Psalm 91:9

Psalm 91:9

Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

a. NLT: If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter,

b. NIV: If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling,

c. Amplified Bible: Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place,

d. Septuagint [Listed under Psalm 90:9]: For thou, O Lord, art my hope: thou, my soul, hast made the Most High thy refuge.

e. Stone Edition Torah/Writings/Prophets: Because [you said], “You HASHEM, are my refuge,” you have made the Most High your abode. 

1. “Because thou hast made the LORD…”

a. In this verse we see the explanation for the Divine protection given to those in Covenant with God, it is because of this, BECAUSE THOU HAST MADE THE LORD. This verse is the catalyst for what occurs in verses Psalm 91:10-13, Because we have made the LORD our habitation. 

b. made [7760 * suwm][Strong: a primitive root; to put (used in a great variety of applications, literal, figurative, inferentially, and elliptically):--X any wise, appoint, bring, call (a name), care, cast in, change, charge, commit, consider, convey, determine, + disguise, dispose, do, get, give, heap up, hold, impute, lay (down, up), leave, look, make (out), mark, + name, X on, ordain, order, + paint, place, preserve, purpose, put (on), + regard, rehearse, reward, (cause to) set (on, up), shew, + stedfastly, take, X tell, + tread down, ((over-))turn, X wholly, work.]

c. LORD [3068 * Yehovah] [Strong: from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.]

2. “…which is my refuge even the most High…”

a. refuge [4268 * machacsh][Gesenius:  refuge, shelter from rain or storm, from danger, of falsehood.] [Strong: from 2620; a shelter (literally or figuratively):--hope, (place of) refuge, shelter, trust.]

b. most High [5945 * ‘elyown] [Strong:  from 5927; an elevation, i.e. (adj.) lofty (compar.); as title, the Supreme:--(Most, on) high(-er, -est), upper(-most).

If it was Moses who wrote this Psalm then he is referring back to himself and affirming what he wrote in verse 2, that those who are dwell under the shadow of the Most High say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”

3. “…thy habitation;”

a. habitation [4583 * ma’own][[Gesenius: dwelling, habitation, refuge, lair, refuge (of jackals), dwelling.] [Strong: an abode, of God (the Tabernacle or the Temple), men (their home) or animals (their lair); hence, a retreat (asylum):--den, dwelling((-)place), habitation.]

      b. Adam Clark says in his commentaries that the Targum says this Psalm is a dialogue between           David, Solomon and Jehovah. This is interesting because there are three different personalities           referred to in this Psalm. The speaker in Psalm 91:1, 2, the person he is speaking to in Psalm               91:3-13, and then the LORD speaks in Psalm 91:14-16. In the rest of the Psalm the writer, be it           Moses or David, is speaking to us or to Solomon and explaining that because we have done as he,       Moses or David, made the LORD our habitation, then these divine protections are ours.