King James Version
Psalms 91
16 verses with commentary
My Refuge and My Fortress
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. abide: Heb. lodge
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.</strong> This opening verse establishes a condition and promise: continual dwelling with God results in continual protection by God. The verse uses four different names/descriptions for God, each revealing aspects of His character.<br><br>"Dwelleth" (יֹשֵׁב/<em>yoshev</em>) means to sit, rem...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1, 2) **He . . . I**.—The especial difficulty of this psalm, its abrupt changes of person, meets us at the outset. The text literally rendered, runs: “*He sitting in the hiding place of the Most High; In the shadow of the Almighty he lodgeth, I say to Jehovah, My refuge and my fortress, My God, I trust in Him. *The change in the last clause presents no particular difficulty, as many similar insta...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. pour out your heart--**give full expression to feeling (1Sa 1:15; Job 30:16; Psa 42:4).
**ye people--**God's people.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 91
Chapter Outline
The safety of those who have God for their refuge.(1-8)
Their favour with Him.(9-16)
**Verses 1-8**
He that by faith chooses God for his protector, shall find all in him that he needs or can desire. And those who have found the comfort of making the Lord their refuge, cannot but desire that others may do so. The spiritual life is protected by Divine gra...
Read full commentary →I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.</strong> This verse shifts from third person observation (v.1) to first person declaration—personal testimony of faith. The psalmist models what dwelling in God's secret place looks like: vocal confession of trust and intimate personal relationship with God.<br><br>"I will say" (אֹמַר/<em>omar</em>) is em...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9. No kind of men are reliable, compared with God (Is 2:22; Jr 17:5).
**altogether--**alike, one as the other (Psa 34:3).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 91
Chapter Outline
The safety of those who have God for their refuge.(1-8)
Their favour with Him.(9-16)
**Verses 1-8**
He that by faith chooses God for his protector, shall find all in him that he needs or can desire. And those who have found the comfort of making the Lord their refuge, cannot but desire that others may do so. The spiritual life is protected by Divine gra...
Read full commentary →Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
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KJV Study Commentary
The promises continue: "Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence" (Hebrew <em>ki hu yatzilkha mi-pach yaqush mid-dever havvot</em>). Two threats: "snare of the fowler" (hidden traps) and "noisome pestilence" (deadly disease). The "fowler" hunts birds with traps—representing Satan's deceptions. "Pestilence" threatens physical life. God delivers from...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Snare of the fowler.**—The image of the net has occurred frequently before. (See Psalm 10:15, &c) Here, as in Ecclesiastes 9:12, it is used generally of any unexpected peril to life.
**Noisome pestilence.**—*Literally, pestilence of calamities, i.e., *fatal. (See Psalm 57:1, where the same word “calamities” occurs.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10. Not only are oppression and robbery, which are wicked means of wealth, no grounds of boasting; but even wealth, increasing lawfully, ought not to engross the heart.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 91
Chapter Outline
The safety of those who have God for their refuge.(1-8)
Their favour with Him.(9-16)
**Verses 1-8**
He that by faith chooses God for his protector, shall find all in him that he needs or can desire. And those who have found the comfort of making the Lord their refuge, cannot but desire that others may do so. The spiritual life is protected by Divine gra...
Read full commentary →He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust</strong>—This imagery draws from the Hebrew <em>אֵבְרָה</em> (evrah, pinions/feathers) and <em>כָּנָף</em> (kanaph, wings), depicting God as a protective mother bird sheltering her young. Jesus echoed this metaphor in Matthew 23:37, longing to gather Jerusalem as a hen gathers her chicks. The tender imagery contras...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Feathers . . . wings . . .**—For this beautiful figure, here elaborated, see Psalm 17:8, Note.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. once; twice--**(as in Job 33:14; 40:5), are used to give emphasis to the sentiment. God's power is tempered by His mercy, which it also sustains.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 91
Chapter Outline
The safety of those who have God for their refuge.(1-8)
Their favour with Him.(9-16)
**Verses 1-8**
He that by faith chooses God for his protector, shall find all in him that he needs or can desire. And those who have found the comfort of making the Lord their refuge, cannot but desire that others may do so. The spiritual life is protected by Divine gra...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night</strong> (פַּחַד לָיְלָה, <em>pachad lailah</em>)—the sudden, paralyzing dread that strikes in darkness, when enemies attack unexpectedly and fears magnify. This encompasses both literal dangers (night raids, prowling beasts) and spiritual terrors (demonic oppression, anxiety, nightmares).<br><br><strong>Nor for the arrow that flieth by day<...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Terror by night.**—Possibly a night attack by an enemy. (Comp. Song of Solomon 3:8; Proverbs 3:23-26.) Comp. Milton:
“To bless the doors from nightly harm.”
