I Will Say of the Lord
by Eric Engelmann
All content © 2023 Static Force, LLC
When are we?
Sometime in the Old Testament when Psalm 91 was written. That might be the time of Moses, or the time of David. That means about 1500 BC or about 1000 BC.
Where are we?
Somewhere in the Middle East. Could be outside Egypt or in Israel.
Have We Been Here Before?
We’ve been close. We've mentioned Psalm 91 by way of background when we discussed the temptations of Jesus.
Some History
I'm going to give a disclaimer about English versions of Psalm 91. There are at least two schools of thought about its author. Some believe Moses wrote it, others David wrote it. Either way it was written well before Jesus' time, so the devil quoted it to Jesus during the temptations.
As we read Psalm 91 who-is-saying-what is a little muddled depending partly on how the language changed during the space of half a millenium.
To illustrate with the English language, 500 years ago from our time, Shakespeare hadn't started writing any of his poems in language like
"Foot it featly here and there;
And, sweet sprites, the burthen bear."
There are other factors that give Psalm 91 a fairly wide variation of translations. Quotation marks aren't in old manuscripts. In Psalm 91, it might be easy to see where a quotation starts, maybe not so easy to tell where it ends.
I'm going to use an English translation that can clearly put people's sayings -- or at least the beginnings of their sayings -- in the spotlight.
Why are we here now?
There are some verses in some versions of Psalm 91 that talk about what to say. The author calls the Most High a refuge and fortress. It's not explicitly a rock like the end of Psalm 19 but it's pretty close. Certainly not all the refuges and fortresses in ancient times were made of brick.
These verses about what to say are important. These are the words that need to "sink into our ears" and will help us hear more. Remember that the Most High puts words in His mouth on our behalf. There are also words we need to put into our mouths on His behalf (in response to Him).
Scripture
Listen for the words "say" and "says".
Psalm 91 in the NIV
Verse 1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Note: If there are words that need to sink into our ears, those are the beginnings of them.
There's another quote later in the Psalm.
Part of Verse 9 repeats, “The Lord is my refuge,”
That's the end of the passage.
Those are the very important words the Most High has for us to put into our mouths: The Lord is my refuge. That's close to calling him something like a rock.
In the Very Near Future
Psalm 91 will finish with a quote made by the Most High:
Verse 14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
The last word translated “salvation” strongly indicates "Jesus".
Further in the future, King Nebuchadnezzar will have a dream about a rock that grows. That rock will be the Kingdom of God ruled by Jesus.
At the start of Jesus' ministry, the devil will quote Psalm 91 verse 12 to Jesus during the temptation. That verse has an explicit reference to "stone". Jesus will overcome that temptation by trusting his heavenly Father and setting about to fulfill promises in Deuteronomy. By doing that, He will also fulfill that part of Psalm 91 where God said, "Because he loves me..."
Further in the future, may we agree with the Most High and be part of the growth of His kingdom.
All content © 2023 Static Force, LLC