By J. Wilbur Chapman
"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1).
To me this is one of the most beautiful expressions in all the Bible; beautiful because it is poetic, but more than that for the reason that it holds up before us one of the greatest privileges that can come to the children of God.
There is a difference of opinion as to who the author of the Psalms may be. We get into the way of thinking that David wrote everything in the Psalter, but Moses is the author here. The Talmud ascribes not only this one to him but the nine preceding as well. The rule is that all the Psalms without a name in the title are to be ascribed to the poet whose name is given in the nearest preceding title; but this rule will not always hold good. This is the Psalm quoted by the devil when he was tempting Christ upon the mountain, and it has ever been throbbing with comfort for every troubled soul. Whoever wrote it, it is beautiful, and all will agree that the lesson taught is one touching our communion with God and our fellowship with Jesus Christ.
It is very true that all Christians do not occupy the same position in this world. All are saved, and it is by the same "precious blood of Christ." But there is so much more to the Christian life than simply being saved; that is only the beginning. The blessings here offered are given in a very general way. God is no respecter of persons, and so it is as if He had said, any one who will fulfill the conditions may have the blessing; and as there is only the one condition, namely, that we shall dwell in the "secret place of the Most High," you would think that all would accept, for the promise is that we "shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." The blessings here promised are not for all believers, but only for those who live in close fellowship with God. Every child of God looks toward the inner sanctuary and the mercy seat, but all do not dwell there. They run to it at times and enjoy occasional glimpses of the face of Him who is there to be seen; but they do not continually abide in the mysterious presence, and this is possible for every one.
It is with the desire that I might learn the lesson myself as well as bring it to you, and with the almost unutterable longing that we might know how to abide in the "secret of His presence" that I have brought you the subject. May the Lord help us every one! I have been on the mountain tops of Christian experience, when I have seemed to see the face of Him who loved me and gave Himself for me, and I am sure that you can say the same; but the text says that we may abide there in our thoughts while we may be all the time in the very thickest of the fight for God.
I like the verse. Every word is sweeter than honey in the honeycomb. It is so restful to know that there is any place in the world where we may abide. There is also something very winning to me in the fact that it is a secret place, for that surely means that God has something that is just intended for me, and for me alone. When I am there, I am away from the world. It is the place Mrs. Brown discovered when she wrote the beautiful hymn,
"I love in solitude to shed
The penitential tear;
And all His promises to plead
When none but God can hear."
There is something about the word "shadow" that always interests, for there never has been a shadow without the light; thus the "secret place" must be a place of brightness. It is a place where God is, for the nearest of all things to me as I journey in the sunlight is my shadow, and he who walks in nay shadow or rests in it must be very near to me; so that when I am in the shadow of God, I can reach forth my hand and touch Him; I can lift up mine eyes and see Him face to face. I know there is a sense in which God is always near us. He is in all things, and He is everywhere. But there is something about the "secret of His presence" to which every one is a stranger until he has dwelt there.
In the 119th Psalm the psalmist seems in the first part to be writing of the presence of God in a general sort of way. As another has said, "He had been beating out the golden ore of thought through successive paragraphs of marvelous power and beauty, when suddenly in the fifty-first verse he seems to have become conscious that He of whom he had been speaking had drawn near and was bending over him. The sense of the presence of God was borne in upon his inner consciousness, and lifting up a face on which reverence and ecstasy met and mingled, he cried: 'Thou art near, O Lord!'" If we could only attain unto this how strong, how happy, how useful we should be. It is possible as well for those of us who are in the very midst of perplexing cares as for the priest or the saint; for since the Master bids us all to abide in Him, and does not limit either His meaning or the number of people who may obey, I am absolutely certain that it rests with me and with you to determine whether we shall take advantage of our high privilege.
