This is the triumphal final note of Psalm 91. Having listed various rewards in the earlier lines, it now finishes with a flourish: the promise of a fulfilled long life and the understanding of the Lord’s rescue package. Mostly we have heard the Lord’s voice alone, apart from the Psalmist’s response in vs 2: “I will say of the lord, He is my refuge and my fortress”. From beginning to end the psalm centres on the Lord’s protection for those who “dwell” in Him (vs1) This final promise of a long and satisfying life speaks to the deepest desire of all of us.

Most of us can relate to this Psalm very easily, and indeed it has brought comfort to many thousands through the centuries. It is one of the anchor chapters in the Bible that is easily reached and easily remembered. Somehow even when the outlook seems unlikely, it still resonates in times of trouble like few others. It is a lifeline that draws us in towards the lifeboat of Christ Himself. We only have to believe Him, and climb aboard.

At the centre of all faith is trust. Trust firstly that we do indeed have a saviour who has our number, and secondly that He is able to step out of the written word and become available within us. Our belief allows us to carry Him wherever we go, and partake of all the benefits of knowing a servant King. At any time He is present to perform whatever service is required, that we may serve Him in return. Satisfaction is guaranteed despite the turmoil all around us. A lowly virus called Covid 19 may well be seeking us out one by one, but the king of Kings has well beaten it to us! 

However bad things may get, we can take from this scripture that God will remain on our side. More than that, He will intervene should we ask Him, and even honour us in the process. This verse alone should suffice in our current Covid 19 “trouble”. Even better than the comfort of a Government subsidy, we have a rescue package waiting in the heavens, which is there for the asking!

Why am I so reluctant to trust the promises of God such as these? Often I find I have a dollar each way: lip service to the scripture but a fierce attention to a survival plan of my own. The Bible can seem too far-fetched for intelligent, reasonable people, and the unbeliever can be excused for their reluctance to embrace even a rescue package as good as this.

Many times I think we retreat behind pious sounding platitudes when what is required is simple faith. If God has shown His ability to order the universe, then surely he can manage our lives as well. There is a destination waiting for all of us, and we can either embrace it with joy, or try to hide from its’ implication. Will we choose to keep our distance from these words of God and still expect to find intimacy with the One who spoke them? Somehow even the most basic understanding of cause and effect would suggest that this cannot be so.

If we are to take Psalm 91 seriously, then we must embrace it all. We cannot overlap our doubts with what are clear-cut offers of help in our time of need; let’s face it, the world has never been more needy. Christians must take their stand for the sake of all.
 
​Barry Struthers

Faith is always, at its heart, about relationship. How I approach my Heavenly Father indicates how seriously I appreciate the sublime privilege I have to be connected at all. I cannot expect my aloofness to bring rewards of any kind, and as the verse attests, it is as I extend my love toward Him that I come under His protection and rescue. Should I neglect this important means of sealing our relationship, I can expect gaps to appear in my authenticity and witness.

What does it take to love a God whom we cannot see? Does it take more than it takes to love our fellow Christians? We know that can be pretty hard sometimes. But perhaps it is there that we can measure our love for God. It must reach beyond feelings and assert itself in actions towards the brothers and sisters in Christ that we can see. In Jesus we can see love extended even to his enemies; he washed the feet of Judas too. Are we ready to learn about love at this level, and portray it in our own lives?
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In the current Covid 19 crisis we have seen some appalling behaviours in supermarkets and on the streets. Driven by anxiety and the enforced curtailment of activity, all of us are prone to wearing thin around the edges. It doesn’t take much to steer us into selfishness, but today’s scripture promises His timely rescue should we be taken to the edge of our sanity. It is often said that we are our own worst enemies; all the more reason to lean on our greatest friend. 

​Barry Struthers

This image of power over natural enemies reappears in the New Testament, only this time the reference is to Satan and his powers: “I have given you (his disciples) authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you’ (Luke 10:19). Having just sent the twelve out on missions to the towns nearby, he now reports to them triumphantly “I saw Satan fall like lightening from Heaven” (vs. 18). Presumably, having this same authority as His modern-day disciples, are we not expected to use it? How may it apply to the present-day lockdown?

