Aeron Morgan emphasizes the transcendence and majesty of God, El Elyon, as revealed in Psalms 91. He highlights the security and refuge found in God for those who trust in Him, contrasting the despair of Psalms 90 with the hope and assurance in Psalms 91. Morgan encourages believers to dwell in the secret place of the Most High, affirming that God is supreme and in control of all things, and that nothing can stand against those who are in His care. He calls for a passionate love for God and His Word, urging the church to return to a deeper understanding of God's nature and holiness. Ultimately, Morgan reassures that God, as El Elyon, is our protector and source of strength in times of trouble.

We have taken as our theme for this series of camp meetings the infinite majesty of God. And last night we introduced ourselves to this theme. And in this first session this morning, it's really the first part of three messages that I will bring to you today on the majesty of God as seen in Psalm 91. If you'll turn to that, please. And in this particular session, the majesty and the glory of God's transcendence. There's no one like our God. Hallelujah. And in Psalm 91, 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. Turn over to the New Testament for a moment. In Romans chapter 8, verse 28, we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, who are the called according to His purpose. Verse 31, what shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Down to verse 37, nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. Friends, if God be for us, then let hell do whatever it may. Praise the Lord. Now, before I come to the opening verses of this Psalm 91, I must make a brief comment on the previous psalm. Psalm 90. A psalm that appears to give rise to certain pessimism and helplessness and hopelessness as one views man's brief life here upon earth, man's frailty in the light of God's eternity and thus the seeming futility of man's existence. And it's all the more pathetic because man is a sinner and he is totally out of harmony with his Maker. So you'll notice what the psalmist says in Psalm 90, verses 7-9, We are consumed by your anger and are terrified by your wrath. You have set our unjust ways before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence, for all our days are ebbing away under your wrath. Oh, it's a pathetic psalm really. Not that Psalm 90 is totally depressing. It's attributed not to David but to Moses. See, not all the psalms are David's psalms. Very often we think they are. They are not. We have psalms of Asaph and others and we have this Psalm 90 which is the psalm of Moses described as the man of God, a man whose faith in God cannot be doubted. And he begins this psalm with God as his home. Thou hast been our dwelling place so that in Him everything is secure. And he concludes this psalm with God as his hope. In a plea for God's loving kindness, notice in verse 14, Oh, satisfy us early with your mercy that we may rejoice and be glad all of our days. Verse 17, And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. It's an appeal by Moses for a manifestation of God's loving favor. Because if God is not so disposed toward us in kindness and mercy and love and grace, then we will be hopelessly and forever lost. We would never survive, friends, this morning were it not for the providences of a merciful God. The God who comes to us in His grace to lift us up, to save us, to sanctify us as our home. A God who comes to secure a stable basis for our work as we seek also to serve Him. And so Moses prays there in verse 17, And you, Lord, establish the work of our hands upon us and how we need the supply of God's all-sufficient grace in order to accomplish His will. Now, coming into Psalm 91, what a refreshing atmosphere it is. And it's a further encouragement for us to trust in God. Now, I understand that Jewish scholars consider that when the author's name is not mentioned, we may assign the psalm to the last named writer. And if that's the case, then here is another psalm of Moses. Not David's psalm, the psalm of Moses. And what a psalm, Psalm 91, so full of serenity and security and salvation. It's a reminder of Paul's words as we read them this morning, that since God is for us, who can be against us? And what is implied there, against us effectually. Oh yes, the devil is against us. And I tell you, there are a lot of evil men against us. But if God be for us, who can be against us effectually? Because our God is with us. And the psalm affirms the absolute security of those who put their trust in God. Now, I'm not going to expound the whole psalm. It will be sufficient for us today to just look at verses 1 and 2, where we have the confession of faith. A clear statement in respect of the security of those whose abiding trust is in a God whom He knows. And a God who knows us. The confession of faith in verses 1 and 2. Let's just go on through that psalm for a moment, because from verse 3 down to verse 8, without reading it, there is the conviction of faith. For here you have firm personal convictions as to what God will do for those who trust Him, and what He protects us from. I'm glad I know God. Hallelujah! I'm glad I belong to Him. And down from