How to Dwell in the Secret Place of the Most High

By Elder Enoch Ofori Jnr

A WELL LOVED PSALM

A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP OF LOVE

Psalm 91 is a favourite scripture for many believers:

“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” (Ps. 91:4).

Solid, secure protection! But what does it take to dwell in “the secret place of the Most High” in order to “abide under the shadow of the Almighty”?

Dwelling in “the secret place of the Most High” denotes closeness to and intimacy with the Lord; it describes a special relationship of love whereby the Lord takes delight in us and we take delight in Him.

It is the relationship James 4:8 seeks to foster: “Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you”.

In Hebrew, the language in which Psalm 91 was originally written, to “dwell” (“yasab”) means to “sit, abide, inhabit, remain” (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words p. 64).

To dwell in the secret place of the Most High is therefore to abide, remain, and ‘sit’ in the Lord; it means to inhabit Him. We only do this through the keeping of His commandments. Christ tells us in John 15:10:

“If ye keep My commandments, ye shall ABIDE IN MY LOVE; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love”.

In Greek, to ‘abide’ (“meno”) means to “continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry, live”. In relation to a person, ‘meno’ means “to be and remain united with him, one with him in heart, mind, and will” (John 6:56, 15:4-7; 1John 2:6) (Strong’s Complete Word Study Concordance Gk Dictionary entry 3306 pp. 2112-2113).

Thus by keeping His commandments, we become and remain united with Christ in heart, mind and will. What awesome truth!

As a complement to abiding in Him through the keeping of His commandments, He, in turn, gives us His Spirit to seal our union with Him. (See Acts 5:32). We read in 1John 3:24:

“And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us”.

In 1 John 4:13 the scriptures again testify:

“Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit”.

What all this leads up to is that we become one with Him; His life becomes ours and ours become His! Our old life ceases to exist (Eph. 4:22-24; 2Cor. 5:14-15; Gal. 3:27); our life is now hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3)!

Jesus assures us in John 14:20:

“At that day [when you have kept My commandments and received My Spirit] ye shall know that I am in My Father, ye in Me, and I in you”.

Noticed our ultimate hiding place? We are also in the Father, because we are in Christ who is in the Father and in us by His Spirit! This is “the secret place of the Most High God”!

Just look at the beauty of it: We are in Christ because we keep His commandments, and Christ is in His Father because He keeps His Father’s commandments and in us “because He has given us of His Spirit” which comes from the Father! (See Gal. 4:6 & John 14:26). This is the nature of the fellowship we have with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3).

Once we are in His secret place, ‘abiding under His shadow’ naturally follows. The word ‘shadow’ in the sense of Ps. 91 means ‘shade, shelter, protection’; it symbolizes protection and refuge for God’s people dwelling in His secret place!

UNDER THE WINGS OF THE ‘SHEKINAH’

We read in the following Psalms:

“Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast” (Ps 57:1).

“Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of Thy wings” (Ps 17:8).

“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 of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock (Ps 27:4-5).

In the Psalm where the Psalmist casts his eyes to the hills, he lavishly praises God for His unfailing protection:

“The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.

“The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

“The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

“The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore” (Ps 121:5-8).

Secure in the Lord’s protection, the obedient, Holy Spirit-filled believer watches himself by giving no place to the devil – so that the wicked one touches him not (1 John 5:18; Eph. 4:27).

Because those of us who dwell in the secret place of God delight in Him through the keeping of His commandments, we receive whatever we request from Him:

“And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22. see also John 15:7-8,16; Ps 37:4; John 8:29).

CLAIMINGTHE PROMISES OF PSALM 91

Once we ensconce ourselves in “the secret place of the Most High” through obedience to His commandments and the baptism of His Spirit, all the fantastic promises of Psalm 91 are ours for the taking:

“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 field 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 [sudden calamity].

“A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand [those not under the shadow of the Almighty]; but it shall not come nigh thee.

“Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked [the ungodly, who break God’s commandments].

“Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation [because you abide in Him and He in you];

“There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling [which is the LORD Himself, the invincible ‘strong man of the house – Matt. 12:29].

“For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

“They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

“Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet [which is His feet containing yours -Rom . 16:20]

“Because he hath set his set his love upon Me [by keeping My commandments – John 14:15; 1 John 5:3], therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known My Name.

“He shall call upon me, and I will answer him [because He keeps My commandments] : I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

“With long life will I satisfy him [having protected him from all the wicked devices of the enemy], and shew him My salvation [the ultimate prize for dwelling in the secret place of the Most High under His loving, protective shadow!].

Lord, grant us your grace to dwell in your secret place now and forever! With you is “plenteous redemption” (Ps 130:7).

Surely, “the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children’s children. To such as keep His covenant and to those that remember His commandments to do them” (Ps 103:17-18).

Halleluiah! May His Holy Name be praised forever! Amen!