Psalms 31:20, commentary and pictures

God Himself is an ever-present hiding place and defense for His people, and His pavilion is the dwelling of angels in His presence, where He shelters them from human pride and condemnation and from verbal attacks, false accusations, criticism and strife stirred up by Satan to confuse and discourage.
He hides all who put their trust in Him, turn to Jesus for refuge, keep His way and work righteousness in harmony with Him, lifting them in Christ above accusation so that no man or evil angel can bring a charge against them as they stand with the great Sin-bearer in light from the throne.
He keeps the way to mercy and His throne always open, seeing their needs as clearly in midnight darkness as in noonday light, supplying their wants, guiding them with His eye, staying near as a Friend in need and perplexity, and giving angels as helpers, and this shelter covers verbal strife, temptation and perplexity even in greatest danger as well as tempest, earthquake, pestilence and scourge passing through the land.
Reproach, slander and false reports always follow faithful obedience and seem grievous, yet they prove a blessing by testing reputation until it is shown whether reports were true or only poisoned shafts of malice, for a righteous character keeps its purity whether trampled down or exalted, and God will at last prove the right to be right, honor the guiltless and vindicate His faithful servants so lying tongues will not have the last word.
Those so hidden refuse to join gossip and scandal, turn from strife to kindly service and steady work that gives enemies no real ground for blame, and the light shining from a character formed by Christ stills hostile speech and keeps gratitude, contentment and peace constantly accessible.

Words of Hiding Explained

The strife of tongues is verbal attack and false accusation, criticism, envy, jealousy and strife. It is inspired by Satan to confuse and weaken and discourage. God's people may face such provocation and hostile speech, and no one should expect to be entirely free from it.

The secret of the presence and the pavilion is God Himself as an ever-present, all-sufficient hiding place and defense. He hides and shelters as a covert those who keep His way, covering them from verbal strife and hostile tongues, delivering them from perplexity and temptation even in the midst of the greatest dangers. He sees their needs as clearly in midnight darkness as in noonday light, keeps the way to mercy and to His throne always open, supplies their wants, stays near in every time of need and trouble and perplexity, lifts up His law as a standard against Satan when he seeks to deceive, and guides them with His eye. The pavilion is also the dwelling place of angels in the presence of God where they see His glory, and those angels are assured helpers to God's people in their work.

The pride of man is human pride and human judgment and condemnation expressed in hostile speech. God has authorized no human agent to be judge of his fellow man, so shelter from that pride is shelter from unauthorized human judgment. Those under such condemnation are therefore to keep the perfection of Christ's character ever before them and trust in God rather than fear what men pronounce upon their case.

God Shelters and Vindicates

God hides those who put their trust in Him at all times and turn to Jesus for refuge, who keep the way of the Lord and work righteousness in harmony with Him, and who desire to be guided, and in the time of temptation He hides them in His pavilion. Those so hidden are lifted above accusation and the strife of tongues, so that no man or evil angel can bring a charge against them. This is because Jesus unites them to His own divine-human nature, so that they stand with the great Sin-bearer in the light proceeding from the throne of God.

He shelters them because He sees their needs as clearly in midnight darkness as in noonday light, and He keeps the way to mercy and to His throne always open. He supplies their wants and stays near as an ever-present Friend in every time of need and trouble and perplexity, guiding them with His eye and delivering them from perplexity. When Satan seeks to deceive the child of faith and trust, He lifts up His law as a standard against the enemy in behalf of the conscientious worker. He gives angels as assured helpers, for the pavilion is the dwelling place of angels in the presence of God where they see His glory.

The shelter covers human hostility and danger even as tempest, earthquake and pestilence strike around, and when an overflowing scourge passes through the land. It covers verbal strife and hostile tongues, and perplexity and temptation, so that looking to Him at all times is safety even in the midst of the greatest dangers. Those who teach their children God's commandments and commit them to Him by faith and prayer may trust that He will work with their efforts and hide them in the secret of His pavilion.

Hiding in Christ from hostile talk, misjudgment and slander is a privilege open to the believer at every moment, even when every human friend forsakes him and enemies use his failures against him, and when men prove censorious, envious and unjust. There God proves true and merciful, keeping gratitude, contentment and peace constantly open and accessible. It makes him spiritually rich beyond any earthly treasure, drinking to the full of the streams of salvation, and enables him to serve God faithfully with all his powers regardless of man's unfaithfulness.

God will at last prove the right to be right and honor those who are guiltless, finally vindicating His faithful servants so that lying tongues will not have the last word. False accusations and lying tongues at last bring curses on the slanderers themselves. Reproach, slander and false reports always follow faithful obedience and seem grievous, yet they prove a blessing. Persecution tests what a reputation truly rests on until it is shown to the world whether evil reports were true or only poisoned shafts of malice and revenge. A righteous character keeps its purity and excellence whether trampled down or exalted, with a clear conscience as its own reward, and trials facing prejudice and obstacles reveal that purity.

God keeps His church from the darkness and confusion and strife of tongues that curses so many churches when it fully receives the light and in holiness of character keeps pace with the truth revealed. That keeping comes by letting the truth do its refining work of restoring the moral image of God in man. Then strife will cease, light will grow brighter and brighter, and God will give power scarcely conceived of as they walk in the light as fast as it shines upon them.

Living Beyond Verbal Strife

Those who are sheltered refuse to join gossip and scandal, keeping away from strife and turning their time to kindly service, and grace and peace rest upon them in that course. Steady service to God without giving enemies any real ground for blame is the safe way to settle such charges, for at last the right will be proved right and those who are guiltless will be honored. Reproach, slander and false reports always follow faithful obedience and seem grievous, yet they prove a blessing, since persecution tests what a reputation truly rests on until it is shown whether evil reports were true or only poisoned shafts of malice and revenge. A righteous character keeps its purity and excellence even when its reputation is blackened, whether trampled down or exalted, and a clear conscience is its own reward, while lying tongues at last bring curses on the slanderers themselves.

The light shining from a person whose character is formed by Christ can still the strife of tongues. A faithful person facing prejudice and obstacles finds safety in Christ as a refuge from hostile words, and those trials reveal the purity of his character.

The strife of tongues must cease, so that Spirit-directed effort carried forward with prayer and deep humility can strengthen and unite the soul-saving cause, as in New York City. School leaders who continued their work despite opposition and the strife of tongues are under the Lord's care, sheltered by Him as those who trust Him from human pride and hostile speech.

Staying away from a place where criticism, envy, jealousy and strife prevail, such as Battle Creek, avoids meeting the strife of tongues and allows better work for God elsewhere, even when it requires relinquishing cherished personal possessions and hopes of returning. The strife of tongues is inspired by Satan to confuse and weaken and discourage, and since God has authorized no human agent to be judge of his fellow man, the one under condemnation is to keep the perfection of Christ's character ever before him and trust in God rather than fear what men pronounce upon his case, with God Himself as an ever-present, all-sufficient hiding place and defense by His almighty power for those who put their trust in Him at all times.