Psalm 91, the believer's legacy. Many people believe that Moses
wrote this Psalm. One of the reasons is because
he wrote the 90th Psalm. The 90th Psalm is a prayer of
Moses, the man of God. Verse 91 doesn't say exactly
who wrote it, but we believe Moses did. But it matters very
little. You know why? Because both Moses
and David and Isaiah and all of the prophets wrote of Christ. All ways of Christ Jesus. They
wrote of our Lord and our Savior. And they wrote also of the people. of God, whom the Lord has given
to Christ. They wrote of Christ and the
Church. He's the head of the Church. We're chosen in Him,
loved in Him, redeemed in Him, seated in Him. They're His people. He's the Messiah, He's the Redeemer,
and they're His people. And in this psalm, Moses, or
David, wrote of the promises of God to His people. And Moses or David, whichever
one wrote this psalm, wrote of Christ and wrote of the care
and concern which the Lord Jesus has for his people. Promises
of God to his people and his care and concern for those people. And then also they wrote of the
deliverance and the victory and the blessed hope which we have
in our Lord Jesus Christ, a psalm of assurance, confidence in Christ. Let's look at verse 1. Verse
1 says, he that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High,
he that dwelleth, he doesn't come in and go out, he dwells
in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow
of the Almighty. Where is it that the believer
dwells? But it's in his presence. In
his presence. His presence is called the secret
place. Why is it called the secret place?
Because it's known and experienced only by his own. They're the
only ones who dwell there. He that dwelleth in the secret
place, in the presence of the Lord, it is known and experienced
by those who know and love him. Let me show you that in Psalm
27. Psalm 27, verse 4 and 5. Listen to this. Psalm 27, verse
4 and 5. One thing, one thing have I desired
of the Lord, and that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of my life. He that dwelleth
in the house of the Lord. to behold the beauty of the Lord,
to inquire in his temple, for in time of trouble he shall hide
me in his provision, in his presence, in the secret of his tabernacle
shall he hide me and set me on a rock. That's what I'm talking
about. He that dwelleth in the secret place, known only of those who know him and love
him. presence of the Lord. Watch this
Psalm, Psalm 31, listen to this, Psalm 31 verse 19, Psalm 31 verse
19, Oh, how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them
that fear thee, which thou hast wrought for them that trust in
thee before the sons of men. Thou shalt hide them in the secret
of thy presence. Is this what I'm talking about?
This is what the psalmist is talking about. Thou shalt hide them in the secret
of thy presence from the pride of man. Thou shalt keep them
secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. Tongues of men. He that dwelleth
in the secret place of the most high. The Apostle Paul said, which
hope we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast,
which entereth in within the veil. And then his presence here
in Psalm 91, listen, he that dwelleth in the secret place
of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. The shadow of the Almighty. David
wrote in Psalm 17, Lord keep me as the apple of thine eye,
and hide me under the shadow of thy wings." In Psalm 57 he
said again, For in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge,
until all these calamities have come to pass. He shall abide under the shadow
of the Almighty, oh the glory of it, that's what we're talking
about, oh the riches of it, oh the security of that hiding place,
of that secret place under the shadow of the Almighty. Look
at verse 2, I will say of the Lord, I'm going to tell you what
I'm going to say of the Lord, He's my refuge, He's my fortress,
He's my God, in Him I'll The psalmist here gave us four
names of our refuge. Did you notice it? Let me show
them to you. Verse 1. He that dwelleth in
the secret place of the Most High. The Most High God. That's our
refuge. Secondly, under the shadow of
the Almighty. The Almighty. The Most High God.
The Almighty. The next one, I will say of the
Lord, see that in capital letters, capital L-O-R-D, that's the Lord
Jehovah, I will say of the Lord Jehovah, He is my refuge and
my fortress, He is my God. Here the psalmist gives us four
mighty names of our God. He's the Most High, He's the
Almighty, He's the Lord Jehovah. And He's my God. That's what
I'm talking about. My God. My God. Well, what do
we have in this God that's so high and almighty and Lord Jehovah
and my God? I'll tell you what we have. Listen.
Verse 2. I will say of the Lord, He's my refuge. I will say of
the Lord, He's my fortress. my fortress against all my enemies,
my refuge from the storm, and my fortress against all my enemies,
and he's my trust. I rest in him and trust in him.
