One of the many examples Jesus set for us was separating Himself from the loud and chaotic to enter into secrecy with His Father. Psalms 91 describes what happens to those who dwell in such a secret place.
A Place of Protection. The psalmist composed this song of God’s protection by listing symbols of the varius dangers that threaten us but over which God’s protective power they cannot prevail. Essentially, God is saying to those who abide in Him, “Don’t you be afraid of anything!” A pretty long psalm, all but the last twelve words pertain to God protecting us from…everything.
A Place of Intimacy.God also promises us that He’ll be with us. This isn’t just any “be with;” it’s a “stick very close” kind of presence He promises us. When one of our kids, Nate, was in the hospital as a three-year-old with an athsma flare-up, his mother and I sat in the room with him, right beside his bed. Yet every time a nurse entered the room, he wanted us closer to him. It’s that kind of close we have with God. In fact, verse 15 says “He shall call upon me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble.“ He never leaves us, yet there’s at times an added closeness we can have with Him, and that happens when we call to Him.
A Place of Honor. Verse sixteen says that, along with deliverance, He brings honor to us. It’s like He rescues us from a life-threatening danger and takes us immediately into a parade where we ride with Him in the position of the greatest honor.
A Place of Salvation. In the age of grace, our current era, we usually think of salvation as eternal, the saving from eternal destruction and into life that never ends. But the psalmist was probably thinking more about salvation from earthly threats. In Christ we enjoy both. We have the promise that we won’t perish but have everlasting life, and we have the Holy Spirit living in us guiding us always into God’s protective spaces. When we press often into secrecy with God He reminds us of His salvation, both temporal and eternal. In the last line of Psalms 91, God says He will show us His salvation. So He does more than speak of it. He demonstrates it for us.
All this makes me want to get into the secret place with God and stay there – dwell there.
“You who sit down in the High God’s presence, spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow, Say this: “God, you’re my refuge. I trust in you and I’m safe!” That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards. His huge outstretched arms protect you— under them you’re perfectly safe; his arms fend off all harm. Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night, not flying arrows in the day, Not disease that prowls through the darkness, not disaster that erupts at high noon. Even though others succumb all around, drop like flies right and left, no harm will even graze you. You’ll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance, watch the wicked turn into corpses. Yes, because God’s your refuge, the High God your very own home, Evil can’t get close to you, harm can’t get through the door. He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go. If you stumble, they’ll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling. You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes, and kick young lions and serpents from the path.
14-16 “If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God, “I’ll get you out of any trouble. I’ll give you the best of care if you’ll only get to know and trust me. Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times; I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party. I’ll give you a long life, give you a long drink of salvation!”
