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!