Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 91:16

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 91:16. With long life — Literally, With length of days will I fill him up. He shall neither live a useless life, nor die before his time. He shall live happy and die happy.

And show him my salvation. — ואראהו בשועתי vearehu bishuathi, "I will make him see (or contemplate) in my salvation." He shall discover infinite lengths, breadths, depths, and heights, in my salvation. He shall feel boundless desires, and shall discover that I have provided boundless gratifications for them. He shall dwell in my glory, and throughout eternity increase in his resemblance to and enjoyment of me. Thus shall it be done to the man whom the Lord delighteth to honour; and he delights to honour that man who places his love on him. In a word, he shall have a long life in this world, and an eternity of blessedness in the world to come.

ANALYSIS OF THE NINETY-FIRST PSALM

The full intent and purpose of this Psalm is to encourage and exhort the godly in all extremities, pressures, troubles, temptations, afflictions, assaults, inward or outward; in a word, in all dangers to put their trust and confidence in God, and to rely upon his protection.

There are two parts in this Psalm: -

I. A general proposition, in which is given an assurance of help and protection to every godly man, Psalms 91:1: "He that dwelleth," c.

II. The proof of this by three witnesses: -

1. Of the just man, in whose person the psalmist speaks, Psalms 91:2: "I will say of the Lord," c.

2. Of the prophet, Psalms 91:3: "Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare," &c. which he amplifies by an enumeration of the dangers, God's assistance, and the angels' protection, Psalms 91:3-14.

3. Of God himself, whom he brings in speaking to the same purpose, Psalms 91:14-16.

I. The first part or verse is a universal proposition, in which is contained a comfortable and excellent promise made by the Holy Ghost of security, viz., that God's help shall never be wanting to those who truly put their hope and trust in him: "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide (or lodge) under the shadow of the Almighty."

1. He, - be he who he will, rich or poor king or people, God is no respecter of persons.

2. "That dwells." For that he must be sure to do, constantly, daily, firmly, rest and acquiesce in God, to persevere in the faith of his promise, and carry that about him, else he cannot be assured by this promise.

3. "In the secret place." For his aid and defence is not as some strong-hold or castle which is visible; it is a secret and invisible fortress, known only to a faithful soul. In that he may repose his hope, as a means and secondary defence; but he dwells, relies, rests in that help of God which is secret, and is not seen except by the eye of faith.

4. "Of the Most High." And upon this he relies, because he is the Most High. Above he is, and sees all; nothing is hid from him. And again, above he is, sits in the highest throne, and rules all. All things are under his feet; he can therefore deliver his people from all troubles and dangers. Yea, he will do it for this faithful man; he that relies and trusts in him shall never be frustrated of his hope; protected he shall be; he shall be safe. 1. "He dwells, therefore he shall abide." He shall lodge quietly - securely. 2. "He dwells in the secret place, therefore he shall abide under the shadow." In the cool, the favour, the cover from the heat. 3. "He dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, therefore he shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty;" i.e., of the all-powerful God, of the God of heaven; of that God whose name is Shaddai, All-sufficient; by which name he made his promise to Abraham, Genesis 17:1.

II. This proposition being most certainly true, in the next place the psalmist explains it. And that no man may doubt of it, descends to prove it by three witnesses: first, of a just man; secondly, of the prophet; thirdly, of God himself.

He brings in the just man thus speaking in his own person: "I will say unto the Lord, He is my refuge, my fortress my God; in him will I trust." Is it so? "Shall he that dwells in the secret of the Most High, abide under the shadow of the Almighty?" Therefore I will say, in the person of all just men, to the Lord, that hath no superior, that hath no peer; to that Lord to whose command all things are subject, and who can be commanded by none; I will say to him, -

1. "Thou art my refuge." If pursued, I will flee to thee as a sanctuary.

2. "Thou art my fortress." If set upon, I will betake myself to thee as a strong tower.

3. "Thou art my God." If assaulted by men or devils, thou, the Most High; thou, Almighty, art a God able to defend me, and therefore "I will hope in thee;" I will dwell, trust, rely upon thee and this thy promise, in every temptation and danger.

Next, to assert the truth of this, he brings in the attestation of the prophet; for, being moved by the Holy Ghost, he saith as much, "Surely he shall deliver thee;" and then falls upon the particulars, from which the godly man shall be delivered, set down in many metaphors.

1. "He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler;" the deceits of evil men or devils.

2. "From the noisome pestilence," all danger to which we are incident, by plague, war, or famine.

Again, when thou art little in thine own eyes, -

1. "He shall cover thee," as the hen does her young, "with his feathers; and under his wings shalt thou trust," secured from the rain, the storm, the heat of the sun, and the birds of prey.

2. When thou art grown up, and able to encounter an enemy in the field, he shall help thee to a shield and buckler, and that shall be his truth, his veracity, thy faith in it; and which is yet more, -

Thou shalt not be afraid, -

1. "For the terror by night;" any hidden secret temptation, danger, treachery, detraction, conspiracy.

2. "Nor for the arrow that flies by day;" any open persecution, calamity, fraud, assault, invasion.

3. "Nor for the pestilence that walks in darkness;" the machinations of wicked men hatched in the dark.

4. "Nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day;" the bold threats and decrees of tyrants and persecutors.

Moller observes rightly that the promises of deliverance here made do not belong to one or other kind of evil, but to all kinds of calamities, open or secret, and so may be applicable to any; some of which steal upon us, as in the night secretly; others overwhelm as in the day, openly. But the promise is general, as Bellarmine well observes; whether the danger come by day or night, those who trust in God are armed with his shield of truth against it. "For if God be for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31

The prophet goes on, and confirms the godly in their security by the dissimilarity or unlike condition of wicked men. When thou shalt be safe, they shall fall.

1. "A thousand shall fall at thy side, on thy left hand," overcome by adversity.

2. "Ten thousand on thy right hand," flattered into sin by prosperity. "But neither the fear by night, nor the arrow by day, shall come nigh thee."

