Nay, not thy person only, but thy dwelling, shall be taken under the divine protection: There shall no plague come nigh that, nothing to do thee or thine any damage." The MacArthur Bible Studies provide intriguing examinations of the whole of Scripture. Psalms 91:3. Pastor John MacArthur writes, Contemporary evangelicalism has been beguiled and sabotaged by a ruinous lack of confidence in God's Word. Who would wish to live a day longer than God has some work to do, either by him or upon him? Yahweh is speaking about those who attach themselves to himbind themselves to himlove himtake delight in him. Talk of St. George and the dragon! You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day; nor of the pestilence (Hebrew: deber) that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction (Hebrew: qeteb) that wastes at noonday (vv. Such evil will never befall you. That brings us back to v. 13. 2 I will say of Yahweh, He is my refuge and my fortress; I will satisfy him with long life, and show him my salvation (v. 16). (3.) Both are designed to protect the bearer, and each has a particular use. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. God (Hebrew: elohim). With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. Truth is faithful. In the Psalms you can identify with the psalmist as he expresses his deepest distress, and learn along with him as God teaches him how to view things from His perspective. 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. If God proportions the degree and continuance of our troubles to our strength, if he keeps us from offending him in our troubles, and makes our death our discharge, at length, from all our troubles, then this promise is fulfilled. There are some who worship in the outer court . Try it free for 30 days. The Believer's Covenant Psalm 91 can also be referred to as the constitution of the Kingdom. John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, as well as an author, conference speaker, president of The Master's University and Seminary, and featured teacher with the Grace to You media ministry. Christianity: The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Women, The Pursuit of God - A W Tozer - Complete Book. Counterfeit Cross updated- Sanctification and Growing in Righteousness, Errors of the Invitation System or Alter Call, Counterfeit Cross - The Lordship of Christ in Salvation - Part II, A Historical Overview of The Lord's Supper, Set Your Mind on Things Above - Matthew Henry, Prophecies of the Destruction of Jerusalem which have remarkably been fulfilled - Thomas Newton. In our experience, most hunting is done with guns instead of traps. Psalm 91 continues to be a source of strength, hope, promise and encouragement for every generation. El sadday, then, means Almighty God. Let us come boldly there; and, when we once enter, let us dwell there. God is willing to guard his people as the hen is to guard the chickens, and as able as a man of war in armour. He will live as long as he wants to live. 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. Please see our Privacy Policy for cookie usage details. Sadday often appears with the Hebrew word el, which is a generic word for a godany god. Twice is he armed who hath Gods truth to be his shield and buckler. Plagues and pestilences of various kinds are still occasional threats in first world countries, and are frequent threats in less developed countries. It would have been familiar to the author(s) of Genesis. Psalms 91:14. $30.00. Learn more today! You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.. Bible Verses, Quotes, Christian Answers, Songs and More. The psalmist's comfortable application of this to himself (v. 2): I will say of the Lord, whatever others say of him, "He is my refuge; I choose him as such, and confide in him. But we must also acknowledge that not all prayers for healing are answered. It was in the day-time that that pestilence wasted which was sent to chastise David for numbering the people, on occasion of which some think this psalm was penned. Bible Study, But, (2.) He is neither fickle nor false, neither weak nor mortal; he is God and not man, and therefore there is no danger of being disappointed in him. 1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High It is not every man who dwells there; no, not even every Christian man. Of course He did. When we talk about trusting God to deliver us, thats the bottom lineconfidence that God is with us both in life and in death. 91:10 There shall no [nothing comes our way God has either not decreed or not allowed] evil [that which is the opposite of good; any misfortune] befall thee, neither shall any plague [refers to some physical blow; general term for plague] come nigh thy dwelling. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007), Freedman, David Noel (Ed. The word halas (deliver) has several meanings, at least two of which fit here. Such a message is timeless. To whom these promises do belong; they are described by three characters:(1.) Can any thought be more profound? Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. You will only look with your eyes, and see the recompense (Hebrew: sillumahpunishment) of the wicked (v. 8b). 1. 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? (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979-1988), Brown, Francis; Driver, S.R. You can also change some of your preferences. ), Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2000), Mounce, William D., (ed. Final Judgment, Identifying True Israel: Following God's Faithful Down the Ages, The Significance of A.D. 70 in the Prophecies of Christ, Biblical Hermeneutics - Qualifications Of An Interpreter - M. S. Terry, Biblical Hermeneutics - Special Hermeneutics - M. S. Terry, Of Justification by Faith and Works - William Law, Sanctification - Its Nature - by J.C. Ryle, Sanctification - The Growth of the New Man, Scriptural Evidence for the Deity of Christ, The Carnal Christian - by Ernest C. Reisinger, The Christian's Relationship To The Mosaic Law w/audio, The Lordship Controversy and Repentance - Ernest Reisinger, The Word-Faith Movement - Christian Research Institute, A Treatise of Earthly-Mindedness - Burroughs, Clinging to a Counterfeit Cross - James P. Shelly. D, The Duration And Nature Of Future Punishment - Henry Constable. Yahwehs truth is large and sturdy enough to absorb violent blows. Psalms 91:6-7. You who know the Lord, pray that you may attain to this high condition of dwelling in the inner shrine, always near to God, always overshadowed by those cherubic wings which indicate the presence of God. But, there is hope! b. