The Shadow of Danger
Facing Fear • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 4 viewsLead Pastor Wes Terry preaches a sermon entitled “Will I Ever Feel Secure?” out of Psalm 91 for the series “Facing Fear in the Face of God.”
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION:
INTRODUCTION:
Have you ever noticed that the older you get the more you struggle with worry?
It’s one of the things I remember most about my Daddy Bob.
Every time I’d go up to Daddy Bob’s house he had a new thing that he was worrying about. I remember thinking sometimes, “good grief I hope I don’t get like that when I’m old.”
I came across a comment this week that reminded me of why the older a person gets the more likely they are to worry about life.
When you’re young, the bad things that happen in the world usually happen outside of your immediate surroundings.
People die but they’re rarely “your people.”
People get sick but it rarely impacts your life.
Financial disasters happen but your financial house is unaffected.
But the longer you live the more aware you become that those “crazy things” that happen in the world aren’t so far away that they can’t impact you too.
If it’s not YOU that gets affected, it’s at least somebody you love or know pretty well.
There are at four types of calamity in this world that NOBODY gets to control.
The people you love are going to die.
The health you enjoy just might fade.
Important relationships can end in a moment.
Financial security can vanish overnight.
I’m sure if we thought about it we could come up with a few more. I mention these few to highlight the fact “we live a dangerous world.”
Deep down I think we know that’s true and it’s why so many people struggle with anxiety.
A dominant question on most of our minds is “Will I ever feel secure?”
You’d think this question would get easier as you age but time only increases the angst.
The older you get the more you question, “Will I Ever Feel Secure?”
3rd Person Promise
3rd Person Promise
Psalm 91 gives an answer to that question and like the other Psalms we’ve looked it the approach is unique.
Each of the Psalms we’ve looked at thus far have their own organizing structures. Psalm 91 is no different in that respect.
Psalm 91 is unique in how it switches pronouns between first, second and third person.
I tried to color code it so you could see. (GRAPHIC)
The Psalm opens with the author (we don’t know who wrote it) describing a person who takes refuge in the Lord.
1 The one who lives under the protection of the Most High
dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.
The KJV translates “protection” as “secret place” (ESV/NIV = shelter)
The idea I get from the Hebrew word is this awesome hiding place in my grandma’s house that was both up high and out of sight so that nobody could see you but you could see everything.
In ANE culture the “secret place” also had spiritual overtones of nearness to God or relational warmth and intimacy.
It’s the same idea Jesus used in the sermon on the mount when he said, “go into your closet and pray to your Father who is in secret.” (Matthew 6:6)
It’s used throughout the Psalms to convey the idea of divine protection, shelter and relational intimacy. (Ps 32:7; 31:20)
Except in Psalm 91 the secret place isn’t some physical location like a tall mountain, tree branch or hiding place in grandma’s house.
It’s the enveloping presence of God that surrounds the life of a believer.
Which is why the second line expands the idea with the phrase “he/she will dwell/abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”
For you to be in the shadow of the Lord means you must first be very near to the LORD. You can only be in the shadow of a person to whom you are very close.
So the one who develops a very close, sincere and intimate relationship with God will also experience his protection from danger.
Psalm 91 promises protection to the one who trusts in the Lord.
This incredible truth - which sounds too good to be true - is what leads the author to switch into FIRST PERSON pronouns at the beginning of verse 2
2 I will say concerning the Lord, who is my refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I trust:
Finally in verse 3 he transitions to the second person pronouns and personally addresses the one who takes refuge in the LORD.
3 He himself will rescue you from the bird trap,
from the destructive plague.
This second person address continues all the way down to verse 13. The only time it switches is in verse 9 when the first person “my refuge” is repeated.
By the way, every time he uses this pronoun it’s in the singular (not yall.) It’s a specific individual not a collection or group.
Finally, near the end, it switches back to third person.
The LORD proclaims his commitment to the one who takes refuge in him.
14 Because he has his heart set on me,
I will deliver him;
I will protect him because he knows my name.
Who The You?
Who The You?
One of the biggest questions of Psalm 91 is who the YOU is referencing from verses 3-13?
