Psalms 91 is one of the greatest Psalms for those who believe on Jesus Christ, because it is a detailed list showing us all of the many ways in which God demonstrates His love for us – and what the finished work of Christ has given to us, even in this life.
In Part 1 of our study, we looked at the foundation: our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, our connection to Him, our oneness with Him – as mentioned in verse 1.
In Part 2 last week, we looked at the many gifts and blessings that are included in that relationship in verses 2 through 14.
Now today, in this third and final part of our study on Psalms 91, we conclude by completing the circle, as this all returns once again to our relationship with Jesus Christ, our personal connection with Him, as we see the final blessings and marvelous promises for us, found in the final verses of the chapter, verses 15 and 16.
I find it extremely fitting that the 91st Psalm ends by returning to the foundation of Jesus Christ and our relationship with Him. It’s as if the Spirit is reminding us “you started at the foundation of Jesus Christ, and you end there as well.”
So many of us get caught in legalistic traps, and religious duty and performance. We search for hidden knowledge and deeper truth, when all God really wants us for us to rest in Him, and on what He has accomplished for us.
That’s why this Psalm is such a good road-map, it shows us the starting place (Christ), tells us every blessing of protection, safety and love that is ours in Him, and then ends by saying, oh yeah, you end where you start too!
It’s a great comfort to know that everything is really complete in Christ. To know that nothing is left undone and that all has truly been accomplished. It’s very liberating to realize that you simply rest and reap the rewards of what Jesus Christ has done, and that you truly can have absolute unbroken fellowship, friendship and freedom with God, the likes of which the Old Covenant prophets dreamed about, and even the angels longed to see (1st Peter 1:10-12).
That is, it would be a great fort to know these things, if people actually knew them! But in many places, these truths have been forgotten, ignored, even distorted, so that this great truth of Christ, and the Good News of His Gospel, isn’t so great anymore – or so it would seem.
That’s why we study what we study… that’s why we have been studying for two weeks on Psalms 91, to in a sense re-discover what is really ours in the Gospel, and as we conclude today, let’s look at the last two verses of Psalms 91.
Now as we look at these final two verses, I want you to again remember that we began these studies at verse 1, with our personal relationship with Christ… and now here, we end with our personal relationship with Christ as well.
I keep mentioning this, because I want it to really sink in, I want you to see the importance of such a relationship.
Look at verse 15:
“He shall call on me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him.”
See the personal words of a loving God directly to you. Some people think that when they sin today, God will close His ears and not listen to their call. (If He did that by-the-way, no-one could ever be saved!) If God closed His ears to sinners and only heard the call of the saints, then there would never be any saints for Him to hear.
I want you to see in this verse, that there are two wonderful assurances being mentioned here.
First, if we call, He will both hear and answer! Obviously if He answers, that means He must have heard to begin with!
And then, He tells us what the answer is! And this might surprise you: It’s not a “Maybe” or “Sometimes yes and sometimes no” as many people think it is today… they present a God who is a gamble, one you can’t be sure of. One of the most famous saying that people use when they want to sound religious and dramatic is “sometimes God says no…” or some variation of that.
Here however, we see a God who says I will – I will – be with him in trouble and I will deliver him and honor him!
That, my dear friend, is absolutely yes!
This verse is our assurance in so many ways and on so many levels. Not only for affirmative answers to prayer (we already have that from 1st John 3:22, 1st John 5:14, and other scriptures); but also this verse here gives us assurances in other ways as well. For example, if we get caught in any of the traps listed in the previous verses that we studied last week. Even when we fail for any reason (including our own ignorance or stupidity) God does not leave us in our mess. He does not say “well, you caused it so you deserve it. You reap what you sow after all!”; No! He loves us enough to save us. And even honor us!
Amazing!
And finally, we have verse 16… another area where people tend to think less of God… but let’s look at it with fresh eyes today:
“With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.”
Does God want you to have a long and a satisfying life? Some people say no, but God here says yes! And the Hebrew word for salvation here is yeshua, Jesus. With long life God will satisfy you, and show you Jesus!
That is not a defeated life. That is not a roller-coaster life of ups and downs. That is not a life plagued and stricken with poverty and disease, either. It can’t be because the Healer is with you. The provider is with you. His Spirit is inside of you! He is one with you in divine covenant and relationship!
Oh, my friend. I pray that you are seeing this and that you grab hold of it today, and that you don’t spend a minute longer living below your value and destiny in Christ.
Why can you have a long and satisfying life, filled with all of the blessings we have read about today? Quite simply, Jesus. He is you assurance of every single one of these promises which we have studied these past weeks (and all of God’s promises, really).
So relax. Rest. Enjoy. Reap the reward of Christ. Enjoy the relationship. Live under the shadow of the Almighty, and enjoy fellowship in the secret place of God.
Be blessed.