Refuge for the Oppressed

Q: What does the Bible say about God being a refuge for the oppressed?

The Bible, specifically Psalm 9:9, states that 'The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.' Psalm 9:9 provides a comforting assurance that God is a refuge for the oppressed. This refuge is characterized as a protective shelter, much like a high tower that offers safety and security amidst life's troubles. The text emphasizes that even when oppression occurs, God knows what is upright and He functions as a protective stronghold for His people. This divine protection is not only physical but encompasses spiritual deliverance, affirming God's presence and willingness to defend His children against all forms of oppression.

Q: How do we know that Jesus is our refuge?

We know Jesus is our refuge as Psalm 9:9 declares Him to be the Lord who provides shelter for the oppressed. The assurance that Jesus is our refuge comes from His declared names and the descriptions of His character throughout Scripture. In Psalm 18:10, it speaks of the name of the Lord as a strong tower where the righteous can run and find safety. Furthermore, Jesus embodies this truth through His work on the cross, providing ultimate safety from sin and judgment for His elect. He is the one who has borne our oppressions and sins, and through His righteousness, we are protected against the condemnation we rightly deserve. Through faith, we recognize Him as our refuge who offers salvation and security.

Q: Why is trusting in God as a refuge important for Christians?

Trusting God as a refuge is crucial for Christians as He is our source of strength and security in times of trouble. Trusting in God as our refuge is essential because it highlights our dependence on His strength rather than our own abilities. As Christians, we recognize that life is filled with various forms of oppression and trouble, and without a refuge, we are left vulnerable. God, as our refuge, offers protection from sin, despair, and external pressures. By relying on Him, we acknowledge His sovereignty and divine will in our lives. In times of distress, going to Him assures us that He is actively involved in our lives, guiding and providing for us, thus reinforcing our faith and security in Him.

Q: What does it mean that God is a refuge in times of trouble?

It means that God provides safety, protection, and support when we face difficulties and oppression. When we say that God is a refuge in times of trouble, we affirm that He is our safe place during life's challenges. As noted in Psalm 9:9, this refuge is not limited to a singular moment but encompasses every situation that brings distress. God’s refuge is characterized by His unwavering presence, where He listens to our cries and provides help when we are in need. He offers comfort through His Word and encourages us to cast our cares on Him, providing peace and stability amidst chaos. This understanding instills confidence that we are never abandoned, but rather enveloped in His protective love.

Q: How does God judge the world in righteousness?

God judges the world in righteousness through Jesus Christ, who is the standard of righteousness for all. The concept of God's righteous judgment is intrinsically linked to Christ Jesus, as seen in Psalms and the New Testament. God has prepared His throne for judgment, and all authority for this judgment has been granted to the Son of Man. As the righteous judge, He evaluates humanity based on His perfect standards, which are found in Christ. For believers, this judgment is a source of comfort because in Christ, we are viewed as righteous, and our sins are forgiven. This knowledge empowers us to live with assurance, trusting in God's character and His just nature, while also prompting us to share the gospel of grace with others.

