Come and Hide
COME MY PEOPLE, ENTER THOU INTO THY CHAMBERS........HIDE THYSELF...
Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee.
Perfect peace is something that most of us can not even begin to imagine. I myself feel flushed in the face thinking of how I often struggle with my own burdens, honestly not having cast them upon my Lord.
I believe I found a special secret today while meditating on Isaiah Chapter 26. I know the Lord brought me here because I've been going through quite a struggle while in the midst of this trial God has allowed in my life. I didn't realize it until afterwards, that in the early morning I had spent the better part of an hour worrying about things instead of casting my burden upon the Lord.
I prayed in earnest asking God's forgiveness for worry and then asking for His help in allowing me to cast my burdens on him.
And then, POW! There it was, staring me right in the face was Isaiah 26:20 : "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast"
And then, POW! There it was, staring me right in the face was Isaiah 26:20 : "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast"
Continue in the faith.
Perseverance is the badge of true saints. The Christian life is not abeginning only in the ways of God, but also a continuance in the same as long as life lasts. It is with a Christian as it was with the great Napoleon: he said, “Conquest has made me what I am, and conquest must maintain me.” So, under God, dear brother in the Lord, conquest has made you what you are, and conquest must sustain you. Your motto must be, “Excelsior.” He only is a true conqueror, and shall be crowned at the last, who continueth till war’s trumpet is blown no more. Perseverance is, therefore, the target of all our spiritual enemies. The world does not object to your being a Christian for a time, if she can but tempt you to cease your pilgrimage, and settle down to buy and sell with her in Vanity Fair. The flesh will seek to ensnare you, and to prevent your pressing on to glory. “It is weary work being a pilgrim; come, give it up. Am I always to be mortified? Am I never to be indulged? Give me at least a furlough from this constant warfare.”Satan will make many a fierce attack on your perseverance; it will be the mark for all his arrows. He will strive to hinder you in service: he will insinuate that you are doing no good; and that you want rest. He will endeavour to make you weary of suffering, he will whisper, “Curse God, and die.” Or he will attack your steadfastness: “What is the good of being so zealous? Be quiet like the rest; sleep as do others, and let your lamp go out as the other virgins do.” Or he will assail your doctrinal sentiments: “Why do you hold to these denominational creeds? Sensible men are getting more liberal; they are removing the old landmarks: fall in with the times.” Wear your shield, Christian, therefore, close upon your armour, and cry mightily unto God, that by His Spirit you may endure to the end."
Oh the Lord is so good. Yesterday I'm to get into the fight, yet now, as my heart is troubled, you're showing me to come and hide. Come and hide... NOT to go and hide... Praise God.
I believe God wants us, and clearly teaches us that there are times when he wants us, commands us to come in out of the storm, and lock ourselves away in our closet in prayer (Matthew 6:6) and to stay there hidden with him for a short time. Isaiah 26:20; Psalms 27:5; 2 Cor 6:17.
The times when I know I'm to hide (literally) is after a tremendous battle and the enemy is retaliating, mustering his forces; when the storm approaches. This is when God tells me, "Look, child, the battle is mine, it is now time to hide, to enter into your chambers and wait and watch the mighty hand of God. Noah hid in the ark. Elijah hid at the brook Cherith and the children of Israel, after painting the doorposts with blood, hid while waiting for the angel of death to pass over. David hid in the cave. And Paul experienced and wrote about being hid with Christ in God. Col 3:3. We all know where our secret hiding place is. It may even be going into a bathroom stall for a moment if you're at work. Where ever, When ever it may be. God will show you when, where, and how to come into your hiding place.
Praise God. I'm hiding here in my dwelling, literally, God has given me this time to stay indoors and stay in prayer and wait for God to move. Praise God.
Please share this wonderful commentary by Matthew Henry on Isaiah 26:20:
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Oh the Lord is so good. Yesterday I'm to get into the fight, yet now, as my heart is troubled, you're showing me to come and hide. Come and hide... NOT to go and hide... Praise God.
