Text: Psalm 91:1-10
91 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
Purpose: God is my fortress; in him will I trust. He will deliver us all from the evils of the world if we put God at the most High, and make him our fortress.
Introduction: This text jumped out at me, and it speaks clearly to me in this world we live in. All the fears I have, the future I can see, the path this world is walking none of that means anything to God. Because God sees us Christians and he clearly states that he will protect us.
Outline:
Let us pray.
The Psalmist in verse 1 calls the dwelling place under God a secret and a shadow. The secret place IS Salvation! Salvation is a secret, it is hidden to the lost, which is why we go Soul-winning. Once we do find salvation we into refuge and into his fortress. We trust in God we trust the walls of His foundation. The foundation of his truths and righteousness.
Let us look to verse 3. The Psalmist says “Surely he will deliver from the snare of the fowler†Satan is the Fowler. His snare IS SIN. If we’re trusting in God fully we’re wise enough to avoid Satan’s traps. But also in verse 3 we see noisome pestilence. The word noisome means nasty, disgusting, vile. Pestilence is a disease. People wonder why diseases thrive in the homosexual. Its very clear how they got them. It was intended because of their sins.
We see deliverance from the snare of the fowler. but look at verse 4, it talks about God covering him with his wings to protect him. A shield, a buckler as long as he was willing to trust and stand behind God he was safe. Police officers and our military trust and use kevlar vests to protect them from bullets because someone told them it works. In the second half of verse 4 it says “His truth shall be thy shield and buckler†we’re safe as long as we stand behind his truths, because God said he would protect us.
We see God as our shield, but in verse 5 we read “Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor the arrow that flieth by day†Night time is when we’re most vulnerable to sin when sin is more clear. You see filthy things on tv, you see the so called night life where people drink, dance, and dress inappropriately. The arrow is the attack that come to us because we refuse to accept those evils and live that way.
Look at verse 6 “nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday†This form of pestilence is sin taking hold of us. It says walking because it slowly spreads through us. Its walking in darkness we can’t see it, we don’t realize it until it destroys us, but when we’re resting under the shadow and wings of God it protects us from these things.
However in verse 7 it talks about “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.†It may sound hard to understand and grasp, but it is God taking the life of a believer at your side Maybe a friend or family member. We wonder why God may take the life of a Child or young person or a young adult. But let me offer some encouragement. Have you ever wondered that maybe God is saving them from a greater evil that was going to occur in their life in the future? We don’t know why for sure, but God does.
We read in verse 8 “Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.†Its saying that we will only see what happens to the wicked. The reward could be good or bad. Paul persecuted Christians, but he was rewarded even though he was wicked and found salvation. Judas sold Jesus and his reward was a punishment and damnation in hell. God will determine his judgment to the wicked, its not our job to worry about it. its why we trust him and live under his shadow.
In verses 9 and 10 again the psalmist explains that because God is our refuge we are safe from all of the evils of the world, even if it was a plague, or death, God will deliver us. We know what our reward is in heaven. In closing let me leave you with some encouragement from God. Look at verses 14 to 16. God says “14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.†There is our foundation, the truths we believe, because he promised them to all those that believe in him.