You are my hiding place and my shield. I hope in your word.
Parallel Translations
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You are my hiding place and my shield. I hope in your word.
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Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
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Thou art my covert and my shield; in Thy word do I hope.
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to Psalms 119:114 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 91:1-2 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of Yahweh, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.”
- Psalms 32:7 You are my hiding place. You will preserve me from trouble. You will surround me with songs of deliverance.
- Psalms 3:3 But you, Yahweh, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
- Isaiah 32:2 A man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the storm, as streams of water in a dry place, as the shade of a large rock in a weary land.
- Psalms 130:5-6 I wait for Yahweh. My soul waits. I hope in his word. My soul longs for the Lord more than watchmen long for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.
- Psalms 119:81 My soul faints for your salvation. I hope in your word.
- Psalms 84:11 For Yahweh God is a sun and a shield. Yahweh will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.
- Psalms 119:74 Those who fear you will see me and be glad, because I have put my hope in your word.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 114. Thou art my hiding place and my shield.…
114. Thou art my hiding place and my shield. The meaning is, that the prophet, persuaded that the only way in which he could be safe, was by lying hid under the wings of God, confided in his promises, and, therefore, feared nothing. And, assuredly, the first point is, that the faithful should hold it as a settled principle, that amidst the many dangers to which they are exposed, the preservation of their life is entirely owing to the protection of God; in order that they may be excited to flee to him, and leaning upon his word, may confidently wait for the deliverance which he has promised. This confidence, That God is our refuge and our shield, is, no doubt, derived from the word; but we must remember that there is here a mutual relation — that, when we have learned from the word of God that we have in him a safe hiding-place, this truth is to be cherished and confirmed in our hearts, under a consciousness of our absolute need of the divine protection. Besides, although his power ought abundantly to suffice in inspiring us with the hope of salvation, yet we should always set the word before us, that our faith may not fail when his aid is slow in coming.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 119:114 Thou [art] my hiding place and my…
Psa 119:114 Thou [art] my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
Ver. 114. Thou art my hiding place and my shield] To defend me from deadly darts and dangers. See Psa 18:2; Psa 32:7. God either preserveth his from common calamities or from the hurt of them.
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I hope in thy word] And am content to stay thy time. "He that believeth maketh not haste."
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Here is, 1. God's care of David to protect…
Here is, 1. God's care of David to protect and defend him, which he comforted himself with when his enemies were very malicious against him: Thou art my hiding-place and my shield. David, when Saul pursued him, often betook himself to close places for shelter; in war he guarded himself with his shield. Now God was both these to him, a hiding-place to preserve him from danger and a shield to preserve him in danger, his life from death and his soul from sin. Good people are safe under God's protection. He is their strength and their shield, their help and their shield, their sun and their shield, their shield and their great reward, and here their hiding-place and their shield. They may by faith retire to him, and repose in him as their hiding-place, where they are kept in secret. They may by faith oppose his power to all the might and malice of their enemies, as their shield to quench every fiery dart. 2. David's confidence in God. He is safe, and therefore he is easy, under the divine protection: "I hope in thy word, which has acquainted me with thee and assured me of thy kindness to me." Those who depend on God's promise shall have the benefit of his power and be taken under his special protection.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Thou hast trodden down all them that err from…
Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes,.... That wander from the way of the Lord's commandments; that deviate from his precepts, go astray constantly and wilfully; a people that err in their hearts, and with all their hearts. These the Lord treads down, as mire in the streets, as grapes in a winepress; which shows his abhorrence of them, his indignation at them, and how easily they are subdued under him;
for their deceit is falsehood: or, "their hypocrisy is a lie" (m): the appearance they make is a false one; they appear outwardly righteous, but are inwardly wicked; have a form of godliness, but deny the power of it: or all their deceitful doctrines are lies in hypocrisy, though dressed up with all the art and cunning they are masters of; or all their subtle schemes to corrupt and subvert the true doctrines of the word are in vain and to no purpose.
