Welcome to WELLING for your spiritual well-being and your ministry overflowing. Two or three generations ago, my forefathers on my father’s side started a practice that’s being passed on to me. And we passed on to our kids and trusting that they will pass on to their kids.
MY GRANDMOTHER TOOK PSALM 91: 14-16, the beautiful final verses of this Psalm of comfort and assurance and counsel and hope in the context of prayer and protection with prevention. She gave it to my father who gave it to me. And I will share that with you at the end of this talk.
Psalm 91, and I said is constructed like a double-down sandwich of a famous chicken chain, where instead of the bread, they have chicken pieces covering the ends, juicy, delicious, famous. And inside the chicken pieces, our cheese and other condiments in the center is the sauce, the secret sauce, which spills over the entire sandwich. Juicy, take it out. They even have edible wrappers these days.
In verses 14 to 16, we have the final piece of this chicken delicious sandwich. It echoes verses 1 and 2. It calls for us to come to God that we love Him in devotion. That we know His name in recognition that we call Him, call on Him. We reach Him in trouble. But then comes some unbelievable promises of His embrace of you.
Psalm count eight promises there. The last set of promises can be combined together. In English, it seems like God uses “I will,” “I will” six or seven times, depending on how you translate it. I will, I will, I will– He encloses us. He enfolds us. He’s the enfolder. You’re the enfolded. We’ve heard about the enfolding in this continuing relationship with God, dwelling in His dwelling place, hiding in His secret place, resting in the shadowed place.
LISTEN TO WHAT HE SAYS: “Because He loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him. I will protect him for he acknowledges My name. He will call on me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him. With long life, I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
What a set of commitments that He drapes you, delivers you, He rescues you, He answers you, He is present with you. He exalts here. He satisfies you with the Salvation. This is the normal way in which God operates. Unless His purposes dictate that we need to have shorter lives, we know just in the Old Testament there were many, many long lives. There was the huge prayer of the Old Testament. Even Hezekiah’s desire for some more length of life.
We know also that our Lord Jesus did not have a very long life. Many of His disciples died early. So the normal way of praying is for God’s satisfaction in our life regardless of how long it is. I was in Chad some time ago. And the average length of life was 29 for males and 33 for females. I was already in bonus years at that time.
They’ve managed to expand the health span a little further because of the availability of medication and so on. Not a long life. But however length of life is given to us, there’ll be a satisfaction in Him. And for us, of course, it’s a future long life, forever long life, which was intubated in the Old Testament, where the Psalm is praised.
In Psalm 16, for example, or Psalm 73 afterwards. I’ll see your glory intimated in Daniel 12, one of the clearest statement of the Resurrection. But clarified and reinforced when we will see God’s face. Revelation 22 promised and premised on the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus. We can be far more confident of the length of life both now and especially forever. Now, for as long as he gives us, and definitely forever.
I’ve started using the word “drapes.” It’s got a soft beautiful feeling. There’s not in sequence, but simultaneously, He delivers you. He rescues you. He answers you. He protects you. He elevates you. He saves you. He drapes you. I will, I will, I will. What a set of promises. I want us to go into the future for as long as God gives us the life and breath and everything.
Every time the third person occurred in these verses, at our birthdays, my dad would put my name in there. And I’ve given it to my grandkids as well. Simply goes this way. And I’d like to read it an assurance from myself, but you can have this practice. Please forgive the self reference, but I need God’s comforting assurance in this way.
Because Ramesh loves Me, says the Lord, I will answer Ramesh. I will rescue Ramesh. I’ll protect Ramesh. Ramesh will call on me, I will be with Ramesh in trouble. I will deliver Ramesh and honor Ramesh. With long life, I will satisfied Ramesh. Satisfy Ramesh. And show Ramesh My salvation.
I want you, my friend to rest in the sovereign Savior who informs you. For the strong one secures your well-being. For as long as He gives us life and breath and everything, let’s love Him, know His name, call on Him. And He will drape us. Rest in the sovereign Savior who enfolds here. The Strong One secures your well-being.