Understanding Psalm 91
As concerns regarding the coronavirus spread, there is a chapter in the Bible that is increasing in fame. I’m referring to Psalm 91. If you open you’re bible to Psalm 91 you will quickly understand why it’s becoming famous; the subheading alone tells a story. Look at how a few bibles describe what this psalm is about:
NRSV – Assurance of God’s Protection
ESV – My Refuge and My Fortress
HCSB – The Protection of the Most High
AMP – Security of the One Who Trusts in the LORD.
With titles like this it’s not surprising to see the rise in popularity. But with the popularity it’s important that we understand what it says, who it is for, and how one benefits from it.
What Does it Say?
Read it for yourself here, because the promises are staggering! In short, as the subheadings indicate above, it is a promise of God’s protection for those who dwell within his presence. Here are a few snippets from the chapter:
“No evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.”
“He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”
“I will protect those who know my name.”
There are few chapters in the Bible that are filled with so many clear cut promises as Psalm 91. It’s one of those passages that is so rich that it is regarded as unbelievable, but that is usually because it’s not the average experience for the person living for God. Therefore, instead of understanding how it can be true, they quickly label it hyperbole or something along those lines.
However, a litmus test to discover if what the Bible says is true is to look and see if anyone has ever experienced the truth that it suggests. If we look and we find that it has been true for even one person, it stands to reason that it can be true for all persons.
This leads us to our next question.
Who Is It For?
It’s easy to read this passage or many other passages in the Bible that promise things, and just run off with the promise, expecting something to happen. But that’s not how promises work anywhere.
Imagine that you are on a date and your significant other surprises you with a trip to your favorite musical. The tickets, they say, will be waiting for you at the main desk. Now imagine that someone at another table was eavesdropping and, as they listened, began getting increasingly excited. If in their excitement they thanked and hugged your significant other and ran out the restaurant thrilled to finally see a musical, wouldn’t you think it’s strange?
The reason we would think it’s strange is because the gift or the promise was not for anyone who heard it, it was for you. The same is true when it comes to promises in the Bible, most are not vague generalities of what God will do for anyone, but they are for those who have a specific relationship with God.
So, to whom is Psalm 91 written? It is written to those who “live in the shelter of the Most High” (91:1). To those who “have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place” (91:9). In today’s language we might say, “The target audience of Psalm 91 are people who entrust themselves wholly to God, those who love the Lord their God with all the heart, soul, mind, and body.”
Unfortunately, I think that eliminates a large majority of us; doesn’t it? After all, we are fickle sinful people. Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. We don’t dwell in the secret place; we may visit from time to time, but it’s not our true home.
Therefore, although the promises of Psalm 91 could be for us, because of our broken relationship with God they are not for us.
How Does One Benefit From The Promises?
But there is still a way to benefit from them. Earlier I wrote, “If we look and we find that it has been true for even one person, it stands to reason that it can be true for all persons.” Here is where the good news of the Gospel comes in. The promises of Psalm 91 have been true for one person. Jesus Christ.
He lived perfectly under “the shadow of the Almighty.” He “made the Lord [his] refuge, the Most High [his] dwelling place. He didn’t just approach his Father’s house when he had a need, he was always in the presence of his Father, because he loved him!
Look at some of the things he said in John 5:
Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing… — John 5:19-20
I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me. — John 5:30
These are the words of a person who has surrendered completely to the love and care of his Father in heaven. Therefore, we ought not be surprised that his life was characterized by deliverance after deliverance, just like the psalm promises.
Luke 4:23-30 — He passes through a crowd trying to stone him.
Matthew 22:46 — With wisdom he is able to silence those who seek to thwart his mission.
Mark 4:35-41 — He calms the storm that should’ve destroyed him.
All four Gospels — He enters into the grave and comes out victorious over death!
In Jesus Christ we see the fulfillment of each promise in Psalm 91, indeed the entire Bible. Therefore, we can state with absolute certainty that these promises are true.
But we still haven’t answered the question: How does one benefit from the promises? The answer is simple, trust Jesus.
If these promises find their fulfillment in Jesus, the only way for us to experience them is to be found in him. This means we must entrust ourselves to him wholly. We must, each and every day, surrender to his leadership and follow him throughout our days. In short, we must become his disciples.
Does it Mean We’ll Never Suffer?
That being said, passages like Psalm 91 do not promise a life free from suffering. Rather, it promises the presence of God within suffering. Jesus, the only one who experienced the fullness of these promises, suffered tremendously! But within the suffering he was delivered by the God in whose hand he rested.
God isn’t interested in making our lives cushy, he is interested in imparting his kind of life—the life of the Kingdom—to us, and often he does so through suffering.
So what about the coronavirus? Well, if you want to claim the promises of Psalm 91 just so you can avoid sickness I’m afraid you are missing the point, and the greater offer at hand. God wants to do so much more for you than keep you from any discomfort. He wants you to so dwell with him that your life resembles his life.
You may even get the coronavirus virus! But if you do, so what! Ask yourself this question, If I am abiding in God and I get the coronavirus what will happen to me? Next question: What will happen to God?
My man Dallas Willard, as usual, is helpful here.
Because of the nature of God and his kingdom, all his created beings and everyone who trusts in him are in a position to say, ‘Let the worst happen! Let the worst happen, and God and I will go on together in the abundance of his being.’
Dallas Willard, Life Without Lack
Isn’t that how Jesus went to the cross? He was completely at peace knowing that his humiliating execution was in front of him. Why? Because he was “abiding under the shadow of the almighty.” In Christ, that can be true of us, too. That is the promise of Psalm 91.
How Does One Become a Psalm 91 Person?
You become a Psalm 91 kind of person by allowing Jesus Christ to change your identity. This is what he came to do. As it says in John 1:12-13 “To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.”
Once this happens the same Spirit that enabled Jesus to live a Psalm 91 kind of life will come to live in you. As you entrust yourself to him he will lead you in ways that will transform you into the kind of person for whom Psalm 91 is an ever-increasing reality.
The only question that remains is this: Why wait? As the world is gripped with fear and runs here and there to try to alleviate those fears, you can run to Christ and find in him a God that is eager to shelter you with an abundance of love, peace, and deliverance.
We would love to help you grow in your discipleship relationship to Jesus. If you’d like to learn more about what we offer, check out our Discipleship Development page.
Thank you for your attention.
This article was originally posted at mkanyion.com.
