March 29-
Today, we finish the last section of Psalm 91 by looking at verses 14-16:
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.”
There are times and seasons in our lives where, maybe unintentionally, in the busyness or difficulties of living, we might strive to survive on our own. Our need for dependence on God is lost as we take our eyes and life off of God and onto the things of this world. We move God off the throne of our lives and place ourselves or other things on it. Sometimes, worry and fear become the king of our lives because we are constantly focusing on it. We often forget that what we need most, God’s protection, the comfort of His presence, and just the sheer magnificence of the Triune God, are freely available to those who love Him and dwell in Him.
Psalm 91 is completely filled with the goodness, mercy, and power of God. In this chapter, there are great reminders for believers to hold on to because He faithfully works on behalf of those who love Him. At the end of it all, God gives 8 reasons why we do not have to fear.
Look closely at verses 14-16 and see the “I will’s” God provides through the inspired author.
- “I will deliver him…”
- “I will set him securely on high…” (also translated as “protected”)
- “I will answer him…”
- “I will be with him in trouble…”
- “I will rescue him…”
- “[I will] and honor him…”
- “I will satisfy him…”
- “and show him my salvation” (or “let him see My salvation”)
This world is filled with darkness, and without living in all the truths and freedoms of being a child of God, there is no hope. It is like a dark pit that we will never get out of because of our great sin. But in this Messianic Psalm about His Son that overcame this world, we take great hope because Jesus overcame sin and the grave and will come back.
God’s reminders/promises are certain and true. They assure us that as we walk along this journey of life, we are called to focus on all that is above and the invisible, instead of the dread and worry of the visible. He reminds us through this Psalm that we are not alone. God never says we will not face hard times but does promise us that He will be with us in it, rescuing us, and showing His favor toward us. God is good and we may never know all that God has sheltered us from and protected us from until the day we are finally with Him. All the kinds of dangers mentioned in this song are ineffective against the person who rests in the shadow and shelter of the Most High. Make Him your shelter and refuge this day.
Deeper Exposition:
Psalm 91 contains both a wisdom psalm (vv. 1–13) and a divine oracle (vv. 14–16). The wisdom psalm encourages Christians to pursue the path of godliness and displays the many promises of God’s protection and blessings. In this way, it resembles the wisdom psalms. The conclusions support the place of wisdom as the Lord renews the promises to those who love him.[1]
The Lord announces His salvation oracle to all who love Him, meaning, to those who “know” (NIV, “acknowledge”) His name. The verb used here for “love” is not the usual Hebrew word for love. It has the idea of “holding close to,” even “hugging tightly in love” (Deut 7:7; 10:15). “He has known My name,” speaks of an intimate, experiential knowledge of the Father (Jn 1:18) rather than a particular label for God. Verses 1-2 demonstrates that the psalmist knows several names for God, but none are repeated here. Instead, the idea behind knowing God’s name is to have a deep love for Him and an awareness of His character and nature. The fullness and depth of His redemption find reality in those who long for his redemption (vv. 14–15[2]).
The relationship finds expression in communion, in answered prayers (cf. 50:15, 23), and in the “honors” (rewards) due to wise living (vv. 15–16). The Lord assures that His own will enjoy themselves as His children in this life and in the life to come (cf. 1 Tim 4:8–9). “Show him” or “let him see” is a future-oriented promise. The faithful Christian will be shown God’s blessings and experience what it means to be in His presence and protection (cf. Ps 91:9-13). They will see His “salvation” (yešûʿâ, v. 16; cf. 149:4). The Lord assures us that “it is the ground for confidence that the last word is not spoken by us, but to us.”[3]
Verses 15 and 16 show the promises of Yahweh are to deliver the coming Messiah and to grant Him long life. These words are a promise of the Father for the resurrection of the Son, and for the provision of His subsequent everlasting life (Ps 16:10, 11; 72:15; 118:17, 18). The salvation provided for the Coming Jesus is not justification (as He is just in His person), but deliverance from death in the Resurrection (as in Ps 118:21).[4] Thus, Psalm 91 concludes in a dramatic manner, a direct promise from God the Father to God the Son concerning His ultimate victory of death itself (1 Cor 15:20-21).
This Psalm is Messianic in nature and is ultimately for and about Jesus. So, we must ask, is it right for me to pray this over myself and my family?
Many believe it is because Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:20, “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore, also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us” (NASB). Satan quoted verse 11 to Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus refused. Piper says, “I think Jesus is teaching us that promises like Psalm 91 mean this: No ill befalls the saints but what God’s love permits, and even this “ill” will not conquer them.”[5]
Additionally, Paul says in Ephesians 2:12-16, “remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility” (ESV).
To know God’s name is ultimately to know who He is and how He has acted in Christ to secure our salvation.
Key Takeaways:
- God is with us
- God will answer us
- God will satisfy us
FOOTNOTES:
[1] VanGemeren, W. A. (2008). Psalms. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms (Revised Edition) (Vol. 5, p. 696). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[2] “Divine deliverance is an expression of God’s kingship and particularly of his perfections: strength, righteousness, and justice. In lament, confession, and adversity, the psalmist calls on Yahweh to reach down from on high and rescue the needy. Yahweh, the Divine Warrior, is the Redeemer-King (33:16). He rules for the sake of bringing in the fullness of his blessing and protection to his children. Yahweh will vindicate his own and avenge the enemy. Again and again the psalmist leads the godly to affirm their confidence and trust in the Lord as their sole Deliverer: “He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves [yšʿ, GK 3828] them” (145:19). His own people are likened to the poor and the orphans, people without legal status in society: “He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save [yšʿ] the needy from death” (72:13). The Great King cannot tolerate any imbalance in his world, especially when it involves his own children (72:14). VanGemeren, W. A. (2008). Psalms. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms (Revised Edition) (Vol. 5, p. 544). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[3] VanGemeren, W. A. (2008). Psalms. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms (Revised Edition) (Vol. 5, pp. 700–701). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[4] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, H. Wayne House, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: Nelson, 1999), 710.
[5] John Piper, No evil shall befall you, Desiring God, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/no-evil-shall-befall-you