verse 9 to 13, we have the consequence of faith. He says, because in verse 9, because you have made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most high your habitation, there shall no evil befall you. And He goes on to say, there are good things that always follow our simple trust in the Lord, who is splendidly revealed in this very psalm. The consequence of faith. And the remaining verses, verses 14 to 16, we have the confirmation of faith. And here, it's not so much the psalmist sharing his own personal conviction, but rather he is uttering what God Himself assures us of when we lovingly confide in Him. It's God as much speaking to us in these end verses of the psalm, in answer to our love and devotion and simple adoring trust. These incredible divine affirmations. Notice them. I will deliver Him. I will answer Him. I will be with Him. I will deliver Him. I will honor Him. I will satisfy Him. I will show Him my salvation. O praise the Lord! But back to the first two verses. Because they convey to us a glorious revelation of God. It's our unity with Him that makes for powerful living and for abiding fruitfulness. Listen to them. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall lodge 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. I'm going to open that up to you in these sessions today. This profound confession of faith which reveals an incredible understanding that Moses has of the nature of God, the majesty, the glory of God. God revealed Himself to this man because of the passion of Moses' heart to know God. When you go back to Exodus 33, verses 12 and 13, a truly remarkable expression by Moses when it says that Moses said to the Lord, You say to me, Bring up this people whom You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, I know You by name. And You have also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, says Moses, I pray to You, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way in order that I may know You. That I might find grace in Your sight and consider that this nation is Your people. And then Moses pleads in verse 18, O Lord, show me Your glory. It's a fearful prayer to pray. Show me Your glory. And listen, God does not say no. God does not say no. But what is God's initial response? You'll find it there in verse 19, I will make all my goodness pass before You and I will proclaim the name of the Lord, Jehovah, before You. It's then that God says, You cannot see my face because no one can directly see me with their physical eye and live. My face shall not be seen. Now that gives me an answer and I don't want to digress because I haven't got the time to digress to Jacob when he was wrestling with God at Peniel. And God says to him, Let me go because it's the breaking of the day. What's that got to do with it? Well, because in the night watches, it was only the dim outline of the form of God that He beheld. But if the morning sun would rise and this man, Jacob, would look upon the face of God, he would instantly perish. Let me go, says God. It's the dawning of the day. What did Jacob say? I'm not going to let you go. I'd rather die than be without you. That's what he says in effect. Here is Moses. God says, I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. Moses did have a revelation of God's glory. A revelation of the nature of God. It's more than now a sight of God's physical glory. The glory of God, friends, is more than the outward expression of light. God is light. God is a consuming fire. He's in that burning bush as a symbol of fire. But He's more than that. I tell you then this morning, they but symbolize what God is in His inmost nature. This pure, this infinitely holy, majestic God. Hallelujah. And that is who Moses perceived. And so in Exodus 34 and verses 5 and 6, it says, the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. In other words, He revealed Himself to Moses. He made known His name and the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed, Lord, Lord God. He says, Jehovah, Jehovah Elohim. And Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth and worshipped. What else can you do, friends, when you've had a revelation of the Most High? But to worship before Him. When you've had a revelation of His majesty, of His sovereignty, of His truthfulness, of His holiness, of His mercy, of His forgiveness, of His justice. And it's all here. And you can only bow your heart in honor of God's awesome presence and worship. I pray that I can leave with you during these couple of days some small deposit in respect of the greatness of God. That we might all, including me, be stirred to a deeper personal knowledge of God. Having within us what Henry Scowgill describes as a raging and unextinguishable thirst, an immaterial fire being no longer dazzled with glittering vanities, would fix on that supreme and all sufficient good, where it would discover such beauty and sweetness as would charm and overpower all our affection. Oh, what a marvelous expression of the heart of a man of God. To have such a burning passion to know Him. Everything else means nothing. So that this must be our chiefest pursuit. To know God for who He is. And that is why, friends, in our churches there is a need for our pastors