20 February 2011
Psalm 91:5
You will not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day.
I love the fact that this verse directly addresses the night. The night season can be a time of intense spiritual activity. If the children are sick, they always seem worse at night. If you are going through a hard time, your mind seems to be a minefield, particularly at night. I remember one of our children having an ear infection and he cried all night long. The problem was the next day he was fine and we were wrecked.
What is it about the night? The simplest answer is ‘darkness’. The enemy works in the dark. The adversary is scheming, plotting and seeking whom he may devour and a ‘sudden alarming attack’ is what will best bring about his desired results. It is interesting that in our days we have terrorist attacks on innocent people. These are planned so that they bring about fear and destruction. It is the same with the enemy - he wants to bring about a sudden surprise attack so that fear will grip our being.
When would we be most vulnerable? When we are resting, sleeping. But this psalm says we don’t have to fear the terror of the night – that we have protection from the scary dreams and visitations in the night. You see our Lord never slumbers nor sleeps – he is always watching over you to keep you from all evil. You are covered with the blood of Jesus Christ. Interestingly before the children of Israel left Egypt the angel of death struck down the first-born sons of the Egyptians but the Israelites were safe if they applied the blood of a lamb on the doorposts. The destruction or the terror of that night could not harm them so they had nothing to fear. And so it is with us as we apprehend the blood of Jesus for our household and ourselves we will not fear the terror of the night.
The arrow that flies by day speaks into that which ‘pierces’. The arrows that pierce our hearts the most are the words that are spoken to or over us. The old saying of “sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me” was most likely made up by someone who encountered the piercing of words. Words do hurt! They have the ability to touch the heart and soul in a way that could plague a person for life. Your words have the power to bring life or death.
Why do they fly by day? Because that is when you are most likely to encounter people! Regardless, we will not fear for in Christ we have the freedom to forgive and break the power of piercing words. They may be flying at us but they cannot poison us, therefore we will not fear.
I love the fact that this verse directly addresses the night. The night season can be a time of intense spiritual activity. If the children are sick, they always seem worse at night. If you are going through a hard time, your mind seems to be a minefield, particularly at night. I remember one of our children having an ear infection and he cried all night long. The problem was the next day he was fine and we were wrecked.
What is it about the night? The simplest answer is ‘darkness’. The enemy works in the dark. The adversary is scheming, plotting and seeking whom he may devour and a ‘sudden alarming attack’ is what will best bring about his desired results. It is interesting that in our days we have terrorist attacks on innocent people. These are planned so that they bring about fear and destruction. It is the same with the enemy - he wants to bring about a sudden surprise attack so that fear will grip our being.
When would we be most vulnerable? When we are resting, sleeping. But this psalm says we don’t have to fear the terror of the night – that we have protection from the scary dreams and visitations in the night. You see our Lord never slumbers nor sleeps – he is always watching over you to keep you from all evil. You are covered with the blood of Jesus Christ. Interestingly before the children of Israel left Egypt the angel of death struck down the first-born sons of the Egyptians but the Israelites were safe if they applied the blood of a lamb on the doorposts. The destruction or the terror of that night could not harm them so they had nothing to fear. And so it is with us as we apprehend the blood of Jesus for our household and ourselves we will not fear the terror of the night.
The arrow that flies by day speaks into that which ‘pierces’. The arrows that pierce our hearts the most are the words that are spoken to or over us. The old saying of “sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me” was most likely made up by someone who encountered the piercing of words. Words do hurt! They have the ability to touch the heart and soul in a way that could plague a person for life. Your words have the power to bring life or death.
Why do they fly by day? Because that is when you are most likely to encounter people! Regardless, we will not fear for in Christ we have the freedom to forgive and break the power of piercing words. They may be flying at us but they cannot poison us, therefore we will not fear.
Psalm 91:4
21/02/11 13:25 Filed in: Bible Teaching | Psalms
He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
What a place of warmth and stillness can be found under the shelter of a wing! Wings are incredible in that they can expand to be inclusive and keep a bird dry in the midst of a storm. I love the saying: “It rolls off him like water off a duck’s back”.
When we stay under the cover or protection of the Lord our troubles will hit His feathers first and roll off. He has provided a place of security, a safe place under His wing, a place where He pulls us in close to His heart.
The rest of the verse speaks of His faithfulness. God is faithful – faithful to do what He said He would do. His faithfulness never changes; He is the same yesterday, today and forever. You can rest in the fact that he is the same loving God that apprehended your life invading it with His kingdom. In fact it says in II Timothy 2:13 that even when we are faithless He remains faithful. That faithfulness is a sure foundation to shield you and keeps you.
Not only is a shield used for protection to ward of arrows or swords from penetrating the holder, a shield also is embossed with the family crest or the coat of arms of the Kingdom. God’s faithfulness is like having the Queens royal signature applied to you. In England, when Her Majesty’s crest is found on a product, it means she uses it or endorses it. And so it is with you. The king has His shield around about you because you have His stamp of approval.
Lastly because of His faithfulness to you, you can run into Him and He will keep you. He will be the ‘Keep’ around you. The rampart or keep was a place of defence in a castle, a place for people to retreat to and be safe in a time of battle. This is the place we run to in our battles. When it looks like the enemy is getting the upper hand and things feel like the arrows are flying over the castle wall, run to your rampart – His faithfulness. That will be your protection, your anchor in the storm. Remember, even when we are faithless, He is still faithful. He never changes: He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
What a place of warmth and stillness can be found under the shelter of a wing! Wings are incredible in that they can expand to be inclusive and keep a bird dry in the midst of a storm. I love the saying: “It rolls off him like water off a duck’s back”.
When we stay under the cover or protection of the Lord our troubles will hit His feathers first and roll off. He has provided a place of security, a safe place under His wing, a place where He pulls us in close to His heart.
The rest of the verse speaks of His faithfulness. God is faithful – faithful to do what He said He would do. His faithfulness never changes; He is the same yesterday, today and forever. You can rest in the fact that he is the same loving God that apprehended your life invading it with His kingdom. In fact it says in II Timothy 2:13 that even when we are faithless He remains faithful. That faithfulness is a sure foundation to shield you and keeps you.
Not only is a shield used for protection to ward of arrows or swords from penetrating the holder, a shield also is embossed with the family crest or the coat of arms of the Kingdom. God’s faithfulness is like having the Queens royal signature applied to you. In England, when Her Majesty’s crest is found on a product, it means she uses it or endorses it. And so it is with you. The king has His shield around about you because you have His stamp of approval.
Lastly because of His faithfulness to you, you can run into Him and He will keep you. He will be the ‘Keep’ around you. The rampart or keep was a place of defence in a castle, a place for people to retreat to and be safe in a time of battle. This is the place we run to in our battles. When it looks like the enemy is getting the upper hand and things feel like the arrows are flying over the castle wall, run to your rampart – His faithfulness. That will be your protection, your anchor in the storm. Remember, even when we are faithless, He is still faithful. He never changes: He is the same yesterday, today and forever.