WHEN you visit a friend's home, I wonder if you take notice of the pictures
which hang on the wall. They can be exceedingly interesting. I know many people
who are following the modern trend of excluding pictures from their homes, but I
think that they are missing a great deal. I have three small pictures in my
bedroom and I often study them and weave imaginary stories around them.
Many years ago a dear friend of mine came to preach in my church and he told the
congregation a story which I have never forgotten and which has brought
tremendous blessing into my life.
As far as I can remember, the preacher told us that he went to keep an
appointment in the home of a titled gentleman. When he arrived, he was shown
into the lounge and was informed that there would be a delay of some twenty
minutes before the interview could take place.
As my friend sat in the room, he was wondering how he could occupy himself
during the waiting period, when suddenly his gaze became fixed on two
magnificent pictures. They were obviously a pair and were hanging side by side
on a wall where they could be seen to great advantage. A closer inspection was
inevitable.
The first picture depicted a terrible storm at sea. So realistic was the work of the artist that one could sense the atmosphere and feel the danger. Tremendous seas were running, the waves were gigantic. The sky was dark with heavy clouds and lightning was seen to be flashing. The picture was so true to life, the preacher told us, that he imagined he heard the thunder roll.
In the midst of the turbulent sea was a little coble. Three men were straining at the oars, their faces livid with fear. It appeared that at any moment one of those giant waves would dash the little boat and its occupants down into a watery grave. Underneath the picture were written these words: 'In the world ye shall have tribulation'.
How true to life that picture was. There are times when we are overwhelmed
with the problems of life. It is true we do not live permanently in the storm,
but there are times when we find ourselves at 'wit's end corner and we wonder if
our little craft will be dashed to pieces.
The preacher then described how he moved from the first picture to its
counterpart.
To his amazement the second picture depicted the very same stormy scene, the same frightening angry waves. The black sky and the streaked lightning were identical. Peril and danger were to be seen on every hand, yet the same theme of this picture was one of complete contrast. Instead of three men struggling for their lives in a frail little boat, a great massive rock was jutting up in the midst of that tempestuous sea and in a cleft of the rock a bird was sitting peacefully on her nest. The bird was surrounded by the danger of that violent storm, the very same danger which was threatening the existence of those experienced mariners, yet she was completely untroubled and undisturbed as she rested in the rock. The storm may rage and howl without but she had found perfect security in the cleft of the rock.
That rock was a symbol of God. It had its foundation in eternity. It had withstood a thousand storms. Nothing can ever move this great everlasting pavilion of safety.
All the time the bird remained sheltered in the rock, she was as safe as the rock itself. Underneath the second picture, these words were written 'But in Me ye shall have peace'. In the World, tribulation, but in Jesus, peace.
Rock of Ages cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
The Scripture says, 'And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as a shadow of a great rock in a weary land' (Isaiah 32:2).That man is none other than our blessed Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our hiding place the Rock of Ages cleft for us on Calvary's hill. The storms may engulf this old world in which we live and all the indications are that they will become more and more severe. Yet the true believer can be secure as he hides in God. Our lives can be doubly hid, with Christ, in God. We are no longer struggling in our little craft, wondering what in the world is going to happen next.
We have committed our all to God our abiding place is in him and we are eternally safe.
Hide me, O my Saviour hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide;
Oh, receive my soul at last.