SAFETY IN GOD'S PRESENCE

Psalm 91

"He who dwells 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 I will trust.
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked.
Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.
In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
Because he has set his love on Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation."

When the skies are falling, and the world is in turbulence, and men's hearts are failing them for fear...we need a refuge and safe place to find peace for our souls! The author of our Psalm found that safe place and he wants to share its secrets with us.
Many believe that the writer of the Psalm also wrote the one that proceeds it...Psalm 90. It begins with these words: "Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the

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earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God." Many Bible scholars believe that Moses wrote both of these Psalms as an exposition of Deuteronomy 33:27 which reads: "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms."
Our Psalm contrasts the permanence of God with the mortal frailty of man. It is a psalm of the wilderness. The sentence of death had been passed on Israel at Kadeshbarnea. Their sandglass of forty years was running out, but the eternal God was there refuge...underneath were His everlasting arms.
One of the most interesting things about this psalm is that Satan knew it, memorized it, no doubt hated it, but employed it (in the usual distorted and devious way he ever handles the Word of truth) to try to tempt the Christ of God from the path of obedience to His God.
The theme and those to whom the psalm is addressed are identified at the beginning: those who trust themselves to the protection of the Lord. The declaration lets hearers and readers of the psalm know that God confirms the trust of those who are committed to Him. The psalm seeks to nurture the trust of the faithful by encouraging each of them to take the Lord as their refuge from all the troubles of life. "For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me: (Psalm 27:5). "Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues."
(Psalm 32:19-20) "God is our refuge and strength a very present help in time of trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling" (Psalm 46:1-3).
A key to understanding this psalm in its original context lies in interpreting its imagery. The dominant image describing the obligation of the trusting believer is that of taking REFUGE. God's protection is spelled out by images of a hiding place, a shadow from the burning sun, a military fortress, a bird protecting her young, military defenses, and angels. The images depicting threat derive from a hunt (the fowler's snare), dis-

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ease (the deadly pestilence), battle (your shield and rampart, which protect against the arrow that flies by day), and deadly animals (the lion and the cobra, the great lion and the serpent).
Whatever be the troubles that surround us, our God is ever present to deliver us and protect us!
The Psalmist uses four names for God in this one statement: Elyon, Shaddai, Jehovah and Elohim:
(1) ELYON, "The Most High": POSSESSION
He is "the possessor of Heaven and earth"-- that is the thought connected with this name. He owns everything! He is the possessor of everything! Our God is the Sovereign God of the universe. He created it and He owns it all!
(2) EL SHADDAI, "The Almighty"; PROVISION
The thought behind this name, embedded right into its Hebrew structure, is that God is not just a living God, but a giving God! He is the one who supplies all our needs. "But my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).
(3) JEHOVAH, "The Lord": PROMISE
This was the greatest name for God among the Hebrew people. He is the God who exists because He exists, the I AM, the eternal, immutable, unchangeable One. Especially, He is the God in covenant-relation with His own. The thought here is that of PROMISE. He is the God who has pledged Himself to do certain exceeding great and wonderful things for His own, things which cannot be thwarted by any demon in hell, any adversary on earth, or any failure in us. Ah! What a wonderful hiding place is He!
(4) ELOHIM, "God the Creator": POWER
The word always occurs in a plural form accompanied by a single verb--something which would be very bad grammar in connection with anyone but God! God can say: "We" because He exists in three persons and yet is one God. The word "ELOHIM" in the singular would simply not be full enough to convey all that is meant in the revelation of God.
Elohim occurs twenty-seven hundred times in the Bible. Its first occurrence links it with creation...the powerful, eternal God who created everything!
POSSESSION, PROVISION, PROMISE AND POWER——such is our fortress, our refuge, our hiding place. This is our God in whom we have safety and peace!
BUT PLEASE NOTE! The blessings here promised are not for all believers, but for those who live in close fellowship with God!

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ABIDING IN THE SECRET PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH:
The verb 'to dwell' or 'to abide' means to remain, stay, tarry, endure, have one's abode.
It suggests continuance and permanence.
In the New Testament, Jesus identifies His disciples as those who "abide" or 'dwell' in Him, through eating His flesh and drinking His blood. "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks My blood remains in me, and I in him." (John 6:56) They also "dwell" in His word. Above all else, they dwell in Him as branches dwell or abide in the vine. "I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener...If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers" (John 15:6). This abiding life, to live and remain in Jesus, is the New Testament counterpart to "dwelling in the secret place of the Most High."
But what is that "SECRET PLACE? It is a "covering," a "hiding place," a "shelter." It can refer to the temple. "For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling: He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock." (Psalm 27:5). "In the shelter of Your presence You hide them from the intrigues of men: in Your dwelling You keep them safe from accusing tongues" (Psalm 31:20).
This secret place is the intimacy of God's presence; it is our secure communion with Him. By dwelling or living in the surrender of unceasing worship and prayer, we are like Moses, who was put in the cleft of the rock and covered with God's hand while His glory passed by." "Then Moses said, "Now show me Your glory."
And the Lord said, "I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My name, the Lord, in your presence.
I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But, he said, "You cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live."
Then the Lord said, "THERE IS A PLACE NEAR ME where you may stand on a rock. When My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove My hand and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen" (Exodus 33:18—23).
As Christians, we frequently run to God in times of difficulty and tears; but to live, to abide moment by moment, in His presence, is not our common life-style!
Spurgeon, in his commentary, writes: Those who through rich grace obtain unusual and continuous communion with God, so as to abide in Christ and Christ in them, become possessors of rare and special benefits,

