The Secrets of the Lord
The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. (Psalms 25:14)
As I was looking over the 25th Psalm, my attention was drawn to the 14th verse. This is an intriguing verse as David speaks of the secret of the Lord. What did he mean when he said God shows secrets to those that fear Him? The first thought that came to mind is how God’s people have a special relationship with Him that is unknown to unbelievers. There is no way to explain how it feels to know the Lord, and to have full confidence He controls your life. In Matthew 6, we are told not to take thought for our lives. There really shouldn’t be anything that worries us because the Father has promised to take care of us. No one apart from Christ can get rid of fears and anxieties because they handle all their burdens themselves. They have no idea there is a God who faithfully performs for His children and takes all their cares away. This is secret territory hidden to the faithless uninitiated.
I have no doubt this is true and I believe every child of God knows and can claim this secret of God’s providence. However, I tend to believe there was more on David’s mind as he thought about God’s secret. There are higher levels attained in the Christian life and there are other secrets obtained as you pass these levels. For example, the understanding of scripture is a secret until the Holy Spirit enlightens our eyes by faith. Many Christians live their entire Christian lives without unlocking many of the Bible’s secrets. There are doctrinal matters you will never understand until you decide to lock yourself down into the study of God’s word. You need not expect to reach the level of your teachers until you have spent the time they have in the word. The secrets of the word are not intentionally kept because God wants only a select few to know them. No Christian is without the capability of being a Samuel or a David or an Isaiah.
But I also believe there is still another higher level of God’s secrets. I do not believe these secrets are revealed until we truly learn to give God our whole heart, mind, soul, and body. This is when we reach the level that we truly mean, “For to me to live is Christ.” Christ consumes us at this point. Who are those that have reached the level of receiving God’s best kept secrets? I believe they are men like Daniel. Daniel’s eyes of understanding were sharp and clear, so that he saw the future world. He saw from his time to the end times. Daniel pinpointed the first advent of the Lord to the exact time He would come. Read about Daniel’s life and how he would not defile himself with the pleasures of Babylon. He steadfastly turned his face towards Jerusalem to pray to the living God.
Another such person was John. He is self-described as the disciple Jesus loved. There was a special bond between Jesus and John. John was the apostle of the secrets of Revelation. No one has seen what John saw. There was something very special about his character and his love for the Lord that opened up secrets only such servants could know.
And then I think about Paul. Think how many times Paul spoke of mysteries, secret things, God revealed through him: the mystery of the hidden wisdom of God (1 Cor. 2:7); the mystery of the rapture (1 Cor. 15:51); the mystery of God’s will in the doctrines of grace (Eph. 1:9); the mystery of the church (Eph. 5:32). There was so much he knew and was able to tell the church because God opened His secrets to him.
What level are you on? Do you know some things you could not have known before? All the secrets I have spoken of are in the Holy Scriptures, so do not expect to get the new kind of revelation the apostles and prophets received. There is more than enough in the Bible that you do not know to occupy the rest of your life. Secrets are not found out by treasure maps and cryptic messages. Learning God’s secret is a function of your dedication. The less you give of yourself, the less you will now who God is. Consider your ignorance—why don’t you know more than you do?
Pastor V. Mark Smith