“Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.” (Psalms 91:3)
It’s unknown if David, Moses or Ezra wrote Psalms 91. There are good arguments for Moses and David. But regardless, Psalms 91 is a very good psalm to read when one is in a difficult place. It helps us to see God’s caring protection. It reassures us that God can and will deliver us, help us and preserve us no matter what is coming against us.
Verse 3 begins with the word “surely.” Be assured and have no doubt about it. We can be assured because the Lord is God. He is our heavenly Father, Whose love for us cannot be measured in earthly terms. He is Love. His Love came to earth and lived like a man in order to save us from ourselves. His Love took the wrath of God because of sin, for us. His Love took our sin away. His Love brought us back to relationship with God. If God loved us so much in our sinful state, wouldn’t we be assured of His love for us now that we have been translated into His kingdom and now that we are His children?
He will deliver, rescue and save us from the spring net (literally) of the predator who is the enemy of God and man, satan. Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) Although it may not be satan directly, he directs destruction with his minions. I always thought that to kill would be the ultimate hurt, but he is not satisfied with merely killing us. He is not satisfied until we are destroyed. This refers to failing to live eternally with God. It is worse than death itself. But we can be assured deliverance from the spring nets, set about us to steal, kill and destroy us. And God will deliver us from wickedness and calamity. The psalmist adds this as an afterthought as if he’d forgotten to mention it.
In John 10:10, Jesus says that He came that we might have life abundant. We can easily see how we are delivered from the snare that would eternally condemn us to an eternity without God. But Jesus delivers us to life with Him. And that life is abundant. In the Greek it means exceedingly abundantly above or beyond measure. We can see that God’s deliverance is eternal and temporal also. Eternal because it has to do with after we leave this earth, eternity. And temporal because it pertains to this world. This world is temporal. It will pass away. And everything in this world is temporal. It is uncertain and static. But God’s deliverance is certain.
“For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” (2Peter 1:11)
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