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As I have said in a couple of previous blog articles, I have been blessed to experience the Psalms as songs. The vast majority of these are performed by real people – a group called The Psalms Project – but there are a handful of musical Psalms I have found on YouTube that have been AI Generated. One of those is Psalm 91, and one of the things I like about the version I linked to is that it sounds like an 80s Christian Rock band is performing it. Listening to the Psalms as songs just “hits different” as the kids say. The reason should be obvious; all songs hit different when you experience them sung rather than just reading the lyric sheet in a normal talking tone. Anyone older than 25 who has just sat down and read aloud the lyrics from the lyric sheet of their favorite CD knows that. Secondly, you are saturating yourself in scripture, and meditating on the content. Having a passage go into your mind over and over and over on a regular basis is bound to lead you to some insight. I wrote of a couple of such insights in my article “Genesis 1 and Psalm 115: The Imago Dei and The Intermediate State”.

In this article, I’ll be exegeting Psalm 91. I believe Psalm 91 is meant to be a spiritual warfare psalm. Many psalms that mention battle and a desire to be delivered from enemies are usually either David being in a literal battle against literal flesh and blood enemies, or someone is being taken to court on false charges. It is not as though these Psalms cannot be re-appropriated in our day for our battles against enemies who are not flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12-20). However, I believe Psalm 91 was, from the original author’s perspective, a spiritual battle anthem. That is the case I will make in this article. I’ll give 4 points of argument for this; (1) That in the original Hebrew, the singer/listener would have heard the personal names of Canaanite deities. These get lost both in translation, both of the language and cultural context. (2) Mention of imagery clearly linked to Satan elsewhere in the inspired canon. (3) conceptual links with Paul’s Armor of God passage. (4) They were included among a list of psalms used in exorcisms at Qumran. Before I do, we should probably talk about how the Psalm opens; with the concept of abiding in The Lord. At the end of this article, I’ll examine Satan’s misuse of two verses from Psalm 91.

Abiding In The Lord

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
  I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:1-2, ESV)

The Psalm opens up with what sounds like a tautological statement: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of The Almighty.” If you dwell in the shelter of the most high, of course you’re under the shadow of The Almighty! However, this can be seen not as a tautology, but as a use of one of the most familiar types of parallelism; Synonymous Parallelism. This literary device is commonly found throughout the Old Testament, especially in wisdom literature like Psalms and Proverbs. The second line of a couplet restates the idea of the first line, but with different words. This is done for the sake of emphasis. The Psalmist is depicting Yahweh as a fortress, a strong fortified building or city in which you can find shelter from your enemies. In the Ancient Near East where conquest warfare was commonplace, this imagery would have resonated with people; especially warriors. The author also uses the imagery of a shadow. Think of sitting under the shadow of a large tree, being shielded from the harshness of the sun’s rays. What I most often think of is a small child running into the arms of his father, who is much bigger than him and is perceived to be much bigger than the threat he’s running from (a bullying child, an angry dog, or what have you). And perhaps that is the point. When we’re under attack from the enemy, we are to seek shelter in the arms of our loving Heavenly Father. He is a really Big God! Our current spiritual Father is more powerful than our old spiritual father (John 1:12 cf. John 8:44, 1 John 3:10)! The Lion Of Judah is greater than the lion who roams the Earth searching for souls to devour (Revelation 5:4-5, 1 Peter 5:18)! He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4)! “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1, KJV). Let that sink in. You are taking shelter under the shadow of the Almighty. All Mighty! Satan has to go through the God of all gods in order to get to you! The wolves have to go through a Mighty Shepherd in order to devour you! (cf. Psalm 23, John 10:27-30).

What is of notice is that all of the major names of God in the Old Testament are in use here. “Elyon” (Most High), “Yahweh” (The LORD), “Elohim” (God), And “Shaddai” (Almighty). All of these names don’t usually cluster like this, but astute biblical readers will remember when these names are introduced in pivotal moments of Israel’s history. There is a very real danger of going down some rabbit trails here concerning the divine names. ^[1]For example, when these names were revealed to humanity in history and/or in the biblical text, and that can easily slide you into debates about JEDP a.k.a The Documentary Hypothesis. and I’m sure most of my readers are tired of 50 minute essays. Let me just say here that it seems to me like all of these names are clustering together for the sake of telling the reader/listener “I want to make absolutely sure we’re clear on which of the gods I’m talking about. I’m not just talking about any god. I’m talking about the God of all gods.” This is not Baal, or Asherah, or Dagon. This is Elohim, El Shaddai, Yahweh, El Elyon. The one and only Maximally Great Being. ^[2]For a discussion on the reality or lackthereof of other gods, check out articles I have written in the past like “In Defense Of The Divine Council Worldview: A Response To Marcia … Continue reading