It’s likely the same person addressed in Psalm 2:7 and Psalm 110:1
In the Jewish Targum (Aramaic translation of the Hebrew) they actually insert the phrase “Solomon my son.” But that’s not in the original text.
So while it may not be a reference to Solomon it IS a reference to some future king of Israel who reigns in the line of David.
Because God has guaranteed that HE will be delivered, we who take refuge in him will also be delivered.
This future king of Israel is thus a paradigm for how God protects ALL of his children.
God’s protection in Psalm 91 applies to a future King of Israel who himself becomes a refuge for all of God’s children.
A DANGEROUS WORLD
A DANGEROUS WORLD
Before we examine those ins and outs, lets first examine why we struggle with fear. Have you ever wondered?
Next to SAD (social anxiety disorder), GAD (General Anxiety Disorder) is the most prevalent form of mental illness today.
It’s a persistent or excessive worry about various aspects of life because dangers or threats could surface at any time.
We have various names for how these fears materialize.
Paranoia
Chronic Hyper-vigilance
Catastrophizing
In someways it’s understandable because we do live in a world of danger.
We’re not kids in a swimming pool with some “lifeguard on duty.”
We’re surrounded by threats if you take a little time to think about it.
Unpredictable Threats
Unpredictable Threats
This Psalm describes them with metaphorical and poetic language. Ps 91:3
3 He himself will rescue you from the bird trap,
from the destructive plague.
Where the CSB has “bird trap” other translations use “snare of the fowler” or “snare of the trapper.”
A fowler is a bird hunter and they were very common in the ANE (for food and animal sacrifices.)
They would use nets and conceal them very carefully to trap unsuspecting birds so that they’d be caught before they even knew it.
One of the reasons we struggle with the fear of danger is because certain dangers we just can’t see coming.
These threats are “unpredictable” in that the danger can’t be sensed.
They’re carefully hidden and intentionally concealed by one who seeks our harm.
These traps would often be placed around environments appealing to the birds. It would lull them into a false sense of security and provision.
A misleading and unpredictable trap!
Unstoppable Threats
Unstoppable Threats
The “destructive plague,” like the hunters trap, is also unforeseen.
But, unlike the trap, there’s no pretense to a plague. It is sweeping and broad and there’s nothing you can do about it.
These are what I’ll call “unstoppable” threats. Once you see the danger it can’t be stopped.
These cause a great deal of anxiety.
We have a recent memory of this kind of danger from 2020 and the COVID-19 Pandemic.
There was no real sense that anybody got to “escape” that destructive plague. You’re only hope was that when you got it you’d be able to survive it.
There are some things in life you simply can’t see coming and other things in life you simply can’t stop.
Intensification of Each
Intensification of Each
These ideas are further developed Ps 91:5-6
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
the arrow that flies by day,
6 the plague that stalks in darkness,
or the pestilence that ravages at noon.
You have a repetition of similar threats (a hunters weapon and/or plague) but added to the threats are these temporal markers of day and night.
These changes have the effect of intensifying the dangers mentioned in verse 3.
A “night terror” intensifies a threat you cannot see.
Unlike the bird trap, you can sense that it’s there. But similar to the bird trip, it’s impossible to see.
Imagine a set of eyes on you, stalking you in the darkness. You can’t make out its figure so it’s left to your imagination.
That’s actually even WORSE! I’d much rather be ignorant and surprised then aware and tortured by the threat.
The word translated terror actually conveys the idea of an intense dread of a known but invisible threat. (think monsters under the bed or demons you cannot see.”
We see a different limitation with the arrow that flies by day and the pestilence that ravages at noon.
These words intensify the threats we can see but cannot stop.
Whereas a plague might spread slowly and allow some attempt at protection. Pestilence is different.
The word conveys a sudden and comprehensive destruction of value. Consider things like a tornado, hurricane or some natural disaster.
It’s not just that you can’t keep it from happening. When it happens there’s nothing you can really do to slow it down.
It’s a sudden and merciless destruction of something you love or value. The worst thing about it is there’s nothing you can do.
These inevitable dangers expose the limit of our power.
