The Shadow of the Almighty

I try to read 5 psalms a day. Today is the 1st day of the month so I read Psalm 1, 31, 61, 91, and 121. It is one of my favorite days in the Psalms simply because of Psalm 1 and 91. Let’s spend the week in Psalm 91.

Verse one opens with these words, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” Maybe you recognize the title of this blog and the words from verse 1 as the title of a book by Elizabeth Elliot in which she wrote of the life and testament of Jim Elliot. On January 8, 1956, Jim and four friends were killed as they tried to make Gospel contact with a tribe in Ecuador. Years before his death, Jim Elliot prayed a prayer,

“Lord, make my life prosperous, not that I achieve high station, but that my life may be an exhibit to the value of knowing God.”

What does it mean to live our lives in the shadow of the Almighty?

Our Psalm’s author is unknown, but his relationship with God is evident through these words. As you study the Word of God you have to learn to look for certain things—in this Psalm there are clear movements throughout the text, and they are marked by pronoun changes…those changes mark the stanzas of the Psalm—they outline it for us.

Look at verses 1-2, He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust,”and you’ll find the personal pronouns, “I” and “my.” I will say, my refuge, my fortress, my God, and in whom I trust.

Then in verses 3-13, you find the pronoun “you” over and over again…in fact you find you or your 19 times in these verses, but then in the last three verses you find the word I again…I will deliver, I will protect, I will answer, I will be with him, I will rescue, I will satisfy…but this I is a divine I because the speaker is God. So, with that we come to three stanzas.

We will pick up here tomorrow, but let me outline out for you:

The Psalmist’s Personal Statement of Faith (1-2)
The Psalmist’s Powerful Sermon on Trust (3-13)
The Psalmist’s Personal Assurance of Satisfaction (14-16)