One Sunday morning, my pastor at Powdersville First Baptist Church was preaching through Jesus’ I Am sayings. Something stuck out to me during his sermon on Jesus’ “I Am The Vine” discourse ^[3]See Pastor Miles Bridges, “I Am The Vine”, sermon given on May 11th 2025, “PFBC Sunday Service 05/11/2025” on YouTube.com, sermon starts 49 minutes in. –> … Continue reading which prompted me to do some poking around in my Logos Bible App after the service. I opened up Logos and went on kind of journey from John 15 to Psalm 91, and opened up my Septuagint interlinear. Because the concept of abiding in Yahweh is mentioned in the first verse of Psalm 91. My ESV uses “Abide” in both places. That isn’t very helpful as The Bible wasn’t written in English. But simply highlighting the word to bring up the original language wasn’t as helpful as it normally is either as Psalm 91 was written in Hebrew and The New Testament was written in Greek. So I opened up a new tab, went to my Septuagint Greek-Interlinear ^[4]Since the LXX would have been THE Greek version of The Old Testament that the New Testament authors would have been familiar with. and wondered if the Greek word for abide in John 15 was the same as that in Psalm 91:1. Turns out, it wasn’t. But both Meinate (John 15) and aulizomai (Psalm 91:1, LXX) ^[5]Technically this Psalm is Psalm 90 in the LXX. convey the same concept of abiding, lodging, being inside of a place, dwelling the night, etc. They’re pretty much synonyms. ^[6]See Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977), 533. And Garwood P. Anderson, … Continue reading

So, as I wrote in one of my other anchored Logos notes “To abide in Christ not only enables you to bear the fruit of Galatians 5:22-23, but also enables you to claim the promises of The Lord’s protection from the spiritual forces of evil in Psalm 91.”

John 15:1-8 (ESV): “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

And so, Psalm 91 is not a blanket promise to humanity. It is a promise only to faithful Yahwhists. It is a promise to those who abide in The Lord.

Spiritual Warfare Psalm (Reason 1): Mention Of Canaanite Deities In The Text

“For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.” (Psalm 91:3-6, ESV, emphasis mine in bold)

The Hebrew word for “pestilence” is דֶּבֶר (deber), which is distinct from דָּבָר (dabar), the Hebrew word for “word.” The Septuagint’s translation, which uses the Greek word for “word” (λόγος), suggests that the translator was either working from a different Hebrew manuscript or making an interpretive choice, as the standard Hebrew text clearly refers to a plague, not a word. That said, if “word” is in view, this would have interesting theological implications for spiritual warfare elsewhere as Satan, the devil, uses lies and deceit to lead people away from God, such as in John 8:44 where Satan is called “The Father of lies” by Jesus, and Genesis 3 where the devil tempts Adam and Eve to disobey God so they can become like gods. ^[7]It is debated whether the serpent in Genesis 3 is the devil, but his identity as Satan is the traditional view. And while I am all for challenging traditional interpretations, I think this is a case … Continue reading ^[8]I don’t think The Serpent’s words in Genesis 3 should be “You will be like God” but rather “You will be like the gods”. (Genesis 3:5). There is a whole theological argument I could make … Continue reading The way to counter the deadly word would be with God’s life giving word, which the Apostle Paul likens to a sword (Ephesians 6:17). Jesus certainly does this in Matthew 4 with his repeated “It is written” responses. However, I do think the Hebrew rendering here is “deber”, not “debar” which means “Pestilence”.

As The Dictionary Of Deities And Demons In The Bible (DDD) says “Deber is one of the three proverbial causes of death on a wide scale. It is attested some 50 times in the Bible along with war and famine (mainly in Jeremiah and Ezekiel). Besides this empirical meaning, it seems to be used a number of times in a personified sense as a demon or evil deity.” ^[9]G. del Olmo Lete, “Deber,” in The Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, ed. Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. … Continue reading

The Dictionary Of Deities and Demons In The Bible also says “The tradition of Resheph as a god of pestilence is attested in Deut 32:24 and Ps 78:48. The first text, a passage of the Song of Moses, deals with those who provoked God to anger and were unfaithful: they are punished with hunger and destroyed by Resheph and →Qeteb (“I will heap (?) evils upon them, my arrows I will spend on them; wasted with hunger, devoured by Resheph and Qeteb the poisonous one”, Deut 32:23–24a)” ^[10]G. del Olmo Lete, “Resheph,” in The Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, ed. Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans … Continue reading

