Psalm 91has brought promises of God’s assurance and comfort to believing Jews and Christians alike for thousands of years. This is especially so of its opening promise: “He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shelter of the Almighty.”
Our world is becoming increasingly dangerous, and we need the assurances that God has provided. He is the Most High God, and all other gods are inferior; the Almighty has no equal.
During the second Gulf War, the flight path to the UK of our aircraft was taking us over the Persian Gulf. The captain announced that beneath us were more than 300 warships. It was not a time for fear but for faith, for trust, which the Old Testament word for faith.
While praying, the Lord gave me a promise from the last verse of Psalm 91, and I turned to it and read from the beginning. I was struck with the voice changes in the psalm. “I will say of the LORD (verse 2), He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him will I trust.” The personal pronoun “I” takes over from “he” (who dwells in the secret place of the Most High) of the opening verse.
A psalm or promise that refers to “he” – another person – but is not followed by an “I” does not convey the same assurance of one that does. “I” means the psalmist is speaking personally of his own faith. He is not just telling us what we ought to believe but is confessing what he believes. “I will say…” I would not follow anyone who is unable to make a personal statement of faith.
Between verses 2 and 13 the words “you” and “your” are repeated many times. However, there is a cause, a reason, why these others have the same faith as the psalmist, and that cause is in verse 9: “BECAUSE YOU have made the LORD, who is MY refuge, the Most High, YOUR dwelling place…”
In other words, the personal faith of the psalmist – the “I” of verse 2 – is also the personal faith of others; and because it is, verses 10 to 13, which move from the defensive to the offensive — from the back foot to the front foot — apply to them as well.
There is no assurance of protection to anyone who hears a leader express his faith in God’s protection but is unable to express the same faith. Nor is there comfort for casual readers of the Psalm who rely on the faith of others to bring them safely through their own situations and circumstances.
In the third ‘movement’ of the psalm, the LORD speaks personally. No longer is it the psalmist’s statement of faith, as in “I will say of the LORD”. Instead, the LORD states what he will do for those who have the same faith as the psalmist.
“BECAUSE he has set his love on Me, therefore I will deliver him. I will set him on high BECAUSE he has known my name. He shall call on me and I shall answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honour him. With long life I will satisfy him, and will show him my salvation.”
Note the repeated use of “I WILL” in these last verses! No uncertainty about the will of God here!
The promise of a long and satisfying life and a vision of God’s salvation round off this wonderful psalm. We know its first verse very well and quote it in times of danger or uncertainty. But we need to know it right through if we are to get off the back foot of doubt and onto the front foot of faith.
It is when we are absolutely sure of the LORD’S protection through our own confession of faith that we can “trample underfoot the young lion and the serpent”!
Someone once truly said that God has no grandchildren – the children of believers must find God for themselves. None of us can have a personal relationship with God through godly parents. Likewise, no one can be certain of their own personal safety through another person’s relationship with God. Psalm 91 informs us of this, lest we assume that God will protect us, instead of ensuring that He will because of our trust in Him.
Psalm 91 is for pilgrims, not hitchhikers.