Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
Psalm 91:3 continues the confidence established in the first two verses. The man who dwells in the secret place of the most High has confessed God to be his refuge and fortress and has declared his trust in Him (vv.1-2). Verse 3 answers that confidence with assurance: the God trusted in verse 2 is the One who delivers in verse 3. The dangers named are different, one a hidden snare and the other a hurtful pestilence, but both are beneath His dominion. This is instruction and encouragement sung before God, teaching His worshippers to trust Him as their refuge when dangers are concealed from sight or beyond human power to control.
“Surely.” The verse begins with certainty. The psalmist does not say perhaps, probably, or if circumstances permit. “Surely” strengthens the confidence already expressed in God as refuge and fortress. Faith rests upon God, not upon the absence of danger. Yet this certainty must not be turned into presumption. Satan quoted Psalm 91:11-12 when tempting Jesus to cast Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple (Matthew 4:6). Christ answered, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matthew 4:7). The promises of Psalm 91 teach trust in God while walking in His appointed way, not reckless conduct designed to force God to prove His care. Confidence obeys; presumption tempts.
“He shall deliver thee.” The pronoun “he” points back to the God confessed in verse 2. The believer’s safety is not finally in caution, strength, foresight, medicine, walls, weapons, or friends. God is the Deliverer. David confessed, “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower” (Psalm 18:2). The words “shall deliver” place the action with God, but they do not promise exemption from every affliction. Paul suffered greatly and still wrote of God, “Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us” (II Corinthians 1:10). God may keep danger from reaching His servant, bring him safely through it, or deliver him out of it after suffering; in every case, deliverance belongs to Him.
“From the snare of the fowler.” The snare of the fowler is a figure for the hidden plots of wicked men. The psalmist elsewhere complained, “The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me” (Psalm 140:5). David prayed, “Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity” (Psalm 141:9). A snare works by concealment. Men may hide a plot from the one they intend to catch, but they cannot hide it from God.
This makes the promise especially comforting. Men can prepare for dangers they know, but they cannot discover every deceit, malicious purpose, temptation, or unseen trouble. The right response is watchfulness joined with dependence. “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished” (Proverbs 22:3). Prudence is commanded, but prudence has limits. After using lawful wisdom, the saint must still trust the God who sees what he does not and can break the hidden snare.
“And from the noisome pestilence.” The word “noisome” means hurtful and destructive, as the King James Bible itself shows. Ezekiel places “the noisome beast” beside the sword, famine, and pestilence among God’s four sore judgments (Ezekiel 14:21). The pestilence of Psalm 91 is therefore no light sickness, but a destructive danger from which God is able to deliver. Scripture records the terror of pestilence when it fell upon Israel in David’s day (II Samuel 24:15). Men may fear such disease because it can spread unseen, strike suddenly, and overcome human strength, but it is no independent power outside God’s government.
The word “and,” appearing in italics, is supplied in the King James Bible, and it rightly joins the two dangers under the one verb “shall deliver.” God shall deliver from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence. One danger may come through the secret malice of men; the other may spread without any human enemy at all. Neither difference changes the refuge. Trust in God also does not forbid lawful means of protection or care. Hezekiah was told to place a lump of figs upon his boil after God promised his recovery (II Kings 20:5-7), and Paul advised Timothy concerning his infirmities (I Timothy 5:23). Means may be used, but they must never become the god of our confidence. God alone gives life, preserves it, and appoints its bounds.
Psalm 91 is Messianic, and its promise of protection applied especially to Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. The devil himself appealed to verses 11-12 in the temptation (Matthew 4:6; Luke 4:9-12), though Christ refused to turn trust into presumption. The Father kept His Son from the snares of His enemies until His appointed hour. “Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come” (John 7:30). At Nazareth, when men attempted to cast Him down, “he passing through the midst of them went his way” (Luke 4:30). After the temptation, “angels came and ministered unto him” (Matthew 4:11). His death came only at the time appointed, for He declared that no man took His life from Him and that He laid it down of Himself (John 10:18).
