Are Angels Guarding YOU? -- Psa 91

Theme Scripture

Psalm 91:1-16 “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 8Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. 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.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.16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

 Verse by Verse Consideration

VS 1--He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

This seems pretty simple and straightforward. We have all experienced keeping a special memory, person, place or event concealed away in our ‘heart’ to be enjoyed many times as we bring it out and relive it. The secret place of the Most High can only be HIS heart. It is referred to as a covert in some scriptures, a chamber in others and merely a secret place in others. If we are in HIS heart, that secret place, we will always be under HIS protection.

A looming shadow under which we shall abide conjures a towering bigness, one of superlative nature, that fully eclipses us. Imagine being so concealed inside the shadow of the MOST HIGH! As a visual too, when we think of something high or overshadowing it usually seems fit to ‘hide’ us within it’s shadow. So whether we are locked away in God’s heart, concealed, or we are engulfed by HIS towering shadow, or both, we are in either case in a place of protection.

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

This is affirmation by the Psalmist that God HIMself is our refuge -- a veritable fortress. When we think in terms of fortress it builds in us feelings of ‘security'. We confide in God. We trust HIM. Notice how the Psalmist captures God? Fortress, refuge, confidante! All these thoughts together on the same line with God, HIS seat of authority and HIS name/reputation – Jehovah -- with all its various extensions.

VS 3--Surely *he* shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, [and] from the destructive pestilence.

Here begins the litany on what we can expect. If we make HIM our refuge, our fortress our bastion of security, HE will protect us from those that would ‘hunt’ us down. From the horrors of pestilence.

VS 4--He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou find refuge: his truth is a shield and buckler.

Complete covering and shelter from all things. His wings themselves cover and surround us to keep us hidden from the elements of life that may close in on us and cause us harm or impinge our security. And as if to secure these statements as fact the Psalmist uses God’s ‘truth’ or faithfulness as a guarantee that the previous statements are credible. Of interest is the shield and buckler. The shield could be as huge as a door and cover the whole body made from strong steel or wood. Or, it could be oval in shape and be big enough to guard only the most important organs. The buckler was a smaller shield designed to protect the heart held in the one hand while fighting with the other. So in this phrase God assures us that HE can guard and protect us either as a huge all body protection or even as a small shield designed to safeguard our heart.

VS 5--Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, for the arrow that flieth by day,

Think about it, so many are ‘afraid of the dark’ and have so little peace in the dark of night. Things happen in the cover of darkness that are frightful, terrifying and even our ‘sense of security’ is daunted by the mere appearance of darkness. We are promised that even the darkness of night shall no longer be a concern of one who has sought shelter in the secret place of God. Then as if to make the point more salient HE will protect us not only from the things that go bump in the night but from the things that we do not see coming in the midst of daylight, with the swiftness of arrows. So we do not have to worry about being attacked from behind or out of the blue. God has our back, HE has our front, HE has us!

VS 6--For the pestilence that walketh in darkness, for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

HE considers even deadly virus and bacteria that invade our bodies when we least expect it. As if by darkness the pestilence ‘walks’. We are protected from unseen things in our state of unawares.

VS 7--A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; [but] it shall not come nigh thee.

The promises just keep getting better and better. We, who are concealed in the secret place of God; are protected regardless of the seemingly insurmountable odds. The promise here is clearly God’s hand is not short and in the midst of the potential for distress the one who is concealed in the secret place of God will know no harm whatsoever. They will be like the 3 Hebrew children cast into a fiery furnace stoked up hotter than usual, they will walk through it all untouched by even the ‘scent’ of malady. -Daniel 3:27

It is important to note as a side note; King David was often faced with impossible odds as his enemy advanced on his people. So it is easy to understand why God would use such terms as ‘‘10000’ will die at thy right hand or a ‘1000’ shall fall on the side.’ These numbers seemed to be historically supportable as one looks back at the Kingdom of David vs others. And today, we hear many who quote this scripture in support of an ‘only right’ religion/elitist religion philosophy. They point forward to a time when God will exercise divine justice on a world divorced from him and the fulfillment of this statement will be in the death of those who were not part of ‘God’s present day kingdom’ as interpreted privately by various religious leaders and communities. The danger comes in trying to superimpose scripture interpretation on a private level on the plain and simply straightforward WORD of God as spoken, scribed and preserved in the Holy Scriptures. 

VS 8--Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, and see the reward of the wicked.

God  will protect us especially when the reward of the wicked is doled out. The question here rises, since those that fall on the right and left are obviously not those who sought refuge in God and they are referred to as ‘wicked’ where does that put anyone who has not determined as yet who is their Savior? This entire Psalm is simply an answer to that very question.

VS 9/10-- Because *thou* hast made Jehovah, my refuge, the Most High, thy dwelling-place, 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent.

