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77ZE SHADOW OT THE ALMIGHTY
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most
High shall abide under the shadow of the Al
mighty.’’—Ps. 91: 1.
0 part of the ninety-first Psalm can be
properly considered without taking in
the whole. It is a psalm of rich and
rare promises. David is giving his per
sonal opinion of the security of oim
abiding in the shadow of the Almighty.
It was not enough for him to lia e
thrones and armies. These were human
and consequently transitory. The Al-
N
mighty was from everlasting to everlasting.
David’had had experience in the shadow of the
Almighty. He had tried everything that the world
offered, and it had failed him. Out of his expe
rience he now commends life in the shadow of the
Almighty.
THE CONDITION.
We will always find a strong condition at the
foundation of every promise. In this connection
the condition is, dAvelling in the secret place —“He
that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
The emphasis must certainly be put upon the
condition. The rich promises we have given are
not for the world. Only God's, dear ones can have
special privileges with Him. The sheep that strays
away from the shepherd must expect only his own
strength to rely upon when danger comes. God
woos the prodigal at the swine trough, but feeds
him at home. The children are wanted at the
Father's house. The Christian that eats with the
swine surrenders a feast with the Father. Esau
lost his birthright because he preferred something
else. David lost his peace because he chose com
panionship with sin. Purity and sin never go to
gether. God must be all or He is nothing.
To say I will carry sin in one hand means I will
let go righteousness with the other. Let us not be
content with “Standing on the promises”; let us
remember that every promise has a condition. We
must have a state before we can get a station.
But I do not mean to ignore the promises. The
most of thought at this time is concerning them.
They fire us with aspirations for meeting the condi
tions.
THE PROMISES.
1. Fortification: “Thou art my refuge and for
tress.” A great king with a great people talking
about a refuge! Does it sound cowardly? Not
when we know God. Others had their idols, but
David’s refuge was the Lord God Almighty. How
many of us appropriate God as our refuge?
One day 1 was on a rabbit hunt. After
chasing a rabbit for an hour he made for a hole in
the ground where he was perfectly safe from pest
iferous men and dogs. 1 could but think, “Old fel
low, why didn't you go in there at first and save
yourself all this chase?” How many of us have
been like the rabbit? We have been chased by
sin and sorrow until we have lost heart, when wo
might have gone at once to the refuge.
REFUGE AND FORTRESS.
But God was not only refuge; He was refuge and
fortress. How strong this should make us feel!
I shall never forget the new grip this thought got
on me when our ship pulled into Gibraltar harbor.
It was Easter Sunday. As we came to the mouth
of the harbor we cast anchor, lifted the English flag
and waited for England’s mighty fort, the mightiest
in all the world, to signal permission for us to pull
into the dock. I thought of David’s expression,
“Thou art my rock and my fortress.” H’e could
not make it any stronger. A fort would be strong
but a fortress is two or more forts. I believe
David saw the whole of the Trinity encircling the
soul abiding in the shadow of the Almighty. Abid
ing place and a place of defense. God not only
furnishes the soul beset with dangers a place for
Tabemacle Sermon by Reb. Len G, Broughton, D, *D.
Steuographically reported for The Golden Age. —Copyright applied for
hiding, but also drives back the enemy if he at
tempts to come nigh. One of the most interesting
pictures in the Vatican gallery is a shepherd with a
drawn spear driving back a lion, while a lamb lies
close at his feet. The thought is this: A lamb is
attacked by a lion and flees to the shepherd, who
is not only his refuge but his defense. How much
like a besieged soul who flees to Christ! “No power
shall pluck them out of my hands.”
2. Deliverance. “He shall deliver thee from the
snare of the fowler and the noisome pestilence.”
It is good to know that God will take care of us
when we are abiding in “the shadow of the Al
mighty. ’ ’
Many of us think God is willing to fight our bat
tles for us when the war is on. That is true; there
can be no doubt about that. Thousands of souls
are ready to testify to the strength of God’s for
tress. They have been eagerly sought by the ene
my of souls, and found that God was a safe refuge
and fortress. But this verse gives us more to hope
tor. It declares that God is a deliverance as well
as a refuge. Oh, how many tried and troubled
saints can testify that this is true! I know a man,
a deacon, who, several years ago, was known as
one of the worst gamblers and whisky drinkers
going. One night he was induced by some good
Christian women to give himself to Jesus Christ,
and confess Him as Savior and Lord. For the
time he never thought of his weakness for gambling
and drink. Next day the old desire seemed to re
turn. It frightened him for a moment, and then
he prayed the Lord to take the thirst away. He de
clares that the thirst left him at once and has
never returned.
This is by no means the only case I could relate.
1 know of them by the hundred—men and women
who have been delivered from the enemy in mar
velous ways. What we must remember is, that God
uses His own method of deliverance. From one.
