Scripture Verse

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Introduction

Words: From Bi­ble Songs, re­vised and en­larged ed­it­ion (Pitts­burgh, Penn­syl­van­ia: Unit­ed Pres­by­te­ri­an Board of Pu­bli­ca­tion, 1901), num­ber 184.

Music: Tal­lis’ Ca­non Tho­mas Tal­lis, in The Whole Psal­ter Trans­lat­ed in­to Eng­lish Metre, by Mat­thew Par­ker, 1560 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tunes:

portrait
Thomas Tallis (1505–1585)

Lyrics

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 of the Lord my God will say,
He is my refuge and my stay;
To Him for safety I will flee;
My God, in Him my trust will be.

He shall with all protecting care
Preserve thee from the fowler’s snare;
When fearful plagues around prevail,
No fatal stroke shall thee assail.

His outspread pinions shall thee hide;
Beneath His wings shalt thou confide;
His faith­ful­ness shall ever be
A shield and buckler unto thee.

No nightly terrors shall alarm;
No deadly shaft by day shall harm;
Nor pestilence that walks by night,
Nor plagues that waste in noonday light.

A thousand at thy side shall lie,
At thy right hand ten thousand die;
But thou unharmed, secure, shalt see
What wicked men’s reward shall be.

Because thy trust is God alone,
Thy dwelling place the Highest One,
No evil shall upon thee come,
Nor plague approach thy guarded home.

O’er thee His angels He commands
To bear thee safely in their hands,
To keep thee in thy ways each one,
Nor dash thy foot against a stone.

“Thy foot shall crush the adder’s head,
On lions and on dragons tread;
And since on Me he set his love,
I will his constant Sav­ior prove.

“Because to him My name is dear,
I’ll him exalt above all fear.
To Me he’ll lift his earnest cry
And I will answer from on high.

I will be near when troubles press;
I’ll save Him, and with honors bless;
With life he satisfied shall be,
And My sal­va­tion he shall see.