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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Psalm 91 Pulpit Commentary</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/psalms/91.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/bmcom/psalms/91-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">Pulpit Commentary</a> > Psalm 91</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../psalms/90.htm" title="Psalm 90">◄</a> Psalm 91 <a href="../psalms/92.htm" title="Psalm 92">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Pulpit Commentary</div><div class="chap"><div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/91-1.htm">Psalm 91:1</a></div><div class="verse">He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 1.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High</span> (comp. <a href="/psalms/90-1.htm">Psalm 90:1</a>). He who has his thoughts always on God is said to "dwell in him" - to "make his abode with him" - to "sit down in his secret place." He has the Almighty, as it were, for his constant companion. <span class="cmt_word">Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.</span> This is not "tautology." What is meant is that "loving faith on man's part shall be met by faithful love on God's part" (Kay). God will extend his "shadow" over the man who places himself under his protection. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/91-2.htm">Psalm 91:2</a></div><div class="verse">I will say of the LORD, <i>He is</i> my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 2.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">I will say of the Lord.</span> The general sentiment is followed by a personal application. "I, at any rate," says the first speaker, "will place myself under this powerful protection." <span class="cmt_word">He is my Refuge and my Fortress</span> (comp. <a href="/psalms/18-2.htm">Psalm 18:2</a>; <a href="/psalms/144-2.htm">Psalm 144:2</a>). <span class="cmt_word">My God; in him will I trust</span> (comp. <a href="/psalms/29-2.htm">Psalm 29:2</a>; <a href="/psalms/31-6.htm">Psalm 31:6</a>; <a href="/psalms/55-23.htm">Psalm 55:23</a>; <a href="/psalms/56-3.htm">Psalm 56:3</a>; <a href="/psalms/61-4.htm">Psalm 61:4</a>, etc.). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/91-3.htm">Psalm 91:3</a></div><div class="verse">Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, <i>and</i> from the noisome pestilence.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 3.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Surely he shall deliver thee.</span> The second speaker takes up the word, and naturally changes the person. Addressing the first speaker, he says - Yes, assuredly, God shall deliver thee from whatever dangers beset thee: as, first<span class="cmt_word">, from the snare of the fowler</span> (comp. <a href="/psalms/124-7.htm">Psalm 124:7</a>; <a href="/proverbs/6-5.htm">Proverbs 6:5</a>); and, secondly, <span class="cmt_word">from the noisome pestilence</span> (comp. ver. 6), <span class="accented">i.e.</span> from all dangers whatsoever - not more from these than from others. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/91-4.htm">Psalm 91:4</a></div><div class="verse">He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth <i>shall be thy</i> shield and buckler.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 4.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">He shall cover thee with his feathers;</span> rather, <span class="accented">with his pinions</span> (see the Revised Version; comp. ver. 1; and see <a href="/exodus/19-4.htm">Exodus 19:4</a>; <a href="/deuteronomy/32-11.htm">Deuteronomy 32:11</a>). <span class="cmt_word">And under his wings shalt thou trust;</span> rather, <span class="accented">shalt thou take refuge. <span class="cmt_word"></span>His truth</span> - <span class="accented">i.e.</span> "his faithfulness, his fidelity" - shall be thy <span class="cmt_word">shield and buckler</span>; <span class="accented">i.e.</span> "thy protection." </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/91-5.htm">Psalm 91:5</a></div><div class="verse">Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; <i>nor</i> for the arrow <i>that</i> flieth by day;</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 5.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night</span>. Robbers constituted the chief "terror by night" (see <a href="/job/24-14.htm">Job 24:14-16</a>; <a href="/jeremiah/49-9.htm">Jeremiah 49:9</a>; <a href="/obadiah/1-5.htm">Obadiah 1:5</a>); but night attacks on the part of a foreign enemy were not uncommon (<a href="/songs/3-8.htm">Song of Solomon 3:8</a>; <a href="/isaiah/15-1.htm">Isaiah 15:1</a>). <span class="cmt_word">Nor for the arrow that fleth by day.