A song of faith

 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.


I. THE SOLITARY VOICE OF FAITH. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High" — how high up that "secret place" must be; how deep the silence up there; how pure the air! How far above the poisonous mists that cling to the low-lying swamps; how far out of the reach of the arrows or shots of the foeman, is he that dwelleth with God by communion, by constancy of desire, by aspiration, and by clear recognition of the Divine goal of all his work! "He that dwelleth" thus, "in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" — and since He is Almighty the long shadow that that great rock casts will shelter him who keeps beneath it from the burning rays of the fiery sunshine, in every " weary land." Let me keep myself in touch with God, and I keep myself master of all things, and secure from the evil that is in evil.

II. THE GREAT ASSURANCES WHICH ANSWER TO THIS SOLITARY VOICE OF FAITH. Now, is it true, as the psalmist goes on to portray under a double figure of battle and pestilence, that the man who thus trusts is saved from widespread calamities which may be devastating the lines of a community? If we look on the surface it is not true. Those that "dwell in the secret place of the Most High" will die of an epidemic — cholera, or smallpox — like the men beside them that have no such abode. But, for all that, it is true! For suppose two men, one a Christian, another not, both dying from the same epidemic. Yet the difference between the two is such that we may confidently say of the one, "He that believeth shall never die," and of the other that he has died. It is irrelevant to talk about vaccination being a better prophylactic than faith. No doubt this psalmist was thinking mainly of physical life. No doubt, also, you and I have better means of interpreting and understanding Providence and its dealings than he had. And for us the belief that they who "dwell in the secret place of the Most High" are immune from death, is possible and imperative, after a fashion far nobler and better than the psalmist could have dreamed. We must remember Old Testament conditions when we read Old Testament promises, and apply New Testament interpretations to Old Testament assurances. When we read, "there shall no evil befall thee," and think of our own harassed, tempest-tossed, often sorrowful lives, and broken, solitary hearts, we must learn that the evil that educates is not evil, and that the chastening of the Father's hand is good; and that nothing that brings a man nearer to God can be an enemy. The poison is wiped off the arrow, though the arrow may mercifully wound; and the evil in the evil is all dissipated.

III. A DEEPER VOICE still coming in, and confirming the enlarging all these promises. God Himself speaks, promising deliverance consequent upon fixed love. "Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him." As the word in the original suggests, when a poor man presses himself close up against the Divine breast, as a dog might against his master's limbs, or one that loves might clasp close to himself the beloved, then God responds to the desire for close contact, and in union He brings deliverance. Further, He promises elevation consequent on acquaintance with Divine character. "I will set him on high" — high above all the weltering flood of evil that washes vainly round the base of the cliff — "because he hath known My name." Loving acquaintance with the revealed character of God lifts a man above earth and all its ills. Further, there is the promise of Divine companionship consequent on sorrows. "I will be with him in trouble." Some of us know what that means, how we never get a glimpse of God until earth was dark, and how when a devastating flood as it seemed came sweeping over the fair gardens of our lives, we found, when it had gone back, that it had left fertility that we knew nothing about before. "With long life will I satisfy him," through the ages of eternity, and "show him My salvation" in the glories of an immortal life.

(A. Maclaren, D.D.)

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