Psalms 91
Chuck Smith on Psalms 91
Verse by verse, taught on Sunday nights: the C2000 series, 1979 to 1985, and the C3000 series, 1985 to 1999. Permission granted by The Word For Today.
Sunday Nights, 1979 to 1985 (C2000)
Chapter introduction
Verse 1
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty (91:1).
There's a place that you and I can live, in Christ Jesus. A place of glorious safety, a place of glorious peace, of joy, where I experience God's power and God's protection, God's goodness.
Verses 2–3
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge, my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. For surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence (91:2-3).
Now in days gone by, bird trapping was quite an art. Without guns to shoot your quail or your dove or your ducks, you'd have to trap them. And so the traps that were set for the birds were called the snares of the fowler. The trap for various game fowl in different types of traps. When you're bringing this over to a spiritual connotation, Satan has set a lot of traps for us. And in a spiritual connotation here, the fowler is actually Satan and you're the one that he's seeking to trap. But surely He will deliver you from every snare that Satan may set for you. "Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence."
Verse 4
For he shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler (91:4).
In the New Testament, in the book of Ephesians we are told concerning putting on the full armor of God. Here in the Old Testament, we find the armor of the Lord, His truth, is a shield to us, a buckler.
Verses 5–9
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, 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. Now because (91:5-9)
Going back, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High,"
Verse 9
Because you have made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the Most High, your habitation (91:9);
Or your place of dwelling.
Verses 10–12
If you will but just dwell in Him,
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 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 (91:10-12).
Now when Jesus was being tempted by Satan, Satan quoted this particular passage of scripture to Him, as he took Him up to the pinnacle of the temple and he suggested that He jump off. For Satan said, "It is written, 'He shall give His angels charge over thee: to keep thee in thy ways, to bear thee up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone.' So why don't You jump? See if the angels will hold you up." Jesus said, "It is written again, 'Thou shalt not tempt, or test, the Lord thy God'" (Matthew 4:6-7). You are not to put yourself deliberately in a place of jeopardy just to test the scriptures. It is tragic that every once in a while we read how down in the mountains of Kentucky the cult that is down there that handles rattlesnakes because it says if they take up serpents, they shall not harm them.
Or they test their faith every once in a while by drinking strychnine. But that is not what God means in Mark's gospel when He said, "If they drink any deadly thing it shall not harm them" (Mark 16:18). God never intended for us to just go around and test our faith by deliberately putting ourselves in jeopardy. If the cultist people down there would only read the full body of scripture, rather than taking isolated verses, they would never follow... they would never fall into those kind of unscriptural practices. God has promised that His angels will have charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways.
In the book of Hebrews, talking of angels, it said, "Are they not all ministering spirits, who have been sent forth to minister unto you who are heirs of salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14) Now there is a vast number of heavenly hosts that are known as angels. These angels have different rankings, categories. There are cherubim, a special class of angels. There is a mention in the scripture of archangels, which seem to be the highest form of angelic being. Michael being an archangel. It is also thought that Gabriel is an archangel, though I do not know that the scripture gives to him that title. But angels of great authority and power. Then there are angels, it would seem, that rank under them in authority.
The New Testament does rank the heavenly beings as principalities, powers, mights, dominions, thrones and authorities. Various rankings of the angelic beings. It's more or less like saying, lieutenants and sergeants and corporals and privates, as far as their having rankings in the angelic realm. Just when the angels were created is not specified in the scriptures. But the angels were created as servants of God, and their duty is that of serving the Lord and of serving those who are following after the Lord. "He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy way. To bear thee up lest at any time you would dash your foot against a stone."
Angels seem to be spirits that are capable of taking on a bodily form. In the Old Testament, many times we find angels taking on a human form. In the New Testament we also found angels taking on human form. When Peter was in prison, the angel came to him and said, "Put your shoes on and follow me." And Peter tied on his sandals and followed the angels as the prison doors opened of their own accord, until the angel let him out into the street. And then the angel left him. And suddenly Peter woke up to the fact that he was free. He thought he was having a vision. But all of a sudden, he feels the chill night air and he says, "Wow, it's not a vision. I'm actually out of that place, you know." And so he headed for the place where the church was meeting and praying for him. Paul the apostle spoke about, "Last night, an angel of the Lord stood by me and he assured me that though the ship is going to be destroyed, there will be no loss of life" (Acts 27:22-24). And he spoke about how the angel had visited him and ministered to him. Of course, we read of the angels ministering to Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. And we are told in Hebrews that we ought to be careful to entertain strangers, for it's very possible that you might be entertaining angels without knowing it.
