"Divine Protection"
Have you ever had an experience where you were sure something bad was about to happen, but incredibly, even miraculously, disaster was averted ... somehow? You may very well have experienced God's divine protection. Psalm 91 talks about this in verses 9-13.
1. God's Promise
"If you make the Most High your dwelling--even the LORD,
who is my refuge, then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent."
God makes an incredible promise in verse 13. It starts with a condition and ends with a result. It is important to observe these conditional statements as you study God's Word, for He has filled His Word with them!
In verse 13, God promises those who make Him their "dwelling", that they will not experience "harm" or "disaster". "Harm" describes an evil, injury or wrong, while "disaster" describes a plague, stroke or disease. Now, who wouldn't want to experience that! (This promise actually summarizes the first 8 verses, which we looked at in Studies 1 & 2.)
In a conditional statement, we must always fulfill the condition before we can claim the promise. If we aren't experiencing God's Divine Protection, we must always ask, "Am I living my life in God's Presence and in light of His Nature and Attrtibutes?" That must always be done first.
Having fulfilled the condition, we can expect to experience the promise!
2. God's Protection
"For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."
Verses 11-12 reveals God's method by which He protects His children. Guardian Angels! These are specific angels God charges to watch over all the ways of those who choose to live within His shelter. Their involvement is personal and 'hands on'. And their examples are myriad through out Scripture. You also may recognize these verses as the same ones Satan quoted to Christ during the final temptation as Jesus stood on the pinnacle of the Temple, for angels ministered to Him as well!
Interestingly, the Psalmist singles out the danger of striking the foot against a stone as one in which angels involve themselves. At the time of the writing, the landscape was littered with stones. Even the roads were uneven stone paths in this pre-asphalt and pre-concrete period. Therefore, the striking of one's foot against a stone was a very common danger, albeit a small one in the scale of disasters. God is saying that His angels will be involved in protecting us against even the smaller dangers, much less the catastrophic ones!
3. God's Power
"You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent."
In the final verse of this section, the Psalmist paints a picture of the victory that is ours when we stand in the Shadow of our Heavenly Father. By God's Power, we will be able to "tread" and "trample" upon the lion and cobra. However, the writer is not saying we can go to the zoo and start stepping on the lions and vipers without fear! Observe the definite article (the) before the words, indicating that he is speaking about a specific lion and cobra. Notice also how the writer repeats his initial statement, but raising the two beasts to a greater degree ... the "great lion" and the "serpent" or even dinosaur!
Make no mistake about it, God is speaking here about more than a menagerie, but about our spiritual adversary, Satan, who is described in Scripture as both a lion and a serpent! When you stand close to God, His Might stands behind you and not even Satan will be able to defeat you!
Application
1. God Promises That He Will Keep Me From Harm and Disaster If I Make Him My Refuge.
Therefore, I Will ..
2. God Has Commanded Angels to Keep Watch Over Me.
Therefore, I Will ...
3. God Has Given Me Power to Trample On Satan, The Great Lion and Serpent.
Therefore, I Will ...
Go to Study 4