Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 91:14
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
14. he hath set his love upon me ] Love responds to love. The word means to cling to with love, and is used of God’s love for Israel in Deu 7:7; Deu 10:15.
set him on high ] In safety from his enemies. Cp. Psa 20:1.
known my name ] Recognised My revealed character as the faithful guardian of My people. Cp. Psa 9:10; Psa 5:11.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
14 16. God Himself speaks, solemnly confirming the Psalmist’s faith.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Because he hath set his love upon me – Has become attached to me; has united himself with me; is my friend. The Hebrew word expresses the strongest attachment, and is equivalent to our expression – to fall in love. It refers here to the fact that God is the object of supreme affection on the part of his people; and it also here implies, that this springs from their hearts; that they have seen such beauty in his character, and have such strong desire for him, that their hearts go out in warm affection toward him.
Therefore will I deliver him – I will save him from trouble and from danger.
I will set him on high – By acknowledging him as my own, and treating him accordingly.
Because he hath known my name – He has known me; that is, he understands my true character, and has learned to love me.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 91:14-16
Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him.
The character which God approves
I. The character which God approves. It is founded in the knowledge of Himself; it is established in the love of Himself, which that knowledge naturally inspires, and it is manifested and completed in the worship of Himself, which is the genuine expression of that powerful and animating affection which we are bound to cultivate.
II. The privileges which belong to this character. How great a satisfaction and relief is it in the time of affliction to have the company of a faithful and affectionate friend, who takes a part in our sorrow, who tenderly hears all our complaints! who kindly watches over our weakness! Such friends are the precious gifts of God. But they cannot be always near to each of us, and in many cases, all their attentions and sympathy are fruitless. Is there, then, no eye to see, and no powerful hand to assuage the sorrows of the heart, and the pains of sinking nature? Yes–I. saith the Lord, will be with you! (J. L. Adamson.)
A good man and the great God
I. A good man in relation to the great God.
1. He loves God. He hath set his love upon Me. All his affections are set on God; in Him his soul reposes.
2. He knows God. He hath known My name. He knows Him, not merely with the intellect, but with the heart, experimentally. Gods name is Himself. You can only really know a man as you sympathize with him.
3. He worships God. Call upon me.
II. The great God in relation to the good man. Because the good man is thus in relation to God, God does two things for him.
1. Delivers him. Therefore will I deliver him. Delivers him from all evils, natural and moral.
2. Dignifies him. I will set him on high, where he shall have the sublimest views, enjoy the greatest security, command the greatest attention and respect. (Homilist.)
The favourite of God
I. What God says of him.
1. He knows My name.
(1) As a sin-hating, sin-avenging God! and this knowledge was a means of leading him to a deep sense of his own personal corruption, guilt, and danger as a sinner.
(2) As concentrated in the name of Jesus, who shall save His people from their sins.
2. He hath set his love upon Me. In the love of a Divinely-illuminated believer there is–
(1) Gratitude.
(2) Admiration.
(3) Delightful complacency.
3. He shall call upon Me. A holy heart, says Leighton, is the temple of God, and therefore must be a house of prayer.
II. What God says to him.
1. There are some important truths implied. Though persons may be the objects of Divine favour, yet they are not exempt from trials and crosses of various kinds. Though the guilt of sin be taken away, there remains some of the effects of it, which Gods people feel while in the body; and though they are sinners saved by grace, yet they are still on probation for eternity, and exposed to temptations, and pains, and sufferings, and to death itself.
2. There are some important truths expressed. The Lords eye of infinite love is always fixed upon His suffering children; His ear of infinite love is wakefully attentive to their cry; His hand of infinite love is exerted to support them under their troubles, and finally to exalt them above them. (W. Dawson.)
