“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord,He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.” —Psalm 91:1-2
This Psalm is so lofty in content and so highly integrated in expression that it is difficult to select a “nugget” to focus upon. Indeed, read the whole Psalm and meditate upon it to absorb something of the riches to be found within. Notwithstanding, we have settled upon the text above for our focal point and trust the Lord to direct for His glory.
Here is the key to the treasure trove of security and serenity offered by the rest of the Psalm. There is in v.1 an Affirmation, and in v.2 an Appropriation. The latter is the key to the promise of the former.
The bountiful benefits offered in this Psalm include security, deliverance in adversity, tranquility, longevity, dignity and —eternity! Such riches should be the desire of every rational person, and the joy of all who possess them; “more to be desired than much fine gold.” They are offered to every believer, but the key to their enjoyment is in the word “dwell.” The New Testament parallel is found in the prescription we have looked at before, e.g., “If yea abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you [John 15:7].” If I may so say, from a New Testament perspective, Christ is the “secret place of the Most High” It is in Him in Whom “all fulness dwells” that the believer has access to that fulness. While all Christians are properly heirs to all, not all are enjoying their heritage. The casual believer, on again off again, sometimes closer, sometimes farther away from him, is not dwelling under the shadow of the Almighty. The straying sheep knows little of the comfort and security of the fold, or the sustaining direction of the Shepherd.
What a blessing a shadow can be in a dry and thirsty land. Isaiah used the figure in a beautiful passage anticipating the Messiah when he wrote, “Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land [Isa 32:1-2 (my italics)].” The value of such a shadow was realized by Jonah, who forfeited it by moving out of harmony with God’s Spirit. “So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live [Jonah 4:5-8].” Such is life out of the will of God.
Many, reading the Psalm and surveying their own circumstances will say God did not keep His word, while overlooking the fact that they are simply not “dwelling” where they ought. And, the Psalm does not promise a trouble free life, but the comfort of His presence and the assurance of His deliverance when trouble comes. (See v.15)
The writer gives the clue to reaping the blessing of God’s overshadowing presence when he declares his faith in God. “I will say of the Lord…” The inference is a deliberate decision to make the “Secret Place” his permanent residence. Along with that resolution there is recognition of God, and Who He is. He is “the Most High,” having no competitors; He is Almighty, having no limit to His power; He is the Lord Jehovah, having no rivals in his heart; and He is “my God,” the true and sole object of his worship.
The heart of a believer who is dwelling in the Lord is illustrated in the familiar story of Ruth who, when given the opportunity to leave her mother-in-law and return to “her own people and [her own] gods,” declared, “Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge…” [Ruth 1:16].” Just as Ruth had no will of her own but to abide with her mother-in-law, so the believer who is abiding in Christ, dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, has abandoned his will to the will of God. And it is to these that God pledges Himself in the terms of this grand scripture.
May you be one of them!
For permanent residents of the “Secret Place,”
"Pastor" Frasier
Here is the key to the treasure trove of security and serenity offered by the rest of the Psalm. There is in v.1 an Affirmation, and in v.2 an Appropriation. The latter is the key to the promise of the former.
The bountiful benefits offered in this Psalm include security, deliverance in adversity, tranquility, longevity, dignity and —eternity! Such riches should be the desire of every rational person, and the joy of all who possess them; “more to be desired than much fine gold.” They are offered to every believer, but the key to their enjoyment is in the word “dwell.” The New Testament parallel is found in the prescription we have looked at before, e.g., “If yea abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you [John 15:7].” If I may so say, from a New Testament perspective, Christ is the “secret place of the Most High” It is in Him in Whom “all fulness dwells” that the believer has access to that fulness. While all Christians are properly heirs to all, not all are enjoying their heritage. The casual believer, on again off again, sometimes closer, sometimes farther away from him, is not dwelling under the shadow of the Almighty. The straying sheep knows little of the comfort and security of the fold, or the sustaining direction of the Shepherd.
What a blessing a shadow can be in a dry and thirsty land. Isaiah used the figure in a beautiful passage anticipating the Messiah when he wrote, “Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land [Isa 32:1-2 (my italics)].” The value of such a shadow was realized by Jonah, who forfeited it by moving out of harmony with God’s Spirit. “So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live [Jonah 4:5-8].” Such is life out of the will of God.
Many, reading the Psalm and surveying their own circumstances will say God did not keep His word, while overlooking the fact that they are simply not “dwelling” where they ought. And, the Psalm does not promise a trouble free life, but the comfort of His presence and the assurance of His deliverance when trouble comes. (See v.15)
The writer gives the clue to reaping the blessing of God’s overshadowing presence when he declares his faith in God. “I will say of the Lord…” The inference is a deliberate decision to make the “Secret Place” his permanent residence. Along with that resolution there is recognition of God, and Who He is. He is “the Most High,” having no competitors; He is Almighty, having no limit to His power; He is the Lord Jehovah, having no rivals in his heart; and He is “my God,” the true and sole object of his worship.
The heart of a believer who is dwelling in the Lord is illustrated in the familiar story of Ruth who, when given the opportunity to leave her mother-in-law and return to “her own people and [her own] gods,” declared, “Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge…” [Ruth 1:16].” Just as Ruth had no will of her own but to abide with her mother-in-law, so the believer who is abiding in Christ, dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, has abandoned his will to the will of God. And it is to these that God pledges Himself in the terms of this grand scripture.
May you be one of them!
For permanent residents of the “Secret Place,”
"Pastor" Frasier
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