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Commentary on Psalms 91 verses 9–16
Here are more promises to the same purport with those in the foregoing verses, and they are exceedingly great and precious, and sure to all the seed.
I. The psalmist assures believers of divine protection, from his own experience; and that which he says is the word of God, and what we may rely upon. Observe, 1. The character of those who shall have the benefit and comfort of these promises; it is much the same with that, Psa 91:1. They are such as make the Most High their habitation (Psa 91:9), as are continually with God and rest in him, as make his name both their temple and their strong tower, as dwell in love and so dwell in God. It is our duty to be at home in God, to make our choice of him, and then to live our life in him as our habitation, to converse with him, and delight in him, and depend upon him; and then it shall be our privilege to be at home in God; we shall be welcome to him as a man to his own habitation, without any let, hindrance, or molestation, from the arrests of the law or the clamours of conscience; then too we shall be safe in him, shall be kept in perfect peace, Isa 26:3. To encourage us to make the Lord our habitation, and to hope for safety and satisfaction in him, the psalmist intimates the comfort he had had in doing so: "He whom thou makest thy habitation is my refuge; and I have found him firm and faithful, and in him there is room enough, and shelter enough, both for thee and me." In my father's house there are many mansions, one needs not crowd another, much less crowd out another. 2. The promises that are sure to all those who have thus made the Most High their habitation. (1.) That, whatever happens to them, nothing shall hurt them (Psa 91:10): "There shall no evil befal thee; though trouble or affliction befal thee, yet there shall be no real evil in it, for it shall come from the love of God and shall be sanctified; it shall come, not for thy hurt, but for thy good; and though, for the present, it be not joyous but grievous, yet, in the end, it shall yield so well that thou thyself shalt own no evil befel thee. It is not an evil, an only evil, but there is a mixture of good in it and a product of good by it. Nay, not thy person only, but thy dwelling, shall be taken under the divine protection: There shall no plague come nigh that, nothing to do thee or thine any damage." Nihil accidere bono viro mali potest - No evil can befal a good man. Seneca De Providentia. (2.) That the angels of light shall be serviceable to them, Psa 91:11, Psa 91:12. This is a precious promise, and speaks a great deal both of honour and comfort to the saints, nor is it ever the worse for being quoted and abused by the devil in tempting Christ, Mat 4:6. Observe, [1.] The charge given to the angels concerning the saints. He who is the Lord of the angels, who gave them their being and gives laws to them, whose they are and whom they were made to serve, he shall give his angels a charge over thee, not only over the church in general, but over every particular believer. The angels keep the charge of the Lord their God; and this is the charge they receive from him. It denotes the great care God takes of the saints, in that the angels themselves shall be charged with them, and employed for them. The charge is to keep thee in all thy ways; here is a limitation of the promise: They shall keep thee in thy ways, that is, "as long as thou keepest in the way of thy duty;" those that go out of that way put themselves out of God's protection. This word the devil left out when he quoted the promise to enforce a temptation, knowing how much it made against him. But observe the extent of the promise; it is to keep thee in all thy ways: even where there is no apparent danger yet we need it, and where there is the most imminent danger we shall have it. Wherever the saints go the angels are charged with them, as the servants are with the children. [2.] The care which the angels take of the saints, pursuant to this charge: They shall bear thee up in their hands, which denotes both their great ability and their great affection. They are able to bear up the saints out of the reach of danger, and they do it with all the tenderness and affection wherewith the nurse carries the little child about in her arms; it speaks us helpless and them helpful. They are condescending in their ministrations; they keep the feet of the saints, lest they dash them against a stone, lest they stumble and fall into sin and into trouble. [3.] That the powers of darkness shall be triumphed over by them (Psa 91:13): Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder. The devil is called a roaring lion, the old serpent, the red dragon; so that to this promise the apostle seems to refer in that (Rom 16:20), The God of peace shall tread Satan under your feet. Christ has broken the serpent's head, spoiled our spiritual enemies (Col 2:15), and through him we are more than conquerors; for Christ calls us, as Joshua called the captains of Israel, to come and set our feet on the necks of vanquished enemies. Some think that this promise had its full accomplishment in Christ, and the miraculous power which he had over the whole creation, healing the sick, casting out devils, and particularly putting it into his disciples' commission that they should take up serpents, Mar 16:18. It may be applied to that care of the divine Providence by which we are preserved from ravenous noxious creatures (the wild beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee, Job 5:23); nay, and have ways and means of taming them, Jam 3:7.
