1He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: My God in him will I trust. (Psalm 91:1, 2)
I have written this week with the help of the Lord about “The Happy State of the Godly.” The scripture text for this article comes from the book of Psalms. This book is the second book of the five books of poetry in the Old Testament. The five books of poetry are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. These are some of the facts concerning the book of Psalms: Psalms is divided into five divisions or books . . . Book I (Psalm 1:1) → (Psalm 41:13) Book II (Psalm 42:1) → (Psalm 72:20) Book III (Psalm 73:1) → (Psalm 89:52) Book IV (Psalm 90:1) → (Psalm 106:48) Book V (Psalm 107:1) → (Psalm 150:6) The book of Psalms is the longest book in the Bible and is known as the hymn book of Israel. It was used in the temple and synagogue worship of the Jews. The theme of the book of Psalms is “God is to be praised in every situation of life.” There are twelve authors of the book of Psalms. They are David, Asaph, Solomon the sons of Korah, Herman, Ethan, Moses, Ezra, Hezekiah, Jeduthuh, Haggai, and Zechariah. The book of Psalms has 150 Psalms, 2,461 verses, and 43,743 words. This book is different because we see “man speaking to his God in prayer, praise, and worship!” For this Wordsmith article, we want to focus our attention upon the scripture text found in (Psalm 91:1-4) which says = 1He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God in him will I trust. 3Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler And from the noisome pestilence. 4He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. The author of (Psalm 91) is unnamed. The style of writing is like some of David’s Psalms. (Psalm 142:4, 5) says = 4I looked on my right hand, And beheld, but there was no man that would know me: Refuge failed me No man cared for my soul. 5I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. In (Psalm 91:1), the Psalmist wrote about the protection of the Almighty. The Hebrew word for almighty is shadday (shad-dye) #7706 which means = the almighty or all sufficient God, eternally capable of being all that his holy, chosen people need. (Psalm 91) has a caption in some of our bibles which says = “The Happy State of the Godly!” If we are baptized in Jesus Name and are filled with the gift of the Holy Ghost according to (John 3:5-8) and (Acts 2:37, 38), we can enter into the secret place of the Most High and dwell there and abide under the shadow of the Almighty. We can find safety when we abide in the presence of God. This is one of the blessings of being saved and under the blood of Jesus! Then the Psalmist gives his personal testimony about the time he was able to spend in “The Happy State of the Godly.” He said, “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God in him will I trust.” The word, refuge means = a shelter and/or a place of trust a place where the Godly could flee for protection. The word, fortress, means = strong fort and/or a place of safety. The most High (elyon): the Almighty (shadday or Shaddai) the Lord (Yahweh) were all names of “one God” in whom he will trust. They were his refuge and his fortress, and above all, his personal God! (Psalm 91:1, 2). Next, the Psalmist writes to all the Godly people of God and tells them if the Lord delivered them and protected me, then he will do the same thing for all of you. He said, “Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.” The word, surely, means = in a sure manner without a doubt and/or indeed. The snare of the fowler was a trap set to catch birds. This trap was very hard to escape from the bird would need someone else to help him to escape. Many human beings are like the bird caught in the snare or trap. The Almighty God (el Shaddai) is the only one who can set them free! Thank you, Jesus! He is able to deliver the sinner from the snare of the devil and to set him free indeed. Read: (John 8:32-26). The Almighty God will deliver the Godly people of God, namely Zion Temple First Pentecostal Church, from the noisome pestilence, too! The word, pestilence, means = plague. A plague is a disastrous evil and/or a destructive contagious bacterial disease like COVID-19. God will cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. He will be our protection from the noisome pestilence. Read: (Psalm 91:5-14). Zion, continue to dwell in the secret place: “THE HAPPY STATE OF THE GODLY!” Suffragan Bishop Charles L. Smith, D.D., Emeritus August 10, 2025
