PSALMS LESSON 91

     We will begin this lesson by giving the 91st Psalm in metre.

                   THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE

                             Chapter 91

Verse 1  "The man who once has found abode Within the secret place of
         God, Shall with Almighty God abide, And in his shadow safely
         hide."
Verse 2  "I of the Lord my God will say, He is my refuge and my stay;
         To him for safety I will flee; My God, in him my trust shall
         be."
Verse 3  "He shall with all protecting care Preserve thee from the
         fowler's snare; When fearful plagues around prevail, No fatal
         stroke shall then assail."
Verse 4  "His outspread pinions shall thee hide; Beneath his wings
         shalt thou confide; His faithfulness shall ever be A shield
         and buckler unto thee."
Verse 5  "No nightly terrors shall alarm, No deadly shaft by day shall
         harm, Nor pestilence that walks by night, Nor plagues that
         waste in noon-day light."
Verse 6  "A thousand at thy side shall lie, At thy right hand ten
         thousand die, But thou unharmed, secure, shalt see What
         wicked men's reward shall be."
Verse 7  "Because thy trust is God alone, Thy dwelling-place the
         Highest One, No evil shall upon thee come, Nor plague
         approach thy guarded home."
Verse 8  "O'er thee his angels he commands, To bear thee safely in
         their hands; To keep thee in thy ways each one, Nor dash thy
         foot against a stone."
Verse 9  "Thy foot shall crush the adder's head, On lions and on
         dragons tread; And since on me he set his love, I will his
         constant Saviour prove. "
Verse 10 "Because to him my name is dear, I'll save him, and with
         honors bless; With life he satisfied shall be, And my
         salvation he shall see."
Verse 11 "I will be near when troubles press; I'll save him, and with
         honors bless; With life he satisfied shall be, And my
         salvation he shall see."

     We will now begin the verse by verse study of one of the most
loved one of the Psalms. Psalms 91:1 "He that dwelleth in the secret
place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

     I feel so inadequate to even attempt to explain this most
beautiful of Psalms.  This, more than most Scriptures, brings great
hope, and promise to those who believe. We have discussed before that
dwelleth means to continually dwell. This, then, is not speaking of a
nominal believer, but of a believer in long standing who is sheltered
in the secret place of the most High. If this was written by Moses, as
many believe, he could speak first hand at how wonderful it is to be
in such close fellowship with God. Moses was the only one who went
near unto God on the mount where he received the Ten Commandments. At
one point, God put his hand over Moses and passed by, and Moses saw
the back side of God. On two different occasions, Moses was in the
very presence of God for 40 days and nights. Moses had a fellowship
with God that all true believers would like to have. He had been so
close that his head shined brightly when he came down the mountain. No
wonder, he was known as man of God. David was another that God took
supernatural care of. The psalmist could have been either man. This
would be my prayer today, O Lord that I might abide in Christ and
Christ might abide in me. To fellowship with God on this level would
be as heaven itself. Jesus opened the way for us into the most holy
place. Where the shadow of God is means that you are very near unto
God. To be seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus is heaven. What
a wonderful comfort to be close enough to God for His shadow to cover
you.

     Psalms 91:2 "I will say of the LORD, [He is] my refuge and my
fortress: my God; in him will I trust."

     We have spoken before about trust. To trust goes beyond ordinary
faith. It is like saying, I will rest in the Lord knowing all is well.
Notice, the determination of the psalmist in saying, I will say of the
Lord. He has made a definite stand. Notice, also, the use of my. He
may not be refuge and fortress for the world, but He is my refuge and
my fortress. Shadowed by the Lord, no harm will come near you. To feel
absolutely secure in the knowledge that God is protecting you, brings
perfect peace. I will not fear what man can do, with God my refuge and
fortress.

     Psalms 91:3 "Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the
fowler, [and] from the noisome pestilence."

