I occupied the seat in one of the cars in a funeral procession. As we drew near to the cemetery gates, I remarked to my fellow-passengers: "I have cause to remember this portion of our journey. It was just about here, under similar circumstances, that my sin-darkened soul was aroused to the realities of death and eternity.”
My companions seemed interested, and one asked me to tell them about it, so I continued: "It was several years ago, but the memory of it remains fresh in my mind. On that occasion I was following to the grave the remains of a dearly loved cousin, who had patiently suffered from a painful and distressing illness for a long time. Often she warned me of my careless indifference to the things of eternity; and often my sleeping conscience was stirred, but only for the moment. And so it was that on that day of her funeral I was still unsaved.
"Opposite to me in the car sat the minister of the church where my cousin had attended. Possibly he guessed the nature of my thoughts, as, leaning towards me, he said: With her all is well. She is with Christ, which is far better. She knew that if out of Christ she was lost; but that in Christ she was saved for time and for eternity. A storm-tossed mariner may know of a 'shelter'; but of what avail is that knowledge to him unless he gets into it? Out of Christ there is no safety. Are we in the refuge which God has provided? In Christ alone is your shelter. Get into it now, if still adrift. 'There is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.'
"I listened thoughtfully to the minister's voice. When it ceased I said to myself, 'I am not in the shelter.' As one in a dream I stood by the side of the grave, and that night I confessed to myself, 'If I die now I shall go straight to hell, for I am not in the shelter.'
"But, friends, the' God's Spirit had revealed my need of a Savior, He had already provided the means of salvation. Jesus was sent to shed His blood to redeem lost sinners to God, and under its shelter the trusting soul is safe from every storm. I entered that place of safety through faith in Christ, and now I can say, being sheltered, 'Thou art my hiding place; Thou wilt preserve me from trouble; Thou wilt compass me about with songs of deliverance.”
"Rock of ages, cleft for me, grace hath made me safe in Thee.”
We had now arrived at the grave-side, and stepping out of the car, I assisted one of my fellow-passengers to alight. She was a young girl about eighteen years old, and as she took my hand she said earnestly, "Thank you very much, sir, for having told us of the `shelter'.”
A few months later I received a call to the sickbed of the same young girl who had listened so attentively to me in the car. She was evidently very ill, but with a bright smile of recognition she whispered, "You told me of the 'shelter' and I want you to know that I am in it.”
With a prayer that God would, in the power of His Sprit, reveal His Son to this anxious soul, as a loving Savior, I gladly told her of the Rock, the Shelter, and the strong Tower of Psa. 61.
To all of this she listened eagerly, and several visits were made as she became weaker and weaker.
One day, in company with a friend, I called to see her again. The door was opened by a young woman who said, "Clara is too ill to see anyone today.”
As we were leaving she said, suddenly, "Wait a moment, please." Then turning to me, she said, "What is your name, sir?”
When I told her, she remarked, "I don't think she would like you to go away without seeing her.”
She led us to the bedside of the young girl who was evidently near the end. I thought she was too ill for reading or conversation, so quietly knelt at her bedside. I asked the Good Shepherd to reveal Himself to this weary lamb, and to comfort and sustain the sorrowing relatives. Then as I turned for a last look at the invalid, to my surprise, I saw that she was beckoning me.
I leaned over to catch the faintly uttered words as she said, "You told me of the 'shelter.' You read to me of one who was at His feet. I too have been at His feet and now I am going up there to be with Him. Good bye.”
Reader, are you in the "shelter"?
"Under His wings I am safely abiding
Though the night deepens, and tempests are wild;
Sheltered, protected, no evil can harm me,
He has redeemed me and I am His child.”