Love must be fixed on God
Now, that is not a state to be won and kept without much vigorous, conscious effort. The nuts in a machine work loose; the knots in a rope come untied, as the children say. The hand that clasps anything, by slow and imperceptible degrees loses muscular contraction, and the grip of the fingers become slacker. Our minds and affections and wills have that same tendency to slacken their hold of what they grasp. Unless we tighten up the machine it will work loose, and unless we make conscious efforts to keep ourselves in touch with God, His hand will slip out of ours before we know that it is gone, and we shall fancy that we feel the impressions of the fingers long after they have been taken away from our neglectant palms. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
I will set him on high, because he hath known My name.—
The name of God known
Knowing by sight and knowing by name are the two expressions we use in common conversation to indicate a slight and superficial acquaintance with any one. To say that we know a man by name, and only so, is to lay claim to the least possible acquaintanceship, and yet Gods declaration runs, I will set him on high because he hath known My name. Evidently one of two things is true. Either the preparation needed for entrance into heaven is a very slight and trivial one, being the mere ability to remember and repeat a given word; or else there must be in this Bible phrase, knowing Gods name, a vast deal more meaning than appears. Without doubt we are all agreed in favour of the second of the two alternatives. In modern life proper names are given in such an artificial way that we have come almost to forget the original purpose and design of names. But when we come to look into the matter we find that there is more in a name than this, or, at least, that there ought to be. Consider, by way of illustration, the method a naturalist, a chemist let us say, follows in assigning names to the materials with which he has to deal. He gives to things names that tell their own story–names that to the practised eye reveal in a moment the nature of the thing named. When a chemist discovers a new compound he does not name it at random, he does not choose a name simply because it strikes his fancy; indeed, he has really no choice at all in the matter, for the very laws of his science compel him to assign to the new substance a name which tells exactly, by means of a pre-arranged system of letters and numbers, just what the ingredients are, and in precisely what proportions they are mingled. Thus with the chemist to know the name of anything is equivalent to knowing the nature of it. Of course, taking men as they are and the world as it is, the application of this principle to proper names would be out of the question. And yet in primitive communities, and in that state of society which we find depicted in the earlier books of Scripture, some approach to this method of assigning names according to nature is observed. The proper names in the Book of Genesis almost all of them point to some personal characteristic either of body or mind in the bearer of the name. With these thoughts fresh in our minds we shall be better able, I think, than without them we could have been, to appreciate the singular stress laid in Scripture upon the importance of knowing Gods name. What is really meant is this, that mans highest privilege, the end and purpose for which he was created, is to know God. But notice this: Every stage, every epoch, era, crisis in this progressive revelation of God has been marked by the annunciation of a name (Gen 17:1; Exo 3:14; Exo 6:3). Just is proportion to mens enlarged knowledge of the nature of God has been their need of a new name for Him, not so much to replace as to supplement the old name. In other words, the names of God are so many tide-marks to indicate the continuous rise of revelation. The risen Christ is speaking to the eleven on a mountain in Galilee. They are there by an appointment made on the day of the Resurrection. They are alone together. They are soon to part. The movement is one when we naturally listen for a word of power. Now, if ever, is the time for the whole substance of the revelation which this Christ has come to bring to be compressed into a sentence. It is spoken: Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. This is the Christian name of God. This is the new dispensation ushered in. Is God the Father our Father? Do we know Him as the provident and faithful parent who cares for all our cares, who watches for our need, who lifts us when we stumble and strengthens us when we stand? Do we look upon the world we live in as His workmanship? Do its glory and its beauty, its wealth of storm and sunshine, speak to us of Him? Is God the Son our Saviour? Do we accord anything more than a cold assent to those sentences of the Creed that tell how for us men and for our salvation He came down from heaven, and, in the dreariness and isolation of a poor mans lot, toiled, and wept, and prayed, and suffered? Do we really find in Him and in His Cross a refuge when conscience upbraids us and the thought of guilt lies heavy on the heart? Is God the Holy Ghost our Sanctifier? All unworthy of so Divine a guest, do we still believe that He is our guest, and that He dwells within us? Do we supplicate His greater nearness and dread the thought of grieving Him away? Are we willing that His presence should be to us a cleansing fire, burning away all that is base and worthless in us? The doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity is precious to believers, not on account of its title; no special virtue is claimed for that, but simply because it faithfully reflects what the Scriptures teach about the being of God. The Bible tells us plainly that God is one. The Bible tells us plainly that God is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The doctrine of the Trinity couples together these two declarations, and affirms of them that they cannot be conflicting, that they must be harmonious. That is the whole of it. The Church does not stultify herself by asserting that three means the same thing as one, or that one equals three. But what the Church in this instance does is merely what natural science in a hundred instances does–she affirms two truths, the relations between which can only be dimly discerned, and, having asserted them, she lets them stand. There are motions of the heavenly bodies that cannot be reconciled with Newtons law of gravitation. But does astronomy deny either the fact of the motions or the truth of the law? No; she accepts both, and bides her time, hoping for fuller light. The doctrine of the Trinity of God in no sense militates against the doctrine of the Unity of God. Indeed, the assertion of the Unity is quite as much an essential feature of the doctrine as is the assertion of the Trinity, for the ancient faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity. (W. R. Huntington, D.D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 14. Because he hath set his love upon me] Here the Most High is introduced as confirming the word of his servant. He has fixed his love – his heart and soul, on me.
Therefore will I deliver him] I will save him in all troubles, temptations, and evils of every kind.
I will set him on high] I will place him out of the reach of all his enemies. I will honour and ennoble him, because he hath known my name – because he has loved, honoured, and served me, and rendered me that worship which is my due. He has known me to be the God of infinite mercy and love.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This and the two following verses are the words of God, whom the psalmist here, as oft elsewhere, introduceth as giving an account of the reasons of Gods singular care of all believing or pious persons.
I will deliver him; I will abundantly recompense his love with my favour and blessing.
On high; in a high and safe place, where no evil can reach him.
