The Soldier’s Psalm
Psalms 91
December 13, 2020
As you note by the title, Psalms 91 has often been referred to as
“The Soldier’s Psalm”
There is a disputed story that has floated around that in the WWII the 91st brigade adopted this Psalm and every one of them survived the war.
As I said, that story is disputed, but of course in our day, what story isn’t?
The Psalm has been adopted by military men throughout the years
As a very fitting prayer for men about to face battle.
The author is not mentioned, Jewish tradition typically holds that if a Psalm has no author listed then it is attributed to the previous Psalm.
Many, therefore, think the author of this Psalm is Moses.
Apparently there is even some sentence structure and grammatical evidence to back that up when you compare Psalms 90 & 91 together.
Now, obviously, no one can be dogmatic,
But if that is the case then what we have here is a Psalm
Wherein Moses is preparing Joshua for the conquest.
That would make it literally THE SOLDIER’S PSALM
That is even more fitting if you remember what the scouting intel revealed
When the children of Israel scouted this land 40 years ago.
Numbers 13:32-33 “So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. “There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
Many years later, Joshua would now lead this young army into the Promised Land to face the enemy that terrified their parents.
No doubt they would all need a little encouragement.
This Psalm also presents itself as timely encouragement for us
Who live in an ever changing world with ever growing hostilities.
NO ONE KNOWS WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS.
This Psalm encourages you however that the dangers of tomorrow
Are irrelevant if you trust in God.
Honestly, this Psalm preaches itself.
It drips with encouragement from top to bottom.
I will, just give you a few indicators to pick up on as we read it together
To perhaps help you catch the feel and the flow of the writer.
When you read the Psalm it becomes quickly obvious that the Psalm changes POINTS OF VIEW a couple of times.
• Verses 1-2 are written in the 1ST PERSON as the Psalmist talks about himself
and his own personal commitment and confession.
• Verses 3-13 move to the 2ND PERSON where the Psalmist talks to “you”
(perhaps it is Moses talking to Joshua)
• Verses 14-16 move to the 3RD PERSON where we have God now talking
about “him” (perhaps God’s answer to Moses encouragement)
Seeing those points of view helps us understand the mood of the Psalm.
THE WRITER IS NOT THE ONE IN DANGER,
Or at least not the one who is shaken by it.
The Psalmist is writing from experience.
• The encouragement he is giving here is tested and true.
• While it is certainly theological, more than that, it is testimonial.
It brings to my mind the book of 2 Timothy
• Where Paul, the faithful servant, is now passing the mantel to Timothy
• And promising him that God is faithful to care for him in this difficult and
dangerous ministry.
2 Timothy 1:12 “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”
2 Timothy 3:10-11 “Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!”
2 Timothy 4:16-18 “At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Paul isn’t encouraging himself in that letter.
He’s writing to Timothy to let him know that God is faithful,
And can be trusted, and should be trusted.
That is the feel of this Psalm.
We have a man who has proven God writing to a man who is about to.
Let’s work our way through it together.
3 points.
#1 THE CERTAINTY OF GOD’S PROTECTION
Psalms 91:1-8
We begin here with the 1st PERSON account.
It is the testimony of the writer.
It is THEOLOGICAL.
(1) “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”
• It’s not theoretical
• It’s not wishful thinking
• It is theological fact
If you choose to rest yourself under the Mighty Hand of God,
Then you will find yourself resting under
The shade of God’s powerful protection.
There is a New Testament equivalent to this statement.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
I always like the “Bicycle Built For Two” analogy.
• Christ will do all the peddling, but He gets to sit in front, and He gets to steer.
• But the effect for you is rest.
• You get the easy yoke, He takes the hard one.
• You get the light burden, He takes the heavy one.
That is the same thing the Psalmist says here.
If you will in effect surrender yourself to the authority of God and come under His shelter, you will find yourself resting in His shade.
Incidentally, I love the analogy of shade.
Anyone who has lived in very many Texas summers understands the analogy of shade.
We have various forms of shade in Texas, and while they are all favorable to direct heat, they aren’t all the same.
• We have manufactured shade, like hats or carports or canopies.
• We have grown shade, like trees that we can get under.
• But the best shade by far has always been a cloud.
• Nothing will cool you off faster than when a cloud comes over.
And if Moses was indeed writing this Psalm what an image he just projected to Joshua as Israel was living under God’s glory cloud by day.
There is shade and shelter for those who dwell under God’s roof.
Implied there is certainly submission as we even make statements like,
“If you’re gonna live under my roof, then you’re gonna obey my rules.”
We also like the word “abide”
• Especially from the New Testament as it brings to our mind the call of Jesus to
“abide in Me” as in His vine and the branches analogy.
