To be hidden away isn’t a theme foreign to the scriptures. But is it a good thing for one to be hidden away, or not so good a thing? The answer is that it could be wonderful, or it could be dreadful. In the longest writing in the bible we will find these words from the prophet Isaiah. In the second chapter it reads…In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made, each for himself to worship, to the moles and bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the crags of the rugged rocks, from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily… .
Let’s hear what the prophet Jeremiah has to say on the subject. In the forty-ninth chapter of the book he speaks to the Edomites the Word of the Lord, and this is what he says. … For indeed, I will make you small among nations, despised among men. Your fierceness has deceived you, the pride of your heart, o you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill! Though you make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there, says the Lord… .
In both cases it is apparent that it is not places of doom such as these that the Father of our spirits will bring His own to, so that we may take refuge there. Yet there is a refuge, a hideaway for all who have set their hearts on Him, a shelter that is not of this world. In fact, it could only be found far above the world we know, where Jesus sits at the right hand of God in power. And in Him alone are discovered the true clefts in the rock, the secret places ordained of the Father, and the only hiding place that will endure when one day His judgment falls upon the earth. In the writings of the apostle Paul we can read about such places - places found only in the Son of the Living God. For it is He and He alone who has become every seeker’s sanctuary, where He reigns high above all things.
Listen to Paul in his letter to the Colossians: Col. 3:1- 4. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Now hear Solomon in the Song of Solomon: S. of S. 2:10 - 14. Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grapes give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away! O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliff, let me see your countenance, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is lovely.
As sure as Isaiah and Jeremiah describe dread, so do Paul and Solomon speak of the wonders of abiding in Christ. Both, in the letter to Colosse, and in the Song of Solomon, the hiding places are hallowed, ordained of God, and only for those born of faith. To be “hidden with Christ in God” as Paul writes to the Colossians, should mean more to the believer than anything else imaginable; nothing that this world can afford should mean more to us than a life hidden away with Christ in God. Think of it. None could have said it more powerfully than Martin Luther when he penned the words, “Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also.” It is why the great apostle of the faith admonished us to have our minds stayed on things above, since we have died to our lives in this world. So much for being so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. The fact of the matter is, that we can never be heavenly minded enough. Since we will always have our carnal nature to contend with while in this world, I really don’t think we need to worry about exceeding heavenly limits. But to be truly heavenly minded is to be truly earthly good. And to in truth be hidden away in Christ, where He is seated at the right hand of God, is to in truth be a beacon for the lost of our world - and while not even being alive in it. Is He not the God of all ironies? And do His ways not surpass knowledge?
“Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away!” writes Solomon. “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliff, let me see your countenance, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is lovely.”
Now we have come to full stature. Now we are taken out from Him - from where we were once hid away, even as was the first woman with the first man. Now He beholds the beauty of the bride. Long has He waited to look upon her countenance and to hear her sweet voice. Now does the bride meet the Lord in the heavens to be with Him forever - on the Day that she goes away with Him, on the Day she is caught up.
-J. Pecoraro
Let’s hear what the prophet Jeremiah has to say on the subject. In the forty-ninth chapter of the book he speaks to the Edomites the Word of the Lord, and this is what he says. … For indeed, I will make you small among nations, despised among men. Your fierceness has deceived you, the pride of your heart, o you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill! Though you make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there, says the Lord… .
In both cases it is apparent that it is not places of doom such as these that the Father of our spirits will bring His own to, so that we may take refuge there. Yet there is a refuge, a hideaway for all who have set their hearts on Him, a shelter that is not of this world. In fact, it could only be found far above the world we know, where Jesus sits at the right hand of God in power. And in Him alone are discovered the true clefts in the rock, the secret places ordained of the Father, and the only hiding place that will endure when one day His judgment falls upon the earth. In the writings of the apostle Paul we can read about such places - places found only in the Son of the Living God. For it is He and He alone who has become every seeker’s sanctuary, where He reigns high above all things.
Listen to Paul in his letter to the Colossians: Col. 3:1- 4. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Now hear Solomon in the Song of Solomon: S. of S. 2:10 - 14. Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grapes give a good smell. Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away! O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliff, let me see your countenance, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is lovely.
As sure as Isaiah and Jeremiah describe dread, so do Paul and Solomon speak of the wonders of abiding in Christ. Both, in the letter to Colosse, and in the Song of Solomon, the hiding places are hallowed, ordained of God, and only for those born of faith. To be “hidden with Christ in God” as Paul writes to the Colossians, should mean more to the believer than anything else imaginable; nothing that this world can afford should mean more to us than a life hidden away with Christ in God. Think of it. None could have said it more powerfully than Martin Luther when he penned the words, “Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also.” It is why the great apostle of the faith admonished us to have our minds stayed on things above, since we have died to our lives in this world. So much for being so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. The fact of the matter is, that we can never be heavenly minded enough. Since we will always have our carnal nature to contend with while in this world, I really don’t think we need to worry about exceeding heavenly limits. But to be truly heavenly minded is to be truly earthly good. And to in truth be hidden away in Christ, where He is seated at the right hand of God, is to in truth be a beacon for the lost of our world - and while not even being alive in it. Is He not the God of all ironies? And do His ways not surpass knowledge?
“Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away!” writes Solomon. “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliff, let me see your countenance, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is lovely.”
Now we have come to full stature. Now we are taken out from Him - from where we were once hid away, even as was the first woman with the first man. Now He beholds the beauty of the bride. Long has He waited to look upon her countenance and to hear her sweet voice. Now does the bride meet the Lord in the heavens to be with Him forever - on the Day that she goes away with Him, on the Day she is caught up.
-J. Pecoraro
