By Jacob Bembry
The night was cold and dreary. The sentry was lonely as he waited alone in the darkness.
There had been word that the enemy was close by and he dreaded the thought that one of them would discover his position.
If he only knew what was going on near him, he would have probably died from the shock. Instead, he reached deep within himself and drew from the well of faith. He began to pray and then he sang the words to “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” in a beautiful loud voice.
Lurking in the darkness nearby was an enemy scouting party with all their guns aimed at the young Confederate soldier. They had every intention of killing him until he sang the words “Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of thy wings.”
The leader of the Union scouting party heard the sentry singing and told his men, “Boys, put down your rifles; we will go home.”
Dwight Moody tells the story that years later, the two men were on a ship crossing the Atlantic. The Union soldier and another man had met to sing hymns together when the scout heard the voice of the young soldier behind him singing out in a clear, recognizable voice.
The two men shared their story of God’s great protection and provision in the darkest of times.
God watches over us, even in the darkest of nights when we’re all alone and the enemy has us in his sights. God is the true sentry of our souls.
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