My Refuge and My Fortress

Psa 91:1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Psa 91:2  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Psa 91:3  Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

Psa 91:4  He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thyshield and buckler.

Psa 91:5  Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

Psa 91:6  Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

Psa 91:7  A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

Psa 91:8  Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

Psa 91:9  Because thou hast made the LORD, which ismy refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

Psa 91:10  There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

Psa 91:11  For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

Psa 91:12  They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Psa 91:13  Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Psa 91:14  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.

Psa 91:15  He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

Psa 91:16  With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

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Psalms 91:1-16

SECURITY IN TRUSTING THE LORD 

In harmony with the new light cast upon it by the Revised Version, this psalm has been divided as follows: Psa 91:1-2, a soliloquy in which the believer states the blessedness of dwelling under God’s sheltering care, and encourages his heart to exercise personal faith; Psa 91:3-8, the assurance of a chorus of voices, which emphasize the safety of those who believe; Psa 91:9 a, an exclamation in which the believer again expresses his resolve to exercise this personal faith; Psa 91:9 b-13, the second assurance of a chorus of reassuring voices; Psa 91:14-16, God’s ratification of the whole attitude and expressions of the psalmist and his friends.

The psalm abounds in metaphors familiar to the East: the lion with its roar and leap in the open; the adder with its stealthy glide through the grass; the nocturnal assault; the devastating plague; the fowler’s snare; the eagle’s wing; the transitory tent. This is the traveler’s psalm, and may well be read in private or with the family, whenever we are starting on a journey.

But notice the closing, Psa 91:14-16. Our conceptions of God’s care are too narrow. We fail to make enough use of the power, love, and presence of His fatherhood, which is waiting and longing to be called upon. Only we must exercise an appropriating faith.