Safely Abiding in the Presence of God (Part 2)

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.” ¹ 

"Most High" - a title for the true God with a focus on him being supreme, and shows high status. It occurs about 43 times in the English Bible. The point here is to invoke the idea of a ruler and all that this would imply to the ancient mind. Rulership, sovereignty, power, fear in the minds of followers, and the inviolable and unbroachable ability to protect. This is virtually absolute in the human world, how much more so in the realm of God Himself?

The title emphasizes God’s majesty and is parallel to the term Almighty. Together the terms Most High and Shaddai speak of God as a mountain-like majesty, in whose presence there is a “secret place” or a shadow.

"Shall abide" - The word appears 87 times and is from a root meaning to stay the night, to "lodge" or to abide for some extended time. The declension of the verb implies a causative idea, namely that the subject will be "caused to abide." It's form is also "imperfect" and so we are to see this either as future tense or as an incomplete action. It seems unlikely that this is a "pure" future tense, meaning that we dwell in the secret place now and abide later. Rather, we are to see this an an action in progress, incomplete as it were. The one who dwells in the secret place will be abiding, is, according to this verse, to be seen as abiding now, under the shadow of the Almighty.

One might actually view this in the form of a promise. It is surely a declarative statement on David's part, and, as the "Singer of Israel", under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he speaks for God and thus this declarative statement can be taken as being made by God Himself.

These kinds of statements can and should be taken be what they are - statements of God's intention to be, not only to David himself, but to all of His people what He promises. We see this by the generic nature of the verse. It is "He who..." and directed to David particularly.

"Under" is a simple preposition, a marker of position within certain limits, contrasted with being outside an area, even in a three dimensional area. It takes its' specific meaning from the context of the sentence. Here, because we are talking something that casts a "shadow", "under" seems the best and most logical translation.

"...the shadow of the Almighty" - A "shadow" refers to the state of interposing something between an object and a light source, with the associative meanings of protection and refreshment, and a transitory nature. This is the "shadow" referred to in 2 Kings 20:9 that went backward:

Then Isaiah said, “This is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing which He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees or go backward ten degrees?”

As a metaphor it can refer to protection, or formally, shadow, i.e., that which keeps an object safe from harm or danger as a figurative extension of shade which comes between a light source and an object. The imagery is that of the superior extending a strong and mighty appendage so that it interposes itself between the the one in question and some danger or threat, with its' "shadow" thus providing security and protection. In a land where the sun can be oppressive and dangerous, a “shadow” was understood as a metaphor for care and protection.

"The Almighty" - One of the titles in the OT for the true God, as we have noted, with a focus on the power to complete promises of blessing and prosperity. The Hebrew word is used 41 times in the OT, 31 of those times are in the Book of Job; it is used a time or two in just a a book or two elsewhere.