In a previous post, I highlighted the way Psalm 90 begins a series of psalms that instruct God’s people in responding to hardship. In that chapter, we see that God’s people are first to seek the Lord in prayer. In doing so, we (1) recognize the Lord as our ultimate home or dwelling place, (2) repent of indwelling sin and (3) request the Lord to be our ever-present help.
Psalm 91 continues that instruction, showing us what God’s people receive in return. In other words, if Psalm 90 is the prayer of God’s people facing hardship, then Psalm 91 is the promise they receive in answer to their prayer.
Return for those who dwell in the Lord
At the beginning of Psalm 91, we see a direct connection to the Psalmist’s previous recognition that the Lord has been “our dwelling place in all generations” (Ps 90:1). Psalm 91:1–2 declares, “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.’”
Thus, Psalm 91 begins to tell us what we receive in return for recognizing the Lord as our ultimate dwelling place. That is, those who do so will abide in the comfort of his shadow and benefit accordingly. They will be delivered and protected from evil and will have no need to fear. Why? “Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place” (Ps 91:9).
For those walking through trials, this is a wonderful promise. As we press into the Lord and seek refuge in him, we find in return that he upholds us and grants us peace in his presence.
Return for the requests of Psalm 90
At the end of Psalm 91, we find another connection to the Psalmist’s previous prayer. In Psalm 90:12–17, the author lays before the Lord a series of requests. Among other things, he urges God to “return” and “have pity,” to “satisfy us” and “make us glad,” to “let your work be shown to your servants” and “let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us.”
In Psalm 91:14–16, the Lord promises to fulfill those requests. The Lord himself declares, “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
Thus Psalm 91 demonstrates the return that God’s people receive for genuinely laying their requests for the Lord. Far from having a distant God, we have a God who responds to the requests of his people as they walk through hardship.
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Thus Psalm 91 encourages God’s people by revealing his promise to those who respond rightly to trials. Those who recognize the Lord as their true dwelling place, who repent of sin, and who lay their requests before him in prayer will find in return that the Lord himself is our ever-present help in times of trouble.
This truth is just as instructive for us today as it was for the Old Testament people of God who were wrestling with the crisis of their exile.