Psalm chapter 9. Let's read verse
9. Psalm 9 verse 9. The Lord also will be a refuge
for the oppressed. A refuge in times of trouble. Now it says here the Lord also
That means in addition to what has just been said about the
Lord. Let's look back at verse 7. The Lord shall endure forever. He hath prepared His throne for
judgment, and He shall judge the world in righteousness. He
shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. Now the Lord God prepared His
throne for judgment whenever Christ Jesus, our Lord, finished
the work on the cross. When Christ fulfilled the law,
when He was made sin and He bore the sin of His people in His
own body on the tree, and He bore the wrath of God for His
people as their substitute, He fully satisfied the demands of
the law for those chosen of God and given Him before the world
began. He completed that. And He is the righteousness of
His elect. He established righteousness
for them, and He is the righteousness of His elect. He Himself is the
Lord, our righteousness. Now at this present time, the
God-Man, Christ Jesus, is risen to the throne of the Father.
And all judgment, all judgment in heaven and earth has been
committed to the Son of Man. As God the Son, He had all judgment. but as the Son of Man, this One
who is the God, the Man who is God, who is risen in our glorified
nature and seated in the throne of God as the Son of Man. the God-man, all judgment has
been committed unto Him. And it says there in verse 8,
and He shall judge the world in righteousness. He shall minister
judgment to the people in uprightness. Now, indeed, that does mean that
in the end of the world, He will judge the world in righteousness.
The righteousness by which every sinner will be judged that comes
into His presence without His righteousness, will be Himself. He will be the righteousness
by which they will be judged. And we will come up lacking if
we come into His presence without Him to be all our righteousness. And the believer, for the believer
who is trusting the Lord, his judgment was accomplished. His
judgment is passed already. The Scripture tells us in Romans
8, 1, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after
the Spirit. Our judgment was accomplished at Calvary. It was
accomplished. This is something else this text
says. He shall judge the world in righteousness. He shall minister
judgment to the people in uprightness. Right now, Christ our Head, Christ
our Head is governing His body as well as this whole world in
all the affairs of providence and He's doing what is just and
right for each individual child He has redeemed. Psalm 22-28
says, The kingdom is the Lord's, and He is the governor among
the nations. Psalm 103-19 says, The Lord hath
prepared His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom ruleth over all. Now David's been testifying of
that throughout this scripture, that our God is not inactive
from heaven. He's at work. He is constantly
exercising his governing power in his church and over this whole
world, and he's doing it in righteousness and in equity. Now you think
about that, brethren. I thought about this for a long
time when I was looking at this. Our substitute who put away our
sin by the sacrifice of himself, our advocate who ever lives to
make intercession for us, our judge who declares we're completely
innocent of all guilt before his holy judgment seat, is also
our governor who's constantly at every moment governing with
equity all our interests right now in this present evil world. You think about that. He's executing judgment in our
defense and for our deliverance in everything. And He won't deny
His governing hand to any of His blood-bought, redeemed children.
He shall judge the world in righteousness. He shall minister judgment to
the people in uprightness. Now you talk about security.
You talk about having security. Brethren, we have security. Believer
has security. If it ever appears to our feeble
sense that God's not doing this, rest assured, our judge is ministering
judgment for his flock for each one individually in uprightness.
He is doing that. He is doing it. Trust the Lord. wait on the Lord, ask the Lord,
and exercise patience because our text tells us our Lord is
also something else to us. Verse 9 says the Lord also will
be a refuge for the oppressed and a refuge in times of trouble. Now that one verse sums up the
whole message. That is the proposal I want you
to get tonight. The Lord also will be a refuge
for the oppressed. There's going to be some oppression,
even though He's judging righteously. He knows what's best. He knows
what's upright and what's equal and what should be done. And
He's doing it. And there's going to be some oppression. But the
Lord's our refuge. He's the refuge for the oppressed
in those times of trouble. Now I want to show you, we'll
divide this into three divisions. First of all, we'll look at the
statement of fact. The Lord also will be a refuge. And then we'll look at for whom
the Lord is a refuge. He's a refuge for the oppressed. And then we'll look at when the
Lord is a refuge for the oppressed. It says here, in times of trouble. All right, let's look at this
statement of fact. When it says the Lord also will be a refuge,
who's it talking about when it says the Lord? Well, it's the
Lord Jehovah. It's God in three persons. God
the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. That's the one
true and living God in three distinct persons. One God in
three distinct persons. And He's manifest Himself to
us in Christ Jesus, the Lord, who came to this earth. He shall
be a refuge. Now what's a refuge? It's a protective
shelter. The word here particularly means
