RUN TO THE SHELTER!
PSALM 91
Introduction: When Evil strikes what happens? A kind mother
dies leaving her 22-year-old daughter behind as she put herself as a human
shield between the Rabbi and the shooter in a Synagogue in California. A 21-year-old
college student dies while tackling the shooter, leaving his grieving
girlfriend. An eighteen-year-old boy dies leaving behind his parents as he
jumped between the shooter and his classmates in a school in Denver.
I am referring to the shootings that happened
in the last two months. Our hearts and prayers are with hurting families and
friends. I wonder how many more young people have to lose their lives before Congress
and the lawmakers do something to curtail this evil? Fear and anxiety are
palpable these days. We never know when and where evil strikes again.
While
living under such circumstances, one wonders if there is any way to be
protected from all the evils that are coming on the earth. Can a Christian be
protected through these turbulent times? On Wednesday morning while I was
walking and praying in my office on what to share this Sunday. My eyes fell on
an odd book in my collection which I never read. As I began to read, it made a
lot of sense in regards to what we are going through daily.
The
title of the book is “Psalm 91 God’s shield of Protection.” Psalm 91 is a
comprehensive look at the only place in the Bible where all of the protection
promises are brought together in one collection. It is worth memorizing and
even more so applying.
The whole chapter contains only sixteen verses which contain several promises of
God and conditions to see those promises fulfilled in our lives. This morning I
would like us to meditate on Psalm 91 and see how these timeless truths from
God’s word gives us strength and courage to find Protection from our greatest
fears. Psalm 91:1-16. Let’s begin our study.
What
do we know about The Psalms? The book of Psalms was the hymnbook and prayer
book of Israel and later of the early Christians. Down through the ages it has
provided people with much comfort in times of trouble, as well as in private
and public worship. In the New Testament, there are 283 quotations from the OT;
116 of them are from the Book of Psalms.
Jesus
loved the Psalms. Even while dying on the cross, Jesus quoted from them (Mt
27:46; Lk 23:46, 24:44). Eugene Peterson, notes, “Psalms had always been the
primary means by which Christians learned to pray everything they lived, and
live everything they prayed over the long haul.
I wanted people to start praying them again, not just admiring them from
a distance, and thereby learn to pray everything they experienced and felt and
thought as they followed Jesus, not just what they thought was proper to pray
in church.”[1]
The
book of Psalms is a go-to book for me in the Bible. Whenever I am discouraged,
afraid and hurting, I read Psalms to find courage, strength, and healing. I am sure several of you may share a similar
affection with the book of Psalms. Let’s unpack Psalm 91.
I WHERE
IS MY SHELTER? (Vs1)
Vs.
1, “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow
of the Almighty.” We New Englanders are familiar with Nor’easters. They
often accompanied by heavy rain or snow. During that storm, all we want is to
be inside our home, enjoying the warmth of our family, picking up a book to
read over a cup of hot chocolate, knowing that we are sheltered and protected
as the Nor’easter rages. That is what Psalm 91 is all about—Shelter!
I am sure every one of you can think of
something that represents security to you personally. When I think of security
and protection, I have a childhood memory. I was around ten at that time. I was
sick with a high fever. It was Diwali, a Hindu festival, in India.
That
night all our neighbors were celebrating with fireworks. I climbed up into my
father's lap to watch the fireworks. My father put both his arms around me and
held me tight, what a secured and sheltered feeling that was. I felt protected
in my fathers' lap. Did you know that there is such a place of safety in God
for those who want to seek refuge?
The
first verse tells us that God is our shelter and a shadow for a weary
soul. There are two distinct names used
for God in this verse: Most High and Almighty. What do they mean? The Hebrew
word for Most High is El-Elyon which
means: Elevated one, exalted, the Most High, the Supreme being, the possessor
of all the earth. The Hebrew word for “Almighty” is “El-Shaddai, which means:
The Powerful One, Almighty, the mighty one, one who is self-sufficient.
