Hope in Fearful Times

unite our hearts in reverent fear of you and satisfy our hearts in your steadfast love

we ask and praise things in jesus name amen

psalm 91 if we're honest think as we were reading that

we attempt to think it just sounds too good to be true doesn't it

no it almost reminds me of them a manifesto a political party might bring out the run-up to

an election and you read these promises they they say they'll do if they're elected and you think

no danger is that gonna happen now i wonder if you're the same response as you read the psalm

you think it sounds too good to be true no danger is this gonna happen to me you see we read this

and we know don't we that christians get cancer christians fight anxiety for some of us the

thought of being left alone every night to our thoughts it just seems like torture

so what are these promises then in the psalm

is it just exaggeration exaggeration poetic license

one of the guys on our launch team in charleston owen he was on his on his deathbed a few years ago

he was he was waiting on a liver transplant by god's grace he got one he's he's uh he's doing well

walking with the lord loving the lord and for him on his deathbed

psalm 91 when everything to him

how could that be when we read we read through it

no harm will overtake you well what does that mean

look at verse 6 know the the person that's that stalks in the darkness of the plague that destroys

at midday here's a guy on his deathbed because of sickness

how how did this psalm possibly help him it's a psalm like

like some sort of spiritual spinach from popeye

you know you're you're feeling fearful you

you crack open the tin of spinach you read the psalm so to speak and that's it you're fine you have no fear

you're able to carry on with whatever comes your way

well of course you know that's not right

see for all of us disaster will come harm will come disease will come

terrors will come

in order for us to understand this psalm what i think we need to do

is to look at the psalm through the through the lenses of jesus

see these these promises begin to make sense when we look at them through the lens of jesus

and when we do that

we will see why owen charleston was able to sing this on his deathbed i mean every single word of it

