Psalm 91 Part IV God’s 24/7 Protection

Fear thrives in the gaps between what we feel and what’s actually true. Today we close those gaps with Psalm 91, moving from the poetry we’ve memorised to the refuge we can live inside. We read verses 1–6 and slow down on the words we often skim—pinions, wings, shield, rampart—so the metaphors become muscle and bone: tender shelter that warms the soul and a broad-topped wall you can stand on when the arrows fly.

From there we face a quiet battle many of us are losing: which words we allow to shape our inner world. God begins change by speaking, and His word still contradicts loud headlines, lingering pain, and clever doubts. Abraham shows us how to cooperate with promise—believe in the heart, speak in line with it, and let the mouth become a gate that keeps fear from settling. This isn’t hype or denial; it’s the spiritual realism of calling things that are not as though they are because God already has.

We widen the lens with the image of wings, picturing an eagle spreading a fierce span over its young. That’s how divine protection feels: not fragile, not earned, but fiercely present. Grace does the heavy lifting we cannot.

We finish with Solomon’s choice for wisdom, showing how seeking to serve aligns our desires with God’s heart and often brings more than we asked for. Tie Psalm 91 to Psalm 23 and you’ll see a through-line of presence and care from valley to table. Listen, reflect, and share the promise you’re claiming today. If this helped you breathe easier, follow the show, leave a review, and pass it on to someone who needs a shield right now.

Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are in the world - Welcome to Grapevine Ministries.

Transcript

Reading Verses 1–6 Aloud

What A Rampart Really Means

SPEAKER_00 0:27

Now, rather than assuming that everybody is reading or listening to Psalm 91, as we get into part four of Psalm 91, we're really talking about God's 24 hour day, seven days a week, 365 days a year protection. But at this time, I just want to read through those first six verses. So here we go. And I'm reading from the amplified, but you can look at the NIV or a New King James Version, your choice. Okay, it starts off with saying that it's got a subheading of security of the one who trusts in the Lord. And they're talking about you. If you're trusting in the Lord, this is the security and the protection that you find, you know, with God. Okay, ninety one one it says, He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty, whose power no enemy can withstand. I will stand I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust, with great confidence and in whom I rely, for He will save you from the trap of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you and completely protect you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness is a shield and a wall. You will not be afraid of the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor of the destruction. Sudden death that lays waste at noon. Now very obviously here it sounds like every day of your life is gonna be doom and gloom. That's not really um what uh this is meant to be about. You gotta put it into its right perspective as you are going through um the um the psalm, you're seeing that uh God is there, God is able to do over and above all things in protecting you, and not just protecting you so that um you can actually continue to do what you want to do, it's really talking about that he will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge, and his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Now, before we move forward any further, I think it's important to you know clarify a few things. Mainly, what is a rampart? Okay, um people go, oh yeah, what it what is this, you know. See now listen to the way this is explained, and then you can actually put it into your own perspective. A rampart is a defensive broad-topped bank of earth or stone, often with a guardrail or a parakeet on top of it, right? It's built to protect castles, cities, or fortresses. It serves as a fortified walkway for defense against attack. In a broader sense, it can refer to any protective barrier or wall like ridge. See, while historically used for fortification, the term can also describe, in a figurative sense, any protective barrier. What so that is why this verse emphasizes God's protective nurturing care and the security found in his reliability. It both highlights both the tender shelter and strong defense, often described as a shield or a buckler. With that said and done, in short, it offers a powerful picture of God's protection.

SPEAKER_01 6:06

He's got the tenderness of his protection, right?

Tender Shelter And Strong Defence

Accepting Truth, Resisting Doubt

SPEAKER_00 6:13

The fierce love that he has for those that he's protecting. It highlights that God is our refuge, offering safety from life storms and spiritual dangers, using his faithfulness as our ultimate defense. I don't want to get bogged down too much because otherwise we are not going to get through the whole thing. Okay, I want you to just highlight a few things as I say them and then reflect back on them later. Now, there are many people who genuinely love God but are living far below God's intent for them because they simply are not aware of or they do not believe. So many people analyze their lives based on what people think of them, or they think of themselves. We need to learn from God's word that we are to accept and we need to now I'll you know, I like sort of talk about a little this a little bit better a bit later on, but it's basically saying what do you accept and what do you reject or what do you resist. So I mean, we are getting a lot of input. I'll probably explain it a little bit better when I get further down the track. We need to learn from God's word what we are to accept and what we are to reject or resist. Most times we go to other people for their knowledge or understanding of God's word instead of directly to the throne room. See, God's word will contradict and overcome all of the negative circumstances and the contradictions in our life. And this is what this is the the main bit that I want you to get here.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

God's truth will contradict doubts and thoughtful uh fears.

