Fathers

Psalms 91

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He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of Yahweh, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers. Under his wings you will take refuge. His faithfulness is your shield and rampart. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes, and see the recompense of the wicked. Because you have made Yahweh your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall happen to you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. For he will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, so that you won’t dash your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and cobra. You will trample the young lion and the serpent underfoot. “Because he has set his love on me, therefore I will deliver him. I will set him on high, because he has known my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him, and honor him. I will satisfy him with long life, and show him my salvation.”

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What the Fathers say

Psalms 91:5

Western Saints

Augustine of Hippo

"His truth shall surround thee with a shield." What are "the wings," the same is "the shield:" since there are neither wings nor shield. If either were literally, how could the one be the same as the other? can wings be a shield or a shield wings? But all these expressions, indeed, are figuratively used through likenesses. …

Exposition on Psalm 91 ↗

Jerome

You shall not fear from the terror of the night. The just man has no terror of the night, but of the day. "Come, children, hear me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord." Those who are the children of the prophets have no terror of the night, nor of the darkness, but of the light and of the day. "That they may shoot in secret at the upright of heart." The devil does not send his arrows in the day, lest he be seen. For everything that is done in the light is made manifest by the light.

Homily 68, on Psalm 90 (Alternate Series) ↗

Bonaventure

The third part of the perfection of the fear of the Lord consists in the perfect firmness of confidence: because the fear of the Lord is a tower of firmness and confidence, because it renders a person secure from every other fear. "His truth shall encompass you with a shield; you shall not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor the assault and the noonday devil." He who does not fear God must fear everywhere; and he who truly fears God has what no one can take …

Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2 ↗