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

I was watching the first two minutes of Week 37’s video, and no later did I feel the need to give a response. But as I reach six minutes into the video, I hear Kevin state that the scholars say Moses wrote Psalm 91. Nonetheless, I feel that we find this verse in the Bible not only for Moses’ claim on his personal experience but for anyone. Anyone who can relate to the wonderful experience of dwelling in the secret place in God’s presence can abide in the Shadow of the Almighty, whether within the Old Testament or New. They did not have the same experience as Moses did. But I feel some did spend time in God’s presence without going into the literal Holy of Holy. Men wrote under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Though, of course, we all need to be born again.

Below we read the testimony of a man who was abiding before Jesus’ ministry started:

Luke 2:25-32
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 Led by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for Him what was customary under the Law,

28 Simeon took Him in his arms and blessed God, saying:

29 “Sovereign Lord, as You have promised,
You now dismiss Your servant in peace.

30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation,

31 which You have prepared in the sight of all people,

32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to Your people Israel.”
BSB

What is amazing is that Simion’s eyes knew the Salvation of the Lord before His ministry. Of course, Jesus was just a baby at this point. He was not preaching, healing the sick, or raising the dead. But Simion’s abiding gave him the Holy Spirit’s conviction that He would see the Salvation of the Lord!

——–
Looking at the first verse in Psalm 91, what comes to mind is Acts 17:28

‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’
BSB

We read this as born-again believers in Messiah and are so blessed. But I would say this was very real to the Hebrew people living during the Psalm’s writing. It was not just some poetic statements. Some scholars will tell you Psalm 91 refers to something as menacing as Goliath. But, as long as the people abided, they were safe.

The point is they had the Spirit of God with them as long as they “dwelt” in the Secret Place. Staying close to God through obedience to His Word is what brought the people victory.

As I read this, I remember that only the High Priest could enter behind the veil during the Old Testament period once a year, with special preparations being met first. Here, God is telling His people you should dwell there and not just visit. He is talking to us as well in our day, as Kevin is mentioning. There is much more than poetry here, as anyone residing in the Secret Place can tell you. And I can assure you those to whom this is written at the time of its writing can answer in the same fashion.

How incredible! By invoking the blood of Jesus, it is as if we are the High Priest entering the Holy of Holy! Not only that, but we do not need to rely on a special priest to enter a very special location once a year and wait to hear a word from God. We can hear God right from within our Bibles. We can hear God by being still.

What is fantastic is that someone who has never heard of God or had any knowledge of the Bible can be born again and enter the Secret Place. While it took an exceptional individual, the High Priest, to enter the Holy of Holy only once a year after special preparations, the worst of the worst sinners can come before God and be justified by the blood of the Lamb – made perfect in God’s sight any day of the year.

Once again, excellent points are brought out. God does not take away lives but gives life! We don’t stay in the Secret Place, and that is when we get in trouble. The same situation existed in the Old Testament as we find in the Book of Judges, and I see this happening in the United States as we lose discernment due to not abiding by God’s laws.

Our number one priority is to abide by the Word of God every day. This is the mana that will sustain us during this time here before we literally enter the Promised Land.

Thank you and God Bless,
Scott Camilleri
Warrior Notes Tribeca