so two points for us this evening first off a song for king jesus

secondly promises for his people

a song for king jesus promises for his people

let's look at first point a song for king jesus

now why do i say that

well in the psalm just look in verse 3

how often you see the word you

he will save you

he will cover you

you will not fear

the things throughout the psalm

this this you it's it's singular

so who is the individual then

that the psalm is talking about

who's this individual who's going to receive these promises

well like a good maths textbook at school

will you flick to the back to see the answer

and let's do that now

but let's turn to verse 14

of this um

sorry pardon me i've got a bit of a cold just now

first cold in a year i think so

forgive me if my voice cracks a bit

anyway verse 14

look at verse 14 where it says

the lord says it's the one who loves me

the one who calls on my name

here is someone who clings to god wholeheartedly

who honors god who

god says to this person

his promises will be fulfilled

to this person

i will rescue

so who is this person who fulfills this criteria

perhaps in your bible like mine

you've got a footnote as well

verse 14

that says at the bottom

that is probably

the king

i think it's spot on that the you here

that they're talking about is

is the king

god's king

there's language in the psalm that

that echoes language used by david

there's there's warlike language

in the psalm that

that's usually applied to the king

and in theory

the king trusts god

knows god

follows god

and his law

you see verse 14 should describe god's king

well we read the old testament

and see how fell

how far they fell short of that

but when we come to the new testament

the psalm is picked up on again

and we see even clearer

who is the recipient of this psalm

for help of that we turn to

i guess you could argue

a master expositor

the devil

the devil is the

the great deceiver

that doesn't mean he's clueless

when it comes to scripture

i'm going to keep a finger in psalm 91

and turn ahead to luke chapter 4

Luke 4 · chapter mention

and let me read for us

where jesus has been tempted by satan

let me read for us from verse 9

of luke chapter 4

Luke 4 · chapter mention

it says this

the devil led him

that is jesus

to jerusalem

and had him stand

on the highest point of the temple

if you are the son of god

he said

throw yourself down from here

for it is written

he will command his angels

concerning you

to guard you carefully

they will lift you up in their hands

so that you will not strike your foot

against a stone

now

question

what did satan call jesus here

did you notice that at the start

if you are the son of god

now that's a messianic title

satan here isn't referring to jesus

i don't think as the eternal son of god

instead he's using the messianic title

of god's promised king

like like elsewhere in the songs

why is he doing that here

how do you know that well

because of what

satan goes on to quote

he goes on to quote

psalm 91

a psalm for

god's king

and satan says here to jesus

doesn't he that

if you are the son of god

that is

if you are god's king

then psalm 91

is for you jesus

he's right

jesus doesn't tell him

that he's wrong here

let's follow satan's logic

he says

if you are god's king

then psalm 91

is yours jesus

so

jump off this building

and the angels will catch you

so no harm comes to you

god wouldn't let harm come to his king

he's promised that in psalm 91

well satan might be spot on

and psalm 91

is for god's king

but he's wrong

in how he uses a psalm

see satan reads this to jesus

and says

don't go to the cross

if god really loved you

he wouldn't let you suffer

look at his promises to you

in psalm 91

that's the temptation for jesus

don't go the way of the cross

go the way of comfort

and enjoy these promises now

let's have a look at what his promises are

for jesus

in the psalm

turn back to psalm 91 then

our car insurance

needed renewed recently

and if you can afford it

you don't go third party

firing theft do you

you go fully comp

fully comprehensive

that's what these promises are here

they are fully comp

all encompassing

nearly every situation in life

could throw at you

look at the language of what

of what jesus will receive

from god

the language of

of

of shelter

shadow

in first one

god will be his

his refuge

his

his fortress

in verse two

look in verse three

some of

the threats

the king will face

the foulest snare

that

the hidden

sneaky threats

traps laid by enemies

deadly pestilence

sickness

that

that risks

overcoming him

and didn't jesus face that

the pharisees

the scribes

seeking to lay

their traps for him

the ill

the sick

coming to jesus

yet god covered him

protected him

god's faithfulness

to his king

will be his shield

and rampart

look at verses five

and six

notice the

the language of night

and day

and then the

the darkness

and midday

he's saying that

in the

the stillness

of the darkest night

or the

brightness of

sunny midday

the king

need not fear

and look at the things

that are

that could cause him

to fear