II. He brings in God himself speaking words of comfort to the saints, and declaring the mercy he had in store for them, Psa 91:14-16. Some make this to be spoken to the angels as the reason of the charge given them concerning the saints, as if he had said, "Take care of them, for they are dear to me, and I have a tender concern for them." And now, as before, we must observe,
1.To whom these promises do belong; they are described by three characters: - (1.) They are such as know God's name. His nature we cannot fully know; but by his name he has made himself known, and with that we must acquaint ourselves. (2.) They are such as have set their love upon him; and those who rightly know him will love him, will place their love upon him as the only adequate object of it, will let out their love towards him with pleasure and enlargement, and will fix their love upon him with a resolution never to remove it to any rival. (3.) They are such as call upon him, as by prayer keep up a constant correspondence with him, and in every difficult case refer themselves to him.
2.What the promises are which God makes to the saints. (1.) That he will, in due time, deliver them out of trouble: I will deliver him (Psa 91:14 and again Psa 91:15), denoting a double deliverance, living and dying, a deliverance in trouble and a deliverance out of trouble. If God proportions the degree and continuance of our troubles to our strength, if he keeps us from offending him in our troubles, and makes our death our discharge, at length, from all our troubles, then this promise is fulfilled. See Psa 34:19; Ti2 3:11; Ti2 4:18. (2.) That he will, in the mean time, be with them in trouble, Psa 91:15. If he does not immediately put a period to their afflictions, yet they shall have his gracious presence with them in their troubles; he will take notice of their sorrows, and know their souls in adversity, will visit them graciously by his word and Spirit, and converse with them, will take their part, will support and comfort them, and sanctify their afflictions to them, which will be the surest token of his presence with them in their troubles. (3.) That herein he will answer their prayers: He shall call upon me; I will pour upon him the spirit of prayer, and then I will answer, answer by promises (Psa 85:8), answer by providences, bringing in seasonable relief, and answer by graces, strengthening them with strength in their souls (Psa 138:3); thus he answered Paul with grace sufficient, Co2 12:9. (4.) That he will exalt and dignify them: I will set him on high, out of the reach of trouble, above the stormy region, on a rock above the waves, Isa 33:16. They shall be enabled, by the grace of God, to look down upon the things of this world with a holy contempt and indifference, to look up to the things of the other world with a holy ambition and concern; and then they are set on high. I will honour him; those are truly honourable whom God puts honour upon by taking them into covenant and communion with himself and designing them for his kingdom and glory, Joh 12:26. (5.) That they shall have a sufficiency of life in this world (Psa 91:16): With length of days will I satisfy him; that is, [1.] They shall live long enough: they shall be continued in this world till they have done the work they were sent into this world for and are ready for heaven, and that is long enough. Who would wish to live a day longer than God has some work to do, either by him or upon him? [2.] They shall think it long enough; for God by his grace shall wean them from the world and make them willing to leave it. A man may die young, and yet die full of days, satur dierum - satisfied with living. A wicked worldly man is not satisfied, no, not with long life; he still cries, Give, give. But he that has his treasure and heart in another world has soon enough of this; he would not live always. (6.) That they shall have an eternal life in the other world. This crowns the blessedness: I will show him my salvation, show him the Messiah (so some); good old Simeon was then satisfied with long life when he could say, My eyes have seen thy salvation, nor was there any greater joy to the Old Testament saints than to see Christ's day, though at a distance. It is more probably that the word refers to the better country, that is, the heavenly, which the patriarchs desired and sought: he will show him that, bring him to that blessed state, the felicity of which consists so much in seeing that face to face which we here see through a glass darkly; and, in the mean time, he will give him a prospect of it. All these promises, some think, point primarily at Christ, and had their accomplishment in his resurrection and exaltation.
Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. [Psalms 91:11-12] Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. [Psalms 91:11-12] And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
In various ways has the devil rivaled and resisted the truth. Sometimes Praxeas’s aim has been to destroy the truth by defending it. He maintains that there is only one Lord, the almighty Creator of the world, in order that out of this doctrine of the unity he may fabricate a heresy. He says that the Father himself came down into the Virgin, was himself born of her, himself suffered, indeed was himself Jesus Christ. Here the old serpent has fallen out with himself, since, when he tempted Christ after John’s baptism, he approached him as “the Son of God.” Surely he was intimating that God had a Son, even on the testimony of the very Scriptures, out of which he was at the moment forging his temptation: “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” Again, “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here; for it is written, he shall give his angels charge concerning you”—referring no doubt, to the Father—“and in their hands they shall bear you up, so that you do not hurt your foot against a stone.” Or perhaps, after all, he was only reproaching the Gospels with a lie, saying in fact, “Away with Matthew. Away with Luke!”
This power the Creator conferred on his Christ first of all, even as the ninetieth psalm [LXX] says of him: “You shall tread on the lion and the cobra; the young lion and the serpent you shall trample under foot.” Isaiah also says, “In that day the Lord God shall draw his sacred, great and strong sword” (even his Christ) “against that dragon, that great and tortuous serpent; and he shall slay him in that day.” But when the same prophet says, “The way shall be called a clean and holy way; over it the unclean thing shall not pass, nor shall there be any unclean way; but the dispersed shall pass over it, and they shall not err therein; no lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon; it shall not be found there,” he points out the way of faith, by which we shall reach God; and then to this way of faith he promises this utter crippling and subjugation of all harmful animals.
Wild animals are a proof of our faith. Have you trusted in the Lord? “You shall walk on the asp and the basilisk; and you shall trample under foot the lion and the dragon.” You have the power through faith to walk on serpents and scorpions. Or, do you not observe that the viper that fastened onto Paul when he was gathering sticks inflicted no harm because the holy man was found to be full of faith? Yet, if you are incredulous, do not fear the wild beast more than your own lack of faith, through which you have made yourself an easy prey to every form of corruption.
What then, my brethren, what is said of our Head? "For Thou, Lord, art my hope," etc. Of this we have spoken, "for He has given His angels charge over You, to keep You in all Your ways" [Psalm 91:11]. You heard these words but now, when the Gospel was being read; attend therefore. Our Lord, after He was baptized, fasted. Why was He baptized? That we might not scorn to be baptized. For when John said to our Lord, "Comest Thou to me to be baptized? I ought to be baptized by You;" and our Lord replied, "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness;" [Matthew 3:14-15] He wished to fulfil all humility, so that He should be washed, who had no defilement....Our Lord, then, was baptized, and after baptism He was tempted; He fasted forty days, a number which has, as I have often mentioned, a deep meaning. All things cannot be explained at once, lest needful time be too much taken up. After forty days He was an hungred. He could have fasted without ever feeling hunger; but then how could He be tempted? Or had He not overcome the tempter, how couldest thou learn to struggle with him? He was hungry; and then the tempter said, "If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." Was it a great thing for our Lord Jesus Christ to make bread out of stones, when He satisfied so many thousands with five loaves? He made bread out of nothing. For whence came that quantity of food, which could satisfy so many thousands? The sources of that bread are in the Lord's hands. This is nothing wonderful; for He Himself made out of five loaves bread enough for so many thousands, who also every day out of a few seeds raises up on earth immense harvests. These are the miracles of our Lord: but from their constant operation they are disregarded. What then, my brethren, was it impossible for the Lord to create bread out of stones? He made men even out of stones, in the words of John the Baptist himself, "God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." [Matthew 3:9] Why then did He not so? That he might teach you how to answer the tempter, so that if you were reduced to any straits and the tempter suggested, if you were a Christian and belonged to Christ, would He desert you now?...Listen to our Lord: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." Do you think the word of God bread? If the Word of God, through which all things were made, was not bread, He would not say, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." [John 6:41] You have therefore learned to answer the tempter, when pressed with hunger.
