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Ps. 91
We invite you to join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:30. You can download our service on iTunes or tune in for “The Good Word” each day on AM 1230 WSAL or on Hoosier Country 103.7 FM just after 8am. Psalm 91 is a great Psalm of comfort and confidence to the true man and woman of God as they face the challenges and confrontations of everyday living. Notice first, there is:
- A DECLARATION OF PERMANENCE – V. 1. David says – he who dwells… Will abide… In Hebrew the word dwell means “live, stay, i.e. be in a place for any period of time, usually implying a longer period of time; to be settled i.e. cause to dwell and so live in a place or certain set of relationships. It is in our homes that we find shelter, security, peace, a sense of belonging, safety, privacy, family intimacy, and much more. Home is the place where we can relax, kick our shoes off, and be ourselves. Home is also the place where everyone knows who, and how you are in your heart! All of us, for lots of reasons, leave our homes every day because much of our life takes place outside the 4 walls of our physical house. But the interesting thing is – under normal circumstances – no matter why, or for how long, we leave the house, – under normal circumstances – we look forward to being home again, don’t we? Look again at v. 1. That desire, or to tug in our hearts, to be home again is the effect of the “shadow” of our home. We could read v. 1 this way, “the one who permanently resides in the shelter, house, home of the Most High will abide, remain, always be – no matter what their physical location – in the shadow/protection of the Almighty.” Read Ps. 139:1-12. In whose house do you permanently live? One last thought here. David, like all other true men and women of God, reaffirmed his declaration of permanence to dwell in the house of the Lord every day. As we’ll see David was keenly aware of all Satan’s efforts to cause David to leave the shelter and protection of God. Real men and women of God find their rest in the shadow of The Almighty always returning to live in His shelter. Notice that David makes a:
- DECLARATION OF PROTECTION V. 2. To David, God is his safe haven. Notice also that David says, “my refuge, my fortress, my God.” The pronouns “I and my” in this verse immediately revealed to us that David understood both the blessing, and the necessity of a personal relationship with the Almighty, Most High God. The necessity of a personal relationship with God precedes personal blessings from God. God reserves most (not all – just most) of His blessings to be shared only with His adopted children. Even then God does not arbitrarily shower his blessings on His children who live and walk in disobedience to Him. The concept is very simple. God must be your fortress, or He cannot be your refuge! The whole purpose of a fortress is to provide refuge. So the question is: in the course of your everyday life, day in day out, where do you find your protection? Finally, notice that David makes a:
- DECLARATION OF PREEMINENCE. V.2 My God… Both the declaration of permanence and of protection are an effect or a result rather than a cause. The cause that makes it possible for David to find his dwelling place and his protection and God is the fact that David places his trust in God. In order to trust God enough to allow Him to be your Fortress, your Shelter where you live permanently you have to come to the point where you learn to trust God in everything about your life, all the time.
If we can help you answer your spiritual questions, call us at (574) 643-9419.
