by Marlin Hotle
Psalm 91:1-16 - He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
The Ninety-first Psalm will always be a favorite for my family. It was the favorite Psalm of my great-grandmother, Della T. Hotle, and was the moto by which she lived her life. From the time God called her into Christian Service as a teenager, she was determined to “dwell in the secret place of the most High, abiding under His shadow.” And it was that dwelling place that kept her faith strong during many difficult trials during her life. It was what held her steady as a young pastor’s wife as she and her husband, Frank, planted storefront mission churches in Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia.
It was what gave her courage when God called them to pioneer a mission work in Central India, where they planted several churches (which are still going strong today), two orphanages, and a leprosy hospital. It brought peace to her spirit when she faced the great famine there in 1902 that took two of her four children due to malnutrition. This passage of Scripture held her steady when her husband had a complete physical breakdown brought on by the stress and they were forced to return to the States. It was her rock as she aided him in his recovery, later to become the president of a Bible School and serve as the founding editor of Evangelistic Faith Mission’s magazine, The Missionary Herald. She leaned hard on it in their twilight years as they pastored various churches and finally, as her husband had a major stroke and became incapacitated.
Following my great-grandfather’s death, she moved in with my grandparents who were pastoring the Evanston Avenue Church in Indianapolis. (Rev. Sam Condon’s home Church.) In the summer of 1953, Grandpa was to lose his mother and wife just weeks apart. Della, my great-grandmother, was the first to die. She was in a comma for several days and the family took turns sitting with her until she passed. At that time, my Mom and Dad lived just two houses down from the parsonage and my Mother often took her turn sitting with Della as they awaited the end. Within a short time after she went in the comma, the stillness was broken as she started quoting the 91st Psalm which had been the source of her strength: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High.” There was silence for several hours, and then her lips moved again. She picked up right where she had left off: “shall abide under the shadow of the almighty.”
Over the next few days there would be silence for a few hours, and then she would begin to quote again, always picking up where she had left off. When she finished the last verse, “With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation,” she went home to be with the Lord who had proven Himself true to the promise. The promise is true! God blesses those who choose to dwell in the place of blessing, the place of His presence!
If you are following our “Daily Bible-Reading Plan,” today's passages are John 9 & Psalm 91.