Shining a light on the weekly Bible Lessons published in the Christian Science Quarterly®
Are Sin, Disease, and Death Real?
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. . . . 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.
That God is a refuge or shelter is a continuing theme in Psalms (see, for instance, 46:1; 61:3; 62:7, 8). A commentary makes this observation about the poet’s examples of divine care: “The entire list is . . . a spiritual antidote to the range of anxieties that could afflict the lives of Israelites. Though its items are strange to other and later times, it still does its work of anchoring the soul. . . .”
Mentions of pestilence occur throughout Hebrew Scripture. Here and in verse 6 they may allude to an epidemic, such as the plague—a reference underscored by the adjective noisome, meaning destructive or deadly. Scholars suggest that because epidemics of disease were thought to be the effect of demons, this psalm asserts God’s protection from demonic influences.
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Resources cited in this issue
RR: Mays, James Luther, et al., eds. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Vol. 15, Psalms. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1982–.
Cit. 5: Keck, Leander E., et al., eds. The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 2, Introduction to Narrative Literature, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles. Nashville: Abingdon, 2015.
Cit. 7: Mays, James Luther, et al., eds. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Vol. 20, Isaiah: Chapters 40–66. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1982–.
Cit. 18: Laymon, Charles M. The Interpreter’s One-Volume Commentary on the Bible. Nashville: Abingdon, 1971; Keck, Leander E., et al., eds. The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 4, Ezra, Nehemiah, Introduction to Prophetic Literature, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, Lamentations. Nashville: Abingdon, 2015.
Cit. 24: Pfeiffer, Charles F., and Everett Falconer Harrison. Wycliffe Bible Commentary. Chicago: Moody P., 1962.
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Scriptural quotations marked New Living Translation are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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