I love this Isaiah chapter 32. I want you to turn to this. Isaiah
32. He's my God. Most High, Almighty, my Lord
and Savior, and He's my God. Listen to Isaiah 32, verse 1. Isaiah 32, verse 1. Behold, a
king shall reign in righteousness, that's Christ, and princes shall
rule in judgment, just and justified, and a man, the God-man, the Lord
Jesus, the Messiah, the God-man. He'll be as a hiding place from
the wind, a refuge from those storms. He'll be a covert, a
refuge from the tempest. He'll be as rivers of water in
a dry, arid, thirsty place. He'll be as a shatter of a great
rock in a weary land. And I'll tell you this, verse
3, the eyes of them that see shall never be dim. Those that
see will always see and never be dim. Listen, and those in
the ears of them that hear him, they'll always hear him and always
hear him. We're not talking about a place
where somebody can visit and quit and walk away and forget
about it. We're talking about the secret
place of the Most High God. where we dwell and abide as a
habitation under the shadow of the Almighty. And I will say,
my God, the Most High, the Almighty, the Lord Jehovah, my God, He's
my refuge, He's my fortress, He's my God. I trust Him today,
I trust Him tomorrow, because there's no one else to trust. All right, verse 3. Surely, now
these verses here not only tell us who our refuge is, and speak
of our refuge, but these verses express the believer's confidence,
the believer's assurance, the believer's confidence in the
total care of our Heavenly Father. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want Cast all your care on Him. He cares for you. Oh, I love the wills and the shalls
of God's Word. I like what that old leper said
who came into the presence of Christ. Lord, if you will, if
you will, you can make me whole. And the Lord said, perhaps, no,
maybe, no, I will. These I claim. I will. I will. Let me show you verse
3. Surely, I love the shalls and
the wills, don't you? Surely he shall deliver thee
from the snare of the fowler. What is the fowler? It's the
trap of the fowler. It's the trap of one who snares
foolish birds. A fowler, the snare, the trap. And it's so easy for these foolish
birds to be trapped. Trapped in so many ways. Trapped
in so many programs and things we do. But He'll deliver
you from the snare. He'll deliver you from the evil
one who seeks to devour. He shall. You dwell in the secret
place of the Most High, the Almighty, God Almighty. He'll deliver you. And listen, He shall deliver
you, He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, He shall
deliver you from the noisome pestilence. Listen. Years ago, there was a terrible
plague in London. And there was a prominent person,
Spurgeon called him, Lord Craven. And Lord Cravens was a very important
man and a good man, a godly man, a believer. And he dwelled in
a place called the Craven Buildings. But the plague in London had
become so severe, it was an epidemic. And Lord Cravens prepared to
leave London. He got all of his servants together
and his people and they packed all of his things. And Lord Craven
was planning on leaving London, out to the country to get away
from the plague. And as his servants packed his
belongings, one of the servants made a remark. This is what he
said. Well, I suppose that by my master
leaving London and going to the country, he's seeking to avoid
the plague. I guess his God doesn't live
in London, but lives in the country." And the man heard that. He heard that servant, and this
was his reply. Lord Craven replied, No, sir. My God lives everywhere, in the
country and in the town. And my God will deliver me wherever
I am. So I'm going to stay. here with
my own people, and he will deliver me from the noisome pestilence. He will. I believe that. Well, not only that, but verse
4, listen, he shall cover me with his feathers, and under
his wing shalt thou trust. What are you comparing God with,
Moses, a mother hen? You know, comparing God to a
mother hen would almost border on blasphemy, wouldn't it? Not
when God himself gives the illustration. That's right. God himself. He
inspired it. He wrote it. Under his wings,
I'm safely abiding. That's right. He shall cover
me with his feathers, and under his wings shall I trust. And then he says, his truth,
his truth shall be my shield and my buckler. Now what's a
shield? Well a shield can be, it can
be huge, it can be any size. A shield just protects the front,
the back, and all around. But a buckler is a small defense. A buckler is held with the hand.
on the elbow. And the buckler, not like the
shield, the shield just sits there, but the buckler moves
around to meet every need. And he's my shield from all of
the fiery darts of the wicked. His truth is my shield, but his
shield also, his buckler, is my defense. and I move it wherever I go and
wherever I may need to beat the enemy, because he is my defense. His shield, he is my shield and
he is my buckler. His truth is. Notice verse 5,
he says, and thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night,
nor for the error that flies by day. I want you to turn to
to Psalm 139. Thou shalt not be afraid of the
terror by night. Psalm 139. Turn to there just
a moment or two. It says here in Psalm 139, let's
begin with verse 7. Verse 7. Whither shall I go from
thy spirit? Whither shall I flee from thy
presence? If I ascend into heaven, thou
art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold,
thou art there. That's the grave. If I take the
wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the
sea, even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand hold
me. Surely, I said, well, the darkness will cover me. Even the night should be light
about me. Thou shalt not be afraid of the
terror by night. Thou shalt not be afraid. I say,
surely the darkness will cover me, but even the light will be
light about me. Verse 12. Yea, the darkness hideth
not from thee, but the night, watch this, the night shineth
as the day. The darkness and the light are
both a light to him. Where we dwell, it's always light. Where we dwell, he's always there.