Hath known my name, with a true and saving knowledge, so as to love me and put his trust in me. Gods name is here put for God himself, as it is also Deu 28:58; Psa 20:1; 105:1.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14-16. God Himself speaks(compare Psa 46:10; Psa 75:2;Psa 75:3). All the terms toexpress safety and peace indicate the most undoubting confidence(compare Psa 18:2; Psa 20:1;Psa 22:5).
set his lovethat ofthe most ardent kind.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Because he hath set his love upon me,…. These are the words of God himself; and, according to Aben Ezra, are directed to the angels, describing the good man, and making promises to him; and in this clause he is represented as one that had “set his love” upon the Lord, being first loved by the Lord, and having the grace of love wrought in his heart by him: the phrase denotes the strength of his affection to God, and the sincerity of it; its singularity, being placed alone on him, and the settlement and fixedness of it, so as nothing could separate from it: this the Lord takes great notice of, and is highly well pleased with: hence it follows,
therefore will I deliver him: from noisome diseases before mentioned, from all afflictions into which he comes, and from all the temptations of the evil one, so as that he shall not be hurt or destroyed by them:
I will set him on high; on the Rock Christ Jesus, that is higher than he, higher than the angels, higher than the heavens, and where he is now out of the reach of all his enemies, and will be set hereafter on high in heaven, among princes, inheriting the throne of glory; yea, even set upon the same throne with Christ himself:
because he hath known my name; himself, his being, and perfections; his Son, the Angel of his presence, in whom his name, nature, and perfections are; and his name as proclaimed in him, a God gracious and merciful; and this not merely notionally, but experimentally, and affectionately and fiducially; for such, that truly know him, love him, and trust in him; and these exalt him, and so are exalted and set on high by him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
14. Because he hath trusted in me, I will deliver him. It may prevent any feeling of disgust or weariness under the repetition and enlargement of the Psalmist upon his present subject, to remember, that, as I have already observed, he is influenced in this by a due consideration of our weakness, ever indisposed, as we are upon the approach of danger, to exercise a due reliance upon the providence of God. With this view he now introduces God himself as speaking, and confirming by his own voice what had already been asserted. And here it is noticeable that God, in declaring from heaven that we shall be safe under the wings of his protection, speaks of nothing as necessary on the part of his people but hope or trust. For the Hebrew verb חשק , chashak, which signifies to desire, or love, or, as we commonly express it, to find our delight in any object, means here to rest with a sweet confidence in God, and rejoice in his favor. He engages to extend us assistance, if we seek him in sincerity. The language implies that we must be continually surrounded by death and destruction in this world, unless his hand is stretched out for our preservation. Occasionally he assists even unbelievers, but it is only to his believing people that his help is vouchsafed, in the sense of his being their Savior to the true extent of that term, and their Savior to the end. Their knowing the name of God is spoken of in connection with their trust and expectation; and very properly, for why is it that men are found casting their eyes vainly round them to every quarter in the hour of danger, but because they are ignorant of the power of God? They cannot indeed be said to know God at all, but delude themselves with a vague apprehension of something which is not God, a mere dead idol substituted for him in their imaginations. As it is a true knowledge of God which begets confidence in him, and leads us to call upon him; and as none can seek him sincerely but those who have apprehended the promises, and put due honor upon his name, the Psalmist with great propriety and truth represents this knowledge as being the spring or fountain of trust. That the doctrine which he teaches was needful we may learn from the senseless and erroneous manner in which the Papists speak of faith. While they inculcate an implicit adherence to God, they bury the word which opens up the only access which men can have to him. The expression to exalt or lift up on high means no more than to keep in a state of safety or security; but the reason of this metaphor is, that God preserves his people in an extraordinary manner, raising them, as it were, to some high and impregnable fortress.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(14) Set his love upon me.Or, clung to me
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(14-16) Another abrupt change of person. The conclusion of the psalm comes as a Divine confirmation of the psalmists expression of confidence. (Comp. Psa. 50:15; Psa. 50:23, with these verses.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. Because he hath set his love upon me Jehovah speaks now. Because his love has taken fast hold of me: loved me ardently. “Reclined sweetly upon me.” Calvin. Love, then as now, was “the fulfilling of the law.” Rom 8:28
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 656
THE CHARACTER AND PRIVILEGES OF THE GODLY
Psa 91:14-16. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
THE Scriptures are the charter of the Christians privileges. They contain the most minute and accurate description of his character, and set forth, in all the variety of expression that language can afford, the blessings he enjoys. The declarations concerning him in this Psalm may certainly be interpreted as relating to the Messiah, because when a passage out of it was applied to Christ, he did not deny its reference to himself, but shewed with what limitations the passage was to be understood [Note: Compare ver. 11, 12. with Mat 4:6-7.]. That it refers also to the church cannot admit of doubt. Throughout the whole of it the character and blessedness of Gods people are delineated; but with peculiar force and beauty in the concluding verses. In discoursing upon them we shall consider,
I.
