The feeling of safety is assuring. Nothing is quite like security. We think about protection when we need it the most. When we are in a storm, we look frantically for shelter. If the building we are in were on fire, we would do our best to get out. This is a normal, natural reaction to physical danger and harm.

Spiritual security and safety are much more important than physical safety. The human author of Psalm 91 was led of the Holy Spirit to write about the believer’s security in God Himself.

Four names are used of God in verses 1-2. “The Most High” speaks of His power and might and His supremacy over all else and all others. “The Almighty” presents God as tender and gracious even though the English translation “Almighty” does not convey that. “LORD” (Yahweh) is the title the Jews refused to pronounce audibly. They felt it was so filled with respect and honor that to verbalize it would be to defile the One it described. This name speaks of God as the self-existing One. “God” (Elohim), the name used in Genesis 1:1, describes God as the One possessing eternal power.

Nine things in verses 1-4 speak of the safety and security only God can give: “shelter,” “the shadow of the Almighty,” a “refuge,” “fortress,” “save you,” “cover [protect] you,” “under His wings,” “shield,” and “rampart.”

For you: The first few verses of Psalm 91 raise the question, How does one dwell in this secret place and experience these blessings? Our Lord gave the answer in His parting words to His disciples. “Abide in Me,” He told them (John 15:4). When you abide in Christ, it is to be in fellowship with Him. It is to keep His commandments (v. 10). In other words you abide in the Lord as you live according to His Word. This is how the Christian may “dwell in the shelter of the Most High” (Ps. 91:1). Here is safety from Satan and his evil angels. This is the secret place reserved for God’s children.