Skip to main content

Psalm 91: A Complete Refuge 4

Psalm 91: God's Refuge is Complete 4
Psalm 91 [short series].

The Psalm is not only an assurance of God's refuge in this life but also a sermon of hope - a hope for a trouble-free, satisfying next life. The Psalmist describes the next life in the context of sight, what you will see. It's like sightseeing in a place with a restricted area, where you need a pass to get into. He mentions two sights: judgment (v8) and salvation (v16). And, for those in God's refuge, their sightseeing ends with salvation into a satisfying life.
His Refuge is complete into the next life!
Psalm 91:7-10, 16
So, two sights...

  • You will see judgment (v7-10)
Verse 7 begins by alluding to troubles in thousands falling around you but not coming near you. Does this mean if you trust God, no evil will befall you? Well, yes and no! It's an issue of timing - this life or the next life. Let's see how the Psalm unpacks this promise:

The thousands of trouble (in v7) is the recompense of the wicked (v8), which looks like an evil plague (v10). And the way you will be saved from this plague is if you have made the Lord your dwelling place (v9). A parallel to the Exodus event.

God's first picture of judgment and salvation for Israel as a nation is the Exodus. God rescues Israel from Egypt, but first, He judges Egypt by plagues for their evil acts. In Exodus 12:29, God sends a final plague upon Egypt. And God instructs the Israelites on how they will be saved from this plague: by dwelling in a house marked by the blood of a lamb (Exodus 12:21-23).

The last plague for Egypt was God's final judgment on Egypt before the Exodus rescue. In referring to the last plague, the promise of verse 7 is protection from God's final judgment. In that final judgment, the wicked will fall (v7-8) - anyone not dwelling in that blood-scared refuge of the Lord will face the plague of God's judgment (v8-10). But to those dwelling in the Lord - in Christ, "it will not come near you" - you will only see it with your eyes, but you will also see salvation. (Hebrews 9:27-28. John 11:25-26.)

  • But you will also see salvation (v16)
The Psalm also gives us a picture of what His final salvation looks like - an entry into the next life (v16):
  • It's Satisfying: A life free of sin, suffering, satan's control, fear and worries, and God's judgment.
  • It's Long: A life where that satisfaction never ends. It's not momentary. It's eternal.
  • It's Divine: God says I will show you 'my salvation'. Every time God shows salvation, He sends someone. At the Exodus, He sends an angel. At the salvation of all creation, He sends His Son. At your first salvation, when you say, "Jesus is my Lord and Saviour", He sends His Spirit to live in you. But on that day, when He shows you His salvation, the El Shaddai will hold your hand, HE will welcome you home, and you will see HIM face to face - that ... is the perfect sight! (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Now, God's refuge is open to all, but there's only one pass, only one way into it - and His name is Jesus. Put your trust in Him! (Psalm 91:2, John 14:1, 6) There is a future salvation, but until that day comes, we do not lose heart. Instead, we fix our eyes on Jesus, and we fix our eyes on what is unseen - our future salvation (Hebrews 12:2, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV).

Reflect & Pray
How does the promise of a future salvation encourage you? What might you share from Psalm 91 to encourage someone?
Thank you, Father, for the future salvation we will see in the next life. Please help us to be lights that lead people into this promise.

God bless you exceedingly,
Sam.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Accompanied by unfailing love

Ruth 1:1-22 NIV. I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas break. Happy New Year! The Book of Ruth has been called the most beautiful short story ever written because of its simple narrative. A narrative that shows how God’s provision for our needs or challenges is often woven into the simple acts of human kindness. Chapter 1 shows the kindness of a daughter-in-law, Ruth, to her mother-in-law, Naomi (v8, 16, 22), and we’ll see God at work through that. But first, the passage sets the context by introducing us to Naomi’s loss… Naomi lost her family… When Naomi (which means pleasant) is first introduced, we are told of her loss. A woman in a foreign land who lost her family (v1-5). She feels bitter, empty and afflicted by the Lord (v21). Why so? …Because Naomi knows Israel’s God to be the Almighty—Sovereign. He can bring famine to a disobedient Israel (v1) a...
Read more

Redeemed into a new life

Ruth 4:1-22 NIV. In today’s passage, Boaz follows up on his promise to Ruth (in 3:12-13) to redeem her. From Boaz’s redemption of Ruth, we get a peek into the pattern of God’s redemption through Jesus. So what does this redemption look like? It is selfless—a costly act, no other redeemer could pay, v1-12 When Boaz met with the closer guardian-redeemer, whom we called Bob, he asked Bob if he would redeem his kinsman’s properties. Bob said yes, then declined when he realised that this included his kinsman’s widow, which would affect his estate. This shows the inevitable selfish motive of any redemption act which is outside of God’s provision. However, Boaz, motivated by love, acquired Ruth, notwithstanding the cost. This costly and selfless act points us to God’s act of redemption through Jesus, our Redeemer, who, out of love, gave His life to save us (John...
Read more

True life begins with accepting the word

Mark 4:1-20, 26-29. (The Parables of the Sower and Growing Seed). How do you respond to God’s word? Jesus shows that the continuous experience of true life only comes from accepting the word of God. Anything short, at its best, only yields momentary joy. In teaching about the Kingdom of God (v11, 26), Jesus speaks of a farmer who goes to sow seeds and scatters them on all kinds of soils, with the good soil truly yielding life (v1-8, 26). The seed is the word of God (v14), and the soils are how we respond to the word. But there is only one right response. Accept it The parable shows that just as the kind of soil affects the yield, the kind of response affects the experience of the Kingdom of God. It’s like signing up for an online service, say Amazon; there are terms and conditions open to all. You can either ignore it, tiptoe around it, consider it or accept it. But there...
Read more