"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 27:1-6
"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple.
FOR IN THE TIME OF TROUBLE HE SHALL HIDE ME IN HIS PAVILION: IN THE SECRET PLACE OF HIS TABERNACLE SHALL HE HIDE ME: HE SHALL SET ME UP UPON A ROCK.
And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me; therefore will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea I will sing praises unto the Lord."

"He that dwelleth in the secret place..."
"In the secret place of His tabernacle shall He hide me..."
If to be IN THE SECRET PLACE assures me that I am living in the presence of the Almighty, and IN THE SECRET PLACE I may hide in the times of trouble...then our spiritual quest should be to know that SECRET PLACE AND there take up our spiritual residence!
Although the omnipresence of God was affirmed in Hebrew religion, the specific presence of God was associated from early times with the mobile sanctuary that was placed in the center of the camp as the children of Israel made their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, and later with the permanently established temple in Jerusalem. The presence and glory of God could not be confined to the temple, but it could be experienced there in a particular way. "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have builded" (1 Kings 8:27).
"Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him?

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saith the Lord. DO NOT I FILL HEAVEN AND EARTH? said the Lord" (Jer. 23:23-24).
For the children of Israel, the particular experience of God in the temple could be accentuated even more dramatically in the great festivals that punctuated Israel's religious calendar; in those festivals, in which the fundamentals of the faith were recalled and reaffirmed, the presence and the glory of God were perceived more intimately than on other occasions. It was in the temple that the ancient Israelite felt a nearness to God!
In our modern thought, we think of an awareness of God or God's qualities entirely apart from the tangible elements of worship. But for the ancients, including the Jews, religion was not like that. The tangible and the intangible were not separated for them but rather were joined. They actually seemed to experience God in a very personal way in the temple. Thus their appetite for God was something to be satisfied almost physically. Their longing to go up to Jerusalem and appear before the presence of God was like a physical thirst. "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, 0 God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday." (Psalm 42:1-4)
Lacking that encounter with Him, their souls are parched like a waterless countryside.
"0 God, thou art my God; early will I seek Thee: my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is:
To see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary" (Psalm 63:1-2).
C. S. Lewis writes: "I am aware that we live in a different time, and are ourselves very different. We remember how Jesus said, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth" (John 4:23). But still, I believe we have probably swung too far to the other extreme and would do well to recover something of this robust Old Testament worship wherein our hearts thrilled with the thought of worshiping in the House of God!"
Think with me! There is something to be experienced of God in church that is not quite so easy to experience elsewhere

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Otherwise, why have churches? If it is only instruction we need, we can get that as well by an audio tape or a book. If it is only fellowship, we can find that equally well, perhaps better, in a small home gathering.
There is something to be said for the sheer physical singing of the hymns, the sitting in the pews, the actual looking to the pulpit and being taught the eternal truths of God's Word, the taking of Communion on our knees in the presence of our Maker and God, and the very atmosphere of the place set apart for the worship of Almighty God that is spiritually beneficial. Oh! That our hearts would thirst for, would long after, the House of God! I do not mean to deny that God can (and should) be worshiped elsewhere, but I am suggesting that the actual physical worship of God in the company of other believers can be almost sacramental.
In the opening lines of this lesson, we quoted verses from Psalm 27. David was the author and he states: "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple" (Psalm 27:4). David wanted the impossible. He was a man after God's own heart, a warrior, and leader of men and a worshiper with a passion for God!
But David was not a priest. Privileges such as being allowed access into the inner sanctuaries of the Tabernacle were reserved for men born of the tribe of Levi of the family of Aaron, not to men born of the tribe of Judah of the family of Jesse. What David wanted was impossible, yet that is what he desired. This was the daily passion of his heart...he wanted the place closest to God! And to him, it was in the sanctuary. That was his secret place! "Hear my cry, 0 God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings" (Psalm 61:1-4).
We now have somewhat of an understanding of what is meant when the term..."the secret place" is used in the Old Testament.
But how does this truth apply in the New Testament and how is it experienced in our life as Christians? WHAT IS THAT SECRET PLACE FOR US AS FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST?
The verse in Psalm 91 that has been the inspiration for our spiritual search says: "He that DWELLETH in the secret place...

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Another translation reads: "He that abideth in the secret place..." The verb to dwell or abide means to remain, stay, tarry, endure, have one's abode, to take up residence. It suggests continuance and permanence.
In the New Testament, Jesus identifies His disciples as those who "abide" or "dwell" in Him. Jesus said: "I am the true vine, My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit. He taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit. He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. ABIDE IN ME, AND I IN YOU. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, no more can ye, EXCEPT YE ABIDE IN ME. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He THAT ABIDETH IN ME, AND I IN HIM, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. IF A MAN ABIDE NOT IN ME, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
IF YE ABIDE IN ME, AND MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." (John 15:1-7)
Jesus also said: "He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, DWELLETH IN ME, AND I IN HIM. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me."
(John 6:56-57).
ABIDING IN CHRIST, DWELLING IN CHRIST...
this is the New Testament way of saying, He that dwelleth in the secret place shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
But, what does it mean to ABIDE IN CHRIST?
"To Be In Christ" and "To Abide or dwell in Christ" are two different things which must not be confounded.
"To Be In Christ" means that we have received Christ as our personal Saviour and acknowledged that He is the Son of God, the sacrifice that paid the penalty for our sins, our Substitute. "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17).
Being in Christ is the result of a spiritual union affected by the creating-power of God, which can neither be dissolved nor suspended.
"Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love;

