Psalm 091

Introduction

Someone has called this psalm an antidote to fear and anxiety. So, when we’re afraid, when we’re anxious, we can read this psalm and remember and believe that the Lord our God is my shelter and my refuge and my fortress and I’m able to rest secure in his shadow. And he will save his people and cover us. And no harm will befall us because of the Lord our God who promises to rescue and protect all those who love him.

The psalmist is not saying that we will never have trouble in this life. He’s not saying that. But what he’s saying is that, when we are in trouble, we can trust in the Lord our God to be with us and to deliver us from it.

The psalm can be divided into four parts. There’s the introduction in verses 1 and 2. Then the psalmist assures us of refuge, deliverance and victory in verses 3 to 8. He does the same a second time in verses 9 to 13. And then the Lord himself speaks to reassure us in verses 14 to 16.

Verses 1 and 2

Let’s turn to verses 1 and 2 where the psalmist refers to God in four ways: he’s the Most High; he’s the Almighty; he’s the LORD; and he’s God. By referring to God as the Most High and the Almighty, he means that God is the great king, who is higher and stronger than all other kings. And this Most High and Almighty King uses his great power to rescue his people. He’s also the LORD, which is God’s special covenant name and which speaks to us of his commitment to his people. The Lord has bound himself with a promise to be our God and to take care of us always. And, of course, he’s God. In fact, he’s not only God, but he’s my God. He’s the God I know and trust.

And the psalmist refers to God as a shelter. The Hebrew word translated ‘shelter’ can also be translated ‘secret place’ or ‘hiding place’. Some of you will have read Corrie Ten Boom’s book, The Hiding Place. If you have, you’ll remember that she and her family created a hiding place in their home in the Netherlands during World War 2 to hide Jews from the Nazis. And when the Nazis raided their home, the Jews were safe in the hiding place which Corrie and her family made for them. Later, when Corrie and her sister were arrested and sent to a concentration camp, God was their hiding place, because they looked to him to protect them every day. And so, since God is our hiding place, then anytime we’re in trouble, or anytime we’re afraid, we can run to him to keep us safe.

And so, we’re able also to rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Think of someone who is out in the open, under the hot, burning sun. They can’t get any rest until they find a spot under a rock or tree where there is shade from the sun. And God is the one who provides shade and shelter for his people from the troubles and trials of life. I’m reminded of another well-known Christian biography, Under the Shadow of the Almighty, which is the story of Jim Elliot, who was killed along with his colleagues when they were trying to bring the gospel to a remote tribe in Ecuador. Jim and his colleagues were prepared to undertake this dangerous work because they knew that they were living under the shadow of the Almighty and that they were immortal and no-one could hurt them for as long as God wanted them to remain alive. The Almighty God has determined the day of our death. And until that day arrives, no-one can kill us, because the Almighty God will keep us safe.

The psalmist says that he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in his shadow. And since that is true, then I will say of the Lord that he is my refuge and my fortress; and he is my God in whom I trust. He is the refuge I can run to for safety; and he is the fortress who surrounds me. No one can hurt me, because he is around me.

Verses 3 to 8

And from that introduction we move into verses 3 to 8 where the psalmist assures us of refuge, deliverance and victory.

Verses 3 and 4 are about refuge. Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare. The psalmist is using the image of a bird who is rescued from a trap. Then he says: surely God will rescue you from the deadly pestilence. He’s thinking now of a plague. Think of the plagues which God sent on the Egyptians. However, several times in the account of the plagues we’re told that God’s people were kept safe from harm.

In verse 4 the Lord is likened to a bird. Just as a bird will cover her chicks with her wings to keep them safe, so God in a sense covers us with his wings to protect us from all harm. And because of his faithfulness to his people, he acts as our shield and rampart. We all know what a shield is. A rampart is a defensive wall. God is a shield and defensive wall around us.

Verses 5 to 7 are about deliverance from danger. He says that you will not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day. During the day, soldiers can see the arrows. But what’s that noise in the night? What’s that creeping about in the darkness? We don’t know what it is, but it fills us with terror. However, God will deliver us from those night-time terrors and those day-time arrows. And he will deliver us from the pestilence that stalks in the darkness and the plague that destroys at midday. So, he’s watching over us through the day and through the night. He never goes off duty and never falls asleep. He’s always there to deliver us. And so, a thousand, even ten thousand, may fall at your side either in battle or because of disease. But it will not come near you, because God is with you to deliver you.

And here comes the victory in verse 8: You will observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. God will destroy the wicked, but he will keep his people safe.

Verses 9 to 13

And there’s more refuge and deliverance and victory in verses 9 to 13.

Verses 9 and 10 are about the refuge which God provides. So, if you make him your dwelling place, then no harm will befall you and no disaster will come near your tent. Disaster will not come near you, because the Lord is surrounding you to protect you.

