I invite you to take your Bibles tonight and turn with me to the 91st Psalm. Psalm 91. I'd like to go ahead and read the Psalm in its entirety. May God bless us as we read His Word tonight. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God. In Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, from the noise and pestilence. He shall cover thee with feathers, and under His wings thou shalt trust. His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flyeth by day, nor the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eye 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. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder. The young lion, the dragon, shalt thou trample under feet, because he hath set his love upon me. Therefore will I deliver him. I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation. Well, as we saw in the previous psalm, this world is full of dangers and uncertainties. We're so convinced of the dangers in this life that we spend huge sums of money to purchase insurance to protect us from some of the losses. We have insurance to cover every calamity that you can imagine. The only thing insurance can do is protect us from financial loss. that accompanies the many dangers. It has no ability to limit our exposure to the damage or to the danger. A person afraid of flying will find very little comfort in his insurance on his life. The person that is diagnosed with cancer finds minimal comfort in knowing that his medical policy is up to date. No amount of insurance can protect us from the terror of war. And on and on and on, all of the dangers and disasters that can happen in this life. We try to protect ourselves from them, but ultimately we find no rest. Well, Psalm 91 presupposes living in such a world, as much as we worship money, It cannot be our ultimate hope. It will all disappear at a moment. Then at the end, it cannot shield us from death. Steve Jobs was worth 8.3 billion dollars when he passed away. With all of this vast wealth and all of these riches, he could not purchase a single moment of life upon this earth. Such is the nature of this life. If we place our hope and our trust in the things of this world, they will always leave us lacking. But the psalmist, the psalmist of Psalm 91, he understood and knew a much greater source of comfort, an infinite source of protection. He says in verse 1, He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Now if you notice, Psalm 91 doesn't have a superscription, which so many of the psalms do. There were some Jewish rabbis that asserted that when a psalm did not have a superscription, then the author of the psalm is the same as the previous psalm. Well, Psalm 90 did have a superscription, and it says, A prayer of Moses, the man of God. which then would make Moses the author of this psalm as well but we cannot be certain on this so ultimately we don't know who wrote Psalm 91 but there's one thing of which we can be certain concerning Psalm 91 we do know that the author knew the experience of a life in communion with God we do know that And we know also that Psalm 91 can be the experience of all who have a life in communion with God. This psalmist knew the peace of such a relationship. And so Psalm 91 truly speaks of what we would refer to as experimental Christianity. That is, the experience of Christianity. Most people really only know Christianity in theory. Most professing Christians only know Christianity this way, only in a theoretical sense. There's no reality, there's no experience of it, and there's nothing to draw from. It's merely a theoretical approach. In other words, they hear things about Christianity, and pastors stand and describe things about Christianity when in reality there are times the pastor himself has never experienced the realities of it and the people know nothing of the realities of it and so this whole concept of experimental Christianity falls dry as we begin to consider it. Well, I desperately want you to know God, and I want you to experience the power of His presence. I want you to know God. Now, does this seem strange to you, to begin to consider the experience of Christianity? In the past several weeks or several months, I have tried to stress before you the importance of prayer. and praying with expectation, the reality of the prayer of faith. Well, the point is, God honors the prayers of His people, because God is a real, living being in the lives of His people. These people that He has embraced for His own, working all good things on their behalf, and they have a relationship with this God. These things are very difficult to press upon people because they are things that must be known and must be experienced and must be believed. So they are realities of faith. We have seen in our own congregation continual demonstrations of God's mighty power, but still it is sometimes difficult for us to embrace the reality of it. Well, this psalm is a psalm that points to such a life. And it has provided great comfort for God's people throughout the ages. During times of war and famine and disease and poverty, through every earthly distress, we can find great comfort under the shadow of God's wings or under the shadow of our great God. Well, Psalm 91 can be divided into three headings. And to be quite honest with you, I'm not quite sure exactly how tonight's message will go. It's one of those messages I prepared it many weeks ago, but then last week I spent much time just going over it and trying to wrap myself around it. And it's really beyond the ability to comprehend and to wrap ourselves around it And so I found myself last week continually finding new elements of it and different nuances of it and shifting things around and trying to truly put it together in a coordinated manner that would be most beneficial to our congregation. And even