#DailyDevotion Dwell In The Shelter Of Jesus
Psalm 91 Let him who lives in the shelter of the Most High and stays in the shadow of the Almighty, 2say to the LORD, “My Refuge and my Fortress, my God Whom I trust!”
It is thought this Psalm is also written by Moses. It has no inscription but it follows 90 which claims Mosaic authorship. The first verse picks up on the theme in Psalm 90:1 “O Lord, You are our home through all the ages.” Shelter and shadow of the Almighty and Most High may refer to the cloud the LORD put over the Israelites to protect them against the sun while they were in the wilderness. It is also further clarified in verse 2 by the words Refuge, Fortress and trust.
Indeed we too should make the LORD Jesus Christ our Refuge, Fortress and trust. We are called to live in His shelter and stay under His shadow. We do this through regular worship and bible study where He feeds us with His Word and Sacraments. We also do this by committing everything in our lives and yes even our own life to His care and protection. Are there places in your life where you tell the LORD, “Hey, I got this”? Even in these places we should recognize and thank God for the resources, strength and wisdom to deal with our day to day stuff and not think it is by our own power, might and wisdom we have achieved anything.
3He is the One Who will rescue you from the snare and from the deadly plague. 4He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge. His truth is a shield and an armor. 5You need not be afraid of anything dreadful at night, an arrow flying during the day, 6the pestilence moving in the dark, or the plague ravaging at noon. 7A thousand may fall at your side table and ten thousand at your right, but it will not come near you.
Here Moses recalls the promises of the LORD to the Israelites if they would just keep His Word and follow His statutes, precepts and commands. In those there are sacrifices that can be made where they fall short. He recalls how the LORD did all these things when He inflicted the Egyptians with the ten plagues but the LORD made a distinction between the Israelites and the Egyptians during many of the later ones. The LORD provided the Paschal lamb to prevent the angel of death from killing them when they believed the word of the LORD. It recalls how the LORD slew the Egyptians in the Red Sea when they pursued Israel through it.
We likewise should recall how Jesus is our Paschal Lamb who has taken away our sin. He has overcome the power of the evil one and rescued us from death by His resurrection on the third day. When we remember this, we need not fear anything the world, its people and leaders, nor any dark spiritual forces throw at us, for at the resurrection we shall be raised victorious and inherit the kingdom prepared for us before the foundation of the world.
8You will only watch it with your eyes and see how the wicked are paid back.
Indeed, for all our complaints how it seems the wicked seem to get away with everything and how we suffer, if we are faithful to Christ and always make Him our Refuge and Fortress as we put our trust in Him, we shall see the recompense of all those who do evil and do not repent. With our own resurrected eyes we shall see them all cast into utter darkness, into the fiery pit where the worm does not die nor the fire go out. We therefore should daily repent of our sins, turn to God our Father for help in every need and give Him thanks and praise for all He has done for us.
Heavenly Father, we pray, make Your Son, our LORD Jesus Christ, our Shelter, Fortress and Dwelling that we may overcome the world through His victory over sin, death and the power of the devil. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.