God Our Dwelling Place

Almighty who has the power to fulfill, to accomplish, to deliver on his word.

He is Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God,

who enters into relationship with his people.

And then he is my God, the psalmist says in verse 2.

He is my God, the one who created out of nothing.

The one who established the universe.

The one who is Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, ruler of all that there is.

He is personally connected to his people.

God is our shelter.

That's what's being promised here.

And it's being promised here in a very profound sense amidst the distress that Israel has been experiencing.

Psalm 91 is the second psalm in the fourth book of the Psalter.

The Psalter, I'm sure many of you know, is divided into five books.

And here is Psalm 91 in the fourth book.

A book that is in part an answer and a beginning of comfort for the people of God

in the midst of the terrible distress that they have experienced,

which is largely described for us in the third book of the Psalter.

We might think in particular of the anguished cries that we find in Psalm 79 from the third book of the Psalter,

which stand in such stark contrast to all of the promises that we read in this psalm, in the fourth book.

Listen to the beginning of Psalm 79.

Oh God, the nations have come into your inheritance.

They have defiled your holy temple.

They have laid Jerusalem in ruins.

They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds for food,

the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.

They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem,

and there was no one to bury them.

Here is difficulty that puts our difficulties to shame, doesn't it?

Here is calamity visited upon the people of God.

Jerusalem taken.

The temple defiled.

The people of God slaughtered in such number that there is no one left to bury the dead.

How does that relate to our psalm?

Aren't we promised in Psalm 91 that a thousand will fall on one side,

a thousand on another, but it will not come near you?

How do we hold these things together?

Although as Israel has experienced in her history,

they will lose capital.

They will lose land and temple and king.

They will not lose their God.

They may lose the habitation of the land filled with milk and honey.

They may lose the habitation of Jerusalem, the beautiful capital city.

They may lose even the presence of God manifested for them there in the temple.

They may lose the leadership of the king.

They may lose their lives in suffering.

And it may seem that all has gone to rack and ruin.

But what is the promise of Psalm 91?

The promise is they will not lose their God.

Psalm 90, which opens book four of the Psalter,

begins with that great declaration,

you, Lord, have been our dwelling place in all generations.

Long before any trouble, in fact.

From everlasting to everlasting, you are God.

And so Psalm 91 takes up that theme,

that theme of God, our dwelling place,

that he has made us for himself,

that he is near to us,

that he is with us.

That however difficult the circumstances of this life may be and become,

God will remain our dwelling.

That the people of God cannot be separated from him.

And it's in the context of God as shelter for his people

that this Psalm goes on to say,

and therefore you are safe in God.

The God who determines to keep you as his people

will protect you to accomplish the ends for which he sends you.

And though there may be dangers in this life,

we have very particular and personal dangers spelled out here.

The snare of the fowler,

a figure for the peril of one's life.

The hunter who goes out for birds,

but his arrow seems bent on hitting you.

Very particular and personal kinds of danger.

To expansive dangers of disease and warfare.

God says here, loved ones,

I am your God.

And I will give you all that you need.

You know, we are not guaranteed that when the earthquake comes,

the building won't fall on us.

That when disease comes,

it won't strike down heavily upon us.

That when affliction comes,

it won't bear upon us.

But we are guaranteed that when difficulty comes,

it will not separate us from the love of God.

It will not separate us from God,

who is our dwelling place,

our home,

our shelter,

our protection.

And I think also in this Psalm,

we are given a number of allusions to the Exodus.

Clear allusions in terms of plague and pestilence.

How could an Israelite read and sing about plague and pestilence

and not think about the Exodus

and the judgments God visited upon the people in Egypt,

bringing his own people out of bondage and slavery?

But there are subtler allusions here too.

The word abide in verse one,

I think has resonance with the Passover night.

The serpent in verse 13

has a certain kind of resonance.

Not the only reference,

but at least some resonance with Moses' staff

turned into a serpent.

Striking your foot against a stone

is the formula used for God striking Egypt.

And when Israel reads and sings

about seeing the recompense,

the punishment of the wicked,

how could they not look back to the Red Sea?

When Pharaoh and his hosts there

were plunged into the waters of the Red Sea,

and surely they beheld the recompense of the wicked.

You see, God is here assuring the safety for his people

in this essential way,

that they will remain his people.

Of all the promises here,

perhaps the most sweeping that we find in Psalm 91

is in verse 10.

No evil will be allowed to befall you.

Well, how can that be?

How can that be?

And yet, our Lord reiterates precisely that promise,

doesn't he,

in Luke chapter 10,

Luke 10:19

verses 19 and 20,

where Jesus there sends out the 72

to announce that the kingdom of God has come.

And we read,

Jesus saying to his disciples,

Behold,

I have given you authority

to tread on serpents and scorpions,

and over all the power of the enemy,

and nothing shall hurt you.

Nevertheless,

do not rejoice in this,

that spirits are subject to you,

but rejoice in this,

that your names are written in heaven.