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(m) So Michaelis.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 114. My hiding place] My asylum.
Verse 114. My hiding place] My asylum.
And my shield] There is a time in which I may be called to suffer in secret; then thou hidest me. There may be a time in which thou callest me to fight; then thou art my Shield and Protector.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Thou art my hiding place - See the notes…
Thou art my hiding place - See the notes at Psa 32:7, where the same expression occurs.
And my shield - See Psa 5:12, note; Psa 84:11, note.
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I hope in thy word - See Psa 119:74, Psa 119:81.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 114. Cp. Psa_32:7; Psa_28:7; Psa_119:74; Psa_119:81.
114. Cp. Psa_32:7; Psa_28:7; Psa_119:74; Psa_119:81.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (114) My shield.—For this expression see Psa_3:3; Psa_7:10.
(114) My shield.—For this expression see Psa_3:3; Psa_7:10.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Thou art my Hiding-place. (comp. Psa_27:5 Psa_32:7 Psa_91:1) And…
Thou art my Hiding-place. (comp. Psa_27:5 Psa_32:7 Psa_91:1) And my Shield; i.e. my protection. (see Psa_3:3 Psa_18:2, Psa_18:30, etc.) I hope in thy Word. The promises contained in thy Word are my only sure hope (see ver. 43).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 114. Thou art my hiding place and my…
Ver. 114. Thou art my hiding place and my shield. To his God he ran for shelter from vain thoughts; there he hid himself away from their tormenting intrusions, and in solemn silence of the soul he found God to be his hiding place. When called into the world, if he could not be alone with God as his hiding place, he could have the Lord with him as his shield, and by this means he could ward off the attacks of wicked suggestions. This is an experimental verse, and it testifies to that which the writer knew of his own personal knowledge: he could not fight with his own thoughts, or escape from them, till he flew to his God, and then he found deliverance. Observe that he does not speak of God's word as being his double defence, but he ascribes that to God himself. When we are beset by very spiritual assaults, such as those which arise out of vain thoughts, we shall do well to fly distinctly to the person of our Lord, and to cast ourselves upon his real presence. Happy is he who can truly say to the triune God, "Thou art my hiding place." He has beheld God under that glorious covenant aspect which ensures to the beholder the surest consolation.
I hope in thy word. And well he might, since he had tried and proved it: he looked for protection from all danger, and preservation from all temptation to him who had hitherto been the tower of his defence on former occasions. It is easy to exercise hope where we have experienced help. Sometimes when gloomy thoughts afflict us, the only thing we can do is to hope, and, happily, the word of God always sets before us objects of hope and reasons for hope, so that it becomes the very sphere and support of hope, and thus tiresome thoughts are overcome. Amid fret and worry a hope of heaven is an effectual quietus.
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Ver. 114. Thou art my hiding place and my shield, etc. From vain thoughts and vain persons the Psalmist teaches us to fly, by prayer, to God, as our Refuge and Protector. This course a believer will as naturally take, in the hour of temptation and danger, as the offspring of the hen, on perceiving a bird of prey hovering over their heads, retire to their "hiding place, "under the wings of the dam; or as the warrior opposeth his "shield" to the darts which are aimed at him. George Horne.
Ver. 114. Thou art my hiding place. Christ hath all qualifications that may fit him for this work of being a hiding place to believers].
1. He hath strength. A hiding place must be locus munitissimus. Paper houses will never be good hiding places. Houses made of reeds or rotten timber will not be fit places for men to hide themselves in. Jesus Christ is a place of strength. He is the Rock of Ages: His name is "the Mighty God, "Isa 9:6.
2. He hath height. A hiding place must be locus excelsissimus. Your low houses are soon scaled. Jesus Christ is a high place; he is as high as heaven. He is the Jacob's ladder that reacheth from earth to heaven: Ge 28:12. He is too high for men, too high for devils; no creature can scale these high walls.