The character of Gods people
They know the name of God
[The name of God as proclaimed by himself, is recorded in the Scriptures [Note: Exo 34:6-7.]; and the Christian has a view of him as possessed of those very perfections which are there ascribed to him. He particularly sees these perfections harmonizing, and glorified, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ; or, if he be not perfectly clear in his views of these things, he at least is sensible that the divine mercy flows only in one channel, and can be imparted only through the atoning blood of Christ.]
They so know him as to set their love upon him
[It is not a mere speculative knowledge that Christians possess (in this the ungodly may far surpass them), but such a practical knowledge as influences their heart and life. They feel an interest in every perfection of the Deity. The justice and holiness of God are as amiable in their eyes as his love and mercy. From what they know of him they are constrained to love him, yea, to set their love upon him, with intenseness of desire and fixedness of affection.]
They wait upon him in continual prayer
[Others may keep up an outward form of devotion, or even be exceedingly earnest in prayer on some particular occasion; but they alone can maintain a real intercourse with the Deity, who have been taught by the Holy Spirit both to know and love him. When they have been thus enlightened and renewed, they will feel the necessity, and taste the sweetness, of secret prayer, and will account it their highest honour and happiness to have access unto their God at the throne of grace; nor will they ever be satisfied with the worship they offer, if they do not worship him in spirit and in truth.]
In perfect correspondence with their character will be found,
II.
Their privileges
There is nothing good which shall be withheld from them in time or eternity. God will vouchsafe to them,
1.
Answers to prayer
[They who offer their petitions only in a formal manner, never expect an answer to them. They conceive that all testimonies from God respecting the acceptance of our prayers are chimerical and enthusiastic in the extreme. But God is at no loss to impart to his people a clear and lively sense of his approbation. He most assuredly will answer them, though not by tokens that may be heard or seen, yet by sensible communications, and effectual interpositions. Are they laden with guilt? their burthen shall be removed, and they shall be filled with peace and joy. Are they bowed down under trials and temptations? they shall be strengthened by his grace, and be made more than conquerors over all. And though they cannot infallibly conclude from any feelings of their mind that God has answered their prayers, yet their feelings, in conjunction with the effects produced by them, will enable them to ascertain it, at least sufficiently for their own encouragement [Note: Psa 138:3.].]
2.
Deliverances from trouble
[The people of God are exposed to troubles no less than others. But they are supported under them by the presence of their God. As the Son of man walked with the Hebrew youths in the furnace, so will he with all his afflicted people; nor shall a hair of their head be singed. As a refiner he will carefully watch over every vessel, moderating the heat that would injure it, and bringing out the vessel as soon as his purposes in submitting it to the fire have been fully answered. This is twice declared in the text; and in due season shall it be experienced by every true believer.]
3.
Present honour
[The saints are, for the most part, loaded with contempt and ignominy. Yet the very persons who persecute them most, have frequently, like Herod, an inward reverence for them in their hearts. But, however they may be treated by the ungodly, they are universally respected by the saints. The very angels account it their honour and happiness to minister unto them. They are lights in the world, and living witnesses for God to all around them: and God himself is not ashamed to be called their God. They are already exalted to the rank and dignity of Gods children; and are made heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.]
4.
Everlasting glory
[How far length of days is to be expected as the reward of piety under the Gospel dispensation, we cannot absolutely determine. But the true Christian will be satisfied with his life, whether it be long or short. He does not wish for the termination of it merely because he is dissatisfied with his present state, but because he longs for his inheritance. He has Pisgah views of the promised land even here: and as soon as he has finished his appointed course, God will shew him his full salvation; causing him to behold all its glory and enjoy all its blessedness. Then shall be given to him a life which will fully satisfy his most enlarged desires. God will say to him, in the presence of the whole assembled universe, Come thou servant, whom I have decreed to set on high, see the kingdom that was prepared for thee from eternity; take possession of it as thine own, and inherit it for ever [Note: Mat 25:34.].]
Infer
1.
In how pitiable a state are the ignorant and ungodly world!
[Being ignorant of God, and destitute of any real love to him, they have no part or lot in his salvation. They are strangers to all those sublime pleasures, which are communicated to Gods peculiar people. The witness of the Spirit, and many other unspeakably precious tokens of the divine favour, are withheld from them. If they be in trouble, they have no heavenly consolations to support them. They may have the wealth of this world, and the honour which cometh of men; but they can expect no salvation from God, nor any thing but shame and everlasting contempt [Note: Dan 12:2.]. O that they were wise and would consider these things!]
2.
How plain and simple is the duty of Gods people!
