Hashem's Salvation
The Malbim (Tehillim 91) explains that there is a difference between when Hashem sends malachim to protect us and when Hashem Himself protects us. When Hashem sends malachim, the malachim keep us far away from the tzaros so we won't be harmed. When Hashem saves us, He brings us close to the troubles and saves us from there. It is a far greater miracle when Hashem Himself saves us because we come close to the dangers, and Hashem saves us.
Hashem does this, so we should recognize Him and His miracles. When we are saved with malachim, people often think they were saved by nature and don't recognize Hashem. This lesson is alluded to in the following pasukim (Tehillim 91): פן ישאונך כפים על ,דרכיך בכל לשמרך לך יצוה מלאכיו כי רגלך באבן תגף, "For He will command His angels on your behalf to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you, lest your foot stumble on a stone."
The Malbim writes, "When Hashem commands his malachim to protect you, they will carry you on their hands. They won't let you walk on the ground because they are afraid you might injure your legs, even slightly, and they were commanded to guard you. Therefore, they will carry you on their hands and keep you away from anything that can harm you."
But when Hashem guards us, it is different. We tread on top of the dangers, and we aren't harmed. As it states ופתן שחל על ותנין כפיר תרמס תדרך, "On a young lion and a cobra you will tread; you will trample the young lion and the serpent."
The Malbim explains, "The malachim guard you within the rules of nature, so they keep you far from danger. But I guard you in a path that is above nature. I won't carry you on My hands, far from danger. You will walk on the earth, and although great dangers surround you, nothing bad will happen. You will be saved with wondrous miracles. You will walk on shachal and fesen, lions and cobras, and you won't be harmed. You will trample on kifir v'sanin, young lions and serpents, and... Hashem Himself will watch you."
The Malbim concludes, "Why does He make a person walk where there are lions and snakes and dangers? Because if he wasn’t in danger, he wouldn't call Me, and he wouldn’t recognize that I was with him. He will say that it was all nature... יקראני ואענהו, 'He will daven to me, and I will answer him.' He will discover that בצרה אנכי עמו, 'I am with him in distress.' ואכבדהו אחלצהו, I will rescue him and grant him honor.'"