3. He hath secret places. A hiding place must be locus abditissimus. The more secret, the more safe. Now, Jesus Christ hath many secret chambers that no creatures can ever find: So 2:14, "O my dove, that art in the secret places of the stairs." As Christ hath hidden comforts which no man knows but he that receiveth them; so he hath hidden places of secrecy which none can find out but he that dwells in them. "Come, my people, outer into thy chambers, and shut the doors upon thee" (Isa 26).
4. Christ is faithful. He that will hide others had need be very faithful. A false hearted protector is worse than an open pursuer. "Will the men of Keilah deliver me up?" saith David; "They will deliver thee up, "saith the Lord. But now Christ is faithful: Re 3:14, he is "the faithful witness; "he cannot be bribed to surrender up any creature that comes to hide himself with him. Christ will die before he will betray his trust.
5. Christ is diligent. Diligence is as necessary in those that will hide others, as faithfulness. A sleepy guard may betray a castle or garrison as well as a faithless guard. But Jesus Christ is very diligent and watchful, he hath his intelligencers abroad; yea, his own eyes run to and fro in the earth, to see what contrivances are made and set on foot against those who are hid with him: Ps 121:3-4, "He that keepeth Israel neither slumbereth nor sleepeth." Ralph Robinson (1614-1655), in "Christ All in All."
Ver. 114. Hiding place. The first word in the verse means properly a secret, or a secret place. Joseph Addison Alexander.
Ver. 114. My shield. Good people are safe under God's protection; he is their "strength and their shield"; their "help and their shield"; their "sun and their shield"; their "shield and their great reward"; and here, their "hiding place and their shield" Matthew Henry.
Ver. 114. Shield. The excellency and properties of a shield lie in these things: 1. In the largeness and breadth of it, in that it hides and covers the person that weareth it from all darts that are flung at him, so as they cannot reach him: Thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield (Ps 5:12). 2. The excellence of a shield lies in that it is hard and impenetrable. So this answers to the invincible power of God's providence, by which he can break the assaults of all enemies; and such a shield is God.to his people: "My shield, and he in whom I trust" (Ps 144:2). 3. Shall I add one thing more? Stones and darts flung upon a hard shield are beaten back upon him that flings them; so God beats back the evil upon his enemies and the enemies of his people: "Bring them down, O Lord, our shield" (Ps 59:11). Thomas Manton.
Ver. 114. I hope in thy word. Of all the ingredients that sweeten the cup of human life, there is none more rich or powerful than hope. Its absence embitters the sweetest lot; its presence alleviates the deepest woe. Surround me with all the joys which memory can awaken or possession bestow, without hope it is not enough. In the absence of hope there is sadness in past and present joys sadness in the thought that the past is past, and that the present is passing too. But though you strip me of all the joys the past or the present can confer, if the morrow shineth bright with hope, I am glad amid my woe. Of all the busy motives that stir this teeming earth, hope is the busiest. It is the sweetest balm that soothes our sorrows, the brightest beam that gilds our pleasures. Hope is the noblest offspring, the first born, the last buried child of foreseeing and forecasting man. Without it the unthinking cattle may be content amid present plenty. But without it reflecting man should not, cannot be truly happy. William Grant (1814-1876), in "Christ our Hope, and other Sermons"
Ver. 114-115. Thou art my hiding place. "Depart from me, ye evil doers." Safe and quiet in his hiding place, David deprecates all attempts to disturb his peace. The society, therefore, of the ungodly is intolerable to him, and he cannot forbear frowning them from his presence. He had found them to be opposed to his best interests; and he feared their influence in shaking his determination of obedience to his God. Indeed, when have the Lord's people failed to experience such society to be a prevailing hindrance alike to the enjoyment and to the service of God? Charles Bridges.
Ver. 114. Our protection from danger "hiding-place"; in danger "shield"; before danger "I hope."
Ver. 114. Hiding place. Secrecy to conceal us. Capacity to hold us. Safety. Comfort. T. Manton.
Ver. 114. Hiding and hoping.
