God's Promises of Protection

August 20th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Psalm 91:5-13 You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; 6 of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. 7 A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you. 8 You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. 9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge, the Most High, your dwelling place. 10 No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent. 11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. 12 They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down.

Perhaps the most notable feature in vv. 5-13 is the Psalmist’s use of the singular you throughout the paragraph. The NASB lists “you” eleven times and “your” seven times. It might simply be the Psalmist’s way of stressing that these truths are for each individual who loves God. In other words, for those who “dwell in the shelter of the Most High” (v. 1), the promises of God—His faithfulness like a shield and protective wall (v. 4)—are certain.

So what are God’s promises here? At first glance, it appears that if one seeks the Lord God with all their heart and relies solely upon Him, they will never suffer! But this is not what the Psalmist is saying, for God has never promised this to His people. Notwithstanding, we note that those who take refuge in God are seemingly protected both day and night—“of the terror by night,” namely evil that lurks in the dark, and from the unseen “arrow that flies by day.” Also, the “pestilence,” or plague, that “stalks” in the dark and the “destruction” that comes at high noon are seemingly never to be feared by God’s people. But can this be true in light of the fact that godly people within the Bible itself and in every generation since have suffered at the hands of wicked people and/or been victims of various diseases and plagues?

In v. 7, the Psalmist pictures a battlefield with warriors dying left and right—a thousand falling at one side and ten thousand falling on the other side. “But it will not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked” (v. 8). Why? Verse 9 seems to say that while everyone else dies justly in battle, the one who dwells under God’s protection through faith and obedience will be spared both death and plague (vv. 9-10). Yet again, this is not illustrated in the Bible, for from Abel to Job to Joseph to Moses to Jesus to Paul, innocent and godly people suffer and/or die at the hands of the wicked. The Psalmist’s point clearly concerns God’s final judgment on sinners. On the day of judgment, thousands will fall all around us, but those protected through faith in Jesus Christ will not suffer for a moment.

In vv. 11-12, the Psalmist says that God commands angels to guard the righteous against the wicked, even to keep them from striking their foot against a stone. This very passage is quoted by Satan in his failed efforts to tempt Jesus to sin by jumping off the pinnacle of the temple in order to test and see if God would send His angels to protect Him (Matt. 4:5-6; Luke 4:9-11). Jesus, however, quoted Deuteronomy 6:16 which says, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Now one passage does not negate the other, for we can believe what God has promised as told to us in Psalm 91, but God’s promises are to be trusted, not tested.

The final promise found in v. 13 claims that those who trust in the Lord God will “tread upon the lion and cobra,” trampling them down to death. These terms are often symbols for evil men in the OT (cf. 58:3-6) whose mouths spew venom and resemble lions teeth (cf. Deut. 32:33). The lion and snake also depict the devil himself (1 Pet. 5:8; Rev. 12:9; 20:2). When Jesus gave His disciples authority to tread on serpents (Luke 10:19-20), it was to stamp out evil, revealing that the word of God spoken through His people always prevails against the devil and his own.

Food For Thought
We are promised in Romans 8:28 that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord, who are called according to His purpose. The “all things” includes hardships and trials (8:35). For it is known through the mouth of Jesus Himself, that we His people will suffer (cf. Luke 21:16, 18). We see this not only in the Bible but in Church history. Every disciple except John died for preaching the gospel, as did Christians for centuries. In fact, it was been shown that more Christians suffered martyrdom in the 20th century alone than the previous nineteen combined! Thus, God’s promises in Psalm 91 are not physical promises, for God is not a physical eagle protecting His own with His wings. Those who persecute God’s people will answer to God for their crimes, but God’s own will be eternally protected.