Again, citing DDD, “The term Qeteb appears four times in the OT. Its basic significance is ‘destruction’, (perhaps etymologically ‘that which is cut off’) though the contexts suggest that other nuances are present. Various scholars have translated it as ‘plague’ or ‘pestilence’ in the context of its parallel use with rešep, deber. The term has overtones of a divine name… qz.b [pronounced ke zev’] occurs once in [an] Ugaritic [text] (KTU 1.5 ii:24) and may be a kinsman of Mot.” ^[11]Ibid. Page 695 Mot is a very famous Ugaritic Canaanite deity—the god of death. So those two are mentioned in tandem. That’s part of the argument that qeteb is probably another Canaanite deity.

On Episode 324 of The Naked Bible Podcast, in talking about Psalm 91, Dr. Michael S. Heiser said the following; “So you could read Hosea 13 very easily because Mot is quite a well-known Canaanite deity—personified death. And this also happens in the Hebrew Bible. Sheol is personified in a couple of passages and so is death, including this one, because Death is addressed. ‘O Death.’ ‘O Mot, where are your plagues?’ ‘Where is deber and qeteb? Hey, Mot! Where’s deber and qeteb?’ And if God is saying, ‘I’m going to ransom these people from the power of Sheol,’ this is a taunt. This is the God of Israel saying to Mot (to Death, the god of the Canaanites), “Hey, dude. Where are your buddies?” [laughs] “They just weren’t too effective here, because I’m ransoming these people from Death. I’m taking them out of your hands.” So you have a flavor here of a pretty strong theological polemic that really involves or revolves around taking these terms as deity figures, which in Canaanite texts, they were. There’s a good indication they were. So it helps frame this discussion a little bit.” ^[12]Michael S. Heiser, The Naked Bible Podcast, “Episode 324: Psalm 91 and Demons”. –> https://nakedbiblepodcast.com/podcast/naked-bible-324-psalm-91-and-demons/

In his book, “The Psalms For You”, Christopher Ash writes “The words ‘terror’, ‘arrow’, ‘pestilence that stalks’ and ‘plague that destroys’ may even have demonic overtones, as though the king is being reassured that God will protect him from every kind of danger, even the most darkly supernatural horrors of the world of demons and spirits.” ^[13]Christopher Ash, Psalms for You, ed. Carl Laferton, God’s Word for You (The Good Book Company, 2020), 183. I can’t remember who it was, but someone I read or heard mentioned that the times of day are also interesting to note. As natural events, terror, pestilence, and destruction are not things that happen merely as specific times of day. Germs don’t have a time when they clock in and clock out. These things can happen at any time. This is another point in the cumulative case that evil spiritual entities may be in view here.

Spiritual Warfare Psalm (Reason 2): Imagery Clearly Descriptive Of Satan Elsewhere In The Inspired Canon

“You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.” (Psalm 91:13, ESV)

After several verses mentioning the types of threats the faithful Yahwhist will be protected from, and that a thousand will fall at his side and ten thousand at his right hand, but no harm will come near him, the Psalmist stops talking. From verse 13 on through the rest of the Psalm, Yahweh begins to speak. Yahweh only speaks in the second person in verse 13. In verses 14-16, he only speaks about the Psalmist in third person language. This indicates that Yahweh is addressing someone other than the psalmist (and me, and whoever this psalm applies to). In verse 13 though, Yahweh tells the Psalmist (and me) that he will tread upon “the lion and adder”, and that we will trample “the young lion and the serpent” under our feet. The ESV renders the Hebrew word “tannin” as “serpent”. The King James Version more likely has the more accurate rendering “Dragon” given that “tannin” has some etymological connections to mythical sea dragons like Leviathan (Psalm 74:13-14, Isaiah 27:1) and Tiamat (from the Enuma Elish). Whether or not serpent as we tend to think of it is referred to in the second colon, the word “adder” definitely puts that imagery across.

Who in The Bible is compared to a lion, an adder, and a dragon? I think you know. Satan fits the profile here.