That's right. Back to my text. Don't be afraid
of the pestilence that walketh in the darkness, nor for the
destruction that wastes in noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy
side, ten thousand at thy right hand. It shall not come nigh
thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward
of the wicked, because thou hast made the Lord. which is my refuge,
even the most high thy habitation." What is he saying here in these
verses 6, 7, 8, and 9? I'll tell you what he's saying.
God has put a hedge about his people. The darkness is light
to them. They're not afraid of the terror
by night, nor for the errors by day, or for the pestilence
and diseases and demons, or for the destruction that wastes at
noon days. What is this saying? God's put
a hedge about his people. Turn to Job, verse 1. The book of Job, verse 1. This
sums it up. The book of Job, chapter 1. Listen to this. I'm going to start reading with
verse 6. Job chapter 1, verse 6. Now there was a day when the
sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came
also among them. And the Lord said to Satan, Whence
comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord,
and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking
up and down in it. And the Lord said unto Satan,
Have you considered Have you set your heart on my servant
Job? That's what he said. Have you
set your heart on my servant Job? My servant, who dwells in
the secret place, who's the most high almighty. Have you considered
my servant Job, that there's none like him in the earth, a
perfect and upright man, one that fears God and hates evil?
Then Satan answered and said unto the Lord, Does Job fear
you for nothing? Now listen to verse 10. Has thou
not made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about
all that he hath on every side? Have you not blessed the work
of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land? Isn't
that true? Yes, sir, that's exactly true.
God made a hedge around him. And that's what we're talking
about right here in this He'll cover you with his feathers,
under his wings. You'll not be afraid of the terror
by night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence
that walketh in darkness. A thousand will fall at your
sight, ten thousand. Only with your eyes shall you
behold the reward of the wicked, because God hath made, because
thou hast made the Lord God, who is my refuge, even the most
high thy habitation. And thou shalt no evil befall
thee, neither clay come thou thy dwelling. That's right. Now, by God's permission, and
to accomplish the Lord's purpose, and to do what needs to be done
for us, and ours, and these things, the Lord will also send us trials
and troubles. But these are ordained of God.
They're not accidents. They're not something that just
happens by chance. They're always on purpose. He
hedges us about. He protects us. He keeps us.
We're His. Nothing shall take place in your
life that's not ordained of God. Now I know that. Now you know
it too. But he uses these various things. We'll show you this now in the
next verse. Watch this. Listen. Listen to
me right here. Verse 11. Verse 11. He shall give his angels charge
over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. The angels of the Lord. He shall give not one angel.
I know it talks about his guardian angel, but his guardian angels.
He said he shall give his angels charge over it. Not one angel,
as some suppose, but all of his angels. And his angels had received
a commission from their Lord to watch carefully over the interests
of his elect. He shall give his angels charge. He put his angels in charge of
his elect. His angels have a charge to keep
thee in all thy ways. That's right. Now that's what
that verse is saying. He hedged them about. He gives
his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy journeys. The steps of a good man are ordered
of the Lord. Though he fall, yet he shall
not be cast down. No, so not early. Let me show
you this couple of places. You turn to Psalm 37. Psalm 37,
verse 7. Psalm 37, verse 7. Rest in the
Lord, wait patiently for him. Psalm 34, I'm sorry, Psalm 34, verse 7. Here it is. Psalm 34, the angel of the Lord
encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth him. He shall give his angels charge
over you, to keep you in all your ways. Keep you. He gives them a charge. Now what's
the next verse? Verse 12 in Psalm 91. And they shall bear thee up in
their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone." These
angels, God has commissioned them, given them a charge to
care for all of his children, keep them in all their ways.
And these angels shall bear thee in their hands, lest thou dash
thy foot against a stone. Now, most of us when we were
children, Used to go barefooted. You ever
go barefooted? I did, in the country. We didn't
wear shoes in the summer time. Couldn't afford them. We were
barefooted. And you know something? I had
so many stump toes. Did you ever have a stump toe?