this afternoon, I was still trying to really get a grasp of the whole thing. It's really beyond our ability to grasp. There's so much here. There are elements of it that we can surely see is messianic. We can surely hear Satan quoting some of this to Jesus in the wilderness. As he says in verse 11, he will give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against the stone. Even Satan knew this very well. He knew it to be the experience of the people of God, and he pressed it upon the heart of Christ. Well, there are three divisions that we can make in this psalm, and I think the divisions are clear and quite fascinating as we look at them. The first division is simply verses 1 and 2. If you'll notice, there are 16 verses in Psalm 91, so it doesn't divide evenly. But verses 1 and 2 will call confidence in God's protection to those that dwell in Him. And then the second part is verses 3 through 13. And here we find the contemplation of God's provision for those who trust in Him. And then thirdly, we find the conclusion of God's promise to those who love him. That's verses 14 through 16. But if you'll notice, I don't know if you noticed when I read it a few months ago, and that's one of the reasons I wanted to read it in its entirety. There are several pronoun changes in Psalm 91, personal pronouns. So in the first section, this section that I call confidence in God's protection, verses one and two, you'll find the first-person pronoun, I, as the psalmist expresses his own personal faith in God. So he says, verse 2, I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I will trust. But then in the second section, we find the second person, you, as the psalmist calls upon the reader, that is, us. to consider God's great provision in our life. And so, it really begins to come to the very heart and the nature of our life in God. Again, verses 1 and 2, the psalmist is describing his own personal relationship, but then he begins to press it upon us using the pronoun, you, over and over and over. And in the third section, I don't know if you noticed the sudden change in verses 14 through 16, but the pronoun again returns to the first person, I, and so he says in verse 14, I will deliver him. I will set him on high. Verse 15, I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him. Verse 16, with long life, I satisfy him. But guess who the speaker is here? It's not the psalmist anymore. It's God speaking His promises to His people. So He's declaring what He will do for the one who loves Him and calls upon His name. So can you begin to get a sense of how precious this psalm is as their precious promises and declarations that are pointed to us, you, and then God takes hold of the text himself and he says, and this is what I promise you. So let's begin to unfold the psalm, and I pray that God will bless us tonight. Again, this is the experience of the Christian that for us, and I trust that, you know, we're a very small congregation, but we're very unique because we have a very mature group of Christians. And so there may be some that gather, and perhaps in some churches perhaps do not understand the reality of these things. Well, I hope for us that we understand the reality of these things in our own life and that it will absolutely stun us to consider once again our life under the shadow of God. The blessings that the Christian has no one else understands and no one else knows of And so it begins, this first section, verses 1 and 2, God's protection, confidence in God's protection. So this is the I section, the psalmist is speaking of his personal faith in God. And so verse 1 speaks of the constant domain, or speaks of one whose constant domain is in the shadow of God. So he says, he that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. So it speaks of one who is dwelling and abiding. In other words, it's a constant domain under the shadow of God. It's His constant abode. But it says here in verse 1, He that dwelleth in the secret place, so it's the idea of a constant dwelling, it's an abiding, it's a constant place of habitation, but he speaks of one who is dwelling in the secret place of the Most High. Now, several of the translations, probably the translations that most of you have in your lap this evening, really don't think give justice to the full meaning of the word. So if you have the ESV before you tonight, or the NASV, the New American Standard, or the NIV, and I'm not sure any of you have the NIV in your lab, but they translate it, not hiding place, but shelter. Now, again, these translations are very literal translations, good translations. The New American Standard is excellent. The ESV is a good, reliable translation. And it's not improper to simply translate it, shelter. But I really don't think it captures the fullness of it. There is a sense of secret here. In fact, the It's from a form of the Hebrew word, safar, and to give you an example of the text that the word is used in, Deuteronomy 29, 29, that we all know very well. The secret things, it says, belong unto the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever. We may do all the words of this law. I was talking about A secret place. Now we can look at it in a couple of ways. One, a secret place would be looked at as a hiding place. A place where you're concealed. No one can see you. It's a secret place. So that describes really our life under the shadow of God. It's a secret place. No one knows of it. It's a hiding place. He conceals us. And the idea is that he's concealing us from danger, from all of the disasters and threats that may come upon the individual in this life. So it's hidden from, it's hiding us from the dangers that might come upon us. It's describing the ultimate protection. I mean if you're hidden, I can remember the movie Lord of the Rings and they have this