Serpent/Adder – In Genesis 3, we read of Adam and Eve being tempted by a serpent, and although it is debated whether the serpent in Eden is Satan, I think scholars like Michael S. Heiser and Ben Stanhope make a good case from the Hebrew language, ancient iconography, and cross-canonical references in The Bible that the traditional view is right. See the sources cited in Footnote 7 for the exegetical and theological case for this interpretation. To defend that interpretation here would make for a much longer article. But yes, I think the biblical evidence shows that the Edenic villain is Satan, and in the mytho-history, he is depicted as a cunning serpent. ^[14]Please don’t misunderstand me here. I do not think that Genesis 1-11 is mythological in the sense that the stories are not true or have no basis in reality. Rather, I would agree with Dr. William … Continue reading

Lion – In 1 Peter 5:8, we read “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (ESV, emphasis mine in bold)

Dragon – In Revelation 12:9, we read “And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” (ESV). I honestly could have quoted this one verse for a lot of the images of Psalm 91:13, they all coagulate here as well. One of the reasons I think the Edenic Serpent was Satan is precisely because John the Revelator, whose book is just as inspired as Genesis (2 Timothy 3:16-17) says that the ancient serpent became known as “the devil” and “Satan”. To what ancient serpent could John possibly be referring to than the most infamous one that his readers (especially long-time Jewish readers) would have been all too familiar with? But notice that he is also called a “dragon”.

All of the animalistic imagery that’s applied to Satan elsewhere in the canonical text is clustered together here in Psalm 91. Now, granted, some of these titles are applied to Satan in later canonical books. It might be objected that the human Psalm writer had no idea of a great adversary of God called “Satan” at the time of this psalm’s composition, and thus, I am eisegeting the passage. However, I don’t think this is legitimate. While one can “read The Bible from left to right” ^[15]This is a term biblical scholar Ronn Johnson has coined, and has used in several episodes of The Divine Council Worldview Podcast. The phrase “reading the Bible from left to right” is an … Continue reading one can and should also take a holistic approach to reading scripture. The same Holy Spirit who inspired Paul’s and John’s writings also inspired the Psalmist and the author of Genesis. I am in favor of getting hot-off-the-presses interpretation. Sometimes, even often times, there is no reason to think that there is further meaning beyond than what the original human author and audience would have understood. But sometimes later inspired books of The Bible shed light on earlier ones. And if we take seriously the idea that “All scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16), then we’ll not shrink back from letting later books inform our reading of earlier ones. Another objection might be that when Paul said that all scripture was God breathed, he was referring to the Old Testament scriptures, not The New Testament. However, it makes no sense to exclude The New Testament from Paul’s statement. Paul can be interpreted as saying “For any writing X, if X is scripture, X is God breathed.” If a New Testament writing is scripture, then it follows logically that that New Testament writing is God breathed. It is simple modus ponens reasoning. (1) All scripture is God breathed. (2) The book of Revelation is scripture. (3) Therefore, the book of Revelation is God breathed. And so, in spite of the fact that The New Testament hadn’t been completed at the time Paul said this, it seems clear to me that the principle applies.

In Episode 324 of The Naked Bible Podcast, Michael Heiser told his audience to direct their attention to Psalm 58:1-6. Psalm 58:1-2 has language that is very similar to the judgment of the gods in Psalm 82. “Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly? No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.” (ESV) And then verses 3-4 go onto say “The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear, so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter.” (ESV)

So in addition to the serpent imagery invoking the image of the seraph-devil of Genesis 3, we have Psalm 58, which clearly shares conceptual ideas with Psalm 82, talking about how the wicked are astranged from the womb, having venom like a serpent. And this is after the Psalmist asks the lowercase g gods whether they indeed declare what is right. Psalm 58:6 mentions the breaking of the lion’s teeth. So yes, inter-canonically I think Psalm 91:13 has a touch point with 1 Peter 5:8 where the devil is likened to a roaming lion that roam about the Earth, searching for souls to devour, but they’re also I think, is a connection point with Psalm 58:6. That Psalm 58 clearly is chastizing supernatural beings make this a relevant conceptual link as part of the cumulative case for Psalm 91 being a spiritual warfare Psalm.

Finally, this idea of trending on Satan gets picked up in two other verses in The Bible, one in The Old Testament and the other in the New Testament. In Romans 16:20, the Apostle Paul wrote “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” (ESV) which has some conceptual link with Genesis 3:15, the famous “proto-Evangelion” where the seed of Eve will crush the serpent under his feet even as the serpent bruises his heel. And Jesus fulfilled this in his death on the cross (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 19, 1 Corinthians 15:3, et. al.). Because the Messiah’s heel was bruised by the serpent. A nail was driven through his feet. But wait a second, it’s the Messiah that crushes the Serpent’s head, right? Yes. But we need to remember our unity in Christ. In our union with Christ, His victories are ours. ^[16]See the GotQuestions.org articles “What Does It Mean To Have Union With Christ?” –> https://www.gotquestions.org/union-with-Christ.html. I think that is why Paul says that while it is under our feet that Satan will be crushed, God is the one who is doing the crushing. I think of it as like a father guiding his child’s hand when teaching him how to write or use a tool. Through God The Son’s power, Satan is under His and His bride’s feet! If that doesn’t get an amen out of you, I don’t know what will!

