03/22/2020
The secret place even during a corona virus
Psalm 91:1-3 He that dwelleth 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 will I trust. [3] Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
THE SECRET PLACE
If someone is telling a secret their ears perk up and they begin listening harder than ever.
Benjamin Franklin said : "Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead."
The Duke of Wellington, the general who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. During his earlier service in India, Wellington was in charge of negotiations after the battle of Assaye. The emissary of an Indian ruler, anxious to know what territories would be ceded to his master, tried in various ways to get the information. Finally, he offered Wellingtron a large sum of money. "Can you keep a secret?" asked Wellington. "Yes, indeed," the man said eagerly. "So can I," replied Wellington.
We are living in disturbing times, and with the recent events, Christians are susceptible to a certain amount of the same fear and concern that has gripped the lives of millions of Americans.
Remember that the world told us for years that Life was supposed to get better as we moved into the 21st century and on into the future. After all scientist, political leaders, and even cartoons led us to believe in a coming better world. They told us that our health would be better with big gains in medicine, famine would be erased, they even let us think that robots would be doing all our work for us.
In America, we had the idea that if the world had questions, we had about every answer there was to have, but we have also failed to remember that God was the one who prospered us in the first place.
Now, we know people are looking for answers, and are afraid and that is being felt through our economy, and is affecting many companies in a bad way.
Hardest hit have been airlines and companies dependent on tourism, as Americans decided to stay close to home in the wake of the corona virus.
Delta Air Lines said it would cutting jobs, much of its work force, and cut back on its flights to Europe. There is much worry about supplies as even meat is hard to get from a cut back on workers and people that are stocking up for the virus. People cannot get hand sanitizer or alcohol wipes. At many stores in Albany area there was no toilet paper to be had. New York and California are in shut down mode.
There is still a secret place, and there is still a peace in the midst of all the worries about health and finances and the downhill direction America is going in. This place is above our human understanding.
I. WHAT IS THE SECRET PLACE?
a. Like I said last time about being in the shadow, there is a place in God where a child of God can dwell that most of Christianity doesn’t know even know about or is not willing to pay the price to dwell there.
When David wrote this Psalm he feared for his life by the hand of King Saul
David knew what it was to be on the run as a fugitive not from "justice" but from an unjust, jealous and ungodly king. As the jealousy of King Saul continued to get worse, David had to continually be on the move, running for his life.
Probably David had "secret places", hideaways, deep in the wilderness and mountains where he could go and feel some sense of protection from Saul. They probably weren’t very comfortable but at least Saul didn’t know about them.
We can take comfort that God can and will protect His people, and even though we don't understand the reason that things happen, we know that God has His hand on events and people that affect His people.
This protection is always available even though we can't see what is going on in the spiritual realm.
David knew full well of the protection of God even in the middle of the battle.
Psalm 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion...
In his day, when there was a battle, the camp was set up so that the tent of the commander, or captain of the army was in the very middle of the troops
If the enemy was going to get at the center of and army, and defeat the leader, they would have to break through many soldiers before they could get near the middle.
Where does the Christian find that he is protected from the enemy’s traps or the arrow that flieth by day or the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
vs9 tells us that we have protection if we have made the Lord our habitation…the place when we dwell…our base of operation…making the Lord the center of our lives.
David knew that he couldn’t depend on man but even though men fail he was safely protected by heavenly armies. Just as the High Priest of the Old Testament could enter into the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle and be covered by the glory of God’s presence upon the Mercy Seat, so can we enter into a place where we are so covered by the glory of God that the world and all its evil cannot reach us to tempt us or cause us to sin.
The Secret Place of God is not made with human hands. No power, no ability of of man can create such a place as this.
Zechariah 4:6, "… Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts." The Secret Place where we are to dwell is built only by the Spirit of God and is complete control of the LORD OF HOSTS.
The Secret Place is a place of trust and faith in God where well place all our hope. It is a place where doubts cannot stay, where fear departs and where trust in the power of God to deliver is always with us. It is a place where faith is so strong that nothing the Devil throws at us will have power over us.
