Psalm 91
¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
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.
⁹ If you make the Most High your dwelling even the LORD, who is my refuge
¹⁰ then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
¹² they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
¹⁴ “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

As I read this psalm, I have a note in my Bible to also read Matthew chapter four where Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. It is amazing how much I have discovered of the way Christ led his life here on this earth by my daily reading of the Psalms. As one reads the psalm above the reader could refer both to the believer who is trusting completely in God or Christ himself when he dwelled on this earth. Note also in Matthew 4:11 “Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” are the same angels found here in this psalm in verses eleven and twelve. These were the verses that the devil tried to misinterpret in Matthew 4:6. As we go about on journey on this earth the key to this journey is found in verse fourteen. Because I love God, God will rescue and protect me and because of my love I will acknowledge God before others. The love of God is much greater than that of a father or mother toward her their own child. And the love of the believer picture here is much greater than the love a son or daughter can have for their own parent. Just as the devil tried to misinterpret these verses to Christ in the desert; the sinful nature that is found in the world around us also tries to blinds us to these verses that reveals to us the truth about how close a relationship we can have with God.

The opening statement of this psalm ” he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High” sets the stage for all believers. One of the most precious teachings of Christianity is that of the priesthood of the believer. As Peter writes in his first epistle, we are not only priest, but a people of God’s own possession for the purpose to show forth the excellencies of God who call us out of darkness into his marvelous light. When we make God our refuge, our hiding place we place ourselves in his care and our faith grows. As this relationship of trusting in the Lord grew, we learn to love him more. We come to the realized of how important the first law of the Ten Commandments in our relationship with God. Having no other Gods before him truly means dwelling in his presence. This relationship with God is very important. By resting in the Lord, we become as a young chick who stays near the wings of the caring hen. We will not fear what will happen to us as we perform the daily routines that are in our lives and careers. For in the moment of danger we know we have the protection on the mother’s wings. The secret to living this type of life is giving up the pride we have in being able to do things my way instead of God’s way. Surrender to God’s shelter and his peace will be upon you with the long satisfy life he gives those who walk in his way.

Verse fourteen states “Because he loves me, says the Lord” is the focus point of our relationship with God. My relationship with God is not based upon the way I live my life, but with whom I chose to have fellowship and companionship. I might not force God on others; however, I will not deny him for as my God I will acknowledge him to all who inquires.

As I studied Luke 2:41-52 this morning I realized that this is the only glimpse of the boyhood of Christ in the scripture. We can see from these verses that there was a purpose that Jesus had in his life and that was to be about his Father’s business. As I read this Psalm, I can picture Christ in his early age as a boy, just as David was a boy that spent his time mediating on God’s Word. In this Psalm I can picture Christ reading this Psalm and seeing David as the subject of this Psalm placing himself as a lamb under the care of his shepherd. It is not how great and powerful the shepherd makes the lamb, but how the shepherd protects him. David realized that God was in control no matter had difficult the situation seems to be around him. This Psalm just as Christ’s life points to the secret of living a blameless life and that secret is a simple trust in the Most High. In Luke chapter two verse fifty-two the simple statement “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man”, is an example of how we a believer must grow in our life. So instead of focusing on the glorification of self as Satan wanted Christ to do in Matthew chapter four, we need to be focusing on dwelling in the shelter of the Most High and growing in our love for Him.