3. And, which is another cause of comfort and pleasure: "Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, and see the reward of the wicked;" which sometimes falls out in this life, as the Israelites saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore; Moses and Aaron saw Dathan and Abiram swallowed up quick, c. But it shall be amply fulfilled at the last judgment, Matthew 25:31-46. Of which security, comfort, content, the prophet in the next verse gives the reason the danger shall not come nigh thee; when they fall thou shalt see it, and consider it with content. "Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation;" thou trustest in him as I do; and therefore shalt have the like protection, deliverance, comfort, that I by his promise have. Farther, "there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." But the just man may say, I am secure that no evil shall befall me; I desire to know how I may be kept so, that I fall not among thieves. This objection the prophet prevents, saying, in effect, Fear not, "for he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways; they shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone."

In which verses consider, -

1. That the good man is protected by angels; many angels have a care of one poor man.

2. That they are commanded by God to do it; for are not they ministering spirits sent by God to that end? Hebrews 1:14.

3. That it is a particular administration, a charge given to the poorest, the meanest saint.

4. That they are to keep, to look to, defend thee, and what is thine; thou hast an invisible guard.

5. But then mark the limitation and restriction; it is in "all thy ways," in the walk of thy vocation to which God hath called thee; either walk in them, or the angels have no charge to keep thee.

6. Lastly, "In all thy ways;" not in one but all; for the ways of men are many, and in all he needs the custody of angels: 1. The law is a way, and the way of the law is manifold. 2. Our works and operations are manifold; which are our way too. 3. Our life is a way, and there be many parts and conditions of our life, various ages, manifold states; and in all these ways we need a guardian, for we may slip in every law, in every operation, in every age, in every state of life.

Which that it be not done, God hath given his angels charge over us: to keep us only; nay, which is more, -

1. "They shall bear thee," as kind mothers and nurses do their children.

2. "They shall bear thee in their hands;" the will, understanding, wisdom, and power are, as it were, the angels' hand; with all these they will bear us.

3. "That thou dash not thy foot;" that is, thy affections, which carry the soul to good or bad.

4. "Against a stone;" which are all difficulties and obstacles.

And, which is yet more, under their custody we shall tread under foot Satan, and all his accomplices; him, a roaring lion, an old serpent, a fierce dragon, and all his associates, tyrants, persecutors, and hypocrites; for such is the promise; "Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and dragon shalt thou trample under feet."

5. "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word stand, saith God;" and here we find the law strictly observed: it was to be proved, that all who truly trust in God were to be protected by God; of which; one witness was the just man, Psalms 91:2; another, the testimony of the Spirit by the prophet, from verse Psalms 91:3 to this verse; Psalms 91:3-16 to which a third, we have here even GOD himself; for in these three last verses the prophet brings Him, God himself, testifying this great and comfortable truth with his own mouth: -

1. "Because he hath set his love upon me," pleased me, loved me, adhered to me, hoped in me, trusted to me with a filial love and adherence.

2. "Because he hath known my name," acknowledged my power, wisdom, goodness; these are the causes and conditions presupposed in the protected.

3. "He shall call upon me." Invocation is necessary also. "Therefore I will deliver him, I will answer him, I will be with him in trouble, I will honour him. I will glorify him, or set him on high;" and the second, "I will deliver him; with long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation."

1. "I will deliver him," by the shield, by my angels, by other ways, directly or indirectly, yet so that it be remembered that I do it; for these shall not deliver without me.

2. "I will answer him;" answer his desires, answer his prayers, so they be cries.

3. "I will be with him in trouble;" join myself close to him, go into prison with him as it were, suffer with him, and think myself pursued when he is persecuted, give him comfort even then; they sung in prison; he neither delivers the martyrs from death, nor does he forsake them.

4. "I will honour him:" for the names of those who suffered for his sake are honourable; "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."

These promises may belong to this life; those that follow to the other.

1. "I will deliver him." For the just by death are freed from the present and all future miseries: "Blessed are the dead, for they rest from their labours."

2. "I will glorify him." As if it were not enough to deliver him; such a thing in this life may fall out, as it happened to Joseph, Job, David, Daniel; but the true glory no question must be, "when the righteous shall shine like the sun, be set upon their thrones, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel."

3. "With long life will I satisfy him," i.e., with eternal felicity, with a continuance in bliss, which shall be eternal; for without eternity, even length of days cannot satisfy; as appears by old men, who yet have complained of a short life.

4. And that the prophet speaks of this eternal felicity is more than probable, because he adds, "I will show him my salvation;" I will show him Jesus, my salvation; that is, I will bring to pass, that when through his whole life I have given him sufficient evidences of my fatherly affection, I will at last translate him to a place where he shall no longer live by faith, but shall see, and experimentally feel, what he hath believed.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 9:01God our protector

This psalm appears to have been used in temple worship in a time of danger. A lone singer opens with a statement of the security and protection enjoyed by those who trust in God and live their lives constantly in God’s presence (1-2).
The singer then addresses his remarks directly to such believers. God will protect them from dangers, both seen and unseen, both by day and by night. Neither cruel enemies nor deadly diseases will overcome them. God will guard their lives as a mother bird guards her young and as a soldier guards his fortress (3-6). Others may fall, but those who trust in the Most High will be safe (7-8). Because they have committed themselves to God’s safe-keeping in complete faith, God will direct his angels to watch over them with special care (9-12). They will triumph over the strong and fierce, the cunning and deceitful (13).
Another singer, representing God, adds his blessing. He notes that such believers have a close personal knowledge of God, love him and talk with him; consequently, God will protect, deliver, guide, comfort and honour them. He will give them the blessing of long life by which they can enjoy God’s salvation to the full (14-16).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

DELIVERANCE AND LONGEVITY PROMISED

“Because he has set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble: I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, And show him my salvation.”

God Himself is the speaker in these verses; and they convey very rich and precious promises for the faithful servant of God.

This passage states that because one loves God and knows his name, that the Lord: (1) will deliver him from trouble; (2) exalt him and honor him; (3) give him the privilege of prayer; (4) satisfy him with long life; and (5) show him God’s salvation! What a mountain of motivation there is here for humble and faithful service of God!

There are a number of implications in these verses, as noted by Barnes: (1) It is natural to desire longevity; (2) long life is to be regarded as a blessing; and (3) the tendency of godly living is to lengthen life.”Barnes’ Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition), Vol. II, p. 16.

The apostle Paul connected the obedience of parents with long life (Ephesians 6:1-3); and there can be no doubt that, in a general sense at least, Christian living enhances the chances that one may live a long time upon the earth.

