having by the mighty hand of
his Lord God, been used to lead the people forth out of Egypt. Moses, near the end of his life,
shortly before his death, finally blesses this people, just prior
to their being led into the promised land by Joshua. Moses blesses the people, And
in Deuteronomy 33 we read this blessing, as he pronounces a
blessing upon each of the tribes. And at the end of the blessing
in verse 26, we read what he has to say about their God. When
Moses writes, there is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who
rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on
the sky. The eternal God is thy refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he shall thrust out
the enemy from before thee, and shall say, Destroy them. Israel
then shall dwell in safety alone. The fountain of Jacob shall be
upon a land of corn and wine. Also his heaven shall drop down
due. Happy art thou, O Israel, Who
is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy
help? And who is the sword of thy excellency? And thine enemies shall be found
liars unto thee, and thou shalt tread upon their high places. I want to draw your attention
in particular this morning to a phrase you'll read in verse
27 there. eternal God is thy refuge and
underneath are the everlasting arms, underneath are the everlasting
arms. What a refuge to have as a people,
what an encouragement to be given, what hope, what strength, what
comfort to know that the Eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath
you are His everlasting arms. What greater comfort, what greater
assurance could you be granted than to know this? That underneath
you are the arms of God, the everlasting arms. and that He,
the Eternal God, is your refuge. What can you fear if you truly
know this in your heart? What trouble can come upon you
that could prevail? How could the enemies of the
Lord, or your enemies, prevail against you if underneath you
are the everlasting arms. Well, this is the promise, the
blessing which Moses had for the people, the 12 tribes. And those 12 tribes were but
a figure of that people, for whom Christ, the Son of God,
the Son of the eternal God, came into this world to save. that
people for whom he laid down his life, that people for whom
he shed his blood, that people whom he purchased with his own
blood, that people whom he saved, that people whom he will bring
forth out of this wilderness of this world, out of this land
of darkness, out of the bondage of the Egypt of this world, through
a wilderness into the everlasting land of promise, that people
What God has to say to that people in Christ, saved by his Son,
washed by his blood, is that the eternal God is their refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms. Well, has he said it to
you? And do you know this in your
heart? Do you know this God? Is He your
refuge? Have you some experience of the
comfort of knowing that underneath you and around you and watching
over you are the everlasting arms? Well, if you're the Lord's
and if He's given you faith to flee for salvation under His
Son, if he's taught you what you are as a sinner. and what
the judgment and the wrath of God would do unto you if you
remained in your sins. And if he's made you wise unto
salvation, wise that you should flee unto the only one who could
save, unto the only Savior of sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And if, having been made wise, you have fled unto him, and by
faith you have cried out unto him, cried out for salvation,
And if by grace he has answered your cries, and he's spoken peace
unto you, and said you are mine, and called you by name, and said
you are forgiven, I have washed you clean. You are one of my
purchased sons, one of my purchased daughters, if that's you, then you can count yourselves
amongst those who have the eternal God as your refuge and as one
of those who knows what it is to have underneath you the everlasting
arms. Everlasting arms, the everlasting
arms. Yes, they are everlasting for
they are the arms of the everlasting. These arms belong to the Eternal
God, the Everlasting. They belong to the God who has
no beginning and no end, to the One who is the Alpha and the
Omega, the Lord God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God, the
Alpha and the Omega. These arms, His arms, they are
always there. They have always been there.
They will always be there. They can never be taken away.
They will never be removed. They will never cease to be underneath
and around His people, caring for them, protecting them, lifting
them up, watching over them, leading them, They are everlasting
arms, never to be taken away, never to be destroyed, never
to be removed. These arms are strong arms. There are no arms stronger. There are many mighty men in
this world, many men of power, many men who can do great things. but their strength and their
arm is as nothing compared to the power and the strength of
the everlasting arms. As Mary said, when she knew that
she would bear the Son of the Almighty, the Deliverer of His
people, the Saviour. When she prayed and rejoiced
and sang, in Luke 1 51 she said of these arms, and of the Lord,
he hath showed strength with his arm. He hath scattered the
proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath showed strength,
these are strong, these are mighty arms. If these arms are underneath
you, You are in a sure place, a safe place. You may feel weak. You may feel helpless. You may
see your enemies gathering on the hillsides as countless legions. You may not know how to stand
before them. You may not know how to go on.