     The key to all of this is abiding. If we are continuously with
the Lord, and Him with me, I have no worry of faulting and falling
into sin. The enemy, Satan, is constantly trying to trap the believer.
He would not dare come this close to the Lord, to let His shadow cover
him. Part of the Lord's prayer says, deliver us from evil. This is
saying just that. He will deliver us from all evil, if we abide with
Him.

     Psalms 91:4 "He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his
wings shalt thou trust: his truth [shall be thy] shield and buckler."

     The mother hen protects her little chicks by spreading out her
wings and hiding them under her wings. We are certainly not saying
that the Lord is like a fowl, but His love and care for His little
ones {all believers} is described as protecting us with His feathers.
This just means that His protection shadows over His own. His truth is
what we base our belief upon. It is a solid foundation that we can
build upon. His truth will be a shield against the false doctrines of
this world.  This shield and buckler is not just a protection, but is
more like a fort that protects. The shield, of course, would protect
your heart, but the buckler is the fortress. It appears that He gives
double protection to His own.
     Psalms 91:5 "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night;
[nor] for the arrow [that] flieth by day;"

     To know that you are protected by the Lord, would mean that you
would have perfect peace. There is no fear, where there is perfect
peace. Look, with me, at the following Scripture and know that no
weapon of the devil, or his crowd, can hurt you. Isaiah 54:17  "No
weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue
[that] shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This
[is] the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness
[is] of me, saith the LORD." Terror is an extreme form of fear. Fear
is the opposite of faith. If you trust God, you have an extreme form
of faith. There is no terror in extreme faith.

     Psalms 91:6 "[Nor] for the pestilence [that] walketh in darkness;
[nor] for the destruction [that] wasteth at noonday."

     Many crimes are committed at night, because the criminal wants
the cover of darkness to hide them. Some are so full of drugs, that
they do their dirty work right out in the brightness of day. This is a
sign of the times we live in. Crime is rampant, but what a comfort to
know that we will be spared all of this.

     Psalms 91:7 "A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand
at thy right hand; [but] it shall not come nigh thee."

     I am just sure this is the way Noah felt when the flood came.
Many were drowned all around him and his family, but God had made
provision for Noah. I said it before, but it bears repeating. Noah was
saved in the flood, not from the flood. Just as God made provision for
Moses, He will make provision for His own now. When the 10 plagues
came on Egypt, the plagues did not harm the Hebrews. God made
provision for them, and they were not harmed by all of these plagues.
Again they were safe in the midst of the plagues. It is like God has
drawn boundary lines around you and the enemy can not cross those
boundaries. We are in this world of problems, but we are not part of
this world of problems. I have thought so many times, how some doctors
work among hundreds of people with contagious diseases and never catch
the disease. Perhaps that is a little of what this is saying.

     Psalms 91:8 "Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the
reward of the wicked."

     The wrath of God is stored up for the wicked. Christians have
tribulations in this life, but they do not feel the wrath of God.
Rewards come in two different ways. The reward of the righteous is
eternal life in heaven. The reward of the wicked is the lake of fire.

     Psalms 91:9 "Because thou hast made the LORD, [which is] my
refuge, [even] the most High, thy habitation;" Psalms 91:10 "There
shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy
dwelling."

     Many a minister of God has been called to the death bed of those
with all sorts of dread diseases. The promise of God is that, if we
live with God continually, there shall no plague overtake us. What if
he did take some terrible disease, it would just hurry the time when
he would be with the Lord forevermore. The promise is that the plague
will not come near your house, if your house is a habitation of God.
God would feel very uncomfortable in many homes today. Praise God! He
is welcome in our home.

     Psalms 91:11 "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to
keep thee in all thy ways."

     Notice from the next two verses, that angels are ministering
spirits. They are to minister to those who are the saved. Hebrews 1:13
"But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand,
until I make thine enemies thy footstool?" Hebrews 1:14 "Are they not
all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be
heirs of salvation?" Every person who is a believer has angels who
minister to him. These are to help the believer and to protect them,
as well.