Again, from Barnes, “It is a fact that virtue, temperance, industry, calmness of mind, moderation in all things, freedom from excessive eating or drinking - all of which things are required and encouraged by the Scriptures - that such things undoubtedly contribute to the maintenance of health and the attainment of long life.Ibid.

“With long life will I satisfy him” We shall address the implication here that one may be satisfied with living and ready to pass onward in death. Even for one who enjoys the richest blessings of heaven and who has been rewarded with life’s most desirable emoluments, and who has been granted to live past the normal span of human life, there shall inevitably come the time, when he shall be satisfied with living and ready to go on to be with God. When the infirmities of age have become more and more intolerable, when strength has been diminished, when the dearest loved ones are sleeping in the dust, when the utter loneliness of being “the last leaf on the tree” has surrounded him with sorrow and grief, and in the contemplation of the truth once mentioned by Paul, “That it is better to depart and be with Christ,” and as the hope of heaven itself grows brighter and brighter, there will come the time when the saint of God may feel that he has had enough of life on earth and that he is ready for the Lord’s summons that shall conclude his earthly pilgrimage.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

With long life will I satisfy him - The margin here, is “length of days;” that is, days lengthened out or multiplied. The meaning is, I will give him length of days as he desires, or until he is satisfied with life; implying

(1) that it is natural to desire long life;

(2) that long life is to be regarded as a blessing (compare Proverbs 3:2, Proverbs 3:16; Exodus 20:12);

(3) that the tendency of religion is to lengthen out life; since virtue, temperance, regular industry, calmness of mind, moderation in all things, freedom from excesses in eating and in drinking - to all of which religion prompts - contribute to health, and to length of days (see Psalms 34:12-14, notes; Psalms 37:9, note; Psalms 55:23, note); and

(4) that a time will come, even under this promised blessing of length of days, when a man will be “satisfied” with living; when he will have no strong desire to live longer; when, under the infirmities of advanced years, and under his lonely feelings from the fact that his early friends have fallen, and under the influence of a bright hope of heaven, he will feel that he has had enough of life here, and that it is better to depart to another world.

And shew him my salvation - In another life, after he shall be “satisfied” with this life. The promise extends beyond the grave: “Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” See the notes at 1 Timothy 4:8. Thus, religion blesses man in this life, and blesses him forever. In possession of this, it is a great thing to him to live long; and then it is a great thing to die - to go to be forever with God.

Smith's Bible Commentary

So let's turn to Psalms 91:1-16 that we might begin our Bible study this evening.

Psalms 91:1-16 brings up the question of just where are you living? There is a place that you might live that is surely the most glorious place to live in all the world.

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty ( Psalms 91:1 ).

There's a place that you and I can live, in Christ Jesus. A place of glorious safety, a place of glorious peace, of joy, where I experience God's power and God's protection, God's goodness.

I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge, my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. For surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence ( Psalms 91:2-3 ).

Now in days gone by, bird trapping was quite an art. Without guns to shoot your quail or your dove or your ducks, you'd have to trap them. And so the traps that were set for the birds were called the snares of the fowler. The trap for various game fowl in different types of traps. When you're bringing this over to a spiritual connotation, Satan has set a lot of traps for us. And in a spiritual connotation here, the fowler is actually Satan and you're the one that he's seeking to trap. But surely He will deliver you from every snare that Satan may set for you. "Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence."

For he shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler ( Psalms 91:4 ).

In the New Testament, in the book of Ephesians we are told concerning putting on the full armor of God. Here in the Old Testament, we find the armor of the Lord, His truth, is a shield to us, a buckler.

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Now because ( Psalms 91:5-9 )

Going back, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High,"

Because you have made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the Most High, your habitation ( Psalms 91:9 );

Or your place of dwelling. If you will but just dwell in Him,

There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone ( Psalms 91:10-12 ).

Now when Jesus was being tempted by Satan, Satan quoted this particular passage of scripture to Him, as he took Him up to the pinnacle of the temple and he suggested that He jump off. For Satan said, "It is written, 'He shall give His angels charge over thee: to keep thee in thy ways, to bear thee up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone.' So why don't You jump? See if the angels will hold you up." Jesus said, "It is written again, 'Thou shalt not tempt, or test, the Lord thy God'" ( Matthew 4:6-7 ). You are not to put yourself deliberately in a place of jeopardy just to test the scriptures. It is tragic that every once in a while we read how down in the mountains of Kentucky the cult that is down there that handles rattlesnakes because it says if they take up serpents, they shall not harm them.

Or they test their faith every once in a while by drinking strychnine. But that is not what God means in Mark's gospel when He said, "If they drink any deadly thing it shall not harm them" ( Mark 16:18 ). God never intended for us to just go around and test our faith by deliberately putting ourselves in jeopardy. If the cultist people down there would only read the full body of scripture, rather than taking isolated verses, they would never follow... they would never fall into those kind of unscriptural practices. God has promised that His angels will have charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways.

In the book of Hebrews, talking of angels, it said, "Are they not all ministering spirits, who have been sent forth to minister unto you who are heirs of salvation?" ( Hebrews 1:14 ) Now there is a vast number of heavenly hosts that are known as angels. These angels have different rankings, categories. There are cherubim, a special class of angels. There is a mention in the scripture of archangels, which seem to be the highest form of angelic being. Michael being an archangel. It is also thought that Gabriel is an archangel, though I do not know that the scripture gives to him that title. But angels of great authority and power. Then there are angels, it would seem, that rank under them in authority.

The New Testament does rank the heavenly beings as principalities, powers, mights, dominions, thrones and authorities. Various rankings of the angelic beings. It's more or less like saying, lieutenants and sergeants and corporals and privates, as far as their having rankings in the angelic realm. Just when the angels were created is not specified in the scriptures. But the angels were created as servants of God, and their duty is that of serving the Lord and of serving those who are following after the Lord. "He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy way. To bear thee up lest at any time you would dash your foot against a stone."