The
Israelites saw God as all-powerful and the owner of everything on the earth
including their very lives. Therefore, they could run into His presence to find
protection and shelter. The imagery of God being our shelter comes over and
over again in the Bible. Consider these scriptures: Psalm 27:5, “For he will hide me in his
shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he
will lift me high upon a rock.”
Psalm
32: 6-8, “Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time
when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach
him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround
me with shouts of deliverance.” For your meditation at home: (Psalm 46:1-4,
Psalm 61:3-5, Psalm 119:114-17, and Isaiah 25:4-5,)
When
life is full of storms, it is incredible to know that our God is our shelter.
When we are weary, tossed back and forth with life's struggles, do not fight
them with your strength, you have an invitation to from the Most High and the
Almighty God to come and find shelter in His presence. The call to go to the
shelter is open to all those who are seeking for protection, but the key to
finding protection from our fears is that we have to run to God and find our
shelter.
II. SAYING
THE WORD OF GOD!
Vs.
2, “I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I
trust.” Notice this verse says, “I will say.” Underline that word in your Bible
because we must learn to verbalize our trust. In the second verse, we are told
not to think of the word but say the word. We are answering back to God what he
says to us in the first verse.
Several
scriptures in the Bible urge us to speak the Word of God back to God, to the
powers of darkness to ourselves and with one another. There is power in
speaking His Word. In Genesis one, God merely spoke saying, “let there be” and
the world came into existence The Hebrew word Amar used in the OT 5,280 times has a range of meanings: “ to say, to speak, to utter, to tell, to
answer, to declare and to command to admonish, to promise, etc.
For
example, Joel 3:10, “let the weak say, “I am a warrior.” How can a weak person
be a warrior? That is the power of positive confession. Over and over again we
find great men of God such as David, Joshua, Shadrach Meshach, and Abednego,
declaring their confession of faith out loud in dangerous situations. Can you
imagine what begins to happen inside of us when we say to the Lord, over and
over again, “Lord you are my refuge, you are my fortress, you are my God, and
in you I trust? The more we say it loud, the more we become confident in His
protection.
But
the problem with so many of us Christians is that we mentally agree that God is
our refuge, fortress but that is not enough. Power is released when we say it
loud. When we mean it and say it loud, we are placing ourselves in the shelter
of the Most High God.
The
Psalmist used the word, “my” three times: my refuge, my fortress, and my God,
why? He was making a personal claim to God; by doing so, he was claiming God’s
protection for himself. These metaphors, “refuge and fortress” are military
terms. God himself becomes our defensive site, protecting us from all our
enemies. He becomes our protection
personally.
The human tendency is to try to solve problems by ourselves, even more so, it is
the nature of many Americans who cannot and will not ask or accept help from
others in times of need. Because asking for help is considered a weakness. On
the contrary, our heavenly father is delighted when we call upon him in times
of trouble. The Psalmist learned to call on the Lord whenever he was troubled,
and he was helped.
We
confess the word of God from our mouths because the Word of God tells us to do
so. The scripture tells us that our tongue has the power of life and death (Proverbs
18:21). In other words, what we say
either can bring death or life. Therefore, take notice of what comes out of our
mouth in times of trouble. The worst thing that can happen is for something to
come out that brings death. Remember the
advice that was given to Job by his wife when he was going through a calamity?
It was to curse God and die, but Job did not sin by his mouth.
Cursing
gives God nothing to work with. This Psalm tells us to do just the opposite.
What troubles are you going through this morning? Call upon the name of the
Lord in your problems, and you will see God coming to your rescue. Next time when you feel afraid, do not know where
your help comes from, say it out loud that God is your refuge and fortress.
When
you are facing a particularly challenging situation, say it out loud, “Lord I
choose to trust you in this situation. When you do that you will notice the
difference it makes. Have you ever tried to protect yourself or your loved ones
from all the bad things that can happen?
God
has to be our refuge before the promises in Psalm 91 will ever work. I want to
close with these trusted words from Psalm 20:1-4, “In times of trouble, may the
Lord answer your cry. May the name of
the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
May he send you help from his sanctuary and strengthen you… May he
remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings. May he
grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.” Amen!
