Psalms 91 Commentary
Psa 91:1
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
To dwell is to abide, a place of residence. Where we live. It’s not a place where we visit or sometimes frequent, or even just know about. It’s not a rental; or portable house. But it is a solid, established, non movable place of permanent residence. It represents who and what we are. It’s our refuge, home and castle.
Secret place: a place unknown and unseen by others. It’s a secret place. In this instance, it’s not a fixed location but a fixed relationship. It goes with us where we go, and stays where we stay. It is always with us, unseen by others. We don’t advertise it or announce it, or flaunt it. It’s more than just an inner peace of knowing God is there with you, it’s the confident assurance of knowing our relationship with God is strong and secure. It’s different from knowing God is there with us, it the reality that we know him and he knows us! The onlookers will never see any physical windows above our heads or halos and wings. The openness we share with God is invisible to the Seeing Eye. It’s a secret place. Saints will understand it, sinners will sense it, angles will marvel over it, and devils will flee from it. But we can experience it and walk in it every day. It’s not a secret place to us and our Savior.
Most high: the “high places” of God has nothing to do with physical elevations, government positions, church ladders, social status or recognitions. It deals explicitly with our proximity to God. In Gods economy, the closer we are to God, The Higher we are.
In the Old Testament, the high places were usually a place of spiritual debauchery, worship of devils and all things dark. But this practice was a subversion of “Gods intended high places”. In Gods high places, it was a place of special worship and praise to him.
Gods high places involved songs of praise and thanksgiving, sometimes special offering were made. It wasn’t a place of seeking forgiveness or making restitutions, or any mandatory sacrifices. It was time of special focus of drawing near to God. But this practice soon took preeminence over the temple worship, and the temple was being neglected. Plus, not everyone who went to the high places had any business there. They needed to get right with God first, and that at the temple. Then the high places became a party place, which evolved into all kinds of wickedness. God had to forbid the high place due to it fallen spiritual condition. Some of the righteous Kings tried to tear down the wicked high places, while other sought to co-exist with the practices there, Based on its popularity with the people. A few kings succeeded in removing it altogether. Those who didn’t, found its underlying influence soon took over the kingdom.
In this passage, the psalmist refers to the secret place of the most-high. It’s here that everything is as God intended it to be.
A very special place to draw close to God and worship him. Above the den and clamor of the world and above the regular meetings of the church. We chose to get alone with God and draw close to him. While the “secret place” denotes our invisible relationship with God, the “high place” is the time set aside that expresses and cultivates our relationship to him.
Under the shadow of the almighty: here we see the mind, spirit and will of Gods children, tightly embracing the great I AM of eternity.
We are lost in him! Like a child who wraps their arms tightly around the fathers’ neck, hears his breathing, feels his heart beat, feels his warmth, smells his sweat, who feel their fathers’ strong arms around them, and is totally absorbed in the rapturous experience! The reality of love, acceptance and safety, Of the glorious I AM! This surely must be the Holy of Holies in heaven. Where angles cannot enter, where the triunion God head embraces the redeemed! Under the shadow of the almighty!
Psa 91:2a
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress:
Refuge and Fortress: a place of protection. It doesn’t necessarily mean a hiding, as unseen, but rather a strong fortress against a blast.
It portrays a solid and high, well designed stone wall. It’s tight, secure, with large cut boulder. It has stood the acid test of time and is unmovable! As one would expect to find at a castle or to military fortress.
Standing unmovable against the thunderous storms, as lighting, strong winds, and torrents of rain come crashing upon it. You can imagine seeing this mighty wall as the lighting flashes, and seeing the almost solid waterfalls come pouring down its glistening face.
But, inside there is peace, and warmth, and light and laughter. There is the crackling of the fire place, the smell of the savory foods, the atmosphere of genuine happiness and peace.
They are trusting in that wall, and all its adjoining structures. Their trusting that it will not leak, weaken, or tumble. That wall has been trustworthy since the beginning of antiquity. It’s never moved, cracked or crumbled since the very beginning. This fortress was built as solid as the mountain it sits on. All the forces of the Roman Empire couldn’t conquer it. The sins of Egypt couldn’t budge it. The wisdom of the Greeks and all their machinery couldn’t scale it. The floods of darkness couldn’t undermine it. The Giants of Canaan were defeated at its very doors.
