▼91:1 There are 4 names for God in the first 2 verses of this psalm: Most High, Almighty, LORD and God. Some of them come again later. They are 4 different words in the Hebrew Bible. Hebrew is the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the psalms. Jews are people that were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. This is what the words mean:

– Most High means that God is more important than anyone else.

– Almighty means that God is more powerful than anyone else.

– LORD means that he will never die.

– God means that he decides what will happen.

▼91:2 A castle is a strong building where you are safe from your enemies. He does not mean that God is a castle. He means that God is as a castle. So, he trusts (or believes that he will be safe) in God.

▼91:3 A trap is what people catch birds in. The bird cannot see it. But God will not let anything catch his servant (verse 3a).

God will not let illness destroy his servant (verse 3b).

▼91:4 Verse 4 gives us a picture of God as a bird! A bird has wings (that it flies with) and feathers (on its wings). It makes young birds safe under these feathers and wings. God does the same for his servants. He makes them safe. Another word for ‘make safe’ is ‘protect.’

There are two shields in verse 4 also, big and small. Shields are what soldiers protect themselves with. God protects – or makes safe – his people. But the shield is only a picture. It is a picture of God’s loyalty. Loyalty means that you do not stop being a friend to someone. You do not stop giving them help whatever happens. Wings and feathers are pictures of big and small shields. Here is an example of Hebrew poetry. The Jews wrote the psalms in Hebrew. Poetry is a special and beautiful way to use words. The Jews said the same thing with two different sets of words!

▼This verse is empty because in this translation its contents have been moved to form part of verse Psa 91:6.

▼This verse is empty because in this translation its contents have been moved to form part of verse Psa 91:10.

▼91:9-10 In verses 5-10, we read about dangers, arrows, illnesses, bad things and fighting. Arrows are sharp sticks that bows shoot. Today we have guns! Bible students have two ideas about all these things:

– They are a plague. A plague is an illness that people catch from each other. If one person becomes ill, many other people that live near become ill also.

– They are bad (or evil) spirits. An evil spirit is a servant of God’s enemy Satan. We cannot see them, but we can see what they do. They make people ill in their minds and their bodies.

These verses tell us not to be afraid! If we trust in God (ask God for help and believe that he will give it) then he will protect us from illness and evil spirits. It is important to know that the psalm does not mean the illnesses that we often get, like colds. It means plagues. Even if we become ill through a plague, God will protect us after we die. We will live with him in heaven, his home. And God will always protect us from evil spirits. In verse 7, ‘by your side’ may mean ‘by your left side.’ In verse 9, it says ‘the Most High is your home.’ This is picture language while we live on earth. It means we can go to God any time and anywhere. We can pray to him and he will hear and answer us. As it says in verse 15. When we die and get to heaven then God’s home will be our home. But we must love and obey God for this to happen.

▼91:12 In verse 11, the angels are God’s servants. We cannot always see them, but they are always there to give us help. In verse 13, lions are animals that eat other animals. They even eat people! Cobras and serpents are snakes. When they bite you, they put poison into you. But ‘walk on’ and ‘under your feet’ mean that lions and snakes will not hurt us if we love and obey God. But this does not mean that we have to walk on snakes to see if the psalm is true. It means that if we walk on it without knowing that it is there, we will be safe.

▼91:16 The last three verses are words of God. ‘What I will do for him’ in verse 16 means ‘the things I do to save him.’ We call this ‘his salvation.’ Salvation means ‘saving’ or ‘making safe.’ In the psalm, it means while we are alive on earth. Christians believe it means after we die also.