Psalm 91:1

Psalm 91 1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

This makes two psalms in a row that start off with the notion of dwelling with God. Psalm 90 starts with “LORD, You have been our dwelling place…” and Psalm 91 starts out with ”He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High”. Do you think that God is trying to tell us something here? This must be an important concept for us to catch so methinks we will dwell here for a bit.

Here are a couple of definitions. English is from Encarta and Hebrew is from Strong’s:

Psalm 91:1
dwell – to live and have a home in a particular place.
yashab> yaw-shab to sit down (specifically as judgment in ambush, in quiet);by implication to dwell, to remain; causatively to settle, to marry: -dwell (437x), inhabitant (221x), sit (172x), abide (70x), inhabit (39x), down (26x), remain (23x), in (22x), tarry (19x), set (14x), continue (5x), place (7x), still (5x), taken (5x)

Psalm 90:1
dwelling - a house or other building or place in which somebody lives.
maiyn maw-een an abode, of God (the Tabernacle or the Temple), men (their home) or animals (their lair); hence, a retreat (asylum):-habitation (10x), dwelling (4x), den (2x), dwelling place (2x), dwellingplace (1x)

What does it mean to live with God? First let’s start with how we envision Him (I’m assuming that you already know Him as Savior and Lord or we’ve got bigger issues to discuss). Do you picture Him as your friend, someone you can confide in with anything? Maybe He’s the fireman ready to save you whenever you are in danger? Or is He the policeman watching over you insuring that you keep the law? Father? Protector? Provider? Teacher? Healer? He is all of these things to be certain, but how many of us picture him as a roommate? Can you even wrap your head around the thought of God being your home?

Look at all of the meanings of yashab and maiyn above. Try to think of your relationship with Him using these two words. Makes the phrase “walk with God” take a whole new meaning doesn’t it? Look at our Savior’s words from John 17:

20“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 “I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

We are united with God through Jesus! We do not simply walk with God, we are one with Him! Words escape me as how to explain this. Our relationship with God is not like anything that we have experienced on this world. It is more intimate, more involved, deeper than anything that we can imagine.

How should that truth change how we relate to Him? For starters we should realize that we have a very privileged position. Go back to your O.T. – do you remember who got to go into the Holy of Holies in the temple? The High Priest. How many times could he go? Once a year. For what reason? To offer sacrifices for the sins of Israel. Compare that to our relationship with Him. Because we live in Him we have access to Him at any time for any reason. Do you understand what a wonderful thing that is? You have access to the creator of everything anytime you desire. Doesn’t that thought in of itself make your head spin?

Second it should make us more mindful of the way that we live our lives. Everything that we do, we not only do in His sight but in His presence. Does that truth make you want to stare long and hard at your shoelaces? Doesn’t that make His grace and mercy all the more beautiful? If we catch nothing else from this today let it be that we should live every second of our life aware of the fact that God is always there.

Finally let us look at what the Psalmist says about dwelling in the place of the Most High – it is a secret place. While access to God is freely offered it is not freely accepted. The world offers many false paths and substitutes. Look at what Jesus says in Matthew 7:

13“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14“Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

I may be pessimistic but I believe the sad truth is that Hell has a more numberous population than Heaven.

The path to God is not secret because it is hidden from man it is secret because man does not want to look for it. Man at his very core is depraved, there is nothing good in him. He rebels against God, he runs from Him, he defies Him and hates Him at his very core. It is only by the working of the Holy Spirit in the sinner’s life that the “secret” is revealed. If you’ve read Pilgrim’s Progress you’ll remember that it wasn’t until after Christian became aware of his impending judgment and doom because of his sin that Evangelist revealed the way to the gate. It is the same for every man and woman that comes to God. They must be made aware of their sin and their need for a Savior before they can enter the dwelling place of the Most High.

The last thought that I want to leave us with today is the shadow of the Almighty. How close do you have to be to someone to be in their shadow? Pretty close. Let us all choose to live in the shadow of God. There is no better place for us to be in the entire universe.

Peace and comfort to you all.