The Rock of My Refuge (4)

 

 

“But Yahweh has been my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.” Psalm 94:22.

 

Where are we seeking refuge?

 

Where are we centering our thoughts? What do we talk about? What do we watch and listen to? What do we read? What impresses us? What or who do we emulate? What do we aspire to?

 

The answers to these questions will tell us where we are seeking refuge, they will tell us where we are living.

 

The Apostle John has some stark words for us today, for we seem to be so impressed with success and glitz and glitter – both inside and outside the professing church:

 

“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15 – 17).

 

“We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19).

 

We want the world when the world is good to us, we don’t want the world when the world is bad to us. Are we not fools? We want to make the world into our image rather than allow ourselves to be transformed into the image of God in Jesus Christ – we trade the temporal for the eternal – isn’t this foolish? We would rather receive the image of the world rather than the image of God – thereby rejecting our eternal glory in Christ…now tell me…isn’t this a peculiar type of insanity?

 

We can either dine at the Master’s table or we can delusionally eat from the slop bucket of the world…a slop bucket dipped into an outhouse. Let us make no mistake, no matter how good the things of the world look – behind the “look” is ugliness and dung – the fragrance of the world always turns to a stench – air freshener is a mask, it is always a mask.

 

All the more puzzling why so many Christians are impressed with the world, all the more tragic why much of the professing church now looks more like the world than the lowly Man of Galilee, the Servant Lord and Savior; the One who came, not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.

 

Well now, the psalmist sees that the “Yahweh will not abandon His people” and that a Day will come when God’s judgment will be manifested (verses 14 – 15). Indeed, the psalmist sees that while it appears the wicked are prevailing, that a pit is actually being dug for them (verse 13) – in fact, the wicked are digging their own pit, their own violence is consuming them.

 

Throughout the Scriptures we see the motif of God’s enemies consuming themselves – evil feeds upon itself, evil people consume one another, they eat wickedness and wickedness eats them – demonic birds of prey feast upon fools who reject God and seek to desecrate His image.

 

But you see, we really only know this when God’s Word becomes embedded in our souls, when our hearts and minds are anchored in His Word – when He is our Refuge and Stronghold, our Way of Life. What I write may be helpful – but only if it leads you to His Word, to living in His Word and His Word living in you – is He your Rock of Gibraltar? Are we living within Him?  

 

When the psalmist seeks someone to stand up for him, he recognizes that Yahweh is his help, and that God’s lovingkindess is holding him up (verses 16 – 18). Economics will not help us, politics will not help us, the Constitution is not our sacred text (nor any of its amendments!), cotton candy Christianity is not our support, popular (and usually ill-founded) Christian teaching on prophecy is a distraction, particular worship motifs can be poor substitutes, military might is a weak savior – there is no help for the follower of Jesus Christ other than the Person of Jesus Christ in the koinonia of the Trinity and the People of God. If we are to live in Him in eternity, ought we not to live in Him now? If we are to be joined with one another in eternity, ought we not to be joined with one another in Him now?

 

The psalmist asks, “Can a throne of destruction be allied with You, one which devises mischief by decree?” (v. 20). The answer of many professing Christians and their leaders would seem to be “Yes, it can.”

 

How else can we explain the political – religious alliances we see in our own nation? How else can we explain churches (such as the Russian Orthodox Church) endorsing the invasion of other countries? How else can we understand our rejection of our heavenly citizenship? (Phil. 3:20; Heb. 11:13 – 16).

 

How can we be appalled at the wickedness of the world outside the professing church and not be disgusted with the wickedness within the professing church? I’m not talking about other tribes within the church, I’m talking about our own tribes.

 

Who will be identified with Jesus Christ and Him crucified? Who will be determined to know nothing but Him, to have no other message than Him? (1 Cor. 1:17 – 2:5). Who will proclaim and teach that in Jesus Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”? (Col. 2:3).

 

The longer we dwell in a Psalm, in a passage of Scripture, the more we can see in Christ, the clearer our vision becomes. How do we know we are moving in the right direction in Scripture? When we see Christ, when we are drawn to Christ, when our hearts delight in Jesus Christ.

 

How are you seeing Jesus Christ in Psalm 94? How is He coming to you in this psalm?