G0D'S best blessings to men have usually come by men.

Immense boons have come to nations by kings like David, prophets like Samuel, deliverers like Gideon, lawgivers like Moses.

But what are all good men put together compared with THE MAN, Christ Jesus?

We are now to view him as our shield against ten thousand ills: the hiding place and covert of his people.

l. Mysterious hurricanes within, which cause the most dreadful confusion of mind. Winds, whose direction is uncertain, shaking everything, creating unrest and distraction. Frequently no definite cause can be assigned for them; the cause may be constitutional, or physical, or circumstantial.

2. Overwhelming tempests of spiritual distress on account of sin, wrong desire, conscious declension, unbelief, etc.

3. Fierce blasts of temptation, insinuation, suggestion, denunciation, etc., from Satan.

4. Wild attacks from human enemies, who taunt, slander, threaten, etc. David was wont to use this refuge. He says, "I flee unto thee to hide me" (Ps. 143:9).

5. Trying gales of temporal losses, bereavements, and other afflictions.

6. Above all, the storm of divine anger when we have grieved the Holy Spirit, and lost communion with God.

None of these winds and tempests are we able to bear: our only safety lies in getting out of them by finding a shelter where God has provided it (Isa. 25:4; 26:20; Ps. 32:7).

• Sympathizing with us, and


• Bringing God near to us.

2. As more than man, ruling every tempest, covering every feeble traveler, as within the cleft of a rock.
3. As Substitutionary Man, interposing, breasting the storm for us, hiding us by being weather-beaten himself.
4. As Representative Man, more than conqueror, and glorified.

• In him we are delivered from divine wrath.


• In him we are covered from Satan's blasts.


• In him we dwell above trial by happy fellowship with him.


• In him we are victors over death.

5. As Ever-living Man: we live because he lives, and thus we defy the tempest of death (John 14:19).
6. As Interceding Man. He says, "I have prayed for thee," when Satan is seeking to destroy any one of us (Luke 22:32).
7. As the Coming Man. We dread no political catastrophes, or social disruptions, for "he must reign." The end is secured: "Behold, he cometh with clouds" (Rev. 1:7).

1. Let him stand before us, interposing between us and the punishment of sin. Hide behind him by faith.
2. Let him daily cover us from all evil, as our Shield and Protector (Ps.119:114).
3. Let us enter info him more and more fully, that we may be more hidden, that he may be more known to us, and that we may have a fuller sense of security.

He is a capacious hiding-place: "Yet there is room." As in Adullam all David's army could hide, so is Jesus able to receive hosts of sinners.

He is an inviting shelter, because he is Man, and therefore has compassion towards men, and a joy in their salvation.

Well do I remember being caught in the mistral at Hyeres, when it blew with unusual fury; it not only drove clouds of dust with terrible force, but boughs of trees, and all sorts of light material were propelled with tremendous force. One wondered that a tree remained upright, or a fence in its place. What a joy it was to hide behind a solid wall, and under its shelter to run along till we were safe within doors! Then we knew in some measure the value of a hiding-place from the wind. But what is that to a cyclone, which tears down houses, and lifts ships upon the dry land? Friends who have lived abroad have startled us with their descriptions of what wind can be, and they have made us cease to wonder that a hiding-place should be greatly prized by dwellers in eastern lands.

I creep under my Lord's wings in the great shower, and the waters cannot reach me. Let fools laugh the fools' laughter, and scorn Christ, and bid the weeping captives in Babylon to sing them one of the songs of Zion. We may sing, even in our winter's storm, in the expectation of a summer's sun at the turn of the year. No created powers in hell, or out of hell, can mar our Lord's work, or spoil our song of joy. Let us then, be glad and rejoice in the salvation of our Lord, for faith had never yet cause to have tearful eyes, or a saddened brow, or to droop or die. — Samuel Rutherford

A shelter is nothing if we stand in front of it. The main thought with many a would-be Christian is his own works, feelings, and attainments: this is to stand on the windy side of the wall by putting self before Jesus. Our safety lies in getting behind Christ, and letting him stand in the wind's eye. We must be altogether hidden, or Christ cannot be our hiding place.

Foolish religionists hear about the hiding place, but never get into it. How great is the folly of such conduct! It makes Jesus to be of no value or effect. What is a roof to a man who lies in the open, or a boat to one who sinks in the sea? Even the Man Christ Jesus, though ordained of God to be a covert from the tempest, can cover none but those who are in him. Come then, poor sinner, enter where you may; hide in him who was evidently meant to hide you, for he was ordained to be a hiding place, and must be used as such, or the very aim of his life and death would be missed.