[The privileges before mentioned, are all bestowed on us because we love and seek the Lord. Not that our services are meritorious, and can claim a reward of debt; but God has appointed these as means, in the use of which we shall attain the end. Would we then have more abundant tokens of Gods favour here, and secure a still richer inheritance hereafter? Let us study to grow in the knowledge of him, and in a more fervent and fixed love towards him. Let us wait upon him more earnestly and with greater constancy in prayer. Thus shall his blessings infinitely exceed our highest expectations, and be enjoyed by us when the fleeting vanities of time shall be no more.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
This is a beautiful repetition of what had been said before. Jesus had engaged his whole heart and soul in the service of Jehovah, for his Father’s glory and the everlasting welfare of his church and people: and Jehovah had promised, that, when he had made his soul an offering for sin, he should see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied. Isa 53:10-11 . Here, therefore, the sum and substance of these promises are given. Here the Lord promiseth to be faithful, and we may, I think, without violence to the several glorious things contained in this Psalm, remark, that though short, yet a more interesting account, and of the dialogue kind, between the Father and the Son, can hardly be found within an equally small compass in the Bible. And as we are most highly interested in all and every promise made to Christ, as our glorious Head; so it should seem that we cannot, when reading or singing this Psalm, have our minds more highly instructed than by contemplating Jesus as the one blessed God-man here spoken of, and in whom all the promises are yea and amen to his people.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 91:14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
Ver. 14. Because he hath set his love upon me, &c. ] Because he cleaveth unto me, and acquiesceth in me. Ardet me, amplexus est me. Thus God is brought in speaking toward the close of all, for greater assurance. Aben Ezra saith that it is the speech of God to his angels.
I will set him on high, because he hath known my name
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psalms
THE ANSWER TO TRUST
Psa 91:14
There are two voices speaking in the earlier part of this psalm: one that of a saint who professes his reliance upon the Lord, his Fortress; and another which answers the former speaker, and declares that he shall be preserved by God. In this verse, which is the first of the final portion of the psalm, we have a third voice-the voice of God Himself, which comes in to seal and confirm, to heighten and transcend, all the promises that have been made in His name. The first voice said of himself, ‘ I will trust’; the second voice addresses that speaker, and says, ‘ Thou shalt not be afraid’; the third voice speaks of him, and not to him, and says, ‘Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him.’
Why does this divine voice speak thus indirectly of this blessing of His servant? I think partly because it heightens the majesty of the utterance, as if God spake to the whole universe about what He meant to do for His friend who trusts Him; and partly because, in that general form of speech, there is really couched an ‘whosoever’; and it applies to us all. If God had said, ‘Because thou hast set thy love upon Me, I will deliver thee,’ it had not been so easy for us to put ourselves in the place of the man concerning whom this great divine voice spoke; but when He says, ‘Because he hath set his love upon Me,’ in the ‘he’ there lies ‘everybody’; and the promise spoken before the universe as to His servants is spoken universally to His servants.
So, then, these words seem to me to carry two thoughts: the first, what God delights to find in a man; and the second, what God delights to give to the man in whom He finds it.
I. Note, first, what God delights to find in man.
What are these two things? Let us look at each of them. Now the word rendered ‘set his love’ includes more than is suggested by that rendering, beautiful as it is. It implies the binding or knitting oneself to anything. Now, though love be the true cement by which men are bound to God, as it is the only real bond which binds men to one another, yet the word itself covers a somewhat wider area than is covered by the notion of love. It is not my love only that I am to fasten upon God, but my whole self that I am to bind to Him. God delights in us when we cling to Him. There is a threefold kind of clinging, which I would urge upon you and upon myself.
Let us cling to Him in our thoughts, hour by hour, moment by moment, amidst all the distractions of daily life. Whilst there are other things that must legitimately occupy our minds, let us see to it that, ever and anon, we turn ourselves away from these, and betake ourselves, with a conscious gathering in of our souls, to Him, and calm and occupy our hearts and minds with the bright and peaceful thoughts of a present God ever near us, and ever gracious to us. Life is but a dreary stretch of wilderness, unless all through it there be dotted, like a chain of ponds in a desert, these moments in which the mind fixes itself upon God, and loses sorrows and sins and weakness and all other sadnesses in the calm and blessed contemplation of His sweetness and sufficiency. The very heavens are bare and lacking in highest beauty, unless there stretch across them the long lines of rosy-tinted clouds. And so across our skies let us cast a continuous chain of thoughts of God, and as we go about our daily work, let us try to have our minds ever recurring to Him, like the linked pools that mirror heaven in the midst of the barren desert, and bring a reflection of life into the midst of its death. Cleave and cling to God, brother! by frequent thoughts of Him, diffused throughout the whole continuity of the busy day.
Then again, we might say, let us cleave to Him by our love, which is the one bond of union, as I said, between man and God, as it is the one bond of union between man and man. ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength,’ was from the beginning the Alpha, and until the end will be the Omega, of all true religion; and within the sphere of that commandment lie all duty, all Christianity, all blessedness, and all life. The heart that is divided is wretched; the heart that is consecrated is at rest. The love that is partial is nought; the love that is worth calling so is total and continuous. Let us cling to Him with our thoughts; let us cling to Him with the tendrils of our hearts.