</span> Open war is probably intended, not sirocco, or pestilence, or "the arrows of the Almighty" (<a href="/job/6-4.htm">Job 6:4</a>). The man who trusts in God will be specially protected in the peril of battle. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/91-6.htm">Psalm 91:6</a></div><div class="verse"><i>Nor</i> for the pestilence <i>that</i> walketh in darkness; <i>nor</i> for the destruction <i>that</i> wasteth at noonday.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 6.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness.</span> The plague god is personified and represented as stalking through the land in the hours of darkness. Parallels have been found in the literature of the Babylonians (see 'Babylonian and Oriental Record,' vol. 1, p. 12) and elsewhere. <span class="cmt_word">Nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.</span> The rare word, <span class="hebrew">קטב</span>, translated "destruction" here and in <a href="/deuteronomy/32-24.htm">Deuteronomy 32:24</a>, is rendered by the LXX. <span class="greek">διαμόνιον</span>, and the entire phrase, "for the destruction that wasteth at noonday" becomes <span class="greek">ἀπὸ</span> <span class="greek">συμπτώματος καὶ δαιμονίου μεσημβρινοῦ</span> - "from ruin and the demon of the midday" - by which sunstroke would seem to be meant (comp. <a href="/psalms/121-6.htm">Psalm 121:6</a>, "The sun shall not smite thee by day"). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/91-7.htm">Psalm 91:7</a></div><div class="verse">A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; <i>but</i> it shall not come nigh thee.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 7.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand.</span> The meaning is, "Though a thousand, or even ten thousand, should fall beside thee, in battle, or through pestilence, or sunstroke," yet - <span class="cmt_word">It shall not come nigh thee</span> - the danger, whatever it be, shall not touch thy person; thou shalt be protected from it. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/91-8.htm">Psalm 91:8</a></div><div class="verse">Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 8.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward</span> (or, "the recompense") of the wicked; <span class="accented">i.e.</span> without suffering anything thyself, thou shalt look on, and see the punishment of the ungodly. So Israel in the land of Goshen "looked on," and saw the calamities of the Egyptians. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/91-9.htm">Psalm 91:9</a></div><div class="verse">Because thou hast made the LORD, <i>which is</i> my refuge, <i>even</i> the most High, thy habitation;</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 9.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my Refuge, even the Most High, thy Habitation;</span> literally, <span class="accented">for thou, O Lord, art my Refuge</span>; <span class="accented">thou hast made the Most High thy Dwelling place</span>, which can scarcely be made to yield a tolerable sense. It is supposed that a word - <span class="hebrew">אָמַרְתָּ</span>- has dropped out, and that the verse originally ran thus: "Because <span class="accented">thou hast said</span>, Jehovah is my Refuge, and hast made the Most High thy Dwelling place" (comp. vers. l, 2). The second speaker for a second time addresses the first. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/91-10.htm">Psalm 91:10</a></div><div class="verse">There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 10.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.</span> The faithful man is to be preserved from evil of every kind. His very "dwelling" is to be protected so that his family may suffer no hurt. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/91-11.htm">Psalm 91:11</a></div><div class="verse">For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 11.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy</span> <span class="cmt_word">ways</span> (comp. <a href="/psalms/34-7.htm">Psalm 34:7</a>). The faithful are under the constant care of angels (<a href="/hebrews/1-14.htm">Hebrews 1:14</a>), who guide them and direct them perpetually. Satan made a crafty use of this promise when he tempted our Lord (<a href="/matthew/4-6.htm">Matthew 4:6</a>; <a href="/luke/4-10.htm">Luke 4:10, 11</a>). No doubt it applies to him pre-eminently, as the specially "Faithful One." </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/91-12.htm">Psalm 91:12</a></div><div class="verse">They shall bear thee up in <i>their</i> hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 12.