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And yet, in the fifth verse of this same Psalm, he says:
"In the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret of His
tabernacle shall He hide me" (Psa. 27: 5).
In Psalm 31:, which is in some respects parallel with Psalm 27:, we find David
in great trouble. Nets have been spread for him, he was a reproach among his
neighbours, and forgotten like a dead man out of mind. Slander and fear and adverse
counsel were on every side. In such a predicament he says, in verse 5: "Into Thine hand
I commit my spirit; Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth." And in verse 15:
"My times are in Thy hand." Rejoicing in the goodness of the Lord which he had "laid
up" (the same word as "hide") for them that fear Him, the Psalmist passes on from the
thought of the "hidden" goodness, to that of the "hidden" ones, and so he concludes:
"Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt
keep them secretly ("hide") in a pavilion from the strife of tongues" (Psa. 31: 19, 20).
Perhaps some may object that, while David with his great faith and experience could
take such a stand, such cannot be expected of the general run of believers. As an answer,
the reader should notice verse 22 in which the Psalmist cries: "I said in my haste, I am
cut off from Thine eyes." Yet the Lord heard him and preserved him.
In Psalm 143: we read "Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies; I flee unto Thee
to hide me" (Psa. 143: 9). The Margin here reads: "Heb. hide me with Thee", while
Dr. W. Kay renders the passage:
"To Thee have I confided (my all)"--with the footnote: Lit. Unto Thee have I hidden,
i.e., with Thee have I deposited my cause; secretly and silently, suppressing all angry
feeling against man."
Keble's rendering is similar: "I have hid all with Thee", while Young's literal
translation reads: "Near Thee I am covered." It is outside our present scope and purpose
to enter into questions of translation. The reader will, however, be able to see something
of the implications here even though a full understanding of the passage must await fuller
examination.
We have already discussed the question of "fear" in relation to "hiding". There is one
further passage which might well be included under this heading, in Prov. 22: 3, "A
prudent man foreseeth evil, and hideth himself". This same word, "hide", is also found in
other passages, as follows:
"Hide me under the shadow of Thy wings" (Psa. 17: 8).
"In the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me" (Psa. 27: 5).
"Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked" (Psa. 64: 2).
"Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth . . . . . it may be ye shall be hid in the day
of the Lord's anger" (Zeph. 2: 3).