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2014), Gower, Ralph, The New Manners and Customs of Bible Times (Chicago: Moody Press, 1987), Kidner, Derek, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Psalms 73-150, Vol. It may be applied to that care of the divine Providence by which we are preserved from ravenous noxious creatures (the wild beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee, Job 5 23); nay, and have ways and means of taming them, Jam 3 7. (4.) Yes; and he rewards that knowledge: I will set him on high.. How could any arrows, how could any pestilence, ever be able to reach that secure abode of God? - 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? What Is The Evidence For/Against The Existence Of God? Please contact the publisher to obtain copies of this resource. The sprinkling of blood secured the first-born of Israel when thousands fell. The blessing of His preservation: And show him My salvation. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Psalms 91:13. They are such as have set their love upon him; and those who rightly know him will love him, will place their love upon him as the only adequate object of it, will let out their love towards him with pleasure and enlargement, and will fix their love upon him with a resolution never to remove it to any rival. This psalm, without title in the Hebrew text, is a triple proclamation of God's holiness, as Isaiah would later do ( Isaiah 6:3 ). For he will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways. How about eternity? Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, There shall no evil befall thee. It may have the appearance of evil; but it shall turn out to thy good. Facing a Tolerant World with Intolerant Truth (Selected Scriptures) Pastor John MacArthur. Log In
I. He will be in peril; Psalms 91:12. Ought the Church to Pray for Revival? But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site. 2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. (2.) Amen. El means god (note the small g), and can be used for any god. Those that preserve their purity in times of general corruption may trust God with their safety in times of general desolation. In verses 1-2, the psalmist uses four names for God: The Most High (Hebrew: elyon). Copyright 2023, Bible Study Tools. Note, 1. To encourage us to make the Lord our habitation, and to hope for safety and satisfaction in him, the psalmist intimates the comfort he had had in doing so: "He whom thou makest thy habitation is my refuge; and I have found him firm and faithful, and in him there is room enough, and shelter enough, both for thee and me." For example, in Psalm 1, we are not to spend all our time just meditating on the Word, but become busily involved as Jesus was in the lives of others, p. 3. We ought to think more of the saint and the dragon. - Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. The Hebrew word qeteb means destruction, but can also mean sting (Hosea 13:14). Is Sovereign the Best Descriptor for God? He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. Come here, Gabriel, Michael, and all the rest of you, says the great King of kings to the angels around his throne; and when they come at his call, he says, Take care of my child. These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience. However, when Elohim refers to Yahweh, that is called the intensive plural or the majestic plural, acknowledging that all that constitutes deity is summed in Yahweh. 1. Is Hell eternal torment or eternal death. Psalms 91:8-10. We know that God gives His angels charge over us but only at His command and they are ministering spirits assigned to minister to His own children (Heb1:14) but as Jesus said, we should not tempt the Lord by taking advantage of the heavenly host that ministers to us. Observe, 1. Yahweh is the psalmists manseh (refuge or shelter). For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. When I lived in New York City years ago, I learned not to walk close to buildings when I was walking at night. A. For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.. 11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. of the Traditional "Sermon" Concept, A Biblical Defense of Conditional Immortality, Biblically Dispelling the Myth of Eternal Torture. The World English Bible is based on the American Standard Version (ASV) of the Bible, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament. It is to know relationally or by experience, and is therefore an intimate kind of knowledge. and ten thousand at your right hand; However, now we begin to hear from Yahweh directly. A great truth laid down in general, That all those who live a life of communion with God are constantly safe under his protection, and may therefore preserve a holy serenity and security of mind at all times (v. 1): He that dwells, that sits down, in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty; he that by faith chooses God for his guardian shall find all that in him which he needs or can desire. Click to enable/disable _ga - Google Analytics Cookie. Our church recently experienced a norovirus that sickened 54 of the 60 people present for worship that Sunday. 9 Because you have made Yahweh your refuge, We find this name as early as Genesis 15:2, but whether that name was familiar to Abram is uncertain. Chicks taking refuge under their mothers wings serve as a metaphor for people finding refuge in Gods presence. 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 . 