Psalm 91

Like me you probably memorized Psalm 91 soon after you memorized Psalm 23, the shepherd’s psalm. Psalm 91 is called the brooding psalm or  the hen-and-chick psalm by those of us who saw live chickens in our childhood. If you have never seen this let me explain it by inviting you to go to the web-search and typing in “clucking hen.” Here you will see pictures of hens with fluffed out feathers and small chicks hiding under the safety of the mother hen's wings.

Although Psalm 91 does not have a title to tell us who wrote it or where or when it was written we would like to know these things.  So may we imagine that it was composed in the time of Moses and Joshua and that they are the human characters in the text? Using that assumption we can go on to imagine we are watching a drama of four acts with Joshua and Moses as the characters, each having a single monologue part. God has the opening and closing parts where He is heard but not seen.

Here then is the plot of Psalm 91
Act 1.  The Precept, verse 1
Act 2. Joshua’s Declaration, verse 2
Act 3. Moses  Reply of Blessing, verses 3 - 13
Act 4. God’s Amen verses 14 - 16

Act 1
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

Act 2
I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!"

Act 3
For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.  A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, {But} it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the LORD, my refuge, {Even} the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.  For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down.

Act
Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him {securely} on high, because he has known My name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. "With a long life I will satisfy him And let him see My salvation.

The curtain comes down after each act and the audience, meaning every reader of this Psalm and particularly us, is given a period of time to ponder what it might mean to us, not reaching for more popcorn or gum or gab, but thinking and considering what we have seen and heard.

For Considerations

Act 1.
The word dwell is much more than a visit or short stay, it infers a permanent home. The word shelter or secret means a place separate from all distractions of things or people. My secret place with God is not a display thing. Jesus said, “And when you pray enter into your closet and pray to your Father.” Here we (you and I)  must live every day to be safe.

Act 2.
Just like Joshua did I need to make a personal choice and decide to stay close to Jesus, listening to Him speak to me through reading His Word and speaking to Him in prayer.

Act 3.
Because I love God He will deliver me from snares and pestilence and destruction. Also He will cover me and be a refuge for me from all the weapons of the enemy. I need not be afraid either by day or by night from of terror or sickness  nor enemies much bigger than I am, for He will even send His angels to help me and  keep me safe. 

Act 4.
 When I stand up for God He promises to stand up for me and satisfy me. And since He is God He will keep His promise. And since I have the opportunity I can choose to live in His presence each day with all His blessings.

Matthew 6:6-13
"But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees {what is done} in secret will reward you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.']