Today it stands just as tall and strong as any fortress ever stood. Its flags and towers are symbols of righteousness and truth.
One would surely ask: Who built this magnificent edifice of strength and majestic power?” Who were its people? Where did they get such knowledge and wisdom? How did they construct and move such huge stones, and set them so high on this mountain? Where did such stones come from? Truly this fortress is a wonder of all the world!
Ps. 91:2b
My God; in him will I trust!
God built this fortress! It was Gods house. His hand formed the stones, and carved it towers! Yes God built it! This fortress was on the blueprint of Gods design, at the counsels of the trinity, before Genesis 1:1 It was constructed by the master carpenter himself. He who built all things by his word and power!
Many kings and kingdoms have come against it. All thought they could conquer it and claim it at their own. But they all trusted in themselves and in futile man. They trusted in horses and weapons and tactics and skill. But all failed and were miserably defeated.
They forgot God and trusted in themselves. The sword of the wicked can never enter, and the deceits of this world are barred from its doors.
But to the broken, the humble, the lame, the blind, and the child, the innocent and the pure, the fortress doors swing wide, and the trumpeters sound forth, the flags are raised and the kings’ choir begins to sing! The angles rejoice over every repentant sinner who knocks on the castle gate, to them the porter opens. The drawbridge bows before the humble, as its citizens rejoice, a sinner has come home!
(Psa 91:3)
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler
The snare is the trap that has been set to capture small animals or birds. Such as nets or hooks, and such like. It is interesting that verse: 4, speaks of Gods protections as being wings and feathers. Satan knows he can never snare God in anything. So, in retaliation, Satan goes after the next best thing, Gods children. Thus, satan is the fowler, the fowler’s snare is directed and specifically targeted to capture Gods Children. This is no accident. Satan hates God and everything that pertains to Him. Every devise of cunning craftiness and vile deceits are employed to entangle Gods children. Satan sets his highest bids to enslave the little chicks, that God would gather under his wings.
Thus, we find not only sins cruelest means of brutality and beguilement; it is here we also see Gods greatest mercies and tenderness!
We are fully aware of Gods mighty deliverances on a personal level. Who has cried unto God, And God did not hear? Who has looked unto the hills of Gods mercies, and God did not come? Sweet deliverance indeed!
If God can hear Jona from the belly of the whale, in the depths of the sea, under the darkest of circumstance, in blatant rebellion, and full of hardheartedness, tight fisted stubbornness, there comes a tiny peep for help, and deliverance comes!
If God could deliver Jonah, then no one should perish! Only the libraries of heaven can contain the full stories of God deliverances for his people who cry to him! And here we find in Gods holy word: “he shall deliver thee”! YES! Even THEE! It is written and spoken by the great I AM of eternity! His character is at stake, he will not fail thee! He will not fail his word! He will not disappoint heaven or embarrass the angles, nor give way to sins tragic doubts, and he will not shrink back nor repent of his promises! Deliverance will come as sure as the dawning, as sure as morning star will sing of his mercies! God will not fail thee. The earth will crack open like and egg and fry in the sun, before God will let one of his promises fall to the ground! GOD will deliver thee!
Ps 91:3
From the noisome pestilence. Pestilence is an epidemic disease. Something that has multiplied itself in almost everyone. It can be an unseen element like the plagues of Europe that killed millions. Or it can be carried by something that can be seen. Such as the boiling dark gasses of chemical warfare. You see the mist coming and soon unspeakable horrors engulf you. Your world and those around you, becomes a scene as only hell could be compared to! Some chemicals used in warfare are so horrific, not even nightmares can compare to it.
These are the unspeakable horrors of darkness.
I wonder what the psalmist was remembering when he wrote Noisome Pestilence? I know after a battle; the bodies of the dead were scattered across the countryside like weeds in a field. Sometime 100,000 would be slain. Their decaying bodies, in various stages of rot, must have seemed a picture from hell. And yet that wasn’t the end of it. For soon the diseases and the smell, would spread until the living would be engulfed in plagues of deaths darkness.
