Jul 15
16
THE NAME OF GOD
“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10
Strong indeed! “We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts.” Every ATTRIBUTE of Godhead is such a tower. Every perfection such a rampart- all combined
to insure the believer’s everlasting security. Reader, “Go, inspect the city of Jerusalem. Walk around and count the many towers. Take note of the fortified walls, and tour all the citadels, that you may describe them to future generations. For that is what God is like. He is our God forever and ever, and he will be our guide until we die.” Psalm 48:12-14.
Mark the strong Tower of OMNIPOTENCE. It proclaims that Almightiness is on your side- that there is One with you and for you, boundless in His resources, greater far than all that can be against you!
Mark the strong Tower of UNCHANGEABLENESS. All earthly fabrics are tottering and crumbling around you. The dearest of all your earthly refuges has written on it the doom of the dust. But, sheltered here, you can gaze unawed on all the fitful changes of life, and exult in an unchanging God!
Mark the strong Tower of WISDOM. When dealings are dark, and chastisements mysterious, do you know what it is to retire within this fortress, and to be reminded that all, all that befalls you, is the planning of unerring rectitude and faithfulness?- to see inscribed on the chamber-walls, “The only Wise God!”
Mark the strong Tower of LOVE. When the hurricane has been fierce, your heart breaking with new trials, the past dark, the future a dreary waste, no lull in the storm, no light in the clouds– oh! is it no comfort to you to retire into this most hallowed of bulwarks, and read the living motto emblazoned on its every turret- “God is love!” My soul! are you safe in this impregnable fortress? Have you entered within the gate? Remember, it is not to be “near” the city, but “in” it. Not to know about Christ, but to “win Him, and be found in Him.” One footstep outside the walls, and the Avenger of blood can cut you down! “Turn, then, to the stronghold!” as a “prisoner of hope!”
Once, these were colossal walls to ‘exclude’. Now, they are unassailable barriers to ‘protect’- a citadel where His saints are “kept” by the power of God. Every portal is open; and the God of Mercy issues the gracious proclamation- “Come, my people, enter into your chambers!” How safe! how happy here! “If there be tossing and doubting, it is the heaving of a ship at anchor- not the dashing on the rocks.” (Evans)
IN GOD! “There is, in this,” says Jonathan Edwards, speaking of the same blessed truth, “secured to me, as it were, a calm, sweet aspect, or appearance, of glory in almost everything.” We can hear, amid the surges of life, a voice high above the storm, the Name of the Lord- “It is I!”
The Christian’s safety!
“Keep me safe, O God, for in You I take refuge!” Psalm 16:1
The lost sinner is in danger — in the greatest possible danger! He is always in danger, for . . .
the wrath of God abides on him,
the curse of God is leveled at him, and
the justice of God makes a fearful demand upon him.
He is like an unprotected traveler in a forest, where robbers and wild beasts unite to terrify and destroy. He is . . .
exposed to every storm,
liable to every calamity, and
may be cut down at any moment!
The law condemns him,
Satan seeks by all means to destroy him,
and his situation is truly dreadful!
But the believer is safe in Jesus:
his sins are pardoned,
his person is justified,
he is accepted in Jesus, and
to him there is no condemnation.
To him, Jesus is a strong tower, into which he runs and is safe.
To him, God is a shield, which defends him from every hostile weapon. God . . .
surrounds him as a wall of fire,
bears him up on everlasting arms, and
guides him by His strength to His holy habitation.
“For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock!” Psalm 27:5
Author unknown
Every perfection of God is on his side,
every purpose of God secures his salvation,
every promise of God is made for his comfort and safety.
He is in the hands of Christ,
his name is engraved on the breast-plate of the Great High Priest,
and his cause lies near to the heart of the Omnipotent One.
Nothing that concerns him is left to chance,
his times are in the Lord’s hands, and
God works all things together for his good.
He will have everything that is . . .
really good,
truly great, and
eternally glorious!
God is his Father — and He will defend His child.
Jesus is his Bridegroom — and He will protect His Bride.
If the power of God can preserve him — then he is safe; for he is kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
If the love of God can secure him — then he is safe; for God loves him with an everlasting love!
Will a kind, fond, and tender mother take care of her child? Then will God take care of the believer, for He asks, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb?” He admits, “Surely they may forget — yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands!” Isaiah 49:15-16
The believer is safe from all real evils. He is under . . .
the special care and charge of Christ,
the sunshine of his Father’s love,
the watchful eye of the Great Shepherd,
the guidance and guardianship of the Holy Spirit.