Jesus there used a word that meant “remain”.
“Stick with Me.”
The word here means to “lodge”
Come under the protection of God’s roof
Where you are safe from the elements and safe from dangers,
Put your mind at ease and rest.
The idea is of resting here forever.
And because it is worth it the author of the Psalm says
This is a decision that he himself has made.
(2) “I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, My God in whom I trust!”
I almost wonder here if the idea isn’t MORE OF ADVICE THAN TESTIMONY
As if the Psalmist is saying, “I would say if I were you” or even “I have said”.
But I’m not skilled enough in Hebrew grammar to make that distinction
So we’ll stick with the translation here and see that the Psalmist
Is giving his own personal affirmation to the theology.
I personally am submitting to God and abiding in Him.
And then the Psalmist goes into full blown encouragement.
• He moves to the 2nd PERSON
• Where he is now encouraging his brother to do the same,
• And he lays out the benefits.
(3-4) “For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.”
Verse 3 speaks of 2 dangers.
• “the snare of the trapper” – we might view that as temptation.
• “the deadly pestilence” – we might view that as the effect of temptation.
Satan is a tempter referred to as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
Satan is also a liar and murderer who seeks only to steal, kill, and destroy.
POINT being here that there is an enemy.
And if you abide in the house of God, you are safe from him.
“He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.”
And we of course remember Jesus:
Matthew 23:37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.”
I have read numerous stories of this type of protection.
The most recent told a story of a grass fire that had burned hundreds of acres.
After the fire went through someone found a chicken roasted to a crisp from the fire.
But when they moved the hen, they found still alive under her wings, her chicks.
That is certainly the imagery.
There is protection from PHYSICAL DANGER.
There is protection from SPIRITUAL DANGER.
But listen, there is even protection from ETERNAL DANGER here.
When Jesus offered to gather Israel under His wings,
He wasn’t just offering to protect them from Satan,
But also from the wrath of God.
Consider this passage:
1 Peter 3:18-21 “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you — not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience — through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,”
• Peter there speaks of how Christ died and descended into Hades and made
proclamation to spirits now in prison.
• But Peter jumps from there into the days of Noah and how Noah and his
family were brought safely through the flood waters.
And then Peter makes this statement.
“Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you – not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience – through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
Here we find that Christ descended into Hades,
But that He also emerged up from the grave.
And all those who are in Him
(that is baptized into Him, not by water, but by repentance and faith
or an appeal to God for a good conscience)
Are therefore in Him carried through the judgement as well.
Peter compares Jesus to Noah’s ark.
• If we are in Him, then in Him we are crucified, buried, and raised.
• Christ is the ark that carries us through the judgment.
In Him we survive the danger.
Do you see that same analogy when Jesus was offering to gather Israel under His wings?
• He was offering to safely carry them through the danger.
The Psalmist here says that God does that for those who abide in Him.
Psalms 36:7 “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.”
There is real protection here.
• Protection from Temptation
• Protection from Death
• Protection from Judgment
Because of this protection, there is a BLESSED REALITY for you to enjoy.
(5-8) “You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked.”
The first and most immediate effect of such protection
IS THE TOTAL ABSENCE OF FEAR.
“You will not be afraid…”
It speaks of a person who is well secured in their house.
• They are sleeping in a bunker.
• Nothing and no one can get to them.
• Not “the terror by night”
• Not “the arrow that flies by day”
• Not “the pestilence that stalks in darkness”
• Not “the destruction that lays waste at noon”
We don’t know much of night terror here in America,
Where you go to bed and wonder if someone will invade your home
And attack in your sleep.
We know it’s a possibility,
But people typically trust their dead bolt or their security system.
BUT IMAGINE A SOLDIER.
I’ve told you of those WWII documentaries, and the men who had it (in my estimation) the hardest where the men in the Pacific.
• They would invade an island and move inland and then nightfall would come.
• One younger marine who was paired with an experienced one shared the story how the experienced marine told him to be very quiet, and if jumped by a Japanese soldier in the night, not to use his gun, but only his knife.
• They couldn’t afford to give the Japanese their position with a gun shot.
• And they would tell stories how the Japanese would try to incite the marines into making noise by yelling things like, “Babe Ruth is dead” or “We destroyed the Statue of Liberty” or “Bob Hope is a liar”
The point being, those men shook in fear all night long
That a Japanese soldier might drop into their fox hole at any moment.
• That is what you call “terror by night”
Then of course you wake up the next morning
• And face the actual gun fire and mortar blasts of the Japanese army
• That is “the arrow that flies by day”
Of course also on your mind is the fact that death can come at any moment out of nowhere.
