He who dwells in the Secret Place of the Most High

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalms 91:1

Psalms 91 is widely known as the Psalm of protection, used in both prayer and exhortation. In fact, there were instances in the chapter where God Himself addressed the reader (vv14-16). The whole chapter speaks of protection over the one who puts his trust in the Lord, and hence many have held onto this promise of protection and deliverance. And rightly so, Lets dive into the first verse of this beautiful chapter.

Who wrote Psalms 91?

Though a large majority of the Psalms are attributed to David, there are also theories on other authors such as Korahites or even Moses. More scholars now lean towards the theory of even more unknown authors who wrote in the name, either for literary or honorific purposes, of more famous historical figures.

What does Psalms 91:1 mean?

To “abide under the shadow of the Almighty” may not sound like a pleasant thing in our times, but in the context of the hot and desert-like day-conditions of ancient Israel, to hide under the shadow is to be protected from the scorching sun. To be able to sit under a cool shade, is not just a convenience but a life-saver. To hide in His shadow, is to rest under the protection of the Most High, He who is also the Almighty. What a promise! In the opening of what has come to be the most famous chapter on protection, the Psalmist declares a life-saving protection over the one who dwells with the Lord.

The word “dwell” used here also has the secondary meaning of “to sit”. And this immediately reminds me of something which the Apostle Paul mentions in his letter to the Ephesian church in the New testament:

“And God has raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,” Ephesians 2:6

While Paul does not reference explicitly to our Psalms in this portion of his writing, he was someone well-versed with the Hebrew Bible.

It is a beautiful parallel: to think that the secret place that the Psalmist declared in Psalms 91 has now been revealed as the position of the believer in Christ. And it really is a place “of the Most High”, in fact, it is in Christ and at the Right Hand of God!

I don’t think that it is far too much a stretch to suppose that the Lord orchestrated this in order for present-day believers to see the blessedness of our times, to be able to witness the realization of the Psalmist’s vision: that we are seated in the (now-revealed) secret place of the Most High.

So yes, to take the literal meaning of Psalms 91, when the believer rests in Christ, he is under the protection of God Almighty. The secret place of the Most High has now been revealed in Jesus. In fact, Jesus has said it Himself:

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5