Spiritual Warfare Psalm (Reason 3): Conceptual Links With Paul’s Armor Of God Passage.

Paul’s famous Armor Of God passage is found in Ephesians 6:12-19. It says “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,” (ESV)

In Ephesians 6:17 which is part of the famous “Armor Of God” passage in Ephesians 6:10-20 seems to paralleled here in Psalm 91:4 where God’s truth or faithfulness is likened to a shield and a buckler. In the Ephesians passage, there is a shield and that shield is called “The Shield Of Faith”. The King James Version renders the Hebrew as “Truth”.” In contrast, the English Standard Version renders it as “Faithful.” This is interesting, as I think of truth in the English language as being propositional. In contrast, faithfulness is an attribute of a person. But the Hebrew can be translated either way, and I don’t think the meaning of the verse is significantly changed regardless of which English rendering we go with. Faithfulness might be better because it corresponds so nicely with the shield of faith in Ephesians 6. After all, your faith is only as good as who you are placing your faith in. If your faith is in something unreliable, then it won’t be a very good shield. On the other hand, if you are placing your faith in someone who is not just reliable, but has a track record of always doing what he says he’s going to do, then you have a really sturdy shield. Your faith or trust is well placed. And in scripture, we see that God has a wonderful track record of always doing what he says he’s going to do. His promises are sure!

For example, in Joshua 21:45, we read “Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.”. In Psalm 77, the Psalmist is reflecting on God’s past faithfulness to bolster His confidence in Him in the present. Numbers 23:19 says “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (KJV)

Spiritual Warfare Psalm (Reason 4): Psalm 91 Was Included In A List Of Exorcistic Psalms At Qumran

Craig Evans is a very well-known New Testament scholar. He had an article back in 2009 on Psalm 91 titled “Jesus and Evil Spirits in the Light of Psalm 91.” The initial source for that was Baptistic Theologies 1 (2009): pages 43-58. It’s also published in a book called Celebrating the Dead Sea Scrolls: A Canadian Contribution. It’s edited by the late Peter Flint. In this article, Craig Evans starts by saying;

“Commentators have long suspected that this psalm was understood as offering assurance against demonic affliction. However, the discovery at Qumran of Psalm 91 in combination with exorcism psalms has pretty well settled the matter once and for all: Psalm 91 apparently was understood in the time of Jesus as offering divine assurances of protection against demonic powers.” ^[17]Craig Evans, “Jesus and Evil Spirits in The Light Of Psalm 91”, 2009 –> https://www.academia.edu/9929232/Jesus_and_Psalm_91_in_Light_of_the_Exorcism_Scrolls

In a nutshell, the Qumran community had a list of psalms that they would use when casting demons out of people. Evans pojnts out that many of these were extra biblical psalms; they weren’t part of the 150 Psalms we find in our Bibles. Both Craig Evans in the Academia.edu article as well as Michael Heiser in Episode 324 of The Naked Bible Podcast go into more of the specifics of this discovery, so for those wanting further information, I recommend you check out these resources. But, the fact that the Qumran community believed Psalm 91 to be a good Psalm to use in exorcisms is just more evidence that it should be understood as a spiritual warfare Psalm. ^[18]As opposed to just a regular warfare Psalm in which God promises to protect Israel’s king and/or the Israelite army as they battle against other nations, as interpreters like Christopher Ash … Continue reading.

For all of these reasons, I think that Psalm 91 is most plausibly understood to be a spiritual warfare Psalm, or as the title of this article calls it; our battle anthem against the devil. Let us now talk about a few extra interesting things about this Psalm before I move onto talking about Satan’s infamous misuse of it in Matthew 4.

God Will Cover You With His Pinions

Psalm 91:4 says “He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.” (ESV)

We’ve already looked at this verse in its conceptual link with Ephesians 6 and the Shield Of Faith. However, let’s focus on the first half of the verse now. We are told that God will cover us in His pinions. If you’re like me, you’re probably going “What the heck is a pinion?” Well, this is why I used the NIV up until recently, ^[19]See my article “Why I Switched My Main Bible Translation (NIV to ESV)” for a discussion on some of the reasons as to why the NIV isn’t my main translation anymore. Basically it … Continue reading because they clarified that “He will cover you with his feathers” (NIV). Ironically the infamous “hard to understand” King James Version also renders it “He shall cover thee with his feathers.” ^[20]This is a good example of why comparing passages in multiple translations is a good idea if you don’t have access to the original languages. If you didn’t know what was meant here, after … Continue reading The interesting thing about this is that this image of God being some winged deity is a recurring theme in the psalms. In his book “Reading Wisdom and Psalms As Christian Scripture”, Christopher Ansburry writes, “A sensitivity to ancient Near Eastern iconography adds a visual and historical focus to the imagery in Psalms. For example, Psalms often depicts Yahweh as a bird, covering his people in the shadow of his wings (17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 63:7; 91:4). This metaphor is concretized in image.s across the ancient world that depict deities sheltering others under their wings.” ^[21]Christopher B. Ansberry, Reading Wisdom and Psalms as Christian Scripture: A Literary, Canonical, and Theological Introduction, Reading Christian Scripture (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A … Continue reading