a high tower. It means that the Lord is a refuge,
He's a high tower, He's the place of ultimate safety. for his children. Now, just so we can get this
in our mind's eye, let me read you a text here from 2 Samuel
chapter 22, and just listen to some of these words that describe
how safe a believer is in Christ. Listen to this. The Lord is my
rock. my rock." We're talking about
a rock that can't be moved. He's my fortress. You think about
living behind a fortress. Behind a fortress. He's my fortress. He's my deliverer. He's not just
an inanimate rock and He's not just an inanimate fortress. He's
a living rock and a living fortress who is my deliverer. The God
of my rock. That's who He is. The God of
my rock. In Him will I trust. He's my
shield. He's my shield. You see secret
service men when the president gets in harm and he comes between
them and the president to shield him so that he can't get injured. Christ Jesus is our shield. He's the horn of my salvation,
the power of my salvation, the horn of my salvation. He's my
high tower. John Trapp tells about In Egypt
they had these high towers because at night it was such a delta
land and so much water that the gnats and mosquitoes and things
were so bad that they'd go up in those high towers just to
get above where the gnats and mosquitoes and all that could
be. He's a high tower. He's my refuge, my refuge, my
savior. Thou savest me from violence. Do you get the picture of what
a refuge is? It's a rock, it's a fortress, it's a safe place,
a high place, a high tower. You remember how God appointed
the cities of refuge in the Old Testament? We looked at that
at one point. He made those cities of refuge
so that if somebody committed manslaughter and was guilty of
murdering somebody, though they didn't mean to do it, they could
flee to these three cities on one side of the Jordan and three
on the other. They could flee to one of those
cities. And when they went into that city, they would question
them. And they could stay in that city.
And as long as they stayed in that city, the avenger of blood
couldn't touch him. He couldn't come and kill him.
If they went out of that city, he could touch them and kill
them. But if they stayed in that city, they couldn't be touched.
Well, Christ Jesus is the one that those cities of refuge are
set forth to glorify. He's our refuge. So we see here
who this refuge is. It's the Lord. The Lord is our
refuge. Our God is our refuge. Now secondly,
for whom is the Lord a refuge? It says here, the Lord is a refuge
for the oppressed. The Lord also will be a refuge
for the oppressed. You know what oppression means?
To be oppressed is to be pressed upon. It's just what it sounds
like. It's to be pressed upon. It's to be defrauded. It's to
be violated. It's to be deceived. It is to
be dealt with unjustly, to be accused, to be cast down and
trampled on by the oppressor. And there's many forms of oppression.
There's lots of different forms of oppression. Many kinds of
sorrows and afflictions are in this world in Providence, and
those are oppressive to us. There's all kinds of things that
go on between men and men in this world that is oppression.
Right now in this world, like never before, we have people
that are rich beyond anything that's ever been before.
And there's really two classes, more and more and more, the rich
and the poor. That's oppression. That's oppression
is what it is. The rich are getting richer and
the poor are getting poorer. Persecutions of men. are oppression,
persecutions of men, pushing away, oppressing us, and they
press us beyond measure. They press us beyond measure
so that we can't bear up under it, above strength. There's the
oppression of sin, the burden of sin. Paul said, who shall
deliver me from this body of death? And the picture is of
the new man carrying around a body on his back. That is an old,
dead corpse. That's just a burden upon him,
pressing upon him. Satan, in all his temptations,
is oppressive. He's the oppressor. And then
we come, ultimately, we come to the hour of death, and that's
oppressive. So, but the thing here I want
you to see is that It's only the regenerated sinner that knows
what oppression is because he's the only one that knows that
the Lord is the refuge for the oppressed. You see, all men suffer
in this world. Everybody suffers in this world.
Just because we suffer doesn't mean we're ones for whom the
Lord is a refuge. All men suffer. There's a difference
between an unbeliever, an unregenerated man, somebody not born of the
Spirit, and somebody who is. Somebody who's born of the Spirit, these things are sanctified to
him so that he sees that the Lord is his refuge. That's the
purpose for this oppression. But the person who isn't born
of the Spirit of God, he's living by the sword. He's living by
the sword and he'll die by the sword. I was coming over here
and I pulled up to a traffic light over there and there was
a fella that was pulling out of a lot and he was probably
in a hurry and needing to get out or whatever, but I was sitting
there and I was thinking I will just wait and let him pull out.
Well, he didn't even give me a chance to let him pull out.
He just stuck the nose of his car up in there and stopped me.
So I had to let him pull out. And the thought occurred to me,
you know, when we I call that I tell him, Linda, you got to
make it happen. And I keep I tell her that when we do everything
that way, where we make what we want to happen happen, you
know, we miss out on we miss out on the opportunity of someone
showing us grace. We miss out on the opportunity
of what it is for someone to be gracious to us. And because
