By The Rev. T. B. Allworthy, B.D.
There is a curious little book in my possession, printed nearly one hundred and twenty years ago, called “The Cries of London.” The watchman’s cry, and the dustman’s, and the old-clothes-man’s, the knife-grinder’s, the flower-seller’s, the sweep’s, and many other cries which used to be heard in the streets of London are preserved in this little book, and there are quaint engravings of these old-time characters.· Not so very long ago a new cry was often heard in the streets of London, and in other places in England. It was the cry of “Take Cover.” It was a warning that enemy aircraft had crossed the coast and might be expected soon to be over our heads-unless our gallant defenders drove the invaders off. Suddenly we heard the shrill whistle of the policeman; then we saw him coming along as fast as he could on his bicycle with the big notice: Boy Scouts, too, and others followed. How quickly the message was carried! It passed from mouth to mouth. And people rushed to obey it, flocking into shops and cellars, basements and tubes, crypts and churches; until the danger was past, and the other new cry-so welcome and reassuring-was heard, “All Clear!”
I have lately read some lines which a little boy in the East End of London―the son of a poor woman who makes Christmas crackers — wrote about the raids. They are these:
“God is our Refuge; don’t be dismayed,
He will protect us all through the raid.
When danger is threatening, we never need fear;
He’ll watch over the weakest, until the ‘All Clear.’
That shows a grand spirit of trust in God.
Now taking refuge like this, especially in churches, is not a new thing. In many wars people have fled for safety to buildings “set apart for the service and worship of God; and other people too used to” take sanctuary, “as it was called, in churches—people who were in debt, or had done something wrong and wanted to escape, not so much from justice properly administered, but from illegal violence. On the great north door of Durham Cathedral one may still see the “Sanctuary Knocker,” with its place for the lamp to guide the fugitives of the night; if they could reach that and “take cover” in the church, they were safe.
There was a provision of this kind in ancient Israel. There were six “Cities of Refuge,” three on the east and three on the west side of the river Jordan, “that every one that killed any person unwittingly might flee thither” (Num. 35:15), until his case was tried. This was a merciful arrangement in times when people were too inclined to take the law into their own hands.
Now there is another cry of “Take Cover,” which is always sounding in our ears. It is the cry which the men in the City of Destruction heard at the beginning of “The Pilgrim’s Progress.” He knew that he was in danger. His Book told him that, and as he read, he burst out... crying, “What must I do to be saved?” Then he met Evangelist, and “he gave him a parchment roll, and there was written within, ‘Flee from the wrath to come.’” Presently he began to run, and no one could stop him. “Life, Life, eternal Life!” he cried, and “looked not behind him.” No one in a raid was more eager for safety than he.
There are some grand words in Isaiah 32:2, which tell us where we can find refuge; they are these, “A man shall be a covert from the tempest.” And the “Man” is the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour from the punishment which sin brings and from its power. Have we obeyed the warning to seek salvation in Him?
Everybody knows the hymn, “Jesu, Lover of my soul.”
Do you know how Charles Wesley came to write it? He was sitting one day by an open window when he saw a little bird pursued by a hawk. Suddenly the bird darted in through the window and fluttered into Mr. Wesley’s coat and “took cover” from his enemy there. That suggested to the poet the words of the prayer:
“Jesus, Lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly.
This is the place of refuge for us all. This is the way of escape―and the only way―from the consequences of sin. When the jailor at Philippi asked St. Paul, “What must I do to be saved,” he told him to “take cover” here― “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:30-31).
And this is the place of safety, too, amidst the temptations which threaten to destroy our souls. When evil thoughts, evil suggestions, come to us, we must “take cover” from the power of sin by looking straight to the mighty Saviour for help and strength. “The Name of the Lord,” says the Book of Proverbs (18:10), “is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe” — runneth, yes, for delay is dangerous; there is no time to be lost.
Not as long as we are in this world can we be “All Clear” of temptation; but trusting in Christ as Saviour and Keeper we need not fear. Let us “take” the “cover” which God has provided for us and say to Jesus, simply and from our hearts:
“Hide me, O my Saviour hide
Till the storm of life be past.