Psalm 91:1 “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.”
During the summer break from school, we boys cropped tobacco for $6.00 per day, we worked in the heat of the day, we didn’t know what the temperature was and had never even heard of a ‘heat index’. But, we knew it was HOT. About mid-morning and midafternoon, the old farmer would meet us at the end of the rows and say, ‘break time boys’ and then we would sit down “under the shadow of” some large tree and “abide”, rest there for a little while, and then go back to working in the heat. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty”; that is, it is there where peaceful rest is found. The word “abide” refers to a place of rest, a place where we leave behind the pressures and trials and labors of the day and find rest for a while. In this context, “in the secret place of the most High” is where we “abide” and find cool refreshing rest from the heat of the sun; that is, from the evils of this present world, from the stress and fatigue of our labors, from all the heartbreaks, from all the discouragement, from all the disappointments, and even from the pain and the shame of sin. It is “under the shadow of the Almighty” where we are safely refreshed and strengthened by the blessed Grace and Mercy “of the most High … the Almighty”. Isaiah prophesied, “And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.” (Isaiah 4:6) and “And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” (Isaiah 32:2). Our Beloved Lord Jesus Christ declared the prophecy fulfilled when He said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)! It is “under the shadow of the Almighty” that we “find rest” for our “souls”: “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.” (Jeremiah 6:16) and “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Matthew 11:29).