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secret place' (Psa. 18:11). And again, in Psa. 27: `In the time
of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret of His
tabernacle shall He hide me' (Psa. 27:5).
Again, in Psalm 139:15,16, we read :
` My substance was not hid from Thee, when I was made in secret, and
curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my
substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were
written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none
of them'.
The `secret place' here is somewhat analogous with the
believer's position in the Church of `the Mystery', as `chosen in
Christ before the foundation of the world'.
For every member of the One Body there is food for reflection
in Psalm 91:1. We, too, can go back, as did Moses, to the Lord
our dwelling-place, `before the mountains were brought forth, or
ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world'. We can rest in
the unalterable truth of our election before the foundation of the
world, and we can also know what it is day by day to tarry, as it
were, `under the shadow of the Almighty'. Not only is He our
eternal home, but His presence is also our `lodging-place'
throughout life's pilgrimage.
`The shadow of the Almighty'.
How insubstantial a thing is a shadow, and yet the very
shadow of the Almighty provides full protection for the weary
pilgrim. The following are four ways in which this figure of a
protecting shadow is used :
(1) The shadow of the outstretched wings -'Hide me under the shadow of
Thy wings' (Psa. 17:8).