cloak that they can pull over them and at one point Frodo pulls the cloak over them and he looks like a rock. He's concealed, he's hidden and of course he's completely passed over by the enemy because they can't even see him. That's the nature of our life, concealed under the protective hand of God. We often pray that God would put a hedge of protection around our children, or a hedge of protection upon this individual or that individual. Protect them, God! You cover them! Well, this is exactly what He does. He covers us and protects us. But it's also, and another reason I think the word secret is important here, I think it's also secret because It is a condition that is hidden from all of those who do not possess it. So they really can't understand the fullness of this blessing. And there are multitudes in this world, they're going through great trial and great torment, and they're in fear and anguish, and they're running here and there, and they're fearful of everything that's happening in this life. And they know nothing of what it means to be covered under the gracious hand of God. There are many professing Christians that know nothing of this as well. They are tossed to and fro with fears and doubts and worries because they know nothing of what it truly means to be hidden under the hand of God. For those hidden in God, we have a wondrous protection. And the psalmist uses metaphors to describe it. He speaks of the secret place of the Most High. But then he says, and they're dwelling and they're abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. So it's a secret hiding place. Children sometimes play and they have their secret hiding place that no one else can find. But then the psalmist refers to abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. And this brings before our thoughts many considerations as well. One is that of nearness, because your shadow is never far from you. Your shadow is attached to you. If you're walking down the street and the sun is at your back, your shadow is right there. It's always connected to you. It's a part of you and it's never far from you. And of course, the child of God is never far from God. God is always there. We're under his shadow. We're under his protection. And he's right there with us. He's never apart from us, never away from us. He's right there with us as we abide under his shadow. But then again, we think of being under the intense heat of the noonday sun, particularly in desert regions or or even in our southern climate, in the heat of the day, in the summer afternoon. If you're in the shade, it's not too bad, but if you're right out in the middle of the sun, even if you're not laboring or working, but you're just simply under the sun, the heat begins to become unbearable. You begin to perspire and you begin to wish for some kind of relief. For those who abide in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow So we're right there with him. He's protecting us from the heat, the intensity of the heat that sometimes plagues the people of this earth. It simply talks of him shielding us from harm. Verse 4 continues the thought. He says, He shall cover thee with his feathers. Under his wings thou shalt trust. It's a continued picture of protection, being covered. And of course you consider a bird or a hen covering her chickens under her wings. And this is a continual, frequent metaphor described in the Psalms. Psalm 17, verse 8, Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me, under the shadow of thy wings. Psalm 57 verse 1, O God, be merciful unto me, for my soul trusteth in thee. In the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge until the calamities be overpassed. Well, this is a picture of a life hidden safely under the protection of God. He shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. It's pictures of life hidden away from all the calamities of this life. So that the Christian, as we should be, is not one who is walking in fear and distrust and worry and concern. But we have this confidence hidden under the shadow of the Almighty. Such a life under the protection of God results in absolute confidence. Listen to, we sang it a few moments ago, a mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing, our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing. God's power and his might are absolute. In fact, there is no power upon this earth that can even compare with the mighty power of our God. And as our weakness is intensified, His power becomes even greater. So that as the Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. And Paul responds, Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest in me, For upon me, therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong." Well, again, we have to understand This is not simply set before us as some theoretical description of a people that's apart from us and completely different from us. It is not talking about a nebulous unknown experience that we know nothing about. I do not want to preach a theoretical Christianity. I pray God protect me from simply preaching a theoretical Christianity. In other words, then giving all the facts that the Bible has before us and all these wonderful stories that are given and the might and the power of God that's brought to bear upon His people over and over and over in Scripture, but after all, This is just a book of stories and there are wonderful theories that are given here, but it has no bearing upon our life personally. I don't want empty sermons, void of reality, and you don't want empty sermons, void of reality, and you do not want a Christianity that is completely void of the power of God dwelling in us. When the psalmist writes here, you know, please take this and I pray by the Spirit of God that it will be applied to your heart in such a real way. When