Psalms 91:11

spirits!" Nor for the arrow - 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. Verse 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday - The rabbins supposed that the empire of death was under two demons, one of which ruled by day, the other by night. The Vulgate and Septuagint have - the noonday devil. The ancients thought that there were some demons who had the power to injure particularly at noonday. To this Theocritus refers, Id. 1: ver. 15: - Ου θεμις, ω ποιμαν, το μεσαμβρινον, ου θεμις αμμιν Συρισδεν· τον Πανα δεδοικαμες· η γαρ απ' αγρας Τανικα κεκμακως αμπαυεται, εντι γε πικρος, Και οἱ αει δριμεια χολα ποτι ῥινι καθηται. "It is not lawful, it is not lawful, O shepherd, to play on the flute at noonday: we fear Pan, who at that hour goes to sleep in order to rest himself after the fatigues of the chase; then he is dangerous, and his wrath easily kindled." Lucan, in the horrible account he gives us of a grove sacred to some barbarous power, worshipped with the most horrid rites, refers to the same superstition: - Lucus erat longo nunquam violatus ab aevo, Non illum cultu populi propiore frequentant, Sed cessere deis: medio cum Phoebus in axe est. Aut coelum nox atra tenet, pavet ipse sacerdos Accessus, dominumque timet deprendere luci. Lucan, lib. iii., ver. 399. "Not far away, for ages past, had stood An old inviolated sacred wood: The pious worshippers approach not near, But shun their gods, and kneel with distant fear: The priest himself, when, or the day or night Rolling have reached their full meridian height, Refrains the gloomy paths with wary feet, Dreading the demon of the grove to meet; Who, terrible to sight, at that fixed hour Still treads the round about this dreary bower." Rowe. It has been stated among the heathens that the gods should be worshipped at all times, but the demons should be worshipped at midday: probably because these demons, having been employed during the night, required rest at noonday and that was the most proper time to appease them. See Calmet on this place. Both the Vulgate and Septuagint seem to have reference to this superstition. The Syriac understands the passage of a pestilential wind, that blows at noonday. Aquila translates, of the bite of the noonday demon. Verse 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side - Calmet thinks this place should be translated thus: "A thousand enemies may fall upon thee on one side, and ten thousand may fall upon thee on thy right hand: but they shall not come nigh thee to take away thy life." It is a promise of perfect protection, and the utmost safety. Verse 8 The reward of the wicked - Thou shalt not only be safe thyself, but thou shalt see all thy enemies discomfited and cast down. Verse 9 Because thou hast made the Lord - Seeing thou hast taken Jehovah, the Most High, for thy portion and thy refuge, no evil shall come nigh thy dwelling; thou shalt be safe in thy soul, body, household, and property, Psa 91:10 . Every pious man may expect such protection from his God and Father. Verse 11 He shall give his angels charge over thee - Evil spirits may attempt to injure thee; but they shall not be able. The angels of God shall have an especial charge to accompany, defend, and preserve thee; and against their power, the influence of evil spirits cannot prevail. These will, when necessary, turn thy steps out of the wag of danger; ward it off when it comes in thy ordinary path; suggest to thy mind prudent counsels, profitable designs, and pious purposes; and thus minister to thee as a child of God, and an heir of salvation. To keep thee in all thy ways - The path of duty is the way of safety. Thou canst not reasonably expect protection if thou walk not in the way of obedience. Thy ways are the paths of duty, which God's word and providence have marked out for thee. The way of sin is not thy way - thy duty, thy interest. Keep in thy own ways, not in those of sin, Satan, the world, and the flesh; and God will take care of thee. Verse 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands - Take the same care of thee as a nurse does of a weak and tender child; lead thee, - teach thee to walk, - lift thee up out of the way of danger, "lest thou shouldst dash thy foot against a stone," receive any kind of injury, or be prevented from pursuing thy path with safety and comfort. Let us remember that it is God, whose these angels are; He gives them charge from Him they receive their commission, - to Him they are responsible for their charge. From God thou art to expect them; and for their help he alone is to receive the praise. It is expressly said, He shall give his angels charge; to show that they are not to be prayed to nor praised but God alone, whose servants they are. See the note on Mat 4:6 . Verse 13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder - Even the king of