Chapel April 10th 2018, with Rev. H.B. Charles

grace and peace be multiplied to each of you this morning and the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord what a joy and privilege it is to worship with you this morning and to have this privilege to proclaim to you the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ let me thank dr. Alan and express publicly my affection for him and the work of this school and I praise God for all that he is doing here in through and among you if you would take your copy of God's Word and turn with me to Psalm 91 Psalm 91 let me breathe the word of prayer then I want you to hear the reading of God's Word lord please open our eyes that we may behold wonderful things from your word give us understanding and we will obey your word and keep it with our whole heart in Jesus name Amen Psalm 91 reads he who dwells in the shelter of the most high will abide in the shadow of the Almighty I will say to the Lord my refuge and my fortress my god in whom I trust for he will deliver you from the snare of a Fowler and from the deadly pestilence he will cover you with his opinions and under his wings you will find refuge his faithfulness is a shield and buckler you will not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness nor the destruction that wastes at noonday a thousand may fall at your side ten thousand at your right hand but it will not come near you you will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked because you have made the Lord your dwelling place the Most High who is my refuge no evil shall be allowed to befall you no plague to come near your tent for he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways on their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone you would tread on the line in the adder the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot because he holds fast to me in love I will deliver him I will protect him because he knows my name when he calls to me I will answer him I will be with him in trouble I will rescue him and honor him with long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation amen Psalm 91 is about living in the protective custody of God living in the protective custody of God and the believers Bible commentary William MacDonald begins his comments on Psalm 91 by telling the story of a five year old boy in 1922 who lay dying of diphtheria as his mother stood over him waiting to see her child breathe his last breath there was a knock at the door she answered the door and there was her brother-in-law who arrived to tell her do not worry about the boy he will live in da ville' spare his life he explained that he somehow got this sense of assurance as that morning he was reading Psalm 91 MacDonald will go on to say that he was that dying little boy God in fact did spare his life 13 years later God saved a soul he would go on to be a Bible teacher college president and prolific author but what caught my attention that he labeled his comments on Psalm 91 my psalm he conceded his willingness to share it with others but concluded Psalm 91 was ultimately his song and indeed this is inevitably the sentiment of anyone and everyone who knows what it means to live under the protective custody of Almighty God Psalm 91 is one of the so-called orphan songs we do not know the author of this song the sub-2 agentive scribes it to david others describe it to moses maybe because of its placement next to Psalm 90 but ultimately no one knows we do not know the occasion that prompted the writing of this Psalm and there's really nothing in the psalm itself that points to a specific historical background for that matter even the structure of the psalm is somewhat complex as obviously there are multiple voices speaking in the psalm but for all of that the message of Psalm 91 is absolutely clear the Lord will protect the one who trusts in him Psalm 91 is also a messianic Psalm in Matthew chapter 4 verses five and six Satan himself uses this Psalm in his temptation of Jesus Jesus does not deny this Psalm is about him but he does not bite the bait of Satan to put God to the test ultimately the promises of Psalm 91 are fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ but this Psalm is good news to all who trust in God some 90 is a warning about the reality of death but right next to it here Psalm 91 is a promise of watch care for life Martin Luther called Psalm 91 the most distinguished jewel of all of the Psalms of consolation and so it is we must not approach this Psalm with a sense of religious superstition but what you have here is a statement of unwavering trust care and hope in God what does it mean to live in the protective custody of God the psalmist teaches us that it is a life of confident trust a life of total security and a life of divine assurance first it is a life of confident trust in 1952 a young man named Jim Elliott went to Ecuador to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ January 8th 1956 he was brutally murdered along with his ministerial colleagues 28 years old a young wife a child that was not yet 1 years old in 1958 his wife Elizabeth wrote his memoirs and she named that book the shadow of the Almighty a clear reference to Psalm 91 in fact it also helps clarify the meaning of Psalm 91 Psalm 91 for all of his bold promises does not guarantee immunity from trouble in life or tragedy in death it guarantees it celebrates that is confidence in the faithfulness of all mighty God it does not say to us friends that if you do God's will he will protect you from the bad things in life but it does