He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder.” Psalm 91:11-13 KJV

For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and cobra…” Psalms 91:11-13 NASB

In the wilderness temptation, Satan quoted Psalm 91 to the Lord Jesus in an attempt to have Him cast Himself down from the pinnacle of the Temple. Satan reminded the Lord Jesus that God had promised that angels would bear Him up and prevent any harm.

It would have made a spectacular sight before the hordes of temple-goers that day. Imagine seeing a man floating down from the wing of the Temple carried by unseen angels! His fame would have been assured.

Satan, however, with his typical subtlety, omitted several things in his citation of Psalm 91. Notice that he did not include, “in all thy ways.” Here was One Who only moved according to the will of God. Never did He move outside the “way” the Father had ordained for Him. Wasn’t God’s promise true? Of course, it was! But it was only true in the pathway given Him to walk.

But perhaps more significantly, Satan omitted verse 13. Little wonder. It speaks of his eventual and ultimate defeat. “Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder. The young lion and the dragon shalt Thou trample under feet!” Satan knew that this verse spelled His doom. If only He could move the Lord from the pathway of obedience, He could possibly reverse God’s edict concerning His doom. But the Lord Jesus Christ would not move outside the will of God to display Himself to men. He was willing to await the Father’s time.

 Thoughts to Consider

1. Satan’s bait was – to summarize it, “Show yourself.” Make a display and then people will believe in you. Can you find other times up to the cross when these words or similar words were used as a temptation to the Lord Jesus? How did He respond? What about on the cross?
2. Why do you think that in Matthew’s account this was the second temptation, while in Luke’s account (the Gospel of the Perfect Man), this is the final culmination in his temptation of the Lord?
3. Are there instances, of which you can think, when God did send His angels to minister to Christ, fulfilling His promise?