This is a perfect example of why getting into the cultural context should be of interest to Christians, rather than settling for a “Just Me and My Bible” approach to Bible study. ^[22]See my article “A Critique Of ‘Just Me And My Bible'” to see a discussion on that. But in a nutshell, this phrase is a derogatory way to describe the naive assumption that scripture … Continue reading In this case, while you would correctly understand the imagery of a big bird shielding her young (maybe flapping away threats?), you wouldn’t know that this is yet another case of the biblical authors taking pagan imagery to steal glory from their gods, and properly attribute it to who really runs the cosmos.

A lot of the Psalms that depict Yahweh as protecting His people under their wings can be understood just fine by simply reading the text. However, when you get that Ancient Near Eastern context, you start to see them in a whole new light. “Oh! So that’s why they phrased it that way.” We can see that this is just another polemic against pagan deities. The Old Testament prophets and Psalmist didn’t need to refute atheism. With some possible rare exceptions (e.g Psalm 14:1, Psalm 53:1), everyone believed in gods. The prophets and the Psalmists, rather, had the task of proving that Yahweh was superior to all other gods and that therefore, Yahweh was to be worshipped instead of them. The Psalms depicting Yahweh as a winged protector is just one more way of doing that.

God’s Comforting Decree To The Divine Council

The Psalm ends with Yahweh Himself doing the speaking. As already mentioned, Yahweh only speaks to the reader/listener in the second person in one verse. In the rest of the Psalm, He speaks in the third person, indicating that He’s talking about the Psalmist (or anyone to whom this psalm applies) to someone else. I take the view that God is decreeing these things to His divine council.

“Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder:
The young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
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.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him, and honour him.
With long life will I satisfy him,
And shew him my salvation.” (Psalm 91:13-16, KJV)

We’ve already analyzed the part about trending on the lion and the adder. God says “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him.” This is getting into language about loyalty or allegiance. The work of biblical scholars like Matthew Bates and Ronn Johnson, as well as pastors like Anthony Delgado are leading the charge in changing about the way we think about the word “Faith”. ^[23]Matthew Bates talks about this in books such as “Salvation By Allegiance Alone: Rethinking Faith, Works, and The Gospel Of Jesus The King”. And Anthony Delgado talks about this in his … Continue reading Unfortunately, I’ve not read any of Bates or Delgato’s (but I plan to, I swear!). That said, based on what I’ve heard and read about this “Salvation By Allegience” view from others, it seems sound, and I think it has the potential to solve common problems in the Evangelical church such as Nominal Christianity (i.e James 2:19 type of Christianity) and the issue of assurance of salvation. Based on what Ronn Johnson has said about it, and based on what I’ve heard Matthew Bates say in an interview, faith is not merely belief in a set of doctrines, nor is it merely trust in a person. Although the “trust” aspect is definitely a factor. For one thing, I’m not going to swear my allegiance to a person I don’t think exists. And believing someone exists is logically prior to trusting them. I’m also not going to be loyal to someone I don’t trust. I can feign loyalty, but it won’t be true loyalty. So “Believing Loyalty” as Michael Heiser would put it, or “Faithfulness” as Ronn Johnson would call it, or “Allegience” as Matthew Bates would call it still needs what popular Christian Apologists characterize as “belief that” and “belief in” to logically precede. Because, again, I need to believe that God exists and I need to trust in His character before I can be truly loyal. (cf. Hebrews 11:6). But secondly, when Peter sank after trying to walk on water, it makes no sense for Jesus to say “Oh you of little allegiance. Why weren’t you loyal enough?” No, he says “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31). So I don’t think we can get away from the modern sense of faith as trusting in someone altogether. “I have faith that so-and-so will do what they said.” And so, I don’t think we can always mentally substitute “allegiance” in our minds when we read the word “faith” in our Bibles. But when it comes to what saves us, this tends to be what The Bible teaches.