The answer to the previous question. If you have made God your Savior the place where your confidence in salvation and security lives then HIS guarantee is: There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent. Remember this scripture: “ so my word that goes forth from my mouth will prove to be. It will not return to me without results, but it will certainly do that in which I have delighted, and it will have certain success in that for which I have sent it.”-Isaiah 55:11 God cannot lie. HE must abide by HIS word, edict, promise, guarantee. HE has promised and is now bound by HIS word that no evil will befall those whose dwelling place is the MOST HIGH! This promise comes with the further detail...neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent. In other words, our home is protected as well as our lives. This could mean our tent, the body, or our literal tent, the house/home. Either way is not exclusive of the other and could be assumed it would encompass both.

VS 11--For he shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to keep thee in all thy ways:

This is one of the key scriptures in this Psalm. See here HIS words: keep thee in all thy ways! 

This psalm sets out to cover all the possibilities by which harm can come to a person. This one promise issued forth to the angels is to keep you, or as some translations render this verse,  ‘guard’ you, in ALL your ways! ALL your ways incorporates your lifestyle, your life, your possessions, your family, ALL your WAYS! If HE gives the angels this charge to guard us in ALL our ways can we not rest completely from the stress of concern and worry. This would mean our financial ways would be guarded as well. This is a pivotal portion of this wonderful Psalm. Imagine, if you will, the freeing breath and thought that one can experience when you acquiesce your entire being to a God capable and desirous of taking complete control and responsibility for your entire safety both in the here and now and in the future! Is it possible for any human to be so free of concern, worry, stress, anxiety? There is always something nagging us even in the back of our minds that seeks to impose on our sense of security. Illness, death, financial collapse, violent crime, war, loss of friends and family members prematurely. But God is here instructing HIS servants, the angels, to ‘guard us in ALL our ways!’.

VS 12--They shall bear thee up in [their] hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

What a tender and loving God! The confidence we can have in these angels directed to watch over us even to keeping us from slipping and falling by accident, from stubbing our toe. From tripping over something. When we fully trust in this protection we are keen to those times when the inevitability would have been disastrous had the angels not interceded in balancing us, in sidestepping a potential harmful situation, in steadying you when you were not able to stabilize yourself. [Of course, this scripture is obviously as metaphorical as the whole of this Psalm. We will also be reliant on God to keep us from slipping and falling in our Spiritual life as well.] How many times did your foot slip and you should have fallen, gravity is effective, but for some strange reason you were able to gather your composure and you did not fall. This was not you gathering your composure. This was you being lifted by the angel’s hands lest you fall. Did you whisper a quick thank you to God for HIS loving oversight? Thank HIM for the angels being conscientious about their work? We are mindful of the statement of fact in Romans 8:38,39 that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ.

VS 13--Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder; the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under foot.

Even in an unexpected encounter with wild animals or dangerous reptiles we will be protected. We will find safekeeping in the secret place of God even when faced with both the literal wild kingdom as well as those persons who have wild [beastly] ways and seek to cause us harm.

VS 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.

So little is asked of us. We only have to ‘love’ God and ‘know’ HIS name and we shall be delivered! Is it a single ‘name’[^[1]] we must know or is it the complete character and reputation of the MOST HIGH God, known as many names in the Old Testament, that we must know? Shouldn’t we be so utterly convinced of HIS ability to become everything we need when we need it? Is that not what HE told Moses with this expression:”And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”--Ex 3:13-14

When we call on HIM it is with absolute trust in HIS having proven over and over again that HE would prove to be everything we could ever need or want in every situation!

VS 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. 16 With length of days will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

What a grand conclusion. After 14 verses of promises that nothing we know as ‘bad’ or ‘evil’ will touch us if we find our refuge in HIS secret place, he concludes the promises with going the extra mile with us...if we call on HIM HE WILL answer! HE will be there should we find ourselves in the midst of trouble. He will not only DELIVER us but will HONOR us! Imagine, God honoring US! He promises that we will live a long life and show us salvation. What more can one possibly ask then to feel this faultless sense of security all for loving HIM and having FAITH in HIM, HIS name, HIS ability to deliver us into HIS promises.

Final Thoughts:

We won’t live an accident or malady proof life. We may still fall, we may still contract some disorder that requires faith to overcome [thus seeking HIM as a place of refuge] and we may still have challenges to our faith. However, in all that does come our way, if our first inclination is to respond in prayer in faith that GOD has our right hand and we shall not fear HE will help us getting to the place of peace knowing HE has given HIS angels the task of guarding us in all our ways will be ours. †

“For I am the Lord your God
    who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
    I will help you.” Isa 41:13

Bibles Designations

KJV – King James Version

NIV – New International Version

NWT – New World Translation

ASV -- American Standard Version

 DISCLAIMER: The thoughts published on this blog, in total, are the opinions, thoughts and considerations of the writer/author of every post published. It is assumed that research by the reader will lead the reader to their own conclusions. It is not the writer’s intent to make a judgment of anyone but to allow GOD’s Word to do what it does. “For the word of GOD is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from GOD’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” – Hebrews 4:12 [NIV] 

©Lightwritingmatters 2015

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[1] * Name: Hebrew word for name in this instance: shêm; an appelation, as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication, honor, authority, character--+ base, [in]fame[-ous], name[d]. renown, report. (Strongs #8034)

©Lightwritingmatters 2015