To the extent that we can see our Lord there

providing a kind of commentary on Psalm 91,

what he's really saying to his disciples,

what really is the message of Psalm 91,

is that nothing shall harm you

in the performance of the calling

to which I have called you.

That is,

I will not fail to accomplish my purpose through you.

And in the accomplishing of my purpose,

no harm at all shall deflect you

from doing everything

that I have called you to do.

But do not ultimately rejoice in that,

as good as it is.

Do not ultimately rejoice

in the power of God to work in this way.

No, rejoice ultimately in the fact

that your names are written in heaven.

That God will forever remain your home

in Jesus Christ.

That is what this psalm is so assured about.

At the time of the Exodus,

Israel didn't have capital or land

or temple or king,

but God was their dwelling place.

God was their Lord.

God was their protector.

God accomplished his purpose through them.

Of course, this psalm, though,

doesn't only allude to the Exodus.

In many ways,

it's also an extended series of echoes,

a kind of fugue,

sort of meditation,

on its place in the Psalter

and in its imagery

on Deuteronomy 32 and 33.

Deuteronomy 32 and 33.

And that's so important

because Deuteronomy 32 and 33

come after Deuteronomy 31.

That's the kind of thing

we teach at seminary.

And Deuteronomy 31 says,

disaster will fall on the people

when they turn away from God.

That is the prophecy of Moses there.

But Deuteronomy 32 and 33 say,

after that suffering,

after loss,

after exile,

there shall come days

of great blessing for God's people.

I'll hear the words of Deuteronomy 33

from verse 27.

The eternal God is your dwelling place

and underneath are the everlasting arms.

And he, God, thrust out the enemy before you

and said,

destroy.

So Israel lived in safety.

Jacob lived alone,

that is, without enemies,

without suffering,

suffering,

in a land of grain and wine,

whose heavens drop down dew.

Happy are you, O Israel,

who is like you,

a people saved by the Lord,

the shield of your help,

the sword of your triumph.

Your enemies shall come fawning to you,

and you shall tread upon their backs.

And that is what we have in this psalm.

Extraordinary, personal,

wonderful promises of blessing

to God's people who are in need.

It's so interesting, isn't it,

how often we find in the scriptures

that we are called to consider the question,

what God is like our God?

Well, here we have a question to consider,

what people are like God's people?

What people are like us?

Because we belong to such a great God,

who does not leave us in our difficulty,

but will remember the promises that he has made.

That he made in the garden.

That he made to the nation of Israel.

That he made again,

and again,

and again.

that it is God himself

who brings forth the seed

who shall crush the head of the serpent.

Delivering us from evil.

Fulfilling the words of this psalm.

That in God,

in our Christ,

we too are more than conquerors.

For our names have been written

in the book of life.

What a God we have.

What a people he has made us to be.

In all circumstances then,

this psalm tells us

that God is our shelter,

that God is our safety,

and then at the end,

that God is our satisfaction.

Our satisfaction.

I think even when we know

the promises of God,

there are those times,

aren't there,

when they can seem like

they're just simply too good to be true.

Perhaps a little divorced from reality.

A little bit like daydreaming.

They don't exactly match our lives.

Certainly don't seem to match

every moment of our lives.

We don't always feel immune

from the terrors of the night.

We're not always free from sickness,

from distress,

from anguish.

And we can think,

well, maybe this is just

sort of nice poetry.

Maybe it's just a little bit

wishful thinking.

Sort of like the exaggerated words

of a teenage love song.

Maybe these things were true

then and there.

But we're modern people.

Maybe they don't have much

to say for us here and now.

When we're tempted to think that,

we should turn to the end

of Psalm 91.

Because in the last verses

of Psalm 91,

you'll notice there is a shift

in the psalm.

There is a new speaker

introduced to us in the text.

God himself comes to speak,

to address the psalmist directly.

To remind,

to comfort,

to remove doubts.

And he says to the psalmist,

and he says to us here

as his people,

don't you see,

don't you see that I am with you

in your trouble?

Don't you see that I am here

to protect you,

to deliver you,

that in your weakness

I am your strength?

That I am your dwelling place?

That I am your shelter?

That I am your safety?

And when you call on me,

I will answer.

When you call on me,

I will answer you.

Now that is a promise

worth holding on to,

isn't it?

That is a promise

worth committing to memory.

Because that is God's

covenantal pledge

to his people.

That he is our God

and we are his people.

That he has bound himself

to us by oath.

The mighty king,

the suzerain,

the great one,

enters into a covenant,

a relationship,

with a weak and needy people.

So you see,

God has entered

into a covenant with us.

The covenant of grace.

Promising salvation

when by grace

we call on him in faith.

And he says,

not only do I bid you

to call on me

in your distress,

but I give you

the very gift of faith

to do so.

Despite your failing,

despite your sin,

despite the chastisement

that shall fall upon you,

I am with you.

