Thursday
Evening Bible Study
November
17, 2016
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Target 3300 words
Video = 75 wpm
The English word psalm comes
from a Greek word that means “a poem sung to musical accompaniment”, or in
particular, “stringed instruments”.
The Hebrew name is tehillim,
which means “praises.”
The book of Psalms is the hymnbook
of God’s people.
It’s also the “Him” book as well.
It’s all about Jesus.
The writer of Hebrews quotes from
Psalm 40:8 when he writes,
(Hebrews 10:7 NKJV) Then I
said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the
volume of the book it is written of Me— To do Your will, O God.’ ”
The author was talking about Jesus.
We’re going to see a lot of Jesus
in the Psalms.
Soul Music
Music touches the soul. It’s
“soulish” in nature. It touches the emotions.
We’re going to find every kind of
emotion possible expressed in the Psalms.
For every sigh there is a Psalm.
For most of us, this is what makes
the Psalms so wonderful. We can identify. We can relate.
If we were honest, even darkest
most depressing Psalms describe the very things we go through day by day.
It is my prayer that as we continue
on this journey through the Psalms, we won’t just look at these songs
academically, with our mind, but that we may also grow as worshippers.
For most of us, this is what makes
the Psalms so wonderful. We can identify. We can relate.
If we were honest, even darkest
most depressing Psalms describe the very things we go through day by day.
It is my prayer that as we continue
on this journey through the Psalms, we won’t just look at these songs
academically, with our mind, but that we may also grow as worshippers.
Psalm 90 – Wise Faith
: A Prayer Of Moses the Man of God.
A Prayer Of Moses
Written by Moses, this is the oldest song in the book of Psalms.
This is not the only song Moses wrote.
Deuteronomy 32 is another song that he wrote.
If we look at the life of Moses, I think we can pinpoint a time when this
Psalm may have been written. I believe it’s very likely that this song was
written because of the events that took place in Numbers 13-14.
The children of Israel
had been delivered out of Egypt.
At Mount Sinai they received God’s Laws. The nation of slaves was being
transformed into an organized army. Then God took them to Kadeshbarnea, right
up to the doorway of the Promised Land. God instructed them to send twelve
spies into the land to check it out and report back to the people.
At the end of forty days, the spies gave their report. Caleb and Joshua reported that it was an
awesome land and that they should go up at once. The other ten spies gave a different report:
(Numbers 13:32 NKJV)
And
they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied
out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land
that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are
men of great stature.
As a result of this negative report, the people rebelled against the idea
of going into the Promised Land.
As a result, God told Moses that the people would be wandering …
(Numbers 14:34 NKJV)
According
to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each
day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you
shall know My rejection.
At the end of the forty years, all the rebels would be dead.
Now we’re ready for the song…
:1 Lord, You have been our
dwelling place in all generations.
:1 our dwelling place
dwelling place – ma‘own –
dwelling, habitation, refuge – a place of safety
Lesson
Safety is in God
What are you counting on for security?
For some people it’s having a nice income with a secure, well-paying
job. Others find security in their
retirement accounts. Others find
security by keeping a baseball bat or gun near by.
Illustration
Safe Driver
A woman in her eighties was determined she would keep driving. Naturally
her family was concerned about her slower reflexes. She would go out at night
alone, so they were disturbed about her safety. They told her about muggings,
kidnappings, and carjackings. They thought that it would keep her at home. But
it didn’t. Instead, she went out and bought a gun - a .38 special. She didn’t
know a thing about handling a gun, but she loaded it up and shoved it in her
purse. She decided she would use it if someone gave her problems. Well, she was
walking out of this store during the Christmas season with her packages. She
looks over and sees these three guys in the car and they’re slammin’ the door.
She thinks, “This is my moment:” So she reaches in her purse, pulls out her gun,
walks right up to the car window and says, “Get out of my car! Get away from
behind that steering wheel! You guys, move!” Three guys got out and ran in
three different directions. By now a crowd had gathered and they were staring
at her and smiling. She was feeling pretty proud of herself. So she put her gun
in her purse and got her keys out and the keys didn’t fit. It wasn’t her car.
I do have some safety tips…
Illustration
FOR SAFETY'S SAKE...
Do NOT ride in automobiles: they cause 20% of all fatal accidents.
Do NOT stay home: 17% of all accidents do occur in the home.
Do NOT walk on the streets or sidewalks: 14% of all accidents happen to
pedestrians.
Do NOT travel by air, rail, or water: 16% of all accidents happen on these.
