“The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant.”
John 14:25 to John 15:16 is one of the last discourses that Jesus had with His disciples. It is a wonderful example of God’s revealing His secret and God making known His covenant of which the foregoing Psalm 25:14 speaks. (These may not necessarily be two different things; in other words, it could be that the secret of the LORD is knowing His covenant.) It is also a wonderful example of God giving peace and joy. I quote those verses in this passage which best describe this truth.
John 14:
25 “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.
26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
28 “You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you ‘ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
29 “Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe.
John 15:
3 “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
9 “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.
11 “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
15 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.
16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”
Although we, His Elect, continue in His covenant of friendship, there does seem to me to be those special times when our LORD gives us what I call “special glimpses” of what He is doing. I include these special glimpses within the “secret of the LORD”. Those special glimpses may be God giving us better vision for a brief time or new sight to new things. Those special glimpses also give us a stronger feeling of closeness to Him. It is like we understand a secret of the LORD. It is like we feel His friendship stronger or deeper or in a new way. God draws near to us to reveal a secret to us and to make us feel His presence more strongly or more clearly.
Usually, for me, the special glimpses comes to me as mercy. I become lost, sometimes in sin and sometimes in difficulty or troubles, and Christ comes to me and says to me: “Here I am!”. Immediately, I am no longer lost. Immediately, I understand. Immediately, I feel His love.
Sometimes, for me, the special glimpses come to me as lovingkindness, Sometimes, these glimpses come through my daily devotion or through a sermon that I hear. I understand a “secret of the LORD” from Scripture. It is a new understanding of Scripture, and I get excited and want to share it.
During college while at Cambridge Bank and Trust Company, during some difficult time, I had a very distinct and powerful special glimpse. The LORD directed my attention to a bank sign near a stairs: “Trust Department – Upstairs”. The LORD was impressing me that I needed to trust Him.
“Trust Me!” is a common special glimpse. Even in the Psalm 25 chapter which contains the key verse above, there is one of the most powerful promises that helps us to trust: “Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.” Psalm 25:12. God’s promise, that He will instruct and guide us, helps us to trust God. Psalm 32:8-10 states: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, But he who trusts in the LORD, lovingkindness shall surround him.”
The single word “TULIP” was a special glimpse for me. Although I grew up in the Christian Reformed Church in Muskegon, Michigan, I moved to Florida in 1977 to go to law school, and I stayed here in Florida. I attended and was a member, even a lay leader, in a large range of churches from Assembly of God to Baptist to Calvary Chapel to United Methodist to nondenominational churches and small fellowships. At first, I did not realize that Reformed doctrine would not necessarily be preached in all Christian Protestant churches. I thought that the problem was just with a particular minister. Eventually, a childhood friend, who now lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, asked me if I remembered “TULIP”. That word “TULIP” was a special glimpse, a “Here I am!”. That word “TULIP” brought me peace and joy and brought me, this prodigal son, back home to Reformed doctrine.
Dealing with a dark background of a belief instilled by the Baptists that God was often defeated, dismayed, and discouraged by seeing His children refuse to accept Him and go to hell, I received a special glimpse of God’s TOTAL PERFECT TRIUMPH. God gave me this special glimpse through Jeremiah 9:23-24.
“Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 9: 23-24.
This Scripture gave me a special glimpse into what I call “TOTAL PERFECT TRIUMPH” by which God delights in both demonstrating His justice and His lovingkindness. His loved ones, the Elect, receive the lovingkindness of heaven. His hated ones, the Reprobates, receive the justice of hell. God’s Will is totally, perfectly, and triumphantly done. This understanding of God’s TOTAL PERFECT TRIUMPH grows over time and becomes more clear and more bright like going from a sunset of defeat to a sunrise and day of victory that grows brighter and brighter.
What does this secret of the LORD usually involve? The secret of the LORD usually involves a new understanding, a closer or stronger feeling of the presence of the LORD, and an experience of peace and joy.
How do we get this secret of the LORD? The Scripture of Psalm 25:14 tell us that the secret of the LORD is for those who fear the LORD. First, in all cases, you have to be the Elect a/k/a those who fear the LORD. Second, you draw near to God. You seek Him whether by prayer or by reading or by hearing His word or by otherwise obeying Him . You earnestly seek such secret. However, you may not get the secret at the time, for example during devotion that you think you are seeking him. It often will come later, sometimes much later. Third, it comes to you as pure grace. Sometimes, you may get the secret when you think you do deserve it (but you still really don’t deserve it – remember it is grace), such as immediately in devotion. Other times, you will get the secret when you are lost, and you definitely know that you don’t deserve it.
In conclusion, Matthew 6:33 tells us: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Hebrews 11:6 tells us: “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Come and seek the secret of the LORD and draw nearer to God within His covenant. The following audio sermon by Rev. Nathan Brummel that I heard this past Sunday morning titled “A Passion for Drawing Near to God” can help. Here is the link – http://www.hudsonvilleprc.org/Ministers/Brummel-N.htm
God bless you!
Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions 