Psalm 91
1st Sunday of Lent (C)
Jesus overcomes each temptation of the devil by using Scripture: “Man does not live on bread alone” (Lk 4:4), “You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve” (Lk 4:8). As if recognizing this, on the third temptation the devil tries to pre-empt Jesus by using Scripture himself, twisting their meaning: “it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you” (Lk 4:10). Jesus is not deterred, and defeats him with another direct application of God’s Word: “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test” (Lk 4:12).
Scripture is a key part of the battle against temptation which we face during Lent. The three spiritual weapons are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and if prayer is to be effective it must be imbued with God’s Word.
In the early Church, before there was a formally established season of Lent such as we have today, fervent and zealous Christians already undertook “lents” of their own by going into the desert in great numbers. In the regions around the Holy Land there are plenty of deserts. St. Anthony of Egypt is the most famous desert father, living as hermit from the time he was eighteen until his death at age 106. By the fifth and sixth centuries there were thousands of small monasteries in the deserts of Palestine, including a famous one built into the side of the cliff on the Mountain of the Lord’s Temptation outside Jericho. These early monks set the pattern for the subsequent 40-day season of Lent enjoined on all the faithful in preparation for Easter.
It was these monks who identified all the prayers in the Bible (mostly the 150 psalms, but many in other books as well, called canticles), and began to arrange them in such a way that they could be prayed continually throughout each day, week, and month. This is the origin of the “Liturgy of the Hours,” the Divine Office prayed by the Church at the various hours of each day. It is said that St. Anthony memorized so much of the Bible, that he never needed to use books when he prayed.
By using the very prayers of the Bible, especially the Psalms, as our own prayers, internalizing the words of Scripture as our own words, we are slowly able to imitate Jesus in the ability to conquer sin and the devil through the power of God’s Word.
When the devil tries to use Scripture against Jesus, why does he quote the words of Psalm 91? It has to be this was the prayer Jesus was praying at that moment! Psalm 91 is a prayer for God’s protection in times of spiritual attacks. It is the prayer you would want to pray when the devil is attacking you!
After invoking God as refuge, fortress, and strength, and placing oneself under the protection of His sheltering wings, the Psalm gives assurance of divine protection from all types of terror and attacks. It promises the assistance of angels (these were the verses quoted by the devil), and power to trample and crush the serpent under foot. Finally, the Psalm ends by shifting from third person narration to God Himself speaking in first person: “because he clings to me in love, I will deliver him…” (Ps 91:14f).
Psalm 91 is the perfect Lenten prayer for someone struggling with temptations and spiritual attacks. It is a good place to begin that lifelong task undertaken by the desert monks, of memorizing and incorporating the words of the Bible into one’s personal prayer.
Thank you Father!