Only .001% of all deaths occur in worship services in church, and these are
related to previous physical disorders. Hence, the safest place for you to be
at any time is church. Go to church! IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!
God has always been a place of safety for humanity.
In Moses’ day, whether it was the generation that rejected God’s plan, or
the generation that conquered the Promised Land, true safety is found in
trusting God.
:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the
earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
:2 Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God
God has always existed.
God will always exist.
God is eternal. Man is not.
God is eternal because He has
always existed. If you went back in time ten thousand years, God was there. If
you went back in time 100,000 years, God was there. If you went back a million
years, God was there. He has always existed, He will always exist.
Man is immortal, but not eternal.
Man has not always existed. But man was created with a soul that will never
die.
Even after a man’s physical body
ceases to function, the man’s soul will continue to exist.
At death, those who believe in
Jesus will go immediately into God’s presence. Those who do not believe in
Jesus will go immediately to hell. Forever.
:3 You turn man to destruction, And say, “Return, O children of men.”
:3 You turn man to destruction
destruction – dakka’ –
dust
This was a result of Adam’s sin:
(Genesis 3:19 NKJV)
In
the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
:4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is
past, And like a watch in the night.
:4 a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday
God lives outside our dimension of time.
A thousand years of our time is like a day to God.
Peter wrote,
(2 Peter 3:8 NKJV) But,
beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as
a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
:5 You carry them away like a flood; They are like a sleep.
In the morning they are like grass which grows up:
:6 In the morning it flourishes and grows up; In the evening it is cut down
and withers.
:5 flood … sleep … grass
Man is not so “everlasting”
Man’s life is like a …
flood – a brief flash flood that quickly dries up.
sleep – a brief nap, you wake up and it’s over.
grass – it pops up one day and is cut down the
next.
:7 For we have been consumed by Your anger, And by Your wrath we are
terrified.
:7 we have been consumed by Your anger
The Israelites in the wilderness saw this.
Even though God would bring punishment for their disobedience, they kept
rebelling over and over again.
Without Jesus, this is true of every person. But for those of us who have
put our trust in Jesus, we should not be troubled about the wrath of God.
Paul wrote,
(1 Thessalonians
5:9 NKJV) For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
:8 You have set our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the
light of Your countenance.
:8 You have set our iniquities before You
(Psalm 90:8 NLT) You spread out our
sins before you— our secret sins—and you see them all.
Lesson
He sees
I may think that there are some things that I do that nobody knows about,
but that’s simply not true.
The Bible says,
(Hebrews 4:13 NKJV)
And
there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and
open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
Sometimes God will even let others have a peek at what we do in secret.
The prophet Ezekiel had such an experience in a vision. He was in Babylon while God gave him a
glimpse of things happening in the Temple in Jerusalem.
(Ezekiel 8:10–12
NKJV) —10 So I went in and saw, and there—every sort of creeping thing,
abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed all
around on the walls. 11 And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house
of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had
a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. 12 Then He said
to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in
the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’ ”
It almost sounds as if Ezekiel was getting a glimpse into the minds of the
leaders in Jerusalem.
There is nothing hidden from God.
Help doesn’t come until you stop hiding your sin.
Help doesn’t come until you start admitting to God that you need help.
With some sins, I’ve been finding that help doesn’t come until you confess
your sin to another person and ask for help.
:9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; We finish our years
like a sigh.
:10 The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength
they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
:10 The days of our lives are seventy years
Some look at this as a general rule for the length of a person’s life.
With this idea, I’ve got perhaps ten years left of my life, perhaps twenty.
That’s a sobering thought.
How am I going to spend the next ten years?
If this was indeed written after the events of Kadesh Barnea, this is
pretty heavy.
Moses is thinking about all the people that are going to die before
reaching the Promised Land.
:11 Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You, so is
Your wrath.
:11 as the fear of You, so is Your wrath
(Psalm 90:11 NLT) … Your wrath
is as awesome as the fear you deserve.
God is just. He will not allow sin
to go unpunished. Jesus said,
(Luke 12:4–5 NLT)
—4 “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body;
they cannot do any more to you after that. 5 But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear
God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the
one to fear.
If you are not right with God, you ought to be very, very afraid. You are
on incredibly shaky ground.
:12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of
wisdom.
:12 teach us to number our days
Lesson
Find God’s Will
A wise person will realize that they are not going to be around forever,
and they will learn to find out what God wants for their life.
Paul wrote,
(Ephesians 5:15–17
NKJV) —15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming
the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the
Lord is.