These invisible dangers expose our limited perspective.
Anxiety & Human Weakness
Anxiety & Human Weakness
The limits of human knowledge and human power are the source of much anxiety. These limits are daily reminders that God is God and we are NOT.
Human beings are made in the image of God which means we’re “like God” in many respects.
We can love like God. Create like God. Be kind and generous like God. Be angry and jealous like God.
But God is “unlike us” in some important ways as well.
God has unlimited knowledge whereas ours is not.
God has unlimited power whereas we do not.
God is unchanging whereas we change all the time.
God is always ____ where as we we sometimes aren’t.
The list of what God is and we aren’t could go on and on. Theologians call them the “communicable” vs the “incommunicable” attributes of God.
My point in bringing them up is to show the relationship between our worries and our limits.
There’s a direct relationship between our limits, fears and faith.
But there’s not just a relationship between our limits and our fears. There’s also a relationship between our fears and our faith.
Our fears are often what put faith into action. Because we know we’re NOT smart enough, or high enough or strong enough to protect ourselves we look to someone stronger, smarter or higher.
We put our TRUST in other things or sometimes even other people so that they might see what we can’t see and be able to DO what we can’t do.
It’s a universal human problem and a universal human reaction.
What Psalm 91 is encouraging is that our trust be placed in the LORD instead of other competitors for our heart’s affection.
A GOD OF REFUGE
A GOD OF REFUGE
With that in mind let’s read back through our text and examine why God is a better source of protection than other things we might trust.
The Psalmist actually address both fears up front in the very first verse.
1 The one who lives under the protection of the Most High
dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.
Notice there are two actions going on here: God is doing the protecting but protected is doing the dwelling.
God only protects the one who choose to abide under his protection.
The limits of our human nature cause us to experience fear. In response to our fear we exercise faith in God Almighty.
It’s not a matter of whether you do or don’t have faith. The question is always whether the OBJECT of your faith is sufficient for your need.
This Psalmist is saying those who trust in the LORD experience his protection.
Most High Almighty
Most High Almighty
That one would trust in God isn’t surprising when you see the two names assigned by the Psalmist.
He is God “most high” (El Yon) and God the “Almighty” (El Shaddai)
They are similar words but distinct in meaning. The idea is that no other thing is “higher” than God and no other thing is “stronger” than God.
Interestingly, the Psalm opens with attributes about God that directly address the source of our fears: limited perspective & limited power.
The person who has the highest position has the ability to see what nobody else can see.
The person who has the greatest power can do what nobody else can do.
So it’s not surprising to see the Psalm say in verse 2. Ps 91:2
2 I will say concerning the Lord, who is my refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I trust:
In other words, “I want to place myself under the protection of that kind of God. I want to abide under that kind of shadow.
Where we have less than we need God has more than enough.
That’s what makes God such a worthy object of our faith.
Refuge & Fortress
Refuge & Fortress
The language of a shadow is helpful because you can imagine a tree shielding a person from the harsh elements in the sky.
The shade protects you from the noonday sun but it also shields you from other dangerous elements.
If shadow doesn’t convey it then consider these other images of “refuge” and “fortress.”
A refuge was a a person/place you would run to when needing assistance.
A fortress is a fortified defensive structure. Probably similar to what David’s cave in Adullam or Masada near the Dead Sea.
There’s nothing like a high up fortress to make you feel safe and secure. You’ve got the high ground. You can see threats coming for miles. It’s awesome!
This is what God is like for those who put their trust in him. He is a refuge and a fortress. A strong tower and a source of assistance and aid during our time of need.
Shield and Strength
Shield and Strength
Verses 3 to 13 describe how God serves as a fortress/refuge for all of those who trust in him.
These ten verses make three statements two times and each illustrate why God is a better source of refuge.
Let’s pick it back up in verse 4.
4 He will cover you with his feathers;
you will take refuge under his wings.
His faithfulness will be a protective shield.
You see the repetition of the word “refuge” in verse 4 and the added imagery of a bird protecting her children and a shield protecting a warrior.
The theme of warfare continues in verses 7-8
7 Though a thousand fall at your side
and ten thousand at your right hand,
the pestilence will not reach you.
