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Psalm 91:1-2 ESV
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Another word for “dwell” is “abide” or “live,” and Jesus said if we abide (continue, remain, stay) in his word, we are truly his disciples. He also said that if we keep his commandments, we will abide in his love. Then, we read further that whoever does the will of God abides forever, and that if the truth of the gospel abides (remains, stays) in us, then we will abide in the Son and in the Father. And, then we learn that no one born of God makes a practice of sinning (Jn. 8:31; Jn. 15:10; 1 Jn. 2:17, 24; 1 Jn. 3:6-9).
So, this dwelling in the shelter of the Most High has to do with us living what we say we believe. It has to do with us acting in accord with God. We must walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh if we want to have eternal life with God. So, this means that we submit to, agree to, and are faithful to God and to his Word, and that is where we remain and continue. It doesn’t mean we are perfect, but that we are living, in lifestyle, according to the teachings of scripture and under the authority of God.
So, for God to truly be our refuge and our fortress, we have to put our trust in him, not in lip service only, but in the depths of our hearts and souls. He has to be Lord of our lives, in other words, and our lives must be given over to him to be lived for him and to walk in his ways and in his truth. For, Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us. He died, too, to redeem us (to buy us back for God) that we might now be his possession and that our lives would now be lived for his glory and honor.
[Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Co. 5:15; 1 Co. 6:20; Tit. 2:11-14]
Psalm 91:3-6 ESV
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
There are many people, at least in America, who claim to be Christians, many of whom have not truly made the Lord their trust. They are not truly dwelling in the shelter of the Almighty, for they have made their true home the pleasures that this world has to offer us. Thus, they are unfriendly and detached from the Holy Spirit of God, for they do not submit to God or to his purposes for their lives, but they are still being ruled by the flesh.
So, they have insulted the Spirit of Grace. They are living unrestrained lives, wild at heart, living and behaving foolishly, feeling that they have prevailed, that they have succeeded in mastering their own lives. And, they are actually living in opposition to and in competition with the grace of God, because they are the ones still in control of their own lives. And, many of them are speaking out against the true gospel, condemning it, and are speaking against those who are still teaching it, too.
So, this “arrow that flies by day” is Satan’s arrows which he is shooting at the Lord’s anointed who are sharing the truth of the gospel. And, he is using human beings to do his dirty work, too, in his attempts to destroy the true gospel message and its messengers.
So, many who are resisting the Spirit and the Lord’s true gospel of grace, are literally coming against the true gospel and its messengers by spreading gossip, i.e. rumors, and what is false in order to try to steer people away from the true gospel to follow after Satan’s lies. And, they seem to be in the majority, and so they feel they have conquered, that they have been victorious. And, they feel they have defeated the opposition. But, they have won no real victory, for their lives are still in bondage to sin.
Although the Lord has called them to himself, which is an invitation to his true grace, which is an invitation to let God/Jesus be the driver of our lives, the one in control, they have ignored his call in favor of remaining in the muck and mire, i.e. the filth of this world. They have refused his offer to turn their hearts from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they can receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ, because they want to be in the driver’s seat and to still be able to follow after their own flesh.
But, we are not to fear these who are literally working in opposition to the truth of the gospel and who are opposed to those who are still teaching that we must repent of our sins and we must walk in obedience to our Lord if we want to have eternal life with God. We are not to fear these arrows which are coming against those of us who are still following the Lord in obedience to his will. They can do no real harm to us. Yes, they can destroy our reputations and they can turn others against us, but we are still secure in the protection of the Almighty, and so we have nothing to fear, for they can kill the body, but they can’t kill the soul.
We also have nothing to fear of death, for we know that our trust is in the Lord, and that we are abiding in him and in his word, for we have listened to his call, and we have responded by letting him exchange our sin for his righteousness. We have yielded the control of our lives over to the Lord, and we are letting him lead and guide us in the way he would have us go. We have said “Yes” to Jesus and “No” to sinful lifestyles, and thus we have that guarantee of eternal life with God if we remain in him and in his love.
