“My refuge”
[Psalms 91]
I saw TV news last week reporting on Homelessness. Here in a city in Southern California, the city budgeted and helped the homeless to live. But as more homeless people flocked here and there, the city couldn't afford it. So eventually the city demolished that area where the homeless used to live. At that time, I saw a reporter interviewing two homeless women. The reporter usually asked them what they would do in the future. And they answered him that they weren’t sure. But they didn't seem to be very worried. Just seeing the homeless wandering around, I remembered the Israelites at the time of the Exodus. They left Egypt and camped in the wilderness and headed toward Canaan, the Promised Land. What was really important to the Israelites at that time was the “tabernacle”. In other words, the tabernacle was the center of life for the Israelites. In other words, the tabernacle was laid by the Israelites to worship God while staying for a while in the wilderness. So this tabernacle was the center of worship. The tabernacle was divided into the Most Holy Place and the Holy Place. The Most Holy Place had the ark. And the Holy Place had the altar of incense, the table for the bread of presence, and the golden lampstands. The 12 tribes of Israel were divided into three tribes each and camped in the north, south, east, west around the tabernacle, the temple of God. The tribe of Levi attended in this tabernacle, the place of God's presence. All the tribes of Israel proceeded together when this tabernacle of God proceeded, and wherever it stayed, they also stayed (Internet).
The psalmist confessed in Psalms 84:1-2: “How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.” Why did he so long for the Lord's dwelling palaces? The reason was because God was there. In other words, the important thing is not the tabernacle or the palace itself, but whether God was there or not.
If we look at Psalms 91:2, the psalmist says, “I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!’” Based on this word, I want to think about the three graces of God, who is our refuge, that He gives to us under the heading “My refuge” so that we can remember God's grace again and give thanks to Him.
First, God, who is “My refuge”, delivers us.
Look at Psalms 91:3 – “For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence.” In this verse, the psalmist tells us two things about where God delivers us from.
(1) The psalmist says that God delivers us from the “snare” (v. 3).
The “snare” is a tool used to catch birds or animals. It is easy for the believers with simple minds to get caught in it as it is harmed by deceptive means (Park). Then, how does Satan bring the simple-minded believers into his snare? There are many ways, but one of them is lies. In other words, Satan, the father of lies, lies and causes the simple-minded believers to fall into the snare. What is the purpose of Satan's deceit and setting the snare for us, the believers, to be trapped in it? The purpose is our destruction (v. 6). But the faithful God (v. 4) who is our refuge has delivered us from this Satanic snare and continues to deliver us.
(2) The psalmist says that God delivers us from “the deadly pestilence” (v. 3).
Here, the term “pestilence” is characterized by being transmitted and spreading, and this is sometimes compared to a poisonous tongue that goes around accusing and harassing (Park). The word “pestilence” appears in verse 6 again: “Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness ….” And verse 5 says, “You will not be afraid of the terror by night, ….” Putting these verses together, the term “the deadly pestilence” refers to the disease that brings us death. Yet another meaning is that “the deadly pestilence” may refer to his poisonous tongue, that accuses us and defames us as Satan deceives us the believers with lies in order destroy us (Park). In conclusion, God who is our refuge is the God who delivers us from snares and deadly pestilence. In other words, God who is our refuge is the God of salvation who rescues us from destruction and death.
Then, what kind of person does the Bible say that the God of our salvation delivers from the snare and the deadly pestilence? Look at verse 14: “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; ….” The God of salvation, who is our refuge, delivers he who loves Him. He who loves God knows that God is “the Most High” and also “the Almighty” (v. 1). And he prays to God as his refuge by believing that this Most High and Almighty God can deliver him from the snare and the deadly pestilence. Look at verse 15: “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.” God is the God who answers the prayer of he who loves God and ask Him in faith. Therefore, God answers the prayers of he who loves Him and ask Him, to be with him from trouble, deliver him and honor him.
Second, God, who is “My refuge”, guards us.
Look at Psalms 91:11 – “For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways.” For believers who make God their refuge (v. 9), God makes their dwelling place safe (vv. 9, 10). How did God make the dwellings of the psalmist and the Israelites who made Him their refuge safe? Look at verses 10-11: “No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent. For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways.” God loves and protects those who pray to Him from evil and plague. God is the God who keeps us so that evil and plague don’t come near to the tents of those who love Him. This God has sent angels to us to guard all our ways. Psalms 37:7 and 2 Kings 6:16 don’t teach the idea that there is one angel protecting one believer, but show that there are many angels working for one person. Although there are many evil forces that try to harm the saints, the power to protect those saints is greater than those evil forces (Park). The God who protects and guards us through His angels in this way is the God who not only bears us up in the angel’s hands so that we don’t strike our foot against a stone (v. 12), but also protects and guards us from vicious animals such as the lion and cobra (v. 13). Here, “the lion”, “cobra”, “The young lions” and “the serpent” are likened to ignorant and wicked enemies (Park). Because our God loves us who loves Him and cry out to Him, He protects and guards us from our wicked enemies.
Therefore, we must trust in God who is our refuge (v. 2). The God who protects and guards us, who is our refuge, is the God whom we trust. He is our fortress (v. 2). His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark (v. 4). May Psalms 18:2 be our confession: “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
Third and last, God, who is “My refuge”, satisfies us.
Look at Psalms 91:16 – “With a long life I will satisfy him And let him see My salvation.” What does God, who is “My refuge”, promises to satisfy us? It is “a long life”. Among the promises of the long life, we are familiar with Ephesians 6:2-3: “’Honor your father and mother’ -- which is the first commandment with a promise – ‘that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’” What we need to know from this words is that we are also responsible for receiving the blessing of long life, which is God's promise. Of course, the responsibility here in Ephesians 6:2-3 is “Honor your father and mother”. Then what is our responsibility as revealed in Psalms 91? In other words, what is our responsibility to receive the blessing of God's promise of long life? It is to know God and love Him (Ps. 91:14), to trust in Him (v. 2), to take refuge in Him (vv. 2, 9), and to call upon Him (v. 15). Then the God who is our refuge will satisfy our souls. He will extend our lives by rescuing us from trouble (v. 15).
What do we really want? If we truly live with God as our refuge, we will yearn for the eternal nature of our dwelling with the Lord more than our long life in this earth. Obviously, we will be waiting for the consummation day of God's salvation through Jesus' Second Coming. Then our Lord will make our souls completely satisfied. From that day to that moment, we must make the Lord “My refuge”. As we trust in Him, love Him, and pray to Him, I hope and pray that we may enjoy God's salvation and protection and the grace that satisfies our souls.
Living in the experience of the salvation, protection, and satisfying grace of the Lord who is “My refuge”,
James Kim
(As my soul longs for our eternal tabernacle)