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"How oft in the conflict, when pressed by the foe,
I have fled to my Refuge and breathed out my woe;
How often when trials like sea billows roll,
Have I hidden in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul."
And so we find that God is indeed our Refuge, whether from the upheavals of nature
(Psa. 46: 2, 3), or from conflict among nations (Psa. 62: 4), or from the fears and
troubles of our own hearts (Psa. 62: 8).
"Trust in Him AT ALL TIMES."
"HE ONLY is my Rock and my Salvation."
"Only"--and "at all times". What an all-embracive exclusiveness!
"The Eternal God is thy Refuge."
#6.
Experimental entry into eternal truth (Psa. 90: and 91:).
pp. 109 - 111
When we think of God as our refuge for His people, we instinctively, as we have
already said, turn to Psalm 46: There is, however, another psalm that is almost equally
relevant, and that is Psalm 91:
It would be beside the point in this series to consider at any length the historical
setting of the passages that speak of God as our refuge, but we cannot refrain from
drawing attention to the following points.
The Psalms are divided into five books, each book ending with the phrase, "Amen and
Amen". Psalm 90: commences the fourth book, which corresponds with Numbers, the
book of the wilderness. This psalm, which has been called "The funeral hymn of the
world", is entitled: "A Prayer of Moses, the man of God", and deals with the sojourn of
Israel during the forty years' wandering in the wilderness. The following psalm (91:)
refers to the children that Israel said had been brought out of Egypt to die in the
wilderness. The covering text for the two related psalms might well be such a passage as
Numb. 14: 27-34:
"How long shall I bear with this evil congregation? . . . . . as ye have spoken in mine
ears, so will I do to you. Your carcasses shall fall in the wilderness . . . . . from
twenty years old and upward. Doubtless ye shall not come into the land . . . . . ye shall
bear your iniquities even forty years, and ye shall know My breach of promise."
The reader should compare this passage with the following verses in Psalm 90::
"Return" (verse 13).
"We are consumed in Thine anger" (verse 7).
"The days of our years are threescore years and ten" (verse 10).