HEDGED IN

Psalm 91:11-12

“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.”

This verse is quoted by Satan when he was tempting Jesus to leap off a high place in the wilderness (Matthew 4:5-7). However, this verse is not just for the benefit of The Son of God. The original context is meant for all sons and daughters of God, through Christ Jesus.

The first key word we come to in this passage is “give”. Because of faith in Christ, the many different services angels provide for God become multiplied when the children of God are considered. Angelic care is part of the Benefit Package of Salvation through Christ Jesus. God “gives His angels”.

The second key word to observe is “charge”. In the original Hebrew the word is tsâvâh (tsaw-vaw'). This word denotes a command, an appointment, a purposeful sending out. According to Perry Stone’s study of this verse and particular word – the New Testament use of the Hebrew equivalent has a military authority to it and can be found in 1 Timothy 1:18. Christ is seen as the Captain of the Host that He is – giving out the commands, the appointments, and sending out His angels with this purpose – “to keep thee in all thy ways.”

This brings us to our next key word - "keep". The original Hebrew word is shâmar (shaw-mar'). This word means save, guard, protect, and the most descriptive - provide a hedge for. Ever been in a hedge? You are completely surrounded. Usually it is a reference to being in the middle of a bush or garden but can be a military term of no escape. But here it is a term of comfort and encouragement in God's protection. Remember the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24 that reads - "The Lord bless you and keep you..."? Now, read it as - "The Lord bless you and Hedge You In...".

Next, it is interesting that the acronym for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration - NASA -  is the original Hebrew word for the phrase "bear you up" in this verse. The word means to lift, to hold up and to move out of the way. In this case, the angel is bearing the believer up and out of harms way, not removing the obstacle. Mr. Stone says, "Some Christians prefer not to use the term 'guardian angel', as the phrase is missing from Scripture. However, the phrase is an accurate term to identify the assignment of any angel, 'given charge to bear up' a child of God." (p.68, This Season of Angels, Perry Stone)

The time is long pass that believers in Christ should be declaring the promises of God out loud - to ourselves, to our blood family, our spiritual family and back to God as well. Within our declarations we should include the praise for God's omni-present Spirit in our lives (Hebrews 13:5) and that His angels encamp around us as part of His Faith Benefit Package (Psalm 34:7). "If the blood of earthly lambs could prevent the death angel from entering the Hebrew homes during the Exodus, then the word of our testimony and faith in the blood of Christ can form protective hedges." (pages 69-70, This Season of Angels, Stone) 

But remember this brothers and sisters in Christ - "...there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus," (1 Timothy 2:5) There is to be no prayer directed to angels. We know there is no worship that is to be directed to angels (Revelation 19:10). In addition, any additional action that would usurp God's Authority in our lives and replace it with anything, including that of angels, is prohibited. We pray to and through the Creator and Provider not the created and/or servant of God. The will of God is what we should seek out in any situation than our own or the possible knee-jerk command of an angel. Pray to Father God through Christ Jesus for your need or desire and trust God in the use of His angelic ministries.