Psalm 91: Under the Almighty's shelter
Those who trust the LORD rest under His faithful protection and call upon Him in trouble.
Where Psalm 91 sits
- In the story
- Act IV, Israel: Exodus–Malachi · The Kingdom, c. 1050–930 BC
- In the Bible
- Old Testament · Wisdom & Poetry · chapter 91 of 150 in Psalms
- In Psalms
- Book IV: the eternal LORD still reigns, 90–106
- Before
- Psalm 90: Teach us to number our days
- After
- Psalm 92: Fruitful before the LORD
Psalm 91 summary
The worshiper declares dependence on the Most High (1–2). Images of traps, disease and warfare describe dangers under God's sovereign care (3–8). The LORD commands His messengers to guard the one who dwells with Him (9–13). He answers, accompanies trouble and brings salvation to the one who loves Him (14–16).
Psalm 91 in context
- Speaking
- An unnamed psalmist.
- Written for
- The LORD and the worshiping congregation, with instruction for all who receive this song as Scripture.
- Around it
- The BSB gives no author. God's promise includes presence in trouble, so trust must not become a demand for immunity from all suffering or a reason to seek danger.
The sections of Psalm 91
Read Psalm 91
You Are My Refuge and My Fortress
1He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3Surely He will deliver you
from the snare of the fowler,
and from the deadly plague.
4He will cover you with His feathers;
under His wings you will find refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
5You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the calamity that destroys at noon.
7Though a thousand may fall at your side,
and ten thousand at your right hand,
no harm will come near you.
8You will only see it with your eyes
and witness the punishment of the wicked.
9Because you have made the LORD your dwelling—
my refuge, the Most High—
10no evil will befall you,
no plague will approach your tent.
11For He will command His angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
12They will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13You will tread on the lion and cobra;
you will trample the young lion and serpent.
14“Because he loves Me, I will deliver him;
because he knows My name, I will protect him.
15When he calls out to Me,
I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble.
I will deliver him and honor him.
16With long life I will satisfy him
and show him My salvation.”
Berean Standard Bible, 16 verses. The BSB is in the public domain.
Around Psalm 91
Near it in Book IV: the eternal LORD still reigns
- Psalm 90
- Psalm 92
- Psalm 93
- Psalm 94
- Psalm 95
- Psalm 96
- Psalm 97
- Psalm 98
- Psalm 99
- Psalm 100
- Psalm 101
- Psalm 102
Read alongside
- Matthew 4
Chapters that point here
- Luke 4
Questions on Psalm 91
Why is trust in God different from testing His protection?
The answers are in TheoMaps Challenges.
Plus What TheoMaps holds for Psalm 91
- How Psalm 91 points to Christ
- What each of its 4 sections says, and how one leads into the next
- Why that chapter belongs beside it
- The answers to its questions, in Challenges
TheoMaps Plus opens every book the way Genesis is open, on the map, with Challenges to help you remember it.