In this case the arrow flying by day would refer to dangers of actual battle. But it is quite possible that the latter may be merely the Oriental expression for the pestilence, since it is still so called by Arabians. “I desired to remov...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. for thou renderest--**literally, "that Thou renderest," &c., connected with "I heard this," as the phrase--"that power," &c. [Psa 62:11]--teaching that by His power He can show both mercy and justice.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 91
Chapter Outline
The safety of those who have God for their refuge.(1-8)
Their favour with Him.(9-16)
**Verses 1-8**
He that by faith chooses God for his protector, shall find all in him that he needs or can desire. And those who have found the comfort of making the Lord their refuge, cannot but desire that others may do so. The spiritual life is protected by Divine gra...
Read full commentary →Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday</strong>—The Hebrew דֶּבֶר (deber, pestilence) and קֶטֶב (qeteb, destruction) represent literal plagues and metaphorical spiritual dangers. The pairing of 'darkness' and 'noonday' creates a merism (totality through opposites): believers are protected from threats both hidden (nighttime disease)...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Darkness . . . noonday.**—Night and noon are, in Oriental climates, the most unwholesome, the former from exhalations, the latter from the fierce heat.
**Destruction.**—From a root meaning “to cut off;” here, from parallelism, “deadly sickness.”
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 91
Chapter Outline
The safety of those who have God for their refuge.(1-8)
Their favour with Him.(9-16)
**Verses 1-8**
He that by faith chooses God for his protector, shall find all in him that he needs or can desire. And those who have found the comfort of making the Lord their refuge, cannot but desire that others may do so. The spiritual life is protected by Divine gra...
Read full commentary →A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand</strong>—The hyperbolic contrast (אֶלֶף <em>eleph</em>, 'thousand' versus רְבָבָה <em>revavah</em>, 'ten thousand') emphasizes exponential escalation of danger while the believer remains supernaturally protected. This isn't a promise of physical immunity but of covenantal preservation—God's purposes for His people cannot...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **It shall not come nigh thee.**—*It, i.e., *no one of the dangers enumerated. The pious Israelite bears a charmed life. Safe under Divine protection, he only sees the *effect *of perils that pass by him harmless.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
PSALM 63 Psa 63:1-11. The historical occasion referred to by the title was probably during Absalom's rebellion (compare 2Sa 15:23, 28; 16:2). David expresses an earnest desire for God's favor, and a confident expectation of realizing it in his deliverance and the ruin of his enemies.
**1. early ... seek thee--**earnestly (Is 26:9). The figurative terms--
**dry and thirsty--**literally, "weary,"...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 91
Chapter Outline
The safety of those who have God for their refuge.(1-8)
Their favour with Him.(9-16)
**Verses 1-8**
He that by faith chooses God for his protector, shall find all in him that he needs or can desire. And those who have found the comfort of making the Lord their refuge, cannot but desire that others may do so. The spiritual life is protected by Divine gra...
Read full commentary →Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked</strong>—The Hebrew רַק בְּעֵינֶיךָ תַבִּיט (<em>raq be'eynekha tabbit</em>, 'only with your eyes you will look') emphasizes passive observation rather than personal experience. The righteous dwelling in God's shelter (v. 1) will witness divine judgment from a position of safety, not suffer it themselves.<br><br>The ph...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2. The special object of desire was God's perfections as displayed in his worship (Psa 27:4).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 91
Chapter Outline
The safety of those who have God for their refuge.(1-8)
Their favour with Him.(9-16)
**Verses 1-8**
He that by faith chooses God for his protector, shall find all in him that he needs or can desire. And those who have found the comfort of making the Lord their refuge, cannot but desire that others may do so. The spiritual life is protected by Divine gra...
