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Psalms 91 Outline and Introduction

PART I-TRANSLATION AND
OUTLINE

PSALM 91: NASB, NKJV, NRSV,GNV
Psalm 91: NASB
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, �My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!�
3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked.
9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place.
10 No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent.
11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
14 �Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
15 �He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.
16 �With a long life I will satisfy him And let him see My salvation.�

Psalm 91: NKJV
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, �He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.�
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
14 �Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has 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 honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.�

Psalm 91: NRSV
1 You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 will say to the Lord, �My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.�
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence;
4 he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day,
6 or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place,
10 no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14 Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name.
15 When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them.
16 With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.

Psalm 91: GNB
1 Whoever goes to the Lord for safety, whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty,
2 can say to him, �You are my defender and protector. You are my God; in you I trust.�
3 He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers and from all deadly diseases.
4 He will cover you with his wings; you will be safe in his care; his faithfulness will protect and defend you.
5 You need not fear any dangers at night or sudden attacks during the day
6 or the plagues that strike in the dark or the evils that kill in daylight.
7 A thousand may fall dead beside you, ten thousand all round you, but you will not be harmed.
8 You will look and see how the wicked are punished.
9 You have made the Lord your defender, the Most High your protector,
10 and so no disaster will strike you, no violence will come near your home.
11 God will put his angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go.
12 They will hold you up with their hands to keep you from hurting your feet on the stones.
13 You will trample down lions and snakes, fierce lions and poisonous snakes.
14 God says, �I will save those who love me and will protect those who acknowledge me as Lord.
15 When they call to me, I will answer them; when they are in trouble, I will be with them. I will rescue them and honour them.
16 I will reward them with long life; I will save them.�

Psalm 91 Outline:

The basic point of this scripture is to acknowledge God�s greatness and the security he provides to us no matter how harsh the situation. 3 basic ideas come out from the text:

1. The qualitative characteristics of God
2. The onslaught of human needs and troubles, and
3. How the two interact.

Characteristics of God:
� Shelter, secret place (vs.1)
� Refuge, fortress, defender, protector (vs.2)
� Deliverer (vs. 3)
� Refuge, safety (vs.4)
� Punisher (vs. 8)
� Refuge, dwelling place, protector, defender (vs.9)
� Commander (vs.11)
� Deliverer, rewarder (vs. 14)
� Answerer, presence, rescuer, honorer (vs.15)
� Satisfier, revealer (vs. 16)

Human Needs/Troubles:
� Snare of the trapper, deadly pestilence (vs. 3)
� Terror of the night, arrows that fly by day (vs. 5)
� Pestilence in darkness, destruction at noonday (vs. 6)
� The fall (death) of others (vs.7)
� Evil, scourge, disaster, violence, plague (vs. 10)
� Lions and snakes (vs. 13)
� Trouble (vs. 15)

Their Interaction:
� In each instance where there is mention of a need or trouble from people, it is an act of God that is presiding over them to prevent or help them through the trial.
� There may be a wide sense of symbolism used in terms such as �lions� and �snakes,� but we will discover if this or other phrases are true later.

PART II-INTRODUCTION

Type: Thanksgiving or �Song of Trust�
� According to the Christian Resource Institute, Psalm 91 is a Specialized Thanksgiving (Todah) Psalm, and more specifically, a Song of Trust.
� A Song of Trust is a �todah psalm that moves even closer to a hymn. There is still some sense of the immediate experience of God, yet they usually are focused more on reflective praise that is generalized into affirmations about God. They are experience generalized to trust.�
� Todah: confession with thanksgiving, agreeing with God, extending worship to God as a sacrifice (for what God has already done and will do)
� Using Gunkel�s classifications, Psalm 91 is actually one of eleven wisdom Psalms.

      Literary Setting:
� Psalm 91 is located near the beginning of the fourth book in the Psalms (90-106).
� Psalm 91 does not cling to any specific set of works, but stands alone with an unknown author and specific purpose.
� Being in the fourth book, Psalm 91 exclusively uses �Yahweh� as its name for God, indicating that it most likely was written by someone in Judah, not Israel.

      Literary Structure:
� NASB: no stanzas, each verse is its own
� NKJV: no stanzas
� NRSV: stanzas: 1-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-13, 14-16
� GNB: stanzas: 1-6, 7-8, 9-13, 14-16
� NIV: stanzas: 1-2, 3-8, 9-13, 14-16
� The same basic structure is followed throughout with a few translations making a few different cuts. All separate after verses 8 and 13. The NRSV separates it the most.

      Parallelism and Meter:
� Verse 1: Synonymous parallelism, 3:3
� Verse 2: Synthetic parallelism, 3:2
� Verse 3: Incomplete w/o compensation, 2:2:2
� Verse 4: Synonymous parallelism, 2:2:2
� Verse 5: Synonymous parallelism, 3:2
� Verse 6: Synonymous parallelism, 2:2
� Verse 7: Incomplete w/o compensation, 2:2:2
� Verse 8: Synonymous parallelism, 2:2
� Verse 9: Incomplete w/o compensation, 3:2
� Verse 10: Synonymous parallelism, 2:3
� Verse 11: Incomplete w/o compensation, 3:2
� Verse 12: Incomplete with compensation, 2:3
� Verse 13: Synonymous parallelism, 3:3
� Verse 14:Chiastic parallelism, 4:4
� Verse 15: Synonymous parallelism, 2:2:2
� Verse 16: Synonymous parallelism, 2:2

      Title:
� Security of the One Who Trusts in the Lord .
Obviously a title added after the writing of the Psalm
No connection with the more common musical/authoritative terms or phrases found in titles.

Authorship and Date:
� Author unknown
� No traditional linking to any specific author
� With no specific author in mind, and no direct historical hints within this Psalm, it is difficult to give any distinct time of writing. In general, Mowinckel would say that nearly all the Psalms were written between 950 and 587 B.C. while the temple was present, so as to be used in temple worship. Gunkel would place this Psalm in the exile and restoration period following the fall of the temple.