Abiding by Faith in God

Psalms 91:1-16 

1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust."

3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

14 "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.

This song sings praises of abiding in God, trusting Him for protection.  It is founded on a life hidden in God Himself, spiritually in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6) of the tabernacle of heart and soul, safe under the shadow of His wings (Psalm 91:4, 61:4).  God is our mighty fortress of protection and refuge of trust to run to for that protection of lovingkindness.  How can we not trust Him fully and in all circumstances when the promises of His word make these things certain?  He delivers us as the birds of the air, supplying both needs and deliverance from evil.  He gives refuge from the enemy and His truth is armor to protect us from the flaming darts of the evil ones (Ephesians 6:16).  He leads us through the battles to victory in Christ who was anticipated then but realized now.  We make the LORD Most High our place of refuge for protection from those against us, abiding in Him and His word (John 8:31, 1 Peter 1:23, 1 John 2:6, 14) to keep us from sin, which is a plague of the soul.  Though He may charge His angels with our protection, it is to keep us following God in His ways, not for personal testing of God as satan did by misquoting this passage (Matthew 4:6-7).  Yes, they may bear us up, but not from our testing God; rather, they keep us from hurting ourselves in our spiritual shortsightedness and clumsiness.  May we never fall into the trap of demanding God keep us from temptations we put before Him to give us what we want in order to prove our faith!  This goes for protection over snakes and lions as well.  We are not snake handlers nor do we put ourselves in harm’s way to tempt God by demanding deliverance from our own evil.  Rather, like the psalmist here, we should know His great love and watchcare to trust in for His deliverance in His way and time.  Why?  Because we are His and He knows us by name.  This is why we can cry out to Him in our troubles and find help in that time of real need (Hebrews 4:16).  That honors God and this He honors us for exercising true faith and a life with meaning and purpose in His salvation freely given in Christ Jesus our Lord.  The long life in this last verse points to an eternal one.  This is abiding by faith in God.