A Psalm written for comfort, but it is not addressed to all mankind, neither I venture to say, to all believers, but only those who are described in the first verse.
Psalms 91:1. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
It is not every worshipper that comes there who shall be thus privileged but those who dwell there, as Simeon and Anna dwelt in the temple. So there are some that abide in Christ and his words abide in them. They live near to God. They receive therefore choicer favours than those who do but come and go. «He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High.» He who has learnt to stand in the holy of holies, near the blood-besprinkled mercy-seat, to whom prayer is a matter of constant privilege and enjoyment-he dwells in the secret place. Such a man, living near to God, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. You know when you walk with a friend, in certain positions of the sun your friend's shadow falls upon you; but you cannot expect to have the shadow of your friend unless you are near him. We read in the Song, «I sat down under his shadow with great delight.» There must be nearness to get under the shadow. So there must be great access to God-great familiarity with him -there must be something of the assurance of faith-before we shall be able to grip such a word as that which follows in this psalm. Read it again, and if you have not attained to it labour after it.
Psalms 91:2. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Observe the sweetness of making a personal application of any passage in the Word. « I will say.» A general doctrine gives us little consolation till we can make a particular application of it. Oh, for faith-daring, personal faith-to say, «I will say of the Lord he is my refuge and my fortress « That was saying a great deal, but it was saying a great deal more when the psalmist added, «My God.» He could not say more than that. God is a refuge and a fortress to me, but he is infinitely more than that. We cannot tell what he is. Rather, we cannot tell what he is not; but we sum it all up when we say, «My God.» And surely it is but natural to add, « In him will I trust.» Why, who could help it? If this God is our God, and such a God; such a refuge and such a fortress to his people, surely we must trust him. Come, if you are troubled tonight. If you have got any doubts and fears, may the Spirit of God enable you to make this the blessed resolution of your Spirit. «My God, in him will I trust.»
Psalms 91:3. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler,
You cannot see it. You do not know it to be a snare. The bird does not suspect the fowler. «Surely in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird.» If the bird knew it was a net it would not fly into it. You do not know your temptation, young man. Nay, and the oldest and most experienced Christian is not aware of the traps which the fowler is setting for him. But surely he shall deliver thee if thou abidest near him-so near that his shadow falls on thee. If thou dwellest in secret with him, surely, he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler.
Psalms 91:3. And from the noisome pestilence.
From the noisome pestilence of error which is the worst of pestilences because it preys upon the soul. Foul air which injures the bodily frame is bad enough; but what is that foul teaching which destroys the soul- which would, if it were possible, deceive the very elect? But surely if thou livest near to him he shall deliver thee from the noisome pestilence.
Psalms 91:4. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
It is a marvelous verse. I do not think that any devout man would have been daring enough to use such language as this if he had not been led to do so by the Holy Spirit himself. Where the Holy Spirit leads the way we may safely follow; but it would have been unsafe for mere poetry's sake to talk of God's « feathers « and « wings.» Yet see the condescension of God. He likens himself here to the hen that broods her little ones. O child of God, nestle down closely under the warm breast of everlasting love, and hide thyself beneath the mighty wings of the everlasting and eternal God. So shalt thou be secure.
Psalms 91:5. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
For if this alludes to temporal dangers,
«Not a single shaft shall hit,
Till the God of love sees fit.»
And if there be a covert allusion here to spiritual dangers-to the darts of the wicked one and to the alarms which fill the soul when the presence of God is withdrawn-if thou dwellest near to God thou shalt know no fear of these things, for neither death nor hell can injure the man that lives in God.
Psalms 91:6-10. Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
And it is very wonderful when men have lived near to God, and have received special faith to grasp such a promise as this, how they have outlived the most deadly pestilences. I collected sometime ago a little list of names of devout men who in the times of pestilence remained in the field to visit the sick and to attend to those who were dying, and it is marvelous that they outlived all, and their names stand now upon the catalogue of fame as benefactors of the race. They had special faith given, and they used that faith in trusting in God. I have already said that I do not believe that this applies to all believers, for good men die as well as bad men in days of pestilence; but there are some who dwell near to God to whom the promise comes with special power, and they have been able to do and dare for God without fear, and their faith has been abundantly rewarded.
Psalms 91:11-12. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
They get special commandment to take care of the saints of God-the angels, those unseen but swift and mighty messengers of heaven. When David had the troops paraded before him, when they were going out to fight Absalom, he gave them all a charge that they should not touch the young man Absalom, and yet, you know, he died. But God's angels keep his commandments, hearkening to the voice of his word; and go when he gives them a charge of what to do he says, « O ye angels, this day watch over my people keep them in all their ways. Be to them as a nurse who bears up her child in her hands, and if they are likely to meet with even some minor trial, lest they should skip and sin, bear them up lest they dash their foot against a stone.» Now comes a glorious promise.
Psalms 91:13. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
God often gives victories like these to his people, so that Satan and all the powers of evil are trampled down by the holy child-take confidence of the man who is resolved to serve his God.
Psalms 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.
He loves me, and therefore I love him, and I will deliver him because he loves me. Oh, love the Lord all ye saints, love him more and more; for this love of yours shall bring to you a sweet reward.
Psalms 91:15. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:
Were there ever words fuller of consolation than these? « He shall call upon me.» Grace will take care to give us the spirit of prayer. « And I will answer him.» Grace will give the answer.
Psalms 91:15-16. I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.
Now, it is not a promise to every good man that he shall live for a long period, for some among the best of men die in very early youth, but still they have had a full life, for life must not be measured by years. Oh, how much do some men pack into a little time! How much of life there may be in the man whose course is finished ere he is thirty years of age, and how little may some live who expand their days into 80 or 90 years. Belzoni's toad-you remember the piece of poetry into which some imaginative person has cast his diary, how once in a thousand years it crept from under a stone and winked with one eye. Well it did not live much in the course of two or three thousand years: it existed. But a man who is full of holy duties and earnest purposes lives long even though the time is short.
This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 91:1. and 63.