people firing

arrows at you

a plague like

sickness

which i guess

we can relate to

terrors at night

all of these

you need not fear

god saves to his king

psalmist goes on

to describe god's

judgments

that the wicked

will fall

evil will be defeated

and you'll see it all

you'll see

your enemies

fall

and jesus did

the image continues

doesn't it

verses 10 onwards

the angels

they'll be like

the king's

security detail

i guess in one sense

they were for jesus

weren't they

the garden of gethsemane

the night before

he died

on the cross

in verse 13

you will

trample the lion

and the serpent

god says

to his king

well what does that mean

well i think when we get

this it helps us really

unlock the psalm

see the psalm

it's it finds

its fulfillment

in the death

and resurrection

of jesus

and his return

let me show you

what i mean

jesus faced

traps for his enemies

and he evaded them all

god fulfilled

that promise

that is until

it's time for him

to be handed over

to die on a cross

jesus in the gospel

like jesus is amazing

you read the gospels

and he's just

unfazed by things

he meets a legion

of demons

unfazed

there's this massive

storm

unfazed

that is

until the night

before he was

due to die

on the cross

jesus enemies

they

they did fall

because on the cross

he defeated satan

the serpent

an image for the devil

jesus crushed his head

as he died

on the cross

you see jesus is the one

who verse 14

has truly loved god

he has always trusted god

he was always in his favour

he was

he always put his refuge

in god

see verses 14 to 16

it's it's eight promises

from god

to his king

and did god

keep his word

in them

well at first glance

it doesn't seem like it

does it

because he died

you see the harm

that came to jesus

wasn't lasting

and in fact

it was in his harm

that jesus trampled

the serpent's head

and god

did rescue him

jesus rose

from the dead

see all these promises

we see

in verses

14 to 16

come after

the resurrection

he gets these things

after the resurrection

that's when

psalm 91

is fulfilled

after the cross

and resurrection

not before

as satan

tempted jesus

to do

you see

look down

from verse 14

where we see

these eight promises

and hear god himself

speaking these

says verse 14

because

the king

clings to me

in love

i will rescue him

i will

protect him

for he acknowledges

my name

the king

he'll call on me

and i will

answer him

i will be with him

in trouble

i will deliver him

i will

honor him

with long life

i will

satisfy him

and i will

show him

my salvation

see god did

come through

he did answer

these promises

but it was on the

far side

of resurrection

see jesus was

rescued

he was rescued

from death

he was always

protected from

his grip

jesus is forever

with the father

he will always

answer him

jesus was delivered

from death

raised to life

ascended into

heaven

and he's been

honored

honored with the

name above every

other name

he has life

eternal

see jesus is the

one who is

truly the

recipients of

these promises

because he is the

one who truly

loves the father

at all times

through all things

he is the one who

is truly faithful

to him

see when our

when our fears

scream at us

in our face

or

or eat us

from the inside

out

we can be

tempted to

think

if god really

loves me

then he won't

let me suffer

after all that's

what psalm 91

says

psalm 91

first and foremost

isn't a promise

for you and I

it's a promise

for jesus

and to promise

which he didn't

receive straight

away

but said after

his resurrection

see we don't

deserve these

promises

we aren't

always faithful

we're fitful

and failing at

times

we don't

qualify for

them

it's the

amazing thing

because

jesus went

to the

cross

bore the

the punishment

of the wicked

bore our

punishment

that when we

repent of our

sin when we

put our trust

in jesus

then the

psalm becomes

yours

psalm becomes

mine

it means that

these incredible

promises become

ours

some high

friend Owen

on his

deathbed

he was

completely

right

to read

to sing

to pray

psalm 91

because in

christ these

promises are

his

we've looked

at how this

is a song

for king

jesus

now let's

turn and look

at some of

these promises

for his

people

i've been

reading a

book called

rejoice and

tremble by

mike reese

and he makes

this fascinating

observation i

think he's

right here

he says that

never in a

society have

we been more

safe and yet

never have we

been more

afraid

when i asked

on facebook

what people

feared there

was one

thing that

didn't come

up which

should really

really have

come up

see if we

don't know

jesus we

should be

terrified that

satan has a

hold of us

terrified that

we have an

eternal judgment

waiting us

terrified that

god is going

to pour out

his wrath upon

us for all

the wrong

things that

we do

and the

fear of

those things

should eclipse

every other

fear that we

have

but because

of jesus we

don't need to

fear those

things anymore

that doesn't

mean that

fear is

completely removed

from our

lives