the world isn't that way, because the world is just make it happen,
make it happen. We find ourselves want to fight
back the same way and deal with folks the same way. The natural
man is trusting a refuge of lies. He's hidden himself under falsehood. But the believer, he's been regenerated
by the power of the Holy Spirit. He's been given life, he's been
given faith, he's been given a glimpse of what he is, and
he's been given a sight of who Christ is. And that city of refuge,
it wasn't valuable to anybody but to that man who had shed
blood. And that man who had shed blood
looked at that city of refuge as one of the most, you couldn't
put a price on what that meant to him to get into that city
for refuge. The same with that one who needed
a high tower, who needed a fortress, who was being pursued by the
enemy. That meant everything to him. To the man that wasn't
being pursued or to the man doing the pursuing, it meant nothing
to him. But to the man who's being pursued,
it means everything. And that's what a believer is.
He's been born to see. He's been born and given eyes
so he can see that all our refuge from all oppression, both temporal
and spiritual, is the Lord. And he's taught us that by his
gospel. He's taught us that through the
Holy Spirit because he's taught us his name. Look at verse 10.
They that know thy name will put their trust in thee. For
thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee." When God
reveals His name and He makes you to know His name, this is
not a question of whether this will be a maybe or at all. This is a sure, certain fact.
It says here, they that know thy name will put their trust
in thee. Because Thou, Lord, hast not
forsaken them that seek Thee. In His free grace and His unchanging
love for His people, it wouldn't allow Him to forsake them. Even
when we became sinners, even when we were enemies in our minds
by wicked works, He came to us and He taught us His name. And
when He taught us His name, that His name is the Amen, that His
name is Jehovah Adonai, which is His name is the Amen. It is the Word of God. And it
is the God who speaks the Word and it is the Word itself. It
is truth itself. And He taught us that His name
is the faithful and true witness. He taught us that His name is
the beginning of the creation of God. And when He did that,
we did what we could only do. We did what that name makes the
child of God willing to do. We forsook everything else and
laid hold of Him. We discovered, we believed that
He was trustworthy. And when we laid hold of Him,
ever since we've been finding out He's wholly worthy of all
our trust. Do you know His name? Do you
realize that His name, the Lord's name, is a name that teaches
us that He is our refuge in all our oppression. His name teaches
us He is our refuge in all our oppression. I'm going to give
you several names that our Lord has been given throughout the
scriptures. It's just one name. But I'm going to give you these
names. I want you to see, this is the problem. This is our oppression
we have to deal with as brethren. Do you ever have a problem with
your sins pressing down on you? I know you do, I do. You have
a problem where your sins become so weighty to you and they oppress,
they press you down and they defraud you of all happiness
and all joy and all peace in believing. Your sins do that.
You remember whenever God told Abraham to go up on Mount Moriah
and offer up Isaac. And he went up there and he knows
his boy is about to die. He knows his son is about, he's
about to put his son on an altar and he's about to put a knife
through him and kill him. And just before that happened,
he looked around and there was a ram, there was a lamb, that
God provided, caught in a thicket, and that lamb was the substitute
that took Isaac's place and laid down his life in Isaac's place.
And it says in Genesis 22, 14, Abraham called the name of that
place Jehovah-Jireh. Jehovah Jireh. That's his name. It means in the mount of the
Lord it shall be seen. And in that very mountain Christ
Jesus came. God the Son came. The Lamb of
God that takes away the sin of all his elect people scattered
throughout all the world. He came to that very mountain.
And God Himself provided him. And God Himself provided the
Lamb, the substitute, who laid down His life in the place of
His people. And when He laid down His life in the room instead
of every elect child of God, the Scripture says, by that one
offering, He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified, so
that the Lord God in heaven and earth, who knows all things past,
present, and future, says of each one of his elect children,
you in particular who he's called, he says this, your sins and iniquities
I will remember no more. So do you see the point here? When you're oppressed by your
sins, Remember His name. Flee to that one whose name is
Jehovah Jireh. God has seen to it. God has provided
His Lamb and all who trust Him are complete and accepted in
Him. Now that's just who He is. That's
the name to flee to. That's the refuge to flee to.
What about Are you ever oppressed by trials and the temptations
in this world? And those are bitter waters. Remember when they came to the
bitter waters? They came there expecting to get something to
drink, and they came there expecting to get something to fill their
belly and make them, and all they found was bitter water.
And they began to murmur and complain. We come to bitter waters
a lot in this life. We come to, and the just judge
who's ruling everything brings us to those bitter waters. And
we start, and we drink those bitter waters sometimes and they
make us sick. They make us soul sick. They
make us sin sick when we drink them. You remember that branch