Dr. Matthew Bates’ view seems to be that salvation is achieved through “allegiance alone” to Jesus Christ. His view seems to be that the traditional understanding of pistis (the Greek word for “faith” or “belief”) as mere mental assent is insufficient. Instead, Bates contends that pistis is better translated as “allegiance,” which encompasses not only belief but also a commitment of loyalty and active obedience to Jesus as the Messiah and King. In short, “allegiance alone” means we are not saved by simply believing facts about Jesus, but by actively pledging loyalty to him as our divine ruler and living in accordance with that commitment. Like I said, if this is what I was taught, I would have gotten saved long before age 17. I would not have been Nominally Christian for my whole childhood and teen years. And this would solve the assurance problem because the question would not be “Am I doing enough good works?” or “How much fruit am I bearing?” although milestones in sanctification can and should have some evidential value as to whether you’re regenerate. The ultimate question to “Am I really saved?” would be “To whom to I owe my loyalty?” If you’re loyal to King Jesus, you’re in. You know to whom you owe your allegiance. This may be why we don’t see a lot of people in biblical history constantly fretting over whether they’re “Really saved” like we do in the modern day. Anyway, in Psalm 91:14, Yahweh says “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him.” (KJV) Because I have set my love upon The Lord, He’ll deliver me from the evil spirits in the unseen realm who seek my downfall. He’ll deliver me from the penalty, power, and presence of sin. He’ll deliver me from deceptive false philosophies. He’ll deliver me from anything and everything that gets in the way between me and Him.

“I will set him on high because he hath known my name.” The imagery here is of being set up in a high rocky place to be kept safe from adversaries. This is a common theme in the book of Psalms. (Cf. Psalm 27:5, Psalm 40:2). Knowing God’s name is more than just knowing what He is called. It’s more than just the Tetragrammaton. “The Name Of The Lord” is a way of referring to The Lord Himself. ^[24]For a good and short discussion this, see this short video from Dr. Michael S. Heiser, “The Name Of The Lord Is His Presence”, January 31st 2022, –> … Continue reading. So when God says “because he hath known my name”, He is basically saying “Because he knows me?” And of course, to know someone implies a deep, personal relationship. Indeed, it’s even a sexual euphemism in places like Genesis 4:1. You don’t know God by knowing about God. You don’t know God by being a good theologian. You know God by having a relationship with Him. And places like Galatians 4:6 teach us that this relationship is so intimate that we’re allowed to call him “Abba”, which is Hebrew for “Father”. (cf. John 1:12). We enter this relationship through Jesus’ work on the cross and a pledge of allegiance to Him. Going back to the imagery of verse 1, I am under the shadow of The Almighty. I’m a scared little kid who’s running into the arms of my loving Father, who I know is much bigger than any threat that’s coming after me. And like a good Father, he’ll shield me. This doesn’t mean I won’t suffer or go through trials, ^[25]God can actually use these as disciplinary means to strengthen our character and sanctify us as passages like Hebrews 12:5-8 and Romans 5:3-5 among many others teach. However, it does mean that my trials will not destroy my spirit beyond reparation. To use New Testament language, if I’m abiding in God, no one will snatch me from his hand. (John 10:28-29). It means God will not let the devil ruin me eternally. God won’t let my trials embitter me, He’ll work through them to better me. (Romans 8:28). Psalm 91 is not some name-it-and-claim-it verse where we’ll be delivered from everything unpleasant. For Pete’s sake, when God says “I will be with him in trouble”, that presupposes that the faithful Yahwhist will experience trouble! God will be with us through the storms of life!

“He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him, and honour him.” (Psalm 91:15 KJV)

We are given the wonderful promise that when we call upon God, He will answer us, He will be with us in trouble. He will deliver us. This is response to the prayer “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:13, KJV), which some take to be a specific reference to “The evil one”. ^[26]I am quite favorable to this interpretation, myself. This would fit very nicely with Matthew’s narrative, given that only 2 chapters prior in His gospel, The Holy Spirit lead Jesus in the … Continue reading When I read about the promise that God will honor us, I cannot help but think of the honor bestowed upon the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32.