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having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace..."(Ephesians 1:3-7). "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me"
(Galatians 2:20).
"That if thou shalt confess with they mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation"
(Romans 10:9-10).
TO BE IN CHRIST is a personal, spiritual experience wherein we put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord, repent and turn from our sins, and experience His forgiveness, mercy and love!
BUT...TO ABIDE IN CHRIST means to continue and remain in that fellowship with God in Christ. The word "ABIDE" calls us to vigilance, lest at any time the experimental realization of our union with Christ should be interrupted. TO ABIDE IN HIM is to have sustained conscious communion with Him. To ABIDE IN CHRIST signifies the constant occupation of the heart with Him--a daily active faith in Him which, so to speak, maintains the dependency of the branch upon the vine, and the circulation of life and fatness of the vine in the branch.
We have already noted John 6:56 which reads: "He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth (abideth) in Me, and I in him." This is but another way of insisting upon the continuous exercise of faith in a crucified and living Saviour, deriving life and the sustenance of life from Him. As the initial act of believing in Him is described as "coming" to Him, ("He that cometh to Me shall never hunger and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst":(John 6:35), so the continued activity of faith is described as "abiding in Him" or as our Old Testament text says: "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
THIS SECRET PLACE is the intimacy of God's presence; it is our secure communion with Him!

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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 place of comfort sweet, near to the heart of God, a place where we our 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)
As Christians, we frequently run to God in times of difficulty and tears; but to live and 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, 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."
By dwelling and 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)
THERE IS A PLACE NEAR ME...ABIDE, DWELL IN ME.
"Abide in me, and I in you" (John 15:4).
The two things are quite distinct, though closely connected. Just as it is one thing to be IN CHRIST, and another to ABIDE IN HIM, so there is a real difference between His being in us, and His ABIDING IN US. The one is a matter of His grace; the other of our responsibility. The one is perpetual, the other may be interrupted...by rebellion, disobedience and open sin.

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TO ABIDE IN CHRIST requires our continual attention and obedience to His Word. Jesus prayed: "Sanctify them through thy truth; THY WORD IS TRUTH" (John 17:17). "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to Thy Word.
With my whole heart have I sought Thee: 0 let me not wander from Thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee" (Psalm 119:9-11).
THY WORD IS TRUTH. The written Word is unadulterated truth, because its Author cannot lie. In it there is no error. Because the Word is God's truth it is of final authority.
By it every thing is to be tested. By it our thoughts are to be formed and our conduct to be regulated. Just because God's Word is truth it sanctifies those who obey it. If then the Word is truth what a high value we should put upon it in making sure we daily eat its spiritual manna! "The entrance of Thy Word giveth light; it giveth understanding to the simple" (Psalm 119:130). "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
(2 Tim. 3:16-17). "But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the Word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." (James 1:22-24).
THE SECRET PLACE for the Christian is found in the Word. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind in stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in Thee. Trust in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength" (Isaiah 26:3-4).
TO ABIDE IN CHRIST and dwell in His presence also requires a consistent PRAYER LIFE.
Remember, David longed for the impossible...to dwell in His sanctuary. That glorious privilege has been made possible for all believers! When Jesus spoke from the cross and cried, IT IS FINISHED, the veil in the Temple was rent from top to bottom. No longer was there a curtain that kept man from entering behind the veil. "Having therefore brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He consecrated for us, through veil, that is to say, His flesh; and having

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an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our heart sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water" (Hebrews 10:19-22).
In this Hebrew passage just quoted, the writer appeals to men to enter into the presence of God. He begins by saying three things about Jesus: (1) Jesus is the living way to the presence of God. We enter into the presence of God by means of the veil, that is, by the flesh of Jesus. Before the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle hung the veil to screen off the presence of God. For men to enter into that presence the veil would have to be torn apart. Jesus' flesh is what veiled His godhead. It was when the flesh of Christ was rent upon the Cross that men really saw God's love revealed. As the rending of the Tabernacle veil opened the way to the presence of God, so the rending of the flesh of Christ revealed the full greatness of His love and opened up the way right into His very presence! OH! THE WONDERFUL PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER!
To breathe His name and be in His presence...
Ah! that is the secret place! (2) Jesus is the High Priest over the house of God. (3) Jesus is the one person who can really cleanse. By His presence and His Spirit He cleanses the inmost thoughts and desires of a man until he is really clean.
LET US APPROACH THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN PRAYER.
That is to say, let us never forget the duty of worship. It is given to every man to live in two worlds, this world of space and time, and the world of eternal things. Our danger is that to become so involved in this world that we forget the other. As the day begins and as it ends, we should find time to spend moments in prayer. Every man carries with him his own secret shrine, but so many forget to enter it...and thus they miss THE SECRET PLACE!
In that secret place, we live in the shadow of the Almighty. As the children of Israel traveled in the wilderness, the cloudy pillar led them in their way, affording them shade by day from the heat of the sun, and light throughout the night seasons. And so it is with the believer today; they behold the light of God's countenance in the night-seasons of adversity; and they alone are sheltered from every thing that would oppress and overwhelm their souls! Oh! the peace that comes knowing that the God of the universe is our Heavenly Father, and He cares for us and loves us and watches over us. God said: "I have put My words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of My hand...you are My people." WHAT A SECRET PLACE TO LIVE!