PSALM 91:1-16
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. 14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
Sixteen verses that are power-packed with reassurance, peace, inspiration, and comfort. We talk about "all the comforts of home" and certainly our home is a type of refuge; yet our ultimate Refuge, the One and Only genuine Refuge that we will abide in for all of eternity, is the Lord Jesus Christ.
In today's world there are dangers abundant; not to say that in days gone by there weren't any; obviously since the curse of sin this world has been a world of danger, tragedy, sorrow and woe.
It seems however that in today's world, these dangers have multiplied exponentially. Dangers both seen and unseen; dangers that we feel powerless to defend against.
Whether you're talking about terrorism, NBC warfare, the diminishing of our constitutional rights in this nation, the potential initiative against the church by leftist powers in this country that would seek to strip the body of Christ of the written Scriptures, our places of worship, the religious freedoms that we have up until now, been blessed with; or sudden tragedy in the form of diseases and cancers, the violence of a society where assault, murder, rape are prevalent . . .
Are we tempted to barricade ourselves in our houses yet?
Where's the place we can reside and find a certain safety, a safe haven, a refuge? vs. 1 of PSALM 91 states:
He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
To "dwell" means to "sit down, to set, to remain, to stay"
One could say in a modern colloquialism: "to hang out". This ought to be our position and attitude regarding the LORD. He is our ever present Companion and Comforter (You thought just the Holy Spirit was our Comforter? Not really, ALL Three Persons are referred to as our Comforter!). Jesus is our Comforter, as He spoke of the Holy Spirit as "another Comforter" (JOHN 14:16). And in 2 COR 1 it talks about "the God of all Comfort" and you could easily think of God the Father (as any good Father will) comfort us in the way that only He can!
What does it refer to as "the secret place of the most High"? Well the Hebrew word for 'secret' is: cether and it means "to cover, covering, hiding place, shelter, secret place"
That term "hiding place" is also used in the Psalms:
PSALM 32:7
Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
The Lord is our Deliverer, and when it comes to our security, He has us covered!
PSALM 92:1
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge, and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.
The Psalm goes on to say that He is our Deliverer and He indeed delivers us from these things listed here: "the snare of the fowler, the noisome pestilence, the terror by night, the arrow that flies by day, the pestilence that walks in darkness, the destruction that wastes at noon day." And all of those things mentioned previously.
It states that we will be covered by His wings, and His Truth shall be our shield and buckler.
The entire Psalm is one huge solace, and comfort and source of Truth in God's ability to provide and protect.
He states that no evil shall befall us, nor any plague come near our Dwelling. He will give us His angels charge (talk about body guards!). We will tread without harm, upon the lion and the adder and the dragon,
But what about all those Christians that suffered terribly (and do even today) such horrid persecution, torture, tragedy, mortal diseases and illnesses? How were they delivered from such things, when one considers how awful they suffered!
Remember that the LORD Jesus Himself is our Dwelling, and that His grace is by far sufficient for these things; while He suffered alone the ugliness and cruelty of the cross, and the ruinous ravages of the sins of the entire human race which were laid upon Him, He told us that He would never leave us nor forsake us! Not ever! Not even in our darkest hour, when it (only) seems that He has left us . . .
Ultimately, we know the LORD as our Deliverer, for not only has He delivered us from the power of sin and death (ROM 8:2), but also whether at the end of our lives on Earth or at the end of this present age, He shall deliver us from any and all sorrows, sicknesses and stratagems of Satan, our adversary - preserved forever and ever in the glories of heaven (LUKE 21:18-19)!
He will be there to minister to us, and openly invites us to abide in His covering, sheltering grace that is a mysterious secret to those in the world! And its during such times of trial and suffering that we gain a far far more intimate knowledge of the LORD than we ever could by any other means! This is what Paul was speaking of when he wrote about "the fellowship of His suffering."
PHIL 3:10
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.
Some might see this as our entering into the suffering that the LORD suffered upon the cross, and yet when you consider all the things that He suffered there, while pierced through His hands and feet, it was the agony and anguish of a sinful race, parted from a Holy God, and all that that entails.
As a result of Adam falling into sin, the Pandora's Box of sorrow and suffering was opened. If not for sin, there would be no sadness, no disease, no strife in war and crime and violence; there would be no hate, malice, torment and death.
So as we endure such trials and pains and shocks as mortal coil is prone to in this fallen world, know that the LORD has gone before you, has tasted fully for you that bitter, bitter cup, and will share in this dark time of life, just as you will share in His peace, His joy, His grace and His love!
I believe that we as the church, the body of Christ, as represented here in America, we would do well to meditate on this Psalm during the days, months and years ahead, for we certainly shall know difficult times in this nation. May I encourage you in this, to read, meditate, ponder, study and share the treasures contained in this passage with saints that you know and love!
For more about Who our refuge is, by all of His marvelous names, you don't want to overlook this video!
~ ~ HE IS ~ ~
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