Psalm 91:13

Psalm 91:13

Lions and serpents

In verses 5-6 of this Psalm we are confronted with the dangers of the terror of the night, the arrow that flies by day, the pestilence that stalks in the darkness and the plague that destroys at midday. Now we must face the lion and cobra, and the great (adult) lion and the serpent. Obviously, these judgements were specific to the time the Psalm was written but they are equally relevant today. If wild lions still roamed the earth or if we live in a country where vicious, poisonous snakes are prevalent, the threats still apply. 

There are plenty of Scriptures that give these wild creatures a symbolic significance. Peter writes about the devil describing him as, “Your enemy the devil prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8. The devil also appears as a serpent in the Garden of Eden. In Revelation 12:9 we read, “The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.” 

It seems that Psalm 91, which is taken to be a song of great comfort and encouragement by many, is in fact warning us of the dangers of the enemies that surround us. They can inflict disease and illness; they can fire deadly arrows and they can fill us with fear and anxiety. The Satan masquerades as an angel of light but, in truth, he is a fearsome beast of prey and is out to exact punishment and suffering upon the human race. It is in this context that we need the guardian angels to watch over us and we also need to run to the wings of our compassionate carer, the Lord Himself, our shield and our refuge. There are some “ifs” and “buts” in this Psalm, we need to trust in the Lord or we will NOT trample on these vicious creatures, they will haunt us and overcome us for they are intent on our destruction.

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