CHAPTER 91

PROBABLY WRITTEN BY MOSES: GOD IS A REFUGE AND A FORTRESS

¹He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (The previous Psalm introduced the Wilderness and contrasted the misery and happiness of travelers in it who trust self or God. This Psalm points to the one Man Who passed through it undefiled, unhurt, and trusting and loving God in perfection.

The absence of a superscription suggests that the Psalm was written by Moses, for the previous one was written by him. If this be so, then all the Scriptures quoted in the temptation in the desert [Mat., Chpt. 4] were Mosaic.

That the Messiah is the great figure of this Psalm is decided by Mat. 4:6.)

²I will say of the LORD, He is My Refuge and My Fortress: My God; in Him will I trust. (As Christ enters the secret place of the Most High, the Holy Spirit assures Him that companionship with God will be a safe refuge from Satans power and from all the dangers of the way.)

³Surely He shall deliver You from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. (The snare of the fowler was the demon forces of darkness that opposed Christ, either through the evil religious leaders of Jesus day, or in their own capacity. They came in such quantity that they were called the noisome pestilence, which means a rushing calamity one that sweeps everything before it. Christ had the promise of the Holy Spirit that He would be delivered, and so He was!)

⁴He shall cover You with His feathers, and under His wings shall You trust: His truth shall be Your shield and buckler. (This Passage has to do with the Holy of Holies. It speaks of where God dwelt between the Cherubim and the Mercy Seat. He invited Christ to dwell there with Him. In turn, Christ paid the price for us, that the Holy Spirit may dwell in us [I Cor. 3:16].)

⁵You shall not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flies by day (the terror by night speaks of the spiritual darkness of Satan. The arrow that flies by day refers to the deliberate effort by Satan to destroy the soul. The Evil One devises a temptation, oppression, or trap for the Believer, and then shoots it like an arrow. The only thing that can stop it is the Shield and Buckler of Verse 4);

⁶Nor for the pestilence that walks in darkness; nor for the destruction that wastes at noonday. (The pestilence that walks in darkness pertains to every scourge of Satanic darkness. The destruction that wastes at noonday refers to Satans destroying great multitudes, yet not touching the Child of God, who is dwelling in the secret place of the Most High.)

⁷A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. (Untold millions are being destroyed by the powers of darkness; but the Believer who puts his trust in God is promised that it shall not come near you.)

⁸Only with your eyes shall you behold and see the reward of the wicked. (The results of living without God are overly obvious!)

⁹Because You have made the LORD, Who is My Refuge, even the Most High, Your Habitation (the Holy Spirit here is the Speaker. The Messiah is assured victory by the Holy Spirit only because He has made the LORD His Refuge. Since Christ is our Substitute, the Lord can be our Habitation as well);

¹⁰There shall no evil befall You, neither shall any plague come near Your dwelling. (Because His dwelling is in the secret place of the Most High, it is impossible for evil to befall you. Verses 11 and 12 were quoted by Satan, and his quoting them showed his intelligence in recognizing that the Psalm applied to Jesus [Mat. 4:6].)

¹¹For He shall give His Angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. (This shows how much Satan knows the Bible, but yet he still thinks he can circumvent the Word of God. Angels did constantly help Christ [Mat. 4:11; Lk. 4:1011]. However, Satan corrupted the Scripture by omitting in all your ways, and inserting in its place at any time. The Messiahs path through the desert of the Wilderness was one of dependence upon God. Satans effort in the temptation was to move Him to independence, but he failed. Christ walked a path of perfect submission, obedience, and dependence; likewise, all those who walk after Him in like dependence and faith can be assured of His Victory.)

¹²They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. (Satan attempted to get Christ to commit the sin of presumption, which means to twist the Word of God in order that it mean something that God did not intend.)

¹³You shall tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shall you trample under feet. (Satan quoted Verses 11 through 12 in the temptation of Christ, but he did not dare quote Verse 13, because it promised his defeat [Gen. 3:15].)

¹⁴Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he has known My Name. (These are the words of the Father. How amazing that sinful men should be permitted to hear the sweet converse of the Three Persons of the Trinity!)

¹⁵He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. (Christ has been greatly honored for what He did at the Cross by being given a Name that is above every name [Phil. 2:9].)

¹⁶With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my Salvation. (This speaks of Christ, but even more so, it speaks of the man who trusts Christ, and thereby reaps the benefits of what Jesus did at Calvary, all on our behalf.)