Dwelling In The Secret Place

He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

The secret place might be considered to be the place of prayer. However, this is unlikely. We know that Jesus referred to entering into a “secret place” for prayer. However, this secret place is an open secret for those of us who are born again. That person who sees you on the bus, or in the restaurant, does not realize that you are actually dwelling and abiding in Christ. They just see another person going about the business of the day. They do not know that you are a prince and that your life is hid with Christ in God. They have no understanding that you are a member of the real royal family. Even if you tell most of them, they will either think that you are mad, or they will simply not understand.

They cannot see the shadow of the Lord on your life either. But the spiritual world can. In the spirit, you are a marked man. Both the angels and the demons know the truth about you, and they marvel.

I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

This is an act of your will. You have a choice whether you say it or not. It is better to say it than not to say it. And one way we say it is to actually sing it. That is why we should sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs which we can believe. Sing songs with scriptural words. In their context, and you are doing yourself a lot of good. You also have a choice as to whether you do it or not. I know that there have been times in my life when really I have been lying. I have said that I trust in the Lord, but hidden away to everybody, except the Lord and myself, is fear and uncertainty. Sometimes my words have been cheap. I have said that I’m not worried, but really I am. That is the time when I need to go back to the Lord and see what His promises and assurances are.

Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

This is an ongoing deliverance. It is not something the Lord will do; it is something that He is doing. The word salvation is also the word deliverance. The Lord’s salvation is ongoing. Yes, He did save us. But He continues to save us. Our eternity is secure because of the Lord’s continuing deliverance. But He is also more than interested in our lives right now. That is why He has given us the Holy Spirit to work in our lives and to work with us during times of trouble.

The fowler, here, is the devil. He is constantly trying to cause us difficulty. He is trying to trip you up, or entrap you. However, the Lord is delivering us. It seems to me that often the Lord is delivering us and we don’t know anything about it. His angels are working on our behalf without us being conscious of it. Probably the things which actually get through their protection are just a very small percentage of his attacks.

“Noisome pestilence” can also be translated as “slanderous words” because the same Hebrew letters are used. It would seem that we can claim deliverance from both sicknesses (including bird-flu) and the curses anyone may bother to try to inflict us with. In the light of present day practice this is very encouraging. As we are constantly being exhorted to worry about disease and natural disasters we might do well to say that we do not need to be afraid of such things. The disease is bad enough, but we also have the constant barrage of words which are directed at us. They want us to worry; but the Lord wants us to be free from worry.

He shall cover you with his feathers, and under his wings shall you trust: his truth shall be your shield and buckler.

Again this is an ongoing protection. He is doing it. He is like a mother hen protecting her chicks. This is protection from both birds of prey and also from stormy winds.

Truth is not facts. Truth is Jesus. The buckler surrounds the soldier and carries His weapons. The shield is protective. The buckler is offensive. And all our weapons are Jesus. Take a look at Ephesians 6 and what do you notice about the armour and the weapons?

They are all Jesus. Truth for the loins is Jesus. The breastplate of righteousness is Jesus. The gospel of peace for our feet is Jesus. The shield of faith is Jesus. The helmet of salvation is Jesus. And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, is Jesus.