Chapter 91

1You who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Omnipotent:

2I say of the Lord who is my refuge and my stronghold, my God in whom I trust,

3that He will save you from the ensnaring trap, from the destructive pestilence.

4He will cover you with His pinions and you will find refuge under His wings; His truth is a shield and an armor.

5You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day;

6the pestilence that prowls in the darkness, nor the destruction that ravages at noon.

7A thousand may fall at your [left] side, and ten thousand at your right, but it shall not reach you.

8You need only look with your eyes, and you will see the retribution of the wicked.

9Because you [have said,] "The Lord is my shelter," and you have made the Most High your haven,

10no evil will befall you, no plague will come near your tent.

11For He will instruct His angels in your behalf, to guard you in all your ways.

12They will carry you in their hands, lest you injure your foot upon a rock.

13You will tread upon the lion and the viper; you will trample upon the young lion and the serpent.

14Because he desires Me, I will deliver him; I will fortify him, for he knows My Name.

15When he calls on Me, I will answer him; I am with him in distress. I will deliver him and honor him.

16I will satiate him with long life, and show him My deliverance.

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Chapter 92

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9 Comments

jonathan burg El Dorado Hills CA November 5, 2022

This tehillim has gotten me out of atrial fibrillation at least once reciting it with tefillin on. I am not an observant Jew but I feel David HaMelech and his humanity and inner challenges and I feel HaShem through him every time I recite this psalm. Nothing more beautiful has ever been written. I cry like a baby every time I recite it and it comforts me to no end. Baruch HaShem Reply

ReUVAIN CALIFORNIA March 20, 2022

David's psalms are David's thoughts. As humanity knows, no one speaks for the creator. Explaining one's opinions on David's feelings are thought provoking. However, their meaning is our interpretation of David's thoughts alone. It is interesting today's beliefs, prayers, and customs rely for a good part on the interpretation of others. And our religious commitment is determined by our personal comfort level. Reply

Anonymous Brooklyn May 4, 2013

It is clearly stated by the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, that the way to see revealed good in difficult circumstances is having trust that everything Hashem does is good.
No, good is not always readily seen. If it was, then there would never be difficult circumstances and we wouldn’t need to access and reveal our deeper spiritual powers of faith and trust.
Our deeper spiritual powers are always with us, but since they are not as tangible, they require work to access them. In chassidic thought, this is called bittul, nullification.
Maimonides, in Mishne Torah, states that for a submersion in a mikva to be kosher the water must completely cover the person. Similarly, for our Torah learning to be “kosher” we have to submerge our intellects to the ideas of the Torah that are not tangible and seemingly over our heads. That is how we access ideas that are "over our heads." Reply

Menachem Posner for Chabad.org January 26, 2010

According to one scholar whom I consulted, the four periods here refer not to the seasons of the year but to the four exiles of the Jewish people and the people who oppressed us. Reply

Anonymous Spring Valley, NY/USA January 13, 2010

Please help me to understand where the 4 seasons are eluded to and their respective ministering powers that we are supposed to avoid. Thank you. Reply

Menachem Posner for Chabad.org January 13, 2010

King David himself suffered from rejection, treason, and a host of other problems -- so the question becomes even stronger.

This is a question that probably has many answers from a number of approaches. Here is my thought:

Everything in the world is good. Sometimes we see the good, and at other times, it is hidden. Now, those of us who have the ability rise above the limitations of time and space see how “no evil descends from Above” and how even the things that appear to be unjust setbacks are really pure goodness.

For the rest of us, we have to just wait and see how this is so. Sometimes, a few years down the line we see how something that appeared to be bad was really good, and sometimes, we have to wait until we enter the World of Truth to see how this is so. But it is surely so.

Perhaps, King David was so acutely aware of how all the things that happened were for the best, that he was therefore able to look at situations where others saw evil and recognize the good and G-dly within. Reply

Anonymous Spring Valley, NY/USA December 23, 2009

Thank you for your response. I must not have worded my question correctly, as it has (and always has been, by others) misunderstood. My question is not "why do good things....." Or "why do bad things...". It is how could King David have written such a psalm with concrete, in-this-world promises (If you do this, then that wonderful thing WILL happen to you, in THIS world).
The psalm is recited many times in prayer and at a funeral--It's obviously a pivotal psalm. To my way of reacting, it's very comforting, UNTIL YOU THINK ABOUT IT, and then it is FRUSTRATING and makes me feel condescended to, as this does not seem to fit the experiences in this world.
My question is not to G-d, it is to King David. Please respond. Reply

Menachem Posner for Chabad.org December 22, 2009

To Anon from Spring Valley: You are correct, these things should not happen. The Torah outlines a system: The righteous people should serve G-d, and He, in response, should protect them and make their lives good. So what went wrong? In a nutshell, the problem is that we are in a distorted reality called Galut (exile) where G-d's presence is not apparent as it should be, good things happen to bad people, and the righteous people suffer. I would suggest that you have a look at this wonderful article by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman where this issue is discussed in his inimitable style: Why Do Great Things Happen To Rotten People? Reply

Anonymous Spring Valley, NY/USA December 21, 2009

Psalm 91 My most puzzling psalm-It sounds like an absolute concrete promise for those with Emunah (faith) and Bitochen (trust), while we all know of righteous people who were not saved from illness and death.
Please help me understand this psalm.
Thank you Reply

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