Psalm 91 New American Standard Bible
Security of One Who Trusts in the Lord.
91 One who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
3 For it is He who rescues you from the net of the trapper
And from the deadly plague.
4 He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may take refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and wall.
5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the plague that [a]stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that devastates at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And see the retaliation against the wicked.
9 [b]For you have made the Lord, my refuge,
The Most High, your dwelling place.
10 No evil will happen to you,
Nor will any plague come near your [c]tent.
11 For He will give His angels orders concerning you,
To protect you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will lift you up,
So that you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will walk upon the lion and cobra,
You will trample the young lion and the [d]serpent.
14 “Because he has loved Me, I will save him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
15 He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in [e]trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 I will satisfy him with [f]a long life,
And [g]show him My salvation.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Psalm 91 shows that God, “the Almighty,” is not intimidating or frightening.
Instead, God is so gentle and concerned for everyone that they can find refuge in him like hatchlings under the care of a hen.
As God’s people, we can trust the Lord fully because he will surround us, guard us against dangerous threats, and deliver us.
Resting in the shadow of God’s protective wings means that we don’t need to be afraid of chaotic things happening around us.
There is a time for us to walk courageously into situations with God’s help, and there is a time to retreat and be still in his caring presence.
If you ever have the privilege of watching chicks take cover under a hen’s wings, you’ll see that they stay very still and quiet, completely out of view of danger, while the hen is alert, watchful, will do whatever she can to protect her young.
Jesus uses similar imagery when he expresses his deepest desire to gather up the people of Jerusalem and protect them (Luke 13:34).
He is gentle and makes space for His Children near to his Father’s heart.
The Ultimate Father-Son Relationship
John 5:19-23 English Standard Version
The Authority of the Son
19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father [a] does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
God is called by a variety of names throughout the pages of the Bible, each one sheds light on an aspect of His nature – Jesus’ favorite title for Him was Father.
Surprisingly, this name for God is used only 15 times in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament, it’s recorded a stunning 245 times!
Many of God’s names speak of His majestic and lofty attributes that separate Him from mankind, but Father conveys a special measure, degree of intimacy.
Jesus used this name not only because He was God’s Son, but also to help people realize that Jehovah is not some unapproachable Deity gazing down upon them from a distance we cannot even begin to fathom or ever hope to give measure.
Rather, He is their right by their side, their sure covering and loving heavenly Father, who cares about them and wants to be involved in their everyday lives.
Throughout His time of ministry and mission among His Children on earth, God in Christ revealed by example what this kind of love relationship was like.
As our Gospel narrative reveals, He depended completely on His Father for daily direction and power, and provision and obediently carried out every instruction.
Throughout the Gospel narratives reveals, He often left the high demands of ministry and mission just to find a secluded place to be alone with Jehovah.
We know Jesus successfully conveyed the utterly unfathomable riches of this relationship to His disciples, because in John 14:8, Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father”—he desperately wanted to know Him just the way Christ did.
In this season of Thanksgiving – do we long for that kind of intimacy with God?
He wants to relate to you as a Father to His child, and He’s given us the privilege of drawing near to Him – question is – how badly do we want to draw near Father?
In fact, He chose us to draw near to us before the foundation of the world, waits with open arms for us to enter His loving embrace to settle under the pinions of His Wings.
He Will Cover You with His Feathers
The imagery that David uses in this passage gives us believers a great sense of security and hope.
God covering us with his feathers is just like a hen that covers her chicks under her wings to protect them from harm, from the elements, and from predators.
We can nestle in close to him for comfort and safety – God shields us from the threats we face and even the emotional turmoil events of our lives can cause.
The vision of our being Sheltered beneath Christ’s wings serves both for healing and for hiding, for curing and securing us; the devil and his instruments would soon pounce, devour the servants of God, if God did not set His invincible guard about them, cover them with, and beneath the golden feathers of his protection.
Rather than our flying around aimlessly, running around, grounded, wondering how we are going to make it when we face hurt, harm, or are in need of healing, we can instead run straight under the protective cover of God’s glorious wings!
God’s guarding feathers can keep us from walking into situations that would tempt us to stray from what is good in the eyes of God.
It could be blinding us from a potentially toxic relationship.
Sometimes it’s as simple as being a young person that is never invited to the wrong kind of party with their peers, saying grace at the Thanksgiving meal.
It could be much needed infusion, a sense of God-inspired thankfulness, helps us stay positive when the temptation to complain, gossip, or lose hope arises.
God’s Spirit subtly nudges us and sometimes may even alert us in our hearts when we start wandering away from God’s wisdom and towards the pull of sin.
In this season of giving thanks to God, take comfort under the wings of God.
He is there to protect us, shield us, and nurture us with His warm embrace.
When we face sadness, temptation, loss, or any other trial we are not alone.
God, everlasting to everlasting, is there covering us with his powerful feathers.
As much as we will, wont acknowledge, God is our safe place in a very unsafe world.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God, the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 121 The Message
121 1-2 I look up to the mountains;
does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.
3-4 He won’t let you stumble,
your Guardian God won’t fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israel’s
Guardian will never doze or sleep.
5-6 God’s your Guardian,
right at your side to protect you—
Shielding you from sunstroke,
sheltering you from moonstroke.
7-8 God guards you from every evil,
he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave and when you return,
he guards you now, he guards you always.
Lord, help us constantly to stay close to you so that when danger threatens, we will be safe in your care. Gather us in and hold us close. Amen.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 