I believe God wants us, and clearly teaches us that there are times when he wants us, commands us to come in out of the storm, and lock ourselves away in our closet in prayer (Matthew 6:6) and to stay there hidden with him for a short time. Isaiah 26:20; Psalms 27:5; 2 Cor 6:17.
The times when I know I'm to hide (literally) is after a tremendous battle and the enemy is retaliating, mustering his forces; when the storm approaches. This is when God tells me, "Look, child, the battle is mine, it is now time to hide, to enter into your chambers and wait and watch the mighty hand of God. Noah hid in the ark. Elijah hid at the brook Cherith and the children of Israel, after painting the doorposts with blood, hid while waiting for the angel of death to pass over. David hid in the cave. And Paul experienced and wrote about being hid with Christ in God. Col 3:3. We all know where our secret hiding place is. It may even be going into a bathroom stall for a moment if you're at work. Where ever, When ever it may be. God will show you when, where, and how to come into your hiding place.
Praise God. I'm hiding here in my dwelling, literally, God has given me this time to stay indoors and stay in prayer and wait for God to move. Praise God.
Please share this wonderful commentary by Matthew Henry on Isaiah 26:20:
"
Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. These two verses are supposed not to belong to the song which takes up the rest of the chapter, but to begin a new matter, and to be rather an introduction to the following chapter than the conclusion of this. Of whereas, in the foregoing song, the people of God had spoken to him, complaining of their grievances, here he returns an answer to their complaints, in which, I. He invites them into their chambers (Isaiah 26:20): "Come, my people,come to me, come with me" (he calls them nowhere but where he himself will accompany them); "let the storm that disperses others bring you nearer together. Come, and enter into thy chambers; stay not abroad, lest you be caught in the storm, as the Egyptians in the hail," Exodus 9:21. 1. "Come into chambers ofdistinction; come into your own apartments, and continue not any longer mixed with the children of Babylon. Come out from among them, and be you separate,"2 Corinthians 6:17,Re+18:4. If God has set apart those that are godly for himself, they ought to set themselves apart. 2. "Into chambers of defence, in which by the secresy or the strength of them you may be safe in the worst of times." The attributes of God are the secret of his tabernacle, Psalms 27:5. His name is a strong tower, into which we may run for shelter, Proverbs 18:10. We must be faith find a way into these chambers, and there hide ourselves; that is, with a holy security and serenity of mind, we must put ourselves under the divine protection. Come, as Noah into the ark, for he shut the doors about him. When dangers are threatening it is good to retire, and lie hid, as Elijah did by the brook Cherith. 3. Into chambers of devotion. "Enter into thy closet, and shut thy door, Matthew 6:6. Be private with God: Enter into thy chamber, to examine thyself, and commune with thy own heart, to pray, and humble thyself before God." This work is to be done in times of distress and danger; and thus we hide ourselves, that is, we recommend ourselves to God to hide us, and he will hide us either under heaven or in heaven. Israel must keep within doors when the destroying angel is slaying the first-born of Egypt, else the blood on the door-posts will not secure them. So must Rahab and her family when Jericho is being destroyed. Those are most safe that are least seen. Qui bene latuit, benevixit--He has lived well who has sought a proper degree of concealment. II. He assures them that the trouble would be over in a very short time, that they should not long be in any fright or peril: "Hide thyself for a moment, the smallest part of time we can conceive, like an atom of matter; may, if you can imagine one moment shorter than another, it is but for a little moment, and that with a quasi too, as it were for a little moment, less than you think of. When it is over it will seem as nothing to you; you will wonder how soon it is gone. You shall not need to lie long in confinement, long in concealment. The indignation will presently be over-past; that is, the indignation of the enemies against you, their persecuting power and rage, which force you to abscond. When the wicked rise, a man is hid. This will soon be over; God will cut them off, will break their power, defeat their purposes, and find a way for your enlargement." When Athanasius was banished from Alexandria by an edict of Julian, and his friends greatly lamented it, he bade them be of good cheer. Nubecula est quæ cito pertransibit--It is a little cloud, that will soon blow over. You shall have tribulation ten days; that is all,Revelation 2:10. This enables