Psalm 91 an American Promise

Psalm 91 an American Promise

Introduction

Today will be a little bit of a history lesson, and you may start to ask yourselves, what place this has

in a sermon preached from the pulpit on Sunday morning. But I think in a lot of ways, we have lost our

history, and lost the history of our founding fathers.

Listen carefully to me – because you won’t hear this today in school or in the media – but the

founding fathers of this great nation where considered CLERGY.

The colleges the Founding Fathers graduated from were seminaries. These include Princeton,

Harvard, and Yale (Checkout their charters). Most of the Founding Fathers were not pastors, but they

were church officers, elders, or founders of Bible societies.

It is correct then, that almost half the signers of the Declaration of Independence, as well as most

every Founding Father graduated from orthodox Christian teaching seminaries. So, if you will indulge

me, let’s talk about the “Independence Day” thing that is causing all the fireworks this week!

241 years ago, today, the Second Continental Congress, meeting at the Pennsylvania State House

(Independence Hall) in Philadelphia unanimously passed a declaration announced that the thirteen

American colonies regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no

longer under British rule. We know that today as the Declaration on Independence. It was signed by

56 delegates on the colonies on July 4, 1776, and as we have already heard and seen on the lake

this weekend – we American’s love to celebrate our independence.

Across America there is going to be fireworks, parades, and parties. Here in Texas I am pretty

certain that a few briskets, ribs, sausages and maybe even some turkey will be smoked and a million

or so gallons of BBQ sauce will find its way into our systems – along with a few margarita and other

adult beverages…..

Here’s the thing – 1776 was not the start of our independence – no that came much later. It was not

until the Battle of Yorktown on October 19, 1781, that the military victory was won with the surrender

of General Cornwallis and the British Army to George Washington. And truly, we were not officially

independent until the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783 that fully recognized what

was declared 241 years ago today.

Now, 1776 was really not the start of the American War of Independence. The seeds of that

“declaration of independence” were sewn in 1765 with the growing philosophical and political

differences strained the relationship between Britain and its colonies. We all remember from our

early school days the stamp act, the Boston tea party and the ultimate start of the war with British

attempting to disarm the Massachusetts militia at Concord in April 1775 which led to open combat.

And we all know the phrase “Taxation without Representation”.

But you know what, the independence of American doesn’t even begin there – it truly goes back to

the first colony founded in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607 and the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts in

1620. Many of the people who settled in the New World came to escape religious persecution. You

could say that the first liberty won in America was that of Religious Freedom! I like it better as “God

Freedom!”

So, let’s look briefly at the Declaration of Independence. We are just going to look at the Introduction

and Preamble to see how God fits into all this:

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political

bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the

separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent

respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to

the separation.”

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their

Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of

Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from

the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these

ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its

foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most

likely to affect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long

established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly, all experience

hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right

themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses

and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under

absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new

Guards for their future security.”

You could call this declaration a divine promise – and also divine protection of our Creator, and our

God.

Many of the founding fathers said that exact thing about the American Experiment:

It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God

Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells,

Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever

more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and

Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these

States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the

End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even

altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.

John Adams

I conceive we cannot better express ourselves than by humbly supplicating the Supreme Ruler of the

world . . . that the confusions that are and have been among the nations may be overruled by the

promoting and speedily bringing in the holy and happy period when the kingdoms of our Lord and

Savior Jesus Christ may be everywhere established, and the people willingly bow to the scepter of

Him who is the Prince of Peace.

Samuel Adams

Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.

Thomas Jefferson

Speaking of the Constitution, Benjamin Rush stated:

I do not believe that the Constitution was the offspring of inspiration, but I am as satisfied that it is as

much the work of a Divine Providence as any of the miracles recorded in the Old and New

Testament.

Benjamin Rush

You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ.

These will make you a greater and happier people than you are.

George Washington

Observation:

So, how do we reconcile this great American Experiment with the Bible? Well, there are many ways

actually, but I would like to focus in on one famous Psalm that talks about the Security of the One

Who Trusts in the Lord – that being Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,

My God, in whom I trust!”

3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper

And from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with His pinions,

And under His wings you may seek refuge;

His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night,

Or of the arrow that flies by day;

6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.

7 A thousand may fall at your side

And ten thousand at your right hand,

But it shall not approach you.

8 You will only look on with your eyes

And see the recompense of the wicked.

9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge,

Even the Most High, your dwelling place.

10 No evil will befall you,

Nor will any plague come near your tent.

11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you,

To guard you in all your ways.

12 They will bear you up in their hands,

That you do not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra,

The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.

14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.

15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will rescue him and honor him.

16 “With a long life I will satisfy him

And let him see My salvation.”