and our people to get back to the book. To love it and live it and obey it. To be governed by it. To imbibe its perfect counsel. Through it to be brought into that greater understanding of the God whom we worship. Because as we were intimating last night, the goal of the gospel is to make us like unto God in moral wholeness. That's why Christ died for us. Not just to make us happy. Not just to give us peace. There are many wonderful things that we have in the gospel. But listen, above and beyond all things, He has saved us to make us like God. That is in moral wholeness. In holiness. Could I just mention two things here then? First, there are things which we must passionately love. And I could give you scriptures for all the things that I would mention. We must have a surpassing love for God. We must have a passionate love for the Lord Jesus. We must have a love for the Word of God. We must have a love of the truth and deep affection for the pure gospel of Christ. And not a perversion of it. We must have a love for biblical holiness. We must have a love and a care for one another as fellow members of the body of Christ. We must have a love for sacrificial labor in the work of God. We must have a love for Christ appearing. Does that describe you and me this morning? Do we have these loves within us? There are things which we must passionately love. But then, there are things which we must just as passionately refuse to love. And again, the Bible is clear. We must not love money. We must not love the world. We must not love high things. Don't be ambitious, or don't court the rich or the powerful. Take a church today, they have a lounge just off the fire. It's a VIP lounge. But you can only go in there if you are a member of their 100K club. That is, that you give a hundred thousand dollars to the church per annum. That's not in America, that's in Australia and on the Sunshine Coast. Have they ever read James? See the people that come in with the gold and looking very affluent. Oh, come and sit here. We'll look after you. Then some poor person comes out. You can sit there. You don't matter so much. And friends, we must vehemently hate all evil, all iniquity, because it's by this means alone as we hate these things that we will honor and please our Lord. Just remember with me this morning that God is most glorified in you and me when we are most satisfied with Him and with Him alone. Hallelujah. With His ways, with His will, with His Word. And it's only this rediscovery of this infinite splendor of God that can remedy the current situation of the church and bring us back to where we should be as a church in these crucial times. And I tell you, if you will love the Lord your God with all of your heart, come to know Him for who He is and hate everything that is in opposition to Him. Oh, the world will lose its attraction as we are taken up with Him, as we gaze upon Him. We shall be changed into His same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. The impact, the impact of seeing God is unquestionably profound. That's why these opening verses yield such a remarkable summary of the principal names of God. These two verses gather up the unique glory that belongs to Him. They deserve attention. We are going to give attention to them. Four names that show us what God is like in His inmost nature. Now, these four names are comprehended in just two simple little verses at the beginning of this psalm. They are names, of course, which are progressively unfolded in the book of Genesis. And there they are revealed in a different order. First of all, there is Elohim. In the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and the earth. And it is not until you come halfway into chapter 2 you are introduced to the next name, and that is Jehovah. And coupled with Elohim, Jehovah Elohim, the Lord God. And then you go on a little further in Genesis and you come to Abraham and Melchizedek and we are introduced to El Elyon, the Most High God. And just a couple of chapters after that and you have Abraham has a revelation of the Almighty El Shaddai. Four principal names which reveal to us God in His inmost nature. There are, of course, other principal names of God which reveal Him in His relation to His creatures. We have Adonai, the owner, the proprietor. It is the Lord, but different to Jehovah. And then we have El Olam, the everlasting God. And then we have the Lord of hosts, Jehovah Sebaoth, the Lord of hosts. But observe these four names that are given to us in these two verses. He that dwells in the secret place of El Elyon shall abide under the shadow of El Shaddai. I will say of Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress, my Elohim. In Him will I trust. Give me just a little time to observe the first of these names. El Elyon. He who dwells in the secret place of El Elyon. The first part, El, the name for God in the Old Testament found more than 200 times and translated power or mighty. And it portrays one who is powerful, the mighty one. And here it is coupled with Elyon, El Elyon. A name meaning elevated or lofty. And it is a title implying one who is supreme. He transcends all and everything in the universe. He is above all, elevated there, transcendent above all. There