Read full commentary →Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse serves as the psalm's pivot point, responding to the confidence expressed in verses 1-2. "Because" (כִּי/ki) introduces cause and effect: security flows from making God your refuge. "The LORD" (יְהוָה/YHWH) uses God's covenant name, while "the most High" (עֶלְיוֹן/'Elyon) emphasizes His sovereignty above all powers. The double designation affirms both intimate relationship (YHWH) and tr...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Thou . . .** my.—The difficulty of the change of person is avoided by the Authorised Version, but only with violence to the text, which runs, “For thou, Jehovah, my refuge; thou hast made the Most High thy habitation.” It is best to take the first line as a kind of under-soliloquy. The poet is assuring himself of the protection which will be afforded one who trusts in God; and he interrupts ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3. Experiencing God's mercy, which exceeds all the blessings of life, his lips will be opened for his praise (Psa 51:15).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-16**
Whatever happens, nothing shall hurt the believer; though trouble and affliction befal, it shall come, not for his hurt, but for good, though for the present it be not joyous but grievous. Those who rightly know God, will set their love upon him. They by prayer constantly call upon him. His promise is, that he will in due time deliver the believer out of trouble, and in the mea...
Read full commentary →There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.</strong> This verse presents God's protective promise to those who dwell in His secret place (v.1). The absolute language—"no evil," "no plague"—expresses comprehensive divine protection for those abiding in covenant relationship with Him.<br><br>"There shall no evil befall thee" uses <em>ra'ah</em> (רָעָה), ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Dwelling.**—Literally, *tent: *an instance in which the patriarchal life became stereotyped, so to speak, in the language. (See Note, Psalm 104:3.) Even we speak of “pitching our tent.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. Thus--**literally, "Truly."
**will I bless--**praise Thee (Psa 34:1).
**lift up my hands--**in worship (compare Psa 28:2).
**in thy name--**in praise of Thy perfections.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-16**
Whatever happens, nothing shall hurt the believer; though trouble and affliction befal, it shall come, not for his hurt, but for good, though for the present it be not joyous but grievous. Those who rightly know God, will set their love upon him. They by prayer constantly call upon him. His promise is, that he will in due time deliver the believer out of trouble, and in the mea...
Read full commentary →For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
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KJV Study Commentary
This promise of angelic protection reveals God's providential care through supernatural agents. The phrase 'give charge' (tsavah) indicates authoritative command, while 'keep thee' (shamar) means to guard, watch, or preserve. The scope 'in all thy ways' encompasses the believer's entire path, not just hazardous moments. Satan misapplied this verse by omitting 'in thy ways' when tempting Christ (Ma...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Angels.**—The idea of a special guardian angel for each individual has possibly been favoured by this verse, though it had its origin in heathen belief:
“By every man, as he is born, there stands
A spirit good, a holy guide of life.”
MENANDER.
Here, however, it is not one particular individual, but all who have fulfilled the conditions of Psalm 91:9-10 who are the objects of angelic charge....
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-8. Full spiritual blessings satisfy his desires, and acts of praise fill his thoughts and time.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-16**
Whatever happens, nothing shall hurt the believer; though trouble and affliction befal, it shall come, not for his hurt, but for good, though for the present it be not joyous but grievous. Those who rightly know God, will set their love upon him. They by prayer constantly call upon him. His promise is, that he will in due time deliver the believer out of trouble, and in the mea...