that he told Moses, you take that branch and you throw it
in that water. And he threw that branch in that
water and it healed the water. It made the water sweet. And
this is what the Lord said. The Lord said, my name is Jehovah
Rapha. Jehovah Rapha. I am the Lord
that healeth thee. Jehovah I am that healeth thee. That's who he is. When you're
oppressed with the bitter waters and you get sick, sin sick, soul
sick, remember His name. Flee to this refuge. He's the
refuge of healing. And what a refuge He is. He says
that those who know His name, those that know He's Jehovah
Rapha, the Lord that healeth thee, they'll put their trust
in Him. They'll flee to this refuge.
And He never forsakes them that seeks Him. He makes them whole. He heals them. He heals them.
You ever feel so weak, so absolutely weak and so absolutely helpless
that you're just like a lamb counted for the slaughter? Just
as helpless as a lamb, accounted for nothing but slaughter, to
be killed and slaughtered by the oppressors in this world. Amalek was a wicked nation and
Israel had just come out, you know, they just come out of Egypt
and they're going along with 2,000, I mean, 2 million people
there, you know, trying to go along and there's some that's
weak and there's some that they didn't have everything packed
up and they're all struggling and trying to get everything
together and they're in the back trying to keep up with everybody
else. And Amalek came up from behind with all his troops and
he began to attack the weakest. and try to attack them and try
to harm them. And Moses lifted up a rod. Picture
the gospel. And as he lifted up that rod
and held up that rod, Joshua the high priest went out there
into the plain. Picture of Christ Jesus, our
captain of our salvation, captain of our warfare. He went out there
and defeated Amalek. When they got finished, Moses
built an altar there. And he called the name of it
Jehovah Nisi. Jehovah Nisi. For he said, because
the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek
from generation to generation. So whenever the oppressor comes
up from behind and he takes you, you that are weak and helpless,
lambs counted for the slaughter, and as he starts to wage war
upon you, remember the Lord's name. He's Jehovah Nissi, the
Lord our banner, and we're more than conquerors through him that
loved us. This is the refuge. You see how
his name applies to everything that oppresses us? Here's another
thing. You ever try to find peace in
this world? We're bad about that, aren't
we? It's great mercy when the Lord won't let us find peace
in this world, when he just won't let us put down our tent stakes
and camp out and decide this is it. I'm right here, I like
it, and I'm done with it. When he won't let us camp out
and just grab hold of this world, that's a great mercy from God.
Gideon, the Lord appeared to Gideon. And Gideon got afraid
because he saw the Lord. And this is what the Lord said
to him. He said, Gideon, Jehovah Shalom. Ever heard somebody say
that? Jehovah Shalom. That's the name
of our Lord. That's the name of our God. It
means, it means peace be unto thee. Jehovah peace. Jehovah
peace. Fear not, thou shalt not die.
That's what he told Gideon. His name is I am Jehovah, I am
the Lord your peace. That's his name, Jehovah Shalom.
That's his name. So when we're looking around
and we're trying to find some kind of peace in this world and
all we keep finding is tribulation. Remember what peace said to us.
He said in this world you're going to have tribulation. So
you're going to have. Everywhere you look you're going
to have tribulation. As long as we're in this world, we're
going to have tribulation. But you who know His name, you
to whom He has spoken and said, Jehovah Shalom, peace be unto
you. He tells you to be of good cheer.
He says, I've overcome this world for you. I've overcome. I've
brought peace with God for you. Peace that nobody can take away.
Peace that nobody can touch. Peace that nobody can harm. Peace
that no one can ever take from you. That's who He is. That's something greater. I tell
you, it's a... What's that basketball player
that he's named himself World Peace or something and then he
KO'd a guy on the basketball court the other day? It's better
peace than that. Better peace than that kind of
peace. This is peace. My peace I give unto you, he
said. Let's look at Jeremiah 23. I want you to see something
here. We've been looking lately at false teachers and I thought
about this. Jeremiah 23, whenever false teachers
make merchandise, try to make merchandise of our souls, when
they bring you back under the law. when they would teach you
to play the adulteress, to leave Christ and go back to Mount Sinai,
and start looking to your own flesh, and looking to yourself,
and trying to make yourself righteous and holy, and they start yoking
you, and they start taking from you the riches that Christ has
given to you freely, robbing you, defrauding you, and they
start to try to press out of you righteousness and holiness
which we only have in Christ Jesus. when they start trying
to make you come up with a righteousness and a holiness that you cannot
produce that we have in Christ Jesus by His grace through His
Spirit alone. Remember this, flee to Christ
who is our refuge. This is His name, the Lord our
righteousness. Look at verse 3. He says, he
speaks there in the first few verses about false prophets that
have scattered his flock, but in verse 3 he says this, I will
gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries, whether
I have driven them, and I'll bring them again to their folds,
and they shall be fruitful and increase. And I will set up shepherds
