Psalms 91:9

91:9 For you have taken refuge in the Lord,

my shelter, the sovereign One. ¹ 

Psalms 91:1

Psalm 91 ² 

91:1 As for you, the one who lives ³  in the shelter of the sovereign One, ⁴ 

and resides in the protective shadow ⁵  of the mighty king ⁶  –

Psalms 29:3

29:3 The Lord’s shout is heard over the water; ⁷ 

the majestic God thunders, ⁸ 

the Lord appears over the surging water. ⁹ 

John 14:23

14:23 Jesus replied, ¹⁰  “If anyone loves me, he will obey ¹¹  my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence with him. ¹² 

John 16:27

16:27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. ¹³ 

Romans 8:28

8:28 And we know that all things work together ¹⁴  for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose,

James 1:12

1:12 Happy is the one ¹⁵  who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God ¹⁶  promised to those who love him.

James 2:5

2:5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! ¹⁷  Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?

¹ tn Heb “for you, the Lord, my shelter, the Most High, you have made your dwelling place.”

² sn Psalm 91. In this psalm an individual (perhaps a priest) addresses one who has sought shelter in the Lord and assures him that God will protect him from danger (vv. 1-13). In vv. 14-16 God himself promises to keep his loyal follower safe.

³ tn Heb “[O] one who lives.”

⁴ tn Traditionally “the Most High.”

⁵ sn The Lord is compared here to a bird who protects its young under the shadow of its wings (see v. 4).

⁶ sn The divine name used here is “Shaddai” (שַׁדַּי, shadday; see also Ps 68:14). Shaddai (or El Shaddai) is the mighty king (sovereign judge) of the world who grants life/blesses and kills/judges. In Genesis he blesses the patriarchs with fertility and promises numerous descendants. Outside Genesis he both blesses/protects and takes away life/happiness.

⁷ tn Heb “the voice of the Lord [is] over the water.” As the next line makes clear, the “voice of the Lord” is here the thunder that accompanies a violent storm. The psalm depicts the Lord in the role of a warrior-king, so the thunder is his battle cry, as it were.

⁸ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form is probably descriptive. In dramatic fashion the psalmist portrays the Lord coming in the storm to do battle with his enemies and to vindicate his people.

⁹ tn Traditionally “many waters.” The geographical references in the psalm (Lebanon, Sirion, Kadesh) suggest this is a reference to the Mediterranean Sea (see Ezek 26:19; 27:26). The psalmist describes a powerful storm moving in from the sea and sweeping over the mountainous areas north of Israel. The “surging waters” may symbolize the hostile enemies of God who seek to destroy his people (see Pss 18:17; 32:6; 77:20; 93:4; 144:7; Isa 17:13; Jer 51:55; Ezek 26:19; Hab 3:15). In this case the Lord is depicted as elevated above and sovereign over the raging waters.

¹⁰ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

¹¹ tn Or “will keep.”

¹² tn Grk “we will come to him and will make our dwelling place with him.” The context here is individual rather than corporate indwelling, so the masculine singular pronoun has been retained throughout v. 23. It is important to note, however, that the pronoun is used generically here and refers equally to men, women, and children.

¹³ tc A number of early mss (א¹ B C* D L pc co) read πατρός (patros, “Father”) here instead of θεοῦ (qeou, “God”; found in Ì⁵ א*^,2 A C³ W Θ Ψ 33 Ë^1,13 Ï). Although externally πατρός has relatively strong support, it is evidently an assimilation to “I came from the Father” at the beginning of v. 28, or more generally to the consistent mention of God as Father throughout this chapter (πατήρ [pathr, “Father”] occurs eleven times in this chapter, while θεός [qeos, “God”] occurs only two other times [16:2, 30]).

¹⁴ tc ὁ θεός (Jo qeos, “God”) is found after the verb συνεργεῖ (sunergei, “work”) in v. 28 by Ì⁴⁶ A B 81 sa; the shorter reading is found in א C D F G Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï latt sy bo. Although the inclusion is supported by a significant early papyrus, the alliance of significant Alexandrian and Western witnesses favors the shorter reading. As well, the longer reading is evidently motivated by a need for clarification. Since ὁ θεός is textually suspect, it is better to read the text without it. This leaves two good translational options: either “he works all things together for good” or “all things work together for good.” In the first instance the subject is embedded in the verb and “God” is clearly implied (as in v. 29). In the second instance, πάντα (panta) becomes the subject of an intransitive verb. In either case, “What is expressed is a truly biblical confidence in the sovereignty of God” (C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:427).

¹⁵ tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

¹⁶ tc Most mss ([C] P 0246 Ï) read ὁ κύριος (Jo kurio", “the Lord”) here, while others have ὁ θεός (Jo qeo", “God”; 4 33^vid 323 945 1739 al). However, several important and early witnesses (̲³ א A B Ψ 81 co) have no explicit subject. In light of the scribal tendency toward clarification, and the fact that both κύριος and θεός are well represented, there can be no doubt that the original text had no explicit subject. The referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity, not because of textual basis.

¹⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.