God's suffering people to call their afflictions light, that they are but for a moment. III. He assures them that their enemies should be reckoned with for all the mischief they had done them by the sword, either of war or persecution, Isaiah 26:21. The Lord will punish them for the blood they have shed. Here is, 1. The judgment set, and process issued out: The Lord comes out of his place, to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, in giving such disturbance to all about them. There is a great deal of iniquity among the inhabitants of the earth; but though they all combine in it, though hand join in hand to carry it on, yet it shall not go unpunished. Besides the everlasting punishment into which the wicked shall go hereafter, there are often remarkable punishments of cruelty, oppression, and persecution, in this world. When men's indignation is over-past, and they have done their worst, let them then expect God's indignation, for he sees that his day is coming, Psalms 37:13. God comes out of his place to punish. He shows himself in an extraordinary manner from heaven, the firmament of his power, from the sanctuary, the residence of his grace. He is raised up out of his holy habitation,where he seemed before to conceal himself; and now he will do something great, the product of his wise, just, and secret counsels, as a prince that goes to take the chair or take the field, Zechariah 2:13. Some observe that God's place is the mercy-seat; there he delights to be; when he punishes he comes out of his place, for he has no pleasure in the death of sinners. 2. The criminals convicted by the notorious evidence of the face: The earth shall disclose her blood; the innocent blood, the blood of the saints and martyrs, which has been shed upon the earth like water, and has soaked into it, and been concealed and covered by it, shall not be brought to light, and brought to account; for God will make inquisition for it, and will give those that shed it blood to drink, for they are worthy. Secret murders, and other secret wickednesses, shall be discovered, sooner or later. And the slain which the earth has long covered she shall no longer cover, but they shall be produced as evidence against the murderers. The voice of Abel's blood cries from the earth, Genesis 9:10,11,Job+20:27. Those sins which seemed to be buried in oblivion will be called to mind, and called over again, when the day of reckoning comes. Let God's people therefore wait awhile with patience, for behold the Judge stands before the door. |
Copyright Statement These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that is available on theChristian Classics Ethereal Library Website.Bibliography Information Henry, Matthew. "Complete Commentary on Isaiah 26". "Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible". <http://www.studylight.org/com/mhc-com/view.cgi?book=isa&chapter=026>. 1706. |
This reminds me when I was living in Ames, Iowa years ago. I was with this prayer group made up of mostly Iowa State University students. There was this young woman who was in that prayer group and I knew something was wrong the first time I met her. She was very spoiled and had a Jezebel spirit. She wasn't there to pray--she was there looking for a husband. She liked to play games with people. Finally, I rebuked her and told her that we were there to pray or else she should leave. I knew that there would be some sort of backlash.
ReplyDeleteAt that time, I was working full-time at the lumber yard. One day, for some reason, one of the guys asked me if I could stay till 7 PM (I was supposed to get off work at 5 PM). So I said, No problem. This was of the Lord.
So I got back to my house two hours later than usual. No one was home. Then the Lord told me to go down into the basement to pray. Just when I got to the basement, there was a knock on the front door--it was the young lady that I rebuked (I knew this in my spirit). She knocked furiously for a few minutes and then left. She never came back to our prayer group.
She later got married to a young man from our prayer group. The Lord told me to rebuke him for something before they got married. Birds of a feather flock to together. I went to their wedding and it was the most UNBLESSED wedding that I had ever seen. It took them several years for her to get pregnant after using fertility drugs (why didn't they pray to the Lord and ask Him to give them children?).
When we obey the Lord, He really protects us. We we walk in disobedience, the devil is free to attack us.
Sarah, read your Blog and commented. It definitely ties in. Thank you sister. "Oh Lord we want to be in that number when the saints come marching in." Hallelujah.
ReplyDeleteTim. Great testimony. As usual, you have a story on your many hiking journeys that has an exact experience to what I was talking about. Truly, you experienced exactly what I was talking about. God bless you brother.