He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
The psalm opens with a statement, not a prayer. It promises safety to one kind of person, marked out only by what he does: he dwells. Two of God's titles stand in the line. So the question is who this dweller is, and whether anyone has ever matched the description.
The verse names God twice, and each title carries its own weight.
The names God is given in the first two verses carry a special meaning. The "Most High" speaks of the absolute supremacy of God (Gen. 14:18-20). "The Almighty" speaks of absolute power (Gen. 17:1). Then Christ Himself tells us who this is. The One supreme in position and absolute in power is the Jehovah of Israel — the Eternal God, the I AM. How safe, then, and how sure of blessing is the one who dwells in His secret place!
One writer reads the first verse as a question left hanging, which the next verse answers.
In Psalm 91 we find all these names of God grouped together in their proper connection. (God had not yet revealed the name Father.)… So the one who knows the secret of who the Most High is will have the blessings of Abraham's God. Jehovah is the God of the Jews. So in the second verse Messiah answers the riddle set in the first: "I will say to Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God; in Him I will trust."
This verse picks up where the psalm before it began.
Psalm 90 opens by announcing a great truth: the Lord has been the dwelling place of His people in all generations. This psalm opens by stating the blessedness of the one who dwells in the dwelling place. Psalm 90 describes the blessedness of the dwelling place. Psalm 91 presents the blessedness of the dweller.
The promise is easy to admire. Finding the man it fits is harder.
We gladly agree that the one who dwells in the secret place of the Most High must stay under the shadow of the Almighty. But where can we find a man who dwells in this secret place? Adam, the first man, is described in Psalm 90. He failed to stay in the secret place, so he was driven out to wander, to fade in the evening of his life, and at last to be "cut off." In this psalm another Man comes before us… Who can this be but Christ? All the way through this world He stayed in the secret place of the Most High. He walked on earth but dwelt in heaven.
The whole tone of the psalm matches how Jesus met His enemy.
The psalm is remarkable in this way. It shows the Lord Jesus only as the One who depends on God for His protection. He never goes on the attack against the enemy… Even in treading on the young lion and the serpent, He made no display of amazing power. He defeated Satan by pointing to the Word of God (Matt. 4:4,7,10).
Because this psalm belongs to Christ, it became the devil's chosen weapon — with an edit.
Notice carefully that Satan leaves out four words of Psalm 91. They are these: "in all your ways." Jesus answered him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" It is never the way of a believer to test God. Quite true, Psalm 91 did apply to Him. But a believer does not test God to see whether He will keep His word.
The definition of tempting God that follows overturns the common one.
Men say that we tempt God if we do not do the best we can for ourselves. The truth is the exact opposite. We tempt God when we do not trust Him fully in everything. The Lord's dependence was as perfect as His obedience. He trusted God, and He would not leave the path His will had set. In all this He is the perfect example for us.
What does dwelling look like for a believer? One writer puts it in New Testament terms.
To use our New Testament language, does this not speak of the inner life of secret communion with Divine Persons? Is this not the life the Lord means when He says, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me"? Or again when He says, "Abide in me"?… To have part with Christ, and abide in Him, is to live in communion with Him where He is. To live such a life is to dwell "in the secret place."
The two halves of the verse move together. The opposite is true as well.
As far as we are in the secret of the Most High, we are under the shadow of the Almighty. If we go our own way, we will have correction and trial — and that too is mercy. What we have to seek is to make the Lord our home.
- Dwelling place. Psalm 90 says the Lord has been His people's home; Psalm 91 turns to the one who lives there.
- Dweller. The first man failed to stay in that place and was driven out. Christ never left it. He walked on earth and dwelt in heaven.
- Names. The Most High is supreme in position. The Almighty is absolute in power. Christ tells us this is the Jehovah of Israel, the eternal I AM.
- Dependence. Satan quoted this psalm with four words cut out. Jesus answered with no display of power, but with trust that refuses to test God.
- Degree. So far as we live in secret communion with Him, we are under the shadow; go our own way, and trial follows — in mercy.
I say of Jehovah, My refuge and my fortress; my God, I will confide in him.
