Psalms

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Psalm 91


He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
and abides in the shade of the Almighty
says to the Lord: “My refuge,
my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!”

It is he who will free you from the snare
of the fowler who seeks to destroy you;
he will conceal you under his pinions
and under his wings you will find refuge.

You will not fear the terror of the night
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the plague that prowls in the darkness
nor the scourge that lays waste at noon.

A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right,
you, it will never approach;
his faithfulness is buckler and shield.

Your eyes have only to look
to see how the wicked are repaid,
you will have said: “Lord, my refuge!”
and have made the Most High your dwelling.

Upon you no evil shall fall,
no plague approach where you dwell.
For you has he commanded his angels,
to keep you in all your ways.

They shall bear you upon their hands
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
On the lion and the viper you will tread
and trample the young lion and the dragon.

His love he set on me, so I will rescue him;
protect him for he knows my name.
When he calls I shall answer: “I am with you.”
I will save him in distress and give him glory.

With length of life I will content him;
I shall let him see my saving power.

Commentary

This psalm, written by an unknown author, is one of the most impressive testimonies in the Psalter to the inner strength experienced by the person who puts his trust in God. The poet has learned through his own intimate relationship with God, and speaks from the narrow confines of his own personal circumstances. In its present form the psalm was used in the Temple liturgy to promise the assurance of salvation, and to illustrate the wealth of blessing that flows to the individual who places his trust in God.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
and abides in the shade of the Almighty
says to the Lord: “My refuge,
my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!”

It is he who will free you from the snare
of the fowler who seeks to destroy you;
he will conceal you under his pinions
and under his wings you will find refuge.

You will not fear the terror of the night
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the plague that prowls in the darkness
nor the scourge that lays waste at noon.

A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right,
you, it will never approach;
his faithfulness is buckler and shield.

Your eyes have only to look
to see how the wicked are repaid,
you will have said: “Lord, my refuge!”
and have made the Most High your dwelling.

Upon you no evil shall fall,
no plague approach where you dwell.
For you has he commanded his angels,
to keep you in all your ways.

They shall bear you upon their hands
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
On the lion and the viper you will tread
and trample the young lion and the dragon.
                                          (vv. 1-13).

As with so many of the psalms, the first two verses give the key to the rest of the poem. The setting is the Temple worship, and the pilgrim is welcomed to the sanctuary. He is reminded that if he takes shelter in God’s house, putting his trust completely in God, he will find protection. It is a deeply personal trust that is called for, whereby the pilgrim can relate to God as his “refuge, his fortress and his God”. If he actually trusts God in this very personal way rather than believing in a God who is “out there somewhere” for everybody; if he truly relies on God as on a fortress, which is invincible, then he is already, spiritually speaking, dwelling in the shelter of the Most High, which his physical presence in the Temple symbolizes. To stay under God’s protection and to abide, or live continually, in His love, is the source of peace of mind and complete security against all harm. This puts God in charge of one’s life, which can be lived secure in His love. The different titles given to God here bring
home to us that the person whose refuge we seek is the God of all gods, the creator and lord of all the universe, the One who is the ultimate protection of the poor and the weak (vv. 1-2).

The poet turns to us now to declare that God will rescue us also if we trust Him. We are surrounded by secret dangers, just like the hunted animal who does not realize that a pit has been dug to trap him. Because God is God He can deliver us from the things, situations or people who would prevent us from coming close to Him (v.3).

Here in the Temple, the presence of God appeared over the Ark of the Covenant between the cherubim (see Exodus 25:22; 1 Kings 8:10-12); thus just as the mother bird protects her young by spreading her wings over them, God protects those who come to Him in trust and confidence (see Deuteronomy 32:11; Matthew 23:37). The two sides of our relationship with God are seen here in this strong, intimate and tender scene, in the powerful presence of the Almighty protecting and caring for the helpless creature who rests in complete trust in His great arms (or wings). The last part of this verse is found at the end of verse 7, where it borrows images from war to show that God’s faithfulness in taking care of the one entrusted to Him will destroy all opposition (v 4).

“You will not fear” explains very simply the difference between belief and unbelief. To believe is an active reaching out to God to “take hold” of Him or His grace, which empowers us to achieve our aims. Here the power of God is used to overcome the sinister fears that attack us at night, or in the daytime. These originate either from the attack of demons, from our own troubled hearts, or even from evil persons. In each case we quickly reach the safe haven of peace by reaching out in trusting faith to God. His powerful presence comes to us to drive out all anxiety and fear, leaving us safely in His hands (vv. 5-6).

