Introduction: When I was a kid in high school I went with a friend to see one of music’s great lyricists in concert. Bob Dylan was playing at Chastain Park and we got tickets and saw him. I knew all the words to his songs. I cannot say that it was a very good show. He seemed oblivious to his audience and made few efforts to acknowledge that we paid good money to come see him. Just a little, “Hey, thanks for coming out” would have been nice. I was still glad I went, but was disappointed that he didn’t play one of my favorites from the massive Dylan catalogue, “Shelter from the Storm.” Here are the lyrics:

‘Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
When blackness was a virtue the road was full of mud
I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form
Come in, she said
I’ll give ya shelter from the storm

And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured
I’ll always do my best for her, on that I give my word
In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm
Come in, she said
I’ll give ya shelter from the storm

Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved
Everything up to that point had been left unresolved
Try imagining a place where it’s always safe and warm
Come in, she said
I’ll give ya shelter from the storm

I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail
Poisoned in the bushes an’ blown out on the trail
Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn
Come in, she said
I’ll give ya shelter from the storm

Suddenly I turned around and she was standin’ there
With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair
She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns
Come in, she said
I’ll give ya shelter from the storm

Now there’s a wall between us, somethin’ there’s been lost
I took too much for granted, I got my signals crossed
Just to think that it all began on an uneventful morn
Come in, she said
I’ll give ya shelter from the storm

Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount
But nothing really matters much, it’s doom alone that counts
And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn
Come in, she said
I’ll give ya shelter from the storm

I’ve heard newborn babies wailin’ like a mournin’ dove
And old men with broken teeth stranded without love
Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn
Come in, she said
I’ll give ya shelter from the storm

In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes
I bargained for salvation and she gave me a lethal dose
I offered up my innocence I got repaid with scorn
Come in, she said
I’ll give ya shelter from the storm

Well, I’m livin’ in a foreign country but I’m bound to cross the line
Beauty walks a razor’s edge, someday I’ll make it mine
If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born
Come in, she said
I’ll give ya shelter from the storm

The phrase “shelter from the storm,” like so many of Dylan’s lyrics, comes from Scripture. Isaiah 4:6 reads, “There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.” That passage’s context is about “God as a refuge to his people in all weathers,” as Matthew Henry notes.

Segue to Psalm 55: This coming Sunday I will assemble with fellow Christian pilgrims, and with them I will open to Psalm 55 which centers on David’s anguish of soul amidst so much that is false. David cries out to God. In verse two, he lays it out all before the Lord with his heart’s cry: “Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan.”

I adore the book of Psalms because it keeps life real. It does not paint a spiritual facade over the suffering that people endure. The psalms show people like David–fallen but redeemed people like David–suffer amidst a vicious pagan world system replete with leaders who long ago sold out to the demonic. They serve their master, the devil. Meanwhile, David and other pilgrims like him, suffer while trying to do good. David is clearly a sinful man, but unlike the unregenerate masses, David repents and returns to God. He knows he will answer to God. He will give an account. There will be a reckoning.

David writes of treacherous people who betrayed him: “My companion stretched out his hand against his friends; he violated his covenant. His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords” (Psalm 55, 20-21 ESV).

Who cannot identify with that experience? Who among us has not trusted someone only to be betrayed?

But all of this is to be understood in light of the metanarrative–the overarching message of the Bible–namely, that the ultimate king was not David; it was and is Jesus. And he was betrayed. He was lied about. He gave himself for sinners. He endured the wrath that sinners merited, yet was without sin himself. He was made sin for all who who repent and believe and flee to him in the gospel. Shelter from the storm.

David recommits himself to God in the last verse: “But I will trust in you” (Psalm 55:23b ESV). Shelter from the storm.

David recognizes that treachery is afoot, both far and near. Therefore, the wise will trust the Lord, not the fake professions of those following the father of lies. David knew where his shelter from the storm was. It was a place and a person.

Connections to Our Day: When you listen to politicians utter bromides about how wonderful they are, about how they’ll fix your problems, just look at their actions rather than listen to their empty words. They print money as fund whores gush borrowed inflated funds into Ukraine but America’s borders remain open for continued invasion. They may shut down the U.S. government next week because we’re out of money, but we send billions of armaments to Ukraine because we apparently believe some borders are important. Storms are gathering, you see.

Regardless of your politics, surely you see that. Storms are gathering. Just look what actions are taking place. Open borders; a total breakdown of the prosecution of violent crime; fentanyl-laden druggies gesticulating in crazed eruptions under our bridges and at intersections; kids being castrated, drugged, and mutilated by government indoctrination camps and medical Josef Mengeles of today. The children cannot read or think critically, but they are being drilled in the alphabet jihad pronoun nonsense. Storms are gathering, you see.

And where is shelter for the godly man or woman to be found? Read Psalm 55 and see the hope of all who hate wickedness and love goodness.

Encouragement: To quote David’s words again but from another of his poems, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7 ESV). That’s the shelter from the storm, beloved, the shelter that conquered the lies and is a refuge for all who will come.