“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.’
Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.” Psalm 91:1-7 (KJB)
Fortress
The LORD My Rock
“The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower” Psalm 18:2. (KJV)
There is a rock called the Rock of Gibraltar located in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. It is a massive island rock, and has been a picture of strength, power, and stability for many years; maybe even centuries and millenniums. There is a Rock that stands for all eternity, and that Rock is Christ Jesus.
David said this of the LORD, that is YaHWeH, and He is GOD. GOD is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our Lord Jesus Christ is said by the apostle Paul to be the Rock that was with the children of Israel through the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:4).
When we are faced with an enemy; whether the devil and his legions of Hell, or the neighbor next door; Christ Jesus is our Rock. I can say with David, the the LORD is my Rock. I can stand on Him, and never fear of being without Him, because He has said I will never leave you.
He is my deliverer. He is my strength. Without Him I can do nothing; with Him I can do all things through Him that glorify His name. One of the things about Christ being our Rock is He is everything we need. As the high tower we need not fear what may be in our future. The future is not mine to know, but to know Christ is to leave it in His hands because He can see all things and has control over it.
“The LORD is my rock, and my fortress…” because He made a way for me. He made a way for us to know Him, and that is through the cross upon which He bled and died.
Christmas Day Sixty Eight
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want, wanted, and have received some encouragement, hope, and strength from the LORD, and pray you will receive it as well from the following words…
“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. Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.” Psalm 91:1-8 (KJV)
Day 41 – Thoughts from Psalms; Home
To me, “Home” is a pleasant word, but much more than that a place of shelter, warmth. Home is a place of family; the place you lay your head at night. The place you dwell, and abide. In a ship sort of way home is the anchor of your life. You can leave home for a while, but you always come back.
The old phrase, “Home is where the heart is” is a true phrase; at least for many people it is.
My reading this morning was Psalms 80 – 93. My comments this morning will rest in Psalm 91. Psalm 91 makes me think of home. I am blessed to have an earthly home. I grew up in what many might call the “traditional family” where the father works providing for the family, though his work was mostly farm work, and I worked along side him when I was old enough to start; and the mother stayed home, tending children, and caring for the house. Mom, also did more than housework, she even killed the chickens we raised for a good chicken dinner at times; made homemade butter, and cottage cheese. O my, that was gooooood stuffff.
Look with me at the first two verses of Psalm 91 –
“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 (KJV)
I have already written of “Wings” in a previous post, and that being a place of safety, and rest. Home is the place we live, we dwell there, we abide there. It is indeed where the heart is.
The psalmist says to us, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High…” That “dwelling” is where we stay. It is a place of shelter; a place of comfort; a place of protection. This “secret place” is more than home though. It is the place where God is; the most holy place. It is the holy of Holies. The place of the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat. The place for only those in intimate relationship with God the Father can dwell.
This “secret place” is the place the intimate ones never leave; but if they ever do they will quickly return. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).
The treasure, the dwelling place, the abiding place of the intimate ones with the LORD is in the “secret place of the Most High”, and those who dwell in that “secret place” are abiding “under the shadow of the Almighty”. It is a place of shelter from the darkness of the world. One thing we might think of as we think of “the shadow of the Almighty” is that His shadow most certainly would be a shadow of greater light. Just as the light of the sun overpowers the light of a light bulb, so too does the light of the glory of God overpower the light of the sun.
The home of the Christian is in the presence of God, the Almighty. He is our refuge and fortress. Let us say with Moses, or whomever the human author of this Psalm is, “In Him will I trust”.
-Tim A. Blankenship
The Fire and Hammer 