over, into, out of

Posted on March 15, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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over, into, out of

Psalm 91:14-16 (JDV)

Psalm 91:14 Because he has clung to me, I will deliver him; I will make him inaccessible because he knows my name.
Psalm 91:15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will pull him out and give him honor.
Psalm 91:16 I will satisfy him with a long life and show him my deliverance.

over, into, out of

Jeffrey Seif and Glenn Blank suggest that this psalm teaches “that a mighty God truly watches over His people (244).

Because he watches over us, he comes with us into our battles and promises to pull us out and give us honor.

Seif, Jeffrey L., Blank, Glenn, and Paul Wilbur. Tlv Psalms with Commentary: Hope and Healing in the Hebrew Scriptures. S.l.: Destiny Image Messianic, 2013.

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all our roads

Posted on March 14, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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all our roads

Psalm 91:11-13 (JDV)

Psalm 91:11 Yes, he will command his agents orders concerning you, to protect you on all your roads.
Psalm 91:12 They will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
Psalm 91:13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the young lion and the serpent.

The road we take will sometimes bring us to places where we might experience “normal human hurts” or even “dangerous enemies” (Rosenberg, 578). It is comforting to know that God has an army of supernatural agents with orders from him to protect us.

In my travels, I have encountered a number of potentially dangerous animals, but never a lion — even in Africa. But I have encountered a great many stones, and sometimes they have hurt me. Does that mean this psalm is untrue? Of course not. If my God — with his armies of supernatural agents deemed it appropriate for me to suffer a bit on my road, I’m sure he had a purpose for it. It will not stop me from traveling. I know he is there, and his army is still at work.

He will be with us on all our roads.

Rozenberg, Martin S, and Bernard M. Zlotowitz. The Book of Psalms: A New Translation and Commentary. Northvale, N.J: Jason Aronson, 1999.

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making God our dwelling place

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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making God our dwelling place

Psalm 91:9-10 (JDV)

Psalm 91:9 Because you have made Yahveh – where I live, the Most High – your dwelling place,
Psalm 91:10 no harm will come to you; no affliction will come near your tent.

making God our dwelling place

What does it mean to make God your dwelling place? Eaton says the “promises are given because of his trust in God” ((224). His tent may be in an unsecured place, but he is living in a secure place — God’s presence. That is where we can live — and it does not require a physical move. We just have to learn to trust in the God we believe in.

Eaton, J H. Psalms. London: SCM Press, 1981.

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trouble that does not reach us

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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trouble that does not reach us

Psalm 91:7-8 (JDV)

Psalm 91:7 Though a thousand fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, it will not reach you.
Psalm 91:8 You will only see it with your eyes and witness the punishment of the wicked.

trouble that does not reach us

This passage can be used to express the false notion that believers will never face trouble. As Stradling puts it, “the message of this psalm is that God is present and that he is our hope. Paul found that God worked through him especially in times of weakness, for Jesus had said to him: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’, and when he was weak then he was strong. God says to us: ‘I am with you in trouble.’ He does not promise to get us out of trouble, but he does promise to come into the trouble with us, as a good friend, and that makes the trouble bearable” (68).

We will have trouble, but it does not have to reach us. It does not have to overcome us. We can overcome the hardship because we trust the God who promises to never leave us.

Stradling, Leslie E. Praying the Psalms. London: S.P.C.K, 1977.

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mother bird

Posted on March 11, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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mother bird

Psalm 91:3-6 (JDV)

Psalm 91:3 He himself will rescue you from the bird trap, from the destructive thorn.
Psalm 91:4 He will cover you with His feathers; you will take refuge under his wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield.
Psalm 91:5 You will not fear the terror of the night, the arrow that flies by day,
Psalm 91:6 the thorn that stalks in darkness, or the sting that ravages at noon.

mother bird

Philips shows that verses five and six “are parallel to one another” so that the terror of the night is the thorn that stalks in darkness and the arrow that flies by day provides the sting that ravages at noon (296-297).

The imagery the psalm portrays is that of a helpless bird, protected by the protective shield of its mother’s wing. The mother bird is God himself. His faithfulness will be a protective shield.

Thank you, LORD, for providing the protection we need, so that we do not need to fear.