Amide this scene come the chilling wailing of the living, as the plague broke out in full force. The sights, the smell, the sounds, all come together to produce a gripping scene called noisome pestilence!
The words of the psalmist “He shall deliver thee from the noisome pestilence”, would be a promise so wonderful, as if it was heaven itself!
If one has never seen the noisome pestilence, then perhaps the promise of deliverance would lose some of it significance. A Childs understanding of it would seem so shallow and innocent. But to the seasoned warrior, he clearly understood. And here we find this promise of God, to deliver us from the noisome pestilence.
One day the scenes that King David saw, will reappear in our generation. It will be comforting to know that God saw it coming and has provided such wonderful promises for us in that day!
Even now the political and spiritual condition of our country is racing towards insanity and darkness at full speed. The noisome pestilence is taking on another dimension of spiritual dark fervor. It seems like the darkness is winning.
But God has promised to be a shelter for his children. And what God has promised, He will surely do! “He shall deliver thee from the noisome pestilence”, it does not matter if its physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, or all combined together, God is still on the throne, and he will not turn back. “He shall deliver thee from the noisome pestilence”, Oh praise his name forever!
(Psa 91:4)
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust:
At first glance, feathers won’t seem like much of a covering. And Wings may seem a little frail. But it isn’t the feathers or the wings that doing the protecting. The question is, whose feathers and wings are they? It’s Gods! Who is in control of those feathers and wings? God IS!
At first, I thought of a sparrow or a raven, and thought that a little foolish. But then God showed me a mighty eagle, whose eye can see for miles, whose sharp talons will cause even the bravest of birds to turn aside. Who rides upon the storms and whose flight is a wonder of acrobatic maneuvers! As agile as a humming bird and fearless as a lion. If God wanted to make an animal to demonstrate his character to man, the Eagle would be a good teacher!
If the eagle can dive into the frigid Alaskan waters, grab a salmon deep in the water, drag it fighting and twisting to the surface, take back to flight, twice its own weight, and bring it home! Then SURELY God is trying to teach me a lesson and example of his ability to care for me!
When I am thrown into the dark waters of confusion. And feel the icy indifference of others, and think no one see’s me here, or understands my hopeless condition, all is lost, I remember the lesson of the Eagle. If an Eagle can do it, how much more can God!
The mighty hand of the almighty God, reaches down to my tossed soul, and lifts me up to heavenly places! At his side and full of glory!
I can say with King David, he has covered me with his feathers, and under his wings I have trusted! And with a high and uplifted hand he has brought me out!
Ps91:4
his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
His truth! Not MY truth! My truth is as faulty as my human understanding. But God is right 100%, every time!
In this life we deal with facts, But God deals with truth. Facts and truth are opposites. The devil deals with facts, God deals with truth.
Facts are as changeable as the weather, but truth never changes.
Facts glorify circumstance, truth glorifies God.
Truth delivers, facts don’t.
Truth comes from God, facts come from circumstance.
Truth is as solid as a corner stone. Facts are as shifty as the sand.
God’s word of truth has power!
My truth is mixed with facts and human reasoning
But Gods truth is pure and faultless!
His truth is eternal and all powerful
There is no shadow of turning in Gods timeless truth.
His truth sets men free! His truth is my light and my guide. His truth is without error.
Gods truth is always right, always in love, always for our good. Never insensitive or in error. Jesus is truth, God is truth, the Holy Spirit is truth. Gods word is truth.
Man deals with facts. Man can be well meaning and sincere in every way, but with all of his good intentions, Man is still faulty. But Gods word is real truth!
It’s His truth that has been my shield of defense, and my buckler! In him will I trust!
The almighty power of an almighty God, gives us his almighty word of truth. Nothing can stop that! Praise his wonderful name!
Gods’ word will come to pass as sure as God is God. God deals with ultimate power and ultimate control and ultimate truth.
David had settled it in his heart and mind to walk with God even if he had to do it alone. And we find him doing just that!
