Heart Songs: Week Four | Safe and Sound (Psalm 91)Sample

He Is My Deliverer

Two Irishmen were crossing the Atlantic together on a large ship. The ship sank and the two men, Mike and Pat, narrowly escaped death. In the icy ocean water, they floundered around clinging to a couple of planks. Both men thought they were at the end of their life. 

Pat was addicted to using obscene profanity and decided that if he repented from it, the Lord would come to his rescue. Mike listened to his friend's plan, thought his theology was sound, and encouraged Pat to go ahead. Pat started to pray, but just before he reached the main point of his repentant prayer, Mike spotted a ship coming toward them. 

The sight of that rescue vessel made Mike feel as delighted as Christopher Columbus must have felt when he first spotted the North American shore. Mike hollered, "Hold it, Pat! Don't commit yourself! Here's a ship!" Pat immediately stopped praying (adapted from Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1,501 Other Stories [Nashville: Word Publishing, 1998]). Doesn't this story resemble how many of us handle situations that need prayer? We pray when we are in a jam, yet as soon as things improve we forget God.

The psalmist in today's verses had been rescued from death. Instead of forgetting the Lord, he celebrated God's faithfulness in his life knowing He is my deliverer.

Read the verses below and answer the following questions:

"Surely he will save you 

from the fowler's snare

and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart" (Psalm 91:3-4, NIV).

Practical Observation

1. According to the psalm, what will God surely do for you?

2. Describe the two dangers from which you need deliverance.

Protected from Spiritual Attacks: A fowler is someone who traps or hunts birds for sport or food. Perilous pestilence means destruction or plague resulting from mischief and perversity. These words could refer to spiritual attacks. "Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around…looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8, NLT). 

3. What imagery does the psalmist use to portray God's protection of His own? Do you think this is a good description? Why or why not?

4. According to the psalm, how does God shield His own?

Protected from Direct Attacks: A shield protects against frontal attacks; a buckler is a piece of armor that surrounds the body. Truth, which means faithfulness to a set standard, is one of God's moral and personal characteristics (Nelson's Bible Dictionary [Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2005], PC Study Bible). The truth of God's unwavering Word surrounds us like impenetrable armor. "The entirety of Your word is truth" (Psalm 119:160).

Personal Application

a. God is often portrayed in Scripture as the protective parent of helpless young birds. How does being covered with God's wings make you feel?

b. Scripture teaches that the following can be found under God's wings: deliverance, joy, comfort, refuge, support, and healing. Which of these do you need the most today? Pray to your heavenly Father using Psalm 61:4 as a guide. "I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings."

c. Satan has been setting traps for God's children since the garden of Eden. Because Satan is the father of lies (see John 8:44), our greatest weapon against him is God's truth. What lie has become a snare to you? What steps will you take to combat this lie and surround yourself with truth (e.g., pray for spiritual discernment, study and memorize Scripture, seek biblical counseling)?

In today's verses, the psalmist celebrated God's faithfulness to rescue us from death. God has not forgotten us, but as the prophet Isaiah said, "Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands" (Isaiah 49:15-16). Those who believe He is faithful know they are safe and sound.