We don’t know who wrote Psalm 91. It may have been Moses, David, Nathan (the prophet) or it may have been Hezekiah. It may also have been someone that we have never heard of. I tend to lean toward Moses because of its place in the Hebrew songbook next to Psalm 90 which was penned by Moses. The second reason I tend to think it was written by Moses is because of the internal phrases of the song. There are two similar words that seem to stand out to me in verses 3, 6, & 10. These are “pestilence” and “plague.” Moses was well aware of those enemies. He’d seen God work in forcing Pharaoh to let his people go using diseases and plagues as well as seeing his own sister given leprosy because of her sin. So, it would seem natural for him to remember how God, “the Almighty,” delivered God’s people from the slave camps of Egypt. Let me share three things today with you from this beautiful Psalm in these days of Covid. I’ll only use the first three verses.

  1. We have to Decide (v.1). “He that dwelleth…” As I look at these words there is a choice each of us must make. We can decide to dwell in the secret place, or we can decide to dwell elsewhere. In life we must make choices. They are made every day. When to get up, what to eat, what to wear, the priorities of the day, the responsibilities that must be fulfilled, etc. Each of these must be decided upon. Just as these call for a decision, so must the decision as to where we will dwell as the people of God. By using the word “dwell” we can imagine the place we go for safety. Most of us go home after a long day. It is a place of security. We feel safe and protected. The true place of safety is dwelling in the secret place with the Almighty. In our homes, we could have thieves and robbers break in. That wouldn’t be wise in most of our houses, but we could be taken by surprise and harmed. Not so with the Lord’s house. When we dwell with the Lord, He is in total control and has all power. Make the decision to “dwell in the shadow of the Almighty.”
  2. It takes Devotion (v.2). “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress:” The psalmist has made his decision and is now devoted to that choice. Notice the little word used three times in this verse. That word is “my.” He is “my refuge,” “my fortress,” and “my God.” The Psalmist knows the right place to hide. It is dwelling with the Lord. He knows the right place for security. It is where the Lord is. He declares that the Almighty is “his” God. He is his ultimate. Is he your refuge and fortress? Are you spending time with Him regularly?
  3. We are promised Deliverance (v.3). “Surely, he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome (deadly) pestilence.” For the past many months, I have been preaching, writing, and offering this truth. The disease that has stepped into all our lives didn’t take the Lord by surprise. Moses knew well about deadly pestilence. He had received the word of the Lord about the nine plagues and now the tenth, the death of the first-born sons of Egypt. He gave the Israelites the way to avoid the plague. Place the blood of a lamb on the doorposts and lintels of their homes. The night came and the death angel passed over those homes protected by the blood of the sacrificial lamb. These Hebrews were assured by the very words of God. We have assurance as well that nothing can happen to us without the Lord, the Almighty, allowing it. As I write this our church family has over twenty people that have tested positive. Not a single one of those brothers and sisters was a surprise to the Lord. It is a time of testing for them individually and for all of us as a church family. We should live with the assurance that we are sheltered in the arms of God, to use the words of an old familiar song. We are saved from the fowler, the unsaved people that come against the work of God, and saved from the deadly pestilence, like Covid.

Let’s all flee to the secret place. This dwelling is a place to gain assurance that God has everything under control. It is a place to teach us to obey and to teach us humility. Pride should have no place in the heart of the Christian. It will be God that brings us through these difficult times, not man. It should be a place where we learn gratitude for what God has done. He saved us and promised us an eternal home with him. Don’t seek assurance from the television news, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Don’t seek peace from secular sources, you’ll only be more anxious in your soul. Flee to the secret place. Live in a continual fellowship with God seeking to know the Lord more and more.