Oh my goodness. Somebody always had a stump toe.
Somebody always had a nail that was coming off. and a toe that
had been stumped. It really hurts to stump your
toe. But I always had a mom, when
I stumped my toe, I cried a lot, and I'd come in and she'd take
me up in her arms. That's what it says here. He'd
give his, he'd bury them in his hands. She dashed her foot against
the stone and she'd wrap something around my toe and pour some turpentine
on it, you know, that's supposed to keep it from hurting. Burn
like fire. I had a lot of stump toes. But
my mom always took care of it. Now I've got a lot of stump toes
that angels have to take care of. Little foolish things. That's right. So many things. Stump your toes. But look at
the next verse. We're not talking about stump
toes in that next verse. Verse 13 says, I shall tread
upon the lion. A lion and a stump toe is a whole
lot different ballgame. An adder, an adder is a cobra,
an Egyptian cobra called an ass. A young lion and a dragon shall thou trample under whose
feet? His feet. Now there's a difference. I have some stump toes. I've
got lots of them. And God even takes care of them.
The angels of God and merciful God takes care of them. These
awesome enemies, the lion, and the adder, and the cobra, and
the demons, and all of these dragons, the
Lord has to take care of them. And He will. He'll trample them
under His feet. That's right. He'll trample them
under His feet. You don't have any enemy that
He can't take care of. I think that helps me a lot with
those two verses. He gives his angels charge over
me and I stump my toe. But oh my goodness,
a stumped toe is one thing but a cobra is another. And our Lord
Jesus Christ has the power to stamp out all of our enemies
and crust them under his feet and put an end to them. Then it says here in verse 14,
and I'll close with this, listen. Because he has set his love upon
me. Now that's read two ways. Because he has set his love upon
me. Christ set his love upon us.
We love him too. Our love is set upon him. But
we love him because he first loved us. That's right. His love
and my love go together. He is His first. He loved me
first. Behold the love of God. But there's
always a because in this business of law and grace. Because Adam
sinned, he fell. Because we sin, we die. Because
Christ died, we live. Because Christ, by His mercy
and grace, has set His love upon us, We love him because he loved
us. And because of this, the Lord
gives us that sevenfold legacy that I'm talking about. Because
he set his love upon me, in Christ, because of Christ. Number one,
listen, here's our sevenfold legacy. Because he has set his
love upon me, number one, therefore I will deliver him. You don't
need to fear, I'll deliver you. I'll deliver you from the penalty
of sin, from the power of sin, from the reign of death. I'll
deliver him because I found a ransom. Secondly, I will set him on high. Now that's seated with Christ
in the heavenly. That's as high as you can be.
The heavenly is as high as you can be exalted. And you will
be exalted in Christ. I'll set him on high. Why? He's
known my name. Rather we are known of him. And
we know his name and he knows our name. And he'll set us on
high. And then thirdly, he'll call
on me and I'll answer him. Number one, the believer feels
the need to pray. I tell you, the older you get,
the more you feel the need to pray. We feel a need to pray. Secondly, we are led to pray
a rite, not foolishly, but a rite. And when we are led to pray and
pray a rite, he said, I'll answer him. I'll answer him. And then he said, I'll be with
him in trouble. We have lots of trouble. In this
world you'll have trouble. Tribulation. You'll have stumped
toes. Lots of them. But I'll be with him. I'll be
with him in trouble. And in the next place he says,
I'll deliver him and I'll honor him. If any man serve me, this
is what our Lord said, if any man serve me, let him follow
me. And where I am, there shall my servant be. And if any man
serve me, him will my Father honor. I'll honor him. If any man serves me, I'll deliver
him, and my Father will honor him. If he serves me, not himself,
he serves me. This is the legacy of believers. And in the sixth place, and with
long life will I satisfy him, I shall dwell in the house of
the Lord forever. That's right, forever, forever. And then, oh, I'll tell you this,
and I'm going to show him. You ain't seen nothing yet. I'm
going to show you my salvation. We think sometimes we know what
it's all about. And we do. We know. We see through
a glass dimly. We know in part. We prophesy
in part. But when that which is perfect
is come, that which is in part be done away. And I'm going to
show him. It's going to take 10 million
years to even get started, but he's going to show me, he's going
to show me his salvation. And that's his glory. And the
glory which you gave me, I have given them, that they may be
one as we are, I in them and thou in me, that we may be made
perfect in one. The believer's legacy. What a joy to be a believer.