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">They shall bear thee up in their hands;</span> rather, <span class="accented">upon their hands</span> - lifting thee over difficulties and stumbling blocks. <span class="cmt_word">Lest thou dash thy foot against a</span> <span class="cmt_word">stone</span> (comp. <a href="/proverbs/3-23.htm">Proverbs 3:23, 24</a>). Moral impediments are, no doubt, chiefly meant. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/91-13.htm">Psalm 91:13</a></div><div class="verse">Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 13.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder.</span> Conquered enemies prostrated themselves before their conquerors, who, to mark the completeness of the subjection, placed a foot upon the prostrate form. From this practice the metaphor of "treading under foot" for conquering became a commonplace (see <a href="/psalms/7-5.htm">Psalm 7:5</a>; <a href="/psalms/44-5.htm">Psalm 44:5</a>; <a href="/psalms/55-12.htm">Psalm 55:12</a>, etc.). The "lion" here represents all open and violent foes; the "adder," all secret and malignant ones. <span class="cmt_word">The young lion</span> (<span class="accented">kephir</span>, the lion in the height of his strength) <span class="cmt_word">and the dragon</span> (<span class="accented">tannin</span>, the most dreadful form of serpent) <span class="cmt_word">shalt thou trample under feet.</span> An emphatic repetition, with a certain heightening of the colour. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/91-14.htm">Psalm 91:14</a></div><div class="verse">Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 14.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Because he hath set his love upon me</span> (see <a href="/deuteronomy/7-7.htm">Deuteronomy 7:7</a>; <a href="/deuteronomy/10-15.htm">Deuteronomy 10:15</a>). "By a sudden and effective transition," as Professor Cheyne remarks, "Jehovah becomes the speaker" of the concluding strophe. It is not enough that the faithful should encourage each other by their anticipations of God's coming mercies, God himself now speaks by the mouth of his prophet, and makes promises in his own Person. <span class="cmt_word">I will deliver him</span>. A ratification of vers. 3, 7, 10-15. <span class="cmt_word">I will set him on high;</span> <span class="accented">i.e.</span> "exalt him above his fellows" - "bring him to honour." <span class="cmt_word">Because he hath known my Name.</span> "Knowing God's Name" is nearly equivalent to knowing him. It implies, besides knowledge, faith and trust in the Almighty. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/91-15.htm">Psalm 91:15</a></div><div class="verse">He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I <i>will be</i> with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 15.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">He shall call upon me, and I will answer him.</span> This is equivalent to, "Whenever he calls upon me, I will answer him," or "I will grant all his prayers." I will be <span class="cmt_word">with him in trouble</span> (comp. <a href="/psalms/46-1.htm">Psalm 46:1</a>). <span class="cmt_word">I will deliver him</span> (see above, ver. 14). <span class="cmt_word">And honour him;</span> or, "bring him to honour" (compare "I will set him on high," in the preceding verse). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/psalms/91-16.htm">Psalm 91:16</a></div><div class="verse">With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 16.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">With long life</span> (or, <span class="accented">length of days</span>) <span class="cmt_word">will I satisfy him.</span> Length of days is always viewed in the Old Testament as a blessing, and a special reward for obedience (<a href="/exodus/20-12.htm">Exodus 20:12</a>; <a href="/deuteronomy/5-16.htm">Deuteronomy 5:16</a>; <a href="/2_kings/20-6.htm">2 Kings 20:6</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/1-11.htm">2 Chronicles 1:11</a>; <a href="/psalms/21-4.htm">Psalm 21:4</a>; <a href="/proverbs/3-2.htm">Proverbs 3:2, 16</a>, etc.). It is only in the New Testament that we learn how much "better" it is "to depart, and be with Christ" (<a href="/philippians/1-23.htm">Philippians 1:23</a>). <span class="cmt_word">And show him my salvation</span> (comp. <a href="/psalms/50-23.htm">Psalm 50:23</a>); <span class="accented">i.e.</span> "make him experience what salvation is." "Salvation," as Professor Cheyne observes, "is both an act and a state" - an act on God's part, a state on man's. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> </div></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Pulpit Commentary, Electronic Database. 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