Angels seem to be spirits that are capable of taking on a bodily form. In the Old Testament, many times we find angels taking on a human form. In the New Testament we also found angels taking on human form. When Peter was in prison, the angel came to him and said, "Put your shoes on and follow me." And Peter tied on his sandals and followed the angels as the prison doors opened of their own accord, until the angel let him out into the street. And then the angel left him. And suddenly Peter woke up to the fact that he was free. He thought he was having a vision. But all of a sudden, he feels the chill night air and he says, "Wow, it's not a vision. I'm actually out of that place, you know." And so he headed for the place where the church was meeting and praying for him. Paul the apostle spoke about, "Last night, an angel of the Lord stood by me and he assured me that though the ship is going to be destroyed, there will be no loss of life" ( Acts 27:22-24 ). And he spoke about how the angel had visited him and ministered to him. Of course, we read of the angels ministering to Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. And we are told in Hebrews that we ought to be careful to entertain strangers, for it's very possible that you might be entertaining angels without knowing it.

Now there has been a book written recently concerning angels on assignment. And though I do not doubt that angels do visit, can visit; yet there are certain aspects to that book that I find very troubling. I don't want to be guilty of limiting God or judging another man's experiences, except as they measure up to the scriptures. And let the scripture judge. And there are certain things that the angel Gabriel supposedly told Pastor Buck that I do not feel are scriptural. And thus, I have to question in my own mind the validity of the story. I think that Pastor Buck was a very dear man of God, a true servant of the Lord. I do not know but what maybe in his latter years, because of his heart problems that he wasn't getting enough oxygen to the brain. I do not know, but as I say, I have to question a part of the story of the visitation of the angels.

Now, the angels were created by God; they are a created being of God, and it would seem, well not seem, it is true that they were created with a free will, just as you have been created with a free will. And one of the angels exercised his will against God. And in the fourteenth chapter of Isaiah, we read how that Satan, in exercising his will against God, exalting himself over against God, declaring that he would be like God, was cast forth. A fallen angel. There is a hint in the twelfth chapter of the book of Revelation that one-third of the angels went with Satan when he rebelled against the Lord. "The dragon cast forth out of heaven and with his tail, he drew a third part of the stars" ( Revelation 12:3-4 ). And the word stars is a word that is often used for angels.

We do know that there are evil spirits in the world under Satan's guidance and control, as well as the good spirits, the angels of God that are obedient to their first estate. Yet, there are "angels which kept not their first estate, which are reserved in chains awaiting the day of judgment" ( Jude 1:6 ).

Just what are the full characteristics and all of angels, we do not know. It would appear that before the flood, the angels were coming down and involving themselves in physical relationships with women so that giants were born. And these could be the angels to which the scripture refers, those which kept not their first estate and are now being reserved in the chains awaiting the day of judgment.

I am convinced that there are angels that God has assigned to watch over us. I've never seen, to my knowledge, an angel, outside of my wife. I would be less than honest if I would say I wouldn't like to see an angel. I think it'd be a very exciting experience. I think it'd be quite exciting to meet an angel and to know that they were an angel, and to... well, I'd like to meet the angel that's supposed to be guarding me. I'd like to know where he was a few times.

Now let me tell you something. There have been some times when I knew he was there. There were times when there was no way I could have gotten out of it unless the angel of the Lord just had his hand upon my life or upon my car and all. And there are times when I know that the only thing that kept me was the angel of the Lord. I've had some very interesting experiences where I am sure the angel of the Lord was involved in keeping me from things where I was innocently being drawn into some very dangerous areas. Where the angel of the Lord intervened in a marvelous way to keep me from getting into some real trouble.

When I was in high school here in Santa Ana, I saw my dream car on South Main Street. Smitty mufflers, fog lights, dual spots, Buick skirts, little three-window '36 Ford Coupe. Oh man, black, was that thing beautiful. I lusted after that car. And I had a buddy that I was running around with at the time and I had half the money and we were going to go into a partnership on a car. It never would have worked, but we were going to... you know, you want something bad enough you dream all ways to get it. And he had a '36 Ford, but it was, you know, one of those longer kind of things. It just wasn't a pretty one. So he said, "Well, my dad lives up in Glendale, and I have at my dad's house some adding machines and typewriters and I can sell them for enough to get my half for the car. Let's go up to my dad's house." So we went by and saw my mom and I said, "We're going to go up and spend the night in Glendale and at his dad's house. We'll be home tomorrow." And so we took off in his car for Glendale. At that time, Firestone Boulevard was the way into Los Angeles, the three-lane highway. And during the war, gas rationing, and just very few cars on the road at night. You can't... living here now you can't believe how it was then.

We were way out in the country near Buena Park when the motor died on his car. And so we pushed, popped the clutch and everything else. Tried to get the thing going. Pushed it for, oh I guess four or five blocks, and there was a little gas station that was there. And so he said, "I think it's the coil." I mean, "I think it's the condenser or something," and he didn't know anything about mechanics. But anyhow, we went into this service station. Old man in there, and he had a big mean police dog and he wasn't very friendly and didn't have any parts or anything. So we were tired of pushing and so we decided we'd turn the car around, head it back towards Santa Ana. And then we'd wait for a car to come along and we'd flag it and ask him, we'd tell him we're having a hard time getting it started, would they give us a shove? We figured we'd just leave it in neutral; let them shove till they got tired. And then we wait for the next car to come. And there we were, way out in the country, and there was no way to get home.

So we were sitting there, talking and all, talking about how we'd get this car and all this kind of stuff and all excited about the prospects of buying this hot little Ford, and so after a while, five minutes or so, a car was coming down the road. And so he jumped out so he could flag the car and just out of... I just slipped over to the driver's side and I hit the starter once more, and the thing fired up. So he ran around and got in on the passenger side, he says, "Well, you got it going, so let's go." So we took off for Santa Ana. Got back to Lee's Drive-In out there on Manchester and stopped and got a Coke and hamburger, saw a bunch of kids from high school.

So we started on then down to my house, and as we turned off on Flower Street, we were getting near Santa Clara, and he said, "Hey, your parents aren't expecting you home." I said, "Nope." He said, "My dad doesn't know we're coming." He said, "So why don't we just turn around and go back up to Glendale, because it doesn't matter what time we get to my dad's house, you know. Your mom's not expecting you home anyhow." So I said, "Why not." So he started to pull a U-turn there on Santa Clara and the car died again, and simultaneously three tires blew out. Just pop, pop, pop. I mean, we were dead.

I lived up on North Broadway at the time, so we just walked down to my house and got on my bike and I rode him on my bike over to his house and got home. And before we could go up to Glendale again, we had sort of parted company and given up on the little Ford idea and just let it pass.

