Under His Shadow

"He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1

I must confess of my short discourse, as the man did of the axe which feel into the stream, that it is borrowed. The outline of it is taken from one who will never complain of me, for to the great loss of the church on earth she has left these lower choirs to sing above. Miss Havergal, last and loveliest of our modern poets, just when her tones were most mellow and her language most sublime, has been caught up to swell the music of heaven. Her last poems are published with the title, " Under his Shadow," and the preface gives the reason for the name. She said, " I should like the title to be ‘Under his shadow.’ I seem to see four pictures suggested by that: under the shadow of a rock in a weary plain; under the shadow of atree; closer still, under the shadow of his wing; nearest and closest, in the shadow of his hand. Surely that hand must be the pierced hand, that may oftentimes press us sorely, and yet evermore encircling, upholding, and shadowing."

"Under his shadow," in our winsome subject, and we will in a few words enlarge on the scriptural plan which Miss Havergal has bequeathed to us. Our text is, "He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

The shadow of God is not the occasional resort, but the constant abiding-place, of the saint. Here we find not only our consolation, but our habitation, not only a loved resort, but a home. We ought never to be out of the shadow of God. It is to dwellers, not to visitors, that the Lord promises his protection. "He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty": and that shadow shall preserve him from nightly terror and ghostly ill, from the arrows of war and of pestilence, from death and from destruction. Guarded by omnipotence, the chosen of the Lord are always safe; for as they dwell in the holy place, hard by the mercy seat, where the blood was sprinkled of old, the pillar of fire by night, and the pillar of cloud by day, which ever hangs over the sanctuary, covers them also. It is not written, "In the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion, in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me"? What better security can we desire? As the people of God we are alwaysunder the protection of the most High. Wherever we go, whatever we suffer, whatever may be our difficulties, temptations, trials, or perplexities, we are always "under the shadow of the Almighty." Over all who maintain their fellowship with God, the most tender guardian care is extended. Their heavenly Father himself interposes between them and their adversaries. The experience of the saints, albeit they are all under the shadow, yet differs as to the form in which that protection has been enjoyed by them, hence the value of the four figures which will now engage our attention.

I. We will begin with the first picture which Miss Havergal mentions namely, THE ROCK sheltering the weary traveler. "The shadow of a great rock in a weary land " (Isaiah 32:2). Now, I take it that this is where we begin to know our Lord’s shadow. He was at the first to us a refuge in time of trouble. Weary was the way, and great was the heat; our lips were parched, and our souls were fainting; we sought for shelter and we found none; for we were in the wilderness of sin and condemnation, and none could bring us deliverance; or even hope. Then we cried unto the Lord in our trouble, and helped us to the Rock of Ages, which of old was cleft for us. We saw our interposing Mediator coming between us and the fierce heat of justice, and we hailed the blessed screen.

The Lord Jesus was unto us a covering for sin, and so a covert from wrath. The sense of divine displeasure, which had beaten upon our conscience, was removed by the removal of the sins itself, which we saw to be laid on Jesus, who in our place and stead endured all its penalty.

The shadow of a rock is remarkably cooling, and so was the Lord Jesus eminently comforting to us. The shadow of a rock is more dense, more complete, and more cool than any other shade; and so the peace which Jesus gives, passes all understanding, there is none like it.

No chance beam darts through the rock shade, nor can the heat penetrate as it will do in a measure through the foliage of a forest: Jesus is acomplete shelter, and blessed are they who are "under his shadow." Let them take care that they abide there, and never venture forth to answer for themselves, or to brave the accusations of Satan.

As with sin, so with sorrow of every sort: the Lord is the rock of our refuge. No sun shall smite us, nor any heat, because we are never out of Christ. The saints know where to fly, and they use their privilege. "When troubles, like a burning sun, Beat heavy on their head, To Christ their mighty Rock they run, And find a pleasing shade."

There is, however, something of awe about this great shadow. A rock is often so high as, to be terrible, and we tremble in presence of its greatness. The idea of littleness hiding behind massive greatness is well set forth; but there is no attractive thought of fellowship, or tenderness: even so, at the first, we view the Lord Jesus as our shelter from the consuming heat of well-deserved punishment, and we know little more. It is most pleasant to remember that this is only one panel of the fourfold picture. Inexpressibly dear to my soul is the deep cool rook-shade of my blessed Lord, as I stand in him a sinner saved; yet is there more.

II. Our second picture, that of THE TREE, is to be found in the Song of Solomon 2:3, "As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste." Here we have not so much refuge from trouble, as special rest in times of joy.