ensure us that if you do God's will he will protect you as you experience the bad things in life on one hand we see in the opening verse the truth of a life of trust there is this bold declaration of assurance here in verse 1 he who dwells in the shelter of the most high will abide in the shadow of the all-mighty what is this secret place that the psalmist refers to here ultimately the place is not a place it is a person this sovereign bodyguard is described two ways in the text he is first called the Most High God the possessor of heaven and earth God is greater than the kings of the earth and the idols of the nations and then he is also called the Almighty he who alone possesses divine omnipotence power over all creation ultimately the text wants to say right up front that our security has not found in self-defense or sinful people I had deal circumstances or military weapons or material possessions of this world Psalm 90 verse one states it well Lord you have been our dwelling place in all generations this Most High and Almighty God is a shelter to those who trust in him some 27 verse 5 says for he will hide me in the his shelter in the day of trouble he will conceal me under the cover of his tent he will lift me high upon a rock god is a shelter for those who trust in him and verse 1 says God is a shadow for those who trust in him a human shadow produces fear but a divine shadow brings comfort that God is near to help here warn words becoming it's concerning this verse that the safest place in all of the world is a shadow if it is the shadow of the Almighty but know that you must dwell in the shelter of the Most High in order to abide in the shadow of the Almighty in other words God is a home maker not a hotel manager you can't just check in with him on Sunday mornings you must dwell and abide with him day by day protection from God in a real sense is found in communion with God James for innate bottom lines it draw near to God and He will draw near to you and so in verse 1 there is the truth of a life of trust but in verse 2 there is a testimony of the life of trust I will say to the Lord my refuge and my fortress my god in whom I trust there's one thing friends to talk about God it's another thing to be able to talk to God notice the repeated personal pronouns here my refuge my fortress my god this provocative language virtually overthrows the master-servant relationship between the creator and the created God graciously condescends to be the possession of the one that trusts in him if you belong to God he belongs to you and friends the question is never about where God assigns you that's not the issue the issue is wherever God would assign you can you say like the psalmist he is my refuge my fortress my God if that's so the assignment doesn't matter in the fifteenth century there was a plague that hit London and a Christian nobleman Lord Craven decided to ride out the plague in his country estate as his servants packed him up to travel he overheard one servant innocently say to the other that I assume by our masters playing journey that his God is a God of the country and not a guy of the city pricked in his heart crab and then commanded him to unpack his stuff and he stayed in the city declaring that my God is both God in the country and in the city he remained in town and cared for the sick without catching the plague itself this is the spirit of the text that wherever God assigns you the most important thing is that your testimony is that he is my refuge my fortress and my god to live in protective custody there is a life of confident trust but secondly it is a life of total security it is a life of total security versus one in two boldly declares a theme of the psalm the Lord will protect the one who trusts in him but in the next section really verses 3 through 13 this theme is comprehensively explained here we see that a life of confident trust is a life of total security in a real sense friends the one that does God's will and trust in him and abides in him is untouchable I was trying to find a software word than that I don't have one untouchable for two reasons reason number one the Lord is watching over you what does it mean for the Lord to watch over you the psalmist says well first of all it means the god provides perfect protection verse 3 he will deliver you from the snare of the Fowler and from the deadly pestilence the snare of the Fowler is the trap of the hunter it is the scheme the trap the plan of the enemy to hunt one down the deadly pestilence is sickness and disease and plague that was spread throughout the land he says God is able to protect you from both enemies and elements he will cover you verse four with his pinions and under his wings you will find refuge his faithfulness is a shield and buckler the picture here is of a mother bird who allows her babies the chicks to play in the field until she sees a predator approaching or sees storm clouds coming she lifts her wings and the babies flee to the safety of the mother's wings this is our God in Matthew chapter 23 verse 37 Jesus laments all Jerusalem Jerusalem you stoned the prophets and kill those that are sent to you how often would I have gathered you unto myself as a hen does her chicks but you will not let me old friend may it never be said of you that God would but you won't let him trust in him abide in him submit to him and he will be for you a shield and buckler in the time of battle God provides perfect protection and then God provides / perpetual protection Luka verses 5 & 6 you will not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness nor the destruction that wastes at noonday this is pretty bad situation terror arrows pestilence destruction but the psalmist says I am not afraid this is not however personal courage it's stubborn Trust ultimately friends courage is just fear that has said his prayers if if God is your shield and buckler there is nothing to fear I thought I'd have a witness there I'm glad I brought my own just in case Psalm 23 verse 4 David says even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil because I'm not in this valley by myself my shepherd is with me and my shepherd never shows up empty-handed he has his rod in one hand and his staff in his other hand and they comfort me the key to verses five and six is the timing of trouble verse five night or day verse six darkness or noonday it says it doesn't matter when trouble arrives God provides perpetual protection for those who trust in him Psalm 125 121 verses five and six the Lord is your keeper the Lord is your shade at your right hand the Sun will not strike you by day nor the moon by night to trust in God is that to live in the round-the-clock protection under the eternal surveillance of Almighty God God provides perfect protection God provides perpetual protection and God provides prevailing protection he says a thousand may fall at your side ten thousand at your right hand but it will not come near you this may be a great battle it may be a severe plague it may be a raging storm and a thousand died ten thousand at your right hand but but God knows how to protect you verse eight you will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked in Exodus chapter 14 verse 13 Moses says to the children of Israel be still and see the salvation of the Lord that he will work for you today for these Egyptians that you see in front of you today you won't see them again you won't have to fight just be still and see the recompense of the wicked this is such an encouraging verse if you trust God you you don't have to worry about fighting your own battles he knows how to take care of you this recompense of the wicked is a key phrase I think it is a key to understanding Psalm 91 recompense of the wicked reminds us that ultimately we do not merely need protection from bad circumstances we need protection from divine judgment our biggest problem is that God is a righteous God who judges the wicked aren't you glad Ephesians chapter 2 verses 4 & 5 declares but God who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in trespasses made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved as you trust in God you have the assurance that the Almighty is watching over you that's enough but it's not all he goes on to say that angels aren't watching over you verse 9 because you have made the Lord your dwelling place the Most High who is my refuge no evil shall be allowed to before you know plague come near your tent here with language from earlier verses the psalmist repeats this theme the Lord will protect the one who watches over him but the repeated theme does not diminish the magnitude of the message in any way one commentator noted well here at this past part of the passage that love loves to repeat itself true love like a songbird really only has two or three notes that he joyfully things over and over again all day long here the psalmist in the middle of the psalm reaffirms his message that the Lord watches over the ones who trust in him but then he would add for us that the Lord's angels are also watching over us for he will verse 11 command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways on their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against the stone there those who teach that every believer has a personal guardian angel to watch over him or her so I'm ninety one is appealed to as proof text for that but here in these verses the psalmist does not say you have a personal angel watching over you he says God has assigned his armies of angels to watch over you and I mentioned earlier this is a messianic Psalm there points to the Lord Jesus Christ Psalm 91 is unique in that it is the only passage in scripture that Satan directly quotes or miss quotes in the temptation of Jesus in Matthew four verses five and six he quotes from Psalm 91 tempting Jesus to jumped from the pinnacle of the temple promising that the angels will guard you lest you bare your foot against the stone Jesus does not bite the bait and responds with words from Deuteronomy 6 verse 16 get behind me Satan it is written you shall not put the Lord your God to the test that encountered between Christ and Satan is an important lesson it reminds us that God honors trusting obedience not sinful presumption beware if you jump out there on your own you may end up out there on your own but if you are in his will if you are obeying what he commands he will watch over you his angels will watch over you first well you will tread on the lion and the adder the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot lion pictures violence serpent pictures crustiness be it open danger or hidden danger if you walk in God's will he will take care of you as a pastor this verse here convicts me because there are times when I am preoccupied with where the lion and the serpent may be and this text reminds me that's just not your business your business is to make sure you are on the path that God has assigned and if you are doing God's will God knows how to take care of the lion guard knows how to take care of the adder god knows how to take care of the serpent there is a real sense that the servant of God is indestructible