1. A hiding place needed.
2. A hiding place provided (Isa 25:14 32:2).
3. A hiding place used. C.A.D.
Ver. 114.
1. The refuge provided: "Thou art, "etc.
2. The refuge revealed: "In thy word."
3. The refuge found: "I hope, "etc. G.R.
Ver. 114. Thou art my hiding place.
1. In thy grace, from condemnation.
2. In thy compassion, from sorrow.
3. In thy succour, from temptation.
4. In thy power, from opposition.
5. In thy fulness, from want. W.J.
Psalms 119:115*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Thou art my hiding-place and my shield: I hope…
Psa_119:114-117
Thou art my hiding-place and my shield: I hope in Thy Word.
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The Guardian and Support of souls
I. The guardianship of god enjoyed. Hiding-place is a place of protection, a place where the enemy cannot discover you. Shield is an instrument of protection, that which prevents the arrow or the sword from touching the life. The two expressions mean safe guardianship. What a Guardian is God!
1. His guardianship does not circumscribe liberty. Not like the hiding-place, it allows ample room for the development of all the powers, and satisfaction for all the desires.
2. His guardianship is sufficient for all purposes. It protects from all evils, material and spiritual, all enemies, human and satanic. With the enjoyment of this guardianship there is hope in Thy Word.
II. Deliverance from the wicked desired. Depart from Me, ye evil-doers.
1. The expulsion of evil companions is at once the duty and the interest of all men. The companion of fools shall be destroyed. Come out from among them.
2. The expulsion of evil companions is necessary in order to obey God. For I will keep the commandments of my God.
III. The support of Heaven implored. Uphold me, etc. The words imply--
1. Consciousness of the ruin of a fall. That I may live, implying, If I fall I die. A moral fall is soul death.
2. Consciousness of liability of a fall. Hold Thou me up. I cannot stand without Thee. I totter on the verge of ruin, I am unable to support myself. Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe. (Homilist.)
God our hiding-place and shield
I. The relation which God sustains to the Christian.
1. My hiding-place. God is thus described as a refuge, as a place of security and retreat from the trials and agitations of the world without; just as a vessel may find a hiding-place in the calm and shelter of the haven, guarded and hidden by the rocks. There may be a pirate-ship upon the sea beyond, and a storm may be hurling its fury upon the waves, but within the shelter of the high rooks all is secure and undisturbed.
2. Again: under the figure of a shield, the Almighty is represented as the Defender of His people. Both the figures convey a like meaning of protection; still their application will admit of, perhaps, a variety of difference. We may take the former case as implying refuge in the hour of sorrow and sadness; One to whom we can look in trust and hope at all times, and find in Him a source of peacefulness amid the din and anxieties of the world in which we live. In the latter case we seem to be brought from obscurity and retirement into the open battlefield of life, where the shafts of temptation are flying around us, where the sounds of struggle meet our ears, where latent feelings are awakened and passions roused. Into the hiding-place of God the soul retires as into her quiet home away from the noise and stir of life; behind the shield of God the soul takes her stand as behind her rampart when the hosts of the enemy are encamped round about her.
II. The basis of Christian hope--I hope in Thy Word. There is a twofold and mutual recognition conveyed in this passage. God recognizes man in his helplessness and dependency, and man recognizes God in the mercy, and compassion, and goodness of His character and relationship to His creatures. And thus the basis of Christian hope is to be found in the Divine testimony, conveyed in the writings of Moses and the prophets, of Christ and His apostles. This testimony has also its response in the human heart and life, and so produces its evidence in the actual experience of our common nature. What rule of faith so high--what standard of morals so perfect--what criterion by which we may judge of right and wrong so infallible as the Scriptures? We hesitate not to bring them to the bar of public opinion unbiased by prejudice, for the very freedom of that opinion shall witness in favour of their claims, and give evidence to their truthfulness and authority. They can bear the most powerful tests of human wisdom and judgment, and the more they are examined, the brighter, and broader, and deeper becomes their excellency. (W. D. Horwood.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.