The Secret Place: Psalm 91

[None]

This is not for those who are satisfied to be outer court worshippers, but those who press in closer receive special and rare blessings. Surely those who remain in the outer court, if they knew what was available to them, would come closer and attain intimate familiarity with the Lord.

This part I'm having trouble understanding. My husband says I'm "obsessed" with God. I said, "all true believers are like this"...am I in the wrong here? I'm very open to correction.

[Artemus Prime]

Psalm 91 has always been one of my most favorite Psalms...probably due to the fact that I had to spend much of my childhood hospitalized, and reading this was a source of great comfort to me...

[RedeemedByHim]

The Secret Place: Psalm 91

By

Shiloh357

INTRODUCTION

As the titles indicates I am embarking upon a new study of the 91st Psalm. It is an extremely encouraging and edifying Psalm. It is by far, a favorite of many, and rightly so.

It is not clear who the author of this Psalm is. Many believe that it was written by Moses given the Tabernacle imagery coupled with imagery consistent with Israel's deliverance from Egypt. Some believe that it was written by David after his words to Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:1-21. It would have also been fitting for David to be the author as it talks about God's protection from those enemies who seek our demise. David's life was besieged by attempts upon his life from a jealous King Saul, and of course his embattled reign of Israel, in a constant state of war with the Philistines and his own son Absalom's attempt at overthrowing him. Surely David could speak much about God's protection over his life, and such a Psalm would be fitting for David to write. It is worth noting that the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions do ascribe this version to David. Still, there is no indicator as to the author at the beginning of the Psalm, and no internal clues from the Psalm itself that would help us arrive at pinpointing its author.

One of the most interesting things about how this Psalm is written, is the constant change of "persons" in the text. You will notice in a simple cursory reading, that the author speaks of "you" "he" and "I" when speaking of the Lord's protection and deliverance. This leads some to believe that this Psalm might have been used in a responsive fashion by a choir. Certain parts of the choir taking up the different "persons" would have essentially been singing to each other.

By way of outline, given the structure relative to the different "persons" used, the Psalm can be divided in the manner as prescribed by Barnes citing Tholuck:

I. The general statement of the safety of those who put their trust in God, Psa 91:1.

II. A responsive declaration of the author of the psalm, that he would make the Lord his refuge, and the Most High his habitation, Psa 91:2.

III. A statement of the security or benefit of doing this, Psa 91:3-8.

IV. A responsive declaration - repeated - by the author of the psalm that he would do this; that God

[VelvetVoice]

I wondered about the change of the person speaking. You mentioned it in the beginning of the thread but never developed it. Could you talk about the change from the writer speaking to God speaking, and there is no added punctuation. I wonder this because a Jewish person told me that many published Bibles were changed from the Hebrew to fit in with Catholic belief. However, I don't think I will ever learn Hebrew, so can someone talk about this?

[Guest libertybell]

Thank you so much for the study you have worked on. Psalm 91 is our families choice this year to meditate on and totally exhaust. The Lord has proven Himself to me over and over again and the refuge that He is to me has been unfailing. Ihope that you will continue to chew on this Psalm and it companion Psalm 90. I am looking forward to sharing more with you as we muse on it throughout the year.