Read full commentary →They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They shall bear thee up in their hands</strong> (יִשָּׂאוּנְךָ עַל־כַּפָּיִם)—The Hebrew verb <em>nasa</em> means to lift, carry, or support, depicting angelic care with tenderness, as one carries an infant. The phrase <em>al-kapayim</em> (upon palms/hands) emphasizes protective intimacy.<br><br>Satan quoted this verse to tempt Jesus (Matthew 4:6, Luke 4:11), twisting divine protection int...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **In their hands.**—Literally, *on, *as a nurse a child. There is a Spanish proverb, expressive of great love and solicitude: “They carry him on the palms of their hands.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-8. Full spiritual blessings satisfy his desires, and acts of praise fill his thoughts and time.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-16**
Whatever happens, nothing shall hurt the believer; though trouble and affliction befal, it shall come, not for his hurt, but for good, though for the present it be not joyous but grievous. Those who rightly know God, will set their love upon him. They by prayer constantly call upon him. His promise is, that he will in due time deliver the believer out of trouble, and in the mea...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. adder: or, asp
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.</strong> This verse climaxes the psalm's catalog of dangers with imagery of absolute victory over the most terrifying predators—both literal beasts and symbolic spiritual enemies. The progression from defensive protection (earlier verses) to offensive triumph reveals God's people moving f...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Lion . . . adder . . . young lion.**—These are used no doubt, emblematically for the various obstacles, difficulties, and danger which threatens life. (For “adder,” see Note, Psalm 58:4; “dragon,” Psalm 74:13.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-8. Full spiritual blessings satisfy his desires, and acts of praise fill his thoughts and time.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-16**
Whatever happens, nothing shall hurt the believer; though trouble and affliction befal, it shall come, not for his hurt, but for good, though for the present it be not joyous but grievous. Those who rightly know God, will set their love upon him. They by prayer constantly call upon him. His promise is, that he will in due time deliver the believer out of trouble, and in the mea...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Because he hath set his love upon me</strong> (כִּי בִי חָשַׁק)—The Hebrew <em>chashaq</em> describes passionate attachment, clinging devotion. This is God's response to the believer's love, making Psalm 91 a divine covenant promise. <strong>Therefore will I deliver him</strong>—deliverance conditioned on love, yet God initiates: 'We love him because he first loved us' (1 John 4:19).<br><b...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14-16) Another abrupt change of person. The conclusion of the psalm comes as a Divine confirmation of the psalmist’s expression of confidence. (Comp. Psalm 50:15; Psalm 50:23, with these verses.)
(14) **Set his love upon me.**—Or, clung to me
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-8. Full spiritual blessings satisfy his desires, and acts of praise fill his thoughts and time.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-16**
Whatever happens, nothing shall hurt the believer; though trouble and affliction befal, it shall come, not for his hurt, but for good, though for the present it be not joyous but grievous. Those who rightly know God, will set their love upon him. They by prayer constantly call upon him. His promise is, that he will in due time deliver the believer out of trouble, and in the mea...
Read full commentary →He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
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KJV Study Commentary
God promises: "He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him" (Hebrew <em>yiq-ra'eni v-e'enehu immo-anokhi v-tzarah achalletzehu va-akhab-dehu</em>). Four divine commitments: answer prayer, accompany in trouble, deliver, and honor. The sequence progresses: God hears, God is present, God rescues, God exalts. The condition is calling ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9-10. those ... to destroy it--**or literally, "to ruin," or, "for ruin"; that is, such as seek to injure me (are) for ruin, appointed to it (compare Psa 35:8).
**shall go ... earth--**into the grave, or, to death; as their bodies are represented as a portion for--
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-16**
Whatever happens, nothing shall hurt the believer; though trouble and affliction befal, it shall come, not for his hurt, but for good, though for the present it be not joyous but grievous. Those who rightly know God, will set their love upon him. They by prayer constantly call upon him. His promise is, that he will in due time deliver the believer out of trouble, and in the mea...
Read full commentary →With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. long: Heb. length of days
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>With long life will I satisfy him</strong> (אֹרֶךְ יָמִים אַשְׂבִּיעֵהוּ, <em>orekh yamim asbi'ehu</em>)—God promises not merely length of days, but <em>satisfaction</em> (<em>sava'</em>, to be filled, satiated). The verb suggests complete fulfillment, not empty longevity. This echoes the Deuteronomic covenant blessing (Deut 30:20) where loving God equals 'length of days.'<br><br><strong>A...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16*)* **Long Life.**—The promise of a long life, while in accordance with the general feeling of the Old Testament, is peculiarly appropriate at the close of this psalm, which all through speaks of protection from danger that threatened life.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9-10. those ... to destroy it--**or literally, "to ruin," or, "for ruin"; that is, such as seek to injure me (are) for ruin, appointed to it (compare Psa 35:8).
**shall go ... earth--**into the grave, or, to death; as their bodies are represented as a portion for--
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-16**
Whatever happens, nothing shall hurt the believer; though trouble and affliction befal, it shall come, not for his hurt, but for good, though for the present it be not joyous but grievous. Those who rightly know God, will set their love upon him. They by prayer constantly call upon him. His promise is, that he will in due time deliver the believer out of trouble, and in the mea...
Read full commentary →