IMAGES OF TRUST - Notice the variety of images that the writer uses to describe God-shelter and shadow (v. 1), refuge and fortress (v. 2), a mother bird that guards her chicks and sees to their very need (v. 4). The last image will recur though with different nuances: in Exodus 19:3-6, God is an eagle that carries its young from Egyptian slavery to the safety and glory of God’s presence at Mt. Sinai and Matthew 32:37, Jesus will lament that though god offered to protect and care for the faithful as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, God’s people would not accept the gift. [1]

CONTEXT - We certainly have benefited from the words, but what was the original context for this psalm? Scholars are varied in their discussion-some suggest that this was a personal testimony; another view has it coming from someone who sought refuge in the Temple from persecutors. Others place it on the lips of someone had recovered from serious illness. One scholar is a bit more daring claims that Psalm 91 is the verbal part of the purification ceremony described in Leviticus 14. Other options: a pre-battle liturgical piece to instill a little locker room confidence into soldiers, a new convert’s song of testimony. The proposals are open-ended, of course, but such variety of possibilities suggests the power of Psalm 91 "to fit" in many contexts as a source of encouragement.

NIB ON PSALM 91 - Psalm 91 is traditionally used at the beginning of Lent, and its thoroughly God-centered perspective makes it appropriate for this season. It warns us not to reduce Lenten disciplines to trivial, self-help schemes. Genuine self-denial begins with the kind of radical affirmation of trust that is found in Psalm 91. [2]

What does the word, "shelter" bring to mind? What person, place, thing or institution is shelter for you?

What four names for God does the psalmist use in vv. 1-2? What other names poetically speaking could you think of? What image is your preference-mother bird, shield, fortress, immune system?

This psalm carries a positive double entendre in our lessons for this Sunday. On one hand, the psalms implies trust in God’s faithfulness and protection. But on the lips of the tempter in Luke 4, some of these very words are quoted out of context to lure Jesus from the path of God’s will.

You may want to construct your homily using Luke 4 and this psalm as your two sources. You might play the devil’s advocate! "If God promises such perfect protection, why does evil befall those who truly trust their lives to God? How could evil befall Jesus? The Apostles? The early church? The potential risks in our lives?"

Move to Luke 4 and the temptation where the tempter quotes from Psalm 91-what makes scripture become a snare in that scene? What makes scripture become a snare in our own life? How can scripture be misused to our great hurt?

Finally, how can the Scriptures nourish and strengthen and inform and encourage and embolden us as we open them to our minds and hearts?

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[1] The New Interpreter’s Study Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003), page 834.
[2] The New Interpreter’s Bible IV (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), page 1048.