You may have come a certain journey, and you may find yourself in
trouble, and you may not know how to get out of that trouble. But if you're the Lord's, then
underneath you are everlasting arms, arms stronger than any
other. There is nothing to fear. There
is no need of your strength. There is no need of any help
or of any extra might. For this God has all strength
and all might. He has showed strength with his
arm. He have scattered the proud in
the imagination of their hearts. Isaiah writes in chapter 40 verse
9, O Zion that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the
high mountain. O Jerusalem that bringest good
tidings, lift up thy voice with strength. Lift it up, be not
afraid. Say unto the cities of Judah,
behold your God. Behold, the Lord God will come
with strong hands and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his
reward is with him and his work before him. He shall feed his
flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall lead those that
are with young. Oh yes, this God has a strong
hand, and a strong arm, and he leads his flock with these arms. He gathers the lambs with this
arm. He carries them in his bosom,
and shall gently lead those that are with young. These are arms
of strength, and these are arms of care, and these are arms of
protection. If these arms are around you,
as they are around Zion, as they are around Jerusalem, then be
not afraid. Lift up thy voice with strength. Lift it up. Behold your God. For your God, your refuge, shall
come with strong hand. And his arm shall rule for him. And he shall lead his flock like
a shepherd. And he shall gather the lambs
with his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead
those that are with young. Oh, what an arm. Oh, what arms
to have beneath you. Thirdly, these are saving arms. They're everlasting, they're
strong and they're saving, these are the arms of salvation. Isaiah
again says in chapter 59 and verse 1, Behold the Lord's hand
is not shortened that it cannot save, neither is he a heavy that
it cannot heal. His hand, his arm is strong,
it saves, it brings salvation. There's salvation nowhere else
but by the hand and by the arm of the Lord. These arms will
bring redemption as it says in Psalm 77. Thou hast with thine
arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Yes,
the Lord went forth for the salvation of his people. He came to save
a people. He sent His Son, He came in the
person of His Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to save. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. He came for salvation. And it
is by His arm that He redeemed His people, by His mighty strength. When Christ went to the cross
to die for sinners, he went into a place of suffering. He went
into a place where he laid down his life, in a place in one sense
of weakness. But in his weakness he wrought
salvation. And having blotted out the sins
of his people upon the cross, having stood as the substitute
upon the cross and swallowed up the wrath of God against all
the sins of all his people throughout all time. Having died, having
been laid in the grave, he rose again. He said he has power to
lay down his life. and power to take it up again. And truly he did, for on the
third day, by his almighty power, with the strength of his arm,
he rose again, for he did redeem his people. Thou hast with thine
arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob, and Joseph. These are saving arms and we need salvation. As rebels from the day we are
born, as sinners living in darkness, blind, ignorant of the truth,
as those who went forth from the womb speaking lies, as those
who are born dead in trespasses and sins. We need salvation. We need saving. You need saving. You need salvation. And your
arm cannot bring it. Your strength cannot bring it.
But there are arms that can. And there are arms that did.
And they are called the everlasting arms. Have you felt these arms
and their effects for you? Not only are they saving arms,
but they are the only arms in which there is true strength
and salvation. The only arms. There is no salvation
and no strength anywhere else. Whatever the claims and whatever
the imaginations of men, whatever the imagination of man's heart, there is no strength anywhere
but in these arms. No true strength. No strength
which can accomplish eternal realities. No strength which
can bring to pass effects which last forever. Man can build but
what he builds crumbles to the ground. Man can work but in a
few years everything he's worked for is nothing. This is proven
throughout all history. The greatest of men have come
to see it. Winston Churchill, that great
leader of Britain who was used throughout the war years to bring
this nation from the brink of destruction through to peace.
Having done great things as a Prime Minister of this land and having
been helped by God to deliver a people. Nevertheless, at the
end of his life, looked back over his life as he saw much
that he had fought for and much that he had done throughout his
years in power being gradually undone. He looked back and could
recognize and said that he'd worked for many years to achieve
many things and now it had all come to nothing. And what was
true of him is true of all men. The greatest of men, the greatest
achievements come to nothing. And what man can do in this world
comes to nothing. And what man seeks to do for
his own soul comes to nothing. For man has no strength and no
ability to do a single thing about his own sin. and his own
corruption, and his own evil heart. He's born corrupt, and
the best he can do does not change that in the slightest. He might
seek to live upright, He might seek to live in a fashion that
he thinks will bring favour from God. He might try to turn away
from his evil ways. He might try to resist temptation. He might try to walk right to
pray. But it's all nothing. His heart is as evil at the end
as it was at the beginning. Like the leopard, he cannot change
his spots. He's born a sinner and a sinner
he remains. There is nothing he can do to
change his heart. As we read of Mary and her words,
she said of God that he have scattered the proud in the imagination
of their hearts. You may think you've some ability
and some strength, Your pride may deceive you. You may think
that you have some standing before God, that there is some good
in you. That something you've done, he
will be pleased with. But this is a proud imagination
of your heart. For there is none good. There
is none that understandeth. And there is none that seeketh
after God. There is no strength in man and
no strength in his arm. There is only strength in the
everlasting arms and in the eternal God who is the refuge of his
people. Jeremiah in chapter 17 verse
5 says, Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be the man that trusteth
in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departed
from the Lord. Cursed be that man! Should you
be led to trust in man, any man, yourself or any other, Should
you think that something that you or any other man might do
can bring you help, can bring you refuge, then you'll find
in the end that a curse comes upon your head. For the law,
that law which God gave to Moses, which he gave to this people,
that law will condemn you at the last. For you are not good,
and you have not loved the Lord thy God with all your heart and
all your mind and all your soul, and you have not loved your neighbor
as yourself. Wherever you may put your trust
and your strength, and in the end that law will curse you.
Cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his own. No, only the everlasting arms
can save. Only these everlasting arms of
the eternal God can bring you refuge. Any other strength is
but a delusion, but a mirage, but a lie. Flee from it. Isaiah 59 16 tells us that he
saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no intercessor. Therefore his arm brought salvation
under him and his righteousness it sustained him. Here Isaiah in prophecy is speaking
of the Lord Jesus. For Christ could see that there
was no man and no one who could bring him help or strength. No
one who could bring salvation either for him or his people.
But by His arm, and His arm alone, He brought salvation under Him
and a countless multitude. And His righteousness sustained
Him. Again, Psalm 44, verse 3, we
read, that they got not the land in
possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save
them. but the right hand of God, thine
arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto
them. The Lord led Israel out of Egypt. He led them by Joshua into the
promised land. They had many battles which they
had to fight to take that land. But here the psalmist writes
of them that they got not that land in possession by their own
sword. It wasn't by their strength.
Neither did their own arm save them, but the right hand of the
Lord saved them. His arm and the light of his
countenance. For this reason and this reason
alone, because he had a favor unto them. because he had a favour
unto them. And if the Lord should save you,
and if he should wrap his everlasting arms around you, and put them
underneath you to lift you up, and if he should be your refuge,
it's for one reason and one reason only, It's not because of your
arm or your strength or your goodness or your merit. It's
not because he looked upon you and saw something in you that
made you more deserving than somebody else. It's not because
you'd cleansed yourself or you'd turned from this sin or that
sin. It's not because you'd improved
yourself. It's not because you'd chosen
to follow him whereas others hadn't. It's because, as with
Israel, he had a favour unto you. If he saves you, it's because
he set his love upon you. If he saves you, it's because
he showed his grace unto you. If he saves you, it's because
he showed you mercy. He did not need to. You do not
deserve it. None deserves it. But there is
a people whom he loves and the only reason he loves, the only
cause for that love is in him because it brought him pleasure
to set his love upon them. He had a favor unto them. Has he a favor? unto you. Has he put his arms underneath
you? Are these the arms that lead
you forth? These are stretched out arms,
the arms of the everlasting when he went forth for the salvation
of his people, he stretched out his arm to save them. As it says
at the beginning of Exodus as as he brings the people out.
Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and
I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians,
and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you
with a stretched out arm and with great judgments. He stretched
out his arm to save his people. It took effort on his part, He
was not idle. The salvation of His people came
at a great cost. The Lord God had to stretch out
His arms to save them. It cost Him. He had to work to
save them. He has strong arms, yes, but
He worked, He stretched forth His arm to save them. When Christ
was nailed to a cross, and his arms were stretched out upon
that cross upon which he was nailed. It cost him. It was not an easy salvation. He may be God. He may be almighty. But Christ is also a man. And
he suffered as a man. and he felt pain and anguish
as a man and he felt the abandonment of his own father as a man he
felt the anguish of having his own father turn and turn against
him in wrath and take his hand of judgment and beat and bruise
his own son he felt the anguish of that as a man he felt the
torment He suffered, he hurt, it caused pain. His arms were
stretched out. Do you know the suffering and
the cost that it cost the Lord Jesus to save? If He's your Saviour,
Child of God, have you looked, have you beheld? Do you know
what He went through to save you? What pains He went through? The anguish He went through?
You suffered trouble, you suffered trial in your life. These things
seemed great things at the time to you, but they're nothing compared
to the sufferings of this One. Nothing. Whose sorrow is like
unto my sorrow? He cries. Whose sorrow? Is it nothing unto you all ye
that pass by? Behold, look at the one that
suffered. Look at the one who bore the
pain and bore the wrath of God against sins upon the cross.