he's describing abiding under the shadow of God, that you're able to say, yes, this is the reality of my life. The storm may come, the trial may come, the difficulty may come, but my God is right there. And it is not an accident that it is happening. And He is working on my behalf, and it is a good thing that He is doing upon me this day. We must know the reality of Christianity, and I desperately want you to understand the experience of a life reconciled to God, a life under God's shadow, a life under God's direction, a life with the confidence of God's good pleasure upon you. Too often, people see God as some kind of an enemy. He's always there to swat you. He's angry with you. He's angry with your sin. That is not the experience of Christianity. Oh, if you're lost tonight and you do not know Christ, that's precisely the reality of your life. He's angry with the wicked. He is fiercely angry at the wicked, but not so with his people. He protects them. He loves them. He cares for them. He nurtures them. He's always with them. He will never fail them. And they continue to grow nearer to Him. And He continues to set His grace forth upon them. And He continues this marvelous work that He's begun in them. And their life is a continued process as they continue to progress towards ever greater experiences of holiness. And their life in Christ Well, we have to understand that this is a shelter of faith. Now, if you look at Psalm 91, the psalmist is describing his personal experience with God. And he says, again, he that dwells in the secret place of the Most High, He shall also dwell, he shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. And I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress and my God. In him will I trust. It's a statement of faith. In him will I trust. So all the marvelous things that we're going to see here in Psalm 91, they're truly marvelous. And they're almost beyond our ability to grasp. We begin to say, this cannot be. This cannot be for us. It's too great. It's too marvelous. It's beyond our experience. So it cannot be for us. It must be for another time or another people. Or maybe we're reading it wrong. Or maybe we shouldn't be understanding it in this way. But the psalmist says, I will say to the Lord, He is my refuge. In other words, oh God, whatever calamity, whatever difficulty, oh God, you are my refuge, you are my fortress, you are my strength. I will trust in you. So, this is the shelter of faith. In this world of uncertainty, we can trust in God absolutely. Now, let me make a couple of statements, lest I be misunderstood. I'm not talking about some health wealth gospel. A gospel that's void of substance. A life void of a active pursuit of Christ, a life void of a hunger after righteousness, and a pursuit of holiness, and a longing for ever more sweeter experiences of Christ. I'm not talking about a health-wealth gospel, but I'm talking about a life consumed with a thirst for Christ, to want Him more, to want more of His grace. I'm not talking at all about a health wealth gospel and I'm also not discounting God's sovereign purposes that sometimes he designs calamity for our life because this psalmist here is talking about deliverance from fantastic calamity I mean after all he says in verse 6 For verse 5, Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, or the arrow that flies by day, nor for the pestilence that walketh in the darkness, or the destruction that wasteth at the noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand that shall not come nigh thee. Well, one, it's not a health wealth gospel. And two, it is not discounting the sovereign purposes of God. That there are sometimes that he designs calamity for us. You have to understand, first of all, we're abiding under his shadow. So he's with us. It's a dwelling place. It is an abiding place. It is a continual abiding place. He is always with us. He is never far from us. As a hen covers her chicks with her wings, God covers us with His wings. He is always there on our behalf. He is comforting us. He is working mightily through us or for us. So we understand that there are times that He designs calamity for us But we understand that when it comes, He's bringing it for our good. It's hard for us to grasp. I mean, we think that to live a life always in health is a good thing. There are times cancer can be the best thing. There's a reason when John Piper was diagnosed with prostate cancer several years ago. He writes, don't waste your cancer. Don't waste it. In other words, it's something very good. Something God has brought before you. Something to be used at the hand of God for your great good. Don't waste it. Use it. Experience it. Allow God to teach you through it. And so, we're not discounting the sovereign purposes of God that He designs calamity for our good And when those times come, for those who trust Him, and those who abide in Him, and those with the confidence that He's working all good things on their behalf, during those times we must trust. God, this is good. You do not bring evil upon me. You do not bring things that are not for my good. And there's nothing that ever happens by accident. And it's not something that has come that's beyond your control. And you're not off in the distance somewhere, wringing your hands, hoping things work out better. God, you've ordained this from eternity. You've ordained it for our good. The Romans 828 passage is absolutely fantastic. For we know that, remember, Paul writing to the Church of Rome and he's presupposing they've got knowledge. They've been blessed by the wonderful grace of God in giving them knowledge and there's much that they know. They're able to teach one another and admonish one another and encourage one another. They have understanding. He says, and we know that all things work together