“God is our refuge and strength,” sang one of the Psalmists (Ps 46:1). This was not presumption, assuming that everything would turn out well, whatever his state before God. Neither was it a natural optimism, which looked at the future through rose-tinted spectacles. Nor was he relying on the superficial idea that God is everyone’s Heavenly Father.
The Psalmist was willing to receive all of God’s revelation; he was not selective in what he believed, like those who claim that God is their Heavenly Father but are not concerned to live a holy life. He was willing to recognise that God’s authority lay behind all of divine revelation – whether through the words of the prophets of his own time, or in those parts of Scripture which had already been written. In particular, he was made willing to receive God’s testimony against himself when the truths about sin were applied to him. He did not try to minimise their seriousness, which had been made so clear in the law of Moses by the repeated emphasis on universal sin and uncleanness and, consequently, on everyone’s need of cleansing. So this was not a man who could readily recognise sin in others while ignoring it in himself.
Further, the Psalmist had submitted to God’s appointed way of salvation. He knew that sin was a burden he could not carry away, but that God had provided a substitute on whom that burden could be laid. And every time the Psalmist offered a sacrifice, he was by faith looking forward to the coming of the Seed of the woman who had been promised to his first parents, in the Garden of Eden. Likewise today those who have a right to express their confidence in God, as their refuge and strength, have received the further testimony of New Testament Scripture that God “the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world” (1 John 4:14). It was by faith that the Psalmist had received God’s testimony about the way of salvation; he had not only received God’s revelation as a series of facts but he had trusted in God as the One who had provided the salvation, in which both God’s justice and His mercy were magnified.
The Psalmist was not alone in having a God-given right to describe Him as “our refuge and strength”; many others have been granted the same right.
How has this come about? What has made them different from those who assume, without good reason, that God will protect them from the consequences of sin – although they are going on in unbelief? It was the Holy Spirit enlightening their minds in the knowledge of Christ – bringing the truth, as revealed in the Scriptures, to bear on their minds so that by faith they see Christ as the Saviour of the guilty. Such sinners, in contrast with those who go on in unbelief, come to know Christ as the One who came into the world to die for sinners. They see that Christ is able to save to the uttermost, and so they trust in Him.
The believer knows that God has provided salvation, not only from the guilt of sin, but also from its power. God not only justifies the sinner; He also sanctifies him. The believer has learned that God is a sure refuge for sinners; he has fled to that refuge; so he is safe. He therefore has every right to view God as a refuge for him in the face of every danger. But unbelievers refuse to be reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ; it is sheer presumption for them to think of God as their refuge in times of trouble.
This is a fallen world, a world where terrible things happen – illnesses, injuries, quarrels and bereavements, for instance, besides all kinds of spiritual affliction: temptation, unbelief and every other sin, and corruption of the heart. Yet the Psalmist saw God as his refuge in spite of the worst-imaginable disasters; he would be safe “though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof”. No difficulty, whether temporal or spiritual, could disturb him. “Therefore will not we fear”, he wrote; there was no need to be fearful; God was indeed his refuge, and by faith he would flee to that refuge in the face of every difficulty.
But is every believer free from fear? By no means. Yet, because the Holy Spirit keeps faith alive in his soul – however feeble it may be – every believer will, more or less, make God his refuge. The believer has begun to know God as gracious and all-powerful, and to trust in Him as such. In this imperfectly-sanctified state, his trust may be stronger or weaker – but when faith is transformed into sight, that saint will be totally perfect. In this life, the Psalmist himself could only be free from fear to the extent that he trusted in God.
In the face of trouble, the question may arise: Is God a refuge for me? Another, almost parallel, question may follow: Will He pay attention if I pray? A number of points may be made in response. First, we have no right to expect God’s help if we are determined to go on in sin, despising the offers of salvation which are made to us in Christ. Yet God “is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” (Luke 6:35); He has answered many a prayer put up by those who were going on in rebellion against Him. And He still invites,
“Call upon Me in the day of trouble” (Ps 50:15). At the same time, when unconverted sinners ask only for temporal benefits, they are rebelliously ignoring the command of Christ: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”. We are not to treat our needs for this life, significant though they may be, as of prime importance, while ignoring the needs of our souls and disregarding God’s sovereign right to our wholehearted obedience.
On the other hand, the divine promise will always hold true: God “will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him: He also will hear their cry, and will save them” (Ps 145:19). That is not to say that He will answer in the very terms that were used to present the petition; we must recognise that many of our petitions are foolish, and God will answer His children according to His perfect understanding of what is good for them and what will be most for His glory. Throughout life’s journey, the promise will hold true: “The Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (Deut 31:6). So God’s children may say in the words, twice repeated, of Psalm 46: “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” – remembering how often the Most High proved a safe refuge for Jacob.
Whatever trouble God’s children may experience, God is a refuge for them, and that refuge is always open. No matter how difficult their circumstances, no matter how strong the opposition of the world, no matter how wily the temptations of Satan, no matter how prevalent unbelief in their souls, their refuge is always suited to their needs. Even if their testing comes directly from God’s hand, they are to say, as Peter did to the Saviour: “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). The Saviour’s words, and indeed all the Scriptures, are preserved for their encouragement, as well as for other reasons. And they may also say, with their eye on God as their refuge: To whom shall we go, for He has infinite power to deliver from every form of trouble, to protect from all temptation, to save from all sin and carelessness and backsliding?
It is presumption for others to treat God as their Heavenly Father, but not for believers. They have been adopted into His family; they are His children; and He has undertaken to care for them. Some of these children have been given a particularly strong sense of that care. When the Scottish Reformer, George Wishart, faced martyrdom, he was keenly aware that God was a refuge and strength. He besought his Christian friends: “Be not offended in the Word of God for the affliction and torments that ye see already prepared for me. But I exhort you that you love the Word of God and suffer patiently and with a comfortable heart for the Word’s sake, which is your undoubted salvation and everlasting comfort”. But the salvation is no less sure for those whose faith is weak. The call to all is: “Trust ye in the Lord for ever”.