"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 he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
and see the recompense of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my refuge—
10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
no plague come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honour him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
Psalm 91
The circumstances of the Psalm, and the kind of problem for which it offers the answer, are described by Maclaren thus: 'Its central idea is that of safety. That safety is guaranteed in regard to two classes of danger - those from enemies, and those from diseases. Both are conceived of as divided into secret and open perils'. Kidner concurs with this, while another commentator maintains that it is a testimony to how to gain protection from demons - not in formulaes or by magic acts and enchantments, but only by placing oneself under the protection of Jehovah. This latter suggestion follows the interpretation placed on the Psalm by later Judaism. There is no reason why we should not take all these interpretations together, for they are all applicable, and all find their echo in our hearts. And here is the first lesson for us: God's people are not left alone and defenceless, in face of the pressures and attacks that come upon them, whether temptation, trial, disappointment, or frustration, or direct attack from the evil one himself. There is ample, bountiful and sufficient provision for us, whatever be our need, in the God of the four Names, which underline the sublimity of God (Most High) - you cannot go higher; the all-sufficiency of God (Almighty, El Shaddai); the personal covenant God (LORD, 'Jehovah'); the God (Elohim) Who combines in Himself all the fulness of Divine perfections in their manifold powers and operations. It is this exposition and declaration that evoked personal trust expressed in 2 and repeated in 9. Several, and different, kinds of danger of attacks are underlined in 3ff, and we shall look at them in the next Note.