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Psalm 91:1-9

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.” Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.”

We have heard the word of the Lord to His people.

Last time I was with you, we looked at the ending of Psalm 90 and Moses’ cry that we would be able to gain an understanding of God or, as he said, “That we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Now, we are looking at the very next Psalm so that we may do as Moses’ said and apply ourselves to understanding more about God and His works. Questions arise as to the authorship of this psalm. Since we are not supplied an author in the text, many possible authors have arisen. Jewish tradition holds that it is Moses since he wrote the previous psalm. I personally think that it is David. First, because this theme appears in at least three other psalms written by David, Psalm 17:7-8, “Show thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings.” Similar phrases such as “under thy wings” and “them which put their trust in thee.” Psalm 27:1-3, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.” This sounds very similar to verse 7 which says, “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.” Or Psalm 32:7 which says, “Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.”

The second reason is because David was a military man and this psalm makes frequent references to instruments of war. Phrases like “shield and buckler” or “arrow that flieth by day”. Also, the frequent references to armies when he says “a thousand shall fall and ten thousand at thy right hand.”

But finally, and probably the most convincing to me, is that David was certainly one who trusted in God for protection. In 2 Samuel 22 we read this, “Then David spoke to the LORD the words of this song, on the day when the LORD hath delivered him from the hand of Saul. And he [David] said, ‘The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Savior, You save me from violence. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall be saved from my enemies.”

This turns us back to the 91st psalm to see what is contained in it and to understand what it means to have God as your protector. This psalm is a fantastic song of promise. 16 verses of pure hope and assurance for those who trust in God. Over and over again, we read of God’s provision for his people. It’s almost ridiculous the quantity of the statements here regarding the provision of God. When you read this, you will likely want to join Paul when he says in Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us who can be against us? He who did not spare His own, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

Let us then examine this psalm.

In verses 1 and 2 we see the people of God’s protection.

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

This is very important and deserves our time. We can see that the people who will receive the blessing of the provision of God are those whose home is Jehovah or, more specifically, those who trust in God for salvation. We must understand this, the world tells us that God is everyone’s father and that God gives unlimited blessings to anyone regardless of whether or not the trust in Christ, but that is simply not the case. This psalmist makes this remark before going into the description of the blessings of God so that we understand that the blessing only applies to those who trust in Christ for salvation.

The NIV translates this passage, “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” That “Whoever” at the beginning of the verse reminds me a lot of John 3:16 which says, “... whoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life.” In other words, I think this verse is basically an Old Testament parallel of John 3:16. Jesus says that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life, the psalmist here says that whoever trusts in God will receive the blessing of provision. So before we continue, I must ask you, are you one of these people? Have you trusted in Christ for eternal life? Are you one of them that “dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High”?

I trust that this is the case for most you here. Truly, the fact that you all chose to gather here on a Sunday morning is, I think, a testament to the fact that the Spirit of God lives inside each of you. I’m sure all of you would join the psalmist in saying in verse 2,

“I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him I trust.”

If you join the psalmist in saying this then rejoice! For now we shall observe the promises to the people who rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

The first promise is the promise of protection.

“Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.”

Let’s look closer at verse 3:

“Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.”

Notice the two types of dangers presented here, fowler and pestilence. The psalmist is utilizing the terms fowler and pestilence to convey the idea that we are safe from all evil. They are metaphors for any danger under the sun. The poet continues with his metaphor by further describing the breadth of God’s protection.

“He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night [Disease]; nor for the arrow that flieth by day[Enemies]; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness [Disease] nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday [Enemies].”

Not only do we learn about what we are safe from but also when we are safe from it. Notice the phrases, “ terror by night” or “arrow that flieth by day”. And again “...pestilence that walketh in darkness … destruction that wasteth at noonday.” In other words, all the time! Day or night, in darkness or in the evening light, God protects us! The psalmist could not be more clear! He has stated at least three times that God protects us, God protects us, God protects us! And now he is saying all the time, all the time, and all the time! It is this fact that made David break into doxology in 2 Samuel 22,

“He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay. He brought me forth also in a large place: He delivered me, because He delighted in me.”

Isn’t this incredible! Is not this an amazing promise of protection? Doesn’t this make you realize that He who did not spare His own Son has given us all things? But, we are not through with the promises of God. This passage provides yet another promise and that is the promise of salvation.

Verses 7-9:

“A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, the habitation.”

“A thousand shall fall at thy side…” this gives us an image of a battle scene. Destruction is raging all around and the casualties are high, but it does not affect those who trust in God. Tens of thousands have already fallen but it has not come near those who “dwell in the secret place of the most High”. Because God has saved him from the destruction all around; salvation from the disasters raging nearby.

The psalmist concludes this promise of salvation by saying, “Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.”

“Only with thine eyes…..” Do you understand what this means? It means that we will see our enemies destroyed. We will witness the destruction of all those who despise the protection of God. We will see all these things but we will not partake in them. “Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.” Think of Revelation and the end of the age. Think of Christ coming in judgement. Think of Revelation 20:11-15:

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him[Christ] who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

We will see all of this but we will not be apart of it. We will see those who scorned the protection of God meeting their just end, but we shall not partake in it. This is the promise of salvation.

“Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation.”

Conclusion

We have seen the promise of protection and the promise of salvation. I hope that, in light of these promises, you can agree and echo the words of Paul.

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus or Lord.”

“For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be the glory forever. Amen.”

KillerPawn333