the forest shall not be able to injure thee; should one of these attack thee, the angels whom God sends will give thee an easy victory over him. And even the asp, (פתן pethen), one of the most venomous of serpents, shall not be able to injure thee. The asp is a very small serpent, and peculiar to Egypt and Libya. Its poison kills without the possibility of a remedy. Those who are bitten by it die in about from three to eight hours; and it is said they die by sleep, without any kind of pain. Lord Bacon says the asp is less painful than all the other instruments of death. He supposes it to have an affinity to opium, but to be less disagreeable in its operation. It was probably an this account that Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, chose to die by the asp, as she was determined to prevent the designs of Augustus, who intended to have carried her captive to Rome to grace his triumph. The dragon shalt thou trample - The תנין tannin, which we translate dragon, means often any large aquatic animal; and perhaps here the crocodile or alligator. Verse 14 Because he hath set his love upon me - Here the Most High is introduced as confirming the word of his servant. He has fixed his love - his heart and soul, on me. Therefore will I deliver him - I will save him in all troubles, temptations, and evils of every kind. I will set him on high - I will place him out of the reach of all his enemies. I will honor and ennoble him, because he hath known my name - because he has loved, honored, and served me, and rendered me that worship which is my due. He has known me to be the God of infinite mercy and love. Verse 15 He shall call upon me - He must continue to pray; all his blessings must come in this way, when he calls, I will answer him - I will give him whatever is best for him. I will be with him in trouble - Literally, I am with him. עמו אנכי immo anochi; as soon as the trouble comes, I are there. I will deliver him - For his good I may permit him to be exercised for a time, but delivered he shall be. And honor him - אכבדהו acabbedehu, "I will glorify him." I will load him with honor; that honor that comes from God. I will even show to men how highly I prize such. Verse 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 honor; and he delights to honor 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. Introduction The psalmist shows the duty and advantage of praising God, Psa 92:1-3 ; speaks of the grandeur of God's works, Psa 92:4-6 ; the fall of the wicked, Psa 92:7-9 ; the happiness of the righteous, Psa 92:10-14 ; and all this founded on the perfections of God. The title, A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath, gives no information concerning the time, oecasion, or author. The Chaldee, has "Praise, and a song which the first man spoke concerning the Sabbath:" but this is an idle conceit; and, though entertained by some rabbins, has been followed by none of the Versions. Calmet supposes the Psalm to have been composed by some of the Levites during or near the close of the Babylonish captivity, acknowledging the mercy of God, and foreseeing the desolation of their enemies, and their own return to Jerusalem, and their temple service. Verse 1 It is a good thing to give thanks - This Psalm begins very abruptly. Good to confess unto the Lord. He had been acknowledging God's goodness, and praising him for his mercy; and now he breaks out and tells how good he felt this employment to be. Verse 2 To show forth thy loving-kindness - חסדך chasdecha, thy abundant mercy, in the morning - that has preserved me throughout the night, and brought me to the beginning of a new day: and thy faithfulness in the night, that has so amply fulfilled the promise of preservation during the course of the day. This verse contains a general plan for morning and evening prayer. Verse 3 Upon an instrument of ten strings - Eusebius, in his comment on this Psalm, says: Ψαλτηριον δε δεκαχορδον, ἡ του Ἁγιου Πνευματος δια των αισθητηριων πεντε μεν του σωματος, ισαριθμων δε της ψυχης δυναμεων, επιτελουμενη λατρεια· "The Psaltery of ten strings is the worship of the Holy Spirit, performed by means of the five senses of the body, and by the five powers of the soul." And, to confirm this interpretation, he quotes the apostle, 1Cor 14:15 : "I will pray with the spirit, and with the understanding also; I will sing with the spirit, and with the understanding also." "As the mind has its influence by which it moves the body, so the spirit has its own influence by which it moves the soul." Whatever may be thought of this gloss, one thing is pretty evident from it, that instrumental music was not in use in the Church of Christ in the time of Eusebius. which was near the middle of the fourth century. Had any such thing then existed in the Christian Church, he would have doubtless alluded to or spiritualized