He may take the temptation away, and to another
He may give grace sufficient to master the tempta
tion. We have no right to dictate to God how He
shall deliver us. What we want is deliverance,
whether it comes by the removal of the cause or
by “grace sufficient.” Thank God, it is His will
to give it.
And my experience is that the world wants to
know about this truth. “How am I to withstand
this weakness?” is asked by many a poor, tremb
ling soul. It is not enough to say in answer to such
a question, “Be strong!” The whole mind and
body is mastered by depravity. We must preach
“deliverance.” That is what the lost, degraded,
sin-possessed sinner wants to hear, and that Gospel
he will heed.
I am as well satisfied of this as I am of any
truth; I have seen it hundreds of times. When I
have been preaching to sinners and have emphasized
the deliverance of God, it has been easy to lead
them to Christ. And the church that expects great
soul-winning power must hold strongly to this pre
cious truth. Let there be no uncertain note in this
matter. Let everybody know that our God is great
er than the “snare of the fowler.”
3. Divine Comfort. “He shall cover thee with
His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou
trust’’ (Ps. 111:4). The figure here is that of the
mother-hen gathering her young under her wings.
There is nothing more pathetic than to see the old
bird call her little chicks together and spread over
them her broad, soft feathers. She does it when
she apprehends danger. She does it to protect them
from exposure. She docs it also when she wants to
rest with them and mother them. What a beautiful
figure to illustrate God’s tender affection for His
Church! How comforting to us the thought should
be! In the life of every man and every church there
come times when we feel the need of the special
throb of the mother-heart of God. We do not have
to wait until we are old, to say, with Elizabeth
Gold;
The Golden Age for August 13, 1908.
“Put your arms around me —
There, like that!
I want a little petting
At life’s setting,
For it is harder to be brave
When feeble age comes creeping,
And finds me weeping—
Dear ones gone.
Just a little petting
At life’s setting;
For I am old, alone, and tired,
And my life’s work is done.”
r
Oh, tired soul, has life gone hard with you? Is
there no longer any springtime with flowers to
bloom and birds to sing? Is it now all winter with
ice and snow ? Oh, soul, come close —come close
enough to get in the shadow of the Almighty!
CONQUEST.
4. Conquest. “A thousand shall fall at thy
side and ten thousand at thy right hand.” Here
we have the thought somewhat changing. At first
the Lord was our refuge, and we were consoled with
the thought of our personal security. Now we are
changed from mere recipients to givers of bless
ing. We have gotten strength in the schooling
that we have had, and are now engaged with God
in fighting His battles and bringing others to know
the blessedness of a life in the shadow of the Al
mighty. What an inspiration and encouragement
it is to know that God can and will use poor sinners
saved by grace!
During my first visit to London I was invited to
speak at a soul-winners’ convention held in a large
tent in Islington Park. Just after my address the
president introduced Mr. Charles Cook, the Evan
gelist of Hyde Park, who came upon the platform
and made an address that stirred me from head
to heel. When he was through I asked, “Who is
this Charles Cook?” The answer was, “Go see.”
Later I was invited to dine with Mr. Cook and
speak at his Hyde Park meeting. At the close of
the meeting, which was held in the open air, we
went to one of his after meetings, held in a near
by theater, which was kept rented by him and his
workers. In that after meeting I saw scores of
men accept Christ. I heard scores of others tes
tify of how God had saved them from all sorts of
sin. Two other such after meetings were held in
other sections, Mr. Cook going from place to
place directing the work. The whole thing moved
with military exactness. But who is Mr. Cook, the
Evangelist of Hyde Park? He is a man who, about
forty years ago, was saved from a life of sin,
and for thirty years has given his whole life, with
such powers as few men in this world have, to the
salvation of the non-church-goers of London. No
man in this world that I have ever met impressed
me more than Charles Cook, the Evangelist of Hyde
Park. He is not a man of the schools. He has
cared naught for conventionalities. But he has
abided in the shadow of the Almighty. Conquer
ing power is not given strong armies and mighty
navies. It is not given to the rich and the learned.
These are human and have their limit. The real
conqueror is the man who masters hearts and
changes lives. This power is not human. It is for
him alone who abides in the shadow of the Al
mighty.
O" Heavenly Companionship. “He shall give
His angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy *>
ways. I shall never forget when this truth first
blessed my heart. I had been sick well nigh unto
death for four months. I was a bit better one day
when a warm-hearted, Christian friend was admit
ted to see me. I asked him to read me something
fiom God’s word. He read this Psalm. I only re
member this verse—l will never forget it. It came
to me sweeter than a mother’s kiss: “He shall
give His angels charge over thee to keep thee in all
thy ways.” Angel watchers!