8 You will only see it with your eyes
and witness the punishment of the wicked.
Notice the two themes. One is strength in a day of trouble or battle. The next is deliverance on a day of judgment.
Those same three ideas are repeated in the same order in Ps 91:9-13
9 Because you have made the Lord—my refuge,
the Most High—your dwelling place,
10 no harm will come to you;
no plague will come near your tent.
11 For he will give his angels orders concerning you,
to protect you in all your ways.
12 They will support you with their hands
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the young lion and the serpent.
Again, God provides a shield of refuge in his presence, he strengthens him with his angels and saves him in the day of judgment.
In the face of dangers that we can neither see nor stop, God offers a better
shield in times of danger
strength in times of trouble
salvation in times of judgment
These three promises directly address the fears of danger we cannot see and those we cannot stop.
That’s what the Psalm is trying to explain.
Better Shield
Better Shield
Let’s first examine this idea that God is our protective shield in times of danger. Psalm 91:4
4 He will cover you with his feathers;
you will take refuge under his wings.
His faithfulness will be a protective shield.
There are two metaphors here. The first is that of a mother hen covering up her baby chicks.
The second is of a war fighter equipped with armor and shield.
Some translations use the word “God’s truth” instead of God’s faithfulness. I like this emphasis because the armor of God is the realm of his truth.
The CSB’s “protective shield” is okay but there are actually two distinct Hebrew words.
Most use the idea of a shield for the first word
The second word is translated various ways: buckler (ESV, NKJV) bulwark (NASB) rampart (NIV)
The first is used for large scale attacks like swords or burning arrows. The second is used hand to hand for small scale attacks.
The point is that God’s truth isn’t just a protective shield on the big and important things in the world. His truth will also protect us in the minor decisions and seemingly less important situations.
Whether large scale or hand to hand the faithfulness of God and the reliability of his truth means you have a safe place in which you can hide.
You should be happy and safe where the truth is. It’s a bright light against which no lies can hide or stalk. Make God’s truth your hiding place.
Better Strength
Better Strength
But he’s not just a better shield or place of refuge and shelter. The Psalm also says God is a better source of strength in times of trouble.
If God’s truth gives us the needed perspective for what we cannot sense or see.
God’s presence gives us the power so we can overcome the troubles we face.
Paul says I’ll rejoice all the more in my weakness because God’s strength is proven and brought to completion there.
Verse 7 uses this tragic imagery of a pestilence that kills thousands upon ten thousands of people. Yet, somehow - miraculously - it doesn’t reach the one who’s trusting in the Lord. (Ps 91:7)
Similarly in verse 11 God gives his angels protective orders to protect this person “in all his ways” so that he doesn’t even stub his toe. (Ps 91:11-12)
If I’m being honest, this sounds almost too good to be true. In fact, I have a pretty hard time reading these verses when I think about all of those people who TRUST in the LORD and yet they didn’t just stub their toe they were killed by plague.
The LORD didn’t protect them in all of their ways - at least not in a physical sense or a literal prevention of harm.
Through Not From
Through Not From
So the promise of protection isn’t the promise that we’ll never experience the trouble.
The promise is that when we experience the trouble God will supernaturally protect us in some way.
You know it can’t mean what some people try and make it mean because at the end of the Psalm the Lord makes clear we’ll still experience trouble.
14 Because he has his heart set on me,
I will deliver him;
I will protect him because he knows my name.
15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble.
I will rescue him and give him honor.
16 I will satisfy him with a long life
and show him my salvation.
So whatever the promise of protection means it cannot mean protection from all physical harm.
Our deliverance isn’t from trouble but THROUGH it.
And before this Psalm applies to all of God’s people it first applies direction to this future King of Israel who puts his entire trust in the Lord.
Psalm 91 is a Messianic Psalm. There are several ways to demonstrate that fact.
One clue is God’s personal address in verses 14-16.
He mentions a day of trouble and a day of rescue.
But he also promises rescue, honor, eternal life and salvation.
But a second clue is Satan’s quotation of this Psalm in his temptation of Jesus.
