The Faithfulness of God
Summer in the Psalms • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 6 viewsGod is faithful to all who put their trust in Him.
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The Faithfulness of God
Psalm 91:1-16
If you brought your bibles turn with me over to Psalm 91. Psalm 91 and in a moment, we are going to read verses 1-16 of Psalm 91.
The title of the message this morning is the Faithfulness of God. That is the theme of Psalm 91. God is faithful to those who put their trust in Him.
There are not many things in life we can put our trust in. There are not many people in this world we will find trustworthy. Not even those who are closest to us.
People will always disappoint us because they are only human. No one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes and when we put our trust in people, we are setting ourselves up for failure. Our trust has to be in something greater.
The good news is God is trustworthy and unchanging. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. We can depend on Him. We can rely on Him, He never gives up, He never fails, He is always faithful even when we are not.
That is the message of Psalm 91. God is faithful to all who put their trust in Him. (read)
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And see the recompense of the wicked.
9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.
10 No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.
11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands,
That you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 “With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation.
Our passage this morning is one of the most beautiful pieces of literature ever written. It has been the source of comfort and strength to saints of God throughout the ages.
It was the inspiration for Elizabeth Elliot’s autobiography “The Shadow of the Almighty” the story of her husband Jim Elliot’s life and how he died a missionary in Ecuador.
It was the theme for Corrie Ten Booms autobiography, “The Hiding Place” as she wrote of holding on to her faith and surviving a Nazi concentration camp in World War Two.
Jesus Christ is the shadow of the Almighty and the hiding place in the life of a believer and that is the message of Psalm 91. God is faithful to all who put their trust in Him.
We are not sure who the author is because we are not given a tittle. But, tradition has it, when you are not given a title, then the previous author is credited with this Psalm as well. That would make Moses the author of Psalm 91, But we do not know that for a fact.
What we do know is that Moses learned to trust God through many difficult situations in Egypt and in the wilderness and he found God to be faithful every time, and so will you if you put your trust in Him.
The first thing I want you to see in this Psalm is, God is Our Shelter, Vs. 1-4.
The first verse sets the theme for the entire Psalm. Everything depends and builds on verse one.
Vs. 1 “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”
This is describing someone who has a close intimate relationship with God. Someone who is living in the very presence of God.
The word “dwells” here means this person isn’t just passing by. They’re not just paying God a visit, and showing up on a Sunday morning. They live there.
They have taken up residence in His shadow. They have moved into the shelter of the Most High, and they’re not going anywhere, their abiding.
A better translation of the word “shelter” here is the secret place. And you find that in the New King James version, and I actually like that better, because it’s describing a private place, a hiding place if you will. A place of protection where we can rest under God’s care.
This is the same word used in Matthew 6:6 when Jesus is teaching His disciples to pray. He said, “Don’t pray like the hypocrites who loved to be heard and pray out in the streets but, when you pray go into your prayer closet, go to your secret place, go to your shelter, and your Father will hear you.
That’s the word used here in Psalm 91. So, the Psalmist is describing someone who lives and dwells in the prayer closet. Someone who has an intimate relationship with God and spends time in His presence in prayer.
Does that describe you? Is that the kind of relationship you have with God? Are you spending quality time alone with Him in prayer?
You see not every believer can claim the promises of Psalm 91, because not every believer has this kind of relationship with God.
The good news is it’s available to everyone of us, and this is the kind of relationship God wants to have with us, but we are so preoccupied by the world we miss out on it, and we don’t spend any quality time alone with God.
Notice the confidence of Vs. 2, “I will say to the Lord, my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.”
This is a voice of confidence. This is a voice that comes from experiencing God. This isn’t a causal relationship, this is personal. He is my God, my refuge, my fortress.
The author of this Psalm has gone through some things, there’s been some challenges in his life, and he’s found God to be faithful.
In fact, in Vs. 1-2 he calls God by four different names. He calls Him the Most High, the Almighty, the Lord and my God.
In the Hebrew, Most High is “Eloyn” which means, “he cuts every threat down to size.” And Almighty is “Shaddai” the one who is sufficient for every need. The Lord is Yahweh the one who keeps all His promises, and My God is “Elohim” The Creator, and all-powerful God of the universe.
