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In the NASB, the chapter[1] is titled “Security of the One Who Trusts in the LORD.” The NKJV describes this section as, “Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God,” and the ESV succinctly states it as, “My Refuge and My Fortress.” These short summaries summarize the masterful Psalm 91 for the reader who seeks comfort during troubling times. This Psalm is one of the most widely used psalms for those who seek comfort during troubling times and times of suffering.
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And see the recompense of the wicked.
9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.
10 No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.
11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands,
That you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 “With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation.”
– Psalm 91 (NASB)
In this time of panic, chaos, confusion, and struggle with the impact of the Covid-19 all around us, we turn to this Psalm as well for reassurance. Many are now facing the reality of living without a paycheck and little to no savings. The fear of having something break like a car or refrigerator only adds to the anxiety. There is worry in protecting their families, both young and old, from the virus. The additional fear and worry for those that are high-risk or have family members that are high-risk contribute to an increasing amount of worry.
The news provides no comfort as each passing minute the news gets worse. The economy worsens and nothing seems to help it. The stocks continue to fall and our retirements accounts, which once looked promising, now bring sadness. Will we even have money for our retirement? Some fear they may not even make retirement age.
Some fear not having enough food or supplies. Some face a deeper depression because of isolation. The need for community becomes an even starker need to those who get energized by being around people.
The death toll rises around the world. Those infected with virus continue to mount. The stories of those dealing with the virus invoke concern with each passing story. Without realizing, the subtle attack of fear, anxiety, and worry take over. We begin to feel surrounded by this virus as it encroaches closer. Our safe zone no longer feels safe.
So what are we to do? Where do we turn?
Our worlds are upside down and we long for the old normal as we face the new temporary normal of isolation, working from home or frantically searching for a job, and fear of the unknown.
In this troubling time, those who believe in Christ can turn to the place that has provided the constant comfort throughout generations. Through world wars, depressions, plagues, pandemics, and natural disasters, the Christian Bible has always provided believers a source of truth. God speaks to us in it and through it. The Spirit enlightens us to hear and receive the inspired words.
So as this Covid-19 situation continues and my situation changes, I want to provide a daily devotional (hopefully daily but as often as I can) to help anyone that might need some additional encouragement.
Let’s look at Psalm 91. Read the whole passage and get familiar with the text. Read it a second time and hear what God is saying. The third time, pray through it.
For the purposes of this post, let’s examine the first four verses. You will see different translations use section breaks at different points, but for me, the NASB provides the best section break and thought combination among the main translations for this passage.
Once again, verses 1-4 read:
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
This section of the Psalm reads so true for many of right now. In a brief cursory overview of this section we can see several things. We shelter in the “safety” of our own home. We stay in the shadow of our own little area, whether that is house or yard or safe distance from others as we walk outside. We began to put so much faith in trust in the social distancing and our own home as we seek refuge in it. We look to procedures and visible things as our fortress. Some rightly so as we must do everything we can to prevent the spread of the virus and prevent ourselves and family from getting it. If we do what we need to do to be safe, we will be delivered from the snare of the virus. Our home will cover us and provide refuge. If we are faithful in doing the right thing, then we have the right shield to protect us (and our families and friends) from getting the virus.
While I truly believe we need to practice the correct procedures of sheltering in place and social distancing, we cannot be so focused on the visible that we take our eyes off of the invisible. We may end up putting more faith and trust in following guidelines than in the One who is truly worthy of all faith and trust. I am not saying we take risks and chances. I am saying what is our faith placed in. Is it in a visible refuge and access to toilet paper? Or is our security found in the Almighty, unbreakable, insurmountable, unshakeable, all-powerful, all-glorious, all-knowing Deliverer who is only worthy of the title “my refuge and my fortress.”
This psalm is a beautiful testimony about security in life. Several terms link Psalms 90–92, thus suggesting they are a unit. “Dwelling” occurs in 90:1 and 91:9; “grass” in 90:5 and 92:7; “spring(s) up” in 90:6 and 92:7; “make … glad” in 90:15 and 92:4; “Your deeds” in 90:16 and 92:4; “Most High” in 91:1, 9 and 92:1. Also the judgment of the wicked is mentioned in 91:8 and 92:11.
Because the Psalmist was convinced that there is security in trusting in the Most High God, he encouraged himself that he would be delivered from the various frightening attacks of the wicked. The Psalmist expressed his great assurance in the fact that whoever trusts in the Most High finds security, refuge, and shelter. The titles of God in verse 1 (Most High and the Almighty) are significant, as they stress God’s power as the sovereign Ruler of the world.
Sidenote: On the meaning of “Almighty,” šadday, Genesis 17:1 provides the first OT occurrence of the title “God Almighty” [’ēl šadday], which is used several times in Genesis [17:1; 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3; cf. 49:25]. Some scholars suggest that šadday is related to the Akkadian word šadû that means breast or mountain or both.[2] Some words describing parts of the body were also used for geographical descriptions; for example, “mouth” of a river, “foot” of a mountain. So šadday, when used of God, refers either to His ability to supply abundantly [“the Abundant One”] or to His majestic strength [“theAlmighty One”].
The pictures of the shelter and the shadow richly portray divine protection. “Shelter” (sēṯer) is a hiding place.[3] The “shadow” (sēl’)[4], perhaps the shadow of a bird’s wing (cf. 91:4), also pictures shelter and protection as well as comfort.