When God Speaks, Things Change

Abraham’s Faith And Our Words

Guarding Mouth, Head, And Heart

Comfort Under His Wings

Grace, Not Works, For Protection

Who Is Jesus To You

Wisdom, Service, And True Desire

Psalm 91 With Psalm 23

Final Assurance Of God’s Care

SPEAKER_00 8:56

God's truth contradicts negative circumstances. God's truth contradicts sinful people who are in opposition to his plans on earth. You see, when God wants to change or to do something, the first thing he does is he speaks. Don't you want him speaking to you rather than you listening to your so-called friends, colleagues, and acquaintances? I'll give you a little bit of a parallel and then I'll put it into uh a better context, all right? Now, if we go back to the book of Job, at first, right, he's got all of his friends around him and they supported him, right? But as Job's situation worsened and went on, in Job 4.25, they went from comfort to criticism. Then God rebuked Job's so-called friends, and then it was Elithu, I hope I get that right, in chapter 32, accused Job and his friends of being all completely wrong about what was going on in Job's life. And in Job 16, 2, Job called them miserable comforters. But perhaps the book of Job is for another time when we can really study that because I think a lot of people misunderstand what the book of Job's really all about. But you know, I want you to just remember this main thing. When you are at that point in time, you're under the Lord's protection when you're under attack, and sometimes we don't realize as we're going through our Christian life, just exactly um what God is doing in the background, you know. See, all of the actions of God begin with words from from the Lord. In Genesis 3, 14 and 15 it says this so the Lord God said to the serpent, because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field, on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And then in fifteen it goes, and I will put enity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed, he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. See, God's words in you are going to start his actions for you. And how does God do this? He does it using his written word. I'm just gonna look at a couple other passages before we get back to this, but Romans 4 16 through 17 from the New King James Version says this therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are in the law, but also those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us. And then in seventeen it says, as it is written, I have made you a father of many nations in the presence of him whom he believed, God who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did. This is the work in Abraham's life. He had to cooperate with God and what God was doing in his life. The way that he did this was to he began to speak out of his mouth words that were in line with God said, and he believed what God said in his heart. Listen, if you're going to receive anything God has promised you, you are going to have to be willing to contradict your doubts, fears, and the negative circumstances that come against you in your life. Just because you have a really bad thought does not mean that you should put words to it and say it to anybody else. The doubts have to ride the elevator down to your heart, but to get there, it has to go past the floor that your mouth is on. As long as you don't put words to those doubts, they do not get into your heart. See, that's why it says, out of the mouth, the heart speaks. See, if you have head knowledge of the word of God or head knowledge of things that are happening in the world, you have to make sure that it gets into your heart so it can be justified and purified to know that it's what God wants you to speak. But your mouth is between your head and your heart, and you need to make sure that you get the right things into your heart, and by having God's protection, it will help. Sometimes in life it seems everything is going wrong. Maybe it seems like that to you right now. With all that is going on in the world, if you are looking for a sense of security, the psalmist wants to send you a word of comfort to you today, and this is what I'm trying to say. I want to encourage every single one of you who's listening today to focus on this and in particular this verse in Psalm 91 4. It is an incredible reminder how God is great and God's promises is to be our refuge. He is our shelter in times of storms, he will cover us with his feathers, and under his wing a place is where we need to find safety and protection. You just think about an eagle, you know, the American bald eagle or any eagle, we have them here in Australia as well. See, the mother spreads her majestic wings over her little ones in order to protect them from any storm or predators. She will actually face injury in order to protect her little ones. She keeps them warm and sheltered, and the baby birds feel safe. The promise to be sheltered by God is for those who are his. But they've got a massive wingspan. And if you're going through the um the countryside or out um in the bush, uh sometimes you see these sitting on the fence posts, and you can almost get right up to them before they fly off. But the first thing they do is they spread their wings out, and their wings create such a massive you know wingspan in comparison to the body of the bird. It's very, very interesting. You should actually look it up uh about the Australian um eagle, right? Or even the American eagle. See, this is God's fierce love for humanity. He wants to cover us and to protect us. In him we find our refuge. This faithful promise, they're the armor and the protection. It's God's faithfulness that our shield and our protection is his faithful promises. It's not depending on us. God will be faithful to his promises he has made. When the enemy tries to make it fearful, we have the power of his words to ward off the attack because God's faithfulness is our armor. But maybe you've thought to yourself, I can't dwell in the shelter of God. I've messed up too many times. Look, be encouraged today. God knows our weaknesses. That's why he sent his son Jesus to die for all of what we've done wrong. He can't we can't earn God's protection just as we can't earn our salvation. In Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. See, we we can't do anything through works. The word of God is yes and amen. So realistically, the question