Please explain for me the meaning of Psalm 91:4 and 11.
Psalm 91 is full of COMFORT for the believer. It is also filled with promises assuring us SECURITY and PROTECTION as we travel through this sinful world on our way to our heavenly home. It is primarily a “Messianic” Psalm, for it speaks of the One who, in verse 1, always dwelt “under the shadow of the Almighty.” We shall especially see this when we consider verse 11. But though its main interpretation concerns our Lord Jesus, we have every right to make an application to ourselves.
Verse 4 reads, “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” In the first part of this verse we have God’s promise of PROTECTION for us. He is pictured as a Mother Hen giving REFUGE to His baby chicks. You may recall the Lord Jesus painting the same picture as He wept over Jerusalem. In Matthew 23:37 He said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.” Jesus desired to give His people a refuge from their enemies but they rejected Him. We who believe can now trust in our God to care for us with the same love that a mother has for her young! And God has also given us “His truth” to protect us. A “shield” covered the whole body of a soldier and a “buckler” was a “mound of earth around a fortress.” The “Word of God” will keep us SAFE from every attack of the enemy. I would encourage you to read Ephesians 6:10-17 to learn more about how God’s “truth” is the “armor” we need in our conflict with our enemy.
Now let’s look at verses 11-12, “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” We not only have God and His truth protecting us, but He has commissioned “His angels” to guard us. We also see the truth of God charging angels to protect us in Hebrews 1:14, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” How little we realize how much we owe to these unseen servants of God! They are guarding and protecting us along life’s pathway. They are God’s “divine escorts,” if you will. I said at the beginning that we would see the Messianic character of this Psalm in these verses. You may recall Satan quoting part of them to Jesus when he tempted Him in the wilderness. In Matthew 4:5 Satan took the Lord Jesus to the very edge of the top of the temple and then he said to Him in verse 6, “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” Did you notice what words Satan left out in quoting from Psalm 91:11-12? He left out the words, “to keep thee in all thy ways.” Why did he do this? Because he knew that if Jesus cast Himself over the temple without being commanded to do so by His heavenly Father He would be tempting God. God does NOT promise protection to those who would act in a foolish way and are outside of His will. We are only guaranteed protection “in all thy ways” if “our ways” are “God’s ways.” (173.1) (DO)