With long life will I satisfy him,
And shew him my salvation.” (Psalm 91:16, KJV)

From the original song writer’s perspective, this was likely just taken to mean that God will let his faithful live to a ripe old age, rather than dying young, with “salvation” referring to salvation from specific trials. However, in light of the full canon and The Bible’s full teaching on eschatology, I cannot help but think of the “long life” as being the eternal life that we have in Jesus Christ (John 3:16, John 11:25-26), especially the eternal physical life we’ll have in New Eden (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Revelation 21-22). An infinitely long life is indeed a “long life”. God will save me from not just the penalty of sin, but its power and presence as well. ^[27]For a deep discussion on the afterlife for Christians, see my essay “A Treatise On The Christian’s Eternal Home“

Satan’s Misuse Of Psalm 91 In Tempting Jesus

No discussion on Psalm 91 would be complete without talking about how Satan uses it in his attempt to tempt Jesus to sin in Matthew 4. In Matthew 4:5-6, we read “Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you,’ and  ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” (ESV) In Matthew’s chronology of events, this is the second of three temptations. The first temptation was to break Jesus’ fast by turning stones into bread. Jesus fought this temptation on by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. So, Satan was like “Oh, so you put a lot of stock in scripture do you? Well, then you have no reason to deny me this next request because as we read in Psalm 91…” Satan took Psalm 91:11-12 out of context to support his case that Jesus should throw himself down from the temple. After all, He has nothing to fear. Jesus is faithful to the Father. And therefore, God will protect Him. He’ll send his angels to catch him, lest he dash his foot against a stone. Taking God’s word out of context in order to promote sinful behavior is bad in and of itself. However, in light of the evidence we’ve seen that Psalm 91 is a spiritual warfare psalm, this makes Satan’s butchering of the passage even more heinous! He is using the very Psalm on Jesus that Jesus would treasure as a protection against him! Satan was using a passage that should help in spiritual warfare against himself as a tool in his own slimy hands to try to get his way! Jesus applied the principle of letting scripture interpret scripture. He replied “It is also written ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” (Matthew 4:7, quoting Deuteronomy 6:16). Take notice of what happened here! Two things; first, Satan can use scripture against us to make us believe false things. This is why learning proper rules of exegesis is so important. Check out my Hermenuetics 101 series. We need to not just have the contents of scripture memorized, but be able to properly interpret scripture. This way, we can know when Satan is trying to use our own sword against us (Ephesians 6:17). Secondly, one of those principles was in use here by Jesus! Rather than say “Satan, you know you’re taking those verses out of context. In context, this Psalm actually promises me protection against you, not against gravity.” But he didn’t do that. Instead, he consulted another Bible verse to show the incogruence between Satan’s interpretation of Psalm 91:11-12 and what Deuteronomy 6:16 teaches. This is “letting scripture interpret scripture” or “interpreting the unclear passages in light of the clear”.

Why did Satan want Jesus to throw himself from the temple roof? I would agree with one biblical scholar who you’re probably sick of me referencing by now, that Jesus was “fishing for information”. If Jesus actually went through with it, then three things could happen. (1) Angels really would appear to keep Jesus from dying before the appointed time. This would alert Satan to the fact that if he tries to kill Him, He will be unable to. (2) Jesus hits the ground and goes splat. But then God The Father raises him from the dead. This would alert Satan to the fact that if He tries to kill Him, he will be unable to. At least permanently. (3) Jesus just goes splat and stays dead. This would tell Satan “I won.”

Satan was fishing for information, and Jesus didn’t take the bait. Satan never finds out if he’s actually able to permanently harm him. Satan didn’t know that dying and rising from the dead was part of God’s plan of redemption. 1 Corinthians 2:8 tells us this. But he did know that Jesus came to reclaim the nations, which is what lead to his next temptation. ^[28]For a discussion on this, see my article “Three Surprising Places Divine Council Theology Shows Up In The Bible”.

Conclusion

Psalm 91 is a spiritual warfare psalm. I thought about sharing some personal experience of why this Psalm means so much to me, but typing it out was too painful, and I regret making myself relive the darkness. All I will say is that I thank God that I’m still here. My life was nearly brought to an end in March of 2024 after 3 years of relentless suffering. I have no doubt that what I suffered was not due to misfortune, the result of living in a fallen world. I was being targeted. And I still am, but now I’m sober and alert. I am watchful in prayer and I am studying scripture dilligenty, because it isn’t merely an object of academic interest, it is my only means of offense. It is the Sword of The Spirit! I’ve nearly lost my soul and I’ve nearly lost my life. 2022-mid 2024 was the darkest period in my entire life. The good news is that things have somewhat been on the uptick since then. I nearly had a “villain origin story” and I almost literally physically died. But God has delivered me from the snare of the fowler. He has covered me with his feathers. In the end, I will tread on the lion/adder/dragon. I will bash his skull in through Jesus Christ my Lord. I have called upon Him and He has answered me. He has set me on high because I know His name. He has been with me in trouble. With long life he will satisfy me, and He will show me His salvation. Psalm 91 has become as precious to me as Psalm 23.