that I'm asking everybody right now is who is Jesus to you? You know, is he your savior? Because Jesus is deeply personal to believers as their saviors, as their redeemers and Lord, acting as a constant friend, guide, and source of strength in difficult times. He is considered the Son of God, the Creator and the Mentor who provides unconditional love, forgiveness, and ultimate purpose, representing a bridge to God and a refuge from the burdens of life. See, that is why that is why it actually gets there, and I I put it this way Jesus stands in the gap between us and God, and because of his sacrifice, which we'll be celebrating Easter before you know it's very, very soon, we can come boldly in the throne of grace, stand before the Father, and the desires of our heart shall be met. Because as we go to speak to God, God is turning his back on us, and then Jesus pipes up and says, Hang on, dad, yep, turn around and speak to. You know, my uh son or my daughter, because I have made the ultimate sacrifice for them, and so now they can actually speak directly to you. And you look at it this way, it's based on common spiritual reflection, okay, God or Jesus is and always will be, okay, Savior and Redeemer. He is the one who died on the cross offering forgiveness of sin and washing away guilt, allowing for a fresh start for every single one of us. He's our best friend and he's our companion. He walks alongside every individual, providing comfort, joy, and emotional support, acting as a spotter when life's load is too heavy. He is also our Lord and our guide. He is the king of one's heart, directing life's path, providing wisdom and offering peace. He is also the ultimate truth. He is the invisible image of God and the source of truth, beauty and love. And finally, hope and life. He represents purpose, bringing people from death to life, and providing hope for their future. Ultimately, Jesus is described as a personal living presence who is faithful, never fails, and deeply cares for every individual's joy and sorrow. If he is, then you can boldly proclaim that he is your refuge. He will cover you and provide safety for you. His faithful promises are your armor and your protection. Let me put it another way, all right? Irrespective of what you've gone through, what your circumstances are, what has befallen you, and what is yet to come to you, Psalm 91 is there and it is giving you God's protection no matter what. Alright? So next time when you think you're going through a rough spot or you've um come to one of those places in your life where you've got to make a decision, do I go left or do you do I go right? Give it to the to God, okay? They say, bend your knee and raise your eyes and look into heaven and just say, Lord, here I am. This is my circumstances. Remember Solomon? Right? Just finishing off on this now. God said to Solomon, Whatever you want, I'm gonna give you. So I mean, it's like instead of having the uh the genie come out of a bottle and you've got three choices, uh, because you can have three wishes, you know, and while you're trying to think of which one is the best one for you, you've got to understand that once the genie's out of the bottle, it is going to interpret what you wish or ask for uh to be the most littlest impact on what the genie is thinking about based on your thoughts, and which is a lot of baloney anyway. But if you look at God and say he come and visited you in the still night hours, and he said, You, my son or my daughter, uh, you've been on my heart for a while, and I'm going to grant you one wish, what would that wish be? Now, when Solomon was asked that question, you know, he thought, How is this going to best suit me? Or how is this best gonna suit my people? See, he wasn't thinking about himself, it wasn't me, myself, and I. It was really about what could he do that God could give him to best be able to serve his people, and so that is why Solomon asked for wisdom. Wisdom to be able to rule his people, and because he asked for something that wasn't for himself, it was for others, it's a bit like Jesus. Jesus came not to be served, but to serve. He came to, you know, he gave up his deity just to be able to be here to teach us and to let us know about the kingdom of God and usher in people into the kingdom of God so they could be under this protection here. So if you had that opportunity, what are you going to desire? Because Solomon wanted to think only of his people, God gave him the wisdom to rule, but he also gave him wealth, greater wealth than anybody had ever received in the Bible, because once again, you know, God had seen his true nature, he gone into his heart, the same as David, when David got there and he says, you know, he was a man after God's own heart. I think if you look at everything from a real broad perspective, God is love, and if you love someone, it's unconditional, and you want to protect them and you want to look after them, and you don't want them hurt in any way, physically, financially, or socially. You don't want your children to suffer in any way, shape, or form. That's why Psalm 91 is offering that protection for you. And as we go through further into the psalm, you will see how it's it's a balance, it's a balancing act that that the psalmist is here, is really talking about, you know, everything comes into place, and later on we're gonna go through the psalm, and what we're gonna do is we're gonna highlight key points, you know, like basically dot points in a presentation. If you had to go to Jesus and say, Okay, I've got a presentation that I want to give you, and you let me know whether that's okay for me, and and can I live my life based on these principles? And that's what we'll find out. And that's why if you put both of these psalms together, Psalm 91 and Psalm 23, you'll see how they actually work in together and letting you know basically, in a nutshell, God's got your back. Alright? And the good thing about it is from Genesis to Revelation and everything in between, that's what we learn about how God is there in the beginning and he's there in the end, and he is going to be with you along your journey until you go to be with him. But more than anything else, I think that the main key aspect of this is regardless as what happened in your life or your family's life or anybody else in relation to you, God will protect you. Amen. All right, we'll talk to you soon.

SPEAKER_01 32:11

Bye for now.