He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.
Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge—
no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
We believers are called to tell others about salvation in Jesus alone. Yet, for a variety of reasons, we do not take up this calling. Often we get caught up with the lusts of the flesh and we desire the things of the world rather than the grace of the Kingdom of God. In essence, we want what everyone else wants.
Another reason we don’t take our call seriously is fear. We are afraid we will miss out on something big. We are afraid we won’t have the right words to say. We are afraid of the pain and abuse others may heap upon us.
And yet we need not be afraid. And Psalm 91 tells us why for it speaks of the integrity and trustworthy nature of God. He is the one in whom we find security. He protects and shelters the righteous from all enemies both human as well as those in the natural world, created as perfect and good by God but now fallen and corrupted by sin. He protects us from the snares of Satan who is constantly trying to tempt us into sin with those fleshly desires. The Lord defends us from troubles and harm allowing us to go the offensive and hit back at our enemies, here mentioned as the lion and the cobra, both images of Satan. We believers, whether we realize it or not are invincible as we go into the world to preach the good news. Nothing can touch us except what the Lord permits. The Lord appoints angels to watch over and protect His chosen ones.
When Satan tempted the Lord Jesus in the wilderness, he quoted verses 11 and 12 of this Psalm. Satan’s idea was to force Jesus to interpret this promise literally, but Jesus declined to deliberately place Himself in a dangerous situation just so God would miraculously deliver Him. The Psalmist wants to assure us that as we go about the Lord’s business we should not deliberately place ourselves in perilous situations. That would be tempting God. The general idea that the Psalmist wants to teach is that the Lord does indeed protect and guard those whom He has chosen as we go about His work and live for Him. He may grant us success and long life, yet, in this world of sin, we will all suffer pain and death. The ultimate deliverance our Lord will grant us lies beyond the grave.