it; or, as he quoted the words of the apostle above, would have shown that carnal usages were substituted for spiritual exercises. I believe the whole verse should be translated thus: Upon the asur, upon the nebel, upon the higgayon, with the kinnor. Thus it stands in the Hebrew. Verse 4 For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work - I am delighted with thy conduct towards me; with the work of thy providence, the works of thy grace, and thy works of creation. Verse 5 Hour great are thy works! - They are multitudinous, stupendous, and splendid: and thy thoughts - thy designs and counsels, from which, by which, and in reference to which, they have been formed; are very deep - so profound as not to be fathomed by the comprehension of man. Verse 6 A brutish man knoweth not - איש בער ish baar, the human hog - the stupid bear - the boor; the man who is all flesh; in whom spirit or intellect neither seems to work nor exist. The brutish man, who never attempts to see God in his works. Neither doth a fool understand this - כסיל kesil, the fool, is different from בער baar, the brutish man; the latter has mind, but it is buried in flesh; the former has no mind, and his stupidity is unavoidable. Verse 7 When the wicked spring as the grass - This is a lesson which is frequently inculcated in the sacred writings. The favor of God towards man is not to be known by outward prosperity; nor is his disapprobation to be known by the adverse circumstances in which any person may be found. When, however, we see the wicked flourish, we may take for granted that their abuse of God's mercies will cause him to cut them off as cumberers of the ground; and, dying in their sins, they are destroyed for ever. Verse 8 High for evermore - They are brought down and destroyed; but the Lord is exalted eternally, both for his judgments and his mercies. Verse 10 Like the horn of a unicorn - ראים reeym, perhaps here, the oryx or buffalo. But the rhinoceros seems to be the real monoceros of the Scriptures. I shall be anointed unth fresh oil - Perhaps the allusion is here not to any sacramental anointing, but to such anointings as were frequent among the Asiatics, especially after bathing, for the purpose of health and activity. Verse 11 Mine eye also shall see, - and mine ears shall hear - Even in my own times my enemies shall be destroyed; and of this destruction I shall either be an eye-witness or have authentic information. Verse 12 The r

nown 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 foregoing verses , 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, v. 1 . They are such as make the Most High their habitation ( v. 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, Isa. xxvi. 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 ( v. 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, v. 11, 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, Matt. iv. 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 ( v. 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 ( Rom. xvi. 20 ), The God of peace shall tread Satan under your feet. Christ has broken the serpent's head, spoiled our spiritual enemies ( Col. ii. 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 xvi. 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 v. 23 ); nay, and have ways and means of taming them, Jam. iii. 7 . II. He brings in God himself speaking words of comfort to the saints, and declaring the mercy he had in store for them, v. 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 ( v. 14 and again v. 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 Ps. xxxiv. 19 ; 2 Tim. iii. 11 ; iv. 18 . (2.) That he will, in the mean time, be with them in trouble, v. 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 ( Ps. lxxxv. 8 ), answer by providences, bringing in seasonable relief, and answer by graces, strengthening them with strength in their souls ( Ps. cxxxviii. 3 ); thus he answered Paul with grace sufficient, 2 Cor. xii. 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, Isa. xxxiii. 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 xii. 26 . (5.) That they shall have a sufficiency of life in this world ( v. 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. It is a groundless opinion of some of the Jewish writers (who are usually free of their conjectures) that this psalm was penned and sung by Adam in innocency, on the first sabbath. It is inconsistent with the psalm itself, which speaks of the workers of iniquity, when as yet sin had not entered. It is probable that it was penned by David, and, being calculated for the sabbath day, I. Praise, the business of the sabbath, is here recommended, ver. 1-3 . II. God's works, which gave occasion for the sabbath, are here celebrated as great and unsearchable in general, ver. 4-6 . In particular, with reference to the works both of