Let us cleave to Him, still further, by the obedient contact of our wills with His, taking no commandments from men, and no overpowering impressions from circumstances, and no orders from our own fancies and inclinations and tastes and lusts, but receiving all our instructions from our Father in heaven. There is no real contact between us and God, no real cleaving to Him, howsoever the thought of God may be in our minds, and some kind of imperfect love to Him may be supposed to be in our hearts, unless there be the absolute submission of our wills to His authority; and only in the measure in which we are able to say, What He commands I do, and what He sends I accept, and my will is in His hands to be moulded, do we really get close and keep close to our Father in the heavens. He that hath brought himself into loving touch with God, and clings to Him in that threefold fashion, by thought, love, and submission, he, and only he, is so joined to the Lord as to be one Spirit.
Now that is not a state to be won and kept without much vigorous, conscious effort. The nuts in a machine work loose; the knots in a rope ‘come untied,’ as the children say. The hand that clasps anything, by slow and imperceptible degrees, loses muscular contraction, and the grip of the fingers becomes slacker. Our minds and affections and wills have that same tendency to slacken their hold of what they grasp. Unless we tighten up the machine it will work loose; and unless we make conscious efforts to keep ourselves in touch with God, His hand will slip out of ours before we know that it is gone, and we shall fancy that we feel the impression of the fingers long after they have been taken away from our negligent palms.
Besides our own vagrancies, and the waywardness and wanderings of our poor, unreliable natures, there come in, of course, as hindrances, all the interruptions and distractions of outside things, which work in the same direction of loosening our hold on God. If the shipwrecked sailor is not to be washed off the raft he must tie himself on to it, and must see that the lashings are reliable and the knots tight; and if we do not mean to be drifted away from God without knowing it, we must make very sure work of anchor and cable, and of our own hold on both. Effort is needed, continuous and conscious, lest at any time we should slide away from Him. And this is what God delights to find: a mind and will that bind themselves to Him.
There is another thing in the text which, as I take it, is a consequence of that close union between man in his whole nature and God: ‘I will set him on high because he hath known My name.’ Notice that the knowledge of the name comes after, and not before, the setting of the love or the fixing of the nature upon God. God’s ‘name’ is the same thing as His self-revelation or His manifested character. Then, does not every one to whom that revelation is made know His name? Certainly not. The word ‘know’ is here used in the same deep sense in which it is employed all but uniformly in the New Testament-the same sense in which it is used in the writings of the Apostle John. It describes a knowledge which is a great deal more than a mere intellectual acquaintance with the facts of divine revelation. Or, to put the thought into other words, this is a knowledge which comes after we have set our love upon God, a knowledge which is the child of love. We forget sometimes that it is a Person, and not a system of truth, whom the Bible tells us we are to know. And how do you know people? Only by familiar acquaintance with them. You might read a description of a man, perfectly accurate, sufficiently full, but you would not therefore say you knew him. You might know about him, or fancy you did, but if you knew him, it would be because you had summered and wintered with him, and lived beside him, and were on terms of familiar acquaintance with him. As long as it is God and not theology, the knowledge of whom makes religion, so long it will not be the head, but the heart or spirit, that is the medium or organ by which we know Him. You have to become acquainted with Him and be very familiar with Him-that is to say, to fix your whole self upon Him-before you ‘know’ Him; and it is only the knowledge which is born of love and familiarity that is worth calling knowledge at all. Just as with our earthly relationships and acquaintances, only they who love a man or a woman know such a one right down to the very depth of their being, so the one way to know God’s name is to bind myself to Him with mind and heart and will, as friends cleave to one another. Then I shall know Him and be known of Him.
Still further, this knowledge which God delights to find in us men, is a knowledge which is experience. There is all the difference between reading about a foreign country and going to see it with your own eyes. The man that has been there knows it; the man that has not knows about it. And only he knows God to whom the commonplaces of religion have turned into facts which he verifies by his own experiences.
It is a knowledge, too, which influences life. Obviously the words of my text look back to what the saint was represented as saying in an earlier portion of the psalm. Why does God declare that the man has set his love upon Him, and knows His name? Because the saint professed this, ‘I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress.’ These are His name. The man knows it; he has it not only upon his lips, but in his heart, and feels that it is true, and acts accordingly. ‘He is my Refuge and my Fortress; my God, in Him will I trust.’ The knowledge which God regards as knowledge of Him is one based upon experience and upon familiar acquaintance, and issuing in joyful recognition of my possession of Him as mine, and the outgoing of my confidence to Him. These are the things that God desires and delights to find in men.