About a year later, there was a knock on our door. I answered it. The guy introduced himself and showed me an ID and he said, "I'm with the FBI. I'd like to talk to you." I said, "Sure." He said, "What do you know about some typewriters up in Glendale? Adding machines." I said, "Well, all I know is that I was headed up there one night to get some with this fellow," and I said, "but we had car trouble and we never made it." He said, "You can thank your lucky stars you had car trouble." He stole them from some government place and felony and so forth. And when he told me the story, I said, "Well, I'm not going to thank my lucky stars, I'm going to thank my angel." And suddenly I got the picture of that angel holding the coils and getting a shock stopping that stupid car, you know. Then popping the tires as he left just to make sure we wouldn't go anywhere.

I'm convinced. You can't you can't convince me otherwise; I'm convinced the angel of the Lord was watching over me. Interesting thing, when I got back in the house at home, my mom was out in the living room praying. She said, "Oh, son, I'm so glad to see you came home tonight." She said, "I was really worried about the trip. I just didn't feel right about it and I've just been praying for you." Of course, I didn't know at that time. I said, "Well, thanks, Mom," but I didn't know at that time the full story. But oh, I'm certain that there... when we get to heaven, we're going to learn a lot of things that we were spared from. And maybe at the time we looked at it as bad luck or misfortune or, "Oh, man," you know. And yet, God was watching over. God was keeping us. "He shall give His angels charge over thee. To bear thee up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone."

For thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet ( Psalms 91:13 ).

Now we have a change of voice in verse Psalms 91:14 . In the change of voice, we have God's response now. The psalmist has been declaring the advantages and the blessings of living in a certain place. In the secret place of the Most High. Making God your dwelling place. Now God responds to that whole idea. And God says,

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. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation ( Psalms 91:14-16 ).

God's glorious response to that person who is dwelling in the secret place of the Most High. Because you've set your love upon God, God said, "This is what I'm going to do for you: deliver you, set you on high. I will answer you. I will be with you in trouble. I will deliver and honor you." Praise the Lord. So let's turn to Psalms 91:1-16 that we might begin our Bible study this evening.

Psalms 91:1-16 brings up the question of just where are you living? There is a place that you might live that is surely the most glorious place to live in all the world.

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty ( Psalms 91:1 ).

There's a place that you and I can live, in Christ Jesus. A place of glorious safety, a place of glorious peace, of joy, where I experience God's power and God's protection, God's goodness.

I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge, my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. For surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence ( Psalms 91:2-3 ).

Now in days gone by, bird trapping was quite an art. Without guns to shoot your quail or your dove or your ducks, you'd have to trap them. And so the traps that were set for the birds were called the snares of the fowler. The trap for various game fowl in different types of traps. When you're bringing this over to a spiritual connotation, Satan has set a lot of traps for us. And in a spiritual connotation here, the fowler is actually Satan and you're the one that he's seeking to trap. But surely He will deliver you from every snare that Satan may set for you. "Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence."

For he shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler ( Psalms 91:4 ).

In the New Testament, in the book of Ephesians we are told concerning putting on the full armor of God. Here in the Old Testament, we find the armor of the Lord, His truth, is a shield to us, a buckler.

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Now because ( Psalms 91:5-9 )

Going back, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High,"

Because you have made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the Most High, your habitation ( Psalms 91:9 );

Or your place of dwelling. If you will but just dwell in Him,

There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone ( Psalms 91:10-12 ).

Now when Jesus was being tempted by Satan, Satan quoted this particular passage of scripture to Him, as he took Him up to the pinnacle of the temple and he suggested that He jump off. For Satan said, "It is written, 'He shall give His angels charge over thee: to keep thee in thy ways, to bear thee up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone.' So why don't You jump? See if the angels will hold you up." Jesus said, "It is written again, 'Thou shalt not tempt, or test, the Lord thy God'" ( Matthew 4:6-7 ). You are not to put yourself deliberately in a place of jeopardy just to test the scriptures. It is tragic that every once in a while we read how down in the mountains of Kentucky the cult that is down there that handles rattlesnakes because it says if they take up serpents, they shall not harm them.

Or they test their faith every once in a while by drinking strychnine. But that is not what God means in Mark's gospel when He said, "If they drink any deadly thing it shall not harm them" ( Mark 16:18 ). God never intended for us to just go around and test our faith by deliberately putting ourselves in jeopardy. If the cultist people down there would only read the full body of scripture, rather than taking isolated verses, they would never follow... they would never fall into those kind of unscriptural practices. God has promised that His angels will have charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways.

In the book of Hebrews, talking of angels, it said, "Are they not all ministering spirits, who have been sent forth to minister unto you who are heirs of salvation?" ( Hebrews 1:14 ) Now there is a vast number of heavenly hosts that are known as angels. These angels have different rankings, categories. There are cherubim, a special class of angels. There is a mention in the scripture of archangels, which seem to be the highest form of angelic being. Michael being an archangel. It is also thought that Gabriel is an archangel, though I do not know that the scripture gives to him that title. But angels of great authority and power. Then there are angels, it would seem, that rank under them in authority.

The New Testament does rank the heavenly beings as principalities, powers, mights, dominions, thrones and authorities. Various rankings of the angelic beings. It's more or less like saying, lieutenants and sergeants and corporals and privates, as far as their having rankings in the angelic realm. Just when the angels were created is not specified in the scriptures. But the angels were created as servants of God, and their duty is that of serving the Lord and of serving those who are following after the Lord. "He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy way. To bear thee up lest at any time you would dash your foot against a stone."

Angels seem to be spirits that are capable of taking on a bodily form. In the Old Testament, many times we find angels taking on a human form. In the New Testament we also found angels taking on human form. When Peter was in prison, the angel came to him and said, "Put your shoes on and follow me." And Peter tied on his sandals and followed the angels as the prison doors opened of their own accord, until the angel let him out into the street. And then the angel left him. And suddenly Peter woke up to the fact that he was free. He thought he was having a vision. But all of a sudden, he feels the chill night air and he says, "Wow, it's not a vision. I'm actually out of that place, you know." And so he headed for the place where the church was meeting and praying for him. Paul the apostle spoke about, "Last night, an angel of the Lord stood by me and he assured me that though the ship is going to be destroyed, there will be no loss of life" ( Acts 27:22-24 ). And he spoke about how the angel had visited him and ministered to him. Of course, we read of the angels ministering to Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. And we are told in Hebrews that we ought to be careful to entertain strangers, for it's very possible that you might be entertaining angels without knowing it.