Verse 1 promises shelter to whoever dwells in the secret place of the Most High. Verse 2 is the reply, spoken by someone who takes that place. Who is speaking, and why does He reach for words like refuge and fortress?
Verse 1 names God by two titles. Verse 2 adds a third: the name of Israel's God.
Whoever has the secret of who the Most High is will have the blessings of Abraham's God. Jehovah is the God of the Jews. So Messiah, in the second verse, answers the riddle put in the first. He says, "I will say to the LORD [Jehovah], 'My refuge and my fortress, my God [Elohim], in whom I trust.'" In verses 3-8 the Spirit declares the consequences of this (verse 9 is the Jewish people speaking), and Jehovah puts His seal upon it in verses 14-16.
The New Testament settles whose voice this is.
In this verse we know that Christ is the speaker, for the Spirit of God, in Hebrews 2:13, uses the statement "I will put my trust in him," as the language of Christ. It is Christ accepting the proposal of verse 1. He will make God His refuge in every storm, and His defence from every enemy. The need of a "refuge" and a "fortress" proves that Christ is speaking in the circumstances of man. There will be no storms to ruffle the calm of heaven, no enemy to oppose. It is a wilderness psalm, and later the Spirit of God used it in the wilderness circumstances of our Lord.
Writers describe the same speaker as a man in complete dependence.
There is no doubt that in verse 2 we have prophetically the word of Christ Himself as the humble, dependent, subject Man... If ever there was One who walked before God, One who was perfect, who was daily sustained by God in the accomplishment of His will, we see that One in Christ, as in dependent Manhood He moved in this world day by day in the accomplishment of the will of God.
The two words are not repetition. Each meets a different pressure.
When do we need a fortress? In every attack of the devil!... But again He could also say "My refuge." We need a refuge when the storm comes. What rest marked Him! All around Him was unrest and confusion, yet He walked His path of perfect Manhood, knowing the refuge He had in God.
Each name carries its own weight, and verse 2 adds one more: my God.
The names used for God in the first two verses have a special meaning. The "Most High" speaks of the absolute supremacy of God (Gen. 14:18-20). "The Almighty" speaks of absolute power (Gen. 17:1). Then Christ Himself tells us who this is. The One supreme in position and absolute in power is the Jehovah of Israel — the Eternal God, the I AM. How safe then — how sure of blessing must be the one who dwells in His secret place.
The devil quoted this psalm to Jesus, urging Him to throw Himself down from the temple. The trust of verse 2 is what that proposal would have broken.
But where was the word telling Him to throw Himself down? Where was the word telling Him to take Himself out of the hands of the One in whose secret place He lived, and under whose shadow He rested (Ps. 91:1)? His confidence was wholly in Another: "I will say to the LORD, 'My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust'" (Ps. 91:2). In fact, when the time came, He refused to call for such angelic aid, having a deeper work in view.
This life is hidden, not public. It is constant, not occasional.
The Psalm does not speak of the outer life lived before men. It speaks of the inner life lived in secret before God. Also, the Psalm does not speak of occasional communion, but of the constant experience of the soul, for it speaks of one who "dwells in the secret place." Only one Man has ever lived this life of unbroken communion with God — Christ Jesus, who walked on earth but lived in heaven (John 3:13). The experience of the Psalm is fully realised only in Christ, yet it still presents a perfect example for the believer.
God does not promise escape from danger. He promises keeping in it.
The believer who looks to the LORD for help is assured of being kept at all times. The LORD does not say, "You will not have to face these terrors like others." He says, "If you make Me your 'refuge', and put your 'trust' in Me, 'You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day.'"
- Question — Verse 1 asks who the Most High is. Verse 2 answers: Jehovah, the God of Israel.
- Speaker — Hebrews 2:13 puts "I will put my trust in him" on the lips of Christ. This is the confession of the dependent Man.
- Words — A fortress meets attack; a refuge meets storm. Needing both shows the speaker stands where men stand, not in the calm of heaven.
- Names — Supreme in position, absolute in power, the Eternal God of Israel. And the confession makes Him my God.
- Reach — The trust that refused the devil's use of this psalm is the pattern for the believer: not escape from terror, but keeping in it.