your steps, which would usually be planned and purposeful, would have been hesitant and faltering in the fearful and unknown darkness you were experiencing. The game was good fun, but it isn't so fun when life feels like that game.
Psalm 91 is a wonderful passage of reassurance and rest for our hearts in the middle of times of uncertainty when we cannot see the way ahead. In this Psalm, we learn that whether we are faced with the fear of sickness or death, relationship turmoil, financial hardship, hurtful disapproval by others, or fear of failure, God always has His hand firmly on us. If we listen, we will hear and recognize His voice of truth and love in our hearts. "I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name." (Psalm 91:14). Through belief in the redeeming work of Christ Jesus, we are called by name, one by one, into His family as beloved children of God (Isaiah 43:1).
In times of extreme fearfulness, we hesitate to move forward, "lest you strike your foot against a stone" (Psalm 91:13). We are tempted by Satan, the "fowler," also described in the Bible as a "lion and the adder" (Psalm 91:13), who uses snares to entrap us and lies to amplify our fears and fill our minds with the intensity of our struggles to the exclusion of faith-filled truth:
The imminence of death (“the deadly pestilence”…” the destruction that wastes” Psalm 91:3,6),
fearing what we cannot see (“the terror of the night”…”the pestilence that stalks in darkness” Psalm 91:5,6),
not being in control of our circumstances even in the bright light of day (“the arrow that flies by day” Psalm 91:5), and
the seeming overpowering size of struggles (“A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand,” Psalm 91:7).
We might respond to the crises of our lives by seeing only the negative details to the point of despair or retreating into ourselves. However, in the comforting words of Charles Spurgeon, we are reminded that: “The Lord has no emergencies. He is never at the end of His resources.”
God’s sovereignty over our lives never sleeps. His commitment to us is never weakened. Jesus’ work of rescue for us (Psalm 91:15) from the hands of Satan on the hill of Golgotha cannot be erased.
Psalm 91 provides us with compelling visions, countering the lies of the evil one and reassuring that we are not hopeless victims in our situations but rather surrounded by the strength of God. We have a place to abide in a safe ‘refuge,’ a ‘fortress’ which is high, too high to be overrun by our enemies, the enveloping ‘wings’ of a bird to give love and warmth, and an intimate ‘dwelling place’ and ‘tent’ to tabernacle forever with God. Can you see these protective coverings over you, safeguarding and shielding you?
In Christ, we “rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak” (Isaiah 40:31 GNT). Similarly, in Psalm 91, verse 4, we see the beautiful sheltering of God by His feathers in all the calamities of life:
“He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge;” Psalm 91:4
Pinions are found at the far outer sections of a bird's wings which enable them to fly. It is these feathers that are especially mentioned in this verse that raise us up to soar high with God in His abiding grace.
Some non-native birds undergo a process of pinioning to prevent them from escaping into the wild, and the pinion joint may be removed to prevent flight. Their natural ability to fly away from danger is thwarted and they are exposed and made vulnerable to predators on the ground.
We know another, Jesus Christ, who was pinioned over 2000 years ago so that we would be free to soar with joy and not grow weary. Our Savior, so full of love and kindness, held out His arms on the cross and stretched them wide over us, suffering in love and sheltering us from all eternal harm. No matter what situation we find ourselves facing, God’s 'wings' of spiritual protection hovers over us as we trust in His Son’s Calvary work. As we set our hearts and our minds on the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are empowered to run from our self-made fortresses of fear, worry, and anxiety into His invincible refuge of safety:
Jesus covered us with protection by being a substitute of punishment for our sin, guilt, shame and the curse of the Law.
“Twisting some thorns into a victor's crown, they placed it on his head and put a stick in his right hand. They knelt down in front of him and began making fun of him, saying, "Long live the king of the Jews!" Matthew 27:29 ISV
Jesus, as the innocent Lamb of God, was nailed through His hands and feet to the cross and condemned in our place. His body hung in the filthy mire of our shame and guilt, covered in every one of our sinful efforts to make ourselves holy. A crown of thorns pierced His head as Jesus heard mocking voices yelling: "Shame, shame on You" so that we would hear these breathtaking words of freedom in our souls: "You are “holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (Colossians 1:22 NIV) and you wear His crown of eternal life’ (James 1:12; Psalm 91:16).
Jesus covered us with protection by absorbing the wrath and judgment of God into Himself.
“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;” Psalm 22:14
Jesus’ joints were dislocated, in essence, His ‘wings’ were clipped. He hung pinioned and restrained for six hours, the sagging weight of His body pulled down by cruel gravity. He experienced in every cell of His body “the recompense of the wicked.” (Psalm 91:8). Jesus’ heart of love melted like wax before the flames of His Father’s wrath for the unholiness of our lives of rebellious betrayal against our Creator. It was a divine consuming fire that no one could stand against: “even the valiant man, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly melt with fear” (2 Samuel 17:10). But Jesus rose victorious with our sin debt fully paid, so we in Christ will never suffer a moment of God’s righteous anger for our wrongdoings (1 Thessalonians 5:9).
Jesus covered us with protection by suffering for our unrighteousness.
“And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.36 Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.” Matthew 27:35-36
Such humiliation faced Jesus: He was stripped and crucified naked, hung on the cross in utter shame and disgrace. His shed blood flowed from a vast number of wounds made poisonous by our sin embedded in them. Jesus received no comfort as He endured the abuse of crowds and the abandonment of His Father God, who had to look away from the sin that His Son became.
But Jesus rose in power, the tombstone of His grave rolled away, three days later; and we became gloriously clothed in the bright and clean wedding garments of Jesus’ perfect righteousness. When asked, “Who takes this one to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish?” Jesus said, “ I do.” The words of “until death do you part” would never be spoken over us in this eternal union.
“He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” Isaiah 61:10.