The wisdom God wants us to have from learning to number
our days involves knowing God’s will.
Just what is God’s will for me?
Salvation
(1 Timothy 2:3–4
NKJV) —3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior, 4 who desires
all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
God’s will is that you know Him and are saved from your sin.
Spirit Filled
(Ephesians 5:18
NKJV) And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be
filled with the Spirit,
Right after Paul talks about knowing God’s will (Eph.
5:17), he says we must be filled with the Spirit.
Plans for me
(Ephesians 2:10
NKJV) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
The more we walk with Him, the more we study His Word, the
more we grow in prayer, we will see His plans unfolded for us.
He has things specifically designed for each of us to do.
Want to know what to do with the days you have left? Start with these things.
:13 Return, O Lord! How long?
And have compassion on Your servants.
:14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, That we may rejoice and be glad
all our days!
:14 satisfy us early with Your mercy
early – boqer – morning,
break of day; of beginning of day
When you visit Israel, you learn to say “boqer tov” or “good morning” as a greeting.
What did Israel do in the wilderness early in the morning?
They gathered manna (Exodus 16)
For us, spend time with God in the morning. Pray and ask Him to be guiding
you. Open the Bible and ask God to speak to you. Let Him feed you with the
bread from heaven.
:15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted
us, The years in which we have seen evil.
:15 Make us glad according to
the days …
God said they would wander one year
for every day that the spies spent in the land – forty years for forty days.
Here Moses prays for restoration, that God would balance each day of pain with
one of joy.
:16 Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their
children.
:17 And let the beauty of the Lord
our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish
the work of our hands.
:17 let the beauty of the Lord
our God be upon us
beauty – no‘am – kindness,
pleasantness, delightfulness, favor
Lesson
Restoration in Him
The beauty of the Lord is on us when we come to trust in Jesus. He brings
true restoration.
Illustration
The Trouble Tree (Author
unknown)
The carpenter I hired to help me fix up an old farmhouse had just finished
a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his
electric saw quit and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start. While I
drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, he invited me in to meet
his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small
tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. When opening the door,
he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles
and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss. Afterward he
walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me.
I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier. “Oh, that’s my trouble tree,”
he replied. “I know I can’t help having troubles on the job, but one thing for
sure, troubles don’t belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I
just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning
I pick them up again. “Funny thing is,” he smiled, “when I come out in the
morning to pick ‘em up, there ain’t nearly as many as I remember hanging up the
night before.”
We find the restoration in Jesus Christ.
It’s His “tree” that we need to learn to touch. Our troubles are healed at the cross.
(1 Peter 2:24 NKJV)
who
Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to
sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.
Trusting in Him brings restoration in our lives.
Songs
Chorus:
A
From everlasting
E/G# D A
To everlasting You
are God
A
From everlasting
E/G# D A
To everlasting You
are God
Verse 1:
E
In holiness You stand secure
Bm7 A
Through culture's shifting sands
E D
Unchanged by all the vanities of man
E
And as the nations rise and fall
Bm7 A
Your sovereignty remains
F#m E
You are.. You are..
D2 E
You are the One True God
Chorus:
Verse 2:
E
In faithfulness Your love extends
Bm7 A
Through times of turbulence
E D
Adopting those who call upon Your name
E
And every generation joins
Bm7 A
In songs of grateful praise
F#m E
You are.. You are..
D2 E
You are the One True God
Chorus:
Bridge:
A E/G#
Eternal Immortal
D A
Invisible God
A E/G#
Eternal Immortal
D A
Invisible God
Chorus:
Words & Music by Brian Doerksen & Matt Unruh
©2004 Integrity's Hosanna! Music
O God, Our Help in Ages Past
Chorus
F#m
You are good
E
You are faithful
D Esus
Never changing God
F#m
We endure
E
The wilderness
D Esus
A
By trusting in Your love
A F#m
Esus A
O God, our help in ages past
F#m B
E
Our hope for years to come,
A Bm
F#m C#
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
D Esus
A
And our eternal home!
A F#m
Esus A
Under the shadow of Thy throne
F#m B
E
Still may we dwell secure,
A Bm
F#m C#
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
D Esus
A
And our defense is sure.
Chorus
A F#m
Esus A
Before the hills in order stood,
F#m B
E
Or earth received her frame,
A Bm
F#m C#
From everlasting Thou are God,
D Esus
A
To endless years the same.