Faith soars to the heights now as the poet declares that, if you trust God for protection, you will be safe even should the world fall apart around you! He uses a picture of wartime to describe a miracle of preservation. What was impossible, humanly speaking, was within the reach of faith. St Paul makes a similar promise in Romans 8:28-35, where he tells us that everything will work out for the good for those who love God, yet the proof is only seen in the trials and persecutions suffered with total trust in God’s goodness and love. The wicked, however, cannot escape the retribution due to their sins, but no evil or scourge will touch those who have taken shelter in God’s love. The believers in the Temple are safe because of their relationship with God, which will provide protection for them as they return to their homes (vv. 9-10).

God’s protection is given to the believers through the ministry of angels who carry out His promises of protection (see Hebrews 1:14). These angels are supernatural beings, pure spirits, who guard and protect God’s children during their perilous journey through life. They reveal God’s motherly solicitude for us, for they will lift us up, spiritually speaking, and carry us carefully if need be, so that we do not fall and hurt ourselves. We can go our way, therefore, in peace (vv. 11-12),

Nevertheless, childlike protectiveness and security are not the whole picture. God does not wish us to become passive about our lives. Virile strength is also given to overcome any difficulty encountered along the way. Whether the enemies are spiritual or human they can be dealt with through the power of God: Paul strikes the same note in Philippians 4:13: “There is nothing that I cannot master with the help of the One who gives me the strength.” The mention of lions, adders and dragons is meant to be taken metaphorically, representing situations of grave danger which could be spiritual or natural (v. 13).

His love he set on me, so I will rescue him;
protect him for he knows my name.
When he calls I shall answer: “I am with you.”
I will save him in distress and give him glory.

With length of life I will content him;
I shall let him see my saving power.
                                          (vv. 14-16).

The final verses of the psalm are the promises of God in response to the poet’s faithfulness. To know God in a deeply personal intimate way is the meaning of “He knows my name”. It implies a deep interior clinging to God, the involvement of authentic love. Communion with God in prayer is made easier by the continued presence of God, and the assurance of answered prayer. The promise of God’s blessing covers the whole of life, material and spiritual, and includes the blessing of salvation at the end of our days. Here we see the source of the security of the God-fearing person.

Every pilgrim needs to pick up this psalm, for the lessons it teaches are essential for the spiritual journey, which as we all know is a narrow road, and a hard one (see Matthew 7:14). It is also hazardous. The whole psalm revolves around an “if” clause given in the opening verse. The many who claim to be religious may not, in fact, be living in a conscious way in the shelter of the Most High. For them, trust in God is still a doctrine which they do not experience in their everyday life. They can only say the words: “my fortress, my refuge . . .” in a theoretical way, without knowing the grace and joy of the lived reality. If they have not surrendered to God in real trust, they will not rely on Him to deliver them from the hidden dangers, the anxieties or fears that threaten them. They will have to look to human solutions, for instance psychology, to understand God’s miraculous deliverance of His close friends when they cry to Him. Their tendency would be to write off such things as “luck” or coincidence,
thus leaving no opening for the testimony of God’s intervention in our daily lives.

The truly spiritual pilgrim knows differently because he has learned to cling to God in real surrender and trust. He has many tales to relate of God’s deliverance from all kinds of dangers, both perils from within, originating in his own sinfulness, and those whose source comes from the weaknesses of others. He fears no evil because he relies on the might of God, whose presence and power are there to save him day and night. And so he learns to walk in complete peace, because he trusts God’s promise that everything will work out for the best in the end.

One of the treacherous points of the journey is illustrated in Matthew and Luke, where we see Jesus in the wilderness in fasting and prayer, seeking His Father’s will for His ministry. He was approached by the Evil One who, to put Him off His journey, misquoted this psalm, saying that the angels would save Him from harm if He jumped from the pinnacle of the Temple. Such a jump would certainly kill Him. God’s promise in the psalm does not cover tempting providence by rash behaviour. Insight was needed by Jesus then, and by us now, to see through the deceptive offer to the real message, which was a suggestion to Him to commit suicide. Jesus stayed in obedience and surrender to God’s will, while exposing the devil with a correct quotation from Scripture: that he should not put God to the test (see Deuteronomy 6:16). St Mark tells us that the angels did minister to Jesus at this point, but it was because He stayed under the shelter of the Most High (see Matthew and Luke 4; Mark 1:13).

Remaining in an attitude of surrender to God’s will enables us to move into the power and authority which Jesus gave us to “. . . tread underfoot serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy; nothing will ever harm you” (Luke 10:19, J.B.). The pilgrim can, therefore, continue his journey protected by his faith and trust in God. He also has God’s presence always and the Scriptures to defend him in time of need. This is part of the spiritual armour, described by Paul in Ephesians 6:10-20, which we need in order to persevere in the spiritual warfare involved on the journey.

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