The words of these songs point out to us who we are and where we’re going. They point out to us what we owe to our Lord. And we owe Him everything – He who provided our salvation and He who provides our shelter.
I want to speak just a little bit about shelter in this evening hour. The verse read at the beginning contains a description that the man David applied to his God and his Heavenly Father. He referred to Him as a Rock and a Fortress.
When we think of those two words … what are the conditions when a rock and a fortress are really of the most value? Isn’t it in the times when there’s a storm? The value of a fortress would not be the value that it is unless there was a storm of a foreign invader. We think of the rock and the wise man who built his house upon a rock. The wise man was really only shown to be a wise man when the storm came.
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But as we look at the never-dying soul that’s within us … if you’ve reached that age of accountability and you’ve not yet turned your back to the world and your heart and your face to God in Heaven in repentance, you are no longer sheltered. You’re not sheltered at all. In fact, you’re fearfully exposed.
Why is that exposure so fearful? Because a storm is coming. There’s a storm that’s coming upon this earth.
I don’t intend to delve into current events in the house of God and I’m not going to now. Except to say that the events of the day are such that it very strongly indicates that the hour of this earth is growing very late.
And there’s going to be a judgment that comes. And all of those earthly supports are going to fail you. Everything – everything that you see with your eyes is going to melt. All your confidences, all your comforts, they’re all going to let you down. They’re going to depart you. From the smart phone in your hand to the heart beating in your chest, it’s all going to stop.
And then the Judgment. The Judgment comes to the soul of man.
There’s a court proceeding of sorts in your future. And like the courts of this world, there’s going to be a judge. Unlike the courts of this world, there won’t be a jury of your peers determining your guilt or your innocence. There won’t be any counselors at your side trying to shape the outcome or trying to gain you an acquittal or even to reduce your sentence by talking up your redeeming qualities. Nor would it matter if there were. We won’t have any redeeming qualities of our own.
At that point, you’re going to need shelter like you’ve never known it on this earth. And there’s only one source of shelter that’s going to be able to withstand the wrath of a Holy God who comes as a righteous judge.
There’s a song in our Zion’s Harp that speaks directly to this predicament that the soul of man will find himself in and I’m just going to read a couple verses. Hymn #168 where the hymn writer writes:
1. Flourishing youth, thou our hope and our fond expectation,
Hark to the voice that is calling in kind invitation!
That hand obey which oft has pointed the way
To the dear Saviour’s salvation!
2. Offer the lively, the cheerful and beautiful flower,
Offer with gladness and willingness thy youthful power
To Christ, thy friend, who thy soul e’er will defend,
Safe in His heavenly bower.
Jesus Christ and His shed blood is the only rock and the only fortress, the only shelter that’s going to avail the soul of man in that hour of judgment. Only if His blood that he shed for you and for me puts in an appearance for us at that judgment bar are we going to enter in. Only then will we escape that eternal condemnation that would await those who would reject.
So, as we depart in this evening hour, I’m going to lay it to your hearts. A storm is coming. Find that shelter of Jesus Christ and get inside.
--Sermon Excerpt: Bro. N.B.
