12 May Psalm 91 (Protecting your family in Dangerous Times) PART 4
What Earth calls a crisis, God calls an incident. Please don’t mistake me, I am not minimizing what we are walking through. In my 58 years of living, I have not seen anything like this. However, just because it shocked us doesn’t mean it surprised God!
The Bible tells us in II Timothy 3:1, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.” The Greek word translated “dangerous” in this verse is “chelapos.” This Greek word is used only one other time in the New Testament. It is a word which means “fierce” or “furious.” In Matthew 24:7, Jesus gives us a sign of what occurs before His return. In these verses Jesus speaks of “pestilences.” The Greek word here denotes a “deadly disease.”
Yet right in the middle of dangerous times marked by deadly diseases, the Bible offers us the security of Psalm 91. This chapter is probably the best collection of Bible verses to protect you and your family in dangers times!
Last month we began to share with you an outline of “Three Protection Points”:
- The Prerequisites of Protection (Ps. 91:1-2)
- The Promises of Protection (Ps. 91:3-16)
- The Practicalities of Protection (Luke 22:36)
Contained within the Prerequisites of Protection we looked at Psalm 91:1-2: “He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God; in Him will I trust.”
From these verses we discovered four very simple words:
- Dwell
- Abide
- Say
- Trust
These four simple words are our responsibility. We must dwell, abide, say and trust as a prerequisite before we can partake of the promises of protection! Remember this: You can’t give to God what He has already given to you. What God has delegated to you, He won’t do for you!
The good news is if we are daily dwelling in His presence, abiding in fellowship with Him, saying the Word of God and trusting in it…the promises contained in verses 3-16 belong to you!
Here the Scripture tells us, “Surely he shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover you with his feathers, and under his wings shall you trust: his truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid for the terror by night; or for the arrow that flies by day; nor for the pestilence that walks in darkness; or for the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes will you behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, your habitation; There shall no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come nigh your dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the dragon shall you trample under feet. Because he has set his love on me, therefore I will deliver him: I will set him on high, because he has known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.”
Let’s take a look at these beautiful verses and break them down a bit:
In verse three it begins with “Surely”…not maybe or possibly. If you dwell, abide, say and trust…this is a sure thing! The Hebrew word for “deliver” denotes “snatch away, defend or rescue.” The word “snare” means “trap” and the word translated “fowler” means a “hunter.”
Therefore, surely He will defend or rescue you from the trap of the hunter! He will also defend or rescue you from “noisome pestilence.” Wow….this certainly applies to us today! The phrase “noisome pestilence” means “cleaving or deadly disease.” It includes epidemics or pandemics and it certainly includes COVID-19!
Join us next month as we continue this series…