Psalm 143:9

Psalm 143:9

You are my hiding place

For many casual readers of this Psalm, the idea of “hiding themselves in the Lord” would sound very odd indeed! How do we do this and what does it mean? We can hide ourselves in a castle or a secure building or a forest or even in a crowd, in other words, we feel secure because of what is around us and we are less vulnerable to being discovered by our pursuers. If, like David, we believe in the omnipresence of God then He cannot be escaped from, He is always there and wherever we go His presence is with us. What a comfort, what a joy!

For those who believe in Jesus Christ and who are true children of God there is more to this spiritual security. Paul, in his letters, often refers to our being “in Christ”. Talking about castles and secure places, take note of these words from Ephesians 2: 19—22. “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

Paul is telling us here that we are securely included as building blocks in the best defended structure ever built on earth and that security continues into the heavenly realms. So, we can sing,

“You are my hiding place

You always fill my heart with songs of deliverance

Whenever I am afraid,

I will trust in You, 

I will trust in you,

Let the weak say “I am strong in the strength of the Lord.”

 

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