The Covid 19 virus has no doubt a natural origin. But given the opportunity it affords to our supernatural enemies in the spirit world to add larger calamities than the flu itself, we must be on the lookout when they come knocking. How many of our fears and anxieties are being inflamed by influences at work on our psyche?  How many chinks in our armour are being exploited? While compacted together as we are, the normal tensions of family rivalries have an extended opportunity to work away at our peace and wellbeing. Our Prime Minister, bless her, has made a point of promoting “kindness” in all her speeches, as a vital reminder to put aside our selfish tendencies during this time of lockdown. Resisting the devil is work enough when there is nothing much otherwise to do.
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When Christians are put on the spot to defend their faith, it is unlikely that they will mention their authority to trample down the works of Satan. Perhaps it is because they have limited experience, if any, of engaging with a supernatural enemy. But Jesus tells us that we can (Luke 10;19) and so we must. In our huddles and bubbles we will surely be targets, but we know our best defence: “Submit to God, resist the Devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). No better time than now to use this authority to put protection in place over our families.

Always we will come across obstacles, and negotiating them can be a vexing task if we rely only on our own abilities. This verse of scripture rewards us with the thought that the spirit world around us can see what is ahead of us, and can intervene when we are facing harm. All of us will have experienced a so-called “close shave” and perhaps have thanked our “lucky stars” instead. Maybe we can do better.

Whatever way the Lord works, it is always deeply and appropriately personal. There are no wooden formulas to confine him. Some days we do strike stones, and maybe wonder why we weren’t spared. Did God just look the other way or are we missing something ourselves? Is He teaching us the hard way that lucky stars don’t exist, but maybe guardian angels do? How often do we give them a second thought, and when did we last give thanks for them or thought to employ them in our prayers?

For the most part in our busy lives we get by on our own. Often it is only when we have no further ideas or have exhausted all options that we remember to call upon God. The Covid 19 pandemic has put the brakes on much of our busyness; some of us now have an abundance of spare time. And though we have medical science remotely churning away in our favour at present, would it not be comforting to know that we have angels to call on as allies as well? Can they see the danger of this virus on the road ahead of us, and lift us in their hands to avoid it? This scripture seems to say so.

The pernicious nature of this tiny enemy is beating the whole world into retreat. All eyes are on it, but the only useful thing that most of us can do is stay at home. Perhaps in this fraught time we could cast our eyes more heavenward for our protection.
 
A prayer we could pray:
Heavenly Father. Forgive us for overlooking the angels. They were on hand for Jesus in his times of trial and they are surely on hand now for us in this pandemic. We thank you for them. Give us eyes to discern the good from the bad, and to act appropriately when we sense their presence. We call on them to keep us safe. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

​Barry Struthers

Isn’t it enough to know that God cares for us, without the need for angels in the picture? Somehow they stretch our faith just a little more than we may be prepared for. Who mentions the angels as comfortably as we do the Lord? The spirit-world remains a bit of a no-go zone for many Christians for fear of entanglement in the unknown, or worse still, the fear of the loss of credibility. The angels seem to belong in a sort of never-never land, popping up here and there in both Heaven and on Earth. Some are allied to God. Some are not. As such they make up part of the crowd of witnesses who cover our every move. It is a somewhat uneasy thought. Do they see everything? Can we communicate with them? Hide from them?

In our technology-rich existence, we are warned to keep ourselves safe from unsavoury influences that come at us through the internet. How many of these are the work of dark angels in the background, inspiring people to think evil thoughts and perform evil deeds? Were evil angels present at the Mosque shootings last year? And were there holy angels at work when the nation reached out so powerfully to those who grieved? Certainly there was something special at work in those many gatherings and vigils. You could sense it.

This verse assures us that we can come under their guardianship, and by whatever agency or measure that they work by, we can at least welcome the thought. The same angels that followed and attended Christ in the wilderness and at Gethsemane will attend us in our hour of need too. Their role we may not discern, but if they have been commanded by God then we can expect they will stick around and get their job done.

Barry Struthers

This verse mimics verse one in many respects, but takes things one step further: the promise of protection from harm. It implies intervention. But it takes us further into the field of trust in which we must stand if we are to appropriate this promise for ourselves. Just how trusting can we be in this time of lockdown?

We live in a world of trials of every kind. If not disease, then some other threat such as earthquakes and eruptions, recessions and climate change are all beyond human intervention for the most part. We really have nowhere else to go other than to trust this God who promises to provide protection and refuge, but how far can we take this trust of ours? Will the promise fail if our trust is less than a hundred percent?

To the nominal believer, it is easy to fade when the chips are down. If we don’t know God beyond what we have heard or read about, then can we expect this theoretical God to materialise when we want him? Surely something beyond our intellectual knowledge is required to make connection with a God who goes beyond the natural. Are we ready to enter the spiritual and the supernatural?

