Psalm 91:3 “Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.”
The wicked “devices” of the devil (II Corinthians 2:11) are allegorized as “the snare of the fowler” and “the noisome pestilence”. The devil operates much like a “fowler” as he deftly seeks to ensnare a wild bird that he intends to consume. A “fowler” camouflages and hides himself and his “snare” (trap) and he makes the bait appear as a natural occurrence, so that nothing looks unusual about it. So it is with the devil, he is indeed a “ravening wolf”, but in order to ensnare the little Children of God, he conceals himself and his vile intensions and cruel devices by blending in with the normal activities and surroundings. The Lord tells us that he even adorns himself in “sheep’s clothing” (Matthew 7:15). The devil is a skillful “fowler”, he hides his traps in the daily lives of the Lord’s people, and he baits them with what, at first, seems to be innocent and harmless, things. He uses music, movies, entertainment, sensual attractions, positions of power, acquisition of wealth, alcohol, drugs, etc. Sometimes, the bait is overwhelmingly attractive, and it appeals to our carnal desires; all the while he is diminishing the Word of God, the Church, and Fellowship with the Lord’s people. Much like when the “serpent” ensnared “Eve”, he convinced her that the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17) “was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise”. She took the bait, “and did eat”; she then enticed her husband; she “gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Genesis 3:6). The result was death, they dreadfully suffered, but the Lord still loved them and mercifully and graciously delivered them. He exercised His infinite power and authority over the “serpent” (Genesis 3:14-15), to control him and to ultimately utterly defeat him. And, as our loving and most merciful “good shepherd” (John 10:11,14), he delivered (consoled) Adam and Eve by sacrificially covering the shame of their sin (Genesis 3:21). Our blessed Lord is still delivering His little Children “from the snare of the fowler”!