• All of a sudden it is upon you,
• That is “the pestilence that stalks in darkness”
Ultimately you realize that death is a real possibility,
• That is “the destruction that lays waste at noon.”
All of those things are legitimately terrifying things
And yet if you abide in the shadow of the Almighty
“You will not be afraid”
Because if you abide in God, you are sleeping in
The most well-fortified bunker the world could ever imagine.
He goes on to say, (7) “A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you.”
We are speaking of one who is absolutely untouchable by the enemy.
Now, certainly we are aware that if taken too literally
And applied to every circumstance than we have a problem.
After all:
Romans 8:35-36 “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.”
Luke 21:12-13 “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. “It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.”
Certainly God’s people have died.
Certainly God’s people have been persecuted.
It is better to understand this more accurately as the reality that
No one can touch you without the Lord’s divine permission.
But in that case we are guarded with the promise that
Whatever the Lord allows must end in our good.
But you understand the protection here.
This is the hedge God had placed around Job
So that Satan could not get him.
Remember that?
I wonder if you notice.
Job 1:8-10 “The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” Then Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing? “Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.”
God asked Satan if he had considered Job.
Did you catch Satan’s answer?
• “Have You not made a hedge about him…
• …and his house…
• …and all that he has…
• …on every side..?”
Had Satan considered Job?
YES, EXTENSIVELY.
Satan had looked at every possible option for getting at Job,
But Job had been protected.
And so are those who abide in God.
• Nothing and no one can touch them apart from God’s sovereign will.
• They are safe.
They need not fear evil, all they need do is ANTICIPATE VICTORY.
(8) “You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.”
• You will not lose
• You will not be destroyed
• You will win
• You are protected.
1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
So you hear the Psalmist’s encouragement to
Dwell “in the shelter of the Most High”
Because of the Certainty of God’s Protection.
#2 THE COMPETENCE OF GOD’S PLATOON
Psalms 91:9-13
The Psalmist begins this segment with a promise.
“For” there can also be rendered “Because” and I find that more fitting.
“[Because] you have made the LORD, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent.”
I would share here a story from Spurgeon’s commentary.
• I have read many of Spurgeon’s notes on many of his Psalms and this is the first time I have ever heard him give such a story.
He writes:
“Before expounding these verses I cannot refrain from recording a person incident illustrating their power to soothe the heart, when they are applied by the Holy Spirit. In the year 1854, when I had scarcely been in London twelve months the neighbourhood in which I labored was visited by Asiatic cholera, and my congregation suffered from its inroads. Family after family summoned me to the bedside of the smitten, and almost every day I was called to visit the grave. I gave myself up with youthful ardour to the visitation of the sick, and was sent for from all corners of the district by persons of all ranks and religions. I became weary in body and sick at heart. My friends seemed falling one by one, and I felt or fancied that I was sickening like those around me. A little more work and weeping would have laid me low among the rest; I felt that my burden was heavier than I could bear, and I was ready to sink under it. As God would have it, I was returning mournfully home from a funeral, when my curiosity led me to read a paper which was wafered up in a shoemakers’ window in the Dover Road. I did not look like a trade announcement, nor was it, for it bore in a good bold hand-writing these words: – “Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” The effect upon my heart was immediate. Faith appropriated the passage as her own. I felt secure, refreshed, girt with immortality. I went on with my visitation of the dying in a calm and peaceful spirit; I felt no fear of evil, and I suffered no harm. The providence which moved the tradesman to place those verses in his window I gratefully acknowledge, and in the remembrance of its marvelous power I adore the Lord my God.”
(Spurgeon, C.H. [The Treasure Of David; Volume Two; Hendrickson Publishers; Peabody, MA] pg. 92)
Spurgeon speaks of the release from fear
And the absolute invisible security he found on that day
Through these words.
Well, more than just speak those words,
The Psalmist actually gives the reasoning for trusting them.
We certainly already learned of the certainty of God’s protection,
But the Psalmist wants you to see more of it.
He unlocks for you the doorway of heaven
• And allows you to momentarily take a look into the spiritual realm
• Where you are invited to gaze upon the forces that work tirelessly to protect
you.
(11-13) “For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.”
The Psalmist calls attention to
What is most certainly with you this very moment,
But which you cannot see.
They are part of that “hedge” that surrounded Job.
IT IS THE ANGELIC HOST; THE ARMIES OF GOD.
Let me ask you,
• If you were in danger and someone sent the Navy Seals to your home for protection, would you feel safe?
• What if they dispatched to you the secret service, would that do it?