over them which shall feed them, and they shall fear no more,
nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.
They feared because of those shepherds who were yoking them
and binding them and oppressing them. But he said, that's going
to end when I get through with what I'm doing. He says, Behold,
the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David
a righteous branch. and a king shall reign and prosper
and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth." Isn't
that what David's talking about in our psalm? He's saying he's
risen, and he's prepared his throne for judgment, and he's
exercising judgment, and he will judge the people in uprightness,
and he'll be a refuge for the oppressed. In his days, Judah
shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is the
name whereby he shall be called, the Lord our righteousness. the Lord our Righteousness. You
know over in Jeremiah 33, 16, I've shown this to you before,
He says there to us, His name shall be called the Lord our
Righteousness. And in Jeremiah 33, 16, it's the same scripture
with a little difference. He says in Jeremiah 33, 16, In
those days shalt you be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely.
And this is the name wherewith she shall be called the Lord
our Righteousness. You see, His name is our name. When Peter stood up on the day
of Pentecost, this is what he declared. He said, Christ Jesus,
whom you crucified and slain, He has shed forth this which
you see and hear. You know what they saw and heard
there? There was folks that were scattered in all countries that
were from all different countries around there that had come to
Jerusalem to worship God. And all of a sudden, God poured
out the Spirit upon His children, and they began to prophesy to
each of them in their own language. You see, this began in Jerusalem.
This began with the Lord's work there. Because Christ and Peter
said to Him, He has prepared His throne for judgment. He has
risen. He is both Lord and Christ. And
He shed forth this which you now see and hear. And ever since
then, Ephesians 4 says, His ascension gifts, He's given shepherds to
look over His foals, and He's drawn His people in, and they'll
feed them, and they'll fear no more, and they won't be dismayed,
neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord. So when the oppressor
who would oppress you and try to bring you under the yoke of
the law... I heard a man say this, I heard a man say that
now the believer not only has ten commandments, we have eleven.
I heard somebody say that. The believer's not under the
law. We're under grace. We're under grace. When it says
you have become dead to the law, you can try to do things before
the law all you want to, but you know how the law regards
you? You're dead. You're dead. You're dead. Dead to it. Completely dead to
it. We don't lie, and we don't want to bear false witness, and
we don't want to go around being covetous after the glory of God
and coveting our neighbor's goods, and we don't want to go back
to the law and set it up as our graven image and bow down to
it and worship it, which is really just worshiping the idol of our
own flesh. No, we don't want to do that
anymore. We see what the law says. It says to us that we're
guilty. It says to us we cannot please
God by the works of our flesh. But by His Spirit now, we've
been brought unto grace, and we're free now because our old
husband has died. we're free to be married to another,
that we may bring forth fruit, true fruit, living fruit under
righteousness, which is produced by the Spirit of God working
in us through love, not law, through love. So when somebody
tells you that, you be sure to tell them, I'm fleeing to my
refuge. He's the Lord our righteousness. I'm righteous in him. That's
the end of story. He's the end of the lawful righteousness
to everyone that believe. I want you to see this too. Zephaniah
3. Look at Zephaniah 3. It's the
last page right before Haggai. You get lonely? Do you ever get
lonely? Do you ever feel like you're
alone? That's oppressive. That's oppressive
to feel like we don't have anybody to help us. You know what the
name that the Lord gives to His church is? This is His name,
and this is the name He gave to His church. He called it Jehovah
Shema. I am, the Lord is there. That's
what He called it. The Lord is there. When we become
oppressed like that, we start feeling like the Lord's left
us to ourselves. You know what we're most prone
to do at that time? We're most prone to go somewhere
other than together with the Lord's people to hear the good
news of our refuge. That's what we end up trying
to do, go somewhere else rather than gather together. We're in
the place where the Lord said, Jehovah Shema, the Lord is there. The Lord is there. Jehovah the
Father promises He's there. Jehovah the son, the head of
the church, the master of the family, he promises he's there
as a son in his own house, the firstborn among his brethren,
the prophet who's teaching us in the midst of his church, the
high priest in the midst of the candlesticks, The King who's
showing Himself in all the glories of His person and the riches
of His grace according to His promise, He said, I am with you
always. Isn't that what He said? That's
what He said, I'm with you always. He's promised us that. And Jehovah
the Spirit is there to apply the Word, to make the Spirit
of grace and supplication come into our hearts, to be our comforter,
to be our guide, to guide us into all truth. The Spirit of
Jehovah is there. Let me read you this while you're
holding your place there in Zephaniah 3. I'll just tell you this. Before you go to bed, read Psalm