for good. For who? Those that love God. What else? Those that are called according to His purpose. We know that there are those that love God because He first loved them and that He's called them and He's working His purpose in their life. And so, I'm not discounting that God can bring calamities upon us by His great design. And we receive these things with absolute thanksgiving. But I am saying that we have a mighty fortress that we abide in. Do you trust that? And is it the experience of your life? Have you seen over and over, and as you go through trials and calamities and difficulties, that He is our mighty fortress and He is your God? It's equal to Thomas' confession, my Lord and my God. So is Christ your fortress and your refuge? And is He your Lord and your God? The nature of this psalm is simply this. If you trust Him with your soul, do you not also trust Him with your life? We tend to try to separate the two. That's what happens when Christianity simply becomes a theory. And so, Christ died so long ago, and here's hell, and I don't want to go to hell. So He died for my sin, so I'm delivered from my sin. But I'm still just walking my life upon this earth, and He's there, and I'm here, and I'm just going through this ferry of Christianity. Or is it, on the other hand, the reality of true saving faith, wherein you've trusted your eternal soul to Him, but you understand that He has just not delivered you from your sin, but He's also a part of your life. You can trust Him, and He works all good things for you. So the psalmist now spends the next 11 verses describing how God provides for those who trust Him. And let me just tonight begin to look at these. I don't think there's going to be time to look at this and also have time to look at what God has to say for us. This last section, where it's the I section, that God is speaking these things for us. But this section here, verses 3-13, it's the you section. In other words, this is what God will do for you. And again, we shouldn't see this as some fantastic element that's beyond Christianity. And this is just the Old Testament. It's just the Psalms and just the experience of the psalmist that has nothing to do with us. The people of God were different back then. God has his people now, but we're different than his people back then. And it's different for us to abide under the shadow of the Almighty today. Or is it true? The people of God are the people of God. And the people of God are hidden under the shadow of the Almighty. And that the psalmist can say of the Lord, He's my refuge and my fortress and my God. We can say the same thing. And we can also say in Him will I trust. Listen to what he says. He sets the tone of the section by describing two categories of which God provides deliverance for all those who call upon his name. Surely, he says, he will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence. Those are the two categories and he begins to expound on them as the psalm continues. But the snare of the fowler describes our enemies. And the enemies can come in many different ways. We have physical enemies, and God forbid that these are many in number. As far as David goes, and I'm not saying that David is the psalmist here, but David had many enemies. And as you read in 1 and 2 Samuel, you get an idea of just how many enemies he had. There are earthly enemies and you may have an enemy at work or a neighbor that's an enemy. Those that are truly trying to do you harm. Of course, it could simply be an enemy of someone that has broken into your house with force and you happen to be there and he has designed to do you harm. So there are physical enemies as well as there are enemies that assault nations and there are many nations throughout history that have been overpowered as larger and more powerful armies attack and overcome. So there are physical enemies upon the earth. We're thankful as Americans to have a powerful army. But nations come and go. The United States is a relatively young nation. We've only had a powerful army since World War II. So we shouldn't put too much trust in the power of armies. So there are physical enemies. There are also spiritual enemies. Oh, but we're too sophisticated to believe in that kind of stuff. You know, spiritual enemies. fiery arrows that assault us. We're too sophisticated to really believe that there are principalities and powers. There are these demonic beings that are at the beck and call of Satan who continually tempt us and assault us with lies and deceits. Remember, Satan is just one being. And for little small folk like you and I, I doubted if we've ever been tempted personally by Satan at all. So when you say, well, the devil is tempting me, well, the devil's probably never ever been near you. He's just one being. He cannot be all over the earth at one time. He's got his hands busy with the big ones, like our president. Those that are movers and shakers in the world, perhaps he tempts personally. Men like Martin Luther who actually turned the world upside down. Luther understood what it meant to battle these fiends and knew what it meant to battle Satan personally. But for us, well, there are enough to bother us. as the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to defend yourself against these evil ones, these principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of the air. They are surely very organized, it would seem, and they are real. And so when the Apostle Paul says to be sober and vigilant Because we understand the deceitfulness of the enemy. We understand that there is spiritual warfare. We understand that the devil does go about through his many fiends that follow him. He does go about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Paul warns us, lest we be ignorant of his devices, to always be vigilant and on guard. The