God My Refuge

Isa 28.14-16 “14 Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, That rule this people which is in Jerusalem.

15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, And with hell are we at agreement; When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: For we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, A tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: He that believeth shall not make haste.”

Psalm 14 KJV

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. 1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, There is none that doeth good. 2 The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: There is none that doeth good, no, not one. 4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And call not upon the Lord. 5 There were they in great fear: For God is in the generation of the righteous. 6 Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, Because the Lord is his refuge. 7 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

Pr 14.25-26 v25 contrasts the deliverance from a true witness with the lies of a deceitful witness; v26 proclaims the confidence of faith, and the place of refuge available to those who fear the Lord.

Isa 28.14-16 illustrates the smug satisfaction (or willful avoidance) of trusting in lies for a refuge. But God will cast down the lies, and we find that there is in fact no refuge in lies at all.

Ps 14 The fool has said there is no God, and devours the poor. But the Lord is the refuge of the poor; his salvation will come out of Zion

Ps 48.1-3 God is known in the palaces of Zion as a refuge.

Ps 46 1, 11 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. So we need not fear whatever is happening.

Ps 91.1-2 is really messianic, as the latter part of the psalm reveals. So the promises about not being touched by harm are promises of ultimate refuge in our eternal abode with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ps 142 recounts the experience of a man in distress, finding no refuge, crying out in prayer that God is his refuge and portion in the land of the living, and reaffirming his faith that he will be surrounded by the righteous, and that God will deal bountifully with him.

He 6.18 We have full comfort if we take refuge in the Lord.

There is a significance of Zion as the place in which we take refuge - the city of God. The church? Ps 14, Ps 48, Isa 28.

TWOT on magen (buckler): notes the difference between ‘shield’ and ‘buckler’. Though not well maintained in English, they are different types of shields. A buckler is smaller shield used by light infantry, not a full body shield. God does not always protect us entirely from assault; sometimes he is the type of defense that protects us from mortal danger, while keeping us agile enough to move with the situations at hand.