I have discussed afflictions for the gospel. But there are many troubles in life unrelated to the gospel. These the heathen must face alone. But a Christian has the promise of God’s protection. Psalm 91 says:
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day, nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling; for he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he has set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him my salvation.
As fathers protect their children so God protects us if He is our God. But diligence is required, God saying that He will deliver him: because he has set his love upon me. Learning of God is also important, God requiring that: he hath known my name.
While we should not deliberately endanger ourselves without cause (as the Lord did not jump off the pinnacle of the temple), God will protect us when danger is unavoidable. God promises to be our refuge and fortress and our shield, and to cover us with His feathers under His wings.
This Psalm promises protection from: the tricks of men (snare of the fowler); war (arrow that flieth by day); murder and violence (terror by night); calamity (a thousand shall fall at thy side . . . but it shall not come nigh thee); plague; excessive injury (lest thou dash thy foot against a stone); and wild animals (Thou shalt tread upon the . . . adder). These promises are relevant today, Jesus saying to His disciples: they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. (Mark 16:18) As with victory in battle, God’s protection is promised only to those who are concerned about the work of the Lord, the context of Christ’s promise being His command to: Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15)
In times of trouble we should not be so pre-occupied with the difficulties that we fail to remember that God has the ultimate power. Satan and man and beast can only perform what God allows. Ultimately it is God who determines the course of events in our life. So whilst wisdom may be necessary to solve our problems: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 9:10) And so God says: Offer unto God thanksgiving and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee. (Psalm 50:14,15) And more generally, obedience to God and prayer to Him is the path of victory. The disobedient cannot claim God’s promises.
The theme of Isaiah is the sovereignty of God. It is written in Isaiah 41:8-14:
But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend . . . I have chosen thee and not cast thee away. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish . . . For I, the Lord thy God, will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
Although we know that God is all-powerful, there is sometimes a tendency to think that God has deserted the earth and His power is irrelevant. This may be because God does not act immediately. For example, why did not God cause Hitler to be defeated within a year? But God’s purposes are grander than our own. He says: my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8,9) What seems so important now may be trivial on the eternal scale.
But God will help us if we are patient. David said: I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. (Psalm 40:1,2)
The Jews thought God had abandoned them. And perhaps to some degree He had, because of their disobedience. Yet God had not forgotten His people, and He did not want them to forget that He, the creator, had power to deliver. God asked His people: Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgement is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. (Isaiah 40:27-29) So God does not give up. But His help is only available to the faithful. He says: Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:30,31)
Patience teaches us that that God is not under our command and that help and deliverance is God’s mercy rather than our right. Jesus taught the importance of patience in the parable of the persistent widow: And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man, yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry out day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:1-8)