Psalm 91:3-8
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
Yesterday we saw that Psalm 91 encourages us to dwell and shelter in the Lord. According to these verses, what might we be taking refuge from?
Given all that’s going on in the world today, why might people take a special interest in Psalm 91?
Reflect
From Ajith Fernando, “COVID-19 and Psalm 91” from Our Daily Bread.
“Many people are asking today about whether we can quote Psalm 91 to assure ourselves that we will be freed from the Corona Virus. Let’s look at this issue scripturally.
In the Bible there are promises, principles and commands that are generally true, but which have exceptions. The general commands to obey parents “in everything” (Col. 3:20) and to be subject to government officials (Rom. 13:1-2) have exceptions in the Bible (Luke 14:26; Acts 4:19-20). We sometimes need to disobey their commands if they clearly go against God’s will.
Similarly, the Bible is clear that God looks after us, as Psalm 91 says. He can miraculously intervene and does intervene to deliver us. Indeed, he commands his angels to guard us (Psa. 91:11). That is always true. He can prevent us from dashing our foot against a stone (91:12). That is not always true, as the noble army of martyrs testify. One-third of the same book of Psalms are laments where righteous people suffer what the world considers as misfortunes and God doesn’t seem to be helping them. Psalm 91 teaches that God looks after us. That is an absolute principle. Other passages in the Bible show us that the way God looks after us is not always as is specifically stated in Psalm 91. There may be exceptions to this general rule. But through all of it God is continuing to bless us”
“Presently I’m reading Job for my devotions. God’s plan was to glorify his name through Job going through experiences very distant to what Psalm 91 says. Job’s friends who quoted biblical principles regarding how God looks after the righteous are finally proven to be wrong and even unkind. Their speeches were very inspiring in the Psalm 91 tradition. But they were wrong in applying those principles to the suffering that Job was experiencing…”
Read the rest of Ajith Fernando’s thoughts here: https://ourdailybread.org/spotlight-covid-19-and-psalm-91-ajith-fernando/?utm_source=app&utm_medium=mobile&utm_campaign=spotlight-psalm91&utm_content=anews
Respond
During times of trouble, we can be tempted to doubt the goodness and love of God. Why is our faith in God’s promises even more important during these times?
How can you learn to trust God, even in hard times?