Now there has been a book written recently concerning angels on assignment. And though I do not doubt that angels do visit, can visit; yet there are certain aspects to that book that I find very troubling. I don't want to be guilty of limiting God or judging another man's experiences, except as they measure up to the scriptures. And let the scripture judge. And there are certain things that the angel Gabriel supposedly told Pastor Buck that I do not feel are scriptural. And thus, I have to question in my own mind the validity of the story. I think that Pastor Buck was a very dear man of God, a true servant of the Lord. I do not know but what maybe in his latter years, because of his heart problems that he wasn't getting enough oxygen to the brain. I do not know, but as I say, I have to question a part of the story of the visitation of the angels.

Now, the angels were created by God; they are a created being of God, and it would seem, well not seem, it is true that they were created with a free will, just as you have been created with a free will. And one of the angels exercised his will against God. And in the fourteenth chapter of Isaiah, we read how that Satan, in exercising his will against God, exalting himself over against God, declaring that he would be like God, was cast forth. A fallen angel. There is a hint in the twelfth chapter of the book of Revelation that one-third of the angels went with Satan when he rebelled against the Lord. "The dragon cast forth out of heaven and with his tail, he drew a third part of the stars" ( Revelation 12:3-4 ). And the word stars is a word that is often used for angels.

We do know that there are evil spirits in the world under Satan's guidance and control, as well as the good spirits, the angels of God that are obedient to their first estate. Yet, there are "angels which kept not their first estate, which are reserved in chains awaiting the day of judgment" ( Jude 1:6 ).

Just what are the full characteristics and all of angels, we do not know. It would appear that before the flood, the angels were coming down and involving themselves in physical relationships with women so that giants were born. And these could be the angels to which the scripture refers, those which kept not their first estate and are now being reserved in the chains awaiting the day of judgment.

I am convinced that there are angels that God has assigned to watch over us. I've never seen, to my knowledge, an angel, outside of my wife. I would be less than honest if I would say I wouldn't like to see an angel. I think it'd be a very exciting experience. I think it'd be quite exciting to meet an angel and to know that they were an angel, and to... well, I'd like to meet the angel that's supposed to be guarding me. I'd like to know where he was a few times.

Now let me tell you something. There have been some times when I knew he was there. There were times when there was no way I could have gotten out of it unless the angel of the Lord just had his hand upon my life or upon my car and all. And there are times when I know that the only thing that kept me was the angel of the Lord. I've had some very interesting experiences where I am sure the angel of the Lord was involved in keeping me from things where I was innocently being drawn into some very dangerous areas. Where the angel of the Lord intervened in a marvelous way to keep me from getting into some real trouble.

When I was in high school here in Santa Ana, I saw my dream car on South Main Street. Smitty mufflers, fog lights, dual spots, Buick skirts, little three-window '36 Ford Coupe. Oh man, black, was that thing beautiful. I lusted after that car. And I had a buddy that I was running around with at the time and I had half the money and we were going to go into a partnership on a car. It never would have worked, but we were going to... you know, you want something bad enough you dream all ways to get it. And he had a '36 Ford, but it was, you know, one of those longer kind of things. It just wasn't a pretty one. So he said, "Well, my dad lives up in Glendale, and I have at my dad's house some adding machines and typewriters and I can sell them for enough to get my half for the car. Let's go up to my dad's house." So we went by and saw my mom and I said, "We're going to go up and spend the night in Glendale and at his dad's house. We'll be home tomorrow." And so we took off in his car for Glendale. At that time, Firestone Boulevard was the way into Los Angeles, the three-lane highway. And during the war, gas rationing, and just very few cars on the road at night. You can't... living here now you can't believe how it was then.

We were way out in the country near Buena Park when the motor died on his car. And so we pushed, popped the clutch and everything else. Tried to get the thing going. Pushed it for, oh I guess four or five blocks, and there was a little gas station that was there. And so he said, "I think it's the coil." I mean, "I think it's the condenser or something," and he didn't know anything about mechanics. But anyhow, we went into this service station. Old man in there, and he had a big mean police dog and he wasn't very friendly and didn't have any parts or anything. So we were tired of pushing and so we decided we'd turn the car around, head it back towards Santa Ana. And then we'd wait for a car to come along and we'd flag it and ask him, we'd tell him we're having a hard time getting it started, would they give us a shove? We figured we'd just leave it in neutral; let them shove till they got tired. And then we wait for the next car to come. And there we were, way out in the country, and there was no way to get home.

So we were sitting there, talking and all, talking about how we'd get this car and all this kind of stuff and all excited about the prospects of buying this hot little Ford, and so after a while, five minutes or so, a car was coming down the road. And so he jumped out so he could flag the car and just out of... I just slipped over to the driver's side and I hit the starter once more, and the thing fired up. So he ran around and got in on the passenger side, he says, "Well, you got it going, so let's go." So we took off for Santa Ana. Got back to Lee's Drive-In out there on Manchester and stopped and got a Coke and hamburger, saw a bunch of kids from high school.

So we started on then down to my house, and as we turned off on Flower Street, we were getting near Santa Clara, and he said, "Hey, your parents aren't expecting you home." I said, "Nope." He said, "My dad doesn't know we're coming." He said, "So why don't we just turn around and go back up to Glendale, because it doesn't matter what time we get to my dad's house, you know. Your mom's not expecting you home anyhow." So I said, "Why not." So he started to pull a U-turn there on Santa Clara and the car died again, and simultaneously three tires blew out. Just pop, pop, pop. I mean, we were dead.

I lived up on North Broadway at the time, so we just walked down to my house and got on my bike and I rode him on my bike over to his house and got home. And before we could go up to Glendale again, we had sort of parted company and given up on the little Ford idea and just let it pass.

About a year later, there was a knock on our door. I answered it. The guy introduced himself and showed me an ID and he said, "I'm with the FBI. I'd like to talk to you." I said, "Sure." He said, "What do you know about some typewriters up in Glendale? Adding machines." I said, "Well, all I know is that I was headed up there one night to get some with this fellow," and I said, "but we had car trouble and we never made it." He said, "You can thank your lucky stars you had car trouble." He stole them from some government place and felony and so forth. And when he told me the story, I said, "Well, I'm not going to thank my lucky stars, I'm going to thank my angel." And suddenly I got the picture of that angel holding the coils and getting a shock stopping that stupid car, you know. Then popping the tires as he left just to make sure we wouldn't go anywhere.