Well you’ve got something better than them,
YOU HAVE THE ANGELS OF GOD.
And God has sent them on behalf of the elect.
Hebrews 1:14 “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?”
They are sent to work on behalf of those whom God has chosen to save.
Psalms 34:7 “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.”
We remember the prayer of Elisha who had a fearful servant:
2 Kings 6:17 “Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
We remember the warning of Jesus to those who would cause a little one to stumble into sin.
Matthew 18:10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.”
And we remember how angels ministered to our Lord both during His temptation in the wilderness and during His temptation in the garden.
They are present.
And they war on your behalf.
The Psalmist promised his brother that:
“He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways.”
They are there to protect.
Even to keep you from stumping your toe if it so pleases the LORD.
(12) “They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone.”
Ultimately they work to help you secure your victory.
(13) “You will tread upon the lion and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.”
I don’t think it’s coincidental that
Satan is compared to both a lion and a serpent.
The point is, your protection that you enjoy may be invisible,
But that does not mean it is incompetent.
They are there, warring on your behalf, protecting and ensuring victory.
Now, certainly, again that DOES NOT MEAN that
No believer will ever be injured or die.
We understand that God does allow it, but the greater promise is that
There is no permanent danger or destruction for the child of God.
Spurgeon would go on to write:
“It is impossible that any ill should happen to the man who is beloved of the Lord; the most crushing calamities can only shorten his journey and hasten him to his reward. Ill to him is no ill, but only good in a mysterious form. Losses enrich him, sickness is his medicine, reproach is his honour, death is his gain. No evil in the strict sense of the word can happen to him, for everything is overruled for good. Happy is he who is in such a case. He is secure where others are in peril, he lives where others die.”
(ibid. pg. 93)
You also recognize this passage as the one which Satan quoted to Jesus when trying to tempt Him to throw Himself off the temple.
Jesus responded:
Matthew 4:7 “Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'”
And the one sentence commentary by Jesus
Helps us greatly in our application.
These promises are not given so that you will go running into gunfire as though bullets will bounce off of you.
We are not to test God in such a way.
That is a Satanic application of this passage.
But these verses DO REMIND that
If God where to put you in a place where bullets are whizzing by everywhere that none can hit you unless God so allows it.
Because God’s protection is certain and God’s platoon is competent.
There is no reason to fear.
#3 THE COMFORT OF GOD’S PROMISE
Psalms 91:14-16
Now the writer moves to the 3RD PERSON and reveals to us
The evidence that seals the deal and destroys our fears.
Not only is God capable of protecting us,
But God has promised to do so.
These 3 verses are the Romans 8 of the Old Testament.
Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”
Romans 8:37-39 “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
That is the sentiment here.
• God promises deliverance “therefore I will deliver him;”
• God promises security “I will set him securely on high”
• God promises help “I will answer him”
• God promises presence “I will be with him in trouble”
• God promises honor “I will rescue him and honor him”
• God promises satisfaction “With a long life I will satisfy him”
• God promises salvation “And let him see My salvation”
Those are awesome promises and they are absolutely non-negotiable.
God cannot lie
They are certain.
They are however conditional.
• Conditional first upon you abiding in the shelter of the Most High.
• And conditional here upon you loving God, knowing His name and calling upon Him.
Did you catch those?
(14) “Because He has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.”
• These are NOT promises that the unregenerate enjoy.
• These are NOT promises that the world may claim.
• These are the promises reserved for the redeemed.
• These are for those who love God.
• These are for those who have called upon the name of the Lord.
And for those, these promises are forged in iron.
Psalms 33:18-22 “Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness, To deliver their soul from death And to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart rejoices in Him, Because we trust in His holy name. Let Your lovingkindness, O LORD, be upon us, According as we have hoped in You.”
Psalms 37:7-11 “Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing. For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land. Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there. But the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.”
Psalms 27:1-3 “The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.”
Psalms 27:13-14 “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.”
You get the idea.
SO WHAT’S THE POINT OF THIS PSALM?
It’s easy – TRUST GOD
TRUST HIM ACTIVELY
That is to say, confess Him, abide in Him, enter His house, take His yoke.
That is for the lost who have never confessed Him.
Do that.
But it is also a call to the redeemed.
TRUST HIM PASSIVELY
That is to say, stop worrying, stop fearing, rest in Him.
I know the enemy rages and roars.
I know the enemy threatens and howls.
Trust God.
• Trust the certainty of His protection.
• Trust the competence of His platoon.
• Trust the comfort of His promises.
• And go forward like a faithful soldier.
Nothing will touch you outside of the will of God,
And everything God allows is commanded to work for your good.
DO NOT BE AFRAID.
