“You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.”
Phyllis Nissila
For the complete booklet of Psalm 91 devotionals, click here.
Lions and Dragons and Snakes, Oh My!
My friend dreamt she was climbing a path toward heaven. The passageway, though neither perfect nor straight and at an incline that took some effort, was clearly seen and easily scaled. It was lit by a narrow band of light shed only on the path, and she sensed the presence of angels.
The landscape on either side, however, remained dark, dense, and, she felt, throbbing with evil. (Perhaps the smell of sulfur wafting near?)
We discussed this with regard to the “light” of God’s Word: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105, KJV).
I think of the dream and the scripture now with regard to the nature of “what waits without” anticipating our spiritual misstep, coiled to strike.
Throughout the scriptures, the creatures in today’s passage (which, defined, include also a kind of serpent-like dragon) symbolize danger, cunning, threats to life, and satanic temptation [1].
And though ugly in the realm of the spirit, demons can also appear in the flesh as “angels of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).
Perhaps these are the most dangerous of all.
Not hard to figure out what can happen when we stray off the path of God’s Word, here!
Yet, when sight dims or fails or some bright and shiny “new” teaching or doctrine tricks the eye off the path, the Body of Christ has this encouragement:
“’The God of peace shall tread Satan under your feet’ (Rom.16:20). Christ has broken the serpent’s head, spoiled our spiritual enemies (Col. 2:15), and through him we are more than conquerors; for Christ calls us, as Joshua called the captains of Israel, to come and set our feet on the necks of vanquished enemies” [2].
(However clever their disguise.)
Not only are angels present to minister to us (Psalm 91:11), to help bring us back, Jesus the Word Made Flesh is as well, the path paved with His blood, the light provided by His power.
Invitation
Share a story of your own triumph over our “spiritual enemy,” how God saved or restored you.
***
[1] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+91%3A13&version=KJV
[2] Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry’s Commentary. Zondervan. 678.
Photo from the public domain.
Related articles
- Psalm 91 in the Midst of the Fray: Preface, Verses 1-2, and Share Your Story (pnissila.wordpress.com)
- Psalm 91 in the Midst of the Fray: Verse 3 (pnissila.wordpress.com)
- Psalm 91 in the Midst of the Fray: Verse 4, and Share Your Story (pnissila.wordpress.com)
- Psalm 91 in the Midst of the Fray: Verses 5-6, and Share Your Story (pnissila.wordpress.com)
- Psalm 91 in the Midst of the Fray: Verses 7-8, and Share Your Story (pnissila.wordpress.com)
- Psalm 91 in the Midst of the Fray: Verses 9-10, and Share Your Story (pnissila.wordpress.com)
pnissila 
This morning the Holy Spirit brought Luke 10:19 to my mind, so I looked it up: (Speaking to those just returning from an assignment) Jesus said to them, “Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you…”
I recalled something a friend of mine once stated, “The prophets spoke in the Name of the Lord by saying, “Thus saith the Lord…”, but when Jesus came He said, ‘Verily, verily I say to you…”
It seems to me this was happening with Psalm 91:13 in the passage in Luke., By speaking in the imperfect (future) tense in Psalm 91:13 “You will tread upon the lion and cobra…” to the time when He said, in the perfect (present) tense, in Luke, “I have given you authority to tread…”
As usual I have been edified, exhorted and comforted by what you brought here. Many thanks.
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Excellent point! Yes, in Christ Jesus we now have authority, as the Holy Spirit leads us, to do considerable damage, spiritually speaking, to the Old Serpent and his minions…
P.
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