Bible Study with the Cincottis – You Are My Hiding Place – 06/14/2026
Today’s Bible Study, Authored by Arthur Cincotti.
Listen to our Bible Study Discussion at: You are My Hiding Place Audio Podcast
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You Are My Hiding Place
“You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
Ps. 32:7
I was tempted to do a part two on discipleship because I felt that we didn’t end on a positive note. It’s not appropriate to point out a problem without giving a solution. Truth be told, I didn’t then, and still don’t have a well-formulated solution for the deficiency in healthy, Biblical discipleship, other than to say, seek it out. Find creative ways to form the bonds with other believers that Christ is calling us to. We are going to spend eternity together, so we’d best get started now. Eternity starts now. Please don’t allow past failures to rob you of intimacy or let the lie that you are just not, somehow, worthy, deceive you.
This week, I had a beautiful opportunity to reconcile with a brother with whom I had a rather severe falling out three years ago. He texted me out of the blue and asked if we could have breakfast.
Without having any expectations or keeping any records of wrongs, I gave an instantaneous positive response. We chatted for two hours and renewed our friendship as if nothing had happened. I’m thinking, is this what the Father meant when He said through the prophet Jeremiah, “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jer. 31:34? Jesus also commanded, “For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.” Lk. 11:4. This call to forgiveness and reconciliation, walked out, is the mark of true discipleship. There is no sense meeting in a small group or one-on-one with a mentor if there is unresolved conflict. Jesus said, “love one another as I have loved you.” Jn. 15:12. Remember that we are on the long, narrow path. Reconciliation could take considerable time, but never stifle it on your part. Paul said, “as far as it depends on you live at peace with everyone.” Rm. 12:18
In stark contrast to our corporate life in Christ, He is also calling us to get alone with him. Rob Reimer, in his book, Soul Care, says frequently, “transformation begins by getting alone with God.” Surely this is David’s composure when he wrote Ps 32. The title calls it “A Contemplation.” We can’t function in a healthy fashion corporately until we have nurtured the discipline of getting alone with God. Jesus did this frequently throughout the Gospels.
David opens with a subject that we have already touched upon, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.” vrs. 1&2. We can only forgive when we grasp the measure to which we have been forgiven. Anyone who is still dabbling in their own self-righteousness is on dangerous ground. David even understands this from an OT perspective. It’s not as though we should wallow in our past sins with self-flagellation. If God has said that He will remember our sins no more, then why should we feel that we need to remind Him? But blanket forgiveness is also not a Christian virtue. God is calling us to a confessional life so that, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I Jn. 1:9. In his book, Living Fearless, Jamie Winship, a former police officer said that, in the interrogation room the police are not interested in, “I’m sorry,” they are interested in a confession.
In regard to skirting the truth, David said, “When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.” vrs. 3&4. Denial is generally unhealthy. It’s exhausting to try to conjure up an unsubstantiated argument even in our “self-talk.” Believe me, I know! Ignoring and/or justifying our sin is equally unhealthy. Once I confronted a young boy about an issue, and his response was, “it’s okay, I’ll just ask for forgiveness afterwards.” That’s not how it works. God’s hand was heavy upon David. I’m certain that we have all been there.
As I said earlier, what sense is there in posing a problem without bringing forth the solution. David breaks through the dilemma by saying, “I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.” vrs. 5. This is freeing. When it is sincere, repentance is the final objective. I’m not just seeking freedom in order to rush right back into bondage. Jesus said, “For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.” Mk. 4:22. David went on to say, “For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found.” vrs.6. Paul urges, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation.” when he quotes Is. 49:8 “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” (from II Cor. 6:2). Three times the writer of Hebrews quotes
Ps. 95, “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
What a beautiful notion to be “hidden” by God, in times of trouble. Coloring in the image, Ps. 91:1 says, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” And Ps.27:5, “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me;” David goes on to express that this hiding place in not a place of cowering, but a place of instruction. The LORD says to him, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.” vrs. 8. James says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” Js. 1:5
The theme of a hiding place is sprinkled all over the pages of Scripture. Moses’ mother, “saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.” Ex. 2:2. “Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered; and they hid him and his nurse in the bedroom from Athaliah, so he was not killed… for six years” II Kg. 11:2,3. David hid from Saul in the stronghold, while Saul pursued him, not so much out of fear but for the fear of the LORD he would not raise his hand against the LORD’s anointed, or take the kingdom with the hand of flesh.
Most significantly, Col. 3:2-4 tells us, “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.” Anyone who is hidden with God or by God is safe.
David closes out the psalm by saying, “Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;” who parade themselves. “But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him.” vrs. 10. The hiding place is also a place of rejoicing. “In Your presence is fullness of joy”
Ps. 16:11. “Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” vrs, 11. Paul and Silas applied this principle while in jail at Philipi. “at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.” Acts. 16:25-26
Our alone time with God should be deeply coveted. We have discovered that it is nurturing, instructive, transformational, powerful, and joyful. We are invited into a private audience with the creator of the universe and everything that is seen and unseen. David put it this way:
“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.” Ps. 27:4
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