The Secret Place is a place in God where we know that God has everything under control and so we are convinced of it in our heart that there is no need to worry, no fretting over our circumstances or troubles. We have that calm assurance that all is well. David had a desire to be near to the heart of God.
But HOW DO WE DWELL THERE?
David was not thinking about going into the holy of holies in the tabernacle, putting his feet up and leaning back and starting a discussion such as "Hey God how ya doin’"
We must look at what David is saying in a spiritual sense, because he knew that there was no way he was going to go and "live in the most Holy Place". That responsibility was assigned by God to the high priest.
However, we do know that in spirit the whole house of Israel entered the most Holy Place by way of the Priest who went in once a year to sprinkle the blood upon the mercy seat. This was their representative into the Holiest place, and while they went on about their lives throughout the year, they always knew that the blood of the sacrifice had been sprinkled upon the mercy seat, and in a sense "were under the shadow" of the "Almighty" -
The Priest represented them in the Holy Place, and was literally under the shadow of the Most High when he went in to offer the blood.
For many of the Israelites they did the basic requirements of sacrificing a perfect animal to take their place. That was a draw back for those in the world before Jesus was sacrificed. Some, however, went way above this. Besides the physical obedience with sacrifices some also endeavored to live a life closer to God in the shadow of the Almighty.
Hebrews 9:12 He (Christ) did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
This blood was to not just cover over, but would take away the sins of the world.
Of course, the only way we can enter into this relationship with God in the first place is by the blood of Jesus Christ!
It is that same blood that keeps us, and promises us a dwelling place in the presence of God.
Without the blood, there is no forgiveness and no restoration, no fellowship. Without the blood there is no dwelling. Without the blood there can be no forgiveness of sin. There had to be payment (remission) for breaking Gods Laws.
By our allowing the blood to be applied to our lives as we give control up to the Lord we come to this secret dwelling place.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS INDWELLING(what it is like)
First of all, we understand that the Lord is Our Refuge in this dwelling place. (refuge another term for secret place)
Satan and the world would quickly overcome us if not for the secret place.
During the Civil War a Confederate soldier who was placed far out in a lonely place to watch suddenly felt a strange dread and fear come over him. The moon was shining dimly in the deep woods. And while it seemed strange and unwise, he felt to sing softly the old song, "Jesus, Lover of my soul let me to Thy bosom fly," and the stanza, "Other refuge have I none." This he did, and immediately felt relieved of his fear.
A few years later, when the war was over, he was at a meeting and sang the same song. After the song, a stranger came up to him and said, "I never saw you before, but I have heard that voice before." Then he asked him if he sang that song one night during the war. Then he related to him how he and some of his men, who were Union soldiers, were hidden behind trees and had their guns turned on him and were ready to fire! "But," said he, "as we heard that song, ’Jesus, Lover of my soul,’ and, ’Other refuge have I none,’ I said to my men, Don’t shoot that man,’ and we slipped away and left you. I shall never forget the voice I heard that night."
There is only one shelter and that is Jesus, and we need Him to take us there for protection and to be close to Him.
Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.
When we are in this Secret Place, it says we can be confident and rest our spirit. But this only comes by a close relationship with Jesus Christ.
This confidence that we can enjoy in the Secret place is not from pride in who we are, but it from a proper fear of the Lord, and obedience to Him!
Like a boy walking by the neighborhood bully that usually terrorizes him with his father right beside him.
This connection with his dad gives him confidence, and boldness. This is the same type of confidence that gives us a joy in the Lord, like he is my earthly dad, He is God Almighty and I belong to him!
Ps 91:4 gives us a good illustration of the loving watchful care of us that the Lord spends on His children the ones that have placed their trust in Him.
"He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust"
Just like a mother bird covers her chicks and hides them from predators, God gathers us to Him if we let Him. God our protector which keeps the enemy of our souls (Satan) from us and runs the universe at the same time.
That’s why we can say like verse 2 "He is my God" He is My Refuge, He is My Fortress, He is My Deliverer!