Well, the Donatists are not false Christians. They are quite simply not Christians at all, since they listen to what the devil suggested and do not listen to the answer Christ gave him. How, after all, did the Lord, our teacher and savior, answer the devil's suggestion of such things? "Get back, Satan, for it is written: You shall not tempt the Lord your God." The devil, as a matter of fact, had taken his suggestion from Scripture, and the Lord replied from Scripture. The devil had said to the Lord, you see, "Since it is written, He will instruct his angels about you; they will lift you up in their hands, lest you should hurt your foot on a stone." "Hurl yourself down," he said, "and if you are the Son of God, the angels are there to catch you; what are you afraid of?" The Lord could indeed both have cast down his body and not allowed it to die; but what the devil was suggesting to Christ at that time is the sort of thing Christ was not teaching future Christians. This, you see, is exactly what the devil is also suggesting to the Donatists, saying, "Hurl yourselves down, the angels are there to catch you. With such a death you do not go to punishment, but you win through to a crown." They would be Christians if they give an ear to Christ and did not trust the devil, who first separated them from the peace of the church and later on gave them cliff-jumpers.
However, we should not be without anxiety, dearly beloved, because we know that [God] is keeping his patience for such a long time. The fact that such great things happen in the world and he still does not avenge them indicates patience, not carelessness. God has not lost his power but is preserving us for repentance. Yet, the longer he awaits your amendment, the harsher will be your punishment if you refuse to amend. God indeed holds the sword, and he wishes to strike sin; we, on the contrary, defend our sins because we love them. Thus, we who should be the accusers of our sins become their defenders. Truly, dearly beloved, God does not want to kill the sinner, but his sin. Like a good doctor he wants to strike the disease, not the person who is ill. But, what is worse, we often despise the doctor and love our sickness: we love our sin and despise God. Sin, indeed, is like this, a dragon, a viper; but concerning the Lord it is written, “You shall walk on the lion and the cobra; and you shall trample under foot the young lion and the serpent.” We, on the other hand, embrace our sins like lions and dragons. But our God, who wants to punish sin and save the sinner, daily exclaims to humanity: Cast off your sin from you, and without you it will die. If you refuse to throw aside your sin, you will perish with it, for sin cannot go unpunished. God wants to kill sin, not to strike the sinner.
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SUMMARY
Psalms 91:11 stands as a profound declaration of God's active and meticulous protection over those who dwell in His presence. It assures believers that the Almighty sovereignly commissions His angelic hosts to guard them comprehensively, intervening on their behalf in every facet of their lives. This verse highlights God's unwavering commitment to safeguarding His beloved from all dangers, both seen and unseen, through the divine ministry of His heavenly messengers, serving as a deep wellspring of comfort and trust for the faithful.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalms 91:11 masterfully employs several literary devices to convey its profound message of divine protection. Anthropomorphism is evident in the depiction of God "giving charge," attributing a human-like action of commanding to the divine, which makes God's active involvement relatable and understandable to the reader. The verse also utilizes Personification by presenting angels as active, purposeful agents, carrying out God's will with diligence and intention. The phrase "in all thy ways" functions as a form of Merism or Synecdoche, where "ways" represents the entirety of one's life or experience, implying comprehensive protection over every aspect of existence, rather than just literal paths. While not strictly Hyperbole, the phrase suggests an expansive and absolute level of care, conveying the idea of complete and unfailing coverage. The entire psalm, including this verse, can be understood as an extended Metaphor for God as a secure refuge and an impregnable fortress, providing an unshakeable dwelling for the faithful.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Psalms 91:11 stands as a powerful testament to God's active providence and His use of supernatural means to care for His people. It underscores the biblical truth that God is not a distant, disengaged deity but is intimately involved in the lives of those who trust Him. This verse reveals a facet of God's protective nature that extends beyond natural means, employing His heavenly host as agents of His will. It reminds believers that they are never truly alone and that a spiritual army is, in a sense, at their disposal, commanded by the sovereign Lord. This divine guardianship is not a license for recklessness or presumption, but a profound comfort for those who walk in obedience and faith, knowing that God's watchful eye and protective hand are upon them in every circumstance and throughout every "way" of their lives.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalms 91:11 offers profound comfort and a compelling call to deeper trust for believers today. In a world fraught with uncertainties, anxieties, and unseen dangers, this verse powerfully reminds us that our ultimate security is found not in human strength, worldly safeguards, or even our own vigilance, but in the sovereign, active care of God. It encourages us to cultivate a posture of continual abiding in God, recognizing that our protection flows directly from our intimate relationship with Him. While we are unequivocally called to exercise wisdom and not presumptuously test God (as vividly demonstrated by Jesus' response to Satan's misuse of this very verse), we can rest in the profound assurance that as we walk in faith and obedience, God's divine care, often supernaturally mediated through His angels, surrounds us. This truth should inspire a fearless trust, enabling us to navigate life's inevitable challenges with unwavering confidence, knowing that God is actively working to preserve, guide, and protect us through every "way" we traverse, ensuring His purposes for our lives are fulfilled.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does this verse mean believers are immune to all harm or suffering?