II. Note, secondly, what God gives to the man in whom He finds such things.
And why is he to be delivered? ‘Because he has bound himself to Me,’ says God, ‘therefore will I deliver him.’ Of course, if I am fastened to God, nothing that does not hurt Him can hurt me. If I am knit to Him as closely as this psalm contemplates, it is impossible but that out of His fulness my emptiness shall be filled, and with His rejoicing strength my weakness will be made strong. It is just the same idea as is given to us in the picture of Peter upon the water, when the cold waves are up to his knees, and the coward heart says, ‘I am ready to sink,’ but yet, with the faith that comes with the fear, he puts out his hand and grasps Christ’s hand, and as soon as he does, and the two are united, he is buoyant, and rises again, and the water is beneath the soles of his feet. ‘He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.’ Whoever is joined to God is lifted above all evil, and the evil that continues to eddy about him will change its character, and bear him onwards to his haven. For he who is thus knit to God in the living, pulsating bond of thought and affection and submission, will be delivered from sin.
When a boy first learns to skate, he needs some one to go behind him and hold him up whilst he uses his unaccustomed limbs; and so, when we are upon the smooth, treacherous ice of this wicked world, it is by leaning on God that we are kept upright. ‘He hath set himself close to Me, I will deliver him,’ says God. ‘Yea! he shall not fall, for the Lord is able to make him stand.’
Still further, we have another great promise, which is the explanation and extension of the former, ‘I will set him on high, because he hath known My name.’ That is more than lifting a man up above the reach of the storms of life by means of any external deliverance. There is a better thing than that-namely, that our whole inward life be lived loftily. If it is true of us that we know His name, then our lives are ‘hid with Christ in God,’ and far below our feet will be all the riot of earth and its noise and tumult and change. We shall live serene and uplifted lives on the mount, if we know His name and have bound ourselves to Him, and the troubles and cares and changes and duties and joys of this present will be away down below us, like the lowly cottages in some poor village, seen from the mountain top, the squalor out of sight, the magnitude diminished, the noise and tumult dimmed to a mere murmur that interrupts not the sacred silence of the lofty peak where we dwell with God. ‘I will set him on high because he knows My name.’
Then, perhaps, there is a hint in the words, as there is in subsequent words of the verse, of an elevation even higher than that, when, life ended and earth done, He shall receive into His glory those whom He hath guided by His counsel. ‘I will set him on high, because he hath known My name,’ says the Jehovah of the Old Covenant. ‘To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me on My throne,’ says the Jesus of the New, who is the Jehovah of the Old.
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 91:14-16
14Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
15He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation.
Psa 91:14-16 God speaks and thereby sets up an if. . .then covenant blessing relationship (cf. Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 27-30).
God (then) Believer (if) God’s Blessings
1. deliver him love (lit. cleave to) God (perfect) be with him in time of trouble
2. set him on high knows God’s name (perfect) rescue him
3. answer him calls upon God (perfect) honor him (cf. Joh 12:26
a. with long life
b. behold God’s salvation
Psa 91:14 know See Special Topic: Know .
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. Explain the OT images of shelter, shadow, refuge/fortress.
2. List and define the names for God.
3. Does Psa 91:5-7 speak of the demonic, warfare, or sickness?
4. Why does Psa 91:9-10 repeat the thoughts of Psa 91:1-2?
5. How did the devil inappropriately use this Psalm in speaking to Jesus?
6. Does this Psalm promise that true believers will never have problems?
7. Explain the concept of name in relation to Psa 91:14-15.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
hath set His love. Hebrew. hashak. Indicates the deepest affection. Compare Deu 7:7; Deu 10:15; Isa 38:17. Only here in the Psalms.
My name. See note on Psa 20:1.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 91:14-16
Psa 91:14-16
DELIVERANCE AND LONGEVITY PROMISED
“Because he has set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him:
I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble:
I will deliver him, and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him,
And show him my salvation.”
God Himself is the speaker in these verses; and they convey very rich and precious promises for the faithful servant of God.
This passage states that because one loves God and knows his name, that the Lord: (1) will deliver him from trouble; (2) exalt him and honor him; (3) give him the privilege of prayer; (4) satisfy him with long life; and (5) show him God’s salvation! What a mountain of motivation there is here for humble and faithful service of God!
There are a number of implications in these verses, as noted by Barnes: (1) It is natural to desire longevity; (2) long life is to be regarded as a blessing; and (3) the tendency of godly living is to lengthen life.
The apostle Paul connected the obedience of parents with long life (Eph 6:1-3); and there can be no doubt that, in a general sense at least, Christian living enhances the chances that one may live a long time upon the earth.
Again, from Barnes, “It is a fact that virtue, temperance, industry, calmness of mind, moderation in all things, freedom from excessive eating or drinking – all of which things are required and encouraged by the Scriptures – that such things undoubtedly contribute to the maintenance of health and the attainment of long life.