Here he is, going down into the valley to face his giant, but David’s trust was in Gods word! He proved that you could trust God and his word, even if you have to go it alone, while all the “Dudley-do-rights” with their pride and approved armor, stand back in fear!
Israel was looking at the facts! But David was looking at Truth!
His truth shall be MY shield and buckler!
(Psa 91:5)
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
It doesn’t say there isn’t any such thing as terror; neither does it say terror isn’t to be feared. Terror is real and to be feared. But notice what it says, “THOU” shall not be afraid of it! Others will fear and tremble, but “THOU” will NOT! This certainly raises the question of “why not”? If we saw the battle fields that David saw, or the carnage that followed, or the plagues that soon appeared, or the many other terrors of his day, why would we not be afraid of it? Let’s look into the heart and mind of David and see why not!
1Sa 17:45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield (FACTS) but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. (TRUTH)
1Sa 17:46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; (FAITH) and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee;(ZEAL) and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; (COMMITMENT) that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. (TESTIMONY)
1Sa 17:47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands. (WITTNESS)
It’s no wonder why the psalmist of Israel wrote: Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day!
David had already faced his own terrors and arrows! And he Had clearly put his confidence in God for the outcome! God always wins!
DID you catch that! He put his confidence in God for the outcome! The outcome is in Gods timing and operation, for the Lord knows his own timing. But the outcome Is as certain as God!
When God becomes our defense, the victory is certain! Others will fear and tremble, but “THOU” will NOT!
Psa 91:6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness;
the pestilence that walks in darkness is not the same as the noisome pestilence in verse 3. This pestilence walks in darkness. it’s the destruction that is planned by evil powers of both men and devils. The wicked plot to destroy the multitudes. They keep their plans in secrecy, it’s source is unknown, A hidden pestilence that hides its source and blames something else. This false source has men preparing diligently and wasting time and resources on things that are not the cause. thus, allowing the carnage to continue. its secrecy makes everyone a suspicious villain. Thus, distorting the unity of the people. “Walks in darkness” is the workings of the underworld, in its attacks on Gods people.
Psa 91:6
nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
The NOONDAY destruction is the outward visible manifestations, of those secret plotting’s, done by devils and men. It carnage is plainly seen and understood. This noonday destruction, could not be hidden. And was a clear testimony to the plotting’s of darkness.
The carnage David witnessed after a battle was astounding, brutal and shocking.
The sights, sounds, smells, would have all came back in memory for years to come. But for David, he refused to be controlled by those memories. But turned all things over to God. It is God who sets one up and puts another down. When the wicked set themselves up to destroy Gods people, it is they that bring theses destructions to themselves. For God will always deliver his own! Just as in the days of Abraham, as he pled with God and said will thou destroy the righteous with the wicked? Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? But for the people of God, they don’t have to worry about the destruction that wasteth at noon day! They shall stand by their righteousness!
Psa 91:7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
The thousands mentioned in this verse tell us a wonderful story of Gods wisdom and power.
A “thousand” that falls at thy side, seem to reflect Luk 8:30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. What a wonderful exclamation! The first round of Gods battle was to destroy the spiritual powers of darkness, that were driving the wicked!
Truly God was not fooled by all the outward showmanship of the wicked, their armies, their king or their power. God saw right through it and went straight to the source! And the dark spirts of legions fell like raindrops in a storm! PRAISE GOD he does all things well!
Ten thousand at thy right hand! Notice here that God in the great day of judgment, sets those he loved on his right hand and those who hated God were rejected and set at his left hand! God loves the sinner at all times. God loved those slain in battle, he was sick at what they were doing, they fought against God and his people, Yet the righteousness of God would not allow their wickedness to go unpunished! they had sown seed of destruction and would surely reap them 100-fold!
Here they were, slain on the battlefield. Their defeat was predetermined in heaven by their own actions, long before they ever started for the battlefield! Each one a testimony to Gods righteousness! God will not be mocked!
Psa 91:8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Only with thine eyes, seems to say, not with your heart or mind.
Your heart will not be drifting towards their false gods or evil way. the rewards of their way is spread out across the battel field. There would be no affections set upon the rotting bodies of the wicked, or on the wicked desires that brought them to this place.
