Psalm 91 is the text for this Sunday.
The psalm comes second in the section of Psalms, commonly called Book IV. We don’t exactly know what its function is as there is no superscription (like Psalm 90 or Psalm 92). It has elements of being some sort of liturgy when one entered the Temple or it could be a prayer of deliverance from war, illness, or some other hardship. Yet, what we do know is that it is a psalm of trust.
At the heart of this psalm, the entire Psalter, and the Bible, is trust in the LORD. The first thirteen verses are a testimony, shared between one human being to another. These verses describe God as a shelter, protector, and savior. It’s a rather long list of promises.
Yet, what is more important, I think, comes at the final three verses. These verses are a divine speech from the LORD that point to God’s saving work in us. God will rescue. God will protect. God will answer when we cry out. God walks with us through troubling times.
While we are not spared hardship, the hardship will not have the final say nor will it be our ultimate undoing because we are held in God’s hands. The LORD is indeed active in our lives and in creation! And it is the work God has done, is doing, and will do in our lives that will point back to and give God the glory and others will be shown the wonderful works of the LORD.
Siblings in Christ, that is Good News!
Christ’s Peace,
Pastor T. Wes Moore