“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Psalm 91:1 NASB

(1) This Psalm is without a title, and we have no means of ascertaining either the name of its writer or the date of its composition with certainty. The Jewish doctors consider that when the author’s name is not mentioned we may assign the Psalm to the last named writer; and, if so, this is another Psalm of Moses, the man of God. Many expressions here used are similar to those of Moses in Deuteronomy, and the internal evidence, from the peculiar idioms,…

(2) …would point towards him as the composer. The committed lives of Joshua and Caleb, who followed the Lord fully, are illustrated in this Psalm, for they, as a reward for abiding in continued nearness to the Lord, lived on “amongst the dead, far beyond the grave.” For these reasons it is by no means improbable that this Psalm may have been written by Moses, but we dare not be dogmatic. On the other hand, if David’s pen was used in giving us this matchless…

(3) …acclamation, we cannot believe as some do that he commemorated the plague which devastated Jerusalem on account of his numbering the people. For him, then, to sing of himself as seeing “the reward of the wicked” would be completely contrary to his declaration, “I have sinned, but these sheep, what have they done?” and the absence of any allusion to the sacrifice upon Zion could not be in any way accounted for, since David’s repentance would inevitably…

(4) …have led him to dwell upon the atoning sacrifice and the sprinkling of blood by the hyssop. In the whole collection there is not a more cheering Psalm, its tone is elevated and sustained throughout, faith is at its best, and speaks nobly. Physicians from the past would speak of it as the best preservative in times of CHOLERA, and in truth, it is a heavenly medicine against plague and pest. For those who can live in the spirit will be fearless, even if those who are closest should become lazy!

(5) “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1 NIV. The blessings here promised are not for all believers, but for those who live in close fellowship with Father God. I have discovered that every child of God looks towards the inner sanctuary and FATHER GOD’S mercy seat, yet all do not dwell in the most holy place; they run to it at times and enjoy occasional approaches, but they do not habitually reside in the mysterious presence.

(6) Those who through rich grace obtain unusual and continuous communion with God, so as to abide in Christ and Christ in them, become possessors of rare and special benefits, which are missed by those who follow afar off and grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Into the secret place those only come who know the love of God in Christ Jesus, and those only dwell there to whom to live is Christ. To them the veil is rent, the mercy seat is revealed, the covering cherubs are manifest, and the…

(7) …awful glory of the Most High is apparent: these, like Simeon (Luke 2:25) have the Holy Ghost upon them, and like Anna they depart not from the temple; they are the courtiers of the Great King, the valiant men who keep watch around the bed of Solomon, the virgin souls who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Elect out of the elect, they have “attained unto the first three,” and shall walk with their Lord in white, for they are worthy. Sitting down in the august presence chamber where it shines…

(8) …the mystic light of the Shekinah, they know what it is to be raised up together and to be made to sit together with Christ in the heavenlies, and of them it is truly said that their conversation is in heaven. Special grace like theirs brings with it special immunity. Outer court worshippers little know what belongs to the inner sanctuary, or surely they would press on until the place of nearness and divine familiarity became theirs. Those who are the Lord’s constant guests shall find that He will…

(9) …never suffer any to be injured within His gates; He has eaten the covenant salt with them and is pledged for their protection. Therefore any one of us who, “Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty”! The Omnipotent Lord will shield all those who dwell with Him; they shall remain under His care as guests under the protection of their host. In the most holy place the wings of the cherubim were the most conspicuous (DISTINCT) objects and they probably suggested to the psalmist…

(10) …the expression here employed. Those who commune with God are safe with Him, no evil can reach them, for the outstretched wings of His power and love cover them from all harm. This protection is constant as they abide under it, and it is all-sufficient, for it is the shadow of THE ALMIGHTY, whose omnipotence will surely screen them from all attack. No shelter can be imagined at all comparable to the protection of Jehovah’s own shadow. The Almighty Himself is where His shadow is,…

(11) …therefore those who dwell in His secret place are shielded by Himself. What a shade on a day of Oklahoma heat! What a refuge in the hour of a deadly storm! Communion with God is safe. The more closely we cling to our Almighty Father the more confident we may be. The imagery of this Psalm seems to be in part drawn from that Passover night, when the Destroying Angel passed through Egypt, while the faithful and obedient Israelites were sheltered by God.

(12) Let us close on a few thoughts from “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress.” Psalm 91:2. To take up a general truth and make it our own by personal faith is the highest wisdom. It is but poor comfort to say “the Lord is a refuge,” but to say “He is my refuge,” is the essence of consolation. Those who believe should also speak “I will say,” for such a bold testimony honors God and leads others to seek the same confidence. Those who are apt enough to proclaim their doubts, and even to…

(13) …boast about them, indeed there is a party nowadays of the most audacious pretenders to culture and thought, who glory in casting suspicion upon everything: hence it becomes the duty of all true believers to speak out and testify with calm courage to their own well-grounded reliance upon their God. Let others say what they will, be it ours to say of the Lord, “He is my refuge.” But what we say we must prove by our actions; we must fly to the Lord for shelter, and not to an arm of flesh.

(14) The bird flies away to the thicket, and the fox hastens to its hole; every creature uses its refuge in the hour of danger, and even so, in all peril or fear of peril let us flee unto Jehovah, the Eternal Protector of His own. Let us, when we are secure in the Lord, rejoice that our position is unassailable (immunity to danger), for He is our fortress as well as our refuge. No moat, drawbridge, wall, or battlement could make us so secure as we are when the attributes of the Lord of Hosts surround us!

(15) Behold this day the Lord is to us instead of walls and barricades! Our ramparts defy the league hosts of hell. Foes in flesh and foes in ghostly guise alike balked at their prey when the Lord of Hosts stood between us and their fury, and all other evil forces were turned aside. Walls cannot keep out the pestilence, but the Lord can. As if it were not enough to call the Lord our refuge and fortress, He adds, “My God, in Him will I trust.” Psalm 91:2. Now we can say no more; “my God” means everything!