He Is Our Hiding Place

Psalm 27: 1 – 14

He Is our Hiding Place

A Psalm of David.

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. 3 Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident. 4 One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple. 5 For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. 6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. 7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me and answer me. 8 When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.” 9 Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. 10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take care of me. 11 Teach me Your way, O LORD, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. 12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathe out violence. 13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!

In today’s Psalm David seeks our Holy Father Yahweh’s protection. He wants to find a hiding a place with our Omnipotent Holy Ruler from his enemies.

Have you ever heard of the life of Corrie ten Boom? It is a powerful life experience of a Christian family who suffered the extreme hardships of the Nazi’s. She shared the awful treatment that they went through in her book The Hiding Place.

One sunny day in January 1937 in Haarlem, Holland, the ten Boom celebrates the one-hundredth year of their in-home watch shop together with most of the town. The three family members who live in the tiny house, father ten Boom and his daughters Betsie and Corrie, prepare for the busy day after sharing breakfast and devotions with their three employees, Hans the apprentice, Toos the bookkeeper and Christoffels the repairman. This family shares a deep love for each other, devotion to their Christian faith and warm, generous hearts for the whole community. The party mood dampens as people discuss the threat of Hitler his campaign of German expansion and Holland’s role amidst the larger powers of Europe. Finally, Corrie’s brother Willem joins the gathering with a young Jewish man, Herr Gutlieber, who escaped from Munich after some teenagers attacked him and set fire to his beard. The family rallies round the shocked man and attempt to restore normalcy by resuming the festivities.

As the rescue network continues to expand, Corrie fears that they will be caught. Other instances occur to make Corrie worry, like the seizure a Jewish woman staying in Nollie’s home. Nollie, however, believes that her honest admission of Annaliese’s Jewish heritage will protect both of them. Although Nollie goes to prison, Annaliese miraculously escapes. After Corrie persuades the German doctor of Nollie’s Amsterdam prison, he grants Nollie release on medical grounds. After several scares, the underground resistance residents begin training Corrie to answer Gestapo questions correctly. They also train to reach the hiding place in as little time as possible. Shortly after Willem begins holding prayer meetings the family receives Otto Altschuler unexpectedly. He comes to gloat over the German occupation of Holland. However, Otto’s visit frightens the ten Booms who realize that they must continue their work despite the danger. Her father reads scripture for that day, Psalm 119:114, “Thou art my shield and my hiding place.”

The ten Booms face the beginning of war with the German invasion of Holland in May 1940. After an air raid that could have killed Corrie, she has an ominous vision of her family being taken away in a wagon. Betsie tells her that God shows people the future to show his control over it. Indeed, Corrie and the rest of Holland need that comfort during the German occupation. Nazi rule brings new laws, including curfews, identity papers, ration books, seizure of radios and discrimination and yellow stars for Jewish people. Corrie begins befriending Jewish people who are suffering and sees the danger they face daily. This realization leads Corrie to take part in the Underground more actively.