Divine Protection
- Michael E.B. Maher
- 13 hours ago
- 5 min read
Psalms 91:9-12 “Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, (10) No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; (11) For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. (12) In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
The third blessing that we want to discuss in this section is the fact that God has committed to keeping His saints from all forms of evil occurrences in this life. It is God’s perfect will for His children that our bodies should not suffer any form of evil, i.e. accidents, physical violence, etc, and He made provision for that when He sent His Son to the cross. The same principle applies in this section as in the previous two, i.e. out of the mouth of two or three witnesses we are to let every word be established. And so the first witness whom we will quote in this section is the person of the Holy Spirit, for in the above quoted passage of scripture He teaches us that our heavenly Father has given His angels charge over us to keep us from all evil. In this passage the Holy Spirit teaches us that the qualification required in order to enjoy this benefit, is that the individual must make the Most High their dwelling place. All believers qualify for this blessing, for all believers dwell in Christ and have Christ dwelling in them and so can therefore claim this blessing in full assurance that God will provide it to them. In this passage the Holy Spirit lists two examples of evil that God’s angels have been given charge to not allow the saints to incur, i.e. plagues and even dashing their feet against stones. God would not have listed these in scripture if it was not His express will that His saints should not encounter them in this life.
Psalms 34:19-20 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. (20) He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken.”
The second witness whom we will quote in this section is the prophet David. In the above quoted passage of scripture David reveals to us that our heavenly Father delivers His saints out of all their afflictions, and that He does not allow any of their bones to be broken. In other words God has committed to His saints that He will keep them from all accidents; for it is not His will that any of His children should incur physical injury. I want you to notice from this passage that this blessing is reserved for the righteous. And so because all believers have been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, they all qualify to partake of this particular blessing.
Galatians 3:13-14 “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), (14) that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
The third witness that we will quote in this section is the apostle Paul. We have already looked at the above quoted passage of scripture that the apostle Paul wrote, to show that because Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law that He has therefore redeemed us from both sickness and poverty, which are both listed under the curse. Under that same curse however, are listed all plundering and oppression. And so just as clearly, our Lord Jesus has also redeemed His saints from all plundering and oppression in this life. In other words, God has committed to His saints that He will keep them from any physical acts of violence, and that He will keep them from any form of robbery and theft of their physical belongings. And so in this section we have again seen conclusive proof that it is our Father’s express will that as His children, we should walk in safety and not experience any forms of evil in this life, and He has made provision for that by sending His Son to the cross for us.
Luke 4:9-12 “Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. (10) For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over You, to keep You,’ (11) and, 'In their hands they shall bear You up, lest You dash Your foot against a stone.' “(12) And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'”
The same word of caution however needs to be stated in this section as was stated in the previous sections, i.e. if we do not meet our obligations as tenants, then we cannot expect God to fulfil the obligations that He has committed to as Landlord. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Lord Jesus teaches us our responsibility in this area, i.e. we are not to temp the Lord our God. In other words we are not to abuse God’s promise in this area. The context of the above quoted passage of scripture is that the devil was trying to tempt the Lord Jesus to do exactly that, by quoting to Him what God’s word said about the angels of God protecting Him even if He threw Himself off of a high building. Jesus understood however that God’s promise covered Him for living a responsible lifestyle, and not for taking foolish risks in the hope that God’s angels would protect Him no matter what He did. And so we can see a principle revealed, which is that if we want to enjoy God’s divine protection then we must behave in a responsible manner and not tempt the Lord in any way.
Hebrews 10:32-34 “But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: (33) partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; (34) for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.”
This section needs to be qualified in one more area however, for there are certain incidents of plundering and oppression that the Lord does allow His saints to undergo, i.e. persecution for being a Christian. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul mentions the persecution that some of the saints in Jerusalem incurred, which included the plundering of their goods. There are many accounts in scripture that record the various beatings and imprisonments, etc that the saints incurred because of their witness for the Lord Jesus. And so, scripture is very clear on the issue that because of their testimony for the Lord Jesus, some saints will incur both physical violence and plundering in this life. Not all saints are chosen for this degree of persecution however, because it is only reserved for the saints that are destined for great blessing in the kingdom of God. And so for the majority of the Lord’s saints, He has committed to keeping them from all forms of physical evil in this life.
Michael E.B. Maher
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