6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:
He will give his angels orders concerning you,
and they will support you with their hands
so that you will not strike
your foot against a stone.”
7 Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.”
That this Psalm points us to Jesus ought not be surprising to us by now. All of the OT Psalms are pointing us his direction.
Jesus is the one to whom the LORD makes these promises.
Jesus is also the one whom the Psalmist says you’ll find refuge in the LORD and strength from the Lord to carry out the mission he has given.
Jesus our Strength & Shield
Jesus our Strength & Shield
When you take these three things together you see how not only are these things true OF Jesus. These things can now be true for us BECAUSE of Jesus.
Jesus, more than anybody else found his refuge in the Lord. The Lord’s truth was his buckler and his shield. He was always spending time in the secret place before God.
But it’s because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross that we too can experience God’s presence as a fortress.
We can come and draw near to God - even though we’re unworthy - because Jesus resisted the Devils temptation when we would try and fail.
We can experience God as our shield because Jesus has taken a relationship that was alienated and far off and made it accessible through his own life, death and resurrection.
Jesus is also our example of what it looks like to find strength in the LORD.
He was always following the Father’s will, doing ministry IN the Father’s power. It was never a mere brute display of force but a strength in the Father’s power.
Similarly, he has sent his Holy Spirit down to fill our hears so that WE can find power and strength to live the Christian life.
Jesus promised in Acts 1:8 you’ll receive POWER for mission.
Phil 2:13 says it’s God who works IN US to will and to work according to his good pleasure.
That doesn’t always mean we’ll be protected FROM suffering. It just means that God will preserve our soul THROUGH the suffering so he fulfills his purpose in our pain.
God works ALL THINGS TOGETHER for the good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. (Rom 8:28)
As Joseph said to his brothers, “You intended this for evil but God worked it for good and for the saving on many lives.” (Gen 50:20)
Through Jesus God is our strength and our shield. But there’s something even better.
The best part of the Psalm is the third layer of the promise. It’s repeated twice, first in verse 8 and again in verse 13.
8 You will only see it with your eyes
and witness the punishment of the wicked.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the young lion and the serpent.
These promises of God’s salvation on the day of judgment are messianic prophecies about God’s judgment on the wicked.
The author is pointing to a day when God will come in judgment on the wicked during the Day of the LORD.
It will be a day of judgment and awesome horror as God executes his wrath on guilty sinners.
It was a day that was prophesied as early as Genesis 3:15 when God said to Eve after their Fall - I will send an offspring of the woman who will one day crush the head of this serpent.
This offspring was traced throughout the book of Genesis and in 1 & 2nd Samuel was also promised through the line of David.
A king who would one day come and reign forever over the house of David and inact justice against the wicked and triumph over the devil.
Jesus is that promised messiah.
Jesus is our salvation on the day of judgment.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
As we bring our time to a close I want to ask you, “Where have you placed your trust? In whom or in what are you abiding to find refuge from danger?”
1 The one who lives under the protection of the Most High
dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say concerning the Lord, who is my refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I trust:
All of the metaphors we’ve examined in this Psalm find their complete fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
In him we’ll find the truth, knowledge and perspective we don’t have ourselves.
In him we’ll find the strength and power to be delivered on the day of trouble.
The fears we cannot see and the fears we cannot stop are met with a greater force when they come against the LORD our God.
Is Jesus your place of refuge?
If he IS your refuge are you helping others to find security in him?
Are you resting secure in his love.
There’s a popular story supposedly from the National Geographic about the Ackerson Fire back in 96.
Park Rangers were assessing the damage and they found this bird looking statue made of ash made from a bird who couldn’t survive the fire. It was pretty freaky looking so the park ranger took a stick and knocked down the structure.
As he did, 3 little baby birds came scuddling out of the ashes. Somehow the sacrificial love of that mother bird and the shelter of her wings prevented this chicks from being swallowed up by the fire.
Jesus is that mother bird. In his great love for you and me he allowed himself to be consumed by the fire of God’s judgment. All so that we could be sheltered from that judgment and find forgiveness and grace.
It’s yours to receive if you’ll just repent and believe. Will you do that today?