Do not tempt God by foolishness, but neither torment yourself trying to foresee every snare or command every danger. “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee” (Psalm 56:3). Use lawful wisdom, commit yourself to God in prayer, and praise the Deliverer whose eye sees every snare and whose dominion reaches even to the pestilence.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
Psalm 91:3 continues the confidence established in the first two verses. The man who dwells in the secret place of the most High has confessed God to be his refuge and fortress and has declared his trust in Him (vv.1-2). Verse 3 answers that confidence with assurance: the God trusted in verse 2 is the One who delivers in verse 3. The dangers named are different, one a hidden snare and the other a hurtful pestilence, but both are beneath His dominion. This is instruction and encouragement sung before God, teaching His worshippers to trust Him as their refuge when dangers are concealed from sight or beyond human power to control.
“Surely.” The verse begins with certainty. The psalmist does not say perhaps, probably, or if circumstances permit. “Surely” strengthens the confidence already expressed in God as refuge and fortress. Faith rests upon God, not upon the absence of danger. Yet this certainty must not be turned into presumption. Satan quoted Psalm 91:11-12 when tempting Jesus to cast Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple (Matthew 4:6). Christ answered, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matthew 4:7). The promises of Psalm 91 teach trust in God while walking in His appointed way, not reckless conduct designed to force God to prove His care. Confidence obeys; presumption tempts.
“He shall deliver thee.” The pronoun “he” points back to the God confessed in verse 2. The believer’s safety is not finally in caution, strength, foresight, medicine, walls, weapons, or friends. God is the Deliverer. David confessed, “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower” (Psalm 18:2). The words “shall deliver” place the action with God, but they do not promise exemption from every affliction. Paul suffered greatly and still wrote of God, “Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us” (II Corinthians 1:10). God may keep danger from reaching His servant, bring him safely through it, or deliver him out of it after suffering; in every case, deliverance belongs to Him.
“From the snare of the fowler.” The snare of the fowler is a figure for the hidden plots of wicked men. The psalmist elsewhere complained, “The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins for me” (Psalm 140:5). David prayed, “Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity” (Psalm 141:9). A snare works by concealment. Men may hide a plot from the one they intend to catch, but they cannot hide it from God.
This makes the promise especially comforting. Men can prepare for dangers they know, but they cannot discover every deceit, malicious purpose, temptation, or unseen trouble. The right response is watchfulness joined with dependence. “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished” (Proverbs 22:3). Prudence is commanded, but prudence has limits. After using lawful wisdom, the saint must still trust the God who sees what he does not and can break the hidden snare.
“And from the noisome pestilence.” The word “noisome” means hurtful and destructive, as the King James Bible itself shows. Ezekiel places “the noisome beast” beside the sword, famine, and pestilence among God’s four sore judgments (Ezekiel 14:21). The pestilence of Psalm 91 is therefore no light sickness, but a destructive danger from which God is able to deliver. Scripture records the terror of pestilence when it fell upon Israel in David’s day (II Samuel 24:15). Men may fear such disease because it can spread unseen, strike suddenly, and overcome human strength, but it is no independent power outside God’s government.
The word “and,” appearing in italics, is supplied in the King James Bible, and it rightly joins the two dangers under the one verb “shall deliver.” God shall deliver from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence. One danger may come through the secret malice of men; the other may spread without any human enemy at all. Neither difference changes the refuge. Trust in God also does not forbid lawful means of protection or care. Hezekiah was told to place a lump of figs upon his boil after God promised his recovery (II Kings 20:5-7), and Paul advised Timothy concerning his infirmities (I Timothy 5:23). Means may be used, but they must never become the god of our confidence. God alone gives life, preserves it, and appoints its bounds.
Psalm 91 is Messianic, and its promise of protection applied especially to Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. The devil himself appealed to verses 11-12 in the temptation (Matthew 4:6; Luke 4:9-12), though Christ refused to turn trust into presumption. The Father kept His Son from the snares of His enemies until His appointed hour. “Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come” (John 7:30). At Nazareth, when men attempted to cast Him down, “he passing through the midst of them went his way” (Luke 4:30). After the temptation, “angels came and ministered unto him” (Matthew 4:11). His death came only at the time appointed, for He declared that no man took His life from Him and that He laid it down of Himself (John 10:18).
Do not tempt God by foolishness, but neither torment yourself trying to foresee every snare or command every danger. “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee” (Psalm 56:3). Use lawful wisdom, commit yourself to God in prayer, and praise the Deliverer whose eye sees every snare and whose dominion reaches even to the pestilence.