"For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock."
Psalm 27:5
David begins this wonderful psalm with the words, “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?” (Psalm 27:1). And the rhetorical answer David is looking for is, “NO ONE!”
The wording in this verse shows us that David is not talking about a lost man, but he is referring to the man or woman who has a personal relationship with God. He is speaking of the person to whom God has shown His light, and now there is salvation. So the relationship between this believer and God is settled. (Let me encourage you to read the rest of this psalm.) As we look at our verse for today please note the security between the LORD and His child.
“For in the time of trouble.”
David didn’t say, “if you should happen have trouble,” or “maybe you will, maybe you won’t have any trouble.” No, he said, “it’s coming!” “For in the time of trouble!” When you are in trouble. When you are bowed down in affliction, when you are completely surrounded by trouble, here’s what your God will do…
“He shall hide me in His pavilion.”
To be hidden by God is to be placed in a secret place that is safe from danger and to be protected there. This is a place where no foe can harm. This place is God’s pavilion, His tent, His dwelling place. When I am with Him no one can harm me. Those who are with Him in His pavilion He treats as His family.
“In the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me.”
Albert Barnes says that the tabernacle is the “most private part of His dwelling.” This is the secret place where no stranger can go. “Nothing…can more beautifully describe the protection which God will give to His friends than the idea of thus admitting them to the secret apartments of His own dwelling-place.”1 His friends have sanctuary there.
“He shall set me up upon a rock.”
His child is placed where no enemy can find him! He’s safe, secure, and in no danger at all. The elevation protects him. He’s on a rock! “How blessed is the standing of the man whom God Himself sets on high above his foes upon an impregnable rock, which never can be stormed!”—Spurgeon.2
Believer, God provides for you a pavilion, a tent, and a rock! All of these are where there is no danger to you. Won’t you trust Him? When you are in a dangerous predicament, He offers you the best shelter.
1. Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible, electronic version in eSword.
2. The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary, electronic version in eSword. Quoting C. H. Spurgeon.