Daily Meditations

Psalm 91:9-10 Make the Most High your dwelling These two verses form one sentence and I’m not sure why they have been divided! We have already relished the undeniable fact that the Lord will cover us with His feathers and that we will find shelter under His wings. He is our refuge and our fortress, and we need not fear the enemy’s arrows or the terrors of the night. The Psalm promises that as the wicked meet their end and fall around us, the Lord will keep us and guard us from all danger. Verses 9-10 seem to summarise the theme of the Psalm thus far but with a couple of important little twists. Firstly, we must make the Lord our refuge and speak it out! It’s no good hoping He might guard us, He literally asks that we enter into His fortress and pull up the drawbridge and rest safely beneath His protective wings. This takes faith, for it is one thing to say that you believe He will protect you and another to throw yourself literally on His mercy. It requires that we let go, that we walk...

Psalm 91:8 Enough is enough! This verse is worthy of a moment’s pause. There are many today who preach and teach that the world is on the brink of disaster, even the ungodly predict that we cannot continue to live in this way. The human race is battling against “climate change”, natural disasters and world-wide plagues. Our economic strategy is on the brink of collapse, all the wealthy countries have borrowed far too much on the premise that their economies will continue to grow. Meanwhile, at least 9 nations have stockpiled nuclear weapons that are capable of destroying our planet, and no one knows the full extent of the chemical and biological weaponry that has been produced. The “ruler of this world” thinks that he is getting close to its final destruction although Psalm 2 reminds us that the Lord God scoffs at the kings and rulers that have banded themselves together against the Lord.  Hand in hand with the terrifying scenarios that are being predicted goes a world that is in d...

Psalm 91:7 It will not come near you Do you remember the chant of the people of Israel about a young man called David, after he had killed the Philistine giant, Goliath? It struck fear into the heart of the reigning King Saul.  “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”  There were certain Jewish writing conventions that meant that if you wanted to make a point, then one number was exaggerated by using another; so to emphasize the exploits of David, his ten thousands were compared to Saul’s one thousand. At that point David had not yet been involved in military action; he had not killed thousands of men!  In the same way, we will not be held responsible for thousands of deaths, at our side or at our right hand! But when the plagues and pestilences come and our enemy, the Satan, attacks, then we are promised protection. The devastation on all sides may be great, but we will be guarded and safe in the refuge and fortress that is our God. Scripture ofte...

Psalm 91:5-6 You will not fear This verse lists the kind of threats that ancient people faced, especially when they were confronting the terrors of enemy armies, amassed on the border or infiltrating their land. These threats could loom over them at any time, day and night, and of course there was great fear amongst those who were in the way of any invading forces. I’m thinking right now of the citizens of some of the cities of the Ukraine who have laid in their cellars at night and heard the dull thuds or ground shaking explosions of Russian missiles landing nearby. For the people of Israel, especially the men who must fight, enemy arrows were also something to be feared, not so fast as a bullet maybe, but you still needed to get out of the way or you would be seriously injured or killed. There were many side-effects, and after-effects, of war in ancient times. Famine, food and water could easily be contaminated and for those who were fighting, there was little respite from the burnin...

Psalm 91:4 Under His wings What a beautiful verse! The previous one has a fowler out on his business trapping wild birds. Here, by contrast, we have a large bird using its feathers to protect its young and covering them with the mighty span of its wings. For a visual analogy check out a mother swan with her young or watch a Videocam of an Osprey or Bird of Prey guarding young chicks. These larger birds completely cover the young beneath them; smaller mother birds do the same although they are often hidden away from prying eyes. We need to keep in mind here the enormity of our God and be aware that when His wings are outstretched, they can embrace the whole world. Sadly, there are many who defy His power and His protection and ridiculously prefer their own. Even worse are the godless who build massive armies and navies and air defences that threaten the security of millions because they have rejected the protection of the Creator God.  As we noted in verse 1, there is another way we...

Psalm 91:3 The fowler's snare A fowler is a bird trapper who uses snares to capture wild birds for food or to remove them as pests. This used to be an honest occupation especially for trapping game, ducks, geese and other edible sources like pigeons.  The fowler is still about his business, I’m not taking about bird catchers but about the Satan. As fowler’s methods have changed over the centuries, so has our enemy’s tactics. His greatest weapons today are deceit, the internet, entrapment through images and false teaching. He uses the beguiling attractions of the world to distract us from the walk of faith. He is still the wily serpent who awaits and attacks with a poisonous  “Did God really say?”  Fowlers work quietly and secretly, they cover their trails and do not leave their traps in the open and the greatest tests for us all are the secret ones. Additionally, good fowlers know how to adapt their methods for the different kinds of prey and our enemy is very good at thi...

Psalm 91:2 He is my fortress How can the Lord be our refuge if we cannot see Him and He is not a physical presence? In 2 Samuel 22:2-3 David uses a collection of words to describe the Lord God that are all metaphors for Him; “ The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my saviour.”  These words obviously describe the ways in which David had experienced the protection, love, care and guidance of the Lord. Instead of physical locations and constructions, he finds that in depending on the Lord God He is able to find equivalent support and help, when he needs it. So, when we are afraid and powerless and being pursued by our enemies, we need somewhere to hide up. The Lord says, “Come to me. I will hide you and protect you and keep you safe.” When we are embattled and surrounded by fearsome forces, the Lord says, “Come to me, take cover in my battlements and you will be safe. Re...