The typical reference must be to the holy place of the tabernacle, which the priests were privileged to enter; but Peter assures us that we have become in this new dispensation "a holy priesthood," so that it is possible for us to enter on that ground. If this interpretation is allowed, then it is something, too wonderful almost to describe, to which we are bidden, for in the tabernacle just beyond the veil was the glory cloud, and all the magnificence that could be wrought in gold and silver, purple and fine linen. But I am persuaded that even that was as nothing when compared to that which awaits us when we enter the secret place of God. The writer to the Hebrews tells us just how we may enter. "Having, therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh," how easy it all seems when we look at it in this way! A Christian is all wrong according to the text if he thinks that all the life here below must be turmoil and strife, for there is an abiding even here, and a sweet, undisturbed communion even in the midst of the tempest. A dwelling place is a home, not a temporary shelter to which one may run for momentary relief, as the birds fly to the boughs of the trees in the midst of the storm and then leave again when the storm has passed. It is the idea of a home. What can be more restful and comfortable? The Hebrew for the expression "shall abide" is "shall pass the night." Is it not a wonderful thing that the experiences that have seemed to us to be Heaven begun below, but have been as fleeting as the shadows sweeping the hillside, may be with us all the time? What place is so restful as your home? I know there is a rest that comes to one the moment he accepts the pardon that is offered by the Redeemer and the burden of sin is gone. "Come unto me, and I will give you rest." This is His promise, and He never has failed; but immediately following that expression is this: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find lest unto your souls."
I suppose one might secure the former and never come to the latter. Is not that the rest that comes to us when we are near enough to learn of Him, which is only another way of speaking of the "secret place"?
What place is so comfortable as the home? There we are free from the annoyances of the world; there we have that which seems to soothe and to quiet. Could there be anything more expressive than the words we find in the fourth verse of the 91st Psalm: "He shall cover thee with His feathers." It would be almost a sacrilege for one to use the words if they were not in the Bible; but it is the picture of the mother bird shielding the little ones. What so warm, so comfortable, as the mother's wings, or the nest that love has made? But listen to this: if you will only dwell in the "secret place," you shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty; and as if that would not be tender enough to woo us, we are told again, "He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings thou shalt trust."
Home is the place for explanations. There we tell our secrets. If the people of the world do not understand us, our loved ones in our homes do.
In the 27th Psalm, the fourth verse, David wants to "dwell in the house of the Lord" that he may "inquire in His temple." There were many times when he was perplexed, when he could not understand God. One time he said, "Thy way is in the sea, and thy path is the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known."
And what is so trackless as the sea? Then he says, "I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I their end." It was as if God there had made some special revelation to him; it was the "secret place," and God had told him the secret of it all, for that is God's way. Did He not walk with Enoch on the way as friend walks with friend? Did He not talk with Moses at Midian and tell him things he never could repeat? I remember very well that John was so near to the blessed Christ that he leaned his head upon His bosom. How easy for Him to bend His head and whisper to him the things He could not even tell the other disciples, for they were not near enough; for there are things that can not be spoken above a whisper. If they were, their power would be gone. One could not thus come near to Christ without receiving some special message.
When Paul was caught up into the heavens, I remember that he heard certain things that it was not possible for him to utter, partly because he had no language and partly because they were secrets he had been told. And one of the best things about Peter was that he met Christ after His resurrection. after he had denied Him with an oath, after he had forsaken Him; and when their eyes met and their hands clasped, the same as in the other days, except that the Master's were marked by the nails, they had an interview. How tender the message must have been! I imagine it was the turning point of Peter's life for real power. He told Mark many things about himself, but of that interview with Christ he never spoke a word. To me it is a beautiful reminder of the fact that Christ is "the same yesterday, today and forever," and if I am only near enough to Him, I may inquire of Him concerning all the mysteries of my life, and He who made known His ways unto Moses will answer me in the "secret place" and in the secret way.
"If I tried I could not utter
What He says when thus we meet."
It would be impossible for one to read the verses immediately following the text without being impressed with the fact that the most remarkable results will follow our abiding and dwelling in the "secret place."
In order that the subject may be the more practical and helpful I desire to suggest some things which will surely be ours when we fulfill the conditions.
1. In the "secret place" there is peace. "In the world ye shall have tribulation," our Master said, "but in Me ye shall have peace." I have read that a certain insect has the power to surround itself with a film of air, encompassed in which it drops into the midst of muddy, stagnant pools, and remains unhurt. And the believer may be thus surrounded by the atmosphere of God, and while he is in the midst of the turmoils of the world he may be filled to overflowing with the peace of God, because God is with him.
This is true whatever your occupation, if it is ever so menial. The Rev. F. B. Meyer tells us of Lawrence, the simple-minded cook, who said that "for more than sixty years he never lost the sense of the presence of God, but was as conscious of it while performing the duties of his humble office as when partaking of the Lord's Supper." What peace he must have had!
