Psalm 91- 1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of Yahweh, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” 3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. 4 He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. 5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. 8 Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because you have made Yahweh, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, 10 no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; 11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. 12 In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. 13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. 14 Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has 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 honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.”
“The Talmud writers ascribe not only the ninety-first Psalm, but the nine ensuing, to the pen of Moses; but from a rule… that all the psalms which are without the name of an author in their respective titles are the production of the poet whose name is given in the nearest preceding title….The general drift of its scenery and allusions rather concur in showing that, like the last, we are indebted for it to the muse of Moses: that it was composed by him during the journey through the wilderness, shortly after the plague of the fiery serpents” (J. M. Good)
“Psalm 90 spoke of man withering away beneath God's anger against sin. Psalm 91 tells of a man, who is able to tread the lion and adder under his feet. ” (William Kay) “’He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.’ (1) - Spoken probably in reference to the Holy of holies. He who enters legitimately there shall be covered with the cloud of God's glory - the protection of the all-sufflcient God. This was the privilege of the high priest only, under the law: but under the new covenant all believers in Christ have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus; and those who thus enter are safe from every evil.” (Adam Clarke)— “‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.’ (2) I, the psalmist; I will take this to myself; I will endeavor to secure this blessedness; I will thus abide with God. In view of the blessedness of this condition, and with the hope of securing it to myself; I will adopt this resolution as the purpose of my life. It is what I need; it is what my soul desires.” (Albert Barnes)— “Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.’ He now offers it to others,. As the original word, דבר dabar, signifies a word spoken, and deber, the same letters, signifies pestilence; so some translate one way, and some another: He shall deliver thee from the evil and slanderous word; He shall deliver thee from the noisome pestilence.” (Adam Clarke)— which is killing the unprotected populace. “He can save you from its ravages, while others are dying around you.” (Albert Barnes)
“‘He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.’ (3-4) His Revelation; His Bible. That truth contains promises for all times and circumstances; and these will be invariably fulfilled to him that trusts in the Lord. [The result of this covering is this:] 'You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,’ Night is a time of terrors, because it is a time of treasons, plunder, robbery, and murder. The godly man lies down in peace, and sleeps quietly, for he trusts his body, soul, and substance, in the hand of God; and he knows that he who keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. It may also mean all spiritual foes, - the rulers of the darkness of this world. I have heard the following petition in an evening family prayer: ‘Blessed Lord, take us into thy protection this night; and preserve us from disease, from sudden death, from the violence of fire, from the edge of the sword, from the designs of wicked men, and from the influence of malicious spirits!’— ‘nor of the arrow that flies by day,’— The Chaldee translates this verse, ‘Thou shalt not fear the demons that walk by night; nor the arrow of the angel of death which is shot in the day time.’ Thou needest not to fear a sudden and unprovided-for death.” (Adam Clarke)— ‘nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday;’ (5-6) as the pestilence, which may be increased, and rage the more, through the heat of the day; and which destroys great numbers wherever it comes.’” (John Gill)
“‘A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked.’
The godly will not necessarily see this recompense in this life. “But they will see it fully at that day when all things will be revealed.” (Geneva Study Bible)
“’Because you have made Yahweh, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling.’ (9-10)
“'Then the devil took Him'- Jesus- 'up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘For He shall give ‘His angels charge over you, to keep you [‘in all your ways’— omitted by Satan].’ and ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ (Ps 91:11-12) Let us not forget that we have in it a prophetic picture of our Lord as He walked as the dependent Man on the earth. He dwelled in the secret place of the Most High and trusted in Him, walking in perfect obedience. Death had no claim on His life, for He knew no sin. No evil could come near Him. Angels ministered unto Him. The lion and the adder--Satan in his two-fold character, as the powerful enemy and as the sneaking, hidden serpent--He tramples under His feet. And some day the enemy will also be completely bruised under the feet of His people. Then His exaltation, ‘I will set Him on high.’” (Arno Gaebelein) “God gave His angels charge to keep Him; and of His marvellous protection, history abounds with examples. But we should learn from those words which Satan adduced to our Saviour, not to tempt providence; for the wise man and the fool often die together, or fall alike by the same stroke. And in a spiritual view we should be still more confident of safety against unseen enemies; for the God of peace will shortly bruise Satan under our feet as the adder, and awe the lions of the earth who would devour His flock.” (Joseph Sutcliiffe)
Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt Yahweh your God.’” (Matt 4:5-7) Let us not tempt Him. “Does Psalm 91 mean that those who trust God won't be snared, won't get a disease, won't fall in battle, won't experience evil, won't lose tent-mates to the plague, won't crash against a stone, but will always be delivered and protected?… Instead of following Satan's use of Psalm 91, Jesus embraced the path of suffering [‘in all your ways’]. The thorns penetrated His scalp. The whip lacerated His back. The rod struck on His head. The nails pierced His hands. The spear severed his side. And he was killed by his enemies.” (Piper) Rather let us look to the world to come for the meaning of these verses: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up [ressurected], that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:14-17)