A F#m
Esus A
A thousand ages, in Thy sight,
F#m B
E
Are like an evening gone;
A Bm
F#m C#
Short as the watch that ends the night,
D Esus
A
Before the rising sun.
Chorus
A F#m
Esus A
O God, our help in ages past
F#m B
E
Our hope for years to come,
A Bm F#m C#
Be Thou our guide while life shall last,
D Esus
A
And our eternal home!
Chorus
Words by Isaac Watts, Richard Cathers / Music by William
Croft, Richard Cathers/ ©Hymn is Public Domain, © (chorus) 2016 Richard Cathers
/ O God Our Help.doc
Psalm 91 – The Safe Place
We certainly know what it’s like to live in a world that’s driven by fear.
For the last fifteen years we are very aware of the presence of radical
people who we call “terrorists” because their goal is to strike “terror” in
people.
Even in our recent political climate, each party seems to want to motivate
voters out of “fear” of what will happen if their opposing candidate is
elected.
Jesus described the times just before He comes back like this:
(Luke 21:26 NKJV) men’s hearts
failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on
the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
What do the numbers “911” make you think of? It used to be we’d think of the number we’d
call in an emergency. Now we think of terrorists flying airplanes into tall
buildings. I hope we can learn to think of it in another way - Psalm 91:1
Where can we find safety?
:1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the
shadow of the Almighty.
:1 He who dwells in the secret place
secret place – cether –
covering, shelter, hiding place, secrecy
It’s a place of safety
The same word is used in:
(Psalm 27:5 NKJV) For in the
time of trouble He shall hide me in
His pavilion; In the secret place of
His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.
:2 I will say of the Lord, “He
is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”
:3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from
the perilous pestilence.
:3 from the snare of the fowler
A fowler is a person who traps birds.
:4 He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take
refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
:4 He shall cover you with His
feathers
The New American Standard reads,
(Psalm 91:4 NASB95) He will
cover you with His pinions, And under
His wings you may seek refuge; His
faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
:4 under His wings you shall take refuge
A mother bird uses her wings to cover and protect her babies.
Jesus used this same kind of language when He said,
(Luke 13:34 NKJV) “O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent
to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers
her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!
Though this gives us a picture of protection, I think the “wings” God is
talking about are not a bird’s wings.
This is a picture of the Mercy Seat, the solid gold lid to the Ark of the
Covenant. Molded onto this lid were two
angelic beings with their wings stretched out, forming a canopy over the “mercy
seat”.
(Exodus 25:22 NKJV)
And
there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy
seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the
Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the
children of Israel.
The Ark was a picture of God’s throne, and being under “His wings” speaks
of being in God’s very presence.
Lesson
Stay close
True safety comes from being in that “secret place” with God.
Spurgeon: The blessings here promised are not for all
believers, but for those who live in close fellowship with God. Every child of
God looks towards the inner sanctuary and the mercy seat, yet all do not dwell
in the most holy place; they run to it at times, and enjoy occasional
approaches, but they do not habitually reside in the mysterious presence. Those
who through rich grace obtain unusual and continuous communion with God, so as
to abide in Christ and Christ in them, become possessors of rare and special
benefits, which are missed by those who follow afar off, and grieve the Holy
Spirit of God.
Illustration
Jill Briscoe writes,
Though I was barely 6 years of age, I well remember sitting by a roaring
fire on a Sunday during World War 2. Our family had fled the bombs that rained
down on us one night, chasing us hundreds of miles away to the beautiful
English lake district--William Wordsworth country.
The mists were gone, and a storm had broken over our heads. The rain, like
giant tears, slashed against the window pane, and the thunder grumbled away as
if it were angry it had to hang around all day. I didn't like storms, and I was
old enough to understand that a bigger storm was raging, a war involving the
entire world. But at the moment, it seemed far away. The fire was warm, and my
father was relaxed, reading the paper, sitting in his big chair.
Suddenly, as if he were aware I needed a bit of reassurance, he put down
his paper and smiled at me. "Come here, little girl," he said in his
quiet but commanding voice. And then I was safe in his arms, lying against his
shoulder and feeling the beat of his heart. What a grand place to be. Here I
could watch the rain and listen to the thunder all day.
I've realized how my heavenly Father shelters me from the storms of life.
When times of sorrow swamped me at my mother's funeral, I sought the
reassurance of my Father's presence. When winds of worry whipped away my
confidence as I faced gangs of young people in street evangelism, I glanced up
to see my Father's face. When floods of fear rose in my spirit as I waited in a
hospital room for the results of frightening tests, I sensed my heavenly Father
saying, "Come here, little girl."
