Any study of human culture will eventually get the subject of where people of a certain culture live. If an anthropologist limited his study to the indigenous peoples of North America, would discover quite a variety of abodes employed by the various groups throughout the continent. The eastern tribes tended to have wooden dwellings because wood was abundantly available and they tended to be stationary. The Hopi tribes of the American Southwest had adobe dwellings, built of mud and wood. Also of note are the cliff dwellings, houses carved literally out of the sides of cliffs. The Lakota tribes of North America became famous for their iconic tipi, a dwelling made of animal skins stretched over poles. The entire thing was designed to be mobile to serve the tribe’s nomadic lifestyle of following the bison herds and warring with neighboring tribes. One man became ill while living with the Lakota and studying their culture. His book remains a classic: Trouble in the Tipis: The Pain Was in Tents.
Dwellings in the Bible lands were distinct, as well, reflecting not only the needs of the various cultures, but also the building materials available to them at the time. Regardless of the time or place, a person’s dwelling says something about the person himself.
An unnamed psalmist mentions dwelling as well, assuring us, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1) The language here speaks not of a cliff dwelling or some sort of mobile tent. Rather, it figuratively refers to the thoughts of men and women. Like our bodies, our minds find places to lodge. Topics, quotes from others, problems to be solved—all these can be dwelling places for our minds. We mull over an issue, we repeat the words of another person, we muse over different ways of coming at problems. All these activities, the psalmist called dwelling.
The inventors of modern social media understood mentally dwelling and produced a system to capitalize on that aspect of humanity. They collected data from every site that a user would visit, tailoring the advertisements and content to fit the user’s interest. For example, there are some YouTube creators whose woodworking channels I follow. Because YouTube has ascertained that I have an interest in woodworking, they inundate me with advertisements that have to do with the topic. If a person has a conservative or progressive bent in his politics, social media will pick up on that and constantly feed him similar content every time he opens a device. This explains why people have become so hard-nosed about whatever they tend to believe. Social media has ensured that they scarcely hear a dissenting voice.
The psalmist spoke of dwelling in the secret place of the most High. For years, many good men have interpreted this idea to mean having a daily time spent in Bible reading and prayer. To be sure, this habit is a necessary place to start, but dwelling in the secret place means more than simply reading my Bible and praying for half an hour every day. Dwelling is different from visiting. Just using the numbers alone, consider this scenario: A man spends 15 minutes reading his Bible and an hour on social media. Where is he dwelling? From the numbers alone, it would appear that he is not in the secret place.
This is not intended to be a tirade against social media. The effects of social media, however, compared to the effects of dwelling in the secret place are markedly different. The psalmist goes to great lengths to describe the effects of dwelling in the secret place.
While the overall tenor of the psalm is positive, this positive outlook is in spite of negative circumstances. “I will say of the LORD, he is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” The importance of a refuge only arises when the elements are inclement. Likewise, only the presence of a marauding army necessitates a fortress. “Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.” A snare is designed to trap an animal by diverting its attention from what it was doing through the lure of something free, usually something to eat. Thus distracted, the animal takes the bait and is trapped or killed. Spiritual snares abound and always have, but they lose their power for the one dwelling in the secret place.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the noisome pestilence… But there must be some caveat, right? This psalm can’t possibly be a promise that God will protect us from disease. In order to understand the promise, we must first of define the key words of the promise. First of all, the word pestilence doesn’t necessarily mean any disease. Cancer, while usually classified as a disease, would not qualify under the definition of pestilence. A pestilence must travel from person to person,[i] in the way that bacteria and viruses are known to do. Second of all, the word deliver must be understood. A possible meaning is that the individual will not catch the contagious disease. Another possible meaning is that the one being delivered will contract the contagion, but will recover from it. Whatever deliverance means will change from person to person, depending upon God’s will for that individual. Of this believers can be certain: no child of God will leave this world until God is through with him or her. However this particular promise plays out in the lives of different people, there is basis for not fearing any disease.
As I write these words in the year of our Lord 2020, there is a lot of press time being given to the subject of disease. The presses have come to control the masses, including, it would seem, those in the masses who know Christ as Savior. Fear of a disease has given many believers an excuse to forsake the assembling of themselves together. Fear of public opinion has motivated others to shrink back from doing the work of God. After going verse by verse through Psalm 91, the reader can only come to this conclusion: Whatever the source of this fear, it is not the secret place of the most High. The secret place gives assurance, calm, confidence, even boldness.
Disease is mentioned more than once in the psalm, each time in a context of God’s deliverance from it. Nor is deliverance limited to the realm of health. The psalmist also speaks of destruction by day and terror by night. These are things we can see coming and things we can’t. In fact, in the midst of destruction all around us, we can be confident that God will protect us. God speaks of a thousand falling at our side and ten thousand at our right hand. These are not falling because the psalmist killed them; rather they are falling due to negative circumstances around him. In spite of the carnage around him, the psalmist assures his reader: “It shall not come nigh thee.”
No one will argue the fact that 2020 has been an unprecedented year for the world. Most disturbing about the events that this year has brought has not been the machinations of evil men and women. After all, they will wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. What has been most disturbing is to see how many Christians have given way to panic, falsehoods, and hysteria. Bad circumstances, including disease and riot, will come from time to time; but God remains faithful through it all. The question that each believer must answer is this: Where will I allow my mind to dwell?
© 2020 Paul Crow. All rights reserved. Used by Permission.
[i] https://www.dictionary.com/browse/pestilence?s=t and https://www.dictionary.com/browse/epidemic?s=t.