is none like unto our God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. God is represented as the highest. The highest. It is the name that associates Him with all peoples because He made the world and all that is therein. The world this morning is His rightful possession to rule this world as He wills. We have many today who are saying, why bring God into it? How can you leave Him out? We may say we'll have nothing to do with God, but only a fool says that. The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. In the Hebrew, it doesn't say there is no God, it simply says no God. So it's not only the atheist who does not believe in God's existence, but it's the person who says, there may be a God, but He's not my God. I'll have nothing to do with Him. He's a fool. That's what the Bible says. The world is His rightful possession. Come back to Melchizedek and Abraham who had such a profound understanding of this. And this is where we have the first mention of God in scripture as the most high. Genesis chapter 14 and verses 19 and 20. It says concerning Abraham who came to Melchizedek, the high priest, Melchizedek blessed him and said, Blessed be Abraham of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be the most high God who has delivered your enemies into your hand. So in affirming, El Elyon, to be the possessor, the originating cause, the founder, the architect of heaven and earth. Melchizedek, he combines two realities. One, that God is the creator and He is the upholder of all things. That's one reason why I took those verses from Romans chapter 8 and you'll notice in each of those verses, verse 28, verse 31 and verse 37, it talks about the all things. All things work together for good. Why? Because of El Elyon. The supreme God who is above all things. He can cause them all to come together in the fulfillment of His will for you in your life. Not just the good things, even the bad things. Without exposition like in the life of Joseph who told his brothers, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. So cheer up. What shall we say to these things if God before us? Who can be against us? El Elyon is the highest. He transcends all powers and all things. He is the creator and the upholder of all things. He is upholding me this morning. And listen, He is upholding you too. And also, He owns all things. He owns everything. All I am and have belongs to Him. So it says in verse 22 of Genesis 14, Abram said to the king of Sodom, I've lifted up my hand unto Jehovah, the most high God, that is El Elyon, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoe latchet, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich. And so with an uplifted hand, Abraham, he vowed before he went to the battle that if God would give him success, if God would honor him, give him victory, he would honor God. And he would deny the right to take to himself anything of the spoils of war. He would not touch the property of Sodom. And it seems in that, friends, Abraham felt there must have been a real danger of moral corruption in coming into any supportive relationship with those doomed cities. And listen, this man of God would not sell his soul for the world's uncertain riches. He would not distort his clear testimony of the Lord's blessings upon his life. No, he said, I'll trust God. I'll trust God. We may well be in recession as a nation, as there is a global recession, so they say. But I'm trusting God. As I honor God, God is going to undertake for me. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Because God has made an inviolable covenant with Abraham to bless him and to make him great to the ends of the earth. And God help us this morning, friends, to maintain a like separation from the world. We must have a right attitude of heart toward riches and toward the things of this life which are so apt to take the heart away from God, to draw away the affections from Christ and things above, things of this world that will choke the Word and lead us into many temptations and harmful lusts. And God's Word is so full of warnings to us. Psalm 62 verse 10, Trust not in oppression, become not vain in robbery, if riches increase, set not your heart upon them. I know I could give you many of the Scriptures. Jesus, not the least, who said, No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to the one and despise the other. He said so clearly, emphatically, you cannot serve God and mammon. That's why Paul said, I have coveted no one's silver or gold or clothing. And that's when Peter and John came up to the temple, they said to that man who was lame from his mother's womb, who was from birth, he said, silver and gold have we none. He didn't have a yacht parked down at Galilee. He had no private jet. I have coveted no one's silver or gold or clothing, said Paul. Let me assure you this morning, friends, you can trust the Lord to unfailingly furnish you with all that you ever need, in order that you might walk before Him and fulfill His holy will. Praise the Lord. So, this is Eleleon. He's the most high, the one to whom belongs all authority to rule and to do whatever He wills with men or angels, whether they willingly bow to His revealed will or even should they willfully