Painted in my bible beside Psalm 91 are a glittery pair of angel wings. The wings are open in a position of strength and assurance and protection. After reading this passage a few years ago this picture, to my mind, most accurately represented Psalm 91 - the Psalm of Protection.
This Psalm is famous for its strong and reassuring language of God’s protection over those “who love Him” and “know His Name”. Soldiers carry a copy of this Psalm in their uniforms and in many Western cultures children are taught to recite this Psalm before bed. It is sung at funerals. And exorcisms. (Isn’t new knowledge fun?!)
The writer of the Psalm isn’t explicitly stated, but like many of the previous Psalms we’ve studied this summer it is attributed to David, a man who knew the power and sheer importance of having God’s physical protection. But as much as this Psalm describes physical protection - it’s about so much more than that. It’s about a protection of far greater importance:
Spiritual protection.
Here’s our Psalm for today:
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
We’re going to break up our reading into sections, so follow along with me:
Verses 1-2. Living with God, choosing to walk with Him, abiding with Him day to day offers amazing spiritual protection. My nearness to Him keeps my mind and my heart set on God’s will and God’s ways. When I live with God I speak and say, “I trust you. You are like a castle built around my heart with sentries guarding every door and window.” Rest, child. God is watching over you.
Verses 3-6. This is where we get to the bird analogy. And if you know me and my affinity for song birds in the wild (Not in my house. People, please.), you’ll know I find this language powerful. These verses tell me God will act as a protector keeping us from any enemy: those who mean to harm us, hurt us, scare us, destroy us. It says His faithfulness will act as our shield. Not our faithfulness to Him, but His to us. My human faithfulness is faulty at best, but God’s faithfulness is at worst, perfect.
Verses 7-9. If we keep abiding with the Lord, we’ll be safe. Those who refuse to keep Him in their hearts won’t share in this blessing of protection. These verses say that thousands may fall on either side of you. There are many engaged in the very same battles as you, but because you have made God your home, what may hurt them will not touch you. Abiding with and trusting in the Lord gives you a grace-filled advantage when facing fear and hurt.
Verses 11-13. God loves us so much He has charged His angels with our protection. That bumper sticker that says, “Don’t drive faster than your angel can fly”? Yeah, that’s a real thing. God has given His angels the task of caring for us. He’s also given us access to His own incredible strength and power. We will be able to stand in that power and strength against those who come after us, like Satan. (In fact Satan quoted this section of Psalm 91 to Jesus while trying to tempt Jesus in the desert. You know there’s power in a verse when Satan tries to use it against Jesus and those who love Him!)
Verses 14-16. Here’s the crux of all of it, friend. Right here in these final verses. When I call to God, in love and in trust and in friendship He will do four things:
He will be with us. (When God is standing beside us, what can harm us?)
He will rescue us. (He will pull us away from danger.)
He will honor us. (He has given us a place of honor because He sees us clothed in the redemption of Jesus.)
He will satisfy us. (In Him, we have everything we could ever need or want.)
When I first read this Psalm and painted those angel wings all those years ago I would have never realized that one day I would live these verses. There was a period in my life where I clung to these words like a raft on an open sea. A situation in my family gave me cause for great fear and I sailed on uncertain waters for about two years. But I used this Psalm and I clung daily to my Savior, saying over and over to Him, “I trust you, Jesus.”
And I was delivered. I was kept and I was hidden and I was sheltered. I definitely came out of the situation worse for the wear and I went through some incredibly scary and painful days, but those days ended. And, after all was said and done, I had actually been given the greatest gift of my life- the knowledge that being fully dependent on God and not on myself is the safest place to be. Had I not been in a situation where the outcome was unequivocally and completely out of my control I would have never been given the real life experience that God is faithful and true to those who call on His Name.
This Psalm doesn’t promise we won’t walk through horrible things. In fact, quite the opposite! This Psalm tells us scary things will happen. We will be attacked. We will fight intense battles. Satan will try to ensnare us. But this Psalm also promises we will never be alone. When we call out to God He will be with us with all His faithfulness and gracious goodness.
If you find yourself in a season of fear and you are in need of protection, lean in and listen. God is with you. He will not leave you. His angels are charged to watch over you, for heaven’s sake! Stay close to Him in prayer and tell Him you trust Him (and here’s the kicker: actually mean it!).
It is my great prayer that the next time fear and uncertainty come to our door we will stand brave and whisper over and over until the storm passes, “I trust you, Jesus.”
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