He Who Dwells

He Who Dwells

Today we will look at one scripture, but before we do there are a few words we will need to have a deeper understanding of. First there is the word shadow which comes from the Hebrew word tsalal. Tsalal means to grow dark or by comparison to provide darkness as in shade. We see it used in various places in non-literal senses e.g.

Here Paul is saying that the rules are only a shadow or glimmer of what Christ is, so in essence why have a part or glimmer of Christ when you can have Christ in whole.

Here Paul is describing the looming presence of hell as death is often translated as not being with God in heaven and thus being in hell. One more example is…

This is a metaphor and more literal usage of shadow and it is depicting how a shadow disappears as the sun say rises to high noon. Paul is saying our lives will all disappear like a shadow that quickly disappears with the rising of the sun. Our next word is abide.

Abide in newer translations is often translated as remain or rest all with a meaning similar to this passage in John 15. Abide here could be stated as…if you stay connected to me, find comfort and sustenance in me and if you remain in the forum with me. The emphasis would be on staying connected. The next two words are shelter and dwell. Shelter is often quite literal when used in the scripture, but can also be used as a metaphor such as in 

Here shelter is used to infer the covering and protection of God’s spiritual presence and the last word is dwell. Dwell is often used to denote a physical staying as into dwell at a physical location or with a physical group of people i.e.

Whereas abide is more of a state of mind or physical staying, dwell in this sense is to physically be in a city deemed a city of refuge and in the second part of verse thirty-four it is to physically hang out with and around the Israelites. It is not a spiritual or mental plane as much as it is a physical space. 

Moving on to the single verse of study for today which was the cause of all of the prior research and discussion.

Psalm 91:1New American Standard Bible

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

Dwell, shelter and abide to the untrained eye could all be seen very similarly which is why I broke it down with examples so that it is not read with an understanding of…

He who dwells in the dwelling of the Most High Will dwell in the shadow of the Almighty. Which sounds silly reading it, but can often be how many scriptures are taken when taken out of context unknowingly. These words are different for a reason and can be read accurately and quite literally be read as…

“He (anyone who seeks God) who dwells (physically spends time) in the shelter (spiritual plane) of the Most High (Jehovah God) Will (Without a doubt) abide (remain for an eternity) in the shadow (looming presence) of the Almighty (God).”

This is one of the most powerful guarantees of heaven seen in the scriptures to date. Anyone who seeks God and physically spends time with Him (reading His word, hanging out with His people and working to help the less fortunate) while on a spiritual plane of worship with God WILL remain forever in heaven in the presence of Jesus who rose with All power and conquered death and the grave. This is not a glimmer, but an actual reality of the presence and with that promise of God.

In summary, we must understand that everything that we ever wanted and needed from God are in His shelter (looming presence) and that if we seek first to dwell in that presence, then all other things, the senior of which is God, are already there resting under the shadow covering of God’s glory. When the Glory of God is in the atmosphere things change, when God hovered over the deep waters in Genesis the world and universe as we know it was formed and humanity and life as we know it was created, and when God hovered over Mary, the savior of the universe was conceived both physically as He dwelled in her belly and spiritually as the wise men came and worshipped Him bearing gifts of frankincense, myrrh, and gold. There is a song sung by a gospel singer named Shana Williams that melodically recites the chant…

If I can just press, press in your presence 

behold the beauty of your face

If I can just press, press in your presence 

and never leave this place again

If I can just press, press in your presence 

and leave all my cares behind me 

I will behold, I’ll still believe, I will just lay, Lay at your feet

For I will behold, I’ll still believe, 

I will just praise, Praise at your feet 

I will behold, I’ll still believe, 

I will just lay, Lay at your feet

For I will behold, I’ll still believe, 

I will just praise, 

Praise at your feet

Right Here In Your Presence

and maybe that should be our prayer today. Maybe our prayer should go something like, “Lord I know salvation is found in your presence, I know peace is found in your presence, I know love and joy which is better than happiness is found in your presence, so teach me how to press Lord directly, unceasingly, unwaveringly, unmistakenly and immutable into your presence.

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