“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.
From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
I will abide in Thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of Thy wings. Selah.” Psalm 61:1-4 (KJB)
Shelter
Christmas Day Sixty Eight
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want, wanted, and have received some encouragement, hope, and strength from the LORD, and pray you will receive it as well from the following words…
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.” Psalm 91:1-8 (KJV)
Christmas Day One Hundred Four
What do I want for Christmas today?
I want the hungry to be fed; the homeless to have shelter; those who weep to be filled with joy, and I want the wealthy to notice and to take personal care of the poor, and poverty stricken; and no longer taking advantage of the weak and powerless.
Day 41 – Thoughts from Psalms; Home
To me, “Home” is a pleasant word, but much more than that a place of shelter, warmth. Home is a place of family; the place you lay your head at night. The place you dwell, and abide. In a ship sort of way home is the anchor of your life. You can leave home for a while, but you always come back.
The old phrase, “Home is where the heart is” is a true phrase; at least for many people it is.
My reading this morning was Psalms 80 – 93. My comments this morning will rest in Psalm 91. Psalm 91 makes me think of home. I am blessed to have an earthly home. I grew up in what many might call the “traditional family” where the father works providing for the family, though his work was mostly farm work, and I worked along side him when I was old enough to start; and the mother stayed home, tending children, and caring for the house. Mom, also did more than housework, she even killed the chickens we raised for a good chicken dinner at times; made homemade butter, and cottage cheese. O my, that was gooooood stuffff.
Look with me at the first two verses of Psalm 91 –
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.'” Psalm 91:1-2 (KJV)
I have already written of “Wings” in a previous post, and that being a place of safety, and rest. Home is the place we live, we dwell there, we abide there. It is indeed where the heart is.
The psalmist says to us, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High…” That “dwelling” is where we stay. It is a place of shelter; a place of comfort; a place of protection. This “secret place” is more than home though. It is the place where God is; the most holy place. It is the holy of Holies. The place of the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat. The place for only those in intimate relationship with God the Father can dwell.
This “secret place” is the place the intimate ones never leave; but if they ever do they will quickly return. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).
The treasure, the dwelling place, the abiding place of the intimate ones with the LORD is in the “secret place of the Most High”, and those who dwell in that “secret place” are abiding “under the shadow of the Almighty”. It is a place of shelter from the darkness of the world. One thing we might think of as we think of “the shadow of the Almighty” is that His shadow most certainly would be a shadow of greater light. Just as the light of the sun overpowers the light of a light bulb, so too does the light of the glory of God overpower the light of the sun.
The home of the Christian is in the presence of God, the Almighty. He is our refuge and fortress. Let us say with Moses, or whomever the human author of this Psalm is, “In Him will I trust”.
-Tim A. Blankenship
Day 39 – Thoughts from Psalms; Wings
Men have thought of flying for all times and generations. We have watched the birds of the air, and wondered what it would be like to fly through the air and the skies. Of course in the age we live now there is not too many people who have not experienced flight within the confines of a passenger plane or an airplane of some sort or other. Some have flown on hang gliders, using air currents to stay up in the air, and those who are good at it can stay up for as long as they want or until they get too tired to continue.
Well this is not supposed to be about flying, but about “Wings”. The shelter which our God provides us is often likened to wings and we see plenty of evidence of that in the Psalms. My reading today was Psalms 52 – 65, and within those 14 chapters the word “Wings” is mentioned four times.
The first of the day is Psalm 55:6,
“And I said, ‘Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.'” Psalm 55:6 (KJV)
Now, when we think of a “dove” we think of the symbol of peace. The psalmist is thinking of a peaceful flight to get away from his enemies who were oppressing him. He wanted peace, and the first thought was having the “wings like a dove” who would find no rest except in the ark of God (Genesis 8:6-12). David’s thought must have been that the wings of a dove to fly away could only find rest in the hands of our faithful Creator.
“Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.” 57:1
Of this verse, particularly the latter part, Charles Spurgeon wrote,
“‘Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge.’ Not in the cave alone would he hide, but in the cleft of the Rock of ages. As the little birds find ample shelter beneath the parental wing, even so would the fugitive place himself beneath the secure protection of the divine power. The emblem is delightfully familiar and suggestive. May we all experimentally know its meaning. When we cannot see the sunshine of God’s face, it is blessed to cower down beneath the shadow of his wings. ‘Until these calamities be overpast.’ Evil will pass away, and the eternal wings will abide over us till then. Blessed be God, our calamities are matters of time, but our safety is a matter of eternity. When we are under the divine shadow, the passing over of trouble cannot harm us; the hawk flies across the sky, but this is no evil to the chicks when they are safely nestling beneath the hen.” From THE TREASURY OF DAVID by Charles H. Spurgeon
When we write about “Wings” one of my first thoughts was where Jesus says,
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” Matthew 23:37
A mother hen protects her young by calling them under her wings. She protects them there from rain, or predators. Of course as we contemplate the matter of God having wings we do need to understand that these are speaking metaphorically, at least as far as we know. We can and do know that the LORD desires to protect and help those who trust in Him. We can know too, that even when the wrath of God is in open display we can be sheltered beneath those “Wings” for all time and eternity. Nothing can touch or harm us except that that the LORD Himself allows under His wings.
God’s “Wings” are as a “hiding place” as we read the psalmist say,
“I will abide in Thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of Thy wings. Selah.” 61:4
The place of safety, security, and for hiding from the enemy is under these mighty wings of the Almighty. We are not to flee from the enemy, but let us face the truth, there are times we get tired in the battle, we need to hide, we need to get away, pray, seek the face of God, and recuperate. There is no other place for the child of God, the Christian to be than in “The covert of Thy wings”.
“Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice.” 63:7
Our place of rejoicing is in the shadow of His wings. He stands between us and the world. He stands between us and all harm that could come to us. In being between us and the harm and danger His wings form a shadow of light from the darkness of the world outside.
You may find this peace, this place of safety, this place of rejoicing only when you come to the One who took your place on Calvary’s cross, died for your sins, was buried, and was raised bodily from the grave after three days, and now He lives. Because He lives you too can live eternally with Him. Believe Him, trust Him and be saved today.
Christian, if you are fearful, struggling with problems in this life, and who is not; then you can flee to His sheltering “Wings” and rest from the battle, renew your strength, then be strong for the battle ahead.
-Tim A. Blankenship
The Fire and Hammer 