point is this, though the enemy is real, and though the spiritual warfare is hot, and though we wage it continually, we know we do have a mighty God that defends us from our enemies. And then, of course, don't forget the third enemy that I wonder sometimes. I don't really have that many earthly enemies. It doesn't mean that any won't rise up. There's always that danger. We've been praying for the poor pastor that's on our prayer list, that his own congregation turned against him. Enemies on every hand and suffering through all of this. And you can imagine the torment and the toil that this poor man is going through. There are earthly enemies. And I'm so thankful not to be in a situation that there are many pastors that go through as they weep and grieve before the throne of God, as the enemies are all around them seeking to undermine their ministry and undermine the gospel of Christ. These enemies are real. I surely don't discount the spiritual warfare with the wicked one. He does deceive and He does attack us. I think sometimes my worst enemy is the one that looks back at me in the mirror every morning. The enemy that is so hard to come against. The one so hard to get the advantage over. The one that I cry out continually, Oh God, give me large measures of Your grace to continue to overcome this enemy that resides within. So we do have enemies all around us. And the psalmist says, surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler. Then he adds the second category, deliverance from the noisome pestilence. We don't use terminology like this. We don't describe our enemies as the fowler. We don't describe disease as pestilence. That's what it's talking about. It's talking about deadly disease. Verses 9 and 10, he says, Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation, in other words, because you've made the same habitation that I have, your habitation, there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. Well, what kind of a promise is that? And he's talking about all kinds of disease. The type that shows itself openly and there are diseases that do that. As soon as you have contracted it, you know it very quickly. It makes itself known very quickly. There are intestinal viruses that when you get this disease, that passes relatively quickly, but while it does you think you're going to die. And it's not hidden, you understand it very quickly and it's an assault upon you that you wish you didn't have. But then there are those that lurk in hiding. Most people are completely unaware of cancer until it reaches its latter stages. These are diseases that lurk in the background. The psalmist says here in verse 6, nor the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. So he's talking about disease here. Now, it doesn't mean that those who trust in God never suffer from the evil intention of enemies. I just mentioned some pastors and we never know all the details, but I do know there are many pastors that are completely innocent. They're simply going through the assault of those that hate the gospel and hate God and hate His work. And as soon as someone begins to stand up and point them to their sin, they despise them. And such has been the case throughout all history. So it's not at all saying that we will not ever face enemies, nor is it true that Christians never contract diseases, that we never go through the suffering, that we never contract cancer. But it is true And I'll use a word here. It is true that they are habitually delivered from these things. And that's why we should pray with confidence. Now, again, I don't want to be accused of a health wealth gospel. I'm not one that would say that if you just have enough faith, you'll never get sick. I'm not saying that at all, because there are many times that God designs sickness. for our well-being. And I think those that preach that, and they preach that it's not God's will that you ever become sick. And that the Christian experience is that which should rise against all disease, because after all, He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. Listen, there you go. that the work of Christ upon the cross included deliverance from all earthly disease and that is absolutely wrong. But I can also say the testimony of Christians is that we are habitually, and that's the only word I can use, habitually delivered. We can all give testimony. to experiences in which we have seen disease or physical calamity or physical distress and we pray and God hears our prayer. And should that be a surprise to us? Should that be outside the realm of the norm? Should that be so far removed from us that we don't even expect it at all? Or should we have such expectation when we pray before God that when we have a loved one that's diagnosed with diabetes or a loved one that's been described as having a Down syndrome baby or one that's diagnosed with cancer and on and on and on, should we not pray and should we not pray in faith and should we not pray with expectation and is it not the experience of Christians to see that habitually God delivers us from the disease or should this be so far removed from the Christian experience that we don't even expect it because after all It's not something that happens to the Christian, and that these wonderful testimonies that we find here in Scripture just doesn't have anything to do with us. Or, do we read James 5.15, And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up, And if he hath committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." Is this just simply something that we don't understand so we just cast it aside in this vast treasure chest that we have of passages that don't fit our experience and so we simply set them aside? Or is our experience that? We've seen it over and over. And God continually testifies the reality in our life. And