God is a shelter, a refuge when we harassed by Satan but also when threatening problems come in our physical world. When finances, sickness, and even death come upon us He is there protecting.
Letting fear stay around instead of faith won't get us to this secret place. Only by trusting in His power to protect us, by giving ourselves up to his protection and devoting our lives to him, we will be kept safe.
David was a man who was not ashamed to speak aloud about this great faith and trust he had in God either.
He easily could have just whispered, "you are my Lord, and you are my refuge, etc." and just kept it between him and God. But the Bible reads that David was one who wanted to tell others about the relationship he had with God.
"I will say of the Lord..." This is a bold witness and sharing of the Good News with those around him.
The day we live in there is a dire need for people who will "say of the Lord" There is nothing better than a personal testimony to convince people of their own need of finding the secret place.
A missionary in India was once teaching the Bible to a group of Hindu ladies. Halfway through the lesson, one of the women got up and walked out. A short time later, she came back and listened more intently than ever. At the close of the hour the leader inquired, "Why did you leave the meeting? Weren’t you interested?" "O yes," the Hindu lady replied. "I was so impressed with what you had to say about Christ that I went out to ask your driver whether you really lived the way you talked. When he said you did, I hurried back so I wouldn’t miss out on anything."
The results of dwelling in the Secret Place of the most high is that we will have a desire to tell others about the fellowship that has been bought back through Jesus Christ.
This is where God wants every believer to be. But it doesn’t come automatically. We have to strive for the mark of the high calling of God Paul said.
The first thing we learn here in Ps 91 is that the place is secret. It is not known to everybody and is not a place for everybody to be. Secret means it may be hard to find, it may be in a place difficult to get to. In God’s Kingdom, there is no secret knowledge only the privileged may know and who lord it over ordinary folk. No this secret place may be hard to find but it is for everybody who looks for it.
This secret place is somewhere close to the Most High, the Almighty.. When God met Moses on the mountain he told him that he could not look on his face as it would mean death. He put Moses in the cleft of the rock and placed His hand over him as He walked by. Even this quick glimpse of the Lord and Moses to glowed with the glory of God so that the Israelites could look at him. To get to the secret place is be pure in heart and clean of hands:
Psalms 24 3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
So this place, we are to dwell there…spend a lot of time there! Moses only had a brief time on the mountain really close to God. To dwell means to live in that place.
(Psa 27:5 NASB) For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; in the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.
In the day of trouble He will conceal me in His secret place. That day of trouble is upon us in the form of the corona virus. We live in a time of trouble all around. This secret place is one of supernatural strength for He set us on a rock. Behold I lay in Zion a stone, a tried stone a precious corner stone. Our Rock and our Redeemer has become our salvation and our strength..
(Psa 31:19 NASB) How great is Thy goodness, Which Thou hast stored up for those who fear Thee, Which Thou hast wrought for those who take refuge in Thee, Before the sons of men!
(Psa 31:20 NASB) Thou dost hide them in the secret place of Thy presence from the conspiracies of man; Thou dost keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.
(Isa 45:2 NASB) "I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze, and cut through their iron bars.
(Isa 45:3 NASB) "And I will give you the treasures of darkness, And hidden wealth of secret places, In order that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.
God has stored up GOODNESS in the secret place. He will take down all obstacles in our way and GIVE to us the treasures of darkness and the wealth of the secret places. That implies that all the resources that God has for us is there. We can access all the riches in Christ, we can access all God has for us there.
He desires to meet us in the secret place. He desires to hear our voice. Failure to hear from the Lord is to be spiritually dead. Our sins stand in the way the Lord’s invitation but so does the business and our interests of life…things that of themselves are not sins but get in the way. Martha had that problem when Jesus came to their house in Bethany, Martha was busy preparing a meal (it needed to be done) but Mary was at His feet enjoying His presence.
The Church at Ephesus was commended for things that most churches would give a lot to have. They worked hard for the Lord. They got rid of false doctrine. They persevered. They were a working Church! But the Lord said they had left their first love! They were bound in dead works and doctrine. They had doctrine down to a science, but they had no fire in their spirit. They had no heat, they were cold. Many denominations that started out on Fire for the Lord but eventually left it for dead cold works. Look at at the many denominations that were on fire during the first and second Great Awakening Revivals and see where they are today.