I'm convinced. You can't you can't convince me otherwise; I'm convinced the angel of the Lord was watching over me. Interesting thing, when I got back in the house at home, my mom was out in the living room praying. She said, "Oh, son, I'm so glad to see you came home tonight." She said, "I was really worried about the trip. I just didn't feel right about it and I've just been praying for you." Of course, I didn't know at that time. I said, "Well, thanks, Mom," but I didn't know at that time the full story. But oh, I'm certain that there... when we get to heaven, we're going to learn a lot of things that we were spared from. And maybe at the time we looked at it as bad luck or misfortune or, "Oh, man," you know. And yet, God was watching over. God was keeping us. "He shall give His angels charge over thee. To bear thee up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone."

For thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet ( Psalms 91:13 ).

Now we have a change of voice in verse Psalms 91:14 . In the change of voice, we have God's response now. The psalmist has been declaring the advantages and the blessings of living in a certain place. In the secret place of the Most High. Making God your dwelling place. Now God responds to that whole idea. And God says,

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. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation ( Psalms 91:14-16 ).

God's glorious response to that person who is dwelling in the secret place of the Most High. Because you've set your love upon God, God said, "This is what I'm going to do for you: deliver you, set you on high. I will answer you. I will be with you in trouble. I will deliver and honor you." Praise the Lord.

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 91

This wisdom psalm focuses on security in life, an idea present in Psalms 90. The writer knew that God provides security. It is a psalm for situations involving danger, exposure, or vulnerability.

"This remarkable psalm speaks with great specificity, and yet with a kind of porousness, so that the language is enormously open to each one’s particular experience. Its tone is somewhat instructional, as though reassuring someone else who is unsure. Yet the assurance is not didactic, but confessional. It is a personal testimony of someone whose own experience makes the assurance of faith convincing and authentic." [Note: Brueggemann, p. 156.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

3. The assurance God provides 91:14-16

The writer recorded God’s promise to deliver those who know and love Him. He will eventually answer the cries for help that His people voice (cf. Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13). He will not abandon them in their distresses (cf. Joshua 1:9; Matthew 28:20). The promises of rescue and honor normally find fulfillment in this life, but they always do the other side of the grave. God usually blesses people who follow His will by allowing them to live longer. This was a special blessing under the Mosaic Law (cf. Exodus 20:12). Furthermore, God promised the godly the satisfaction of seeing His deliverance.

"It’s one thing for doctors to add years to our life, but God adds life to our years and makes that life worthwhile." [Note: Wiersbe, The . . . Wisdom . . ., p. 259.]

How can we explain the fact that God has apparently not honored these promises consistently? Some godly people have died young, for example. Others have perished at the hands of their enemies, as was and is true of some Christian martyrs. Does this indicate that God is unfaithful and His promises are unreliable? If we view life as extending beyond the grave, which it does, we should have no trouble with these promises. God will grant ultimate deliverance to His own, even if He allows them to suffer and die at the hands of enemies in this life. Even believers who die young have eternal life.

"In life the Lord may permit many terrible things to happen to his children (cf. Job), as he did to his own Son, our Lord. But his children know that no power is out of God’s control." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 601.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

With long life will I satisfy him,.... In this world: the saints live in it as long as they choose to live; and when they come to die, be it when it will, they are, like Abraham, full of years, or satisfied with them; they have had enough of them, and would not live always here; but, with good old Simeon, desire to depart in peace; and in the other world they shall be satisfied with length of days, for ever and ever, even with eternal life; and nothing short of this will satisfy a good man:

and show him my salvation; Jesus Christ, the author of salvation, whom God appointed to do it, and who has finished it; salvation itself, wrought out by him; its fulness and suitableness, and interest in it; and also eternal glory and happiness, the completion and consummation of salvation: the former is shown unto and seen by faith here; the latter will be seen and enjoyed in heaven to all eternity. Aben Ezra and Kimchi refer this salvation to the days of the Messiah.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;   10 There shall no evil befal 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 show him my salvation.

      Here are more promises to the same purport with those in the Psalms 91:1-8, and they are exceedingly great and precious, and sure to all the seed.

