Summer 1996
Thou Art My Hiding Place
Charles Haun

"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 Psalmist is here speaking of one who abides under the impact of the Almighty, rather than he who lives under the impact of life's storms.

In Psalm 61:4 David said, "I will trust ("make my refuge") in the covert (same as "the secret place" in Psalm 91:1) of Thy wings." This is a place provided by God in which the troubled heart may put its trust. David said, "Jehovah is my hiding place (seter) ... from trouble" Psalm 32:7.

There is no better hiding place. Here, the Lord will hide us away from the conspiracies of man (Psalm 31:20a). Here, we will be safely hidden. In Jeremiah 36:26, we read that the Lord so effectively hid Baruch and Jeremiah that the king himself could not find them.

In II Chronicles, chapter 22, we have another word (haba), meaning that Joash was taken from one place and brought to another, specifically for the purpose of hiding. He was brought from a bedchamber (verse 11) to the house of God. Although this was a public place, Joash was not found.

"And he was with them hid in the house of
God six years" II Chron 22:12.

In contrast, the same word is used in verse 9, "and he sought Ahazia, and they caught him, for he was hid in Samaria." Our own place of safety will never be as effective as that which God provides.

We come to a third word; in Psalm 31:20b the word "secretly" (tsephen)
means "as a hid treasure." This reveals God's evaluation of the one in the secret place. He does not want His treasure damaged. In Psalm 27:5 it is again used, "He shall hide me as a treasure in His pavilion." The secret place of the Lord is unique in many ways.

What is the way to this secret place? The answer is in Isaiah 49:2, "In the shadow of His hand hath He hid me." The word here is (haba). "He has brought me from one place to another in order to hide me."

This means that there was an activity on the Lord's part, as He did something. The preposition "in" is the Hebrew letter "bet" prefixed to "shadow." This Hebrew preposition is also "with." Since there is some sort of action in the verb "hid" (the bringing from one place to another) the preposition "with" is better suited for this expression.

With the shadow of His hand, the Lord does something, He brings us from one place to another place. The word "shadow" is used (darkness, or unpleasantries). These are designed to press us from our present position into Himself.

"He made darkness His secret place. His pavilion
round about him are dark waters and thick clouds
of the skies" Psalm 18:11.

To get to the secret place, we must be brought by the Lord, to where He is. Jeremiah said, "He has led me and brought me into darkness, but not into light." The thick cloud was upon Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:16). The people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was" Exodus 20:21. Many do not have the courage, the stamina, nor the faith to move into the secret place.

I first approached this darkness of God in 1954. It seemed that He was not in it, nor did there seem to be any meaning to it. Prayer and Bible reading offered no help. I was a Bible school student, preparing for the ministry. The sense of the glory of His presence that I had known for so long was no longer with me.

Seemingly, the only thing left for me to do was to turn away and forget about the ministry. On a Sunday, I decided to attend the Chapel services, and Monday, I would leave for home. In the morning Chapel service, a teacher ministered on "waiting for God."

Therefore, I went to my room to wait for God. In my dilemma, the Holy Spirit spoke to me, the first time that I ever heard the voice of the Holy Spirit. He said, "Isaiah 43." I had no idea what was in Isaiah 43, but I looked. Since no verse was given me, I began to read from the first verse. Through that, the Lord gave me the courage, strength, and faith to follow Him to the secret place.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with
you; and through the rivers, they shall not
overflow you. When you walk through the fire,
you shall not be burned, neither shall the flame
kindle upon you" Isa 43:2.

This did not bring me out of darkness, but it gave me what I needed to walk through darkness. For two years, I walked without the conscious presence of God, and I would do it again. I would go for however long it takes; for God built within me a trust and faith in Him that I cannot explain. He brought me into His secret place.

If you are in a difficult place, read this Chapter in Isaiah, take courage, and rest in your trust in Him. The Lord will meet you there.