The writer of Ps 73 was Asaph not David. He was in trouble. All around him was corruption. Probably some stuck to the letter of Jewish law but dead religion is not the answer for sin. Nothing calls for a sinner to come away from his dark deadness if the church is also dead. For many God was dead. Asaph didn’t understand why these sinful men didn’t just curl up and die. After all, they were in direct disobedience of God's law. Why had he been in poverty and these guys were rich! He suffered in need and they had a surplus! Right now that sin looked pretty good! Sin had better answers than dead religion until something happened.
(Psa 73:16 When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me;
(Psa 73:17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end..
Asaph went into the sanctuary of God. That is the secret place. His questions were answered and his outlook was changed. Getting close to God will do that.
Asaph then could say:
(Psa 73:25 NASB) Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth.
(Psa 73:26 NASB) My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
He then understood that God had been with him all this time but he just had not seen it. He was fired up for God again. We need a thirst for the Living God. He only wants people who look for Him (draw near to Him so He can draw near to us. If we search for Him and His secret place he promises He will be found.
like David:
(Psa 63:1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
Jesus said:
John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
There are those in dead religion who say that the time of miracles is past. Peter preached at Pentecost that God would pour is Spirit out on ALL flesh. The miracles would be part of the HS outpouring. The book of Acts is still like a roadmap for what the Church should be. Signs and wonders should still be a part of our work.
Paul knew the secret place when he said:
1 Cor 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
We have heard this time and time again so that we have almost been almost immune to it. But this is The Spirit who moved on the waters at creation, the Spirit who was in pillar of fire and cloud, the Spirit who dwelt between the Cherubim in the Holy Place is the same Holy Spirit who dwells in us!!
So you see all the riches promised in the Old Testament are in Christ. And we have died and our life is hidden (in the secret place) in Christ. The secret place is not somewhere out there but in our heart.
The reason the Holy Spirit came was not just to save us but that He could have close relations with us. He is to be the source of life and dwells within us. Today we need to seek Him in the secret place, spending time in the presence of God leaving the world behind. Not an automatic thing once we are saved but deliberately drawing close to Him and His special place. We won't get there by simply agreeing that we should live in the secret place but we have to take it with us and actively apply it and seek for the secret place.
That Secret Place isn’t hidden from believers but very few ever find it because, if we are to find it, we must seek after it with all our heart. We must desire the presence of God and He must take first place in our lives. Finding that Secret Place isn’t as hard as we might think. Many have tried on their own and failed and yet it is so very simple to find.
If we desire to dwell in that secret place there is a series of events that must take place in our heart and life before we can enter in. Entering into that secret place of the Almighty requires a life of holiness unto the Lord. So many Christians live in defeat, stay in fear from demonic oppression, run from opportunities of serving Christ, and are rattled by every event of life that upsets their apple cart because they don’t dwell in God’s Secret Place. They have accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior and they are making an attempt to serve Him and live for Him but they just don’t seem to ever be able to enjoy the victorious life that belongs to every Christian.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
When we get close enough to God to get in His shadow that’s when the promises of Psalms 91
apply to us.
Seek the secret place when threatened. In sickness, in financial trouble, in times of stress when some are against you. Look for it in depression and times of sorrow, but most of all find it when you want a closer walk with God.
Dane C. Ortlund (PhD, Wheaton College)
Times of public panic force us to align our professed belief with our actual belief. We all say we believe God is sovereign and he is taking care of us. But we reveal our true trust when the world goes into meltdown. What’s really our heart’s deepest faith and belief? The answer shows up in times of public fear, such as we're going through now.
The corona virus is infecting thousands of people around the world right now—both young and old—and some of those people will die. Heaven and hell are staring even the very young in the face. That’s why they’re being told to wash their hands for twenty seconds. We have an opportunity to instill in our kids a deeper truth of eternity than they have ever known. This important because either heaven or hell awaits every fourth-grader, either they are taken out by a virus one day or taken out by old age decades from now. Ten thousand years from now, the difference between dying at age ten or age eighty will seem trivial. This is an opportunity to teach our families about the reality of eternity.
