You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.. All Rights Reserved. Psalms 91:4. I believe in God and depend on him for deliverance, but I nevertheless find myself afraid. Therefore the psalmist is probably saying more than he understooddeliverance from trouble and salvation to eternal life. Pastor John MacArthur interview in Servant 991 tells about being on a Christian talk show where he said to the host Dont you believe that the Holy Spirit the Word of God and . But he is confident that Yahweh will deliver him from plagues and pestilence, because he dwells in the secret place of the Most High.. Growing Up With Two Moms: The Untold Childrens View. One is that often God amazingly delivers them physically when others around them are falling. - updated, Counterfeit Cross - Lordship of Christ in Salvation - updated, The Credibility of the Testimony of the Apostles, Audio of "Children and the Rod of Correction", Audio of "The Origin of Dressing Up for Church", Audio of "The Origin of Hell-Fire in Christian Teaching", Examine Yourselves as to Whether You Are in the Faith, Refutation of Baptismal Regeneration - James P. Shelly, Was Jesus a Friend of Sinners? The psalmist wrote it to assure Israel that Yahweh would keep them safe through all trials IF they put their trust in him and tried to live faithfully in accord with Yahwehs will. Once at the beginning of day. His faithfulness (emettruth) is your shield (Hebrew: sinnah) and rampart (Hebrew: soherahbuckler) (v. 4c). nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday. It comes creeping in, and fills the air with death before you perceive its approach; but He shall deliver thee from the noisome pestilence. There is a pestilence of dangerous and accursed error abroad at this time; but if we dwell in the secret place of the most High, it cannot affect us; we shall be beyond its power. 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, Matt 4 6. 3 (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2016), Tate, Marvin E., Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 51-100 (Dallas: Word Books, 1990), Waltner, James H., Believers Church Bible Commentary: Psalms (Scottdale, Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 2006), Baker, Warren (ed. It would have served Israel well during Davids reign, when Israel was beset by many enemies. There is need to fear the night filled with terror or the arrows that are visibly seen flying during the day. To know Yahwehs semhis name or reputationis to know Yahweh. It is the character of a true believer that he dwells in the secret place of the Most High; he is at home in God, returns to God, and reposes in him as his rest; he acquaints himself with inward religion, and makes heart-work of the service of God, worships within the veil, and loves to be alone with God, to converse with him in solitude. It is the privilege and comfort of those that do so that they abide under the shadow of the Almighty; he shelters them, and comes between them and every thing that would annoy them, whether storm or sunshine. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. A. [2.] I will deliver (Hebrew: halas) him, and honor (Hebrew: kabed) him (v. 15c). In this verse, pestilence is portrayed as walking at nightan unseen and deadly threat. Bible Verses, Quotes, Christian Answers, Songs and More. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. We havent had to watch carefully for fowlers traps as we walk along sidewalks or drive along roadsor even when we hike through woods. The great encouragement he gives to others to do likewise, not only from his own experience of the comfort of it (for in that there might possibly be a fallacy), but from the truth of God's promise, in which there neither is nor can be any deceit (v. 3, 4, etc. ', All Rights Reserved | 1997-2023 Richard Niell Donovan. Psalm 91:1-3 God the Deliverer "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Both night and day thou shalt be safe. 11-12). Psalm 91: Charles Spurgeon Exposition | Titus Institute : A Closer Look At A Popular Tradition, Audio of "Church Leaders and the Use of Honorific Titles", The Nativity Story - Download A 16min Edited Version for Christmas, Binding and Loosing (Matthew 16:19) - w/audio, What does "God blesses those who bless Israel really mean? He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. The Immortality of the Soul: Yahweh is his mesudah (hiding place, stronghold, fortress). 14 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. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. Accordingly, we have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions in order to comply with GDPR. The buckler is also part of the protection and this device is a defensive piece of armor used in ancient times when close range attacks occurred. Or be unhurt by such savage and poisonous creatures; as the Israelites, when they travelled through the wilderness, in which were serpents and scorpions; and many of the servants of God have been delivered from them, or have slain them, as Samson, David, and Daniel; and so Christ was among the wild beasts in the wilderness, and yet not touched or so that you wont dash your foot against a stone. They shall be taken under the peculiar care of Heaven, Ps. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand,but it will not come near you. This (without el) is how it appears in this and a number of other verses, especially in the book of Job. 1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! 12 They will bear you up in their hands, Oh, yes, he values the love of his people, for he knows where it came from; it is a part of his own love; the creation of his grace! Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. With his wing shall fence thy head; And his truth around thee wield, Strong as targe or bossy shield! 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. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, If you dwell near to God, you will not be deceived by Satan. 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. The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them: You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page. Yet the condescension of God is such that he allows us to speak of him thus: He shall cover thee with his feathers.. Here we read about thousands falling to the left and to the right as in the day when Israel battled ancient nationsthe land would be scattered with dead bodies so those who read this at the time it was written had a good idea what this meant. Some suffered mild impairment but others suffered catastrophic impairment. The charge given to the angels concerning the saints. 2. Angels are not appropriate objects of our worship. Be worshipful : glorifying God for who he is : OT commentary, Psalms 1 - 89 by Warren Wiersbe. . Our church recently experienced a norovirus that sickened 54 of the 60 people present for worship that Sunday. He will cover you with his feathers. (2.) The important thing is not the place but that we meet the Most High there. The character of those who shall have the benefit and comfort of these promises; it is much the same with that, v. 1. Once again, the idea is of the protection afforded by the Almighty God. Who would wish to live a day longer than God has some work to do, either by him or upon him? In this case, the psalmist emphasizes its deadly character. Jan. 1, 2023. Please see our Privacy Policy for cookie usage details. A church sanctuary, hospital chapel, or airport prayer room. Click to enable/disable _gat_* - Google Analytics Cookie. Click to enable/disable _ga - Google Analytics Cookie. But he that has his treasure and heart in another world has soon enough of this; he would not live always. If this is your position, you shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. You are not safe in the outer courts; you are not protected from all danger anywhere but within the vail. I'm not talking about the question of whether God gave us an inerrant Bible. God loves each of us as if there were only one of us"- Augustine. Home. and the Most High your dwelling place, 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. We arent certain of the time and circumstances of its writing. Whatever is done our heavenly Father's will is done; and we have no reason to be afraid of that. Such a message is timeless. Here is great security promised to believers in the midst of this danger: "Thou shalt not be afraid. Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning. 9-10). Lions serve as a metaphor for powerful forces that can take us apart with one swipe of their claws. Yahweh (Hebrew: YHWH or yahweh). This psalm, without title in the Hebrew text, is a triple proclamation of God's holiness, as Isaiah would later do ( Isaiah 6:3 ). It is not every professing Christian, nor every believer who attains this height of experience; but only such as believe the promise, and fulfill the heavenly condition of dwelling in the secret place of the most High. In Vietnam, our soldiers had to watch for punji sticks and trip wires. This is a daring utterance, as if the psalmist would claim for himself the choicest privileges of any child of God. Psalm 91 Bible Commentary - Matthew Henry (complete) - Christianity That believers shall be kept from those mischiefs which they are in imminent danger of, and which would be fatal to them (v. 3), from the snare of the fowler, which is laid unseen and catches the unwary prey on a sudden, and from the noisome pestilence, which seizes men unawares and against which there is no guard. - Oscar Cullmann, Immortality of the Soul - by Kaufmann Kohler, Technical Terms and Usages Preclude Innate Immortality - Froom, The Development of the Doctrine of Immortality from the Apostolic Fathers to Augustine, The Doctrine of Immortality in the Early Church. Facing a Tolerant World with Intolerant Truth (Selected Scriptures) Pastor John MacArthur. Thanks for stopping by! Yahweh does David an honor by using this word for David, where he refers to David as the elyon (highest) of the kings of the earth (Psalm 89:27). Watch over him today. They shall be delivered from the malice of the powers of darkness (ver 3, 5, 6), and that by a distinguishing preservation, ver 7, 8. Purgatory: Purifying Fire or Fatal Fable? Truth is real, dependable, stablethat which we can trust. Because we dont want you to incur expenditure for which you are not prepared, could you please confirm whether you are willing to pay this charge, if necessary? Registered User Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Champions of Conditional Immortality in History, Conditional Immortality - Its Relation to Final Retribution, Conditional Immortality - Samuel M. Ohmart, Fallacies In The Annihilationism Debate: A Critique Of Robert Peterson, Important Forgotten History - Roots of Opposition to Conditionalism, Life in Christ - A Summary of Conditional Immortality, Summing Up the Case for Biblical Conditionalism - Froom, The Hypothesis of Conditional Immortality - William R. Huntington - 1878, Why I Believe In Conditional Immortality - by Sidney A. Hatch, Death and the Afterlife by Robert A. Morey - A Review by Edward Fudge, Martin Luther & William Tyndale On the State of the Dead, Near Death Experiences - Samuele Bacchiocchi.