Phillips, George. The Psalms in Hebrew. London, 1846

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a temporary overnight stay

Posted on March 10, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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a temporary overnight stay

Psalm 91:1-2 (JDV)

Psalm 91:1 The one who stays under the protection of the Most High stays for the night in the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalm 91:2 I will say concerning Yahveh, who is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust:

a temporary overnight stay

In the Bible, human life is described not as eternal unending life, but as a temporary overnight stay. The theologians can talk all day about how we have immortal souls that even God cannot destroy. But God’s word puts us in our place. If we are looking for permanent life, we need to look to Jesus. He offers that permanent life through the resurrection.

See also: https://www.afterlife.co.nz/2021/04/staying-the-night/

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turn and have compassion

Posted on March 9, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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turn and have compassion

Psalm 90:12-17 (JDV)

Psalm 90:12 Teach us to count our days so that we may develop a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:13 Yahveh – how long? Turn and have compassion for your servants.
Psalm 90:14 Satisfy us in the morning with your covenant faithfulness so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.
Psalm 90:15 Make us rejoice for as many days as you have humbled us, for as many years as we have seen adversity.
Psalm 90:16 Let your work be seen by your servants, and your splendor by their children.
Psalm 90:17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us what our hands have made – establish what our hands have made!

turn and have compassion

This psalm began by recognizing the permanence of God, and the corresponding impermanence of humanity — mortal and under God’s wrath. It ends with an appeal for God to turn and have compassion. It pleads for God to have compassion for his nation and its children. It asks for blessing for as long as they had adversity.

It is wise to know that our fate is in God’s hands. His mercy is all we need.

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turn and have compassion

Posted on March 9, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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turn and have compassion

Psalm 90:12-17 (JDV)

Psalm 90:12 Teach us to count our days so that we may develop a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:13 Yahveh – how long? Turn and have compassion for your servants.
Psalm 90:14 Satisfy us in the morning with your covenant faithfulness so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.
Psalm 90:15 Make us rejoice for as many days as you have humbled us, for as many years as we have seen adversity.
Psalm 90:16 Let your work be seen by your servants, and your splendor by their children.
Psalm 90:17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us what our hands have made – establish what our hands have made!

turn and have compassion

This psalm began by recognizing the permanence of God, and the corresponding impermanence of humanity — mortal and under God’s wrath. It ends with an appeal for God to turn and have compassion. It pleads for God to have compassion for his nation and its children. It asks for a blessing for as long as they had adversity.

It is wise to know that our fate is in God’s hands. His mercy is all we need.

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flying away

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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flying away

Psalm 90:9-11 (JDV)

Psalm 90:9 Yes, all our days ebb away under your wrath; we finish off our years like a sigh.
Psalm 90:10 Our lives last seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years. Even the best of them are struggle and trouble; indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.
Psalm 90:11 Who understands the power of your anger? Your wrath matches the fear that is due to you.

flying away

What does flying away (עוף) mean in this passage? Does it mean we go to our reward at death, flying up to heaven? It would be crazy to think that when we read the passage in context. The psalmist has been emphasizing our mortality compared to God’s permanence. Verse ten is sandwiched between two statements about God’s wrath leading to our death. How can death be caused by God’s wrath against sin and also his reward for faithfulness? No, the picture of flying away here is that of our lives leaving us, like a bird flys away.

Our hope is not death. It is resurrection.

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being finished off

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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being finished off

Psalm 90:7-8 (JDV)

Psalm 90:7 Yes, we are being finished off by your anger; we run terrified from your wrath.
Psalm 90:8 You have put our violations in front of you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

being finished off

Plumer says that verse 7 “reveals the awful secret, not before announced in this prayer, that death is penal.” He also points out that we all “deserve worse than ever befalls us in this world” from God’s wrath. (841). We may hide our sins from others, but they are never hidden from God. The wages of sin will be paid.

Our mortality is a constant reminder that we inherit death because of sin. The psalmist describes all of human life as a battle in which God fights against us, eventually finishing us all off. We spend our lives running from our fate and hiding the reasons that our fate is just.

There is no good news in these verses, but it is good news that the psalm is not over.

Plumer, William S. Psalms: A Critical and Expository Commentary with Doctrinal and Practical Remarks. Carlisle, Pa: Banner of Truth Trust, 1990

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