Cling to God for Shelter

Psalm 91, let me read it out loud first.

Actually, let me pray before I read it.

Heavenly Father, as we read your word, as we hear your word preached,

we pray that you would work powerfully as you promised through your word by your spirit.

So that what this psalm speaks of, this truth about you and your faithfulness,

about your protective care, about your sovereignty,

would translate to how we think, what we believe, how we live.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Amen.

Psalm 91.

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 he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge.

His faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place, the Most High who is my refuge.

No evil shall be allowed to befall you.

No plague come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against the stone.

You will tread on the lion and the adder.

The young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him.

I will protect him because he knows my name.

When he calls to me, I will answer him.

I will be with him in trouble.

I will rescue him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.

I kind of spaced out the paragraphs and sections in Psalm 91.

As you guys can actually, you will see it in your ESV Bibles as well.

So verses 1 to 2 is kind of introduction.

It gives the main theme of the Psalm.

And then verses 3 to 13 is some other speaker trying to basically exhort another believer

to trusting God for these and these following reasons.

And then verses 14 to 16 is God speaking.

So you can kind of divide it into verses 1 to 13 being kind of the believer's affirmation of faith.

And then 14 to 16 being God's assurance of salvation.

And so if you look at verse 1, it says,

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

On the first read that kind of sounds redundant, right?

It sounds like you're saying the same thing twice.

It's like it's because dwelling in the shelter of the Most High and abiding in the shadow of the Almighty

seem like two different ways of saying the exact same thing, right?

And in a way it is, right?

Because it's parallelism and it's poetry.

But then also second idea kind of advances the first idea a little bit further.

So because it means that he who chooses to dwell in the shelter of the Most High will abide or remain in his protection.

So the same idea is expressed in verse 14 where God says,

Because he holds fast to me in love, that's dwelling in the shelter of the Most High,

I will deliver him.

I will protect him because he knows my name.

So we can summarize this whole psalm to mean that those who cling to God,

who hold fast to him for shelter, will be kept under God's protection.

So that's kind of the main idea.

And concerning that article of faith, because of this article of faith,

our profession should be as believers.

Verse 2,

I will say to the Lord,

My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.

I notice in verse 1,

it calls,

you use several different kind of titles for God.

At first he says God the Most High,

and then it says the Almighty, right?

Both of those are names we see throughout the Old Testament,

but they were also the names that the Canaanites,

unbelieving Canaanites,

used of their supreme deity.

They call them the Most High, the Almighty.

But here the psalmist tells us that that kind of,

that God,

the Almighty God,

the Most High God,

is in fact Israel's God.

Because it says in verse 2,

I will say to the Lord,

that's the personal name of God, right?

He's saying that the true God of all creation,

the Most High God,

the Almighty God,

is not anyone else's God,

but our God,

the Lord God,

who delivered them out of Egypt,

who saved his people.

And so,

and then verses 3 to 13,

continue the believers' affirmation of faith,

reasons why we should believe.

And it employs a series of metaphors,

really vivid metaphors,

that are helpful for us,

and really evocative for us.

Verses 3 to 4 says that God will deliver you,

when you are caught in the fowler's trap.

He will deliver you from deadly diseases.

And I love this image.

It says,

He will cover you with his pinions,

another word for wings,

a bird's wings.

And under his wings,

you will find refuge.

Various type of birds,

typically the mother birds,

right,

use their wings to protect their young from predators.

They also use their wings to guard,

shield their young from the elements like rain and wind.

And that's the image that's being painted here,

of God,

who,

like a mother bird,

shelters his people,

and protects them.

And then God's faithfulness is here described in verse 3

as a shield and buckler,

right,

that shield,

the bracing shield,

that protects us as the arrows are flying in our direction,

and spears are being hurled in our direction.

He is that shield,

for his faithfulness is that shield to us.

And then verses 5 to 6 continue the wonderful description

of God's provident care.

And there's a pattern of describing God's protection,

both in the nighttime and in the daytime,

in darkness,

in the light of noonday.

Read with me again,

verses 5 to 6.

You will not fear the terror of the night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

That's the brightest part of day, right?

So this pattern of darkness and light

is intended to show us

that there is nothing at all

that God's people need to fear

at any given point,

at any given time,

because at all times,

God is watching over us,

day and night.

It's not just day and night.

He's saying all time,

God is watching over us.

And because of that special protection,

verses 7 to 8 is reality.

It says,

A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

You will only look with your eyes

and see the recompense of the wicked.

Imagine a field of battle

when there's heavy casualties everywhere, right?

But there's a thousand people falling here.

