Bunkers And Boulders

In the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by.

Psalm 57:1

Residents of Washington, DC, were surprised in 1942 when workers started building the East Wing of the White House. During World War II, it was thought that the nation’s energies should be expended on the war effort, not on enlarging the presidential residence. Only a few people knew that the East Wing was being enlarged to hide the construction of an underground bunker called the Presidential Emergency Operations Center. Originally built for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, it was designed to withstand a nuclear blast in the event of an incoming intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

In the days of David, a cave provided similar protection. While running from the armies of King Saul, David frequently found caves to be secret and secure hiding places. According to the superscription at the beginning of Psalm 57, David was hiding in such a cave when he wrote, “In the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge” (verse 1).

Everyone needs a hiding place, but our security is not found in bunkers or boulders. We find refuge under the wings of the Lord. He Himself is our safety. He alone is our hiding place.

Under His wings my soul shall abide, safely abide forever.

WILLIAM O. CUSHING