Eternally Safe
When we get to heaven, we will see how eternally safe we were all along.
No infection can enter your lungs, or your child’s lungs, unless sent by the hand of a heavenly Father. The Heidelberg Catechism defines God’s providence as, “The almighty and ever-present power of God by which God upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty—all things, in fact, come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand.”
Christ Experienced distress
In times of turmoil, in seasons of distress, Jesus is closer to his people than ever. Hebrews tells us that Jesus experienced all the dreadfulness in this world that we do, minus sin (Hebrews 4:15). So apparently he knows—he himself knows, what it feels like for life to close in on you and for your world to go into meltdown. We can go to him. His arm is around us.
Viewpoint of Heaven
From heaven’s shore we will see how eternally safe we were all along, even amid the global upheaval and anxieties that loom so large as we walk through them. The dangers out there are real. The cautions are wise. Our bodies are mortal, vulnerable. But our souls, for those married to a resurrected Christ, are beyond the reach of all eternal danger. How safe we are, we who are in Christ. Be at peace. All is assured.
Dane C. Ortlund (PhD, Wheaton College)
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Jesus said, "And upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity (Luke 21:25)." He is basically saying that nations would be in distress because they would have no solutions. Today we are facing a whole host of diseases that science has no cure for. The corona plague has come to several states in US as people bring it into the country.
Snare of the Fowler in vs3?
A snare is a kind of trap. The person who is setting the trap is called the fowler.
The Fowler is an illustration of the attack of the Devil Himself! He sets his Satanic Traps for us!
Satan is absolutely determined to overthrow every believer who walks in complete devotion to Jesus Christ. The devil knows where you live and work - every path you take, every footstep. And he follows all our movements.
Satan is not omnipresent. He cannot be everywhere at once. Nor does he know all things; otherwise he would be God. But he does have at his command multitudes of demonic beings, principalities and powers of darkness. And these evil workers track us. They go about like fowlers, laying traps to ensnare us - hidden, sneaky, diabolical traps!
The psalmist writes: "Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings. The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside..." (Psalm 140:4-5).
Non Believers, those who not know Christ are in big trouble. But for those who love the Lord:
It says in Psalms:91:14-16: Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
God gives safety, shelter, a shield, and angel guardians so we are free from fear, evil, and harm and disaster. In fact, The Psalmist concludes by restating God’s covenant with us. (14-16) “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
Do we really believe it? So… YOU NEVER FEAR OR WORRY OR WONDER? What about Christians who die at a young age, who are killed by drunk drivers, who are murdered because they’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, who are killed simply because they believe in Jesus, who have children born with malformations or disease or are molested by another family member, whose prayers for healing do not result in healing, whose marriages break apart, who lose everything through fire or a natural disaster, who come down with cancer that keeps eating away at their bodies? How can we say we believe this Psalm since these happen in life? How can we make sense of what we know we should believe in light of the seeming contradictions life brings?
The key lies, I think, in what the Psalmist says about THE PLACE OF SECURITY. (1-2) “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Notice – “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High…” The place of security is DWELLING IN THE SHELTER. Dwelling means “to remain, stay, tarry, endure, have one’s abode.” (2) “The shadow of God is not the occasional hotel to stay at, but the constant abiding-place, of the saint...We ought never to be out of the shadow of God. It is to dwellers, not to visitors, that the Lord promises His protection."
The trouble is that many run to the shelter for a visit, but do not stay there. They run to the shelter in times of trouble or need or fear – but they dwell somewhere else. Wherever it is, it is not in the shelter of the Almighty. Our place of security comes from dwelling in the shelter and from LOVING GOD. (14) “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.”
Remaining in the secret place or the shadow of the Almighty is the only place we can be safe. If we step out of that place or never go to that place we are headed for the opposite of safety and calamity may come on us because of our own refusal to dwell in that secret place. In other words you are on your own.