Ten thousand falling around us

on the right side.

But even then,

we will not fall in the midst of that

because we will only look with our eyes

at the recompense that God deals on

his enemies, on the wicked.

And isn't this such an amazing thing

to think about, right?

Because if you really believe

in God's sovereignty

and his providential care for us,

as this psalm is talking about,

that means we are just as safe, right,

in, I don't know,

suburban, wealthy suburban Belmont

or Newton

as we are in urban Roxbury

or Dorchester, right?

If we really believe

in God's sovereignty,

oh, is that where you're in?

Yeah.

I don't know where that's.

Oh, okay, yeah.

In Boston,

that's kind of probably

the roughest place in Boston, yeah.

And if we really believe this,

that means we are just as secured

by God, right,

in here in the United States of America

as we are in war-torn Afghanistan, right?

If we really believe

that God is caring for us

and we're going to be alive, right?

And his intention is to keep us safe

and alive in that place.

And that's amazing, right?

I mean, that's,

because as it says in verses 9 to 10,

this is the reason why that's the case.

You have made the Lord

your dwelling place.

The Most High,

who is my refuge?

No evil shall be allowed

to befall you.

No plague come near your tent.

Because the all-powerful God

and God who is all-present

is our refuge,

will be invulnerable, right,

in that sense,

as long as God intends it.

And four, again,

there's a repetition

of the reason for the security

in verses 11 to 12.

He will,

for he will command

his angels concerning you

to guard you

in all your ways.

On their hands,

they will bear you up,

lest you strike

your foot against a stone.

All your ways

doesn't refer literally

to kind of physical journeys

that we make,

you know,

or going about,

striving around,

whatnot,

but it's a metaphorical reference

to all of one's activities

and conduct in life, right?

So all of ways of life.

And angels appear,

obviously,

in many places

throughout scripture,

but this is the only passage

in the entire Bible

where the idea

of a personal guardian angel

is brought up,

where this is thinking

about the image,

and we have God commands

his angels concerning us

specifically as believers,

individually.

And the idea of an image

bearing us up on their hands

unless we strike our foot

against a stone

is similar to a parent

who is watching over

a newly minted

walking toddler, right?

Who is just stumbling about

and a parent making sure

that he doesn't trip

over anything

or sort of strike

a foot against a stone

and fall, right?

And so that's kind of the care,

that close, intimate,

personal care

that God commands

his angels

who are more powerful

beings than us.

God commands his angels

concerning us,

for us.

That's the kind of care

with which God

looks over us.

And the result of this

is verse 13.

You will tread on the lion

and the adder,

the young lion

and the serpent

you will trample underfoot.

Just like the metaphor

of the journey of life

used in verses 11 to 12,

these are metaphorical, right?

Lions and venomous snakes

were well known

and widely feared

in the ancient Near East.

They represent dangers

that lurk

in someone's journey,

dangers that lurk

in hidden places

that you can encounter

when you're journeying about.

And so it fits

with that metaphor

of the journey

that you just mentioned

in verses 11 to 12.

But because of God's

protected care,

his people will be protected

from striking a foot

against a stone

or getting attacked

by snakes

and dangers

in their walk of life.

And of course,

because a lot of these

are metaphorical images,

they have wide-ranging

application, right,

to many of the dangers

in our lives,

disappointments that we face,

threats that we face,

struggles and suffering

of our lives.

So that's the believer's

affirmation of faith.

And then after the believer's

affirmation of faith,

we hear God's assurance

of salvation

in verses 14 to 16.

So God responds,

Because he holds fast

to me in love,

I will deliver him.

I will protect him

because he knows my name.

When he calls to me,

I will answer him.

I will be with him in trouble.

I will rescue him

and honor him.

With long life,

I will satisfy him

and show him my salvation.

To know God's name

is to know him

personally and intimately.

It's to know him

as your God.

It's to be in covenant

relationship with him.

And so notice that

there's the descriptive language

of this relationship

in the beginning

of verse 14.

Because he holds fast

to me in love.

Do you hold fast

to God in love?

That's what God's

seeking of his people

because he's promising

that those who cling to God

for shelter

will be kept

under God's protection.

And now this doesn't mean,

you know,

you guys should go out there

and try to find snakes

and try stepping on them

or lions

and try confronting them.

Imagine that you're Samson

or, you know,

or this doesn't mean

that, you know,

you should, you know,

be irresponsibly flinging yourself,

putting yourself

in compromised,

dangerous situations,

thinking,

oh, God cares for me

because we learned that lesson

from Jesus' temptation,

didn't we?

