Weekly Devotion no 18
31 July 2020
Bible reading – Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most Highwill rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in 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 great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honour him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
Reflection
It’s
amazing how tired you can feel when you’re not doing much! This Psalm reminds
us that, if we live under God, we can rest in his shadow. The night can
sometimes seem long, and it’s at night that our worries and anxieties are often
magnified. If we trust in God, he will care for us as a bird shelters their
young: we can find refuge in him.
The
Psalmist reminds us of God’s nature and character, of his faithfulness and
that, when we call on him, he will answer. God doesn’t promise to remove our troubles,
but in verse 15 he promises to be with us. We are not alone when we wake in the
night or when we are anxious.
It’s
wonderful to know that God has shown us his salvation through Jesus. And so it
is in Jesus that we too can have this security and assurance. Jesus has
suffered the ultimate suffering of death itself, and so we need not fear, for
he knows our troubles and will walk with us through them. And at the end, God will
deliver us and honour us in eternal life, bought with Jesus’ death. We need not
fear.
Hymn
Verse 1
Under
His wings I am safely abiding.
Tho'
the night deepens and tempests are wild,
Still I
can trust Him; I know He will keep me.
He has redeemed me, and I am His child.
Refrain
Under
His wings, under His wings,
Who
from His love can sever?
Under
His wings my soul shall abide,
Safely abide forever.
Verse 2
Under
His wings, what a refuge in sorrow!
How the
heart yearningly turns to His rest!
Often
when earth has no balm for my healing,
There I find comfort, and there I am blest.
[Refrain]
Verse 3
Under
His wings, oh, what precious enjoyment!
There
will I hide till life’s trials are o’er;
Sheltered,
protected, no evil can harm me.
Resting in Jesus, I’m safe
evermore.
[Refrain]
William Cushing 1823-1902 © Public Domain CCLI:69198
Prayer
Jesus,
a great desire have we
To walk
earth’s troubled path with Thee:
Come to
us now, in converse stay,
And O
walk with us day by day! Amen.
Comments