Did he bear the wrath of God against your sins? Can you see
his love for you? As his arms were stretched out
for you. They're stretched out. Sixthly, they're revealed. They're
revealed, these arms. Not all men see them. Not all
men know them. Not all men yet know what it
is to have underneath them the everlasting arms. And not all
men yet in their blindness and darkness of their souls know
yet what it is to be crushed by these arms in eternity. They're revealed. Only God's people know what it
is to have these arms underneath them. Only the Lord's people
know what it is to have this God, the Eternal God, as their
refuge. Most cannot see and most do not
know and most do not care. These arms gather the flock and
none else. As Isaiah says, who have believed
our report? And to whom is the arm of the
Lord revealed? To whom? Who believes? Who believes the gospel? Who
has seen the revelation of these arms? Have you? Have you? They're revealed. They are also the arms of judgment,
as I hinted. If they're not revealed to you
as those arms by which you are saved, as those arms which wrought
for you salvation, as those arms which are placed underneath you
to carry you through this world, then there comes a day when they'll
be revealed unto you. as an arm, as arms which bring
about your judgment, as arms which crush and destroy you.
In Ezekiel chapter 30 and verse 21 we read, Son of man, I have
broken the arm of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and lo, it shall not
be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, and
to make it strong to hold the sword. The Lord judged Pharaoh. He delivered his people. And
that hardened man he crushed. And no one mended Pharaoh's arm. For when the arm of the Lord
is against you, none can save. When the arm of the Lord in judgment
comes upon you, you'll find none to deliver. You can run to whatever
refuge you might think of, but you'll find that you've got no
strength against this arm. It's better to be aware of it
now and to cry out unto the ones that bear these arms, that they
might be arms to save rather than arms to crush. These arms, the everlasting arms,
the arms that are underneath the people of God, are, as we
have said, also the arms, the arms of Christ, which were nailed
to a cross. Strong arms, saving arms, caring
arms, arms which will bring judgment in eternity, but arms which were
nailed to a cross. Arms which were taken up by men,
by the brutes of men. And in the counsels of God, He
allowed men to take the arms of His Son. Those arms which
hold up the earth, those arms which sustain all things, those
arms which bring salvation, those everlasting arms which are underneath
all His people, were nailed in weakness to a cross. as arms
that suffered, as the arms of the one who suffered, nailed
to a cross. Oh, what arms these are. The
strength that these arms bring for God's people. The salvation
that they bring for his people. The care and the protection that
they bring for his people. are all because the same arms
were nailed to that cross. If they had not been nailed,
if they had not brought forth blood from the hands, if they
had not been destroyed under the wrath of God as Christ died
in the place of the sinner, if they had not hung there, then
they could not be put underneath. those who were once sinners.
They could not be put underneath those who were once rebels like
you and me. They could not lead such a people
under salvation. For the sins of these people
needed to be taken away. It needed to be blotted out.
And they needed to be washed clean. And in weakness these
arms, these arms wrought salvation. and they wrought salvation which
is perfect, which is righteous, and which is everlasting. These
arms took those sins and that weight of sin upon their shoulders,
and underneath that weight they suffered. And having suffered,
and the Lord Jesus Christ having cried out, it is finished, that
burden fell off them. And there was no more sin, no
more guilt, and no more judgment that could ever rest upon the
child of God. And having died and having risen
again, Christ took these arms and he came unto his people.
And He placed them under that people. And He lifted up that
people. And He led forth that people.
For these arms, these everlasting arms, now are in glory. In ascended
glory. In ascended glory and might and
power. And they lead that people forth. They're placed underneath them.
They're placed underneath us. And as we read in Isaiah 40,
this God, this Saviour, this Christ, He comes and He feeds
His flock like a shepherd, and He gathers the lambs with His
arm, and He carries them in His bosom, and shall gently lead
those that are with young. He leads them forth, He puts
His arms around them, He puts His arms underneath them, and
He leads them as He who is their refuge. Yes underneath are the
everlasting arms. Underneath. Are they under you? Are they under you? Do you know
these arms? Have you beheld these arms? The
Savior dying for you? Have you beheld his love for
you? And have you felt his love in
picking you up? and wrapping His arms around
you and putting them underneath you and leading you forth throughout
all your days, throughout all the journey, throughout all the
trials and all the difficulties. Do you know this God as your
refuge and do you know that underneath you never to be removed, never
to be taken away Underneath, underneath are the everlasting
arms. Underneath are the everlasting
arms. Amen.