Pentecost 3 Sermon: Sheltered

Preached on Psalm 91:1-10
3rd Sunday After Pentecost— Proper 7A
25 June AD 2017

Title: Click to hear the MP3 of Sheltered.

Summary: We live in an often violent world. We live under the threat of accident, disease, dementia, and death. And this is simply how we live as citizens of this planet.

Special wrath is often directed at the Church and its members. Believers— even if not targeted for discrimination, torture, or death by unbelievers— still face Satan’s wrath and wiles. On our own, we face certain doom and damnation.

Thanks be to God! He invites us to take refuge in Him. The psalmist paints the Lord as shade in the desert, battle armor proof against savage foes, a powerful eagle protecting its young. He who came to us in human flesh as Immanuel, God with Us, invites and empowers us to come into Him, our dwelling place and impregnable fortress.

Text: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge— no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. Psalm 91:1-10

Scripture quoted from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Audio: Click to hear the MP3 of Sheltered.

NB: A few people have had problems trying to play the inline audio with Windows Media Player. If this occurs, you can either change to QuickTime or another default browser player, copy and paste the link directly into a selected player, or download it to your computer, where it seems to work regardless of which player. Several folks have suggested VLC Player from VideoLAN.

Other Readings: Psalm 91:1-16; Jeremiah 20:7-13; Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:5a, 21-33