Psalm  91      God Is On Your Side

Rev. David Holwick   D

First Baptist Church

Ledgewood, New Jersey

January 28, 1990

Psalm 91


THE LORD IS ON YOUR SIDE



  I. Avianca plane crash on Long Island.

      A. Celeste and I watching TV.

          1) News bulletin announces plane crash on Long Island.

          2) First images are of a young child being put in an ambulance.

              a) Many killed, but some walked away without a scratch.

              b) One witness called it a night of miracles.

          3) Most of us imagine ourselves in that situation.


      B. Psalm 91 is for such times of danger.

          1) When you feel hemmed in, this psalm can give courage.


II. Four names of God reveal his strength.

      A. Most High.             Cuts every threat down to size.     91:1


      B. Almighty (Shaddai).    The patriarchs' God.


      C. The Lord (Yahweh).     The "I Am" who assured Moses.       91:2


      D. My God.                General term, but intimate.


III. God's protection.

      A. Broad protection.

          1) Human/natural.      Snare, pestilence.         91:3

          2) Mind/body.          Terror, arrows.            91:5

          3) Unseen/seen.        Night, day.                91:5

          4) Soft/hard.          Bird, shield.              91:4

              a) Jesus as mother hen in Matthew 23:37.


      B. Individual protection.

          1) "You" is emphatic.   "To you it will not draw near."   91:7

          2) God is a super body-guard.

              a) Thousands fall on either side, but we are safe.


      C. Miraculous protection.

          1) Unseen powers - angels - protect us.              91:11

              a) They are sent to minister to God's people.   Hebrews 1:14


          2) God's servants are not mere survivors but victors.

              a) They trample the enemy under foot.                91:13


IV. Paradox of God's protection.

      A. Vietnam chaplain.

             After fierce fire-fight, assured survivors God was with them.

             Instead of assurance, they felt uneasy.

                  Were their dead buddies rejected by God?


      B. Will true Christians never be hurt?

          1) It is not a charm against trouble.

              a) Psalm 91 is a statement of God's exact control.

              b) Nothing can touch us - except by God's permission.

          2) It is not a promise of no trouble.

              a) It is deliverance in the midst of trouble.


      C. Other passages reveal same paradox.

          1) Romans 8:28 and 8:35.

              a) All things work for good.

              b) But does not exclude "nakedness, danger, sword."

          2) Luke 21:16 and 21:18.

              a) Not a hair of head will perish, yet some will die.


  V. Jesus and promises of Psalm 91.

      A. Satan used 91:11 as a temptation.                    Matt 4:6

          1) (Only verse Satan ever quoted)

          2) Temptation of arrogance - use your power!


      B. Jesus used the power when needed.

          1) After temptation in desert.        Matt 4:11

          2) At garden of Gethsemane.           Luke 22:43


      C. Jesus refused the power for self-advantage.

          1) Legions of angels available, but he chose arrest.

                                                          Matt 26:53-54

          2) He warned apostles of danger of pride.       Luke 10:19-20

              a) They have power over serpents and injury.

              b) But our pride is in God saving us.


VI. Application to Christians.

      A. God can miraculously deliver from trouble.


      B. But His will may be for us to suffer.

          1) Ultimately our souls cannot be touched, only our bodies.


      July 1987.

      16-year-old Jennifer Cody got a special treat in being able to

          attend a Southern Baptist youth camp.

      She had missed the registration deadline at her church in Tempe,

          Arizona, so she didn't think she'd be able to go.

      However, at the last minute a boy canceled his reservation and

          they were able to squeeze her in.

      She not only went to the camp, late one evening she asked Jesus

          to come into her life as Lord and Savior.


      After returning home from camp, Jennifer went to Michigan to

          visit relatives.

      Then, with her mother, Jennifer boarded Northwest Airlines

          Flight 255 so they could fly home to Phoenix.

      It was August 16, 1987.


      Less than a second after takeoff Flight 255 had its first hint

          of trouble - the pilot's control column started to vibrate.

      The jet climbed slowly, and began to roll to the right and the left.

      After 14 seconds it should have been 600 feet in the air.

          Instead, it was only 45 feet up.

      The pilot had forgotten to lower his wing flaps.

      At 222 miles per hour, it clipped a light pole in a parking lot and

          sheared off 18 feet of wing.

      Flames burst from the left engine.

          The plane struck another light pole.

      It banked 45 degrees to the left and slammed into the concrete

          highway embankment.

      The recent Avianca crash was out of fuel and so did not explode.

          Northwest Flight 255 had tons of fuel.


      The resulting explosion scattered debris and bodies for half a mile.

      In a too-familiar scene, emergency squads scrambled over wreckage.

          Firefighter Dan Kish thought he heard moaning.

      His partners turned off their hose and listened.

          They spotted a woman lying in some debris.

      They checked her for breathing, but she was dead.

          Then they saw an arm move beneath her.

      It was a little girl, deeply burned but alive, and still strapped

          in her seat.


      She was the only survivor.

      It was a little girl, but it wasn't Jennifer.

          [She was Cecelia Cichan.]

      Out of 156 dead, only 3 were in a condition to be viewed by

          next of kin.

      Jennifer was not among those 3, either.


      Where were God's protecting angels when Jennifer's plane crashed?

          I don't know.

      But I can confidently say that according to the promises of the

          Bible, Jennifer went to be with her new-found Savior.

      If this promise is false, then Jennifer's death can never be

          anything more than a senseless tragedy.

      But if Jesus is really Lord, then Jennifer is in heaven with him

          right now.

      Jennifer had been saved at summer camp less than one month before.

           Her trust in Jesus gives a hope that can never be destroyed.

                                                                  #1


VII. Conditions of protection.

      A. Make God your dwelling.  91:9


      B. Love and obey God.       91:14



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