If there were any lingering thoughts about these people and their outward influences, any thinking that God was unfair, that some kind of agreement could have made reconciliation, or to have some kind influence that you could change them, Then the memories of the slain would proclaim that God has no fellowship with darkness. There could be no reconciliation between God and the legions of the wicked.
If these people would have repented, then God would be quick to forgive and deliver, but they chose to follow their ungodly mindsets, their love for the darkness that they embraced.
We may never know the secret activities of God, as he tried again and again to reach them. But we do know, when the time had come, they were weighed in the balance and found lacking,
The eyes of the righteous would record all this and more, in the unsightly scenes set before them. The pulpit of the Holy Ghost would forever proclaim remember! Remember! Remember!
Psa 91:9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
Here again we refer back to David as he trusted in the character of God, and faced his own personal Giant!
“ I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel,” ! Sam 17:45
Oh that men today would look up and remember Gods faithfulness!
Men embrace knowledge, but knowledge will perish! 1 Cor 12:8
Some seek religious signs and wonders, but they too shall pass away! 1 Cor 13:8
Some seek riches and fame, popularity and position. Matt 7:22 but their damnation slumbers not!
The Bible is clear:
seek the lord while he may be found,
draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you
build your house on the rock.
Hear the voice of God as he says to David: Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
The hillbilly version of this would say: David, you have always trusted in me. you came to me with your problems, you didn’t trust in yourself, you mad me your shield and exceedingly great reward.
I have watched you and welcome you into my habitation. Under whose roof thou has come to dwell!
Psa 91:10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
Here stands a promise as solid as the fortress of God! Under the shadow of the almighty! That secret place in the presence of God! Who wipes away our sorrow and fills our heart with peace!
Who turns our sorrow into gladness and our mourning into songs of praise!
While in the battle I fought for the lord, but then my strength began to fade, and I cried unto the Lord, The God of my salvation! Suddenly I was transported into his presence, his smile was unmistakable! His presence fills my soul! His Glory stilled all my enemies! I was in my father’s house! I hear the shouting of the saints, the songs of the redeemed! My soul is enraptured!
My shouts filled the air! My eyes were opened! I looked up! My spirit soared! Yes, its all true!
I was home! In my father’s house!
I know I must return to my stations in life, I must return to the battlefields, But I have been visiting in my father house, I am changed, from glory to glory. I am not the same person I was when I left!
And I’m going back in the spirit and power of the Lord! For he has caused me to soar like the eagles!
I’m not looking forward to going back, and the devil isn’t looking forward to me getting there!
But go back I must, and I will win, because the Joy of the Lord has become my strength!
While in my father’s house he told me he had already signed-off on the outcome of this battle! For he told me himself: There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling!
Psa 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Here we see the planning of God. He knows we cannot make it by ourselves. He will not send us back alone! God knows the path we tread. He has his angles positioned everywhere along the way. the go before us, to bring us to our expected end! He has made every provision for our victory!
Psa 91:12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
AS we trust in God, we fully understand our own weakness. Its there we find his grace!
Its our humility and dependence upon him that reaches his ears and touches his heart He doesn’t expect us to be a David or a Samson. He expects us to be us! He sends us reinforcements! The unseen army of God!
Psa 91:13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
We could never conquer anything by ourselves! But here we have a promise from the father! “THOU! THOU! THOU!” that’s us! That’s me! that’s you! “Thou” means us! Our strength is to abide in the vine! Its in our weakness, we are made strong! God could send a giant hand from the clouds and smash the whole thing if he wanted to! But he choses to work through people! He wants you to overcome, so that you can testify to others of how they can overcome also! If they never see you overcoming, why would they seek your advice? Here you can say: I made God my refuge!
Psa 91:14 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.
You may not have thought God was watching when certain things came crashing down around you, or when satan threw his grandest firebrand. You may have been tempted to ask “why me?” the answer is rather clear, God wants to show himself strong on your behalf, because you have proven yourself true unto him! Not in your words alone, but by the life you live!
