He That Dwelleth In The Secret Place of the Most High

This psalm is filled with imagery and is one of the popular passages that is taken as prayer and is memorized. The main idea is to "dwell in the secret place of the most High" - meaning to abide or to live in the LORD. In other words, it is trusting God, taking refuge in Him, depending on God as our fortress and putting our love on Him.

The benefits are we will be protected, our enemies cannot harm us, we will not be afraid day and night. Angels will be assigned to keep us from accidents. Enemies will fall beside us and we will see God's justice on them.

Finally, a personal commitment by God when we dwell in Him include God will answer our call, He will set us on high, He will be with us in time of trouble and deliver us, and we will be assured long life and salvation.



Psalm 91
Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

 1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
         Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
 2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
         My God, in Him I will trust.”
       
 3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler[a]
         And from the perilous pestilence.
 4 He shall cover you with His feathers,
         And under His wings you shall take refuge;
         His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
 5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
         Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
 6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
         Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
       
 7 A thousand may fall at your side,
         And ten thousand at your right hand;
         But it shall not come near you.
 8 Only with your eyes shall you look,
         And see the reward of the wicked.
       
 9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
         Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
 10 No evil shall befall you,
         Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
 11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,
         To keep you in all your ways.
 12 In their hands they shall bear you up,
         Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
 13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
         The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
       
 14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
         I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
 15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
         I will be with him in trouble;
         I will deliver him and honor him.
 16 With long life I will satisfy him,
         And show him My salvation.”

Hide Me from the Secret Plots of the Wicked

David's prayer to God to protect him against his enemies. We know that David had many physical enemies, such as Saul and later the enemy nations which he had to fight against. But the enemy in this psalm uses secret plots, uses their tongue to lie and shoot in secret using words.
These enemies plot evil schemes rather than attack directly in battle. They "lay snares secretly" and "devise iniquities" and "shrewd schemes". So these particular enemies may be in David's court itself. In fact David did face a plot of rebellion from his son Absalom.
In any case, David's way to battle such enemies, like other enemies, is to bring it before God. He trusts that God will be just and will fight for those who are righteous and upright.

Psalm 64
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
 1 Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation;
         Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
 2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
         From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,
 3 Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,
         And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words,
 4 That they may shoot in secret at the blameless;
         Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.
        
 5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter;
         They talk of laying snares secretly;
         They say, “Who will see them?”
 6 They devise iniquities:
         “We have perfected a shrewd scheme.”
         Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.
        
 7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow;
         Suddenly they shall be wounded.
 8 So He will make them stumble over their own tongue;
         All who see them shall flee away.
 9 All men shall fear,
         And shall declare the work of God;
         For they shall wisely consider His doing.
        
 10 The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him.
         And all the upright in heart shall glory.