The word of God is so simple yet so difficult at the same time! The principles that are found in the Bible are straightforward but often when one starts to put them in practice, one finds that they are easier said than done. What the LORD usually requires of His people is so plain to understand that children can get it. Think about the gospel of Jesus Christ, children understand it, they understand that Jesus who is God in the flesh came to save them from their sins, that he died on the cross and that those who believe in him will have eternal life (John 3:16), yet for adults, it is too simple and too easy so the question is often “What’s the catch?” or “Really, What must I do to have eternal life?” (Mark 10:17). It is no wonder that this ends up being foolishness to the world yet the power of God to us who believe (1 Corinthians 1:18). This morning, I was meditating in Psalm ninety-one and I was struck by the simplicity of the text. My goal today is to explore the main theme of that psalm and draw you to another facet of this great God we serve.
The theme of Psalm ninety-one is safety that is found in the shadow of the Almighty. This psalm can be summarized in one command “Dwell in the shelter of the Most High and you will be invincible”. Indeed, throughout the psalm, we read of the sure protection of the LORD that is bestowed on those whose trust is in Him (verse 2); those who have made the LORD their dwelling place (verse 9); those who hold fast to the LORD (verse 14a); those who know the name of the LORD (verse 14b). This protection from the LORD is comprehensive, it is not just any type of protection. The psalmist makes sure we see the wide range of difficulties and calamities from which the LORD can save us when we do the above: 1) fowler’s snare; 2) deadly pestilence; 3) terror of night; 4) arrows that flies by day; 5) the plague that destroys at midday; 6) the lion and the snake/serpent. I am sure there have been many scholars and theologians that have identified what each of these calamities represent and that there are probably many debates of those but for the purpose of this post, my goal is to point out the vast array of problems the LORD saves us from. For example, “pestilence” or “plague” generally refers to deadly contagious diseases and it often comes as a form of judgement, a curse if you will. So, the protection of the LORD goes beyond our physical needs and even into our spiritual needs. Indeed, there is nothing that the arm of the LORD cannot do to save you as long as you hold fast to Him. It is that simple and Jesus knew it well.
While on this earth, Jesus embodied this psalm because he was always protected, truly no harm befell him except the one he chose. It is fascinating to know that one man walked this earth and was never a prey to his attackers, never feared for his life because he was being pursued by men, never worried or never felt threatened by other men or spirits. His life was the reality of psalm ninety-one because he dwelt in the shelter of the Most High, he trusted in the Father, he knew the name of the LORD, all of these things, Jesus did perfectly hence he benefitted from the Almighty protection 24/7. In fact, when he was tempted by the devil, verse 11, which denotes the assurance of the protection of the LORD to those who fear him is what the devil threw at Jesus to convince him to submit to him, but Jesus understood what was going on. Remarkably, the devil used a verse that tells you what the LORD would do to you, but he did not give the sine qua non condition which is to hold fast to the LORD or to make Him your dwelling place. Had Jesus listened to the devil, he would have forfeited the very condition that qualified him to be protected by the LORD because he would no longer have been trusting in the LORD, that would have been disobedience. What craftiness indeed from the devil! Thank God Jesus stood firm and showed us the example. In everything that we do, what the LORD requires of us is that we submit to Him, not to ourselves or others but to Him alone. This is something Jesus excelled at for he submitted all the way to death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8).
It is beautiful to see how the LORD takes care of His own, how He ensures no harm befalls them and no disaster comes near them (verse 10), the way He cares is simply unbelievable. This reveals His might even in the caring business. Jesus was able to benefit from this all-time protection and security from heaven because he was without sin. We on the other hand, are not able to benefit this all the time but in Christ, we have the privilege to benefit from this protection as long as we repent of our sins and submit to the authority of Jesus and the word of truth. God is still a refuge and a fortress for the righteous, He remains that, He has not changed. Moses declared in psalm ninety “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations” (Psalm 90:1). The LORD had been their dwelling place not just one generation but several ones and in all these He remained the same, He did not grow tired or weary; He did not sleep nor slumber; He was as active in the past as He was in their time. The same goes for us today, God is the same today as He was in the past. Through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection, God the Father has made His dwelling upon us through His spirit that lives in us. As long as we submit to the spirit of God in us, we can be sure we are dwelling in the shelter of the Most High and therefore benefitting from His all-time supernatural protection. All the privileges that Jesus had have become ours such as his righteousness so we can approach the throne of grace boldly. To make the LORD our dwelling place, we must have a relationship with Him, we must be able to know Him, to know His name. This knowledge comes first from surrendering to the LORD, asking Him to show us Himself as revealed in the word of God and walking with Him daily in obedience. Searching God in the scripture is one tool that can help us build our knowledge of God but this abandonment to God is by far the fastest way to arrive at a knowledge of God.
In summary, the complete, comprehensive protection of the LORD from all problems physical and spiritual that Jesus had is available to those of us who have put our faith and trust in the salvation of the Lord Jesus. Moreover, the requirement to benefit from this protection remains the same to make the Most High our dwelling place by trusting Him and holding fast to Him in love. In Christ, we know that God is faithful and just and will forgive us from all unrighteousness when we repent (1 John 1:9). Would you then start living a life of repentance and submission to the LORD in order to live out these benefits? I pray the LORD grants us the grace to dwell in Him all the time. Amen.
A Word Aptly Spoken 