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Following a series of personal and professional setbacks, James, an Ohio small business owner, was visited by a friend. After listening carefully and compassionately, the friend suggested, "Try using God's 911 number. You may find it a great source of comfort and hope."

Intrigued, James asked, "What do you mean by 'God's 911 number'?"

"It's Psalm 91:1. Read it and the verses that follow," the friend advised.

When the friend left, James immediately opened his Bible and read these words: "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust' " (Ps. 91:1-2).

James read through all sixteen verses of Psalm 91 several times—a powerful reminder that although he was living through a major crisis, he could continue to trust God for daily strength and guidance. Later he thanked his friend.

"After reading and re-reading Psalm 91, I feel less stress and more comfort," James said.

While other Psalms may be better known, Psalm 91 has occupied a special place in the hearts of those who have faced defeat, despair, or danger. Athanasius, 4th-century bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, offered this advice to Marcellinus, a younger, less experienced bishop: "If you desire to establish yourself and others in devotion, to know what confidence is to be reposed in God, and what makes the mind fearless, you will praise God by reciting the ninety-first Psalm." It is the Psalm of comfort and consolation, hope and help for those facing a major trial or who may be in peril.

One person who experienced God's comfort and peace through Psalm 91 was the famous 19th-century British preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon. In 1854, shortly after Spurgeon had been called to pastor a London church, the city experienced a major cholera epidemic. "Family after family summoned me to the bedside of the smitten," he later wrote.

The death rate was so high that Spurgeon was conducting funerals daily. The long hours trying to comfort the grieving and personal discouragement over the scope of the epidemic left Spurgeon feeling weak, vulnerable, and frightened. He felt it was only a matter of time before he came down with cholera because of his contact with so many of the dying.

"I became weary in body and sick at heart. My friends seemed to be falling one by one, and I felt that I was sickening like those around me." An exhausted Spurgeon was sinking.

But that soon changed. As Spurgeon was returning from conducting yet another funeral service, a flyer posted in a shoemaker's shop window got his attention. The flyer contained sections of Psalm 91, including these heartening words: "You will not fear the terror of night … nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you" (Ps. 91:5-7).

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