God’s Hidden Ones

Did we not know that the above passage was written in the days of Asaph and King David, we might well think this were written this week! We are yet again in a troublesome place, and the enemies of God are once again confederate against us and seek to destroy us. We are the apple of God’s Eye, and His enemies know it, and they hate us.

But the writer encourages the reader not to be downcast nor discouraged. God, the God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-Israel, is watching over us and will be with us, both now and in the fiery trials which may lay ahead. “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10

In verse 3 of the above passage from Psalm 83, the Israelites are referred to as God’s hidden ones. He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock – That shadows a dry, thirsty land; – He hideth my life in the depths of His love, – And covers me there with His hand, -And covers me there with His hand.

These hidden ones, these Israelites, spoken of in Psalm 83:3 are the very same treasure referred to in Matthew 13:44, which God hath hidden in the field, and whom He gave all to redeem. “The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” Matthew 13:44

The field is the world, the man is our Lord Jesus Christ and the treasure is His people. God has given His all in order to buy the field, so that He can have the treasure that is in the field, His people Israel.

The Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, Germanic, Scandinavian and kindred peoples of today are that people. We are the people of God. We are that treasure in the field that He has hidden, the apple of His Eye, the people whom He watches over.

One of the names by which our people are known is the name Celtic, or, Keltic. It is indeed interesting to note the definition of the word Celt. Celt is a name at first vaguely applied to a Western people, afterward the regular designation of the Celtic race. But according to the Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia, published by the Century Company in 1899, it is also translated as a word which means covert, conceal or hidden. Thus, the Celtic people are the hidden people, dwellers in coverts (shelter, booth, tent). Could this be merely coincidence?

A second definition of the word celt would be that of an implement or weapon widely used among primitive and people, having the general form of a chisel or an axe-blade. Stone celts are all of a form more or less closely resembling the head of a hatchet, differing only in being sometimes flatter and with a longer cutting edge, sometimes of a section nearly circular, pointed at one end, and coming abruptly to an edge at the other.

Isn’t it interesting that God calls Israel His battle axe! “The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name. Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms.” Jeremiah 51:19-20

The Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, and kindred peoples have done this many times over. In this dark and evil day, let us remember our great heritage and turn to the One who loves us and has been with us all throughout history. We are the people of God. We are the sheep of His pasture, and the treasure hidden in the field. Let us cry out to our God and He will have mercy on us and will save us. “O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; so persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm. Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O Lord. Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: that men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.” Psalms 83:13-18