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which are missed by those who follow afar off. Into the secret place those only come who know the love of God in Christ Jesus, and those only dwell there to whom to live is Christ."
The hymn-writer understood this secret place when he wrote the great hymn...NEAR TO THE HEART OF GOD. "There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God, a place where sin cannot molest, near to the heart of God. There is a place of comfort sweet, near to the heart of God, a place where we are Saviour meet, near to the heart of God.
There is a place of full release, near to the heart of God, a place where all is joy and peace, near to the heart of God."
David wrote: "It is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God." (Psalm 73).
IN THAT SECRET PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH, WE SHALL ABIDE UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY.
Abiding under the shadow of the Almighty...this is a mercy which the believer alone enjoys! As the children of Israel made their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, the cloudy pillar led them in all their way, affording them shade by day from the heat of the burning sun, and light throughout the night seasons. To no other people under heaven was this ever vouchsafed.
And so it is with the believers today; they and they only, behold the light of God's countenance in the night-season of adversity; and they alone are sheltered from every thing that would oppress and overwhelm their souls. Those who commune with God are safe with Him, no evil can reach them, for the outstretched wings of His power and love cover them from all harm. No shelter can be imagined at all comparable to the protection of Jehovah's own shadow...for the Almighty is where His shadow is! "I have put My words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand--I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who say to Zion, "You are My people" (Isaiah 51:16).
UNDER THE SHADOW...The metaphor is that of a mother hen who gathers her chicks under her feathers. David prays, "Hide me under the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who oppress me" (Psalm 17:8-9). The author of our psalm, having stated his own personal faith in God, now commends that faith to us, taking six verses to explain what God will do for the one who trusts Him. The most striking feature of this section (and the one following) is the use of the singular YOU throughout, which is a way

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of saying that these truths are for each person individually. They are for you and me if we will truly trust and abide under the shadow of the Almighty!
In verses 3-13, we have an extended exposition of what God will do for the person dwelling in Him. While he will experience suffering and evil in this fallen world, he will also know divine protection and deliverance.
Verse 3 states that God will save the trusting soul from two kinds of dangers; first, the subtle snare of enemies, described as the trap a fowler used to catch birds, and second, death by disease or pestilence. This does not mean that those who trust God never die from infectious diseases or suffer from an enemy's plot, of course. It means that those who trust God are habitually delivered from such dangers.
Derek Kidner in his excellent little commentary writes:
"Most of these dangers are of a kind which strike unseen, against which the strong are helpless as the weak. Some, like the snare of the fowler are obviously metaphors for the plots which would entangle our affairs or compromise our loyalty. Others are ills that attack the mind or the body, by human or non-human agency. The pictures of pestilence that stalks, and destruction that wastes or devastates are poetic personifications. As for God's care, it combines the warm protectiveness of a parent bird with the hard, unyielding strength of armour. Shield and buckler gave respectively the cover that was large and static, and small and mobile."
As Christians, we have this promise when the enemy assails us: "No temptation (test) has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted (tested) beyond what you are able, but with the temptation (test) will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).
I like the translation in the Amplified Bible: "For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with

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the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently."
In verse 4 the metaphor shifts to military equipment. The person dwelling in God's secret place will have "HIS TRUTH' as a SHIELD and BUCKLER. This shield is large, protecting the whole body. The word rendered BUCKLER appears only here in the Old Testament. It probably means a round shield.
The two pieces of armor illustrate the full (and double) protection offered by God's truth. The New International Version is rich at this point, for the Hebrew word means more than mere truth. It has to do with God's entire character, described as faithfulness. Still something is lost if we do not also realize that the Hebrew word for faithfulness is based on the word for truth and that what is involved here is God's faithfulness to his promises—that is His word. In other words, it is when we believe God's Word and act upon it that we find Him to be faithful to what He has promised and learn that He is in truth our shield from dangers and our rampart against enemies.
The results of this protection are sketched in verses 5-6. The person dwelling in God's secret place will not be afraid of "the terror [dread] by night." While this could refer to a surprise military attack, it probably indicates demonic assault! "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against authorities, against powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground."
(Ephesians 6:12-13) It is when we are clothed with the armor of God that we enjoy the peace and safety of that secret place of the Almighty! What is that armor? "Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests" (Ephesians 6:14-18).
Verse 7 in our psalm, it says: "A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at

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your right hand; but it shall not come near you." In a very beautiful poetic style, the person who is dwelling in the secret place of the Almighty, will enjoy the answer to his prayer when he prays..."And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one" (Matthew 6:13). Because his life is lived in constant fellowship with God, he will not share in the tragedies that result from a life of sin. It is when Peter followed his Lord at a distance, that he fell to the temptation of denial! "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful...The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish" (Psalm 1).
Verse 8 says: "Only with your eyes shall you see the reward of the wicked." One does not have to travel too long in life to observe the tragic results of sin! And verse 9 continues: "Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place..." THE SECRET PLACE...your dwelling place...it is neither the sanctuary where we worship, nor the quiet room in our house in which we pray...it is our experience of God, our vision of Him, and our fellowship with Him. It is the spot where our spirit meets the Spirit of the Infinite--the spot where spirits blend, and friend holds fellowship with friend.
Verse 10: "No evil shall befall him, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling."
Tribulation and anguish are part of the mysterious economy of life, and fall with a baffling and bewildering impartiality upon good and evil alike. But the sublime truth that the Psalmist has grasped in this, that whatever troubles may overtake us, if we are dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, our souls shall abide secure, inviolate, and uncontaminated.
"For He shall give His angels charge over you..." Ah! Those who make God their dwelling place enjoy the heavenly protection of the hosts of heaven. "Are not all angels ministering sprits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" (Hebrews 1:14).
The last three verses of this psalm contain a confirming oracle of God in which the pronoun switches from YOU to I which is God.
The Almighty adds His seal to what the Psalmist has been saying! All of these blessings come to those who make God their dwelling place!