Interpretation:

I would like to walk through Psalm 91 and its great promises for you and me by using a few stories

from the life of George Washington. Psalm 91 is sometimes called the Soldier’s Psalm, but it should

not be limited to soldiers or combat only – these promises are for you and me.

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,

My God, in whom I trust!”

In the writings of George Washington, one of the items we have is his prayer book. This is a Morning

and Evening prayer book – which is truly amazing. Part of his prayer for Monday morning reads like

this:

Direct my thoughts, words and work. Wash away my sins in the immaculate blood of the lamb, and

purge my heart by thy Holy Spirit, from the dross of my natural corruption, that I may with more

freedom of mind and liberty of will serve thee, the ever lasting God, in righteousness and holiness this

day, and all the days of my life.

You see, if we abide in the shadow of the Almighty – if we run to God and make Him our refuge, our

fortress and put all of our Trust in God – well, we are now accepting His protections. It is obvious that

George Washington abided in the shadow of the Almighty.

And what are those protections:

3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper

And from the deadly pestilence

Snares mean Traps and who is the Trapper – that would-be Satan.

What is deadly pestilence – that is death.

4 He will cover you with His pinions,

And under His wings you may seek refuge;

His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

God promises us protection if we run to Him. Jesus said when He was Lament over Jerusalem

Matthew 23:37-39

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I

wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you

were unwilling. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! For I say to you, from now on you will

not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is HE who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night,

Or of the arrow that flies by day;

6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.

God has got us coved – by night, by day in the darkness and at noon – He’s there and we don’t need

to be afraid.

• Terrors

• Arrows

• Pestilence

• Destruction

So here is the first story of Washington – at a young age.

In the French and Indian War (1753–1763), the Americans and their English and Indian allies fought

the French and their Indian allies. In 1755, then 23-year-old Colonel Washington brought 100 Virginia

buckskins to join forces with veteran General Edward Braddock and his 1,300 British troops on an

expedition to oust the French from western Pennsylvania.

They reached a point about 7 miles from the French fort, and while following a path through a wooded

area, they marched directly into an ambush; the enemy opened fire on them from both sides.

Braddock’s soldiers were veterans of European style warfare that were traditionally fought on open

ground rather than in woods such as in Pennsylvania. So, what did the British do? They lined up

shoulder-to-shoulder along the bottom of the ravine and, not surprisingly, were slaughtered.

Over the next 2 hours, 714 of the 1,400 soldiers were shot down. Only 30 of the French and Indians

where shot, and nearly all of those were shot down by Washington’s buckskins, who understood

woodland warfare and used the trees as covers when the attack started.

Of the 86 British and American officers in the battle, 62 were either killed or wounded. George

Washington was the only mounted officer not shot.

When General Braddock was mortally wounded, Washington took command, gathered the panicked

troops, and retreated to Virginia. Along the way, Braddock died; and Washington, took on the role of a

military chaplain, personally conducting the funeral service, reading Scriptures and offering prayers.

Washington and the remnants of the expedition finally reached Fort Cumberland in western Maryland

on July 17, 1755. Word spread across the colonies that all the troops had been killed. Washington

quickly wrote his family, assuring them that he was still alive, but only as a result of what he described

as “the miraculous care of Providence.” He also told his brother:

As I have heard since my arrival at this place [Fort Cumberland] a circumstantial account of my death

and dying speech, I take this early opportunity of contradicting the first and of assuring you that I have

not as yet composed the latter. But by the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I have been

protected beyond all human probability and expectation, for I had four bullets through my coat and

two horses shot under me yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every

side of me.

7 A thousand may fall at your side

And ten thousand at your right hand,

But it shall not approach you.

8 You will only look on with your eyes

And see the recompense of the wicked.

Isn’t that exactly what Washington described!

As word of God’s supernatural protection of Washington swept the colonies, the Rev. Samuel

Davies—considered the greatest pulpit preacher in America and a notable leader in the revival known

as the Great Awakening (1730–1770)—suggested that the manner in which God had directly

intervened to preserve the young and largely unknown Washington certainly seemed to indicate that

“Providence has hitherto preserved [him]… for some important service to his country.”

Additional confirmation of just how miraculous Washington’s preservation had been came years later

in 1770. Washington returned to the same Pennsylvania woods in which he had earlier fought, but

this time on a peaceful surveying mission. An ancient leather-faced Indian chief heard that

Washington was back in the area and traveled to meet him, explaining,

“I have traveled a long and weary path that I might see the young warrior of the great battle.”

Over a council fire, the chief declared that he had been a leader with the French 15 years earlier and

then recounted the famous battle from his perspective. He explained that he had ordered his braves

to single out the officers and shoot them down, and that Washington had been specifically targeted.

