I remember during the first year or two of the pandemic, driving around... I would see signs in the windows of homes or maybe on a stake out in the front yard for all to see ...and all that was printed on it was “Psalm 91”. 

Those were some interesting times, were they not?

I’m quite familiar with that Psalm, as I’m sure many of you are, and it was verse 10 that came to mind that I’m pretty sure folks were referring to as they wanted to publicly declare their faith in the promise that reads: “...neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.”

It reminded me of the OT story where the Israelites smeared lamb’s blood over their doorposts on the night of the first Passover when the “destroying angel’ came and struck all the firstborn in Egypt. (Ex. 12:23) There is one small detail recorded there in verse 22 that I think many fail to ‘see’, and that is the part that says “And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning.” That sounds like a ‘condition’ to be met, to me at least, if the people wanted to be assured of God’s promise of protection, does it not to you?

God was basically saying...judgement is coming over all the land of Egypt, ( a type of the world) and unless you are ‘in the house’ ... that is marked by the blood of the lamb, then death is coming. And what does God’s word make no attempt to disguise when it comes to the ‘soul that sins’? (Ezek. 18:20; Rom. 6:23; John 5:14). When did God change?

Would you care to take a guess as to what might have befallen any of those enslaved Israelites on that night... had they ventured out of their homes to see what was going on? Do you think it would have mattered if they still had blood smeared on their hands after applying it to the doorposts of their homes? Or how about if they sang quietly to themselves how there is ‘wonder working power in the blood of the lamb’ as they trolled the streets? I thing God’s instructions were very clear...you better ‘shelter in place’. So let's take a closer look at this beloved Psalm 91, which is titled in my Bible: “Safety of abiding in the presence of God”.

If you are comfortable with marking in your personal Bible, you might underline, or highlight, these words and phrases found in verses 1,2, & 4...’dwells in secret place’, ‘abide under shadow’, ‘my refuge’, ‘my fortress’, ‘cover you’, ‘under His wings’, ‘take refuge’, ‘shield and buckler’.

We ‘Christians’ can be rather masterful in quoting and claiming God’s many promises; but where we fall short oftentimes is acknowledging, let alone doing or acting upon... the ‘conditions’ that are attached to those promises. And what condition does James suggest we will experience if we are just a ‘hearer of the word, and not a doer’? (James 1:22)

No doubt, there are some very impressive promises woven through this beloved Psalm 91, promises of divine protection no doubt; and who in their right mind is opposed to asking for and needing God’s protection, especially in times of uncertainty and danger?

But can we take a moment and focus on what seems to be a very constant theme laid out in the opening verses there? Do you not clearly see the need to ‘remain and/or abide’ close to God’s presence? I mean, just the idea of staying under one’s ‘shadow’ implies the need to be close to them and if you drift or find yourself separated from the person shielding you from the sunlight, it won’t take long to be out from under that ‘shadow’.

It sounds like this all points back to the message of ‘abiding in Jesus’ that we visit frequently here in these daily messages. Jesus gave a very insightful lesson on the importance of ‘abiding in Him’ in John 15:1-8. John would later expound on just what those who are truly abiding...do, and don’t do, if you care to visit these verses again: 1 John 2:3-6 and 3:6.

Oh, and all those other words mentioned here, about a refuge and fortress and shield, etc., aren’t those used to ‘protect’ you from something, be it storms or dangerous weather or some kind of weapon that is hurling spears or bullets at you? What exactly is it that we are needing to be protected from, or ‘saved’ from? For all this talk about people ‘getting saved’ ...what are they being ‘saved’ from? And even more importantly...how does one ‘stay saved’...from whatever it is they are needing ‘protection’ from?

Join me tomorrow?