Answer: No, Psalms 91:11 does not promise absolute immunity from all harm, suffering, or even death. The biblical narrative is replete with examples of faithful individuals who experienced profound hardship, persecution, and even martyrdom (e.g., the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7:54-60, or Paul's extensive list of sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27). Rather, this verse promises divine protection and preservation within the framework of God's sovereign will and ultimate purposes. It assures us that God's angels are charged to "keep" us, which implies guarding and preserving our lives according to His perfect plan, often delivering us from dangers we are unaware of. However, it does not guarantee a life free from all adversity. Sometimes, God's "keeping" might involve preserving our faith and character through trials, or guiding us through suffering for a greater redemptive purpose, rather than always removing the suffering itself. The ultimate promise is that nothing can separate us from God's steadfast love or thwart His ultimate plan for our salvation and glorification, as powerfully affirmed in Romans 8:38-39.
How does Satan's misuse of this verse in the temptation of Jesus inform our understanding?
Answer: Satan's strategic misuse of Psalms 91:11-12 during the temptation of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 4:6 and Luke 4:10-11, is crucial for a proper and balanced interpretation of this verse. Satan urged Jesus to throw Himself down from the temple, presumptuously claiming God's angels would catch Him. Jesus' immediate and authoritative response, "It is written again, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test'" (Matthew 4:7), highlights a critical distinction: God's promise of protection is for those who walk in faithful obedience and trust, not for those who recklessly or presumptuously place themselves in danger to test God's faithfulness or demand miraculous intervention. This teaches us that while God promises profound protection, it does not negate human responsibility, wisdom, or grant a license for foolish behavior. True faith trusts God's providence in both the ordinary and extraordinary circumstances of life, without demanding signs or forcing His hand out of a lack of genuine trust.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalms 91:11 finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. While the psalm speaks of angelic protection for those who "dwell in the secret place of the Most High," Jesus Himself is the perfect embodiment of one who continually abided in the Father's presence, living in absolute trust and obedience. He experienced the literal fulfillment of this verse during His earthly ministry, most notably when angels ministered to Him after His grueling temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:11) and strengthened Him in the agonizing hours in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43). Furthermore, Jesus, as the Son of God, possesses inherent and supreme authority over all angelic beings, as triumphantly affirmed in 1 Peter 3:22. For believers, this promise of angelic guardianship is realized through their spiritual union with Christ. As "heirs of salvation," we are those for whom angels are divinely appointed "ministering spirits" (Hebrews 1:14), dispatched by the Father, through the Son, to guard and guide us in our "ways." Our security is not merely a promise for the abstractly righteous, but a precious gift freely given to those who are "in Christ," who is our ultimate refuge and fortress, our very dwelling place (Psalms 91:2). Thus, the angelic protection promised in Psalms 91:11 is a beautiful and tangible facet of the comprehensive salvation and divine care that God extends to us through His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who is Himself the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).