If you are constantly engaged so that you have said it was impossible for you to enjoy your religion very much because you were so busy, still you may have this peace, because you are in the "secret place." I know that it is impossible for one to keep two thoughts in the mind at the same time and do them both justice; but there is the heart as well as the mind, and while the mind is busy the heart may be rejoicing in all the fullness of God. The orator is conscious of the presence of his audience, and his heart is touched by their appreciation while his mind is busy in presenting the thoughts that move them. You may have all your mind taken up with the book you are reading or studying, but your heart is conscious of the presence of the one you love and who sits by your side. The mother may be very busy in one part of the house; her mind may be greatly engaged, but her heart is conscious of the fact that her little babe is in another part of the house, and the least cry will draw her to the child. So the mind may be occupied to the very fullest extent, and even be disturbed by the things about us, while the heart may be abiding in sweet communion and fellowship with Him because we are dwelling in the "secret place."
Those were comforting words of the Master's when He said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." So that I may have peace even when trial comes. David found this to be true, for in that beautiful Psalm, the 27th, he says: "In the time of trouble He will hide me in His pavilion; in the secret of His tabernacle will He hide me." The pavilion was a great tent in the very center of the camp, and when he was there nothing could harm him; he could be at peace even if he should hear the sounds of his enemies. But the expression is even stronger than that, for David says that if it were necessary God would even put him in the "secret of His tabernacle"; that is the same as the Holy of Holies; and who would not have been safe there? Here is our "secret place" again, and this is just where God has given us the privilege of going. Why should we be disturbed if troubles are about us and our enemies rise up to do us harm?
2. In the "secret place" there is purity. If our surroundings were only better in this world, our lives would be purer. It is very easy to be good in the company of some people we know; they seem to draw out all the good in us. To be surrounded by certain kinds of scenery is to be lifted near Heaven; to touch a little child pure as the angels of God is to receive a benediction. What could not the presence of God do for us if only we were all the time conscious of it? This is just what I may have, did I but dwell in the "secret place." One of the reasons which David gives for desiring to dwell in the house of the Lord was that "he might behold the beauty of the Lord." I wish that it might be possible for me to make plain to you as I might understand it myself all the beauty that waits us in the "secret place." Think of the gorgeousness of the Holy of Holies in the ancient tabernacle, which is a type of this! The wonderful curtains and hangings of the place, its blue and purple, its fine twined linen and threads of gold. Think of the beautiful veil with the cherubim, with the embroidery so fine that angel fingers must have wrought them, the table of pure gold holding the bread, and the seven-branched candlestick? Who from the outside looking upon the badger skin tent would have imagined how glorious it was within? So I do not think it would be possible to make plain to you all that awaits you in the "secret place." He who has dwelt there with God could not tell his joy if he had an angel's speech; but this I know, that if you will but enter in and dwell there, the very beauty of the place wilt make you pure, and you remember that it is only unto "the pure in heart" that the vision of God is promised.
I suppose we might have been with Jacob when in his dream he saw the heavens opened and beheld the angels going up and coming down and heard the voice of God, and we only should have seen the dreary mountains round about. I doubt not but that we might have been with Paul when he was caught up to the third heaven, and we should have seen nothing but the humble surroundings of his tent. And I doubt not but that if Paul were here today he would see God here this morning, and he would have walked on the street with Him yesterday. Is not the trouble with ourselves instead of our surroundings or our times? Every permitted sin encrusts the windows of the soul and blinds our vision; and every victory over evil clears the vision of the soul, and we can see Him a little plainer.
The unholy man could not see God if he were set down in the midst of heaven; but men and women whose hearts are pure see Him in the very commonest walks of life. And there is not a place in the world if it is right that we should have been there, but after we have passed by we may say, "Behold, God was in this place, and I knew it not." And if we can not say it, it is wrong for us to go.