The spouse is happily wandering through a woods, glancing at many trees, and rejoicing in the music of the birds. One tree specially charms her: the citron with its golden fruit wins her admiration, and she sits under its shadow with great delight, such was her beloved to her, the best among the good, the fairest of the fair, the joy of her joy, the light of her delight. Such is Jesus to the believing soul.

The sweet influences of Christ are intended to give us a happy rest, and we ought to avail ourselves of them: "I sat down under his shadow." This was Mary’s better part, which Martha well-near missed by being cumbered. That is the good old way wherein we are to walk, the way in which we find rest unto our souls.

Papists and papistical people, whose religion is all ceremonies, or all working, or all groaning, or all feeling, have never come to a satisfying end. We may say of their religion, as of the law, that it made nothing perfect; but under the gospel there is something finished, and that something is the sum and substance of our salvation, and therefore there is rest for us, and we ought to sing, "I sat down."

Dear friends, is Christ to each one of us a place of sitting down? I do not mean a rest of idleness and self-content. God deliver us from that; but there is rest in a conscious grasp of Christ, a rest of contentment with him, as our all in all. God give us to know more of this. This shadow is also meant to yield perpetual solace, for the spouse did not merely come under it, but there she sat down as one that meant to stay. Continuance of repose and joy, is purchased for us by our Lord’s perfected work. Under the shadow she found food; she, had no need to leave it to find a single needful thing, for the tree which shaded also yielded fruit; nor did she need even to rise from her rest, but sitting still she feasted on the delicious fruit. You who know the Lord Jesus know also what this means.

The spouse never wished to go beyond her Lord. She knew no higher life than that of sitting under the Well-beloved’s shadow. She passed the cedar, and oak, and every other goodly tree, but, the apple tree held her, and there she sat down. "Many there be that say, who will show us any good?

But for us, O Lord, our heart is fixed, our heart is fixed, resting on you. We, will go no further, for you are our dwelling-place, we feel at home with you, and sit down beneath your shadow." Some Christians cultivate reverence at the expense of childlike love; they kneel down, but they dare not sitdown. Our divine Friend and Lover not want that it should be so, he would not have us stand an ceremony with him, but come boldly unto him. "Let us be simple with him, then, Not backward, stiff, or cold, As tho our Bethlehem could be What Sinai was of old."

Let us use his sacred name as a common word, as a household word, and run to him as to a dear or familiar friend. Under his shadow we are to feel that we are at home, and then he will make himself at home to us by becoming food unto our souls, and giving spiritual refreshment to us while we rest. The spouse does not here say that she reached up to the tree to gather its fruit, but she sat down on the ground in intense delight, and the fruit came to her where she sat. It is wonderful how Christ will come down to souls that sit beneath his shadow, if we can but be at home with Christ he will sweetly commune with us. Has he not said, "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and he shall give you the desires of shine heart"?

In this second form of the sacred shadow, the sense of awe gives place to that of restful delight in Christ. Have you ever figured in such a sense as the sitter beneath the graceful shade of the fruitful tree? Have you not only possessed security, but experienced delight in Christ? Have you sung, "I sat down under his shadow, sat down with great delight; His fruit was sweet unto my taste, And pleasant to my sight"?

This is as necessary an experience as it is joyful; necessary for many uses. The joy of the Lord is our strength, and it is when we delight ourselves in the Lord that we have assurance of power in prayer. Here faith develops, and hope grows bright, while love shines abroad all the fragrance of her sweet spices. Oh! get to the apple-tree, and find out who is fairest among the fair. Make the light of heaven the delight of your heart, and then be filled with heart’s ease, and revel in complete contentment.

III. The third view of the one subject is, THE SHADOW OF HIS WINGS -a precious word. I think the best specimen of it, for it occurs several times, is in that blessed psalm, the sixty-third, and the seventh verse: "Because you have been my help, therefore in the shadow of your wings will I rejoice."

Does not this set forth our Lord as our trust in hours of depression? In the psalm now open before us, David was banished from the means of grace to a dry and thirsty land, where no water was. What is much worse, he was in a measure away from all conscious enjoyment of God. He says, "Early will I seek you. My soul thists for you." He sings rather of memories rather than of present communion with God. We also have come into this condition, and have been unable "to find any present comfort." You have been my help," has been the highest note we could strike, and we have been glad to reach to that. At such times, the sight of God’s face has been withdrawn, but our faith has taught us to rejoice under the shadow of his wings. Light, there was none; we were altogether in the shade, but it was a warm shade. We felt that God who had been near must be near us still, and therefore we were quieted. Our God cannot change, and therefore as he was our help he must still be, our help, our help even when he cast a shadow over us, for it must be the shadow of his own, eternal wings.

Next Part Under His Shadow 2

Back to Charles Spurgeon