"Of old" is also a frequent translation, and the words of Hab. 1: 12: "Art Thou not

from everlasting?" give a similar thought. The reader should not only remember that the

"eternal" God is "from of old", for this of itself would not necessarily prove that He

would be a refuge, but also that the word carries with it the idea of "being beforehand

with anything", "anticipating the demand" and providing for it.

As with the word "eternal", so with the word "refuge", it represents a number of ideas.

In Deut. 33: 27, the word is meonah, from a root meaning "to dwell". This refuge is,

therefore, a dwelling place. The same word is used for the "dwelling place" of God

Himself (Psa. 76: 2), and for the "dens" of wild beasts (Psa. 104: 22). In either case,

the meaning is the same. It is a place that provides protection, and where one may feel

The refuge provided for the people of God, is not to be conceived of in terms of

concrete or steel, for immediately after the opening statement of Deut. 33: 27 we

In our own language the word "arms" may have two different meanings, but there is

no ambiguity in Deut. 33: 27. The "everlasting arms" refer, not to armaments, but to

the arms of the Lord, once "stretched out" to accomplish the deliverance of Israel

(Deut. 4: 34; 5: 15; 7: 19; 9: 29; 11: 2; 26: 8), and now stretched out in loving

support, so that the weary child of God, forgetting all alarms, thinking not of unkindly

steel or rough concrete, sinks into peaceful and secure rest in the arms of the God and

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.