Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

We serve the everlasting God, but do we live like it? According to the last chapter of the Bible, He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, and He is coming soon. Today, with that understanding we should choose to live a life that is more clearly in line with the characteristics of the God that we serve.

”There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, Who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, And in his excellency on the sky. The eternal God is thy refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms: And he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; And shall say, Destroy them. Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: The fountain of Jacob Shall be upon a land of corn and wine; Also his heavens shall drop down dew. Happy art thou, O Israel: Who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, The shield of thy help, And who is the sword of thy excellency! And thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; And thou shalt tread upon their high places.“

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭33‬:‭26‬-‭29‬ ‭KJV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/1/deu.33.26-29.KJV

1. He is a peculiar God

Deuteronomy 33:26 ““There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in his majesty.”

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 ““Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Definition of peculiar:

Strange or Odd

Particular, Special, or unique

Peculiar attributes of God

God Is Infinite – He is Self-Existing, Without Origin

God Is Immutable – He Never Changes

God Is Self-Sufficient – He Has No Needs

God is Omnipotent – He Is All Powerful

God Is Omniscient – He Is All-Knowing

God Is Omnipresent – He Is Always Everywhere

God Is Wise – He Is Full of Perfect, Unchanging Wisdom

God Is Faithful – He Is Infinitely, Unchangingly True

God Is Good – He Is Infinitely, Unchangingly Kind and Full of Good Will

God Is Just – He Is Infinitely, Unchangeably Right and Perfect in All He Does

God Is Merciful – He is Infinitely, Unchangeably Compassionate and Kind

God Is Gracious – God Is Infinitely Inclined to Spare the Guilty

God Is Loving – God Infinitely, Unchangingly Loves Us

God Is Holy – He is Infinitely, Unchangingly Perfect

God Is Glorious – He is Infinitely Beautiful and Great

2. He is a personal God

Deuteronomy 33:27 “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy.”

Joshua 3:10 “And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites.”

3. He is a protective God

Deuteronomy 33:28 “So Israel lived in safety, Jacob lived alone, in a land of grain and wine, whose heavens drop down dew.”

Exodus 13:21–22 “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.”

4. He is a promise keeping God

Deuteronomy 33:29 “Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph! Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread upon their backs.”

Proverbs 3:5–6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Song History

The words were by Elisha Alright Hoffman and is the third of six from him in this collection. The music is by Anthony Johnson Showalter who was born May 1, 1858, in Cherry Grove, Virginia. Showalter became a music teacher, author, and publisher and when two of his former students lost their wives, he quoted them Deuteronomy 33:27 and was immediately impressed that the words could be the basis of a good song. He wrote the refrain and the music and asked Rev. Hoffman to submit appropriate stanzas. The completed hymn first appeared in The Glad Evangel for Revival, Camp, and Evangelistic Meetings, 1887, compiled by L.M. Evilsizer, S.J. Perry and Showalter.