God is not the least bit interested in name dropping, or bragging who you know, or what you know about them, or who is related to who. That is an embarrassment, that anyone would dare to think they were important because they knew somebody else! How foolish! If you knew God, you wouldn’t try to impress others with how shallow you really were! The real question is, Does God know you? “because he has set his love upon ME!
Psa 91:15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him.
At first it would seem this verse is repeating what has already been said. However a closer look will reveal something very important. Notice in Genesis:
- 1:3 God said, 1:6 God said, 1:9 God said, 1:11 God said, 1:14 God said, 1:20 God said,
- 1:24 God said, 1:26 God said, 1:29 God said,
I think we must ask ourselves, did any of these 9 “God said” fail? Was any of them revoked?
Could satan stop any of them? Did circumstance or the laws of physics, or somebodies’ interruptions stop any of them? Even if the angles looking on wondered how could this be, it didn’t stop God or slow him down! The answer is NO! Why??? Because God said! Nobody can stop Gods word!
Now notice three-times God Said “I WILL”
I will answer him. I will be with him. I will deliver him and honor him!
Can we not see the Same great I Am in Genesis, is the same I AM of the O.T. is the same great I AM of the N.T. is the Same I AM of today!
God has not Changed! Neither has his word or his power or his promises!
Psa 91:16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
Life is a precious thing. more than anything this world offers. Only God can give life. In mans dying hour comes the heart wrenching cries of his destiny. Blessed are the Saints who in their hour of death, rejoice with a joy that’s not of this world. But the word “life” can be understood to include quality of life.
A man can live to be a 100 in a nursing home and still be the most miserable of all creatures. Loss of sight, hearing, speech, comforts, taste, friends and hope. Being fed through a feeding tube, mind and memory are gone. Sunken eyes and plastic colored skin, all speak of a misery that only death can deliver them from. This is long life also, but was it worth it?
Nowhere in scripture can we find that God was indicating this type of existence for anyone!
It is biblically reasonable to understand that “with Long life will I satisfy him” is a life filled with happiness and contentment that can only come from God. A joy this world cannot take away.
This too is a promise from God! for: GOD Said” because we have made God our refuge!
Insights:
- In the O.T. Gods people were marked by success, their crops never failed, their cattle never lost their calves. The sheep multiplied in great abundance, and in war, they were granted the victory. In other words, it was all outward results. However, in the N.T. Christ changed all of that!
- Gods people are marked by their victory over: Sin, Spiritual Death, and hell. Thus, the grave has no victory over Gods people! And death has no power!
- Forgiveness in the new Testament is instant.
- Saints today can go straight to God, and need not go through a priest in the temple.
- The vail of the temple has been removed, giving us access to God in the Holiest of holies now, in this present life.
- Being filled with the Spirit was an exception in the O.T. but a reality in the N.T.
- The word of God is available to each of us, and not just to a chosen leader or deliverer.
- In the N.T. Salvation is US being saved from our sin, and the power of sin is broken.
- In the O.T salvation was being saved from our physical enemies.
- That is not to say physical things or physical blessing cannot be attained in the N.T, but rather their place in our lives is not the hallmark of Gods approval. Any saint can testify to the mercies of God and the blessings he gives. But if a reversal is faced in their life and all outward sign of prosperity disappear, it is no indication that God has left them. Ask Job! Ask Jesus on the cross! Ask Paul! Or the apostles, ask Stephen! Ask the saint down through the ages that have suffered the loss of all things! Ask them IF the loss of outward prosperity means the loss of God! They will joyfully say NO! God is still on the throne and he is still in their hearts!
- One need only to read Hebrews 11 to see this. or to read “Fox’s book of martyrs” and see the glory of God revealed in the lives of those persecuted for Christ. Jesus said rejoice, for great is your reward in heaven!!
It is important at this point to clarify, that every saint who puts their confidence in God, can easily come out on top of every battle! including the physical ones! Its here we see the promises of God in the O.T. speaking to us, as we face these particular issues. But the emphases is still on the Giver, not the gift. Homes, jobs, health, family, wealth, etc. can be obtained. But we are NEVER to set our hearts upon them, or to consider them as an indication of Gods approval.