I climbed into his arms, leaned against his shoulder, and murmured,
"Ah, this is a grand place to be."
And as I rest in that safe place knowing that my Father is bigger than any
storm that beats against the window pane of my life, I can watch the rains and
listen to the thunder, knowing that everything is all right. Here I can feel
the beat of my Father's heart.
We find our help at God’s throne:
(Hebrews 4:16 NKJV)
Let
us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in time of need.
:4 His truth shall be your shield and buckler
truth – ‘emeth – firmness,
faithfulness, truth; reliability
(Psalm 91:4 NLT) …His faithful
promises are your armor and protection.
God is faithful. He will come
through. You can count on Him.
:5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that
flies by day,
:6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor
of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
:7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But
it shall not come near you.
:8 Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.
:5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night
This is what comes from being in God’s presence. We don’t need to be afraid of the unknown.
:9 Because you have made the Lord,
who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
:10 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
:11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your
ways.
:9 Because you have made the Lord
The Psalmist is talking to another person, us as the reader.
When we too have made God our refuge, we find that place of safety.
:10 No evil shall befall you
We may experience pain in this life, but the reality as believers in Jesus
is that even if we die, we go to heaven.
Illustration
No one could say that George Smith didn’t have courage. A daring jet test pilot in the 1950’s, back
when the sound barrier was first being broken, he could face anything—until he
had to bail out of a jet going 805 miles per hour (Guideposts 1958). Though he survived, he was afraid of ever flying
again. Then, during his hospital stay, a
nurse gave him an antidote to fear. He took her words to heart: “Courage,” she
said, “is knowing the worst—and discovering that, in God’s world, the very
worst can’t really hurt you.”
:11 He shall give His angels charge over you
Lesson
God’s Angels
Angels are special beings created to serve God.
Angels do several things for those who follow God including:
Protection
When the king of Syria sent an entire army to capture Elisha, Elisha’s
servant was freaked out until …
(2
Kings 6:17 NLT) Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord,
open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord
opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside
around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.
Encouragement
When Paul was a prisoner on a ship caught in a deadly storm, God sent an
angel to him,
(Acts
27:24 NLT) and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand
trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to
everyone sailing with you.’
Deliverance
When Peter had been thrown into
prison, the church prayed. God responded
with a special envoy who unlocked Peter’s chains…
(Acts 12:8–10 NLT) —8 Then
the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put
on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered. 9 So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he
thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. 10 They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron
gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they
passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly
left him.
These things are available to us because …
(Hebrews 1:14 NLT) Therefore,
angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will inherit
salvation.
:12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot
against a stone.
:12 Lest you dash your foot
Lesson
Risky business
Though angels can do miraculous things to protect us, there are limits as
to what they will do.
When Jesus was being tempted by Satan in the wilderness, Satan quoted Psalm
91:11-12…
(Matthew 4:5–7 NKJV)
—5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the
pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.
For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, “In their
hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said
to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
It may not be God’s idea to deliver you from every difficult thing that you
get yourself into.
Jesus said it would be “tempting” God, or “testing” Him if He were to jump.
Don’t presume God is going to bail you out of every situation.
This promise isn’t an excuse for reckless living.
They say, “Never drive faster than your guardian angels can fly”
:13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the
serpent you shall trample underfoot.
:13 tread upon the lion and the cobra
This may be a hint at the victory that God gives us over Satan who is
described both as a “roaring lion” (1Pet. 5:8), and as a serpent (Rev. 20:2).
I wonder why Satan didn’t quote this to Jesus?
:14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I
will set him on high, because he has known My name.
:15 He shall 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 I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”
:14 Because he has set his love upon Me
God now speaks and assures the reader of His protection.
Lesson
Just Love God
All these blessings come on those who love God.
Deliverance
Calling and answering
God’s presence
Long and full life
Salvation
Paul wrote,
(Romans 8:28 NKJV) And we know
that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are
the called according to His purpose.
Do you want safety in scary times?
Stay close to God and love Him.
Songs
C
He who dwells in the shelter
F C
Of the Most High
F C
Will abide in the shadow
G
Of the Almighty
(repeat)
Am Em
He will cover you with His pinions
G
And under His wings
C
You may seek refuge
Am Em
His faithfulness is a shield
G
And a bulwark
Chorus
written March 9, 1987
Psalm 91/ Words & Music by Richard Cathers / © 1987 Richard Cathers /
Psalm91.doc