3. In the "secret place" there is power. Oh! that we might all of us possess real power! This is our cry day and night, and yet there is nothing we may have easier. There is no promise with which I am familiar that tells us that we may have power of intellect or of human might. But there is a promise that we shall have power after that the Holy Ghost shall come upon us; and in the olden times He literally filled to overflowing the Holy of Holies, so that at one time it was almost impossible for one to enter. This will come to us likewise when we dwell in the "secret place." In I Chronicles we read, in the fourth chapter and twenty-third verse, of certain men who "dwelt with the king for his work." There can be no effective service that is not the outcome of communion. Our Lord's Day precedes the week of work, and this is always the plan of God. That wonderful fifteenth chapter of John is founded on that idea. We must abide first, and after that we can not help but bear fruit. Oh! that we might be so near to Him that we should be magnetized and charged with a spiritual force that the world could neither gainsay nor resist! I have left to the very last the most practical question of all, and that is: How may I enter into this "secret place"? Can not something be said that will make the way plain? It may all be summed up in this answer. None can "know the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal Him." It is impossible for any one to enter into the "secret place" of the Most High except through Jesus Christ. He said, "I am the way, I am the door, by me, if any man will, he shall enter in."
It is just what Paul meant when he said, "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ."
There are some places in the Bible where the way seems plain. "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him." And whatever else is meant by this feeding on Christ, this certainly is true -- we are to set apart daily periods of time when we may have communion with the Saviour. Is it not because we are too hurried that our vision of Christ is blurred and indistinct? It is only when the water is still that you can see the pebbly beach below. You could not go alone with Christ half an hour each day, or even a less time, and sitting still, look up into His face, by faith talk to Him and let Him talk to you, without feeling that for a little part of the day you had been in heaven, when in fact it was only the "secret place" of the Most High. Christ would be in you and you would be in Christ, even as in the southern sea the sponges may be seen beneath the waves, the sponge in the sea and the sea in the sponge. Then we could say with Paul: "I live, and yet not I but Christ liveth in me." Again I have read in the Bible these words: "He that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him." And I have found that I have only to go the way I think Christ wants me to go and to do the things I think He wants me to do to be able to stand on the very mountain top of Christian experience; and that is only another way of speaking of the "secret place." You could not go where Christ has bidden you without meeting Him, and you could not meet Him without a blessing coming with the meeting.
After all this has been known, I have been told that the vision still tarries. Sometimes that is to try our faith; but He will come if you wait, for He has promised. If, however, after long waiting still He should tarry, take up this old Book, turn its pages with a prayer that God might open your eyes so that you might see Him. This is the garden where he walks; press on, you will meet Him face to face. This is the temple where He dwells; stand knocking at the door, even while you wait it may swing noiselessly on its hinges, and He will lead you Himself into the "secret place."
Did you ever cultivate the habit of talking aloud to God? Sit down this very day and with upturned face and open eyes talk to Him as to your father, as to the dearest friend you have, one to whom you can tell your most secret thoughts; tell them to Him. The very room where you sit will seem to be filled with angels; but best of all God will be there, for one could not long talk to Him without feeling Him to be near. After such an experience some one has written: "Suddenly there came upon my soul a something I had never known before. It was as if some one Infinite and Almighty, knowing everything, full of the deepest, tenderest interest in myself, made known to me that He loved me. My eye saw no one, but I knew assuredly that the One whom I knew not and had never met had met me for the first time and made known to me that we were together." God give us all such an experience. Come into the "secret place." Come in!
After the Lord Jesus Christ had entered the heart of a girl in India, one who was of the higher caste, she was so transformed by His presence that out of the fullness of her love to Him she put on paper a little verse for which I shall never cease to thank God. Will you go with me and with her into the "secret place" of the Most High that we may abide under the shadow of the Almighty?
"In the secret of His presence how my soul delights to hide;
Oh! how precious are the lessons which I learn at Jesus' side!
Earthly cares can never vex me, neither trials lay me low,
For when Satan comes to tempt me, to the 'secret place' I go.
When my soul is faint and thirsty, 'neath the shadow of His wings
There is cool and pleasant shelter and refreshing crystal springs.
And my Saviour rests beside me as we hold communion sweet;
If I tried, I could not utter what He says when thus we meet.
Only this I know, I tell Him all my doubts, my griefs and fears.
Oh! how patiently He listens, and my drooping soul He cheers.
Do you think He ne'er reproves me? What a false friend He would be
If He never, never told me of the sins which He must see.
Would you like to know the sweetness of the secret of the Lord?
Go and hide beneath His shadow; this shall then be your reward;
And whene'er you leave the silence of that happy meeting place
You must mind and bear the image of the Master in your face."