oppose, totally refuse to comply with His will. And to illustrate this, you have Nebuchadnezzar. What an insight that pagan received by a revelation from God. That God is the most high, Eleleon. And that He will ever be the most high. Listen to what he says. Daniel chapter 4, verses 34 and 35. At the end of days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes unto heaven. He had been seven years, friends, as a wild beast under the judgment of God where his nails grew as talons and everything about him was so unkempt and disgraceful. He was just wild. He lost his mind under the judgment of God. The man who said, Look at me. Look what I have built. Look what I have done according to my power. God says, I'll show you. And then God graciously came to him after seven years. And it says, at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes unto heaven and my understanding returned unto me. And I blessed El Elyon, the most high. And I praised and honored him who lives forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion. And his kingdom is from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. And he does according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. And none can restrain than literally smite his hand or say, what are you doing? The meaning is very plain, friends. God is supreme. He is supreme. He can and He will do whatever He pleases to do in His universe. But more, for what He determines to do cannot be other than good because it is founded in the perfection of His nature. God said to Moses, I'll cause all my goodness to pass before you. The glory of God's perfectly good, holy nature. I know that the ways of God very often seem to us to be very mysterious. But yet, in that perfection of His nature, we have the utmost confidence that all He does will be righteous. Now, early morning prayer meeting this morning, we had that beautiful word that was brought to us from Jeremiah. The Lord, our righteousness. The Lord is righteous. The Lord is always right. He always does what is right. He can never do anything that is wrong. He cannot even think a wrong thought. What a God, friends. And He is transcendent. He is above all. You know, I wonder sometimes if there's an idea abroad that God is ever trying to break into man's world. That somehow He's out of touch. Or that God sometimes might be rubbing His hands in frustration as He watches the works of evil, of godless men. That's a lie. That's a lie. Whatever man may do, and in spite of the tragic effects of Adam's transgression in the Garden of Eden, and the entry of sin into our world, God is still El Elyon. The problems in the Middle East are not going to be solved, friends, by Obama. He seems to be the answer to all the problems at the moment. They've just about deified him. It's like an Obama cult. But the future, friends, in the Middle East does not belong to the United Nations. They can bring anybody they like in there. They can have as many conferences as they like. El Elyon is in control. And he's going to wind it all up. Hamas is no problem to him. Hezbollah is no problem to him. Islam is no problem to him. Their Allah is no problem to him. El Elyon reigns. He is transcendent. Hallelujah. And his position, friends, as El Elyon can never be usurped, even though there are attempts. And in the past, of course, Lucifer, he coveted this position of supreme elevation and authority. He said, I will exalt my... Notice it. Isaiah 14, verses 12 and 14. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will be like El Elyon. Significant, isn't it? But he failed in his attempt. Because there is none that can force out El Elyon from his sovereign position. The Antichrist, who will soon arise, he's in the wings, I believe, waiting to come into center stage. So far on are we in the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. And he will step onto the scene. And he says, he will profess himself to be as God. And will command worship as God in the temple. But his end is sure. As quickly as he will arise, so as quickly he will be dealt with, consumed by those flaming eyes of Christ, when Christ comes back to reign upon earth. And set up his kingdom of righteousness and peace. Praise the Lord. The encouraging word for us this morning, as I conclude, is that if we are dwelling, if we are remaining in this concealed place of El Elyon, he that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, not only is it impossible for man to touch us there, but neither can the devil. Paul tells us that our place is to be hid with Christ in God. That's surely the safest place in all of the universe, above principalities and above powers. Enjoying the serenity and the safety of the secret place of El Elyon. Praise the Lord. Isn't that good news this morning? To know God as the transcendent One. Oh the majesty, oh the glory of His supremacy. His superiority. And it is in Him we trust this morning. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous runneth into it and are safe. Aren't you glad that El Elyon is for you? Should we have any fears when we know that the Most High is with us? That He is overshadowing us? He is vindicating for us? He is defending us? El Elyon is not going to fail you. You can trust Him.