Our Pastor recently published a book, The Prayer of Protection, which takes a very in-depth look at the ninety-first Psalm (links to book and study guide at the end of the post). While reading the book, I've been taking a lot of time to meditate on each of the verses contained in this powerful Psalm.
At any given time, I always have a handful of theological questions before the Lord. Specific things that I want to gain more insight and wisdom on (James 1:5). I have asked the Lord a lot of questions about healing and how He works health in the life of a Believer. As I keep these questions before Him, I'm often amazed at the moments He starts illuminating a truth in Scripture that fills a 'hole' in my understanding. An instant download of wisdom and awareness from His Spirit. Psalm 91 is known as THE psalm on protection and safety, I wasn't expecting to receive such a powerful insight into healing as I studied these verses
Psalm 91 starts out with, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." The Hebrew word used for "He who dwells" in Psalm 91:1 is actually "Yashab" which means "to sit, remain, inhabit." Dwelling in the secret place of the Most High is a picture of sitting, of resting, of making His presence your dwelling place.
It goes on in verses 2 and 3: I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God in Him will I trust." Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.
While all of these verses are PACKED with deeper truth and understanding, I felt a distinct drawing to really focus in on verse 4:
"HE SHALL COVER YOU WITH HIS FEATHERS
AND UNDER HIS WINGS YOU SHALL TAKE REFUGE."
You see, every time prior, when I've read Psalm 91, the imagery in my mind on this verse is always of a mother hen protecting her young chick. It's totally applicable imagery here, but there's more to see. As I meditated on this verse a little longer, I started to think about a different kind of "wings."
In Malachi 4:2, we have a Messianic Prophecy- a passage of Scripture which prophesies, or foretells, something of the coming Messiah. In this specific verse it says, "The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings."
According to Jewish custom, men would have worn a "tallit" commonly known as a prayer shawl. The hem of the tallit has fringes (tzitzit) that were a means to help remember the commandments. Numbers 15:38-39 has specific instructions regarding the tallit and the tzitzit: “Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined"
The significance of the shawl was in the tassels on the corners of the tallit and these corners were commonly referred to as "wings." Many Jews who walked the earth during Jesus' time believed that when the Messiah came, there would be special healing properties in His wings or in the corners of His prayer shawl because of the prophecy of Malachi 4:2
There's a very familiar story in the Gospels commonly referred to as "The woman with the issue of blood." A woman who had a bleeding disorder for 12 years, who spent all her fortunes on doctors and found no cure for her disease. To compound matters, her bleeding disorder made her "unclean" according to Jewish law which meant that she would have lived a very lonely, isolated and secluded life. To summarize- she was sick, broke and alone. Her label of "unclean" meant she could not enter the synagogue to worship, anyone who came into contact with her and her unclean status would also be rendered unclean. But after twelve, long years of enduring an incurable disease, alone, she heard about a man named Jesus who was healing people. Could he be the Messiah, the Sun of Righteousness? Might there be healing in the wings of his prayer shawl? This woman who was condemned, declared unclean, who could have been stoned to death on the scene (had anyone recognized her) for pressing through a bustling crowd decided it was worth the risk. With people pressed around Jesus on every side, she came from behind and reached for the "fringe of His garment," the corner of His prayer shawl, and was instantaneously healed. As she reached for His wings, she was in essence declaring that she believed He was, indeed, The Sun of Righteousness, the prophesied Messiah.
Painting by James Tissot (1836-1902) of the Woman With the Issue of Blood reaching for the corner (wings) of Jesus' Tallit
Her silent declaration of faith made Jesus stop in His tracks, turn around to see from where the power went out from His body. The nameless woman with the issue of blood found the secret place of healing under the wings of the Almighty, the Messiah.
She wasn't the only one. Mark 6:54-56 reads, "And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized Him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard He was. And wherever He came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored Him that they might touch even the fringe of His garment. And as many as touched it were made well."
In Malachi 4:2, "The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings," the word used here for "wings" is the Hebrew word, "kenepaw." It's the same exact word used in Psalm 91:4, "He shall cover you with His feathers and under His wings you shall take refuge."
When we dwell (sit down, rest, MAKE OUR INHABITANCE) in the place of the Most High, under the shadow of the Almighty, He covers us with His feathers and we take refuge under His wings. It's a beautiful picture of restfully dwelling in a place of healing.
While Jesus walked the earth, people longed for a one-on-one experience with Him. They longed for the opportunity to physically touch the fringe of His tallit. But today, we as Believers get to DWELL, we can inhabit the place of His presence. We never have to leave. As we daily renew our minds to the truths of Psalm 91, we get to live perpetually in this place of healing. See yourself today covered by His feathers, finding refuge under His wings. I love Psalm 23:6 in the Amplified, "Surely goodness, mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life; And the house of the Lord and His presence shall be my dwelling place."
I want to take this thought one step further. When we are praying for the sick to receive healing, what we are doing is inviting them with us into this secret place of healing. It's not about my power, my faith or my ability. In and of myself, I have nothing to offer you, but I know someone who does. Come and meet my Jesus, come sit down with me under His wings in this secret place of healing.
If you want to join me on the in-depth study of Psalm 91, I can't recommend this book enough. You can find the book HERE and the coordinating study guide HERE
