Psalm 91
BSB
You Are My Refuge and My Fortress
1He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3Surely He will deliver you
from the snare of the fowler,
and from the deadly plague.
4He will cover you with His feathers;
under His wings you will find refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
5You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the calamity that destroys at noon.
7Though a thousand may fall at your side,
and ten thousand at your right hand,
no harm will come near you.
8You will only see it with your eyes
and witness the punishment of the wicked.
9Because you have made the LORD your dwelling—
my refuge, the Most High—
10no evil will befall you,
no plague will approach your tent.
11For He will command His angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12They will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13You will tread on the lion and cobra;
you will trample the young lion and serpent.
14“Because he loves Me, I will deliver him;
because he knows My name, I will protect him.
15When he calls out to Me,
I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble.
I will deliver him and honor him.
16With long life I will satisfy him
and show him My salvation.”
Introduction
Psalms 91
Some of the ancients were of opinion that Moses was the penman, not only of the foregoing psalm, which is expressly said to be his, but also of the eight that next follow it; but that cannot be, for Psa 95:1-11 is expressly said to be penned by David, and long after Moses, Heb 4:7. It is probable that this psalm also was penned by David; it is a writ of protection for all true believers, not in the name of king David, or under his broad seal; he needed it himself, especially if the psalm was penned, as some conjecture it was, at the time of the pestilence which was sent for his numbering the people; but in the name of the King of kings, and under the broad seal of Heaven. Observe, I. The psalmist's own resolution to take God for his keeper (Psa 91:2), from which he gives both direction and encouragement to others (Psa 91:9). II. The promises which are here made, in God's name, to all those that do so in sincerity. 1. They shall be taken under the peculiar care of Heaven (Psa 91:1, Psa 91:4). 2. They shall be delivered from the malice of the powers of darkness (Psa 91:3, Psa 91:5, Psa 91:6), and that by a distinguishing preservation (Psa 91:7, Psa 91:8). 3. They shall be the charge of the holy angels (Psa 91:10-12). 4. They shall triumph over their enemies (Psa 91:13). 5. They shall be the special favourites of God himself (Psa 91:14-16). In singing this we must shelter ourselves under, and then solace ourselves in, the divine protection. Many think that to Christ, as Mediator, these promises do primarily belong (Isa 49:2), not because to him the devil applied one of these promises (Mat 4:6), but because to him they are very applicable, and, coming through him, they are more sweet and sure to all believers.
Cross-references: Ps 95:1 · Heb 4:7 · Ps 91:2 · Ps 91:9 · Ps 91:1 · Ps 91:4 · Ps 91:3 · Ps 91:5 · Ps 91:6 · Ps 91:7 · Ps 91:8 · Ps 91:10 · Ps 91:13 · Ps 91:14 · Isa 49:2 · Matt 4:6