What a precious, unutterably precious truth is this! May we . . .
press it to our hearts,
enjoy it in our daily walk, and
relish it as we would our choicest treasure!
“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer! My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!” Psalm 18:2
“For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling. He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock!” Psalm 27:5
“How lost was my condition,
Till Jesus made me whole!
There is but one physician
Can cure a sin-sick soul!
Next door to death he found me,
And snatched me from the grave;
To tell to all around me,
His wondrous power to save.
The worst of all diseases
Is light, compared with sin;
On every part it gazes,
But rages most within.
‘Tis palsy, plague and fever,
And madness- all combined,
And none but a believer,
The least relief can find.
From men great skill professing,
I thought a cure to gain;
But this proved more distressing,
and added to my pain.
Some said that nothing ailed me,
Some gave me up for lost;
Thus every refuge failed me
And all my hopes were crossed.
At length this great physician,
How matchless is his grace!
Accepted my petition,
And undertook my case.
First gave me sight to view him,
For sin my eyes had sealed;
Then bid me look unto him;
I looked, and I was healed.
A dying, risen Jesus,
Seen by the eye of faith;
At once from danger frees us,
And saves the soul from death.
Come then to this Physician,
His help he’ll freely give,
He makes no hard condition,
‘Tis only, look and live.”-author unknown
“Flee! flee! Flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before you!”
Jesus, the true Gospel Refuge, is full of rich provision. “You are complete in Him.” He, as the true Joseph, gives forth out of the storehouses in His “treasure-cities,” to all His needy people. What are some of these provisions? There is pardon, peace, justification, adoption, sanctification, strength for the hour of weakness, grace for the hour of temptation, and the good hope of everlasting life for the hour of death. No wonder that he says to every poor sinner seeking admission within these gates, “I am the bread of life! He who comes unto me shall never hunger.” (John 6:35) no OTHER Refuge can save us—but JESUS alone.
I would like you to take as your motto the simple and beautiful words which a Christian whom has lately gone to glory, wrote, “I am sure I may be very thankful to God for His great mercy toward me. I must just keep in mind that there is only one Refuge to flee to—and that is Jesus!”
There are many other refuges people try to take shelter in. They think they will be as safe in them—as in the ONE of God’s providing; but these will never be able to stand—in that day which will test every refuge.
I have seen some making their own goodness their refuge-city. They imagined they were not as bad as others. They trusted in the falling Siloam-tower of their own righteousness!
I have seen some making God’s goodness their refuge-city. They said to themselves, “God is kind. He surely will not deal hardly with sinners at last. Justice, the avenger, will not surely always pursue with her flaming sword. The love of God will surely get the better of his justice.”
Don’t let Satan deceive you! There are many of his refuges which appear to be safe enough, but on which God has written, “Refuges of lies!”
Rejecting Jesus, we are lost forever. All other refuges, however good or great or strong as they may appear to be—will prove only to be Babel-towers, that will fall on the poor builders, and crush them in their ruins!
When God told the children of Israel to sprinkle their lintels and door-posts with blood, they might have been foolish enough to say, “No—we shall do better. We shall not be content with doing so trifling a thing; we shall rather build up great walls around our houses, so that the destroying angel may not get in.” Do you think, if they had done so—that their first-born children would have been saved? No! There would have been death in every such household; their high walls would have proved useless. Nothing but the red blood-mark on the doorway of the dwelling would be of any avail in warding off the death stroke.
So it is with the sinner. All the walls which pride, and self-righteousness, and good works can raise—will do nothing to keep out God’s sword of avenging Justice. Only the sprinkled blood of covenant mercy will; for “the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses (and alone cleanses) from ALL SIN!” (1 John 1:7)
Jesus, my Refuge! look on me,
When weak and weary, worn, oppressed;
I cast my every care on Thee—
You are my REST.
Jesus, my Refuge! guide my way,
Dispel the gloomy shades of night,
Oh, please shine forth with cheering ray!
You are my LIGHT.
Jesus, my Refuge! storms may rise,
Affliction sweep with tempest-shock,
My spirit to Your shelter flies—
You are my ROCK.
Jesus, my Refuge! legion-foes
May seek to drive me from the field,
But in Your strength I shall repose—
You are my SHIELD.
Jesus, my Refuge! You in store
Have happiness without alloy,
Pleasures unmingled, evermore—
You are my JOY.
Jesus, my Refuge! on the brink
Of Jordan, in my latest strife,
You will not suffer me to sink—
You are my LIFE.
Jesus, my Refuge! oh, supply
My every want. Whatever befall;
Through life, in death, eternally,
You are my ALL! John MacDuff.