The chief proudly announced that his own rifle had never before been known to miss, but after

personally firing at Washington 17 times without effect, he concluded that Washington was under the

care of the Great Spirit. He therefore instructed his braves to stop firing at him, confessing to

Washington that he had

“come to pay homage to the man who is the particular favorite of Heaven, and who [can] never die in

battle.”

Red Hawk, another Indian chief in the battle, similarly testified of shooting eleven times at

Washington without hitting him. And because his gun also never missed its mark, he, too, ceased

firing at him, likewise convinced that the Great Spirit protected him.

10 No evil will befall you,

Nor will any plague come near your tent.

11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you,

To guard you in all your ways.

12 They will bear you up in their hands,

That you do not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra,

The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.

As a side note – this was one of the traps that the trapper used against Jesus when He was tempted

in the wilderness:

Matthew 4:5-6

Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said

to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE will command His angels

concerning You’;

and ‘ON their hands they will bear You up, SO that You will not strike Your foot against A stone.’”

24 years later in the 1779 Battle of Brandywine, a similar Divine intervention occurred. Throughout

that battle, British Major Patrick Ferguson, a renowned rifle shot and head of the British

sharpshooters, quietly moved his men around in the forest, singling out one American after another,

shooting them down. As the battle proceeded, he pointed out the next target to his men, and he and

three of his best sharpshooters drew down on the unsuspecting victim. But just before Ferguson

ordered them to fire, he experienced a surprising impulse, later recounting that the thought of

shooting that particular soldier suddenly disgusted him. The American officer, now in pointblank

range, turned and looked directly at Ferguson, locking eyes with him over the sights of Ferguson’s

rifle. After a few moments, the American slowly turned his horse, deliberately showed his fully

exposed back to Ferguson, and then calmly cantered away. Ferguson recalled: “I could have lodged

half a dozen balls in him before he was out of my reach… but I let him live.” He later discovered that it

had been General George Washington whom he had allowed to live. Early historian Lyman Draper

observed of this incident:

Had Washington fallen, it is difficult to calculate its probable effect upon the result of the struggle of

the American people… This singular impulse of Ferguson illustrates in a forcible manner the

overruling hand of Providence in directing the operation of a man’s mind when he himself is least

aware of it.

Se we see that Washington Abided with the Lord, took protection under the Lords wing and partook in

these promises and provision. But Psalm 91 ends with a bigger set of promises. See, the last 3

versions are God speaking to us:

14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.

15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will rescue him and honor him.

16 “With a long life I will satisfy him

And let him see My salvation.”

You see, because:

• WE loved HIM

• WE have KNOWN His NAME

• We have CALLED upon HIM

God gives us even more, which we will see here in a moment.

On numerous occasions, Washington openly testified of God’s protection over him. He recognized

that his life existed only as a result of “the miraculous care of Providence.” He also understood that

the important part he had played in America’s formation was by the direction of God, acknowledging:

“I have only been an instrument in the hands of Providence.”

Now, let’s go back and end that Monday morning Prayer of George Washington that we started

earlier:

Increase my faith in the sweet promises of the Gospel. Give me repentance from dead works. Pardon

my wanderings, & direct my thoughts unto thyself, the God of my salvation. Teach me how to live in

thy fear, labor in thy service, and ever to run in the ways of thy commandments. Make me always

watchful over my heart, that neither the terrors of conscience, the loathing of holy duties, the love of

sin, nor an unwillingness to depart this life, may cast me into a spiritual slumber. But daily frame me

more and more into the likeness of thy son Jesus Christ, that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I

may in thy appointed time attain the resurrection of the just unto eternal life. Bless my family, friends

& kindred unite us all in praising & glorifying thee in all our works begun, continued, and ended, when

we shall come to make our last account before thee blessed Saviour, who hath taught us thus to

pray, our Father.

Application:

So to wrap this up, so we can go either today, Monday or Tuesday and start to pursuit of happiness

and celebration this great experiment that is America, what can we take away from God’s Word in

Psalm 91 and the life of George Washington and the Deceleration of Independence:

1. This nation was founded on a Judeo-Christian worldview. We need to acknowledge it,

remember it and celebrate it!

2. God has a lot of promises and protections for you and our nation if we will run to Him, Abide in

Him and take refuge under this shadow.

3. God’s Promises for us are AMAZING! (Here is that “gives us more” I talked about earlier)

• “I will deliver him…”

• “I will protect him…” (set him securely on high)

• “I will answer him…”

• “I will be with him in trouble…”

• “I will rescue him…”

• “and honor him…”

• “With a long life I will satisfy him…”

• “let him see My salvation.”

Conclusion:

• Invitation to see HIS salvation

• End with Prayer