In our human angst that stems from our innate need to control our circumstances we naturally find ourselves limiting God to the lenses through which we view the world. Often it is difficult to respond to our life’s circumstances with, “I trust you God. I trust that in and through these circumstances you are working out your plan of salvation for the world.” This is especially true when we ourselves are suffering or a loved one is suffering from the effects of disease, poverty, power politics, or war. It is through this lens that I look at Psalm 91 with a questioning demeanor, at least upon initial review.
You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.”
For he will deliver you from the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
or the arrow that flies by day,
or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
or the destruction that wastes a noonday.
Psalm 91: 1 – 6 (NRSV)
Since several of the descriptors contained in these verses are not common to our vernacular, let me provide some brief definitions. A fowler is a hunter of wild birds; pinions, in this context, are the tips of the wings of a bird; and a buckler is a small round shield that is worn on the forearm or held by a handle at arm’s length. The word pestilence may be more common and is an epidemic of highly contagious or infectious disease. A fortress by definition is impenetrable.
With these definitions in mind we are given a rather beautiful illustration of God’s protection in the time of extreme distress due to disease or war. For those who trust in God, God will protect you from those who hunt you and seek to destroy you. For those who trust in God, God will protect you from an outbreak of disease. The use of the image of God covering those who trust in God with the tip of God’s wing is quite compelling; especially given the reference to the ‘fowler’ or one who hunts wild birds. My mind leads me naturally to the suggestion of God being the one who is hunted while the trusting ones will be covered under God’s wing; and God will faithfully shield to protect and defend.
However, it is difficult not to bring this illustration to a logical conclusion, and to ask, “Are those who have been negatively affected by epidemics or war not trusting enough in God, even though many of them have privately held in their hearts or publically proclaimed with their lips a deep faith and trust in God?” Throughout time this has been a question on the lips of the faithful and the unfaithful alike.
In wrestling with this question I am drawn to the first two verses of this Psalm: “You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.’” From these verses a second question arises: What does it mean to “live in the shelter of the Most High”? The psalmist says, “You who live …,” clearly this is not a statement made to just anyone; it is addressed to a specific person or group of people who live in the shelter of the Most High. Who are these people? Are they a nation such as the Hebrew / Jewish people of the Psalmist’s time? Are they a select group out of the Hebrew / Jewish people of the Psalmist’s time? Are these the people who believe in God in their hearts and confess the sovereignty of God with their tongues? If so, for those who have made this confession, does that mean theirs was a false confession if they are besieged by disease or war? Or, perhaps we more ably understand it as a true confession overridden by doubt in the midst of overwhelming circumstances; which is a common human response. Then is this psalm for a select few who are able to say meaningfully, “God you are my fortress, my refuge, in You I trust,” when in the midst of overwhelming circumstances and when the odds are greatly stacked against them?
Let me take this in a different direction and look at Romans chapter 10:6a, 8b – 13:
The righteousness that comes from faith says, … “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” [NRSV]
When the Apostle Paul is speaking of ‘being saved’ he is speaking of a relationship with God through Christ that begins in this life and extends into life eternal. Now we know from scripture that Christ himself, and the Apostles to follow, were by all human standards “put to shame.” So, in saying that “No one who believes in him will be put to shame,” Paul is most certainly not speaking of being shamed in the square of public opinion, because we know that Christ himself, and the followers of Christ have been thusly shamed from the first. We know too that even to this day followers of Christ are oppressed and abused throughout the world. Yet, Christ followers throughout time continue to trust in God’s providence, having faith that in and through their suffering for the truth of God in Christ, that God is working out God’s sovereign plan for the salvation of the world. Therefore, the lifting up, or not being shamed, to which Paul refers must be viewed outside the realm of human experience and within the realm of divine understanding, such that one who is faithful to follow Christ will be lifted up before God just as was Christ lifted up before God.
So let me return to my original question regarding Psalm 91, which asks, what of those who proclaim their trust in God yet suffer the effects of disease or war, was theirs not a true faith? Perhaps I have understood God’s protection too narrowly. Might it be true, just as the Apostle Paul speaks of salvation in terms of life eternal, that our understanding of God’s protection is a divine protection that extends beyond human constrictions to life eternal? Even like Christ, who in his earthly life suffered affliction and death, was raised again and taken up into heaven to be with God the father, so we too can think of God’s protection extending beyond our experience on earth to life eternal with God in heaven. So when we look at the suffering in our own life, or that of others, let us not say that our faith, or their faith, must not be strong enough. Rather let us say, like Christ and the saints who have gone before us, while afflicted by the effects of humanity through disease, pestilence, or oppression and thusly shamed in the court of public opinion, were indeed faithful instruments in God’s plan of working out salvation for all, so too are the faithful saints of this generation. For all who believe in the Christ Jesus in their hearts, and call upon his name with their lips, will dwell in the house of the Lord, and will be sheltered under God’s wing, for life eternal.
Photo credit: "White Dove" by Victor Habbick
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Birds_g52-White_Dove_p73391.html
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