It is a precious and sure truth you have set before us, that the Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
What a mercy that our refuge lies not in our own strength or feeling, but in the character of God Himself. Even when you are not able to perceive it by experience, His character is the refuge of the saint. The basis of your security lies there, in His immutability, His faithfulness, His might and His goodness. He is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He abides forever the same, not as a temporary camp but as a fortress intended to stand from generation to generation. Therefore those who dwell in Him dwell surrounded as with impregnable bulwarks.
You do well to lay hold upon this word, for to call upon God in the day of trouble is itself an act that honors Him. It is a truthful recognition that He is, that He hears, that He is a fact to the suppliant soul. When the heart cries to Him, it holds converse with the living God, and it puts a crown upon every attribute of His name. He has said, Call upon Me in the day of trouble, and He has joined to it the promise, I will deliver you.
I exhort you then to run into this strong tower without hesitation and with great eagerness, as one who does not feel safe till he has entered into his God. The flight of fear is to be the flight of faith. Run, and do not linger upon the way. The Lord knows them that trust in Him, and in that knowledge there is safety. Even when the Lord Himself chastens us, it is blessed to appeal against God to God, and to rebut every slander of Satan by remembering what our God is, that He is omniscient and sees all things, that He is merciful and faithful.
Above all, remember that your refuge from both trouble and sin is Christ Himself. As the cities of refuge were provided under the law, so there is but one Christ, yet there is a Christ everywhere, a refuge at a convenient distance for every guilty and troubled soul. The law like the avenger of blood pursues the sinner, but Christ is the stronghold to which you may flee and be safe. It is through Jesus Christ alone that we are saved and find entrance into this refuge, for there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved.
Therefore take both your sorrows and your sins to God. Your little sorrows you may take to Him, for He counts the hairs of your head, and your great sorrows you may take to Him, for He holds the world in the hollow of His hand. If you feel forsaken, do as our Lord did, and cry again, My God, my God, and be more earnest in prayer than ever. He will hear the righteous cry.
May the Lord enable you to trust Him more fully, to prove Him to be your very present help, and to find in His goodness your joy even in the day of trouble. May He teach you His statutes as you declare your ways before Him, and keep you abiding in Christ, your only refuge, till all trouble is past and you dwell with Him forever.