Psalms 91

Psalms 91:1-16

Security in Trusting the Lord Psalms 91:1-16 In harmony with the new light cast upon it by the Revised Version, this psalm has been divided as follows: Psalms 91:1-2, a soliloquy in which the believer states the blessedness of dwelling under God’ s sheltering care, and encourages his heart to exercise personal faith; Psalms 91:3-8, the assurance of a chorus of voices, which emphasize the safety of those who believe; Psalms 91:9 a, an exclamation in which the believer again expresses his resolve to exercise this personal faith; Psalms 91:9 b-13, the second assurance of a chorus of reassuring voices; Psalms 91:14-16, God’ s ratification of the whole attitude and expressions of the psalmist and his friends. The psalm abounds in metaphors familiar to the East: the lion with its roar and leap in the open; the adder with its stealthy glide through the grass; the nocturnal assault; the devastating plague; the fowler’ s snare; the eagle’ s wing; the transitory tent. This is the traveler’ s psalm, and may well be read in private or with the family, whenever we are starting on a journey. But notice the closing, Psalms 91:14-16. Our conceptions of God’ s care are too narrow. We fail to make enough use of the power, love, and presence of His fatherhood, which is waiting and longing to be called upon. Only we must exercise an appropriating faith.

The secret place of the most high This Psalm is entirely general. But it is of great service to travellers and to all who are exposed to danger and hardship. It alternates between the expressions of personal trust and exhortations to trust; hence the interchange of the pronouns “I” and “Thou.” It is attributed by the old Rabbis to Moses, and indeed corresponds to his experience on the night of the first Passover. Satan quoted Psalms 91:11-12 to our Lord (Matthew 4:6).

Psalms 91:1-2.We may regard Psalms 91:2, “I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge,” etc., as the soliloquy of the man described in Psalms 91:1, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, and abideth under the shadow of the Almighty.”

Psalms 91:3. Surely He shall deliver thee Deliverance from guile and traps, as well as from the insidious pestilence of jungle and morass. Psalms 91:4. Under his wings shalt thou trust The wings of God! (Deuteronomy 32:11-12; Matthew 23:37).

Psalms 91:5-6. Thou shalt not be afraid In each verse we have the alternations of day and night, for there is not an hour which has not its special liabilities of harm. The soldier gets a daredevil courage from the motto: “Every bullet has its billet.” The believer flinches not, because his life is “hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

Psalms 91:9. Thou hast made the Lord thy habitation There must be definite appropriation on our part before there can be deliverance.

Psalms 91:11. He shall give his angels charge over thee Do we make enough of the gentle, careful ministry of the angels? (Hebrews 1:14; Luke 22:43). But certainly we must be in God’s ways, ere we can claim angel-help.

Psalms 91:13. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder This reminds one of some marvellous words of our Lord (Luke 10:19-20), and surely refers to our spiritual foes (Mark 16:18; 1 Corinthians 15:26). Psalms 91:15. I willbe with him in trouble It is worth our while to be in trouble, to have such a Companion. He is never so near as then.