In the Shadow
|
|
Brother David Green |
“...in the shadow of thy
wings will I make my refuge until these calamities be
overpast” Psalms 57:1
Shadows have no substance.
They are images of darkness cast by another object which
does. Oh, but the shadow of God is not just another fleeting
image. The shadow of God’s wings is as substantial as its
object and just as much so is its usefulness. Within His
shadow, God provides all that He is to His people. But why
the use of this language? What could the shadow of God’s
wings suggest to us? First, it indicates Proximity.
Closeness, or nearness. This closeness is one of
“relationship,” and that relationship is one of Eternal Love
and is the very cause for His shadow. Love places God's
people in the closest relationship to Him that is possible
and from that impassioned nearnes a kind influence is placed
within them with great effectiveness: “How excellent is
thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore, the children of men
put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings.”
“The Lord has appeared of
old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn
thee” (Jeremiah 31:3). The shadow of the wings of God is
spread over His people as a mantle for their refuge from all
troubles. So close are the redeemed sons of salvation to the
heart of Jehovah that in a sense He shadows them, or follows
them, wherever they go in this life to “overshadow” them as
do those who follow persons of royalty to shade them as with
an umbrella to provide comfort and protection from the
harmful rays of the noonday sun. How much more are the
chosen of God covered and shielded by Him for they are the
very heirs of salvation through the Son of God (Galatians
4:4-7) and have always abode in an unparalleled nearness to
the heart of their Lord! Yea, in that vast, eternity before
time, the Son was ever before the Father rejoicing in Him in
an unbroken strain of holy rapture! Oh, but while He was yet
rejoicing in the Father in that timeless eternity, the eye
of God the Son was upon His people, adoring them and openly
declaring, “...I was daily His delight, rejoicing always
before Him; rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth;
and my delights were with the sons of men”! (Proverbs
8:30,31). Dear saint, notice how the Son does not hesitate
to explain that His eternal joy with the Father was in
concert with His joy for His people! How unspeakable is this
closeness of the Saviour’s love to His redeemed. Well did
David pray, “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me
under the shadow of thy wings…” (Psalms 17:8). So near
is the Lord to His chosen that they are the very center of
His vision and always have been!
To be in God’s shadow
indicates protection. Divine love will never forsake the
objects of its affection and refuse or fail to provide for
their wants and needs in due time.
Eternally, the shadow of God’s
wings covers His elect with the heavenly dignity of the Son
and places them within the veil before the Mercy Seat before
the presence of God! As the sacrificial Lamb, He cleanses
them of their sins and sanctifies them through the offering
of His body once for all! As Prophet, he secured the
promises of their inheritance, even that of the Gentiles,
now and hereafter. Through His heavenly office as the Great
High Priest, He makes His people priests unto God! And as
King, He rules and reigns over His enemies and, therefore,
those of His people’s as well.
The Almighty is a covert from
calamities now, upon the earth, for there shall be none in
heaven. That Divine shadow is cast for the refuge of His
saints which they need daily and oftentimes desperately! We
are given the lesson of this truth from the experiences of
David’s life as displayed in our text and throughout his
writings. How well the Psalmist knew of dangers and
distresses. He typified his Redeemer not only from his
lineage and the likeness of his heart to God, but also as a
man acquainted with grief and sorrows. From David’s youth,
he was left alone to face the Philistine giant when no other
man was found to champion for the God of Israel. Then, for
years he feared for his life which was threatened first by
King Saul and later by his own son Absolom. In addition to
the dangers of life, David fought another giant, that of
‘misery’ of his spirit because of personal sins and the
sufferings which accompanied them. The dangers and
distresses of life and soul were many and profound. But oh,
hear the pitiful cries of the child overwhelmed with grief,
“Be merciful unto me , O God, be merciful unto me…”(verse
1); and the Lord covered David and delivered him from all
his terrible trials. Now, the troubled soul is moved from
desperate cries to exultations, “I will cry unto God most
high; unto God that performeth all things for me. He shall
send from heaven, and save me…Be thou exalted, O God, above
the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth”
(verses 2, 3, 5). While life lasts we, just as David, shall
always have reason to be crying to the Lord for His mercies.
Yea, nothing but the merciful provisions of God can protect
us from human malice, personal vindictiveness, legal
injustice, sin in our life, or despair in death. Our God is
David’s God and he does the same now for His people as He
did for his servant David. The most high God does perform
all things and always in the right moment for help to his
children: In one experience, He may protect us from our
adversary preventing harm to the vital parts of our soul
just like a shield and buckler does for the body in battle
because our conflict is like a warfare; at another time He
places us in a high tower of safety out of the reach of the
swarming waves of distress that we are drowning in; and yet
in another, His word is magnified to us for our guidance and
conviction against carnal influences or when we are confused
with decisions and responsibilities.
But here is a great blessing!
Here is mercy and grace! Divine closeness and Divine
protection are given with purpose! With each stressful
experience, when the child of God seeks refuge under the
shadow of the wings of the Almighty, they experience
irrefutably just how faithful their God is to send from
heaven and save them! Within this safe covert is no useless
advantage given, but their spiritual man is renewed and
their faith is strengthened, for my soul trusteth in
Thee...my heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed! (verses
1, 7). With each new trial they are strengthened to place
more trust in the Lord. With each fiery trial, more dross is
extracted and more gold is left refined! And how do we make
our refuge in the shadow of God’s wings? When we really
expect our Saviour to do just that, save! When our hope for
help is built on absolutely nothing less than Jesus’ blood
and righteousness. When we dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name! When we worship God
with sincerity, when we earnestly pray, when we desire His
word more than our food, when we deny ourselves and humbly
submit our very lives to Him, then we will find ourselves
saying of the Lord and really meaning it, ‘He is my
refuge, my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust...He shall
cover (me) with his feathers, and under his wings shall (I)
trust’ (Psalms 32:7). Then we are beneath His wings and
in His shadow, and then our calamities are overpassed.
The shadow of God’s wings is
not just a fleeting image. It is a solid and firm foundation
to every saint’s peace and safety. God bless us to have
reason to tune our hearts and sing with our souls:
How firm a foundation, ye saints
of the Lord, is laid for you
faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to
you, He hath said, you who unto
Jesus for refuge have fled?
In
every condition, in sickness, in
health, in poverty’s vail, or
abounding in wealth. At home,
and abroad, on the land, on the
sea, ‘As thy days may demand,
shall thy strength ever be.’
When thru the deep waters I call
thee to go, the rivers of woe
shall not thee overflow; For I
will be with thee, thy troubles
to bless, and sanctify to thee,
thy deepest distress.
The soul that on Jesus still
leans for repose, I will, I will
not desert to his foes; That
soul, though all hell should
endeavor to shake, I’ll never,
no never, no never forsake!
|