46. Let me read this to you. Psalm
46. Let me get there and read this
real quick. God's our refuge. He's our strength. A very present help in trouble. As we said, the Lord is there.
A very present help in trouble. This is what He says about that.
He says, There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad
the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most
High." The tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst
of her. She shall not be moved. God shall
help her, and that right early. He's saying He's in the midst
of His people. Now, I've told you this before.
You got your place there in Zephaniah? I've told you this before. In
Matthew, the Lord said, Where two or three are gathered together
in my name There am I in the midst of them? That's what the
Lord said where two or three are gathered in my name there.
I am in the midst of them and I know what we think Naturally
we think well if we get two or three together and we all get
together and gather together the Lord's gonna be there not
necessarily not necessarily But you know it's Jehovah Shema.
The Lord is there. It's Him who gathers His children.
It's Him who delivers us from all the oppressors who would
prevent us from gathering with Him. You know He gathers His
people. Look at Zephaniah 3 verse 17. The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty. He will save. He will rejoice
over thee with joy. He will rest in his love. He
will joy over thee with singing. I will gather them that are sorrowful
for the solemn assembly. I'm going to bring them into
my church. I'm going to gather them because
they are of thee. They are of thee. These are those
to whom the reproach of it was a burden. It was a burden. The
Lord's people are sorrowful when they can't gather together to
worship with Him. They're sorrowful over that.
Because why? Because we're of Christ. We've
heard Jehovah's Shaman. We know the Lord is there. And
the reproach of it, when we can't gather, is a burden to us. It's
oppressive to us. It weights us down. It's heavy
to us. But the Lord will, in His own
due time and way, gather those out of all places where they
are into His church and among His people to join with them
in religious worship and partake of all the ordinances and privileges
of His house. The Lord will do that because
the Lord is there. He's gathering His people. You
know when Paul, I've heard so many people preach and say so
many different things on this, but you remember when Paul said,
now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling. And he said, for it's God which
worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Do all things without murmurings and disputings. I could tell
you one thing that means. One thing that means. I've heard
men say a lot of things about that. I could tell you one thing
I know that means. One thing it means is this. God is present. I am there, he said, in the midst
of his assembly. in the midst of it. So, work
out all your daily affairs with one another in the church without
murmuring, without complaining, because the Lord is there in
the midst of you. He's in you. He's right there
in your midst. The Lord is there. Now, if we
really had that realization that the Lord is there, if we really
love the Lord, we'd want to be where He is, wouldn't we? And
if we knew the realization of how present He is there, how
present Jehovah Shema is there, we wouldn't be so quick to murmur
and complain and fuss and carry on about every little thing that
goes on. We know He's in the midst of
us. He's there. He's right there.
And that's what He says. He's there. I am the Lord. Flee
to where He is. Flee to the refuge. When you're
oppressed by By that bondage of that burden and that reproach
of not being with the Lord's people, not being where they
are, not being together with them, flee to Him. Flee to where
He is. Because this is where He's going
to give you grace, where He's going to feed you, where He's
going to nourish you, where He's going to edify you, where He's going
to comfort you, where He's going to do all these things for you.
He said, He promised us that. You think He just made church
just so people could do church? Just so folks could go and get
their butt groove in a seat and just say, that's my seat where
I sit every time I'm there. You think that's what it's about?
It's about worshiping God. And it's about God revealing
Himself in the hearts of His people and teaching us this Word. This right here is the class.
This is the classroom. This is where He's teaching us
these things and making them effectual in our heart. We go
out in that world, that's where we're going through the clinicals
out there. That's where we're going out there and we're practicing
what we've learned. We've heard it now. He's teaching us. This
is real. This is me working all things
in your life to teach you there is no other refuge, no other
peace, no other salvation from the oppressor, from your sin
and from this whole world than the Lord God Almighty. It's just
that real. It's just that singular. It's
just that simple. It's just that profound. And here's the seventh
name He is in Psalm 23. He says, I am Jehovah-Raya, the
Lord your Shepherd. You ever get depressed as you're
walking through this valley of the shadow of death? You ever
get oppressed and we're coming to that death. We're coming to
that day where we will be in that valley. But this whole walk
through this world is a valley that we're walking through. And
it is a shadow of death. We're walking in the shadow of
death. I've said this to you before. Our Lord Jesus Christ
has so completely, thoroughly perfected His people forever.