Psalm 91:14-16 ESV
“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
This is a wonderful promise to those of us who have made the Lord our trust. Again, this is not saying we are living in absolute sinless perfection, but that daily, by the Spirit, we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, and we are walking according to (in agreement with) the Spirit of God, and that the Lord is the driver of our lives and not our flesh.
We are holding fast to the Lord in love. And, to love God is to obey his commandments, not in absolute perfection, but in practice, in lifestyle, by the power and working of the Holy Spirit of God who dwells within us. And, his commandments are not burdensome. They can be summed up in two: to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, mind and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. And, this means to honor God with our lives and to love others the way in which he loves us.
But, we must know this. In the New Testament we read that part of our faith in Jesus Christ means that we are going to suffer as Jesus suffered, so this is not a promise that we are never going to have to go through anything bad. The Word of God says we will be mistreated, accused falsely, betrayed, hated, persecuted, beaten, falsely arrested and even killed for our faith and for our testimonies for Jesus Christ.
But, this is a promise of spiritual protection through it all, that our Lord will be with us, that he will strengthen and nurture us, that he will be our helper, and that we will be able to stand strong on our faith, and keep pressing on in the strength of the Lord even if all hell should break loose and an army come against us. We can remain confident in our Lord and in his mighty power to deliver us from the persecution so that it does not destroy us. He will carry us through it all, and through it all he will get the glory and praise.
Mighty in Power
An Original Work / June 17, 2019
Jesus, our Savior, reigneth forever;
Mighty in power, His name we honor.
He’s our refuge from all evil.
God our righteous, He’s our fill.
He satisfies us with all His blessings.
We magnify Him. Our praise to Him sing.
Glory and honor, praise to the Father,
Perfect in wisdom, He is our vision.
He delivered us from all sin
So, in Christ, we’d be forgiven.
He purifies us. His love will guide us.
He is beside us, holy and righteous.
Our Holy Spirit, comfort in sorrow,
Strength in our weakness, hope for tomorrow.
He gives courage to be bold in
Witnessing for Jesus Christ.
He teaches all things about our Savior.
New life in Jesus, we found His favor.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Another word for “dwell” is “abide” or “live,” and Jesus said if we abide (continue, remain, stay) in his word, we are truly his disciples. He also said that if we keep his commandments, we will abide in his love. Then, we read further that whoever does the will of God abides forever, and that if the truth of the gospel abides (remains, stays) in us, then we will abide in the Son and in the Father. And, then we learn that no one born of God makes a practice of sinning (Jn. 8:31; Jn. 15:10; 1 Jn. 2:17, 24; 1 Jn. 3:6-9).
So, this dwelling in the shelter of the Most High has to do with us living what we say we believe. It has to do with us acting in accord with God. We must walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh if we want to have eternal life with God. So, this means that we submit to, agree to, and are faithful to God and to his Word, and that is where we remain and continue. It doesn’t mean we are perfect, but that we are living, in lifestyle, according to the teachings of scripture and under the authority of God.
So, for God to truly be our refuge and our fortress, we have to put our trust in him, not in lip service only, but in the depths of our hearts and souls. He has to be Lord of our lives, in other words, and our lives must be given over to him to be lived for him and to walk in his ways and in his truth. For, Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us. He died, too, to redeem us (to buy us back for God) that we might now be his possession and that our lives would now be lived for his glory and honor.
[Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Co. 5:15; 1 Co. 6:20; Tit. 2:11-14]
Psalm 91:3-6 ESV
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
There are many people, at least in America, who claim to be Christians, many of whom have not truly made the Lord their trust. They are not truly dwelling in the shelter of the Almighty, for they have made their true home the pleasures that this world has to offer us. Thus, they are unfriendly and detached from the Holy Spirit of God, for they do not submit to God or to his purposes for their lives, but they are still being ruled by the flesh.
So, they have insulted the Spirit of Grace. They are living unrestrained lives, wild at heart, living and behaving foolishly, feeling that they have prevailed, that they have succeeded in mastering their own lives. And, they are actually living in opposition to and in competition with the grace of God, because they are the ones still in control of their own lives. And, many of them are speaking out against the true gospel, condemning it, and are speaking against those who are still teaching it, too.
