May 12, 2022 - Psalms 90-94

“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’” (91:1-2). One of the great missionary stories is that of Jim Elliot who died in Ecuador in 1956, along with four others, at age 28. Attacked as they were bringing the gospel to the Auca people, though they did not see how God would ultimately work, Jim Elliot and the others went into danger dwelling in the shelter of the Most High and abiding in the shadow of the Almighty. In fact, Elisabeth Elliot, Jim’s wife, in the telling of the story took these words as the title of one of the most fascinating missionary stories ever told: Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot.

The fool would see the deaths of these men and say, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive” (94:7). The psalmist replies, “He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?” (94:9) Oh, the Lord saw it all! And what great things he has done through this story! And with the psalmist and with Jim Elliot, what comfort and what joy in knowing that we dwell in the shelter of the Most High and abide in the shadow of the Almighty!

The man who once has found abode,

within the secret place of God

shall with Almighty God abide,

and in his shadow safely hide.

I therefore of the Lord will say,

he is my refuge and my stay;

my citadel of strength is he —

My God in whom my trust shall be. –L. M. Luxbridge (1830)