Psalm 91 gives us strength. It shows how the Lord is with us, lifting us up, restoring us, and blessing us when we have made Him our dwelling place, and given Him our whole trust. Every verse outlines how strongly and surely the Lord defends and upholds us, no matter what we encounter or what we are required to go through.

There are vivid images: the Lord covers us with the feathers of His wings. His truth is our shield and buckler so that we need fear nothing. The Lord gives His angels charge over us, to keep us in all our ways, to bear us up lest we dash our foot against a stone.

This psalm also shows us the inner mind and state of Jesus in His life on earth. It points out particularly the times of the Lord's absolute confidence that He was God, and that His divine nature would protect Him in temptations. He could trust that all outcomes would be victorious, even when in deep anguish and conflict. (See Arcana Caelestia 2288.)

On a smaller scale, it's the same for us. We have our changing states -- our influences from heaven and from hell which lift us or oppress us. This psalm is a good one to read when we are down, but it also expresses our confidence in the Lord's power to bring us out of the "valley of despond". It reminds us, during a spiritual crisis, that the Lord has pulled us through before, and the He will do so again. (See Arcana Caelestia 5280.)

In Verse 4 the imagery is of feathers and wings. This is reminiscent of a bird hatching and sitting on its brood. Spiritually, it shows us the protective nature of all spiritual truth. Feathers are made of firmly-hooked filaments, and a feathered wing keeps dry when water (here representing falsity) lands on it. This image also evokes the Lord's love covering us and His providence over everything. (See Arcana Caelestia 8764[6])

The great theme in this psalm is the "equation" that no evil will have power over us because we have made the Lord our dwelling place. To know this, to feel this, to assert this, and to think about this is always restorative. It is the ultimate answer to all doubt and trial, to come into the presence of God in ourselves. This principle is attested in almost every phrase of this psalm. (See Apocalypse Revealed 883)

In Verse 1 the imagery is of the angels who have charge over us. Angels truly are with us, and they work with us for our spiritual wellbeing. They also represent the truths from the Word which are in our mind and heart, 'to keep you in all your ways'. The lion and the cobra stand for fierce and sudden attacks from evil spirits which aim to bring us down. The Word's truths will render them harmless. (See Heaven and Hell 391)

Note that the end of the psalm mentions the assurance of 'a long life'. This is not in terms of age or years but in dwelling in the Lord, and in the permanence, the eternity, of this.

391. As all the societies in the heavens are distinct in accordance with their goods (as said above, 41, seq.) so they are distinct in accordance with their uses, goods being goods in act, that is, goods of charity which are uses. Some societies are employed in taking care of little children; others in teaching and training them as they grow up; others in teaching and training in like manner the boys and girls that have acquired a good disposition from their education in the world, and in consequence have come into heaven. There are other societies that teach the simple good from the Christian world, and lead them into the way to heaven; there are others that in like manner teach and lead the various heathen nations. There are some societies that defend from infestations by evil spirits the newly arrived spirits that have just come from the world; there are some that attend upon the spirits that are in the lower earth; also some that attend upon spirits that are in the hells, and restrain them from tormenting each other beyond prescribed limits; and there are some that attend upon those who are being raised from the dead. In general, angels from each society are sent to men to watch over them and to lead them away from evil affections and consequent thoughts, and to inspire them with good affections so far as they will receive them in freedom; and by means of these they also direct the deeds or works of men by removing as far as possible evil intentions. When angels are with men they dwell as it were in their affections; and they are near to man just in the degree in which he is in good from truths, and are distant from him just in the degree in which his life is distant from good. ¹ But all these employments of angels are employments of the Lord through the angels, for the angels perform them from the Lord and not from themselves. For this reason, in the Word in its internal sense "angels" mean, not angels, but something belonging to the Lord; and for the same reason angels are called "gods" in the Word. ²

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