Psalm 91 ~ Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge —

Matthew 17:20
He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”



Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

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 look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge —
10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”

My grandmother Anita surprised all of us, the trip we took her to Vicksburg, Mississippi. She was about ninety years old, she ran up and down the steep slopes waving her arms and out talking the guide who rode in the car with us. She explained monuments I'd seen for years.

We have several books on Vicksburg. The stunningly manicured yards in the photos show bombardment and death. We also have my great,great grandmother's dining room wallpaper used for the last Vicksburg newspaper produced on dining room wall paper. The Daily Citizen. Thursday, July 2nd, 1863. The title starts out, "No longer will southerns dine on fricasseed kitten and fried mule". The kitten mentioned belonged to great-great grandmother Sarah. (Talk about your lack of forgiveness, my grandmother said she never said the word Yankee without Damn in front if it; swearing you'd have to get her to celebrate July 4th in Heaven before she would celebrate that.)

Psalm 91 conjures up imaginations of emotions evoked. Seeing people around you fall in a hail of lead bullets. Being trapped in fox holes.

The longing for protection. For dawns' early light.

There are many times in life battles like these occurred. We own several Roman early A.D. coins from ebay; soldiers took coins, buried them before battle, there were not banks nearby, and never returned to them.

And because the Scriptures repeat as the Lord explains to us again, we have several times this shield, these promises are repeated.

John 14:12-14
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Proverbs 18:10
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

Psalm 61:3
For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.

Proverbs 14:26
Whoever fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.

When daylight comes and life resumes, one would be shocked. And like the Children of Israel, in the Exodus, wonder how they would be continually sustained. The journey is discovering the Lord is not just a physical shield, but a lifter of heads. God is like that. He does not blow His own trumpet. Instead He allows us the joy of discovering the mysteries in life.

The Gospel. The Bible. The Scriptures. Are the Word of God. The unfolding mystery is for us to live in hope, faith and love. His Word is good. His promises are sure. Jesus Christ the LORD saves and redeems us.

The only gift we can return to HIM is gratitude. With goodness, mercy, the willingness to pray when we have a quiet moment or driving down the road. Because in Him  - we live, move and have our being.

Psalm 40

A Psalm of David.

I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.

4 Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!
5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are more than can be told.

6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
8 I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.

11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
ever preserve me!
12 For evils have encompassed me
beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
my heart fails me.

13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God!


Lamentations 3:22-23
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

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