At the moment of writing these words, this nation is in a state of war. We recognize,

of course, that both "war" and "peace", while the world rejects the Son of God, can be

but relative terms. There was much real enmity during the days of so called "peace",

and, conversely, there may be enjoyed, in the midst of conditions of war, a peace which

the world can neither give nor take away. It has never been our policy to "meddle" with

the affairs of nations (Deut. 2: 5), or the consciences of its readers, but rather to pursue a

ministry which belongs to a sphere entirely removed from the things of earth, leaving its

readers with the Word as the sole arbiter for all their actions. Nevertheless it is obviously

true that we may learn from the things around us, and there are still occasions when the

rebuke may be merited that the children of this generation are wiser than the children of

light. Foreseeing the possibilities of conflict, the Government has, among other things,

provided refuges for the protection of the people, and it is this fact that provides the

theme of our present meditations. God also has foreseen and provided a refuge, and He

Himself is set forth in the Word in this capacity. At other times, we should have felt

called upon to spare no pains in acquainting the reader with structural analysis and other

exegetical features, but as this series is intended to minister to the "present necessity", we

shall in this case approach our subject more directly. The refuge is, so to speak, intended

for immediate use, not to be taken to pieces and examined. The character of these short

meditations will, therefore, differ somewhat from that of many of our other studies.

This is the covering title of the series, and takes us to the Fountain-head of all

consolation, comfort and protection.

Moses must have had a reason for using the adjective "eternal" here. He could have

said, with the Psalmist, "God is our refuge", or "The God of Jacob is our refuge", but he

obviously intends to direct our attention, not only to God, but to some element in His

character that is of particular relevance in connection with the need for a shelter, and its

provision. The word "eternal" represents at least four different ideas in the Scriptures,

and we must therefore acquaint ourselves with the facts.

Qedem, "eternal", means "to precede, to go before", and so at times conveys the

thought of "anticipating" something before it happens, as may be seen in Jonah 4: 2,

which Gesenius translates: "Thus I anticipated (the danger which threatens me) by

fleeing to Tarshish."