A Deeper Look into Psalm 91

PSALM 91 verses 1-6.

1 - He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Now the word abide means to endure without yielding, to bear patiently, to accept without objection.
To me that means we have a choice. We can choose to abide. We can choose to dwell in the secret place.

2 - I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”
The word refuge means; Protection or shelter, as from danger or hardship. A place providing protection or shelter. A source of help, relief, or comfort in times of trouble
And Fortress means; A protected place of refuge.
Literally, the psalmist is declaring that he lives inside God. God is his strength, refuge, and military fortress.

A fortress is a place of protection from enemies, so living in God is the place of safety from all the attacks of the devil. We can pray, "God, You are my fortress, the fortress of my family, of my children. You are my covering and my shelter. You are my protector." The psalmist goes on to say that God will deliver him from a number of things.

Interesting to note that In chess, the fortress is an endgame drawing technique in which the side behind in material sets up a zone of protection around their king that cannot be penetrated by the opponent
I like that. It CAN NOT be penetrated by the opponent. In our case by satan or his demons.

3 - Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, And from the perilous pestilence.
What is the snare of the fowler? A snare is an unseen trap of temptation or destruction that is set by the fowler, who is the devil and his demons. This is a trap that you cannot see unless God makes you aware of it, because He sees everything.
As we go out into the world, the devil will set traps for us. We can pray for God to deliver us from these unseen snares, and then the Holy Spirit will either show us the trap and how to avoid it or give us a plan to walk through it without being hurt. He can also change our direction so that we never go near the trap that was set for us or have any knowledge that it ever existed!
This is a key reason Jesus said we should pray - Deliver us from evil.

Perilous pestilence is an infection, disease, or sickness. Thank God that He can deliver us and keep us from physical illness. Along with this verse in Psalm 91, we can also pray these verses for our family & friend's health and well being.
He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. (2 Peter 2:24)
He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions. (Ps. 107:20)

4 - He shall cover you with His feathers,And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
Isn't our Father like that? The verse states "He shall cover you with His feathers, and under his wings you shall take refuge". Doesn't the idea of our Father covering us with Himself and making sure we are under His wing sound incredible? Just as a Mama bird cares for her young, our Father cares for us, His young. We are fed, cleaned up, kept warm and safe. The times we have fallen from the nest are the times when it seems that there is no way out. Yet, our Father has given us a way of escape (I Corinthians 10:13). If we will simply run to Him when things are out of hand, when we have done something wrong, He is there to lift us up to the high place and gather us under His wing. We can nestle in the feathers of our Lord in complete safety, warm and comfortable. Incredible picture, isn't it? Because we are children of the King, we have that inheritance if we only ask.

The last part of that verse is: "his truth shall be your shield and buckler." I had no idea what a buckler was or what type of shield this verse is refering to. So, I researched it. It is really important that you see this picture. In the times when Rome was ruling the world, the soldiers had an amazingly huge shield to use going into battle. This piece of equipment was large enough to cover the entire man. If the army was advancing on the enemy, often the soldiers would cover themselves with these shields, walking close enough to each other that the shields overlapped. The next row of soldiers would hold the shields up in the air thus making it impossible for the foe to throw spears or shoot arrows at them. All the efforts of the enemy were of no effect because the shields would stop all weapons of that type. The equipment was so large that, if the soldier was wounded or died, the companions put him on the shield and carried him off the battle field.

The next piece of gear is the buckler. This one was a mystery to me. I had never heard of it before. The soldier would strap a much smaller, often round, shield onto his left arm with a leather strap. This type of equipment was used to fend off close combat strikes by the enemy swords. Soldiers could then cover themselves while using their own swords.

What God wants us to know is that His Truth, the Word of God, is enough armor for us (Ephesians 6:10-18). Not only have we been invited to sit in the secret place under our Father's wing but we are also given armor to protect ourselves when the enemy comes at us with everything he has to offer. Imagine being able to hold up that enormous shield to cover yourself totally. In close combat, that buckler sure comes in handy to fend off the fiery darts or swords that the opponent has sent your way.

In all of this, the picture is one of safety, security, and peace. No matter what is going on in your life, God is there to protect you, shield you, care for you, comfort you and will be just like parents of the baby birds when you fall from the nest. But there is one thing you need to remember. The parents of the babies only came when they heard the cries of the child.

5-6 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day,Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
Terror by Night
God will see to it that we will not be afraid of the terror by night. The terror by night encompasses all the fears that can attack us when it is dark. This includes terrible dreams and nightmares.
A burglar is another terror by night. A storm, a tornado, or a hurricane can be a terror by night. Anything that brings fear through darkness is a terror by night. You can stop those fears from coming by praying God's Word.
Likewise God will also protect us from every sort of danger during the day.

Amen! Amen! God's protection is 24/7 - He is ALWAYS watching, and protecting us.

My prayer

Father, I thank You that You have given me a safe place to dwell. That You are my refuge, my strong tower, my fortress, my protector. I thank You that You are stronger then anything that would come my way and that nothing can penetrate You. Deliver me from evil today and Holy Spirit help me to see the traps that the enemy has laid before me. Thank you for keeping me safe from illness, disease, and destruction. I am standing in total faith today that You are my healer. Give me wisdom in all areas of my health and give me strength to obey Your commands so that I can stay healthy and whole.
I thank You that you love me so much that You hide me under Your wings and provide for my every need. And thank you that when I have fallen away from the nest You welcome me back with open arms and love me unconditionally. Thank you for defeating the enemy for me and for Your love and protection today.
AMEN