     Psalms 91:12 "They shall bear thee up in [their] hands, lest thou
dash thy foot against a stone."

     This just means that they help us in our walk through life. Many
times the nudging we feel, is an angel warning us of disaster ahead.
The road through life might be pretty rough, but there hands lift us
above the problems, so that we can make it to the other side.

     Psalms 91:13 "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young
lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet."

     Our enemies may be ferocious, but God has sent us help to walk
right over these adversaries. The dragon and the adder is speaking of
Satan. With the help of the angels God has dispatched, we can
withstand the devil, and he will flee from us. David knew that no mere
lion could defeat him, because he had God on his side. The main thing
we must remember, is that the devil is a defeated foe. Walk over and
past these problems that crop up in this life. We are more than
conquerors through Christ who strengthens us. Those of us, who have
been born again in Christ Jesus, need not fear what the world can do
to us. Jesus won our victory at Calvary.

     Psalms 91:14 "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."

     Many bear the name who really do not truly love Him. This does
not mean that those of us, who have given our love to Jesus, are
perfect, it means that we have taken on His righteousness. He delivers
us for no other reason than that we love Him. Jesus gave us permission
to use that wonderful name. There is power in the name of Jesus. The
14th chapter of John tells us so much about the power in that name. I
will give just one here. John 14:13 "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my
name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."
When you pray in that name, believe that ye receive, and you shall
have whatever you ask. Just one more Scripture on this, and we will go
on.  John 16:24 "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and
ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."

     Psalms 91:15 "He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I
[will be] with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him."

     Notice this does not say, maybe I will answer. It says I will
answer. Notice, also, that there will be trouble, but God will be with
us in the trouble. He will deliver us out of our trouble. As a Father
cares for a child, is what we can expect. We are His children. Saints
are first called of God, then we must accept that call. When we answer
His call we become His children. Now we can call on Him to help us,
for we are His. He will answer the call of His children, when they use
the name of His firstborn, Jesus Christ.

     Psalms 91:16 "With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my
salvation."

     Whatever the amount of years for this earth, there will be an
eternal life in heaven for those who are the saved. Salvation is for
whosoever will. The long life mentioned here is forever.































                             Questions 91

1.  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall do
    what?
2.  What does dwelleth mean?
3.  What type of a believer is verse 1 speaking of?
4.  Who do many believe wrote the 91st Psalm?
5.  Why could Moses express this from first hand knowledge?
6.  What was Moses known by that showed close fellowship with God?
7.  What did the author say would be her prayer today concerning this
    relationship with God?
8.  What a wonderful comfort to be close enough to God for His _______
    to ______ you.
9.  How is trust different from faith?
10. To feel absolutely secure in the knowledge that God is protecting
    you, brings what?
11. What is the key to God taking care of us?
12. He will deliver us from all evil, if we _______ with Him.
13. Does verse 4 mean that God is a bird?
14. What does it mean?
15. What will God's truth be a shield against?
16. What is the shield and buckler, more than just simple protection?
17. The shield protects the ______.
18. The buckler is the ____________.
19. Thou shalt not be afraid of the ________ by night.
20. Quote Isaiah chapter 54 verse 17.
21. What is terror?
22. What is trust?
23. Why are many crimes committed at night?
24. Quote Psalms chapter 91 verse 7.
25. Noah was saved __ the flood, not ______ the flood.
26. The wrath of God is stored up for the _______.
27. What are we promised will not come near our dwelling, if we make
    God our habitation.
28. What are angels?
29. Who do they minister to?
30. What will they do, so that you won't dash your foot against a
    stone?
31. The enemy may be ferocious, but ___ sent us help.
32. Where do we find Scriptures telling us of the power in the use of
    the name of Jesus?
33. Quote John chapter 16 verse 24.
34. Saints are first ________ of God.
35. When we use the name of His _______ _____, God will answer our
    prayer.