He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. - Psalm 107:20
Thwarting pesky sorcerers.
HOLY WATER
This may sound obvious, but it’s good to remind ourselves that there is power in the Word. Scripture itself when spoken becomes prayer, a declaration, an encouragement, and a commandment.
My desire to sing scripture is three-fold: one - for the reasons stated above - to speak this power aloud for inspiration to myself and others; two - as an offering to God; three - because I want to memorize the passages, having them sealed upon my heart.
Having scripture “ready to go” is useful for prayer, application, and impressing those in your Bible study group. Additionally, having it engraved in my heart and mind makes it part of my spiritual armor; by being poised with certain passages, when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I don’t have to fear, because his Word is instantly upon my lips and I rebuke those creeper vibes around me. (Indeed Psalm 23 is one of those go-to cobweb cleaners.)
Point being: any scripture can be useful and powerful, though naturally some passages apply to certain situations more directly than others.
Psalm 91 is known as the “exorcist psalm.” The Jewish Talmud refers to it as “the psalm of evil spirits." During more superstitious times, Jews and Christians would carry amulets, upon which the psalm was carved. Perhaps this is news, because in many Protestant churches, the concept of exorcism - and let’s be honest - the topic of the invisible realm in general - is kind of, well, sort of, um, you know, it’s like….(you catch my drift.)
A Catholic or Orthodox priest may be aware of the historic theme of this psalm, as verbatim scripture is part of the liturgy, and exorcism is more normalized. When I attended an Orthodox Church in New York, the priest started every mass by flinging holy water at us via a hyssop branch while chanting Psalm 51:7, “Purge me with hyssop and I will be clean…” The liturgy was an exorcism. He told me baptism was an exorcism rite as well, which makes sense.
Mary delivers a blow, armed with the Word...Demon tells her to put a mask on.
I googled “exorcism psalms” with the desire to have one memorized that was specifically used for spiritual defense. Four psalms came up, three of which are fragments from the Dead Sea scrolls. Psalm 91 was also among them, though obviously there had been another copy of it, as it was included in Biblical canon long before these others were unearthed. I like the titles*:
“On Expelling Demons”
“Trusting in YHVH for Protection”
This Psalm, which is apparently attributed to Solomon, invokes the God of creation for protection against evil powers. God's power is highlighted from Scripture, and the Psalmist calls on angelic powers to combat demonic forces.
“YHVH Has the Power to Strike Down Demons”
This Psalm, which is attributed to David, is uttered against a demon. The reference to this demon's horns is particularly interesting in view of popular depictions of the devil as having horns.
Psalm 91
Psalm 91 has brought comfort and hope to Jews and Christians over the centuries. Not only does it evoke God's help and protection against physical and human dangers, this Psalm has been connected with exorcisms of demonic forces in both rabbinic and Christian traditions.
SILVER CROSSES
One of my favorite artists is Sinead O’Conner. Besides her transcendent voice and unrelenting boldness, I have always appreciated her spiritual struggle, running thick as a silty river after a storm, through most of her work.
She has a heart-felt double album called Theology mostly containing scripture-songs, and one of her early albums that catapulted her to stardom in 1987 was called The Lion and the Cobra, a phrase taken from Psalm 91. In fact, she later released a compilation album of B-sides and live tracks in 2003 called, She Who Dwells in the Secret Place of the Most High Shall Abide Under the Shadow of the Almighty - Psalm 91:1.
In 2005 she released a roots reggae album, most of which was Jamaican spirituals. My favorite track from that album is “Vampire.” The song takes creative license regarding the prophet Obadiah and a commission we have from Jah (Yahweh) to chase down these metaphorical monsters.
While rehearsing, I intuitively slipped into singing “Vampire” and realized it fit the melody, rhythm and theme seamlessly. It thrusts the psalm like a silver cross in the face of said fiend.
Indeed it packs a powerful punch, and I sincerely hope you enjoy this song. It's my favorite out of the scripture-songs thus far. When I sing the refrain (91: 1-4) I cannot help but smile, knowing that the battle is already won. The rest of the song (91: 5-16) is a battle cry that feels mighty good to get off my chest.
*annotations by Judah Gabriel Himango
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