He has so thoroughly, completely purged us of our sins and made
us the righteousness of God in Him that the death is only a
shadow. It has no substance to it. You
scared of a shatter? Are you? It doesn't have any
substance to it. You can wrestle with it all you
want to. It's not going to prevail. It's the valley of the shadow
of death. It's just a shadow. That's all
it is. And we were walking through this valley. He's the refuge. He is the green pasture that
makes us lay down safely. He's our refuge and our shepherd
who prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies
and anoints our head with oil so that our cup runs over so
that we can say with assurance. Surely, goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life, and I'll dwell in the house
of the Lord forever. And you know who this refuge
is? You know who this one is? He's Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
There is no other name given among men whereby we must be
saved. Look at Proverbs 18.10. I'm going to get done here. Proverbs 18.10. Why are you telling me about
His name when you started out telling me about this refuge?
Why are you telling me his name when you started out and you
were just talking about a refuge? You see Proverbs 18.10? The name of the Lord is a strong
tower. He's the refuge. The name of
the Lord is the refuge. The righteous runneth into it
and is safe. set aloft, saved, taken care
of by Him. That's why I'm telling you His
name. His name is the refuge, the strong tower. Well, let's
go back to our text. We'll wrap this up. Here's the
last thing. When is the Lord a refuge? When's
He a refuge? Look there at verse 9. In times
of trouble. Every single hour of every single
day is a time of trouble for the believer. We may not realize
it, but every hour of every single day is a time of trouble. Even
when you go home tonight and close your eyes and surrender
to sleep and lay there absolutely helpless. It's a time of trouble. Powers and principalities that
we wrestle against. If they could. If they could. They gotcha. They gotcha. But we're just that helpless
all the time. Just that helpless all the time. But this is what
he says. Look at the openness of that
phrase. In times of trouble. It's not limited to a specific
time. It's all times of trouble. It's not limited to a specific
trouble. It's all trouble. Whatever the times, whatever
the trouble, the Lord will be a refuge to the oppressed in
times of trouble. His ear is never too heavy to
hear us. His arm is never too short to
save us. His ear, He's never too busy. He's never too busy. Someone
may ask this question, well, how do I enter into this refuge?
Well, by faith. You believe Him. You trust Him.
You trust Him. Look there in verse 10. They
that know thy name will put their trust in thee, for thou, Lord,
hast not forsaken them that seek thee. We enter into this refuge
by faith. We believe Him and we trust Him.
How do we enter into this refuge? Assemble with his people. He's
promised to bless us and comfort us through the gospel of his
dear son where he's provided a faithful shepherd to feed his
sheep. He said he's there. Hear his word. Study his word. Sing his praises. Partake of
the Lord's table with his saints. Be there with him in all of endeavoring
to hear his name preached and hear him teach it to you. And
here's the next thing, ask Him. Ask Him. Look down at verse 13. Have mercy upon me, O Lord. When's the last time we just
prayed that? Have mercy upon me, O Lord. Consider my trouble, which I
suffer of them that hate me. Thou that liftest me up from
the gates of death, do it for me for what reason? That I might
show forth all Thy praise in the gates of the daughter of
Zion. I will rejoice in Thy salvation. Do it that I can rejoice in You.
You know what? The psalmist said in another
place, My times are in Thine hand. Deliver me from the hand
of mine enemies and from them that persecute me. Just ask Him. of a faithful mind, not of a
double mind, but ask him with trust in him, believe in him.
He doesn't upbraid anybody that comes to him. He delights to
show his children mercy. I've said this over and over
to you. Have you children tried this yet? Instead of raising
up opposition against mom and dad, of just submitting to them
and saying, I just need mercy. Try that. Try that. I bet you
it'll make a peaceful home. I bet you it'll create peace
in the right over here in the right home to just quit saying,
I'm going to have my way and say, I'm sorry. I just forgive
me for what I am. I just need mercy. I really just
need mercy. Even an earthly father give it
to you. How much more God in heaven, God in heaven. And there's a promise, there
it is, the promise we have, and this is the security we have.
He shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. The
Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed in times of trouble.
That's who our God is. Amen.

Refuge for the Oppressed

What does the Bible say about God being a refuge for the oppressed?

How do we know that Jesus is our refuge?

Why is trusting in God as a refuge important for Christians?

What does it mean that God is a refuge in times of trouble?

How does God judge the world in righteousness?

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Refuge for the Oppressed

What does the Bible say about God being a refuge for the oppressed?

How do we know that Jesus is our refuge?

Why is trusting in God as a refuge important for Christians?

What does it mean that God is a refuge in times of trouble?

How does God judge the world in righteousness?

Sermon Transcript

About Clay Curtis

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