For he shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to keep thee in all thy ways
Psalm 91 promises an unseen escort to anyone who shelters with the Most High. The devil later quoted this verse to Jesus and cut it short, which raises the two questions below: whose protection is this, and on what terms does it hold?
Commentators read the surrounding verses as spoken to Christ in His life on earth, with heaven's resources placed at His disposal for the journey.
Moreover, the resources of heaven are available for Him throughout His earthly pathway. The angels are charged to keep Him in all His ways.
The reason for the guard is the state of the world He walked through.
So even here heaven opens to Him. He is in a hostile world, and must have an escort; and angels are charged concerning Him, to keep Him in all His ways. The world He walked through was in disorder, and its events might look random. Those blessed feet had to be kept from harm.
One writer follows the promise through the Gospel accounts. Enemies tried to kill Jesus again and again, and failed — until the cross.
He had walked a rough road. But in all His ways God had given His angels charge over Him. They had carried Him in their hands, so that He would never strike His foot against a stone. So although His enemies hated Him bitterly, they could not hurt Him. Once they led Him to the edge of the cliff their town stood on. They meant to throw Him down into the depths below. But He walked straight through the middle of them and went on His way unharmed... No hatred, from men or from demons, had been able to break through the unseen ring of angels. But for this terrible hour God withdrew that protection.
The devil urged Jesus to throw Himself down from the top of the temple. He quoted this verse aloud, but left off its last words. One writer shows what that cut did.
The tempter's aim here was to separate two things God always puts together: the end, and the way to reach it... Satan separates them here. He separates the end from the way by leaving out of the psalm he quotes the very words that make up the way to the end. What were those words? "To guard you in all your ways."
Another writer notes that Satan also skipped the next verse, for a different reason.
When Satan tempted the Lord, he said nothing about the next verse: "You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot" (v. 13). Satan knew that the lion, the cobra, the young lion and the serpent all stood for himself. No wonder he ignored such a verse!
Jesus answered with a different line of Scripture. His answer shows what it means to put God to the test.
Satan tampered with the plain written word, in its letter and in its spirit. After "to guard you" he left out "in all your ways."... And what was the Lord's answer? "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test." The true Israelite does not need to put God to the test. If you suspect a thief is working for you, you may mark a coin to see whether he steals it. Am I going to set a test like that for God, to see whether He will keep His word?
The verse is not only about Christ. Writers link it to the hidden service angels keep giving to believers.
This shows the ministry of angels. They do not serve us in spiritual things, for the Spirit of God does that. They care for the daily needs of believers (Heb. 1:14), and here for the needs of the Lord Jesus Himself.
God does not tell us how that service works.
We are not told how, except that they protect us through God's ordering of everyday events. Details would open the door to the imagination of unbalanced minds. Instead we are left with this great comfort. Angels serve us, unseen and unnoticed, in the way we need, and God directs them in His love and wisdom.
The missing words carry the practical point. God promises protection along His road, not along ours.
We can always count on God's protecting hand when we are walking in the path of duty. But we may be walking a path of our own choosing. We may be seeking our own pleasure, our own interest, our own ends. Then to talk of counting on God would be wicked presumption.
- Ways — the promise carries a road with it. Angels guard you "in all your ways," and the ways in view are God's, not self-chosen ones.
- Escort — Christ walked a hostile world with a heavenly guard. Enemies could not touch Him until the appointed hour.
- Omission — Satan quoted the verse but cut the words about ways. That splits the promised end from the path to it.
- Test — Jesus refused to stage a rescue to prove God's word. Faith trusts God instead of setting traps for Him.
- Comfort — angels still serve believers in daily matters, unseen and unexplained. That comforts the obedient, and gives no cover for presumption.
They shall bear thee up in [their] hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
This verse sits inside a promise of protection so complete that it rules out even a stumble — and the devil quoted it to Jesus at the top of the temple. Whom does it address, and why did the Lord Jesus refuse to act on a promise that was truly His own?
Commentators read the words about angels as God's promise to the Messiah. It covers the smallest accident as well as the greatest danger.
In Psalm 91 a divine message addresses Messiah. It tells Him that because of His perfection in faith, His moral glories, God would be His security against all frailty, accident, hesitation, danger, or damage of every kind. Then God Himself speaks, affirming this and recognising Messiah's perfection in affection, just as the message had recognised His perfection in faith and morals.
The promise was not poetry. It held every day of Christ's life on earth — until one terrible hour.
He had walked a rough road. But in all His ways God had given His angels charge over Him. They had borne Him up in their hands, so that at no time would He dash His foot against a stone. So, though His enemies hated Him with a fierce hatred, they could not hurt Him. They led Him to the edge of the cliff their city stood on, meaning to hurl Him into the depths below. But He walked through the middle of them and went His way unharmed. The very stones they picked up to throw at Him stuck to their murderous hands while He "passed by." No malice, from men or devils, had been able to break through the unseen angelic guard. But for this terrible hour that protection was taken away. An angel brought Him help from heaven in the garden and then withdrew, and He turned to His foes and said, "This is your hour, and the power of darkness" (Luke 22:43-53).
The devil quoted this promise to Jesus, but he cut it short. The missing words change everything.
Now notice those words: "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone." Satan did not quote the whole of the verse. He left out those four words "in all your ways." How crafty the enemy is. To the blessed Lord he suggests, as it were: "The Scripture is plain that this promise applies to You. Now is Your opportunity to show that it does apply to You." He suggests that He should fling Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple, and so prove that the Scripture applied to Him, and so make Himself an object of great interest to men.
A jump from the temple was a way of the devil's choosing, not one of God's ways.
The Lord's answer draws the line between resting on a promise and demanding proof of it.
The Lord replies with the words of Scripture: "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test." Trusting Him and counting on His gracious ways is not testing Him. The Israelites tested the LORD by questioning whether He was among them. They should have counted on His presence, His help, and His care. Jesus did not need to prove the faithfulness of God to His own word; He was sure of it and counted on it. He knew that the LORD would give His angels charge over Him, and this not outside, but to keep Him in all His ways.
The same service continues, and it is care of a particular kind.
This shows the ministry of angels. They do not serve us spiritually — the Spirit of God does that — but they care for the everyday needs of believers (Heb. 1:14), and in this case, of the Lord Jesus Himself.
Scripture says little about the method, and one writer sees a mercy in that silence.
Scripture clearly shows that angels are active on behalf of the "heirs of salvation." We are not told in what way, except that they protect us through God's providence. Giving details would only open the door to the imagination of unbalanced minds. Instead we have this great comfort. Angels serve us, unseen and unnoticed, in a way that meets our needs, and God directs them in His love and wisdom.
- Addressed — The promise speaks to the Messiah, and guarantees Him security against accident and danger of every kind.
- Proved — It held all through His life. A cliff edge, stones in angry hands: nothing could touch Him until the hour of darkness, when that protection ended.
- Twisted — Satan quoted the words but stopped short, dropping "in all your ways" and turning a promise of protection into a dare.
- Conditioned — The promise covers God's ways, not ours. Counting on His care is trust; demanding a display of it is putting Him to the test.
- Shared — The same angels now serve the heirs of salvation, unseen, in ways God has not spelled out and we need not guess.