“Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word."
I know the danger of taking a verse out of context, but some verses are so profound and meaningful that they stand alone within the context of the text. (I hope that didn’t confuse you. :)) I want to share with you what it taught me. The psalmist wrote: “Thou art my hiding place.” If we are not careful, we will misinterpret this statement. It doesn’t mean that we are to hide from the world and all of its challenges. It means that as we face the joys, fears, trials, troubles, etc. of this life, we have one to whom we can flee and take refuge. There is another Psalm that speaks to this: “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…” (Psalm 91:1-2) The sentiment is the same: We have One to whom we can flee in times of trouble and stress and take refuge in Him. When you seek refuge in God/Jesus, by faith, you will know that He is real, and that He will provide a “hiding place.” All of the great saints in the Old and New Testaments knew the value of this refuge. David knew the value of it when he was fleeing from both Saul and Absalom. Those were not good times in David’s life, but he weathered them because He found his refuge in God. One psalm that David wrote while fleeing from Saul stated this: “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.” This can be our prayer as well. Furthermore, the psalmist wrote: “Thou art my hiding place and my shield.” Ephesians 6:16 sheds some light on this statement for us: “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” God Himself is our shield, but it is our faith in Him that makes His protection real to us. Ancient soldiers used shields to protect them from the swords and arrows of their enemies. By faith, we throw up God’s shield when we are beset by Satan and his many temptations. Satan wants to destroy our lives, but we have the protection of God who “will not suffer (us) to be tempted above that (we) are able.” (I Corinthians 10:13) The fact that we have a shield tells us that we are in the midst of battle. Make no mistake about it, we are in a battle. In the midst of battle, we cannot take God lightly and not depend on His power and strength in our lives. We need to learn from Jesus as He faced Satan on the Mount of Temptation: He quoted scripture to Satan with each temptation. (You can read about it in Matthew 4.) With God Himself coming to our aid, with our faith in Him shielding us, we have the weapon of the word of God, which is our sword, to defend us in all of the times of our lives. That’s why the psalmist closed this verse with: “I hope in thy word… ” We have God’s word, the Bible, to tell us what we need to know about Jesus and His importance in our lives. We cannot hope in God’s word, if we do not read and study it. The Bible tells us that we have provision beyond what the world can give! Read it! Believe it! Claim it! Do it! Bro. Joe
3 Comments
Joe Thomas
3/30/2016 06:48:34 am
Thanks Dr. Joe...I shall not be moved! But will continue to make the Lord my hiding place! Blessings to you and Ms. Mary...
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Margaret M Jones
3/30/2016 09:13:42 am
I have found this hiding place, this refuge. Thankful;~)
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Alice Strickland Brock
4/1/2016 09:24:47 pm
I enjoy your blogs! Thanks. Just glad you are doing well and didn't miss a post, I don't think.
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