Those who live a life of communion with God are constantly safe under His protecting wing and may preserve a holy security of mind at all times.
He will be their rest and refuge forever.
Psalm 1
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
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.
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.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
Psalm 1 – J. Vernon McGee
Psalm 91 – Security in Trusting the Lord
This psalm has been divided as follows: Psalm 91:1-2, a soliloquy in which the believer states the blessedness of dwelling under God’s sheltering care, and encourages his heart to exercise personal faith; Psalm 91:3-8, the assurance of a chorus of voices, which emphasize the safety of those who believe; Psalm 91:9, an exclamation in which the believer again expresses his resolve to exercise this personal faith; Psalm 91:9-13, the second assurance of a chorus of reassuring voices; Psalm 91:14-16, God’s ratification of the whole attitude and expressions of the psalmist and his friends.
The psalm abounds in metaphors familiar to the East: the lion with its roar and leap in the open; the adder with its stealthy glide through the grass; the nocturnal assault; the devastating plague; the fowler’s snare; the eagle’s wing; the transitory tent. This is the traveler’s psalm, and may well be read in private or with the family, whenever we are starting on a journey.
But notice the closing, Psalm 91:14-16. Our conceptions of God’s care are too narrow. We fail to make enough use of the power, love, and presence of His fatherhood, which is waiting and longing to be called upon. Only we must exercise an appropriating faith. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Psalm 91:9—The LORD is my refuge.
The structure of this psalm is often obscured. It begins with the announcement on the part of the chorus of the general truth that to dwell in the inner place of fellowship is to abide under the protection of Divine Power.
Twice the psalmist speaks. In the second verse we hear him saying:–
“I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress:
My God; in him will I trust.”
In the ninth verse he breaks in again:–
“The LORD… is my refuge.”
And each profession on his part is followed by the outburst of the chorus with an enunciation of all the blessings which most certainly will accrue.
In the last three verses [Psalm 91:14-16] God Himself is introduced, assuring his child of all that He is prepared to do and be. Have you ever said definitely, “The LORD… is my refuge”? Fleeing from all other, have you sheltered in Him from the windy storm and tempest, from the harrow by day, and pestilence by night, from man and devil? You must avow it. Do not only think it, but say it. Keep saying it because it is true, rather than because you feel it to be true. Not only in the midst of sympathizing friends, but in hours of loneliness, desertion, and opposition.
In a farm, in which I am interested, we have an incubator, the artificial heat of which hatches hundreds of little chickens; but there always seems a great lack in their lives—no mother’s call or wing. They invariably remind me of those who have not sheltered under the wing of God. —Our Daily Homily
