the Lord is my refuge and my fortress

Deuteronomy 33:27a. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms:

Another marvellous day on God’s great earth my people! The breath of life is strong and vibrant within us, and the Lord God Jehovah is on His heavenly throne running things for our eventual benefit, thus the glorious celebrations all around the world this Sunday morning! And all God’s people, said a loud, proud and grateful ‘Praise the Lord!’

Yes friends, Sunday is the Lord’s Day, and He has earmarked it for plenty praise and worship from His people. That’s why every time Sunday comes around our hearts are filled with joy as we eagerly gather to fellowship with other believers and give Him the praise, honour and glory He so richly deserves.

And today we’re going to open the proceedings with one of the greatest hymns ever written for obtaining God’s grace and merry, His fatherly comfort in times of solace. It’s aptly titled, ‘Leaning On the Everlasting Arms.’ And there’s definitely no better place in this whole universe to lean for comfort and encouragement than on the everlasting arms of Christ Jesus!

The website Godtube tells us that the song was written in the late 19^th century by Anthony J. Showalter and Elisha Hoffman. It stemmed from letters Showalter had received from two of his former pupils informing him that their wives had died and they were seeking consolation. In replying to their letters, he was struck by the words of Moses from Deuteronomy 33:27, as he blessed the tribes of Israel. He said: ‘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.’

Apparently that led to his further thinking that they would be good words on which to base a hymn of solace and comfort, so he engaged the services of Hoffman to help him. And thus was born this tremendous, popular and heartlet hymn, which we’ll now proceed to sing in a soulful, mid-tempo version.

And while are singing it, the website Hymnary.org challenges us to ‘contemplate what it means to find refuge in our heavenly Father’s arms in times of fear and trial, and to allow His joy and peace to replace our loneliness and anxiety.’ Excellent advice for our Sunday morning worship my faithful brethren! So let’s open our hearts and mouths and offer up sincere sacrifices of praise to our heavenly Father, who is indeed our eternal refuge in times of trial.

And we sing: ‘What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the everlasting arms; what a blessedness, what a peace is mine, leaning on the everlasting arms. (Refrain: Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.) O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim’s way, leaning on the everlasting arms; O how bright the path grows from day to day, leaning on the everlasting arms. [Refrain]

What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms? I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms. (Refrain) Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms, Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; leaning on the everlasting arms…leaning on the everlasting arms of Jesus… oh how good it is to be, leaning on the everlasting arms of Christ my Saviour….’

Oh my fellow saints, I’m sure we’ll all agree that it is indeed good to lean on the everlasting arms of Christ our Saviour! No if’s ands and buts about that! If we must lean somewhere for solace and comfort, then that’s the ideal place to lean! And the simple words of the short verses are so beautiful and true: ‘What a fellowship, what a joy divine…what a blessedness, what a peace is mine…O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim’s way; O how bright the path grows from day to day…What have I to dread, what have I to fear…I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms.’

Wow! Every sentiment there conveys the gospel truth! And it’s not like Moses alone described the Lord as our refuge, although he did it again in the opening verse of the only psalm he ever wrote, Psalm 90, where he declares: ‘Lord thou hast been our dwelling place (refuge) in all generations.’ (Ps.. 90:1)

Then in Psalm 142, subtitled ‘Thou art my refuge,’ when Bruh David could find no human solace he writes: ‘I cried unto thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. Attend (give heed) unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about (surround me); for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.’ (Ps. 142:5-7) And that’s exactly how the Lord deals with us when we sincerely call upon Him for help! It must be a sincere plea, not just some wishy-washy cry.

And the author of Psalm 91, aptly subtitled ‘God is a refuge and fortress,’ puts it this way. ‘He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress: my God: in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler (bird trapper), and from the noisesome (perilous, deadly) pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust (take refuge): his truth shall be thy shield and buckler (small shield).

Thou shalt not be afraid for (of) the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth (lays waste) at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh (near) thee. Only with thine eye shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.’ (Ps. 91:1-8)

Yes friends, that’s the kind of trust and belief we ought to have in our great God. And as we go about our business today and every day, please let’s make it a habit to take a moment and ‘contemplate what it means to find refuge in our heavenly Father’s arms in times of fear and trial, and to allow His joy and peace to replace our loneliness and anxiety.’ Loneliness and anxiety that so many of us are experiencing in these very troubling times. That is wisdom to the nth degree. Much LOVE!