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. But he is confident that Yahweh will deliver him from plagues and pestilence, because he dwells in the secret place of the Most High.. We can count on it. MacArthur is a fifth-generation pastor, a popular author and conference speaker and has served as pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California since 1969 . Nay, it is promised to God's people that they shall have the satisfaction of seeing, not only God's promises fulfilled to them, but his threatenings fulfilled upon those that hate them (v. 8): Only with thy eyes shalt thou behold and see the just reward of the wicked, which perhaps refers to the destruction of the first-born of Egypt by the pestilence, which was both the punishment of the oppressors and the enlargement of the oppressed; this Israel saw when they saw themselves unhurt, untouched. These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features. As the little chicks bury their tiny heads in the feathers of the hen, and seem happy, and warm, and comfortable under their mothers wings, so shall it be with thee if thou dwellest with thy God: He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust.. The ending of all of this is the most powerful of all as God says He will show him [or her], His salvation. If you have salvation, all of these other serious circumstances of plagues, night terrors, thousands dropping at your sides or any other threat are only temporary because ultimately, God is our refuge, our fortress, our shield, our buckler, and His love overshadows us and will bring us safely into the kingdom someday. Individually, we are faced with financial challengesfears of losing a job or finding ourselves unable to compete in a rapidly changing worldchildren gone astrayaddictionsillnessdeath (our own or that of loved ones). Yahweh is his mesudah (hiding place, stronghold, fortress). Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; Nervous as you are, and naturally timid, when you dwell near to God, your fears shall all go to sleep. The one who abides in the shelter or under the protection of the Most High God has a shadow over him or her, much like Gods providing the cloud of glory that protected Israel in her wanderings in the wilderness from the scorching sun and like a fortress, He will deliver those who face the snare or trap or the threat of a deadly pestilence or disease. When God takes his people to dwell in nearness to himself, and they have faith in this promise, I make no doubt that, literally, in the time of actual pestilence, they will be preserved. What does it mean to take the Lord's name in vain? That he will exalt and dignify them: I will set him on high, out of the reach of trouble, above the stormy region, on a rock above the waves, Isa 33 16. God Bless. Dec. 18, 2022. There has even been protection from the wild predators, snakes, spiders, and a multitude of various other dangerous insects and animals that many have experienced receiving protection from, like Paul when he was bitten by a poisonous snake and should have died (Acts 28:3-5). Anderson, A.A., The New Century Bible Commentary: Psalms 73-150 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972), Broyles, Craig C., New International Biblical Commentary: Psalms (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1999, Brueggemann, Walter, The Message of the Psalms A Theological Commentary (Minneapolis: Augsburg Press, 1984), Clifford, Richard J., Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries: Psalms 73-150 (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003), DeClaisse-Walford, Nancy; Jacobson, Rolf A.; Tanner, Beth Laneel, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: The Book of Psalms (Grand Rapids: Wm. The Hebrew word lin (rest) means to lodge or dwell or tarry or rest, and can designate either a temporary or permanent lodging. What Does It Mean That There Is No One Holy Like God? Am I really moving today and acting today as divine providence leads me, and as duty calls me? He who travels on the kings business, by daylight, along the kings highway, may be sure of the kings protection. So the psalmist is talking about a serious threat when he uses the word deber. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. A good read. Psalms 91:4. The verb yada (has known) means to knowbut more. His faithfulness (emettruth) is your shield (Hebrew: sinnah) and rampart (Hebrew: soherahbuckler) (v. 4c). How Daniels Prophecy of 70 Weeks Connects to the End Times. Jan. 1, 2023. : 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? 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Bible commentary, This psalm is a powerful chapter when a believer is in a time of crisis. The psalmist's own resolution to take God for his keeper ( Ps. Register. Note the contrast between dash your feet against a stone (v. 12b) and tread on the lion and cobra and trample the young lion and serpent (v. 13). to guard you in all your ways. Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. To the extent that we believe that, it will allay our fear. The psalmist's own resolution to take God for his keeper (ver 2), from which he gives both direction and encouragement to others, ver 9. Scriptures Relating to the Second Coming, Apocalypse of the Gospels - Milton S. Terry, Commentary on Matthew 24 - J. i. Most of us have never seen a fowler or a fowlers trap. The Life-Giving Shepherd (John 10:1-11) Pastor John MacArthur. Now here it is promised. In the light of the Lord you will see light; and you will discover the limed twigs and the nets and the traps that are set to catch you: He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler.. To this the great God is pleased to compare his care of his people, who are helpless as the chickens, and easily made a prey of, but are invited to trust under the shadow of the wings of the divine promise and providence, which is the periphrasis of a proselyte to the true religion, that he has come to trust under the wings of the God of Israel, Ruth 2 12. 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 will say of the Lord, He is my then come three mys, as if the psalmist could grasp the Triune Jehovah, my refuge, my fortress, my God; in him will I trust. What a grand word that is, My God! 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,and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. A soherah (more often translated buckler) is a small round shield. See Ps 34 19; 2 Tim 3 11; 4 18. Study to show thyself approved . Angels were often fearsome. but it will not come near you. All these promises, some think, point primarily at Christ, and had their accomplishment in his resurrection and exaltation. And those who have found the comfort of making the Lord their refuge, cannot but desire that others may do so. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. He brings in God himself speaking words of comfort to the saints, and declaring the mercy he had in store for them, v. 14-16. They shall be taken under the peculiar care of Heaven, ver 1, 4. Again at the end of day. Verse six presents a key to understanding Psalm 1: "For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish."In this psalm, the way of the righteous and the way of the ungodly are contrasted.