What does Psalm 91:13 mean?

This continues the theme of the passage, symbolizing the safety a person has when they are protected by God (Psalm 91:11–12). Neither the Old Testament nor the New Testament imply that God-believers are invincible and immune from all harm, in all ways. On the contrary, life still presents difficulties and dangers (Psalm 3:1–2; 73:2–3; John 16:33). Jesus explicitly refuted poor interpretations of these verses when He resisted Satan's temptation (Matthew 4:5–7). A believer cannot presume God will supernaturally defend him when he is careless or arrogant. A person needs to obey godly wisdom to have a better chance of avoiding catastrophe (Proverbs 1:7; 9:11–12).

There are instances where God has used overt, miraculous protection. Some of those events involve these very dangers. When Jesus addressed seventy-two of His followers who returned from a preaching mission, He referred to this passage. He told them, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you" (Luke 10:19).

The apostle Paul experienced an extremely literal version of this verse while kindling a fire on the island of Malta. A viper emerged from the fire and attached itself to Paul's hand. However, the viper did not wound or kill Paul; Paul simply shook off the viper and threw it back into the fire (Acts 28:1–6). The Bible describes the Devil as both a lion and a serpent (1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:7–9). Although he is vicious and sly, believers can be victorious over him by humbling themselves before God, by casting all their anxiety on God, by being sober-minded, by staying alert, and by resisting Satan using faith (1 Peter 5:6–9).