Psalms about Temptation
Victory Over Temptation and the Lord’s Glorification
Psalm 91
1He who sits in the hiding place of the Most High,
In the shadow of Shaddai10 shall pass the night.
2I will say to Jehovah, My Protection and my Bulwark,
My God: I will trust in Him.
3For He will rescue thee from the trap of the fowler,
From the pestilence of calamities.
4With His pinions11 will He shelter thee,
And thou shalt have confidence under His wings;
His truth is a buckler and a targe12.
5Thou shalt not have fear from the dread of night,
From the arrow that flies by day,
6From the pestilence that walks in thick darkness,
From the destruction devastating at noon.
7A thousand shall fall from thy side,
And a myriad from thy right hand;
To thee it shall not approach.
8Only with thine eyes shalt thou look
And see the repayment of the wicked.
9For Thou, O Jehovah, art my protection!
The Most High, thou hast set as thine13 abode;
10Evil shall not occur for thee,
Neither shall a plague come near thy tent.
11For He will command His angels as to thee,
To keep thee, in all thy ways.
12Upon their palms they shall bear thee up,
Lest thou strike thy foot on a stone.
13On the lion and the adder thou shalt tread;
Thou shalt trample the young lion and the dragon.
14For he delights in Me, and I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, for he has known My name.
15He shall call Me,
And I will answer him,
I will be with him in adversity;
I will set him free and honor him.
16With length of days will I satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.
verses | topic | Summary of the Spiritual Sense |
---|---|---|
1 | 10 | Song in praise of the Father by the Lord, who is to be made one with Him. |
2-6 | 10 | Thus there will be protection from every attack. |
7-9 | 8 | Thus there will be no uprising of the hells, |
10 | 11 | not even against the church. |
11,12 | 12 | Thus heaven will serve Him. |
13-16 | 8, 10 | There will be no fear from the hells, when the Divine has been made one with the Human. |
His truth is a buckler and a targe (v. 4).
AC 1788. That a “shield” means protection against evils and falsities, which is trusted in, is evident without explication, for from common usage the expression has become familiar that Jehovah is a shield and a buckler. But what is specifically signified by “a shield” may be seen from the Word, in that as regards the Lord it signifies protection, and as regards man, trust in the Lord’s protection....
The reason why a “shield” in relation to the Lord signifies protection against evils and falsities, and in relation to man trust in the Lord, is that it was a protection to the breast; and by the breast good and truth are signified—good because the heart is there, and truth because the lungs are there.
Thou shalt not have fear... (v. 5-6).
AC 9642:5. “The dread of night” is the falsities of evil which are from hell; “the arrow that flies by day,” the falsity which is openly taught; “the death that wastes at noonday” is the evil which is openly lived in, by which truth is destroyed, where it can be in its light from the Word.
10“Properly Shaddai means the Tempter, and, following temptations, the One who does good” (AC 1992:5).
11flight feathers
12A round shield
13Although the first half of this verse addresses Jehovah, it is clear from the quotation of this passage in AE 799:18 and AR 582:2 that the second half of the verse has returned to addressing the supplicant addressed in the preceding and following verses.
Questions and Comments
- Trust in the Lord seems to be a central message in this psalm. How can this psalm help us to better trust in the Lord?
- What does it mean not to fear “the arrow that flies by day” (the falsity which is openly taught) and “the death that wastes at noonday” (the evil which is openly lived)? If we are not afraid of these things, how does that change how we live?
- Verses 13-16 are about having “no fear from the hells, when the Divine has been made one with the Human.” This underscores the importance of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as the one and only God of heaven and earth.
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