Calvin describes this verse in the following way:
“He who has God to be the guardian of his safely shall rest under the shadow of God; … for the power of God would be contrasted with that weak defense which man is able to extend. Those, too, who dwell in the secret place of God are here said by the Psalmist to dwell under his shadow, in the sense that they experience to what a rich extent his protection reaches. Men [humanity] generally seek out a great variety of hiding-places, having recourse to one or another, according as the calamities are different which threaten to overtake them; but here we are taught that the only safe and impregnable fortress to which we can betake ourselves is the protection of God. He contrasts the security of those who trust in God with the vanity of all other confidences by which we are apt to delude ourselves.”[5]
Verse 2 shows God is also the believer’s Refuge (maḥseh, “shelter from danger”; cf. v. 9)[6] and Fortress (meṣûḏâh, “strong protection”).[7] Psalm 91:1–2 marvelously expresses the fact that safety is in the Lord.
Continuing to encourage himself and preaching the truths to himself, the Psalmist expands on the theme of the Lord’s protection from danger in the following verses.
The Psalmist listed how God delivers a believer from various frightening attacks: (1) God delivers from the trapper’s snare (v. 3a; cf. 124:7), a figure for sinister attempts against his life. (2) God delivers from … deadly pestilence (91:3b). (3) God covers him with His wings (v. 4a), a figure of safety and comfort (cf. 17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 63:7). (4) God protects with His faithfulness (91:4b), explained here by the metaphor of a shield and bulwark (also called rampart).
I have seen others use the word “pestilence” (דֶּ֥בֶר, dě·ḇěr) to relate it to the current virus situation. So, I wanted to share a little more about this word. This word is roughly used 49 times (38 times to mean pestilence, 10 for plague, and once for thorns). This word, dě·ḇěr,[8] means disease, plague, pestilence, i.e., a pandemic occurrence of sickness that causes widespread death, often with the associative meaning of judgment from God.[9]
However, KB[10] and Holladay[11] identify as a bubonic plague, a bacterially spread attack on the lymph system, but other kinds of plague may be the meaning for: Ps 91:3, 6; Hos 13:4. In all three cases, the noun is masculine and probably means a thorn or a sharp-pointed, relatively short, firm, and leafless modified branch.[12]
One additional thing to note in verse 3 is the connection between the snare of the trapper and the pestilence. Some believe this to be understood as hidden sins (snare) distinguished from open sins (pestilence). The Psalmist declares the Divine protection to be sufficient for him, whether Satan should attack him openly and violently or by more secret and subtle methods. The Psalmist probably intended to denote all kinds of evil, and to teach us that God was and is willing and able to deliver us from any of attacks or sufferings.
In verse 4, we read the phrase, “He will cover you with His pinions.” In this case, pinions, refers to the outer part of a bird’s wing including the flight feathers. This imagery is employed in other parts of Scripture and beautifully expresses the tender care with which God watches over our safety. When we consider the majesty of God, we see God graciously condescend to our feeble minds to provide us imagery such as this to provide examples of the way He cares for us. As a bird cares for its young ones by spreading its wings over them to cherish and protect them, so the same is true of our Almighty Father.
Finally, “His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark” (or buckler in some translations). Simply, we must understand God’s faithfulness as never deserting His people in the time of their need. The Psalmist had his eye focused on the Divine promises, because we see his trust in God as his shield and protector. In verse 2, God is called a fortress that we can trust in and enjoy safety and security. In verse 4, the Psalmist compares God to a shield, stating that God will come between us and all of our enemies to preserve us from their attacks.
Take heart, there is a lot of bleakness and fear. Fix your eyes on God and preach the gospel to yourself. Remind yourself of these truths with each passing worry. As the worry comes, combat it with these verses. Read them or memorize them. God is your fortress and shield. We do not know how we will get through this or when we will get through this. There is hope. Call to Him regularly and frequently. He is there for you and loves you. You may be alone and isolated, but God is with you. He is listening and will help you.
Key takeaways:
- God is our refuge, fortress, and shield
- God is faithful. He will never leave you
- There is security in trusting God
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The chapter descriptions and verse assignments are not inspired like the original manuscripts, but they are very helpful in finding references quickly or providing a short summary of the chapter or section. For more information about these divisions and references, see: https://www.gotquestions.org/divided-Bible-chapters-verses.html or https://bible.org/question/how-and-when-was-bible-divided-chapters-and-verses.
[2] Allen P. Ross, “Genesis,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 58.
[3] Also used in Pss. 27:5; 32:7; 119:114, “refuge”.
[4] Also found in Pss 17:8; 121:5; Isa 25:4; 32:2.
[5] John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of Psalms.
[6] A word used of the Lord nine times in the Pss: 14:6; 46:1; 61:3; 62:7–8; 71:7; 73:28; 91:2, 9
[7] Also used in Pss 18:3; 31:3; 71:3; 144:2
[8] From the root dabar which means “to speak”
[9] TWOT 399b (Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament): 1822). See uses in Ex 5:3; 9:3, 15; Lev 26:25; Nu 14:12; Dt 28:21; 2Sa 24:13, 15; 1Ki 8:37; 1Ch 21:12, 14; 2Ch 6:28; 7:13; 20:9; Ps 78:50; 91:3, 6; Jer 14:12; 21:6, 7, 9; 24:10; 27:8, 13; 28:8; 29:17, 18; 32:24, 36; 34:17; 38:2; 42:17, 22; 44:13; Eze 5:12, 17; 6:11, 12; 7:15; 12:16; 14:19, 21; 28:23; 33:27; 38:22; Hos 13:14; Am 4:10; Hab 3:5+.
[10] Koehler/Baumgartner Lexicon In Veteris Testamenti Libros (1958).
[11] Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Greek Lexicon of the Old Testament.
[12] Goodrick/Kohlenberger, NIV Exhaustive Condordance.