How pleasant it is to walk through the countryside after a storm has passed! To breathe in the fresh scent of rain-washed herbs, to watch the droplets sparkle like diamonds in the sunlight. This is where the Christian stands. You are traveling through a land where the storm has already spent its fury on your Savior's head. And if a few drops of sorrow still fall on you, they come from clouds of mercy. Jesus himself assures you: these are not meant for your destruction.

But how terrifying to watch a storm approaching! To see the warning signs. The birds huddling with drooping wings. The cattle lying low in terror. The sky turning black as night, the sun vanishing, the heavens themselves growing dark with rage. How terrible to wait for a hurricane's arrival — the kind that strikes in the tropics — knowing that soon the wind will explode in fury, ripping trees from the ground, tearing rocks from their foundations, leveling every human dwelling!

And yet, sinner, this is exactly where you stand right now.

No burning drops have fallen yet, but a shower of fire is coming. No terrible winds howl around you yet, but God's tempest is gathering its dread artillery. The floodwaters are still held back by mercy, but those gates will open. The thunderbolts of God wait in his storehouse. But look! The storm is rushing forward. And how awful that moment will be when God, robed in vengeance, marches out in fury!

Where, where, where will you hide your head? Where can you possibly run?

Oh, that the hand of mercy would lead you to Christ right now! He stands before you freely in the gospel. His riven side is the rock of shelter. You know your desperate need of him. Believe in him! Throw yourself upon him! And then the fury will pass over you forever.