Trust

Psalm 91 is a psalm of trust. Look at the second line of verse 2: “My God, in whom I trust.”

What does it mean to trust in someone? If I were to ask you to do something that I thought you were capable of doing, I might say …

• “I have faith in you.”
• “I believe in you.”
• “I have confidence in you.”

That’s what it means to trust in God. We have faith in him. We believe in him. We have confidence in him.

Psalm 91 was written to encourage God’s people to trust in him, specifically for protection from danger.

A Refuge and Fortress

[Read vv. 1-2.]

In these two verses, we find four divine names. Two of the names speak of God’s power: “Most High” and “the Almighty.” Two of the names have to do with our relationship with God: “the LORD” (Yahweh) and “my God.” God is greater than anything we will ever face, and he’s on our side. [Read Exod. 3:13-15.]

We also see four metaphors for divine protection in verses 1 and 2: “shelter,” “shadow,” “refuge,” and fortress.” John Calvin writes, “Men generally seek out a great variety of hiding places,” but “the only safe and impregnable fortress to which we can [commit] ourselves is the protection of God.” Do you have a hiding place other than God? [Read Luke 12:15-21.]

God is a refuge and fortress to all who trust in him.

Really?

[Read vv. 3-6.]

These verses give us several metaphors for divine protection and the dangers we might face:

• In verses 3 and 4, God is a parent bird who protects us, his young. He delivers us “from the snare of the fowler” (v. 3), covers us with his pinions, and protects us under his wings (v. 4).
• The end of verse 4 gives us military imagery: “his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.” Shields and bucklers provide protection.
• And in verses 5 and 6 there is protection from unseen (“the terror of the night,” v. 5; “the pestilence that stalks in darkness,” v. 6) or unexpected dangers (“the arrow that flies by day,” v. 5).

Will God always protect us from danger if we trust in him?

I bring up that question because you might be thinking, “Psalm 91 doesn’t seem to line up with what I’ve seen in my life and in the lives of others.” 

There’s the story of Jim Elliot, a missionary killed by the very people he was trying to reach with the gospel. Some would say that Jim Elliot’s life disproved the claims of Psalm 91. But Elisabeth Elliot wrote a book about her husband and gave it the title Shadow of the Almighty, taken from Psalm 91:1. Was that really a fitting title?

Let’s dig a little deeper into Psalm 91.

Divine Protection

Let me share with you four observations about divine protection from this psalm.

1. At least some of the divine protection in Psalm 91 is protection from the punishment of the wicked.

[Read vv. 7-10.]

Who are the people who are falling at your side (v. 7)? Look at the end of verse 8: “the recompense of the wicked.” The “wicked” are people who don't trust in God. 

God’s people will always be protected from the punishment of “the wicked.” We see this with the ten plagues in the book of Exodus. The Israelites were spared. We also see this with the divine judgments in Revelation (man’s wrath/God’s wrath).

2. Psalm 91 should not be taken as an invitation to test God.

[Read vv. 11-13.]

You might recognize verses 11 and 12 from the accounts of the temptation of Jesus. [Read Matt. 4:5-7.] We shouldn’t jump off a cliff and expect God to save us. That’s testing/tempting God.

3. Psalm 91 doesn’t promise a life without trouble.

[Read. vv. 14-16.]

tarting at verse 14, there’s a change in who speaks. God is now speaking. And notice what God says in verse 15: “I will be with him in trouble.”

Scripture gives us the promise of ultimate well-being, which provides us with peace and hope in the present. [Read Matt. 10:28; Luke 21:16, 18; 2 Tim. 4:18a.]

4. Psalm 91 gives God’s people assurance that nothing can separate us from God.

Let’s go back to verse 15. God says, “I will be with him in trouble.” God will never abandon his people. It might be helpful to read Psalm 91 and Romans 8 side-by-side. [Read Romans 8:18, 28-39.] Psalm 91 promises that God will be present, not that life will always be easy.