The
Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity.
The
Collect.
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ORD, we pray thee that thy grace may
always prevent and follow us, and make us continually to be given to all good
works; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
They that be whole need not a
physician, but they that are sick. (Matt
9:12)
They that are whole have no
need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Mark
2:17)
20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy
chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little
moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his
place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also
shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. (Isaiah 26:20-21)
7 Thou art my hiding place;
thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of
deliverance. Selah. 8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt
go: I will guide thee with mine eye. (Psalms 32:7-8)
Just
as the Lord said to Noah: "Come thou and all thy house into the ark ……."
(Gen 7:1) The Lord does not choose His Words randomly, but wittingly. He told
Noah to "come" into the Ark rather than "go
into the Ark" because the Lord is the place of safety and
security. The Lord precedes us into the place of safety (for wherever He is,
there is security) and calls us there to come unto Himself. Jesus is OUR place
of safety. He is OUR Ark of Salvation. Come
unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
(Matt 11:28) Pursued from pillar to post by that old Deceiver and Roaring Lion,
we must seek cover and concealment – this we find in Christ. We flee to Him and
hide our souls in the cleft of that Great Rock that is Christ, and the same
that followed the Children in the Wilderness. We cannot rest when we are in
full flight from the enemy of our souls, but we do find complete security in
our Hiding Place, and then only may we rest. Oh, did I mention? Christ is
also our Rest, or Sabbath!
As
our Hiding Place, Jesus is not commonly accessed. Not all will find that place
of security for they do not even seek His Sheltering Wings. They stumble as
drunk men who grope and labor for the high places of the earth and not the high
places of our Lord. To them who perish: The rich man's wealth is his
strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit. 12 Before destruction the heart of man is
haughty, and before honour is humility. (Prov 18:11-12) But to those who seek and find their Hiding Place in
Christ: The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth
into it, and is safe. (Prov 18:10)
Our
Hiding Place in Christ is an invincible defense against the enemy. First, the
enemy cannot find this Hiding Place for he does not seek for safety but for war.
Secondly, if the enemy would peradventure find this Hiding Place, he cannot
access it by penetrating the defenses and perimeter guards.
Our
Hiding Place is not only for protection, but for comfort from the heat of
battle. His protecting walls and stones of cover afford a cool repast from the
noonday sun of worldly struggle. The springs of Living Water are there, and
emerge cold and pure from the Fountain of Life Itself.
We
may forget the fears that have obsessed our hearts in the Wilderness of Sin,
and focus our hearts on love and devotion to our Lord and His own when we have
found our security in Him.
Rather than affording rest and comfort, our Hiding Place is a frustration and
troubling reality to our enemy. He expends time, effort, and much confused
thinking on trying to locate our souls to destroy them – but he cannot.
When
do men seek a Hiding Place – when they already feel worthy and secure? When
they have enriched themselves on the ill-gotten possessions of others? I think
not. They seek a Hiding Place when the enemy is in hot pursuit; when no other
maneuver will suffice; and when they have no other resort for salvation. Men
often ONLY seek Christ when their defense have fallen and crumbled, when
trouble is their daily fare, and no other rest can be found.
Men
seek their Hiding Place – not because they are strong – but because they are
weak against a powerful enemy. They seek the Hiding Place because it is
stronger than themselves and their enemy. Christ is a strong and safe Hiding
Place.
Our
Hiding Place is a perpetual security – it has become our Eternal Abode! Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear
fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide
in me I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a
man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men
gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide
in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be
done unto you. (John 15:4-7)