Because Satan uses this verse

to tempt Jesus.

Hey, throw yourself down

from this high place

and he will command

his angels concerning you

lest you strike your foot

against the stone.

Interestingly enough,

Satan omits

part of the verse.

He skips it.

So if you look at

Psalm 91

Psalms 91:11–12

verses 11 to 12,

right?

He says,

for he will command

his angels concerning you

for what?

To guard you

in all your ways

in your life

as you're trying

to follow God,

right?

That's the promise

that's connected to it.

But he skips that

and he simply says,

for he will command

his angels concerning you

on their hands,

they will bear you up

lest you strike your foot

against the stone.

Isn't that interesting?

Right?

Take it out of context

and tries to manipulate it

to our own use.

And that's what Satan

tries to do,

but Jesus says,

thou shalt not test

the Lord your God,

right?

So that's not what

we're trying to,

that's not what I'm

trying to tell you guys

to do here.

But,

but,

and also look at

verse 15.

This teaches us

why we shouldn't

apply it that way

because he says,

when he calls to me,

I will answer him.

I will be with him

in trouble.

I will rescue him

and honor him.

Notice that God

doesn't promise us

that our lives

will be free

of all kinds of troubles.

He says here,

he promises

to be with us

in trouble.

Right?

He,

what he does mean

is that no trouble

will ultimately prevail

over us

because he is with us

because he will rescue us

through them

and he will honor us

with his love and care.

And,

and like all the other passages

in the scripture,

this Psalm 2

points to

and ultimately

is fulfilled by Jesus

and what he does for us

because God assured

his people in verse 16,

right?

With long life

I will satisfy him

and show him

my salvation.

Right?

It's an interesting word

to use there

after talking about

all these kind of

life protections

and salvation.

And the Hebrew word

for salvation

is Yeshua,

right?

Yesu

or Jesus.

That's the name,

that's where we get

the name Jesus.

The long life

and salvation

of the Old Testament

promises,

it foreshadows

the eternal

resurrection life

that Christ

imparts to us

and the salvation

that he accomplishes

for us on the cross

by dying for our sins.

That's why Acts 4.12

says,

about Jesus,

there is salvation

in no one else

for there is no other name,

name is mentioned here

about knowing God's name,

there is no other name

under heaven

given among men

by which we must be saved.

To know God's name

is to know Christ's name,

to know Christ

is to know God the Father.

And it's only through Christ

that we can experience

this salvation.

And notice all the parallels there.

Jesus once lamented

over Jerusalem,

what did he say?

How often

would I have gathered

your children together

as a hen

gathers her brood

under her wings?

And you are not willing.

Matthew 23.37.

Verse 4 of this psalm

says that God

will cover you

with his pinions

and under his wings

you will find refuge.

Jesus is the son of God

who does this

for all those

who dwell

in the shelter

of the Most High.

Similarly,

this psalm says

God's faithfulness

is a shield

and a buckler

and teaches us

that the arrow

that flies by day

will not hurt us.

Ephesians 6.16

commands us

in all circumstances

take up

the shield of faith

with which you can

extinguish all the

flaming darts

of the evil one.

Our faith

in the faithfulness

of God,

right?

The faithfulness

demonstrated for us

in the sacrificial love

of Jesus

who died for us

for our sins

on the cross

that's what can

extinguish all

the accusations

and lies

of the evil one.

And I don't think

it's coincidence

that the evil one

the primary metaphor

that is used

to describe him

is that of the serpent

and that of a prowling lion,

right?

In 1 Peter,

right?

That's why

and that's why

Jesus says to his followers

in Luke 10.19,

Behold,

I've given you authority

to tread on serpents,

scorpions,

and over all the power

of the enemy

and nothing shall hurt you.

The psalm is fulfilled

by Jesus

and those who have

entrusted themselves

to Jesus Christ

for salvation

are under God's

eternal and infinite protection.

And of course,

that means

Jesus is the one

that bears the brunt

of the pain,

right?

Because if you're

going to shield something,

the shield has to absorb

the pain

so that you're free

from it,

right?

If the mother hen

is trying to protect

her brood

under her wings,

she has to absorb

the pain

of the attack

of the predators,

right?

That's what Jesus did

on the cross.

He paid our punishment,

paid our penalty

so that instead of

the pain that should

have been inflicted

on us for our sins

is inflicted on him

and the peace

that was his

becomes ours,

the righteousness

that was his

becomes ours.

And so really

the psalm becomes

a message for Christians

to cling to Christ

because those who

cling to Christ

for shelter

will be kept

under God's protection.

And