A Study in Psalm 91

By Reverend Frank Lockwood

For Christ Church Coxsackie begun on the 8^th of September 2010

1: He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Where your heart is, there is your treasure, making your dwelling with God, recognizing that we may have our bodies on earth, but we are actually residing in heaven

Shadow: a glimpse of the source, able to contour to whatever it passes over, shadows are often larger than that which they are coming from

2: I will say of the LORD, [He is] my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

My: indicates ownership, defensiveness. Implies that we are laying claim to, My God, which would then say, I am His creation

Refuge: place of safety, place of refreshing, where I go to when I need to feel relief from the pressures of the world around, safety from storms, and quietude

Fortress: place of safety from enemies, protection, built in a location that provides a strategic advantage often limiting access to so that an enemy is easily spotted during the approach and able to be pushed back, within the fort is where supplies are kept—Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want—shall not be in want can/should be read as "in the Lord I have been provided everything I already need". The "shall not want" means there is no room for desire because to want would imply a lack of….therefore, within our fortress of the Lord, we are already supplied with everything we could ever/will ever need.

3: Surely he shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, [and] from the noisome pestilence.

Deliver you:

Fowler's snare: symbolic of a hunter, lays trap for the one who is walking unsuspecting of what might befall them.

Pestilence: killing plague that attacks indiscriminately

4: He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

It is next to the body, tucked up under the inner most portions of the wings that provide the greatest protection to small birds when nesting.

The word presented here as truth, is equally translated at faithfulness. So it could read that we are trusting then in the faithfulness of God. It means then, that it is His faithfulness which flows out of His nature that provides the protection for us, therefore, it is not even dependent upon us as it is directly from God…….we can't earn it, therefore, we can't lose it

And it becomes this faithfulness of God, His truth, which then stands between us and harm, thus the shield and buckler.

5: You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

6: Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

Terror by night: that which lurks in the dark trying to frighten us

Arrow that flies by day: the assault thrown at us from a distance that we may not even see coming

Pestilence that walks in darkness: the plague that doesn't even specifically target, but attacks and feeds on anything in its path

Destruction that lays waste at noonday: that which attempts to topple foundations even in broad daylight, like the foundation of family or faith or home or whatever

7: A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.

Shall not come near: in other words, not come close enough to do any harm, it may look close, even close enough that it is going to affect deeply, but, that is only an illusion, the truth is that it is not near enough to harm you as you remain entrusting in God as shield and buckler(v:4)

8: Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.

As we look with confidence in God, we are able to get a new perspective and see what the "wicked" are "rewarded" with.

9: Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,

Here begins the promise to outline what happens to those who make God their refuge, which means that those who don't (i.e. the wicked from v8, would then receive the opposite as their reward)

10: No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

Evil can't get at you, uncontrolled sickness can't even come near your home, let alone harm you

11: For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.

Angels are given assignments to guard you and keep you safe (guardian angels)

12: In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

The words the enemy used to tempt Jesus with, yet it is also a promise to keep us safe, though, keep in mind Jesus' own response: you shall not put the Lord your God to the test

13: You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

My own interpretation on this is much more in the spiritual then the natural realm. Peter describes the enemy as a roaring lion…

Trample underfoot: a true sign of being a slave was to have your master put his foot on the back of your neck. This verse implies that we, in God's care, will then see the enemy under our own foot, the restoration of authority over the enemy

14: Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

God explains to the psalmist, why this is taking place: R E L A T I O N S H I P. Loving God and especially knowing His name are indications of intimate relationship with God. God lets the psalmist know that He is acting out of this relationship. Recall this, that the ancient Israelite was not allowed to speak God's name. Names are believed to contain power in that when you know the true name, you now have power within that person's life. By this, God lets us know that he expects us to have a close enough relationship with Him to know Him by name.

15: He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.

God gives us permission to call upon Him. Recall from the New Testament the words of Jesus: "seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened unto you."

God then lets us know that in the midst of whatever is going on, He is directly there with us and not only is He with us, he is going to deliver us and not only deliver us, but is going to go so far as to provide us with honor…..the Creator of all things plans on honoring those who love him, and pester Him in times of trouble……that is a sign of a loving father—not only wants to be loved, known by name, but to be troubled and called upon when issues arise so that he can stand with us, deliver us and then give us honor.

16: With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation."

And that honoring will include the blessing of a long life (such as the eternal life promised through Jesus) and to see the salvation that He is going to bring (such as that through His son).