So, this “arrow that flies by day” is Satan’s arrows which he is shooting at the Lord’s anointed who are sharing the truth of the gospel. And, he is using human beings to do his dirty work, too, in his attempts to destroy the true gospel message and its messengers.
So, many who are resisting the Spirit and the Lord’s true gospel of grace, are literally coming against the true gospel and its messengers by spreading gossip, i.e. rumors, and what is false in order to try to steer people away from the true gospel to follow after Satan’s lies. And, they seem to be in the majority, and so they feel they have conquered, that they have been victorious. And, they feel they have defeated the opposition. But, they have won no real victory, for their lives are still in bondage to sin.
Although the Lord has called them to himself, which is an invitation to his true grace, which is an invitation to let God/Jesus be the driver of our lives, the one in control, they have ignored his call in favor of remaining in the muck and mire, i.e. the filth of this world. They have refused his offer to turn their hearts from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they can receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ, because they want to be in the driver’s seat and to still be able to follow after their own flesh.
But, we are not to fear these who are literally working in opposition to the truth of the gospel and who are opposed to those who are still teaching that we must repent of our sins and we must walk in obedience to our Lord if we want to have eternal life with God. We are not to fear these arrows which are coming against those of us who are still following the Lord in obedience to his will. They can do no real harm to us. Yes, they can destroy our reputations and they can turn others against us, but we are still secure in the protection of the Almighty, and so we have nothing to fear, for they can kill the body, but they can’t kill the soul.
We also have nothing to fear of death, for we know that our trust is in the Lord, and that we are abiding in him and in his word, for we have listened to his call, and we have responded by letting him exchange our sin for his righteousness. We have yielded the control of our lives over to the Lord, and we are letting him lead and guide us in the way he would have us go. We have said “Yes” to Jesus and “No” to sinful lifestyles, and thus we have that guarantee of eternal life with God if we remain in him and in his love.
Psalm 91:14-16 ESV
“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
This is a wonderful promise to those of us who have made the Lord our trust. Again, this is not saying we are living in absolute sinless perfection, but that daily, by the Spirit, we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, and we are walking according to (in agreement with) the Spirit of God, and that the Lord is the driver of our lives and not our flesh.
We are holding fast to the Lord in love. And, to love God is to obey his commandments, not in absolute perfection, but in practice, in lifestyle, by the power and working of the Holy Spirit of God who dwells within us. And, his commandments are not burdensome. They can be summed up in two: to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, mind and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. And, this means to honor God with our lives and to love others the way in which he loves us.
But, we must know this. In the New Testament we read that part of our faith in Jesus Christ means that we are going to suffer as Jesus suffered, so this is not a promise that we are never going to have to go through anything bad. The Word of God says we will be mistreated, accused falsely, betrayed, hated, persecuted, beaten, falsely arrested and even killed for our faith and for our testimonies for Jesus Christ.
But, this is a promise of spiritual protection through it all, that our Lord will be with us, that he will strengthen and nurture us, that he will be our helper, and that we will be able to stand strong on our faith, and keep pressing on in the strength of the Lord even if all hell should break loose and an army come against us. We can remain confident in our Lord and in his mighty power to deliver us from the persecution so that it does not destroy us. He will carry us through it all, and through it all he will get the glory and praise.
Mighty in Power
An Original Work / June 17, 2019
Jesus, our Savior, reigneth forever;
Mighty in power, His name we honor.
He’s our refuge from all evil.
God our righteous, He’s our fill.
He satisfies us with all His blessings.
We magnify Him. Our praise to Him sing.
Glory and honor, praise to the Father,
Perfect in wisdom, He is our vision.
He delivered us from all sin
So, in Christ, we’d be forgiven.
He purifies us. His love will guide us.
He is beside us, holy and righteous.
Our Holy Spirit, comfort in sorrow,
Strength in our weakness, hope for tomorrow.
He gives courage to be bold in
Witnessing for Jesus Christ.
He teaches all things about our Savior.
New life in Jesus, we found His favor.