Now there has been a book written recently concerning angels on assignment. And though I do not doubt that angels do visit, can visit; yet there are certain aspects to that book that I find very troubling. I don't want to be guilty of limiting God or judging another man's experiences, except as they measure up to the scriptures. And let the scripture judge. And there are certain things that the angel Gabriel supposedly told Pastor Buck that I do not feel are scriptural. And thus, I have to question in my own mind the validity of the story. I think that Pastor Buck was a very dear man of God, a true servant of the Lord. I do not know but what maybe in his latter years, because of his heart problems that he wasn't getting enough oxygen to the brain. I do not know, but as I say, I have to question a part of the story of the visitation of the angels.
Now, the angels were created by God; they are a created being of God, and it would seem, well not seem, it is true that they were created with a free will, just as you have been created with a free will. And one of the angels exercised his will against God. And in the fourteenth chapter of Isaiah, we read how that Satan, in exercising his will against God, exalting himself over against God, declaring that he would be like God, was cast forth. A fallen angel. There is a hint in the twelfth chapter of the book of Revelation that one-third of the angels went with Satan when he rebelled against the Lord. "The dragon cast forth out of heaven and with his tail, he drew a third part of the stars" (Revelation 12:3-4). And the word stars is a word that is often used for angels.
We do know that there are evil spirits in the world under Satan's guidance and control, as well as the good spirits, the angels of God that are obedient to their first estate. Yet, there are "angels which kept not their first estate, which are reserved in chains awaiting the day of judgment" (Jude 1:6).
Just what are the full characteristics and all of angels, we do not know. It would appear that before the flood, the angels were coming down and involving themselves in physical relationships with women so that giants were born. And these could be the angels to which the scripture refers, those which kept not their first estate and are now being reserved in the chains awaiting the day of judgment.
I am convinced that there are angels that God has assigned to watch over us. I've never seen, to my knowledge, an angel, outside of my wife. I would be less than honest if I would say I wouldn't like to see an angel. I think it'd be a very exciting experience. I think it'd be quite exciting to meet an angel and to know that they were an angel, and to... well, I'd like to meet the angel that's supposed to be guarding me. I'd like to know where he was a few times.
Now let me tell you something. There have been some times when I knew he was there. There were times when there was no way I could have gotten out of it unless the angel of the Lord just had his hand upon my life or upon my car and all. And there are times when I know that the only thing that kept me was the angel of the Lord. I've had some very interesting experiences where I am sure the angel of the Lord was involved in keeping me from things where I was innocently being drawn into some very dangerous areas. Where the angel of the Lord intervened in a marvelous way to keep me from getting into some real trouble.
When I was in high school here in Santa Ana, I saw my dream car on South Main Street. Smitty mufflers, fog lights, dual spots, Buick skirts, little three-window '36 Ford Coupe. Oh man, black, was that thing beautiful. I lusted after that car. And I had a buddy that I was running around with at the time and I had half the money and we were going to go into a partnership on a car. It never would have worked, but we were going to... you know, you want something bad enough you dream all ways to get it. And he had a '36 Ford, but it was, you know, one of those longer kind of things. It just wasn't a pretty one. So he said, "Well, my dad lives up in Glendale, and I have at my dad's house some adding machines and typewriters and I can sell them for enough to get my half for the car. Let's go up to my dad's house." So we went by and saw my mom and I said, "We're going to go up and spend the night in Glendale and at his dad's house. We'll be home tomorrow." And so we took off in his car for Glendale. At that time, Firestone Boulevard was the way into Los Angeles, the three-lane highway. And during the war, gas rationing, and just very few cars on the road at night. You can't... living here now you can't believe how it was then.
We were way out in the country near Buena Park when the motor died on his car. And so we pushed, popped the clutch and everything else. Tried to get the thing going. Pushed it for, oh I guess four or five blocks, and there was a little gas station that was there. And so he said, "I think it's the coil." I mean, "I think it's the condenser or something," and he didn't know anything about mechanics. But anyhow, we went into this service station. Old man in there, and he had a big mean police dog and he wasn't very friendly and didn't have any parts or anything. So we were tired of pushing and so we decided we'd turn the car around, head it back towards Santa Ana. And then we'd wait for a car to come along and we'd flag it and ask him, we'd tell him we're having a hard time getting it started, would they give us a shove? We figured we'd just leave it in neutral; let them shove till they got tired. And then we wait for the next car to come. And there we were, way out in the country, and there was no way to get home.
So we were sitting there, talking and all, talking about how we'd get this car and all this kind of stuff and all excited about the prospects of buying this hot little Ford, and so after a while, five minutes or so, a car was coming down the road. And so he jumped out so he could flag the car and just out of... I just slipped over to the driver's side and I hit the starter once more, and the thing fired up. So he ran around and got in on the passenger side, he says, "Well, you got it going, so let's go." So we took off for Santa Ana. Got back to Lee's Drive-In out there on Manchester and stopped and got a Coke and hamburger, saw a bunch of kids from high school.
