“When I was hemmed in, Thou hast freed me often.” Psalm 4: 1
Today I read this poem, and I believe it to speak volumes of walking by faith, trusting in the omnipotence and providence of God Almighty, and it also speaks of Spiritual Warfare. So be encouraged, dear soul…
The devil may wall you ’round
But he cannot roof you in
He may fetter your feet and tie your hands
And strive to hamper your soul with bands
As his way has ever been;
But he cannot hide the face of God
And the Lord shall be your light,
And your eyes and your thoughts can rise to the sky,
Where His clouds and His winds and His birds go by,
And his stars shine out at night.
The devil may wall you ’round;
He may rob you of all things dear
He may bring his hardest and roughest stone
And thinks to cage you and keep you alone,
But he may not press too near;
For the Lord has planted a hedge inside,
and has made it strong and tall,
A hedge of living and growing green;
And ever it mounts and keeps between
The trusting soul and the devil’s wall.
The devil may wall you ’round,
But the Lord’s hand covers you,
And His hedge is a thick and thorny hedge
And the devil can find no entering wedge
Nor get his finger through;
He may circle about you all day long,
But he cannot work as he would,
For the will of the Lord restrains his hand,
And he cannot pass the Lord’s command
And his evil turns to good.
The devil may wall you round
With his grey stones, row on row,
But the green of the hedge is fresh and fair,
And within its circle is space to spare,
And room for your soul to grow;
the wall that shuts you in
May be hard and high and stout,
But the Lord is sun and the Lord is dew,
And His hedge is coolness and shade for you,
And no wall can shut Him out.
~poem written by Annie Johnson Flint