we find that

for whatever

reason god

does sometimes

he leads us

to a place of

helplessness

when we are

forced to

realise that

when we see

that all we

have is him

we realise

that we

have all

we need

let's see

how the

psalmist

describes god

here

have a look

at verse

one

he's described

as the

most high

no matter

how big

your fears

are

how much

you fear

people and

what they

think

he is

greater

he is

most high

he's the

most high

he's the

almighty

no matter

how strong

your fears

are

he is

more

powerful

he is

stronger

he's the

most high

he's the

almighty

he's the

lord and

capitals

the covenant

god

yahweh

this all

great

all powerful

god is

the god

who makes

promises

and keeps

them every

time

he is the

god who

knows his

people

who dwells

with his

people

he is the

god who

will never

let us

down

never let

us go

never give

us up

finally he

is my

god

this god

isn't some

distant and

different deity

the most high

the almighty

the lord he

is my

god

so what he

says to

me what he

thinks about

me should

shape everything

in my life

look at the

metaphors that

accompany these

names

shelter

shelter

when life

is chaos

there is

shelter

protection

shadow

like the

wings of

an eagle

over us

providing rest

from the

burning sun

a sense of

sense of

closeness

with him

refuge

he's a

place you

can run

to and

know that

we are

safe

a fortress

think

edinburgh

castle

on the

hill

strong

and

movable

protecting

everyone

inside

with walls

as thick

as I am

tall

this is

my god

and in

him

I trust

see just think of that image

from verse 4 of being

surrounded by

God's wings

think of the

mother hen

and her chicks

under her wing

if heat is burning

down the mother

dies but the chicks

live

if wind is blowing

and rain is

pouring

the mother

freezes but the chicks

live

if a prayer to come

she dies but the chicks

live

Jesus has taken

the judgment

the wrath should have

come on us

but he has protected

us from us

he has taken it

so that we

might live

and how do we know

that he did that

that he took that

punishment in full

because he rose

from the dead

because Jesus

is risen

from the dead

we can know

that God

is not punishing

you for your sins

when things come

that make you

fear

God is not

punishing you

just look at the

end of verse 4

his faithfulness

God's faithfulness

not our faithfulness

to him

but his faithfulness

will be our shield

and rampart

and he is always

faithful

he will protect you

not from harm

but through harm

even through death

itself

see God is

God is with us

God is for us

God has said that

he'll be with us

to the very end

of the age

and into the next

and one day

we'll be with him

forever

there'll be no more

suffering

no more sickness

no more enemies

no more tears

no more fears

so you remember

on the

on the cross

Jesus crushed

the serpent's head

he defeated

the devil

the great lion

prowling round

as Peter calls him

in his first letter

but like Jesus

these promises

in Psalm 91

aren't going to be

fulfilled on this

side of death

instead they help us

persevere

when we come face

to face with death

because we've seen

the Psalm

that God isn't going

to keep us

from trouble

but he'll keep us

through trouble

he doesn't say

no harm will come to you

he says no harm

will overtake you

see this Psalm

is not a promise

that we won't get hurt

it's a promise

that ultimately

we won't be harmed

because of the death

and resurrection

of Jesus

you are never condemned

never separated

because God is for you

so because

of the death

and resurrection

of Jesus

when we trust in him

he looks at you

and he says

look down at verse 14

he says this to you

he says

because he loves me

because she loves me

says the Lord

I will rescue him

I will protect him

for he acknowledges

my name

he will call me

and I will answer him

I will be with him

in trouble

I will deliver him

and honour him

I with long life

I will satisfy him

and show him

my salvation

his amazing promise

for us

so what do we do

with these promises

in the Psalm

that we have in Christ

well three things I think

first off

know

know with confidence

that God most high

is greater than any fear

and in him alone

there is safety

this Psalm reminds us

to take our eyes

off ourselves

and to lift us up

the great promises

to come in Christ

know who God is

second this Psalm

raises our affections

and reminds us

of God's amazing grace

to us in Christ

we don't deserve

these promises

but they're ours

it's just stir up

love in our hearts

for Christ

and all that he has

given us

in his grace

but if you're listening

and you aren't a Christian

these promises

aren't yours

you should be scared

of the judgement

to come

so trust in Christ

turn from your sin

and trust in him

first off

know who God is

remember who he is

secondly

have your affections

raised to Christ

and what he's done

for us

and what we have

in him

and third

I think

this Psalm

should drive us

to radical

missionary endeavours

now what do I mean

by that