So we started on then down to my house, and as we turned off on Flower Street, we were getting near Santa Clara, and he said, "Hey, your parents aren't expecting you home." I said, "Nope." He said, "My dad doesn't know we're coming." He said, "So why don't we just turn around and go back up to Glendale, because it doesn't matter what time we get to my dad's house, you know. Your mom's not expecting you home anyhow." So I said, "Why not." So he started to pull a U-turn there on Santa Clara and the car died again, and simultaneously three tires blew out. Just pop, pop, pop. I mean, we were dead.
I lived up on North Broadway at the time, so we just walked down to my house and got on my bike and I rode him on my bike over to his house and got home. And before we could go up to Glendale again, we had sort of parted company and given up on the little Ford idea and just let it pass.
About a year later, there was a knock on our door. I answered it. The guy introduced himself and showed me an ID and he said, "I'm with the FBI. I'd like to talk to you." I said, "Sure." He said, "What do you know about some typewriters up in Glendale? Adding machines." I said, "Well, all I know is that I was headed up there one night to get some with this fellow," and I said, "but we had car trouble and we never made it." He said, "You can thank your lucky stars you had car trouble." He stole them from some government place and felony and so forth. And when he told me the story, I said, "Well, I'm not going to thank my lucky stars, I'm going to thank my angel." And suddenly I got the picture of that angel holding the coils and getting a shock stopping that stupid car, you know. Then popping the tires as he left just to make sure we wouldn't go anywhere.
I'm convinced. You can't you can't convince me otherwise; I'm convinced the angel of the Lord was watching over me. Interesting thing, when I got back in the house at home, my mom was out in the living room praying. She said, "Oh, son, I'm so glad to see you came home tonight." She said, "I was really worried about the trip. I just didn't feel right about it and I've just been praying for you." Of course, I didn't know at that time. I said, "Well, thanks, Mom," but I didn't know at that time the full story. But oh, I'm certain that there... when we get to heaven, we're going to learn a lot of things that we were spared from. And maybe at the time we looked at it as as bad luck or misfortune or, "Oh, man," you know. And yet, God was watching over. God was keeping us. "He shall give His angels charge over thee. To bear thee up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone."
Verse 13
For thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet (91:13).
Now we have a change of voice in verse 14. In the change of voice, we have God's response now. The psalmist has been declaring the advantages and the blessings of living in a certain place. In the secret place of the Most High. Making God your dwelling place. Now God responds to that whole idea.
Verses 14–16
And God says,
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 shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation (91:14-16).
God's glorious response to that person who is dwelling in the secret place of the Most High. Because you've set your love upon God, God said, "This is what I'm going to do for you: deliver you, set you on high. I will answer you. I will be with you in trouble. I will deliver and honor you." Praise the Lord.
Sunday Nights, 1985 to 1999 (C3000)
Chapter introduction
Psalm ninety-one.
Verse 1
HE that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High (91:1).
Where is it?
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty (90:1).
The secret place of the most High is where you make God your dwelling place. As Paul said, “In him we live, we move, we have our being”. He that has that conscience life in Christ and is aware of that life in him will find that God will be your refuge, your place of comfort, rest and protection.
Verse 2
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely (90:2-3).
Verse 3
If you’re dwelling in that secret place of the most High,
he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, (91:3).
As we pointed out this morning, the fowler was a man who trapped birds, the birdman. In the days before riffles and all they had to trap birds. If you wanted to eat pigeon you had to trap them. Now, of course, people shoot doves and all but in those days they would trap them; the snare of the fowler. It’s an allegory. Satan is the one who is seeking to trap you and to destroy you. Satan lays his traps for the child of God.
Verses 3–4
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence [evil plague]. He shall cove thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust; (91:3-4).
Another beautiful allegory of the mother hen ruffling her feathers so that the little chicks that have been frightened may run to her and find shelter, find that place of comfort and protection under wings.
Verse 4
his truth shall be thy shield and buckler (91:4).
God’s truth is the thing that is my shield against the attacks of the enemy. Jesus used the truth as a shield against Satan’s attacks. The truth of God’s word. When Satan would come to him he said, “It is written” and he used the word of God as a shield.
Verse 5
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for thy pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday (91:5).
The Lord will watch over me, he will keep me, he will protect me, night and day he is watching over me. I don’t need to fear. I don’t need to be worried about what evil might befall me because the Lord is taking care of me; he’s watching me.
There are people who have all kinds of phobias and of course we’ve heard a lot of these phobias. Claustrophobia, acrophobia, hydrophobia, they even have a phobephobia, that’s the fear of being afraid. We can laugh at it but if you’ve got it, it's no laughing matter. How fear can get a hold of a person’s life and how it can be totally debilitating. Fear can destroy but you don’t need to be afraid when you’re dwelling in the secret place of the most High because the Lord is your fortress, he is your refuge.