The emphasis here is on the experience the Psalmist has had with God. He has come to know Him, and He calls Him by four personal names, it’s a relationship similar to a husband and wife who have pet names for each other.
I will give you an example when Taylor was born Tammy started calling me daddy. She would say, bring me a bottle daddy, give me a blanket daddy, bring me the pacifier daddy.
Unfortunately, that was 28 years ago and now Taylor has two babies of her own and I am still daddy. But now it’s make me a coffee daddy, take out the garbage daddy, what are we doing today daddy?
In a similar way, in Psalm 91 he has come to know God personally in four distinct ways, and he calls God by four different names.
The question is what do you call God? What are the names you have come to know Him by?
I pray that you call Him your Savior, your redeemer, your friend. I pray that you think of Him as your Creator and sustainer. The Alpha and Omega of your life. The beginning and end of every moment of every day.
There is another name the Psalmist calls God, Vs, 3. He calls Him the deliverer. It says, “For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence.”
The snare of the trapper is speaking of temptations to sin. And what the Psalmist is saying is we don’t have to live that way. We don’t have to live trapped by the sin in our life.
That’s what the Apostle Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man, and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide a way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
God is faithful and He delivers us from the sin in our life now and forever.
Also, notice He delivers from the deadly pestilence. This is speaking of epidemics, of pandemics. It is speaking of sickness and disease. They are nothing new.
They have plagued humanity from the beginning of time. Today, we think of the Corona virus but in ancient times they suffered from leprosy, smallpox, yellow fever, and tuberculosis.
Diseases that if you came down with them you had very little chance of survival. So, the Psalmist is saying that God is our deliverer from everything.
Now it’s important to understand this doesn’t mean that if we live for God we are never going to get sick. But what this means is when you trust God you live in a habitual state of deliverance because no matter what may come in this life you have been healed for eternity.
Jesus Christ is the great physician, and our ultimate healing comes when we leave this world, and we go to heaven.
In Vs. 4 we see an illustration of God as a mother bird hiding the believer beneath her wings in the nest.
That’s who God wants to be in your life. He wants to be the one you trust and rely on. The one you run too. The one you seek for comfort and strength.
But we can only claim these promises if we are dwelling in the secret place. If we have that kind of relationship with God. Is He is your shelter, is He is your strength?
God is faithful to all who put their trust in Him. The next thing I want you to see in this Psalm is
God is Our Security, Vs. 5-10 God protects those who live for Him from every difficulty and danger in life. We don’t have to live in fear.
Notice Vs. 5-6 “You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; of the pestilence that stalks in the darkness. Or the destruction that lays waste at noon.”
Notice the pattern of night and day and darkness and noon. This teaches us a great truth about God. He never sleeps, He never slumbers.
He is there protecting us 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We can work and we can rest because God is on guard and He is on guard around the clock.
The terror by night speaks of the things we worry about. The things that keep us awake at night and terrorize our mind.
When you put your trust in God you can sleep easy, you don’t have to be afraid because God is covering you. He is protecting you with presence.
Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer, and supplication, let your requests be made know to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.”
We are commanded not to worry about it but to pray about it.
Not only are we protected from the terror at night but from the arrow that flies by day.
We are surrounded by physical dangers in this world but when you trust God, (you live your life, and you don’t worry about those things.)
I think of the great General Stonewall Jackson of the confederate army. He got his name from the men under his command.
They said he would sit on his horse like a stone wall, unflinching in the face of cannon balls exploding around him.
His men said to him, “General aren’t you afraid of dying, and Stonewall said, “My God has appointed the time of my death. My job is not to worry about it, but my job is to be ready for it.”
That is the kind of confidence we need, and that’s the kind of confidence we have with God on our side.
The Bible says, “If God be for you who can be against you? And no weapon formed against you shall prosper.”
There is an interesting promise in Vs. 7-8. It tells us those who put their trust in God will escape the peril of the world, and they will witness the punishment of the wicked.
The image here is of God’s judgment at the end of time. At the appointed time God is going to judge the world and He is going to punish the wicked, but according to this Psalm the righteous will only stand by and watch.
