HE IS MY DELIVERER
Psalm 91:3,4, Amplified Bible
For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. [Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and buckler. It says “noisome” pestilence in the King James Bible. That means injurious, hurtful, harmful to health.
After we say that the Lord is our Refuge and Fortress and that we trust in Him, then He delivers us from the snare or trap that satan lays for us and from deadly pestilences. He covers us with His wings. The Truth of His Word is a protective shield for us against all the fiery darts of the enemy.
According to the dictionary, a snare is an instrument for catching something unexpectedly or to involve it in difficulty, particularly by the leg (our walk of life); anything by which one is entangled and brought to trouble; to bring into unexpected evil, perplexity or danger. Satan is the one who sets the trap to entrap us in our walk of life.
The first chapter of James talks about temptation. It is all about the weakness of one’s flesh. Temptation is pressure or enticement on your flesh, to do or say something that is outside the will or Word of God. A test, trial or temptation is a snare, a trap satan sets; the bait or lure is your own weakness, with the intent of killing you, stealing from you and destroying you. Bait implies a snare. The whole aim is to steal the Word of God from you. Jesus was tempted in all points so that He took care of every temptation for us, if we yield ourselves to Him rather than the temptation. When He was tempted, He gave us the illustration of what we are to do in response to a temptation, test or trial. His response was: IT IS WRITTEN! Also in a trial, if you lack wisdom on what to do, ask God. He will show you step by step how to come out of it. Depend on Him. God has got you covered!
We are also delivered from pestilences when we trust in the Lord for our lives. According to Luke 21:11 in the Amplified Bible, pestilences are defined as “plagues: malignant and contagious or infectious epidemic diseases which are deadly and devastating.” I would say that covers it all as far as diseases are concerned. As far as I am concerned, it also covers chemical and biological warfare.
We are also covered under the wings of the Lord. The Jewish prayer shawl has long tassels which are called wings, representing the protection of the Lord. We are under His wings. We have already quoted Psalm 57:1 in the previous day’s Pearls but let me refresh your memory. That verse says that we take refuge in the shadow of His wings and are confident until calamities and destructive storms are passed. That can refer to both physical storms and spiritual storms. In Psalm 61:4 we read this: “I will dwell in Your tabernacle forever; let me find refuge and trust in the shelter of Your wings.”
God’s Truth (His Word) and His faithfulness to His Word for us is our shield and buckler. A shield is a broad piece of defensive armor used in war for the protection of the body with different shapes and sizes (triangle, square, oval) made of leather or wood covered with leather and borne on the left arm. It is a good defense against arrows, darts, spears, etc. A buckler is a kind of shield, wood or wicker woven together, covered with skin or leather, fortified with plates of brass or metal and worn on the left arm. In the middle was a prominence, useful in causing stones and darts to glance off. A buckler could be body armor, often 4 foot long and covered the whole body.
Ephesians 6:16, Amplified Bible
Lift up over all the [covering] shield of saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one].