Read Psalm 91 at Bible Gateway.
We saw from the chiastic structure yesterday, that the benefits of Psa 91:3-7, and Psa 91:10-13, mirror each other:
1a) Psa 91:1-2, He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High;
— 1.1, Psa 91:3, Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.
— 1.2, Psa 91:4, He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge;
— 1.3, Psa 91:5-7, You shall not be afraid, for it shall not come near you;
central axis) Psa 91:8, Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked;
2a) Psa 91:9, Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place;
— 2.3, Psa 91:10, No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
— 2.2, Psa 91:11-12, For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways;
— 2.1, Psa 91:13, You shall tread upon the lion + cobra, the young lion + serpent you shall trample underfoot.
Let’s look at the first matching pair:
“Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the perilous pestilence;” (Psa 91:3) pairs with “You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot, (Psa 91:13). A fowler is a sportsman who pursues wild fowls, or takes or kills them for food (1828 Webster’s Dictionary). He does this most often by laying a snare or a trap. So in verse 3, the Lord is delivering His people from snares laid by someone who is trying to entrap them, so as to kill them. In verse 13, His people have power to tread upon lions, cobras and serpents. All of these – the fowler, the lion, and the serpent – are pictures of Satan, the enemy:
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” Joh 10:10
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Pet 5:8
“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Luk 10:19
That these two are paired, says to me, that sometimes God sovereignly delivers us from the enemy supernaturally. But sometimes, we are to take up the authority that He has given us in the name of Jesus, by the victory of Jesus, and trample the enemy underfoot ourselves.
So the lesson is … if the enemy is bothering us, if we are being stolen from, if that which pertains to us is being destroyed, don’t lay down. Stand up, and with the authority that Messiah has given us, trample that serpent underfoot! We will succeed, because God has empowered us with His power!
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