 |  |
to this, "no man cared"! In such circumstances there is nothing left but God, and, blessed
be His name, David wrote this Psalm to tell us that He "knew", He "cared", He provided
a "refuge".
"I cried unto Thee, O Lord; I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of
the living" (Psa. 142: 5).
Here David used another word for "refuge"--the one already found in Psalms 91: 2
and 46: 1. Not only did the Lord provide a refuge when all help failed, but David adds
that the Lord was his portion in the land of the living. Cheleq, "portion", has reference to
"dividing spoil", or "dividing an inheritance". David used the word when he said
"As his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the
stuff; they shall part alike" (I Sam. 30: 24).
He had also heard the words of the men of Belial who had cried:
"We have no part in David" (II Sam. 20: 1).
"What portion have we in David?" (I Kings 12: 16).
No man "knew"; no man "cared"; refuge had perished, but God remained, and while
God abides, He is the refuge of His people, and not only so, but He is their portion, He
takes the place of the victor's spoil, and He supplies the place of the lost inheritance.
David could, then, boast in his sorest need and direct distress, that he was "more than
conqueror" through the Lord. Let us beware of the "refuge of lies" (Isa. 28: 15); let
us not be cast down when we look to the right hand and find "no man"; let us cast all our
care upon Him "for He careth for us". "The Eternal God is thy Refuge."
#8.
The "secret place" and the "shadow".
pp. 145, 146
"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Psa. 91: 1).
It is evident that we have here in this first verse the echo of thought which is so
characteristic of Hebrew poetry. Let us seek a fuller understanding of these wonderful
words.
There is a much greater difference between the Hebrew words for "dwell" and "abide"
than our English version would indicate. The word "dwelling" implies a settled place of
habitation, as, for instance, in Psalm 23:: "I will dwell in the house of the Lord for
ever." Isaiah, also, uses the word as he looks forward to the future reign of peace: "They
shall build houses and inhabit them" (Isa. 65: 21). "To abide", on the other hand, means
"to lodge for a night" (Gen. 32: 21) or "to tarry a night" (Judges 19: 10). The
transitoriness of the word is evident in Psalm 30: 5 where we read that "weeping may