Does Psalms 91 guarantee absolute protection against sickness?

The most frequent verse that I heard during the last 12 months was Psalm 91:10. Whether it was through prayers or exhortation or sermon, Psalm 91:10 was always quoted as an encouragement and comfort to believers in this season of pandemic. But wait a minute! Does the verse promise absolute protection for all believers against all forms of illness or sickness in this world? The answer should be no. Otherwise we would not have witnessed these many deaths. One of the biggest problems of dissecting the verse from its own context(especially if it is a promise) is the false hope that we impart to others and even to ourselves and thereby leading us into disappointment when the promise is not being fulfilled. Along with that, we are losing the bigger picture and the true meaning of the verse.

Now let us dig into the background of Psalm 91. Most scholars agree that the author of Psalm 91 is David. The original Hebrew text divided the Psalms into five sections and Psalms 91 comes is in Section Four. One scholar talks about Section Four like this –

“Book IV answers the despair at the end of Book III. It says, in effect, that if people were tempted to look for their security in the Davidic king, then they would end up disappointed; they needed to look to the Lord as their refuge and strength and as their great King.”

As we read through Psalm 91, we can understand that the main theme is Yahweh being the only refuge in times of challenges and painful situations. He is our stronghold and comfort in the midst of darkest times. Psalm 91 has a whole list of promises and they are not only for Israel but for the Church too. But one main thing to keep in mind is the situations mentioned in Psalm 91 are faced by a group of people and these should be viewed as metaphors that can refer to real world issues. For example:- Fowler's snare is a metaphor for hidden danger and pestilence reflects the opposite, evident danger, and covenant curses (Deut. 28:21; see 1 Kings 8:37) Pestilence (Psalm 91:3,6) and destruction are diseases that God sends on his enemies or people who are unfaithful to him ( Exo. 5:3; 9:15; Lev. 26:25; Deut. 32:24 about ‘plagues’). The terror and arrow, together, with a thousand may fall, envision God’s people under attack.

If we come to verses 7-11, we can find that the setting is the judgement of God and the psalmist is very clear that remuneration for the wicked is destruction but those who are faithful to God can experience his divine protection. Psalm 91:9 says “because you have made the LORD your dwelling place”— from this verse we get a clear picture that David is talking about the people of God, those whom He dwells with. As God dwells with his people, no harm can overtake us and no disaster can come near our tent. To the people of Israel, it meant that they wont have to face any harm or judgement if they dwell in the shelter of God. But in the current context, does that mean that we won’t have to suffer in this world?

The harm or disaster that is mentioned in v10 is not the sufferings or illness which affects humanity due to the fallen nature of the world. Rather it is talking about the destruction that comes upon the enemies of God. While we bridge the context to application now, they should be interpreted as eternal punishment. Psalm 23:4 says – “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. “ Even when we go through the storms of this life, we are safe as he is holding us in the palm of his hand (Proverbs 30:4). When we come to the New Testament, we see that the Apostles went through a lot of suffering for the sake of the gospel. They never preached about Christian life being a bed of roses. Rather Paul says in Romans 8:38-39:

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Along with Paul we can confidently say that nothing in this life can separate a believer from the love of Christ. No harm can destroy our soul and no disaster can come near our earthly tent. So let us not cling to the false promise that sufferings won’t hit us in this world. Christ says in John 16:33 - “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world”. Let us hold onto God who is our refuge and strength and even when we go through trials and temptations in this world, it cannot destroy our souls as it is hidden with Christ. Now even if our earthly tent is destroyed, we have an eternal building from God that is the glorified bodies which we are going to receive at the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:1-2).

So what does Psalm 91:10 teach us in this pandemic season? No evil can separate our souls from Christ as we are saved for eternity. This season reminds us again to set our minds on things above and to trust in the Lord completely. In the past years we all have been making excuses to defend our busy schedule that prohibited us from spending time with the Lord. But the last 12 months has proved that we can be humble and the only help is from the Lord when humans fail. Our focus should not be the fear and anxiety that a pandemic or any suffering can produce but unto God who is Sovereign over every circumstances in this world. Whether it is a pandemic or a trial or a suffering, God is on the throne and nothing surprises him. And as responsible believers, we have to put our trust in him and live a life worthy of our high calling. Again let me make it clear that I am not pointing fingers at anyone for using Psalm 91:10 in their prayers or those who have quoted it to exhort that believers wont go through suffering but rather wanted to mention the real context of the verse. Psalm 91 reminds us of the fact that God alone is our eternal stronghold. He will glorify us and no evil or harm can take us away from him.