The Perfect Dwelling Place – Psalm 91

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

² I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”   

³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.
⁴ He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near You. 

⁸Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.

⁹ Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,

¹⁰ No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
¹¹ For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.
¹² In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
¹³ You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. 

¹⁴ “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.

¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”

There is not one person who does not want all the benefits of the Psalm 91, but all these promises are conditional. They are for those who constantly dwell in His presence, not for the visitors who just come periodically as in an occasional resort. It does not describe a visit once in a while when you are in trouble, or once a week, or even a couple of times a day, and then you go on your way.

Whoever "dwells in the secret place of the Most High" (that is his conduct), "shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (that is his privilege). Make God your refuge, and He will be your refuge; take Him as your habitation, and He will be your habitation; seek shelter in Him, and He will shelter you.

The shadow of the Almighty represents His protection. He shall preserve us from night terror and sickness, from the arrows of war and of pestilence, from death and from destruction. Wherever we go, whatever may be our difficulties, temptations, trials, or perplexities, if we stay "under the shadow of the Almighty", we benefit from His supernatural protection and He extends the most tender guardian care upon us. Our heavenly Father Himself interposes between us and our adversaries.

“Thou shall not be afraid”.  How many believers fear sickness, plagues, economic collapse, financial problems? Most people experience fear because they don’t dwell in that secret place, they only go there on occasion. Nowadays, in this world, there are so many attitudes, so many values and ideas that are contrary to God’s. For many people, God is the farthest thing from their mind and they live large portions of their lives doing things that are completely contrary to everything that He stands for. Then they wonder why these promises are not working for them. What about stopping and asking God: “Lord, what are you thinking about this? Father, is that what you want me to do?” 

Commit your life to God, decide to serve Him above all things, do not withhold any area of your life from Him: “Is what I watch or listen to pleasing you? Is the way I deal with my family, my neighbors, my colleagues, my boss, my employees, pleasing You?”  If you don’t leave a segment of your life out of His reach, it will transform your life!

“Surely He shall deliver you”. “Surely” shows faith and confidence. It does not mean that you will never have any test, pressure, opposition or problems, but you shall come through this.

“He shall cover you with His feathers”. Little chicks are not yet able to take care of themselves, so they nestle under the mother hen, happy and safe, protected from rain and hail. But if a chick comes out from under its mother’s wings and get wet, don’t blame the mother hen! It is just the same with us, there are consequences to walking away from God and His protection.

“It shall not come near you.” It means that your experience can be completely contrary to what everybody else in the world is going through. God has granted us protection and blessings when we abide in Him. He does not want us to live a defeated life, to be poor and sick and miserable. We are living a very low life by contrast with the life God has promised to us and desires for us. In John 10:10, Jesus tells us: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”.

At the end, God declares His mind towards His faithful servant who has set his love upon Him, spending time in relationship with Him and seeking Him with his whole heart. We may regard these verses (14-16) as a divine monolog, in which God, well pleased, meditates what He will do for him. He will deliver, exalt, answer, keep near to, honour, satisfy with long life, and reveal to him the fullness of His love.

This psalm is as true for today as for the day when it was written. We will never be perfect, but in order to benefit from these promises, God needs to be first in our life.