Luke 13:33–35: “Nevertheless I must go on My way today and tomorrow and the next day, because it is impossible that a prophet should be killed outside Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it! Look, your house is forsaken! And I tell you, you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

I am in a series that I am calling “The Animal Analogies of Jesus.” We have covered the dove, the sheep, the wolf, the serpent—being as wise as a serpent. I have also spoken about the fox. Now He is talking about a hen.

He said, “How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it.” Jesus Christ is saying, “I am that hen, and I can offer you protection. I can offer you safety. I can give you shelter under My wings.”

Did you see that?

When you go to Psalm 91, we are told: “The one who lives in the shelter of the Most High will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). We have, in a way, thought of that as, “Dwelling in the secret place of the Most High is when you pray.” No. It is not something you achieve. It is something that is yours because you are in Christ Jesus. It is not an achievement. You are covered under His eternal protection. You are safe.

And He is doing the work of gathering as we speak. He is doing the work of gathering—picking one person in that nation, another person in that nation, millions of people here, thousands of people there, people from this language and from that language. Jesus Christ, as the Hen, is doing His gathering: “her chicks under her wings.”

We are not supposed to think of it as an achievement. The hen is adopting the responsibility of covering the chicks. That is the responsibility. Chicks do not know what is good or bad for them, but the hen knows. So the best place for the chick to be is under the covering.

So when the psalmist said, “The one who lives in the shelter of the Most High will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty,” this is what we are talking about. And I have already said: it is not an achievement. It is not “prayer” as a condition. It is not, “I need to do this thing, then I am going to be protected.” You are already protected in Christ.

He already said it: “Do not worry about your life” (Matthew 6:25). That is what we are talking about. “Not one hair of your head will perish” (Luke 21:18). No bird of the air falls to the ground without the Father’s knowledge (Matthew 10:29). So you are of more value. “O you of little faith,” that is what Jesus Christ said.

Can you imagine the value of the chick to the hen? It is because of the value of the chick to the hen that the hen puts the chicks under her wings—under her protective wings, under her cover. You are protected by being in Christ.

He said, in effect, “You will die in your sins unless you believe that I am He” (John 8:24). If you will not come under His wings—if you will not drink His blood and eat His flesh in the sense of believing in Him (John 6:53–56)—you are not going to be protected. You are not going to be protected from the storm of the wrath of God that is coming.

But we are protected. We have been gathered. Those of us who are saved have been gathered from all nations of the world and have been put under the protective covering. We are under the protection of the One who cannot be harmed. We are in Christ. That is the ultimate refuge.

He is our refuge. Our refuge is not something we do; it is something He has done. His being our refuge is not an achievement; it is something we come into by being believers. By believing in Jesus, we come into His protection. We come into it; we are safe. We are safe in His covering. We are safe from the heat in His covering. We are safe. We are protected.

God bless you.