“With long life will I satisfy him” (Psa 91:16). We shall address the implication here that one may be satisfied with living and ready to pass onward in death. Even for one who enjoys the richest blessings of heaven and who has been rewarded with life’s most desirable emoluments, and who has been granted to live past the normal span of human life, there shall inevitably come the time, when he shall be satisfied with living and ready to go on to be with God. When the infirmities of age have become more and more intolerable, when strength has been diminished, when the dearest loved ones are sleeping in the dust, when the utter loneliness of being “the last leaf on the tree” has surrounded him with sorrow and grief, and in the contemplation of the truth once mentioned by Paul, “That it is better to depart and be with Christ,” and as the hope of heaven itself grows brighter and brighter, there will come the time when the saint of God may feel that he has had enough of life on earth and that he is ready for the Lord’s summons that shall conclude his earthly pilgrimage.
M.E. Zerr:
Psa 91:14. The several pronouns in this verse should be properly connected or confusion will result. He, his and him means the man who loves God; me, my and I refer to God. Set him on high means that God will give true exaltation to those who do right. It is the same thought that is expressed in Jas 4:10.
Psa 91:15. The same connections should be made of the pronouns in this verse as were made in the preceding one. God promised to hear the call of his righteous servant. He will honor the servant by delivering him from his troubles.
Psa 91:16. No specific span of life is guaranteed to the man of God. It is an assurance of being preserved so that his days would be extended. The salvation that was promised to the devoted servant referred to his rescue from the hand of his enemy.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
set: Psa 91:9, 1Ch 29:3, Joh 14:23, Joh 16:27, Rom 8:28, Jam 1:12, Jam 2:5
I will set: Psa 59:1, *marg. Psa 89:16, Psa 89:17, Isa 33:16, Phi 2:9-11
known: Psa 9:10, Joh 17:3, Gal 4:9
Reciprocal: Deu 28:1 – will set Jdg 5:31 – them that 1Sa 2:30 – I will honour 2Ch 32:20 – prayed Job 5:11 – set up Job 22:29 – men Psa 4:3 – the Lord Psa 20:1 – defend Psa 22:8 – let him Psa 25:10 – the paths Psa 62:10 – set Psa 69:29 – let thy Psa 69:36 – they Psa 78:7 – set Psa 81:7 – calledst Psa 89:24 – in my Psa 97:10 – Ye that Pro 8:17 – I love Pro 18:10 – safe Pro 29:25 – safe Jer 9:24 – knoweth Jer 39:17 – I will Dan 3:30 – the king Dan 6:16 – Thy God Rom 7:24 – who Col 3:2 – Set 2Ti 3:11 – but 1Jo 2:13 – because
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 91:14-16. Because he hath set his love upon me In the former part of the Psalm the prophet had spoken in his own person; but here God himself is introduced as the speaker, confirming the preceding promises, and giving an account of the reasons of his singular care of all that truly believe and trust in him. Therefore will I deliver him I will abundantly recompense his love with my favour and blessing. I will set him on high In a high and safe place, where no evil can reach him; because he hath known my name With a true and saving knowledge, so as to love me and put his trust in me; Gods name being here, as often elsewhere, put for God himself. He shall call upon me As he knows and loves me, so he will offer up sincere and fervent prayers to me upon all occasions. And I will answer him I will grant his petitions as far as will be for his good and my glory. I will be with him in trouble To keep him from sinking under his burden. With long life Either in this world, when it is expedient for my service, and for his benefit; or, at least, in the next world, where he shall live to eternity, in the blissful sight and enjoyment of me in glory. And show him my salvation Either here or hereafter.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
91:14 {i} Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
(i) To assure the faithful of God’s protection, he brings in God to confirm the same.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
3. The assurance God provides 91:14-16
The writer recorded God’s promise to deliver those who know and love Him. He will eventually answer the cries for help that His people voice (cf. Joe 2:32; Act 2:21; Rom 10:13). He will not abandon them in their distresses (cf. Jos 1:9; Mat 28:20). The promises of rescue and honor normally find fulfillment in this life, but they always do the other side of the grave. God usually blesses people who follow His will by allowing them to live longer. This was a special blessing under the Mosaic Law (cf. Exo 20:12). Furthermore, God promised the godly the satisfaction of seeing His deliverance.
"It’s one thing for doctors to add years to our life, but God adds life to our years and makes that life worthwhile." [Note: Wiersbe, The . . . Wisdom . . ., p. 259.]
How can we explain the fact that God has apparently not honored these promises consistently? Some godly people have died young, for example. Others have perished at the hands of their enemies, as was and is true of some Christian martyrs. Does this indicate that God is unfaithful and His promises are unreliable? If we view life as extending beyond the grave, which it does, we should have no trouble with these promises. God will grant ultimate deliverance to His own, even if He allows them to suffer and die at the hands of enemies in this life. Even believers who die young have eternal life.
"In life the Lord may permit many terrible things to happen to his children (cf. Job), as he did to his own Son, our Lord. But his children know that no power is out of God’s control." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 601.]