I am your satisfaction.

For I have made you

for myself.

And I'll give to you

great gifts of blessing,

of life in me,

of deliverance in my son.

And so even now

we hear the words

of this psalm,

also the words

of the prophet Zechariah,

fulfilled in our presence.

Zechariah 13, 9.

They will call on me

and I will answer them.

I will say,

this is my people.

And each one of them

will say,

the Lord is my God.

Or again in Psalm 145,

Psalms 145:18

verse 18.

The Lord is near

to all who call upon him.

Or again in Joel 2, 32.

And Romans 10, 13.

All that call upon

the name of the Lord

shall be saved.

And so profoundly

is that displayed for us

in that great picture

of the new heavens

and the new earth

in Isaiah 65.

Before you call to me,

I will answer.

While you are yet speaking,

I will hear you.

That is the assurance.

That is the confidence

we have.

That God is so near

that he has bound himself

to us by oath.

A reality that the Israelites

knew only by type and shadow.

But we know it so much more fully

through our Lord Jesus Christ,

don't we?

Having been brought into

the new covenant

made by his blood.

As the Apostle Paul

thinks of this in Romans 8,

if God is for us,

if he did not spare

his own son

to deliver us,

but gave him up

for us all,

if we call on him

and he will answer us,

if nothing shall separate us

from the love of God

that is in Christ Jesus

our Lord,

what could possibly

be against us?

What could possibly

stand against us

as God's people?

If trouble,

if hardship,

if persecution,

if danger

comes to you

and loved ones,

these things will

come to you,

God shall remain

your dwelling place.

God shall remain

your dwelling place.

Because we have a city,

a home,

the new Jerusalem,

a city that doesn't

look altogether

like the cities

of this world

as we find them now.

All throughout history,

all throughout Scripture,

you see,

we have those

who want to build

their own cities,

who want to establish

their own homes,

who would raise

their own tower,

who would build

their own bridge

to find their way

to God,

to try to find

a dwelling place,

a point of fixed security

in this life.

This is the basic

instinct of us all,

all the way back

to the descendants

of Cain,

that ultimately

brings only futility.

And then there are

those who,

like Seth

in Genesis 4,

begin to call

upon the name

of the Lord.

And in that cry

for mercy,

for help,

God says to us,

not only have I

bridged the chasm

that you could not

in my son,

but I stoop down

to you

in your calamity.

I promise,

I vouchsafe to you

on my honor,

on my word,

so that if I go back

on my word,

I would not be God.

I shall give you

a home,

a dwelling place

with me in glory

forever.

That is what Eden

pointed to.

that is what

the glory cloud

pointed to.

That is what

the tabernacle

pointed to.

That is what

the temple

pointed to.

And so in verses

14 and 15

and 16

of this psalm,

Psalm 91,

here we find

some seven

glorious promises

in these verses.

And then God

says,

with long life,

I will satisfy

him.

I will satisfy

him.

Full

satisfaction

for the people

of God.

That is what

God promises us.

That is what

God wants us

to go forward

knowing.

That God

will satisfy

us with a

fullness

in his promises.

With the

fulfillment of

hope.

With provision.

With rest.

with peace.

The goal

of Emmanuel,

God

with us,

forfeited

by Adam,

forfeited

by Israel,

God's

intimate

presence

with his

people will

be fulfilled

for us

in the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

Think of

the refrain

of Revelation

Revelation 21:3

chapter 21

verse 3.

Behold,

the dwelling

place of God

is with man.

The

consummation

of all

things where

we dwell

with our

Father in

heaven through

our Lord

Jesus Christ

forever in

glory.

So Psalm

91 then is a

psalm of great

assurance for

us as

pilgrims,

as sojourners

who have not

yet arrived at

that home,

but we have a

passport to it.

We have

guaranteed entry

to it.

We participate

in that

home life

even now

by the

power of

the Spirit.

It's a

psalm for

those who

find themselves

in the midst

of difficulties,

but who have a

great God who

shall satisfy

them,

who shall bring

them through the

terrors of the

night to be

with them as

their dwelling

place.

And so as we

go out this

evening and

into the new

week, go out

with these

promises, that

God is our

dwelling place,

that God will

remain our

dwelling place,

and that God

will protect us

from every

danger for the

accomplishment of

the calling to

which he has

called us, and

that God will

give us everlasting

life in Jesus

Christ our

Savior.

Amen.

Let's pray

together.

O Lord, our

God, our

Heavenly Father, we

thank you that

you are our

help in times

of need, that

you are our

satisfaction, that

you have provided

your Son to be

our Savior, the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

And we ask that

you would give us

hearts to receive

all of your

promises, to live

obedient lives of

gratitude for such

a great salvation.

We ask this in

Christ's name.

Amen.

Would you please

stand with me as

we sing our

final song of

praise, A Mighty

Fortress?

forward to

will Useэn real

prayer to

learn

tales to

love

And this is