Verse 7
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee (91:7).
That person who has made God his place of dwelling, his life is hid with Christ in God. What security is ours.
Verses 8–12
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. For he shall give his angels charge over thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone (91:8-12).
God is in control of the circumstances of my life. All things that he allows to take place within my life are for my good. I can’t always see that when I’m in the midst of a trial, when I’m in the midst of a problem I can’t always see the end result. I can’t see what God is working out or seeking to work out in my life. I am prone, at times, to sort of complain unto God because of my circumstances because I am judging before I see the final outcome but at this stage it looks bad. I am prone to make my judgement, at this particular point, not waiting for the full cycle, not waiting to see what will be the end result. That is, of course, a tragedy that befalls many of us. Prejudging before we have all the facts, before it’s gone full cycle.
There are so many things, as I look back in life, that as I was going through the experience itself I thought that God had deserted me. I could not see any possible good that could come from the situation. It looked all bad to me. There were times when I would really express unto God my doubts. Then in time, as God worked the whole thing out, I say the wisdom, I saw the plan, and I saw the whole picture and said, “Wow, wasn’t that wonderful what God did in my life?” “All things work together for good”. God only allows that to come to my life. Even of the hardship and the trials only to work out a good purpose in me.
God never tests to destroy. Often, I believe, that God tests us to prove to us how much we have to rely upon him. If you think that you’re strong and independent in a certain are, God will give you a real testing in that area where you realize you can’t do it and cast your cares and trust upon him again. Shows me my weaknesses.
It is interesting that it declares he will give “his angels charge over thee” (91:11). In the New Testament in Hebrews it talks about angels and it says that “they are ministering spirits who have been set forth to minister to those that are heirs of salvation”. Angels are a special creation of God. They are spirit beings, they dwell in the presence of God and they are of different ranks of authorities and powers. In the Bible I can think of two angles that are named. In the book of the Ezra we have seven angels that are named. Gabriel are Michael are tow of the chief angels of God named in the Bible. God has sent them to watch over you that are children of God. They’ve been sent to minister the things of God to us.
There are times in the Bible where the angels appeared unto men and talked with men. In the New Testament an angel delivered Peter out of prison. The angel of the Lord stood by Paul and assured him when they had more or less given up hope of survival. An angel was the instrument to bring John the book of Revelation. God sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John. In Old Testament times angels often appeared to the servants of God.
I would not discount the possibility of an angel appearing to us. We are told in Hebrews that we should “be careful to entertain strangers. You never know but what you might be entertaining an angel without knowing it”. We’ve heard speak of guardian angels perhaps this scripture would be the basis for that.
Verses 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 (91:11-12).
Satan knows the scripture and often times seeks to pervert the scripture. This is one scripture that Satan sought to pervert in the temptation of Christ. As he took Jesus up to the pinnacle of the temple and looked down some three hundred feet at the pavement below and said, “Why don’t you jump from here? For it is written he will give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. Prove the scriptures”. Jesus said, “It is written again thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God”. The importance of comparing scripture with scripture, not taking just a half of the scripture or a passage and trying to build a doctrine on it.
It is important that we balance the scriptures and it is important that we not just put ourselves in jeopardy to prove God’s power. I don’t think that God wants us or intends that we should go out and live recklessly and carelessly saying the angels are going to take care of me. I don’t believe that God intends us to deliberately jeopardize ourselves just to prove a scripture. Surely Jesus indicated that when Satan suggested that he jump and just trust the word of God, “The angels to bear thee up”. That would be tempting or testing God and you are not to test God in that way.
Verse 13
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet (91:13).
In this psalm beginning with verse fourteen, God responds and God speaks, more or less, in the first person here. The psalmist has been talking about that person who has determined to make God his dwelling place, determined to live in that fellowship with God living in the secret place of the most High. Thus God responds himself to that person.
Verse 14
Because he hath set his love upon me, (91:14).
Because you have loved God.
Verses 14–15
Therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him (91:14-15).
What glorious promises. God is speaking now to you who have set your love upon him. You who have come to the place where you really love God. The promise of deliverance, exaltation, the answers to prayers, the presence of God in trouble and the deliverance and honoring.
Verse 16
With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation (91:16).
The blessing of walking in fellowship with God and living in the secret place of the most High.
Father we thank You that You have been our dwelling place, that our lives are hid with Christ in God. Lord, it is our desire to set our hearts upon You that we might love you with all of our heart, soul mind and strength. Lord, we just pray that You’ll help us to remain steadfast, unmovable. Using the time that You have given us wisely in things that will count for eternity, in Jesus name Amen.