so we have this treasure chest of answered prayers. The reason journaling is such a good idea, you can write down, December 17, 2011, I prayed and God heard. And what a wonderful, gracious act of our great God. And March 16, 2012, and I'm just picking numbers out of my head, May 16, 2012, July 23, 2012, and on and on and on, the people of God pray, and God hears their prayers, and does wonderful things on their behalf. Is that outside the realm of the Christian experience? Or is it exactly a part of the Christian experience? And isn't it also true that during the times when God is not pleased, any one of us could be smitten with cancer, say tomorrow, and the body of Christ will come together and pray. And once again, we may see the wondrous hand of God in delivering our loved one, our beloved brother or sister from the cancer, and we are not absolutely amazed because we know that our God does mighty things for His people, but it may be they are not healed. And when that happens, is it not true that even in the midst of the trial we receive the love and comfort of the Savior and even during this time are we not abiding under the shadow of the Almighty so that when the heat and the dreadful scorching sun of the trial that we go through comes bearing down upon us Our loving God takes us, because He's always there, and He's designed it for our good, and He takes His wing, and He pulls us close to Him, and He covers us with His own shadow, and He helps us to bear the extent of the trial that we are going through. Is this not also the habitual experience of the believer? And is it not true in your own life? Does this ring true upon your heart, your own life, your experience with Christ, that He is with you, and He covers you, and He walks with you, and He never leaves you? Is this the experience of your life in Christ, and that you have the assurance that He is protecting you? And Christians are habitually, and I'm talking about when they even dare pray, But I fear that there are so many times that we don't pray at all. We don't have any expectation of deliverance. James says you have not because you ask not. Because we don't believe. And it's not our experience to believe. And it's not our experience to expect big things from our God. And so we continue to go through life not trusting under the shadow of God. So we're always fearful, and we're always worrying, and we're always concerned. And when the trial comes, we think it's some strange thing, and we flee from it, not understanding that this, too, God has designed for us. And it's a good thing. And it's sometimes during those trials that we experience His grace even more. Because even when we're delivered, We see the mighty hand of God, but when we're not, to actually have Him, and we're using anthropomorphisms, human descriptions to describe God, but He does take His strong arm and He pulls us to Himself and He demonstrates His love for us like at no other time. And so there are times that to go through the affliction is the greatest thing. Though we don't believe it and we don't think it for the moment, Sometimes it is the greatest thing. I can remember a man that was diagnosed with cancer. It's been several years ago now. Many years I'm talking about. We were in the old building. I'd only been at Trinity for a couple years and he wasn't even a member of our church. But we went and visited him. He was dying of cancer. And he said, I have never experienced the love of God like I am right now. Would he trade that for a moment? The experience of the Christian with his life under the shadow of God is beyond comprehension and it is our experience and it's one that we can embrace and live in with great joy and great hope because our God does care for us and He does protect us. So we will continue here next time. You know, this we pray, God, give me a heart of faith to receive the teachings and read through Psalm 91. It is a fantastic psalm. And as you read through it, you say, this is beyond my comprehension. I'm not sure I can even embrace this. It's talking about angels that bear us up. I'm not sure that this can be my experience. But on the other hand, I think it can be. Give particular attention to verses 9 through 13, because he does give some conditions for such blessings of protection. Verse 9 says, Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation. Is he your habitation? Are you resting in him? Are you trusting in him? Is he your God? Well, I pray that we will be able to sing As we sing tonight, Luther's wonderful hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God. I pray that when we sing that, and we can sing it from experience, my God is my fortress, my refuge, and I will rest under the shadow of his wing. Well, let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray that you would take these words and press them upon our hearts. May it be such an exciting concept for us, not something new. not something beyond our personal experience, for we have all experienced the peace and the comfort of abiding under your shadow. We've all experienced the might and power where we have been protected from the foul or the noisome pestilence. We've also all experienced the times that we go through the trial and the experience of being swept under your arm protected under your shadow, and experience your loving kindness unto us. Father, help our experience of the life in Christ to become ever sweeter as we continue to long more after you, continue to pursue hard after holiness, and continue, O Father, to embrace the wonders of the life that you've given us. And now, Father, I thank you for the wonderful token of your grace in providing the food that we're about to partake of. And I pray that you bless it to our nourishment. Of course, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You're dismissed.