Shelter of the Most High
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Psalm 91
1. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty, 2. will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust." 3. For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; 4. he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. 5. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6. nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. 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 look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. 9. Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your habitation, 10. no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent. 11. For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways. 12. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. 13. You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot. 14. Because he cleaves to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. 15. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will rescue him and honor him. 16. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him my salvation.
God is with us throughout every moment of our lives. There is no place we can go that He will not be there with us. There is no situation in which we will be alone—He will not abandon us.
The psalmist in this instance is not David, but probably either a Levite or a temple priest. This psalm is meant to offer encouragement and comfort to the believers gathered at the temple. While some of the dangers and threats mentioned in the psalm may be real, they are intended largely to illustrate every possible danger or fear that man may have throughout his life. And we are assured that God is there through each of them!
It doesn’t mean we won’t experience hardship, fear, loneliness, seeming defeat, sadness, remorse and repentance; it only means that God will love, protect, comfort and accompany us through it all – and through the joy and celebration, the singing and the praise, the happy, fun and enjoyable times in our lives as well. Our faith in him makes not only the bad times a little easier to bear, but makes the good times even more celebratory!
I love the visual of “under his wings you will find refuge.” A mother bird protects her babies under her wings – she draws them to her and spreads her wings to keep the rain off of them, to keep the wind from chilling them, to keep the sun from burning them before their own feathers come in. And there is a lovely, sad and beautiful story about a mother bird that covered her babies in a fire. She was found burned to death, but the chicks were saved by the shelter and protection of her wings.
You may recognize verses 11-12. Those same words are used by Satan to tempt Jesus (Matt. 4:6 and Luke 4:10-11). Jesus is able to resist Satan because of his assurance that His heavenly father will provide him all he needs-protection, power, and love. We can drive Satan away in the same way: call upon God to provide us guidance, direction, forgiveness, redemption, love. If we do that, we’ll never veer too far off course. When we call upon Him, God assures the angels, and us, “I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
I hope you spend your day calling upon your God, assured that He will answer and deliver you.
Mary
