In the cover of your presence you hide them from the plots of men; you store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Notice how the verse contrasts two forms of protection: being hidden "in the secret of your presence" and kept "in a pavilion." This isn't just about God keeping us safe, but about how He does it – sometimes through intimate fellowship, and other times through a more sheltered, perhaps even hidden, divine protection, guarding us from both arrogant opposition and malicious gossip.
In the cover of your presence you hide them from the plots of men; you store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues.
English Standard Version (ESV)
David, in distress, cries out to God for deliverance from his enemies who are plotting against him and slandering him. He anticipates God's powerful protection, not just from physical danger but from the arrogance and malicious gossip of those who oppose him. This verse is a confident declaration of God's safeguarding presence for those who trust Him, even amidst intense opposition.
Have you ever felt like God's goodness is just out of reach, or only for others? This verse suggests His goodness is a treasure specifically set aside for those who seek Him.
The Goodness We Can't Always See
David exclaims about God's immense goodness, calling it a "treasure" (Calvin's interpretation) that God has "hidden" or "laid up" for those who fear Him. This doesn't mean God's goodness is absent, but that its full, salvific power is uniquely experienced by the faithful.
Application:
Even when circumstances feel bleak, remember that God has a profound goodness reserved for you. Your trust and fear of Him unlock access to blessings that the world cannot fully comprehend or possess.
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The world throws its worst at us – arrogant threats and sharp words. Where can we truly find safety? This verse points to a hiding place that's incredibly intimate and secure.
The Ultimate Hiding Place
The verse describes believers being hidden "in the secret of your presence" and "in your shelter." This isn't about finding a physical location, but an abiding state of security within God Himself.
Theological Insight:
This concept of being hidden in God's presence is a beautiful picture of salvation. Christ Himself is our ultimate hiding place, where we are "hidden with Christ in God" (Clarke). Those who are in Christ are safe from both the overt attacks and the subtle slanders of the world.
Understand the original words
paniym · Hebrew Noun
The direct, personal experience of God's intimacy and guidance. To be in His presence is to be in the place of ultimate security, joy, and revelation.
cether · Hebrew Noun
A place of protection or a secret location where God keeps His own safe. It implies divine guardianship and confidentiality in times of trouble.
This passage describes God's 'shelter' or 'hiding place' in His 'tent' during times of trouble, echoing Psalm 31:20's imagery of being hidden in God's presence and shelter.
Isaiah 26:20This verse speaks of God's people hiding themselves 'until the indignation has passed by,' which parallels the concept of divine protection and refuge during times of judgment or strife described in Psalm 31:20.
Matthew 5:45While Psalm 31:20 focuses on hidden protection for the faithful, Matthew 5:45 shows God's universal goodness in making the sun rise on both the righteous and the unrighteous, highlighting a broader divine beneficence that the faithful uniquely experience as a hidden treasure.
John 14:27Jesus offers a 'peace' that the world cannot give, which relates to the 'shelter' and 'secret presence' mentioned in Psalm 31:20, where God's peace protects believers from external turmoil and the 'strife of tongues'.
1 Corinthians 1:18This verse speaks of the message of the cross being 'foolishness' to the world but 'the power of God' to believers, mirroring how God's protection and presence are a hidden reality ('secret of your presence') for those who trust Him, unseen by the proud and quarrelsome.
calvinPsalms 31:19-21: "Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!"
- O how great is thy goodness which thou hast hidden [648] for them that fear thee! which thou hast performed for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! 20. Thou shalt hide them in the secret [or, in the hiding-place] of thy countenance from the pride of man; thou shalt hide them as in a tent from the strife of t…
poolePsalms 31:20: "Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues."
In the secret of thy presence; or as in the secret of thy presence either, 1. As if they were in thy presence-chamber, where thine own eye and hand guardeth them from all the assaults of their enemies; called his secret, partly because the greatest part of the world are strangers to God and his presence; and partly because it is a safe…
Notice how the verse contrasts two forms of protection: being hidden "in the secret of your presence" and kept "in a pavilion." This isn't just about God keeping us safe, but about how He does it – sometimes through intimate fellowship, and other times through a more sheltered, perhaps even hidden, divine protection, guarding us from both arrogant opposition and malicious gossip.
David, in distress, cries out to God for deliverance from his enemies who are plotting against him and slandering him. He anticipates God's powerful protection, not just from physical danger but from the arrogance and malicious gossip of those who oppose him. This verse is a confident declaration of God's safeguarding presence for those who trust Him, even amidst intense opposition.
David, in distress, cries out to God for deliverance from his enemies who are plotting against him and slandering him. He anticipates God's powerful protection, not just from physical danger but from the arrogance and malicious gossip of those who oppose him. This verse is a confident declaration of God's safeguarding presence for those who trust Him, even amidst intense opposition.
"In the cover of your presence you hide them from the plots of men; you store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues." — Notice how the verse contrasts two forms of protection: being hidden "in the secret of your presence" and kept "in a pavilion." This isn't just about God keeping us safe, but about how He does it –…
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Last reviewed October 2026