Psalm 91 1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 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. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. 14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. (KJV) Commentary THEME: “This is the most distinguished jewel among all the psalms of consolation”—Luther. Like the majority in this present book, this psalm is anonymous and without title. It was the practice of Jewish interpreters to assign the authorship of an unnamed psalm to the writer of the last named psalm. If this be so, this is another psalm of Moses, the man of God. It is in striking contrast with Psalm 90. Psalm 90 is somber; this psalm is cheerful. That psalm is one of concern; Psalm 91 is one of comfort. Some of the motifs in Psalm 91 correspond well to the life of Moses (the noisome pestilence, vs. 3; the terror by night, vs. 5; the pestilence that walketh in darkness, vs. 6; A thousand shall fall at thy side … but it shall not come nigh thee, vs. 7; neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling, vs. 10; he shall give his angels charge over thee, vs. 11; etc.). These and other references are reminiscent of the plagues on Egypt, the Passover night, and Israel’s escape from bondage; and they speak strongly for Mosaic authorship. 91:1–2. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. This is a great promise of blessing to believers. Yet, the promise is not made to all who believe, but only to those who are willing to make their abode in the secret place, to sit down or take up residence there. The words shall abide (Heb lūn) signify to pass the night. They imply a constant and continuous dwelling, and not just a temporary visitation during trouble or calamity. Psalm 91 is a promise to those who take up residence in the secret place. He is my refuge and my fortress: my God. That God is a refuge (cf. 18:2; 144:2) and a God who can be trusted (cf. 31:6; 55:23; 56:3; 61:4; etc.) is a frequent theme of the Psalms. Yet, it is of little comfort that God is a refuge or a fortress unless we are able to say He is my refuge and my fortress. 3–4. Constant fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the secret place of the Most High, bring us most assuredly to deliverance from the snare of the fowler (cf. 124:7; Prov 6:5), i.e., the devil who, like one who traps birds, skillfully prepares a snare for God’s servants, and from the noisome pestilence. Pestilence comes from the Hebrew (Heb dabar), which signifies to speak or speak out. The pestilence appears to be something spoken, something proclaimed by God among the people. The LXX renders it (Gr thanatos) death. Whatever this great danger may be, we need not fear it; for He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust. In loving condescension, God likens Himself to a mother hen sheltering her young from the hawks of the sky and the snares of the field. His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. God’s faithfulness and veracity will constitute our double armor, i.e., the shield borne on the arm and the buckler, which was the coat of mail giving protection to every part of the warrior’s body. 5–6. In typically poetic style, the psalmist beautifully portrays that God’s protection of those who dwell in the secret place is constant, never failing day or night. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, a probable reference to robbers (cf. Job 24:14–16; Jer 49:9; Ob 5), nor for the arrow that flieth by day, perhaps a reference to open warfare (cf. Job 6:4). Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, a poetic picture of the grim reaper stalking the night looking for victims; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. The word rendered destruction (Heb qeteb) here and in Deuteronomy 32:24 is rendered by the LXX (Gr daimonion) meaning the demon of the day, i.e., sunstroke (cf. 121:6). The Hebrews were accustomed to dividing the twenty-four hours of a day and night into four equal parts, i.e., evening (6 P.M.–12 A.M.), midnight (12 A.M.–6 A.M.), morning (6 A.M.–12 P.M.), and midday (12 P.M.–6 P.M.). When we are willing to take up our residence in the secret place of the Most High and abide under the shadow of the Almighty, we are assured of round-the-clock, twenty-four-hour protection from the devil and his angels. 7–10. In these verses the poet notices that while we are untouched in the shelter of the secret place A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand. The scythe of death shall reap a mortal toll all around but it shall not come nigh thee. This promise was graphically etched in Israelite memories that bloody Passover night in Egypt, when the death angel passed through the land and the first-born was executed by the judgment of the Lord. Neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. No evil befell the Israelites; for as God had promised, thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation. 11–13. The psalmist now identifies the agent of this continual coverage we enjoy when we are in constant fellowship as the Lord Jesus, God’s secret place. He shall give his angels charge over thee. Dwellers in the secret place are under the constant care of angels (Heb 1:13–14), and it is comforting to note that the word is not singular but plural, angels. Caring properly for us is more than a one angel job. The angels are said to bear us up lest we dash thy foot against a stone. How tender it is to know that they bear us in their hands, as a nurse would give tender loving care to a small child. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. It was a common mark of complete victory when the vanquished foe lay prostrate on the ground and the conqueror placed his foot on the lifeless body of his enemy. From this practice came the metaphor of treading underfoot, indicating complete victory (cf. 7:5; 44:5; 60:12; etc.). The lion poetically represents an open and ardent foe. The adder is symbolic of a more secret and malignant foe. Regardless of the snare placed in our path by Satan, when we abide under the shadow of the Almighty, both open and secret enemies will be vanquished. The repetition for emphasis and embellishment indicates the young lion and the dragon, the lion in the strength of its youth and the most dreadful type of serpent, are no match for God’s ministering spirits. 14–16. A dramatic change is seen in these verses. It is evident that the speaker here is none other than Jehovah Himself. He addresses the one who hath set his love upon me, i.e., the one who is willing to dwell in the secret place. To run to the Lord Jesus when we are in trouble is not to show Him the consistent love necessary to receive the promises of this psalm. But when we take up residence in the house of His fellowship, when we set our love on Him, then God makes astounding promises. Therefore will I deliver him, a ratification of verses 3, 7, 10–15, and a frequent promise in the Old Testament. I will set him on high, i.e., either meaning far above the dangers which plague this world or to exalt Him above His fellows and bring honor to Him. The reason is because he hath known my name. Knowing the name of God is equivalent to knowing Him personally. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him. “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jer 33:3), I will be with him in trouble (cf. 46:1, whenever trouble comes God is already there), I will deliver him, and honor him. The man who honors God with his love and willingness to forsake the world will ultimately be honored by God. With long life will I satisfy him (1:3; 34:12; 37:3). This promise is in marked contrast to the apparent despair of the preceding psalm, which describes long life as labor and sorrow (90:10). What can the difference be? The difference is the reality of verse 1. And show him my salvation. To see the salvation of God is to see beyond today and to know that, “… the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom 8:18). Commentary is sourced from: KJV Bible commentary. 1997, c1994 (1100). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Posted on: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 22:30:47 +0000
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