      I. The psalmist assures believers of divine protection, from his own experience; and that which he says is the word of God, and what we may rely upon. Observe, 1. The character of those who shall have the benefit and comfort of these promises; it is much the same with that, Psalms 91:1; Psalms 91:1. They are such as make the Most High their habitation (Psalms 91:9; Psalms 91:9), as are continually with God and rest in him, as make his name both their temple and their strong tower, as dwell in love and so dwell in God. It is our duty to be at home in God, to make our choice of him, and then to live our life in him as our habitation, to converse with him, and delight in him, and depend upon him; and then it shall be our privilege to be at home in God; we shall be welcome to him as a man to his own habitation, without any let, hindrance, or molestation, from the arrests of the law or the clamours of conscience; then too we shall be safe in him, shall be kept in perfect peace,Isaiah 26:3. To encourage us to make the Lord our habitation, and to hope for safety and satisfaction in him, the psalmist intimates the comfort he had had in doing so: "He whom thou makest thy habitation is my refuge; and I have found him firm and faithful, and in him there is room enough, and shelter enough, both for thee and me." In my father's house there are many mansions, one needs not crowd another, much less crowd out another. 2. The promises that are sure to all those who have thus made the Most High their habitation. (1.) That, whatever happens to them, nothing shall hurt them (Psalms 91:10; Psalms 91:10): "There shall no evil befal thee; though trouble or affliction befal thee, yet there shall be no real evil in it, for it shall come from the love of God and shall be sanctified; it shall come, not for thy hurt, but for thy good; and though, for the present, it be not joyous but grievous, yet, in the end, it shall yield so well that thou thyself shalt own no evil befel thee. It is not an evil, an only evil, but there is a mixture of good in it and a product of good by it. Nay, not thy person only, but thy dwelling, shall be taken under the divine protection: There shall no plague come nigh that, nothing to do thee or thine any damage." Nihil accidere bono viro mali potest--No evil can befal a good man. Seneca De Providentia. (2.) That the angels of light shall be serviceable to them, Psalms 91:11; Psalms 91:12. This is a precious promise, and speaks a great deal both of honour and comfort to the saints, nor is it ever the worse for being quoted and abused by the devil in tempting Christ, Matthew 4:6. Observe, [1.] The charge given to the angels concerning the saints. He who is the Lord of the angels, who gave them their being and gives laws to them, whose they are and whom they were made to serve, he shall give his angels a charge over thee, not only over the church in general, but over every particular believer. The angels keep the charge of the Lord their God; and this is the charge they receive from him. It denotes the great care God takes of the saints, in that the angels themselves shall be charged with them, and employed for them. The charge is to keep thee in all thy ways; here is a limitation of the promise: They shall keep thee in thy ways, that is, "as long as thou keepest in the way of thy duty;" those that go out of that way put themselves out of God's protection. This word the devil left out when he quoted the promise to enforce a temptation, knowing how much it made against him. But observe the extent of the promise; it is to keep thee in all thy ways: even where there is no apparent danger yet we need it, and where there is the most imminent danger we shall have it. Wherever the saints go the angels are charged with them, as the servants are with the children. [2.] The care which the angels take of the saints, pursuant to this charge: They shall bear thee up in their hands, which denotes both their great ability and their great affection. They are able to bear up the saints out of the reach of danger, and they do it with all the tenderness and affection wherewith the nurse carries the little child about in her arms; it speaks us helpless and them helpful. They are condescending in their ministrations; they keep the feet of the saints, lest they dash them against a stone, lest they stumble and fall into sin and into trouble. [3.] That the powers of darkness shall be triumphed over by them (Psalms 91:13; Psalms 91:13): Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder. The devil is called a roaring lion, the old serpent, the red dragon; so that to this promise the apostle seems to refer in that (Romans 16:20), The God of peace shall tread Satan under your feet. Christ has broken the serpent's head, spoiled our spiritual enemies (Colossians 2:15), and through him we are more than conquerors; for Christ calls us, as Joshua called the captains of Israel, to come and set our feet on the necks of vanquished enemies. Some think that this promise had its full accomplishment in Christ, and the miraculous power which he had over the whole creation, healing the sick, casting out devils, and particularly putting it into his disciples' commission that they should take up serpents,Mark 16:18. It may be applied to that care of the divine Providence by which we are preserved from ravenous noxious creatures (the wild beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee,Job 5:23); nay, and have ways and means of taming them, James 3:7.

      II. He brings in God himself speaking words of comfort to the saints, and declaring the mercy he had in store for them, Psalms 91:14-16; Psalms 91:14-16. Some make this to be spoken to the angels as the reason of the charge given them concerning the saints, as if he had said, "Take care of them, for they are dear to me, and I have a tender concern for them." And now, as before, we must observe,

      1. To whom these promises do belong; they are described by three characters:-- (1.) They are such as know God's name. His nature we cannot fully know; but by his name he has made himself known, and with that we must acquaint ourselves. (2.) They are such as have set their love upon him; and those who rightly know him will love him, will place their love upon him as the only adequate object of it, will let out their love towards him with pleasure and enlargement, and will fix their love upon him with a resolution never to remove it to any rival. (3.) They are such as call upon him, as by prayer keep up a constant correspondence with him, and in every difficult case refer themselves to him.

      2. What the promises are which God makes to the saints. (1.) That he will, in due time, deliver them out of trouble: I will deliver him (Psalms 91:14; Psalms 91:14 and again Psalms 91:15; Psalms 91:15), denoting a double deliverance, living and dying, a deliverance in trouble and a deliverance out of trouble. If God proportions the degree and continuance of our troubles to our strength, if he keeps us from offending him in our troubles, and makes our death our discharge, at length, from all our troubles, then this promise is fulfilled. See Psalms 34:19; 2 Timothy 3:11; 2 Timothy 4:18. (2.) That he will, in the mean time, be with them in trouble,Psalms 91:15; Psalms 91:15. If he does not immediately put a period to their afflictions, yet they shall have his gracious presence with them in their troubles; he will take notice of their sorrows, and know their souls in adversity, will visit them graciously by his word and Spirit, and converse with them, will take their part, will support and comfort them, and sanctify their afflictions to them, which will be the surest token of his presence with them in their troubles. (3.) That herein he will answer their prayers: He shall call upon me; I will pour upon him the spirit of prayer, and then I will answer, answer by promises (Psalms 85:8), answer by providences, bringing in seasonable relief, and answer by graces, strengthening them with strength in their souls (Psalms 138:3); thus he answered Paul with grace sufficient,2 Corinthians 12:9. (4.) That he will exalt and dignify them: I will set him on high, out of the reach of trouble, above the stormy region, on a rock above the waves,Isaiah 33:16. They shall be enabled, by the grace of God, to look down upon the things of this world with a holy contempt and indifference, to look up to the things of the other world with a holy ambition and concern; and then they are set on high. I will honour him; those are truly honourable whom God puts honour upon by taking them into covenant and communion with himself and designing them for his kingdom and glory, John 12:26. (5.) That they shall have a sufficiency of life in this world (Psalms 91:16; Psalms 91:16): With length of days will I satisfy him; that is, [1.] They shall live long enough: they shall be continued in this world till they have done the work they were sent into this world for and are ready for heaven, and that is long enough. Who would wish to live a day longer than God has some work to do, either by him or upon him? [2.] They shall think it long enough; for God by his grace shall wean them from the world and make them willing to leave it. A man may die young, and yet die full of days, satur dierum--satisfied with living. A wicked worldly man is not satisfied, no, not with long life; he still cries, Give, give. But he that has his treasure and heart in another world has soon enough of this; he would not live always. (6.) That they shall have an eternal life in the other world. This crowns the blessedness: I will show him my salvation, show him the Messiah (so some); good old Simeon was then satisfied with long life when he could say, My eyes have seen thy salvation, nor was there any greater joy to the Old-Testament saints than to see Christ's day, though at a distance. It is more probably that the word refers to the better country, that is, the heavenly, which the patriarchs desired and sought: he will show him that, bring him to that blessed state, the felicity of which consists so much in seeing that face to face which we here see through a glass darkly; and, in the mean time, he will give him a prospect of it. All these promises, some think, point primarily at Christ, and had their accomplishment in his resurrection and exaltation.