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit personalises the Christ within us in a way that cannot be explained or replicated in any other way. It is only then that we discover that we truly have been “found”. Every other thing about us pales in significance. The Lord has declared a personal interest in us, and from here on our relationship with Him will be effortlessly personal too.

Whatever our past, there is no time like the present to reach for His confirmation. Once received, we can easily believe that, yes, of course He will want to protect us from harm.

Barry Struthers

This is the verse in Psalm 91 we would rather not acknowledge, and indeed it is often skipped when the Psalm is read aloud. We like to sanitise the Bible wherever we can to avoid giving offense or stirring controversy. The word “punishment” glares at us, for we would rather retain our image of an all-loving God who no longer seeks retribution now that Jesus has turned the tables on sin. The Psalm was of course written many hundreds of years before Christ’s intervention, during Old Testament times. Punishment and retribution was then expected to follow any breaking of the Law delivered by Moses. This verse would not have seemed out of place back then.

Now-days, in the midst of the continuous existence of sin and sickness, the only thing that has changed is God’s grace; His undeserved favour to those who accept Christ as their Saviour. We no longer have to earn His blessing. This means that every sin may now be forgiven without punishment, for the penalty has already been served on Christ His son. A rough deal for him, but a “let out of jail” card for us. How then should we approach today’s verse with New Testament eyes?
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We begin by recognising that “wickedness” exists. That being so, justice demands that it be addressed. A Holy God cannot be expected to look the other way; by whatever means, wrong has to be righted before it can be acceptable to Him. For those who choose not to bring their wickedness (= sin generally) to God for forgiveness, can only expect that there will be a record of it held over for the final judgement in the time to come. (2 Cor. 5:10,11) A fear of the Lord is the handbrake that comes to the aid of the Christian in times of temptation and trial. The non-believer has no such restraint, for there is no awareness of the affront to God that his/her sins have caused. Without the fear of the Lord, sin goes unchallenged and unchecked. “Wickedness” reigns.
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We can do better than to skip over this verse.

Barry Struthers

How challenging this verse is right now. Daily we hear reports of the death toll in different countries around the world, and they now measure in the thousands. Grim stories of overwhelmed hospitals and morgues, even cemeteries, are now all part of our new norm. So, how long will we escape the odds against us? How many thousands will “die at our right hand” while we are spared?

Why should the believer hold out for this promise of protection in Psalm 91? Why should we expect safe passage on this journey of evasion form a microscopic menace that we cannot see coming our way? Don’t the laws of random distribution apply to us too? How long can we expect go dodging the bullets?

These are the questions that test our faith. What is stated is clear enough, and we also have the testimonials of soldiers that have indeed seen miraculous protection in battlefields of the past to back us up. We now have to take our place in the front-line whether we feel ready or not. So what do we have to lose by standing on God’s promise? More importantly, what else may we hope to gain?
The privilege of having God’s ear goes beyond our safe passage in times of trial. At the head of every promise is the Lord himself, three in one, all on our side. This is the real destination of faith: to know God more. Every day we are given opportunity to inject faith into our every need and concern. But if our gaze does not reach beyond what we want, to the one who will provide, then we leave ourselves short-changed.

For most people of this generation, there have been few trials on the scale of the current pandemic to live through. We are largely untested, and this lock-down will no doubt shake us out. Will we cower in our hiding places until it’s over or will we go for the whole nine yards by using our abundance of free time to get to know God better?

Barry Struthers

It may take some adjusting to the idea that we are being “stalked” both day and night by a disease. How can it be so personalised and so determined? What drives the creation of such harmful entities as Covid 19? Is this all part of Satan’s plan? To debilitate not only our bodies but our whole lifestyle too? And if so, what phase of his plan are we up to? Is this the build up to the final show down with God? Certainly the whole world’s attention is fixed right now to this one evil agent. He couldn’t want for a bigger stage.

If it is to be the Lord who is to have the last word in this situation, then surely this promise of his peace will be the one thing to cling to. “You will not fear”. His protection is in place. There is no better time than now to get to know Him better, and to find that peace. He is resting from his work because it is finished. The outcome of this battle is pre-ordained.

There will be many times in the next few weeks that we will have to leave the safe shelter of isolation in order to go shopping for supplies. The restrictions on who may remain open to serve us will in effect concentrate most of the danger in a handful of locations. The risks of transmission there are real. But there is no call for us to put the Lord to the test by lessening our precautions. We can quite easily become transmitters ourselves. Like handling fire, a fearful respect of the danger is still required, even though we carry the Lord’s assurance and peace.

Barry Struthers