Psalm 91
Reflection Written by Mark Hackney
1 You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.’
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
4 he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
or the arrow that flies by day,
6 or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
or the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge,
the Most High your dwelling-place,
10 no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder,
the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14 Those who love me, I will deliver;
I will protect those who know my name.
15 When they call to me, I will answer them;
I will be with them in trouble,
I will rescue them and honour them.
16 With long life I will satisfy them,
and show them my salvation.
The powerful Psalm 91, often titled ‘The Assurance of God’s Protection’, makes clear that God could not be more explicit regarding the extent to which He will look after all of us.
This anonymous psalm is often credited to Moses. In which case the psalm is 3,500 years old. It reassures me to know that God has been protecting his people for so long now.
As one theologian succinctly points out, the psalm tells us four things that God is to us: the shelter we can dwell in; the shadow we can rest in; the refuge we can count on; the fortress we can trust. Beautiful.
Psalm 91 makes me feel surrounded by God’s passionate and ever-reliable love. There is no hesitation here, no hedging from our God. As we trust in the Lord, his loving, protecting arms circle us – or as the psalmist would have it here: God’s wings [verse 4].
And, if you consider these four specific areas of protection, then it may come as no surprise to you that Psalm 91 is also sometimes known as the Soldier's Psalm. For example, camouflage bandanas imprinted with the psalm are often distributed to US troops, or a verse placed on their dog-tags.
And, in British culture, there is a tradition that British First World War soldiers would recite this psalm in the trenches on the eve of battle. I Have taught for many years the evocative WW1 poetry of Wilfred Owen [a local, Cheshire lad], as he strove to portray ‘The pity of war’. I can only imagine feebly the horror and fear those brave souls would have experienced – and wonder at the powerful love I pray they felt, via this psalm, emanating from their Lord.
I am not a soldier, I know nothing of the horrors they might face. Like all of us, I merely face the stresses and concerns of what it is to be living a life – alongside, of course, God’s gifting of joyfulness and beauty.
But, as I reflect upon this wonderful, powerful psalm, I feel loved, protected, reassured. Though life can be troublesome, through, and in, its trials, God’s love draws me in ever-deeper.