It’s important we understand the only thing that makes anyone righteous is the forgiveness of sin and the grace of God that comes through the cross of Jesus Christ. We have no righteousness in and of ourselves but only His righteousness. Eph. 2:8-9
Notice the conditional basis given to us in Vs. 9-10, “For 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.”
Let me ask you this; Have you made the Lord your refuge? Is Jesus your Savior? Are you dwelling in the secret place at the foot of the cross, where Jesus gave His life for the world? Do you know the faithfulness of God?
God is faithful to all who put their trust in Him. The final thing I want you to see in this Psalm is;
God is our Savior, Vs 11-16. In these verses this Psalm becomes Messianic, and then it turns into something supernatural.
Notice Vs. 11-12, “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.”
This is what I mean by Messianic. This scripture takes us to the Gospels, to the wilderness of temptation. These are the very words that Satan quotes to Jesus.
Satan was trying to get Jesus to prove He was the Son of God, trying to get Him to act on impulse which He never would. He simply answers Satan with, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”
But these verses are true for us too. Hebrews 1:14 says that the angels are ministering spirits sent out into the world to work on our behalf.
You see the New Testament makes it clear there is a spiritual battle taking place. Satan and his demons are on the attack, and they want to tear you down and destroy your life.
But in Christ, God has provided everything we need to win the battle. Including angels He has sent out to protect us.
Then Psalm 91 does something amazing, it becomes supernatural. In Vs. 14-16 there is a shift in the speaker. God takes over and makes these incredible promises to those who love Him.
Vs. 14 , “Because he has loved me, therefore, I will deliver him. I will set him securely on high, because he has known my name.”
What a promise, it’s a promise of deliverance, security, and freedom, why? Because we know Him, we know His name. But what does it mean to know His name?
It means you know His character. You know His will. Your living for His glory. Now that doesn’t mean your never going to make a mistake. No one is perfect.
But it means we have forgiveness and grace for every mistake we make, because we know Christ.
Also, we have the promise of answered prayer. Vs, 15, “He will call upon me and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.”
Notice the definitive “I will” in this statement. God is telling us that when we have confidence in Him, He is going to go to work for us. He is going to give us reason for that confidence to grow.
He is going to answer our prayers in times of trouble. He is going to rescue us in times of need. He is going to honor us because we honor Him.
What an incredible promise this is from God. When we call on the name of the Lord, not only does He hear us, but He answers us no matter what we are going through.
Let me ask you this, what are you going through today? What is going on in your life that you need His help with? Have you called out to Him in prayer?
God is good to all people, even those who don’t know Him. The Bible says, He causes it to rain on the just and the unjust. But, for those who put their trust in Him, He is a loving Father who wants what’s best for them.
The richest of God’s blessings come to those who love Him with all of their heart, mind, soul and strength. Is that you today? Because if it is, you can claim the promises of God.
Finally, in Vs. 16 we see the promise of salvation for those who believe. Vs. 16, “With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see my salvation.”
God promises that those who live for Him, will live forever with Him in heaven.
We can only grasp how incredible this promise is if we understand how great our sin is. Sin separates us from God. It prevents us from knowing Him, and experiencing the kind of relationship He wants us to have.
It is only when our sin is forgiven that our relationship is restored. And that forgiveness comes only through the cross of Jesus Christ.
He is God’s gift to us the one-time sacrifice for the sin of the world. And we can only appreciate that sacrifice when we recognize the magnitude of our sin.
I am reminded of the sinful woman with the alabaster box. She came to Jesus, and she poured her precious anointment out on His feet, and she cried, and she wiped her tears from His feet with her hair.
Jesus said she loved so much because, she had been forgiven so much. And the same thing is true in our life. We will only grow in our love for God when we are grateful for the forgiveness we have received.
Conclusion
These are the promises of God that come to the one who dwells in the secret place of the Most High and abides in the shadow of the Almighty.
God is faithful to those who put their trust in Him. He is our shelter. He is our security. He is our Savior. And He invites us into this intimate relationship with Him where we can live and dwell in peace and in the presence of God forever.