Elizabeth Elliot

wrote a book

called

The Shadow

of the Almighty

of course

taking its title

from verse 1

of the Psalm

perhaps you've read

the book

it's a book

about her husband

Jim Elliot

and four other men

who on the 8th of January

in 1956

tried to take the gospel

to an Ecuadorian tribe

for the very first time

and they were killed

if you call a story

of missionary martyrdom

the shadow

of the Almighty

I think you're saying

something about

Psalm 91

you're saying

this Psalm

does not mean

that difficult things

won't happen to Christians

you're saying

even death

may come

in the service

of Jesus Christ

and yet through that

you remain

in the shadow

of the Almighty

God remains with you

see Jesus says

something similar

in Luke's gospel

he's teaching his disciples

in chapter 21

and he says this

from verse 16

he says

you will be betrayed

even by parents

brothers and sisters

relatives and friends

and they will put

some of you to death

everyone will hate you

because of me

but not a hair

of your head

will perish

some of you

will die

Jesus says

but not a hair

of your head

will perish

see as we follow

Jesus

yes

there are times

when we will

get hurt

but because

of the resurrection

of Jesus

Psalm 91

reminds us

that ultimately

we will not be harmed

so let's take risks

for Jesus

knowing that God

is great at normal

knowing that all

that Jesus

has done for us

let's take risks

for Jesus

risks like

inviting a work

colleague

to read John's

gospel with you

over your lunch break

risks like

telling your

unbelieving spouse

or parents

perhaps tonight

over tea

what you heard

at church today

take risks

for the gospel

because the shadow

of the almighty

is over you

that's why I'm so

grateful that you

as a church

are behind

church planting

see we live

in a culture

of fear

and we have

the only

message

of hope

and refuge

so let's tell

people

let me close

in prayer

together

let's pray

our father

we thank you

for these amazing

promises in

the Lord Jesus

Christ

that we have

in him

father

sorry for times

we've become

so focused

on ourselves

we forget

how great

you are

and all the

promises

that we have

in Christ

father

for those

of us

this evening

who are

suffering

who are

fearful

may they

know your

love for them

this evening

that you are

for them

that you are

with them

even through

death itself

you will be

there with

them

and these

promises

are for

them

there are

any here

who are

doubting

their

salvation

in Christ

may they

be strengthened

this evening

at all

that they

have in him

knowing their

sin has been

forgiven

and his

promises

are theirs

father

knowing that

you are

the most

high

the almighty

knowing all

that we've

been given

in Christ

may you

help us

be bold

with the

gospel

knowing that

we live

as people

in the

shadow

of the

almighty

we thank

you Lord

Jesus

for the

cross

and it

is in

your name

we pray

amen

my soul

finds rest

in God

alone

my rock

and my

salvation

a fortress

strong

against my

foes

and I

will not

be shaken

though lips

may bless

and hearts

may curse

and lies

like arrows

pierce me

I'll fix

my heart

on righteousness

I'll look

to him

who hears

me

oh praise

my

my

delight

and my

reward

everlasting

never failing

my

redeemer

my

God

find

find rest

my

soul

in God

alone

amidst

the world's

temptations

when evil

seeks to

take a

hold

I'll cling

to my

salvation

though riches

come and

riches

go

don't set

your

heart

upon

them

the

fields

of hope

in which

I sow

are

harvested

in

heaven

oh

praise

him

hallelujah

my

delight

my

reward

everlasting

never failing

my

redeemer

my

God

I'll

set my

gaze

on God

alone

and

trust

in him

completely

with

every

day

pour

out

my

soul

and

he

will

prove

his

mercy

though

life

is

but

a

fleeting

breath

a

sigh

too

deep

to

measure

my

king

has

crushed

the

curse

of

death

and

I

am

his

forever

oh

praise

him

hallelujah

my

delight

and

my

reward

everlasting

never

failing

my

redeemer

my

God

God

is our

refuge

and our

strength

our

ever

present

aid

and

therefore

though

the

earth

gives

way

we

will

not

be

afraid

though

mountains

fall

into

the

sea

though

waters

foam

and

roar

we

will

not

fear

though

mountains

quake

as waves

engulf

the

shore

a

river

flows

through

streams

delight

the

city

of

our

God

the

holy

place

in

which

the

Lord

most

high

has

his

abode

God

is

within

his

holy

place

the

city

will

not

yield

for

God

will

come

at

break

of

day

to

be

her

help

and

shield

the

nations

are

in

disarray

the

kingdoms

disappear

God

speaks

and

at

his

mighty

voice

the

whole

earth

melts

with

fear

the

Lord

almighty

is

with

us

to

strengthen

and

sustain

for

Jacob's

God

our

strong

defense

and

fortress

will

remain

one

pro

Mode

one

improved

and

happens

or

anything

is

hurting

and

이용

those

know

destined

the

points

NT

where

they

leave

let

power

pole

back

ammen

member

afraid

issy