until you have accomplished dolts will and so to live under the protective custody of God is a life of confident trust a life of total security but finally and quickly it is a life of divine assurance in verses 14 through 16 there is another speaker in the psalm God speaks in these closing verses that's the way it ought to be that's the way it is God always has the last word here God does not speak so much to the one that trusts in him but about the one who trusts in him it is an open statement of divine assurance rooted in the mutual devotion of the Lord and the believer to one another considering went him the believers devotion to the Lord verses 14 through 16 is filled with promises but these are not blanket promises these promises are given to those who specifically qualify and their qualification is described three ways in verses 14 and 15 first it is to those who hold fast to me in love this is a strong term for passion and devotion and zeal it is in a sense the difference between love and being in love and this love is not so much about what you say it is about what you do the one who loves God will hold fast to him and refuse to let him go no matter what and this is the one to whom God gives his assurance romans 8:28 and we know that for those who love God all things work together for good to those who are the called according to his purpose you must love God and then the bottom of verse 15 says you also must know his name his name refers to his character and his nature and his authority the name of God represents God himself too hard to live with this sense of assurance you must know his name listen to these next two sentences God does not fulfill his promises for those who know his promises God fulfills his promises to those who know his name it is to be able to speak of God again in the intimate terms of verse two my refuge my fortress my god then verse 15 gives the third condition he calls to me friend how much I want to suggest you can hold fast to him in love and you can know his name and live without assurance if you don't call on him too many professing believers live like functioning atheists we try to handle life in our own wisdom resources and strength until it gets out of hand and we don't experience the power of God in our lives James explains it very bluntly you do not have because you do not ask but you must call upon his name and he will answer prayer there is the believers devotion to the Lord but more importantly as I close there is the Lord's devotion to the believer in verse 3 4 and 11 the faithfulness of God is affirmed here by the psalmist saying he will but in verses 14 through 16 God speaks for himself and says I will because he holds fast to me and love I will deliver him I will protect him because he knows my name when he calls to me I will answer him I will be with him in trouble I will rescue him and honor him with long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation verses 14 and 15 are clearly verifiable God will deliver protect answer be with you rescue and honor what about verse 16 long life I will satisfy him trusting God is not a guarantee to long life Jesus lived 33 years forget the promise of God stands but so much here what we have here is not so much a promise about the length of life but the nature of life this is a promise about the satisfying joy of God with long life I will satisfy him I think it just simply means what it says in the next phrase I will show him my salvation this is the satisfying joy of God if I may again warn words B says it is one thing for a doctor to add days to your life but only God can add life to your days and make life meaningful I will satisfy him and show him my salvation man took his first flight he was quite nervous but was playing it cool he did well through the takeoff but began to relax until they hit turbulence and he lost all his cool but he was embarrassed when he looked beside him and saw that the little boy next to him is cool calm and collected in the midst of it all he can't resist yes young man how can you sit so calmly with the plane shaking like this without hesitation the boy looked up at him and said mister my daddy is the pilot he knows I'm on board and he's not gonna let anything happen to his son in a greater deeper higher way friend I have good news for you today is there turbulence in your life is there turbulence in your ministry I have good news for you your Father in Heaven is the pilot and the captain of this world he knows where you are and he will take care of you I trust in God wherever I may be on the land on the raging sea for come what may from day to day my heavenly father watches over me he makes the rules the object of his care guys the eagle through the pathless air surely he will remember me my heavenly father watches over me father thank you for your word thank you for the promises of your faithfulness your goodness and your care that are ours and only ours because of the righteous person and atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ whose blood and righteousness opens for us a new and living way to you and I pray for my friends under the sound of my voice wherever they are in their walk faith the care of their family and the work of the ministry and the study of their training may they trust Lord that wherever you assign them you will take care of them you're faithful to do it we give you glory for it in Jesus name Amen

Channel: Midwestern Seminary

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Length: 35min 8sec (2108 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 10 2018