Psalm 91:3

"For it is He who delivers you

 from the snare of the trapper and the deadly pestilence"

     Last week we discovered that, as Believers, we can claim our God as our refuge and our fortress; we can claim a covenant of protection from the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe and the All-Sufficient One.  We can trust in Him.

     This week we receive the two-fold promise that He will deliver us from temptation as well as harm.  Do you know what a snare is?  By definition it is a trap; a thing likely to lure or tempt someone into harm or error.  And we know who the trapper is .... Satan.  It is his goal to custom make a trap just for you; one that fits with your personality and your level of faith.  He carefully places them where you are most likely to come in contact with them, and then he entices you; biding his time until you take the bait... and then he's got you!  You've sinned and you're miserable, even if you're not fully cognizant that you've transgressed.  But you can ask God to deliver you from the traps laid by the Enemy, and He will be faithful to deliver you from your temptations.

     This verse also promises deliverance from "the deadly pestilence".  Just what does that mean?  Basically, a pestilence is any deadly disease.  Webster's clarifies it even further, saying it is "any deadly disease that attaches itself to one's body with the intent to destroy."  But God tells us in this verse, "I will deliver you from the deadly disease that comes with the intent to destroy."  

     I want to make sure we understand that disease can mean both physical and spiritual.  God's deliverance, or "healing", covers both realms.  That may be hard to comprehend in a world that doesn't believe that God is supernatural and so is His goodness.  The author of a book on Psalm 91, Peggy Joyce Ruth, wrote of how her faith was shaken with this simple verse.  She thought, "If God wants us to walk in health, then why did He create germs?"  She struggled with this snare set by the Enemy, until her Pastor explained that, "God made everything good.  Take germs for instance --- germs are nothing more than microscopic plants and animals that the Enemy has perverted and uses to spread disease."  And disease is just one of the areas in which the Enemy harms us.

    Pestilence, or disease, can come in the form of attacks on our mind (our thoughts), attacks on our bodies (germs and viruses), and physical attacks (people).  This verse assures us that He will deliver us from all varieties of harm that can destroy a life.  And that includes asking for protection from you ever harming another person.  It goes both ways.

     So the next time you say the Lord's Prayer, and come to the verse "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from Evil", claim that promise of protection in these two vital areas of your life.  You can trust that He will be faithful to protect you from the trapper's snare and the deadly pestilence.