And verses 11 and 12 are about deliverance. He delivers his people from danger by commanding his angels to guard your ways. In Hebrews 1, angels are described as ministering spirits who are sent by God to serve those who will inherit salvation. God is the Lord of hosts. That means he commands a host of angels, an army of angels. He sends them here, there and everywhere to serve his people and to protect us. We cannot see them, but they are there, because God has sent them to us. And so, do you remember when the Lord Jesus was in the wilderness? The devil tempted him for forty days. And Mark tells us that the Lord was with the wild animals. But angels attended him. And Luke tells us that an angel came and strengthened him in the Garden of Gethsemane. God the Father sent angels to help the Lord Jesus; and he sends them to help us too. And so, they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. The Lord sends his angels to hold us up.

And here comes the victory in verse 13: you will tread on the lion and the cobra and you will trample the great lion and serpent. Verse 8 spoke of enemies and verse 13 speaks of lions and serpents. Perhaps he’s comparing the enemies of God’s people to lions and serpents. They want to tear God’s people apart the way a lion tears apart its victim. They want to strike God’s people the way a serpent strike its victim. But instead of succumbing to their enemies, the Lord will give his people the victory.

Verses 14 to 16

And so we come to the final part of the psalm where God himself speaks. This is verses 14 to 16. The Lord says: ‘Because he loves me, I will rescue him. I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.’ God is saying that he is committed to his people. He will rescue them and protect them. He doesn’t say that to the wicked, who do not love him or acknowledge him. But he says it to his people: I will rescue you; I will protect you.

And what about the next promise? Isn’t this what we want to hear before we turn to prayer? God says: ‘He will call upon me and I will answer him.’ God is saying to his people: when you call upon me in prayer, I’ll answer you. I won’t ignore you. I won’t disregard you. I won’t take no notice of you. I’ll answer you.

And he promises to be with his people in trouble. That means that there will be times when we are in trouble. We will face troubles and trials. So, he’s not promising us a trouble-free life. But when we are in trouble, God will be with us and he will deliver us and he will honour us. In fact, he will satisfy us with a long life and he will show us his salvation.

What an antidote to fear and anxiety! Why would we ever be afraid with promises like that? Why would we ever be afraid of anything, when God has promised to rescue us and to protect us and to answer us and to be with us and to deliver and honour us? Why would we ever be afraid?

Conclusion

This psalm applies in the first place to the Lord Jesus. How do we know that? Strangely, it’s because the devil has told us it is so. The devil can be a good theologian when he wants to be. And when the devil was tempting the Lord Jesus, he quoted from this psalm. He tempted the Lord Jesus to throw himself off the roof of the temple. ‘For it is written’, he said, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands.’ The devil was saying that the psalmist was addressing the coming Saviour. God will command his angels concerning the Saviour. He will command his angels to come and rescue the Lord Jesus.

And the whole of the psalm applies to the Lord Jesus, because the Lord was faced with many enemies who plotted against him. From the moment he was born, there were those who wanted to take his life. But God his Father kept him safe. He kept him safe from King Herod. He kept him safe from the crowd in Nazareth who wanted to throw him from a cliff. And he saved him from the Pharisees and others who wanted to kill him. God his Father saved him from them all right up until it was time for the Lord Jesus to die. And at that time, the only reason his enemies had any power over him was because it was the Father’s will for him to suffer for us.

God says in the psalm, ‘I will rescue him’. And God the Father did rescue the Lord Jesus, by raising him from the dead and by exalting him to heaven. God says in the psalm, ‘I will protect him’. And God the Father did protect the Lord Jesus, because he protected him from corruption. God says in the psalm: ‘I will answer him’. And God the Father answered the Lord Jesus, whenever the Lord committed his spirit to his Father. God says in the psalm: ‘I will be with him in trouble’. And God was with him in the grave and delivered him from it and honoured him by exalting him to heaven. And God has satisfied him with a long life, because the Lord Jesus will live forever and forever as one of us.

And because the Saviour died for us — offering up his life on the cross as the sacrifice for our sins — then we now have peace with God. And since we have peace with God, then we too can look to God to be our shelter and shadow and refuge and fortress. Because we have peace with God through Jesus Christ, then God will deliver us from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover us with his wings and he will be our shield and rampart. We don’t need to fear the day or the night, because God is with us to protect us. And though ten thousand fall at our side, it will not come near us, because our God is surrounding us and he will send his angels to help us. And because the Lord Jesus has crushed the satanic serpent’s head on our behalf, we don’t need to fear the devil.

But is the psalmist promising too much? Is he exaggerating? We all know people who loved the Lord and they did not live a long life. I’ve already mentioned Corrie Ten Boom. She survived the concentration camp, but her sister did not. Jim Elliot was killed when he was only 28 years old. And then there’s the story of Job who loved the Lord, but who suffered terribly for part of his life. Is the psalmist promising too much?

There are two things to say. Firstly, even when we suffer, God protects us in it and he rescues us from it in the sense that no evil will befall us, because God uses our suffering for good and not for evil. There’s always a good reason for why he sends suffering into our lives.

And secondly, no matter what age we are when we die, God will satisfy us with a long life, because the moment we die, our souls return to the Lord who made us to await the resurrection of our bodies. And then, after the resurrection of our bodies, we will live with the Lord in body and soul forever and forever.