… Christ’s powerful and everlasting arms…were made explicitly for us to lean on…

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8

Psalm 68:3. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.

Well here comes Tuesday, mostly cloudy in my area, and definitely not as warm as the last few days! The weather is certainly playing some games with us this month, being hot and cold, or unstable, like so many of us are in these turbulent times. But nonetheless, as long as we are alive and have the Holy Spirit of Almighty God dwelling in us, we have to give thanks for His awesome blessing of keeping the breath of life flowing through our mortal bodies. That’s an unconditional requirement my faithful brethren!

As Bruh David says in Psalm 68 – God has gone before His people: ‘But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name; extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, (a shortened Hebrew form of Lord), and rejoice before him.’ (Ps. 68:3-4) Oh my people, we could not get any better advice than that, or do anything more appropriate than sing praises to our wonderful God all the days of our lives.

That recalls the similar words of Moses in his farewell speech to the children of Israel. ‘There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun (beloved one, Israel), 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.’ (Deut. 33:26-27) Aren’t those encouraging and uplifting words my people? They certainly are!

And they lead us to Psalm 91, where the psalmist talks about God is a refuge and a fortress. ‘He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I shall say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.’ (Ps. 91:1-2) Oh friends, isn’t it wonderful to have a power mightier than us in whom we can find eternal security? It surely is! And I like how the psalmist continues assuring us of the safety and security found in the One True and Living God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

‘Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler (bird trapper), and from the noisome (perilous or deadly (pestilence). He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust (take refuge): his truth shall be thy shield and buckler (small shield). Thou shalt not be afraid for (of) the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day. Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth (lays waste) at noon day. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.’ (Ps. 91:3-8)

What words of utter confidence in our God! And that’s the kind of confidence that we need to have in these troubled last days my fellow saints of Christ. But unfortunately too many of us don’t have that level of faith and trust in the God we supposedly serve. But what’s the sense of serving a God if we don’t have the utmost trust in Him eh? None whatsoever! We say we surrender our lives to Jehovah God, but yet we hold back certain aspects of it from Him, and don’t put everything before Him, foolishly trusting in our own finite and puny selves to accomplish what only God can do.

For as Jesus so rightly asked: ‘Which of you by taking thought (worrying) can add one cubit unto his stature (height)? And why take ye thought for raiment (why do you worry about clothing)? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed (clothed, dressed) like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe (clothes) the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith!’ (Matt. 6:27-30)

Yeh friends, if our heavenly Father looks after His lesser creations so well, why wouldn’t He look after His greatest creation better than them eh? But we must sincerely believe that He is God, and a good God at that. For as the author of Hebrews declares: ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him (God): for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb. 11:6)

And the rest of that chapter goes on to tell us about all the people of great faith that served the Lord down through the ages, even though they may not have received the earthly treasures they wanted, but they knew, had the faith to believe that greater treasures existed in heaven. As the author of Hebrews explains: ‘These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded (assured) of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.’ (Heb. 11:13)

That’s the kind of attitude, the level of faith to which we need to aspire my people! It doesn’t mean that we should not enjoy the goodness of God down here on earth, but we must acknowledge that earth is not our eventual home, that heaven is, and that’s where our real treasure will be found, as we spend eternal life with our great and wonderful triune God! But the only way we will raise the level of our faith is by surrendering ALL of ourselves to God, not parts thereof, and seriously studying the word of God, believing it, then putting it into action in our lives. Otherwise we’ll live a life being scared of even our own shadow.

Now, for those of us who are sincerely attempting to live a faithful life for God, let’s go home declaring (yeah!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who we are. Altogether now: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’

And having declared that, let’s go out now and share the awesome LOVE and friendship of Jesus with all those we meet. Much LOVE!

…when you truly know Jesus…all you want to do…is share him with others…

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8

SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 July 2022 Deuteronomy 33:27a.

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