#802 Refugees in Winter

In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;

let me never be put to shame!

2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;

incline your ear to me, and save me!

3 Be to me a rock of refuge,

to which I may continually come;

you have given the command to save me,

for you are my rock and my fortress.

4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,

from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.

5 For you, O Lord, are my hope,

my trust, O Lord, from my youth.

6 Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;

you are he who took me from my mother's womb.

My praise is continually of you.

7 I have been as a portent to many,

but you are my strong refuge.

8 My mouth is filled with your praise,

and with your glory all the day.

9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

forsake me not when my strength is spent.

10 For my enemies speak concerning me;

those who watch for my life consult together

11 and say, “God has forsaken him;

pursue and seize him,

for there is none to deliver him.”

12 O God, be not far from me;

O my God, make haste to help me!

13 May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;

with scorn and disgrace may they be covered

who seek my hurt.

14 But I will hope continually

and will praise you yet more and more.

15 My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,

of your deeds of salvation all the day,

for their number is past my knowledge.

16 With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come;

I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

17 O God, from my youth you have taught me,

and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

18 So even to old age and gray hairs,

O God, do not forsake me,

until I proclaim your might to another generation,

your power to all those to come.

19 Your righteousness, O God,

reaches the high heavens.

You who have done great things,

O God, who is like you?

20 You who have made me see many troubles and calamities

will revive me again;

from the depths of the earth

you will bring me up again.

21 You will increase my greatness

and comfort me again.

22 I will also praise you with the harp

for your faithfulness, O my God;

I will sing praises to you with the lyre,

O Holy One of Israel.

23 My lips will shout for joy,

when I sing praises to you;

my soul also, which you have redeemed.

24 And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,

for they have been put to shame and disappointed

who sought to do me hurt. Psalm 71 ESV

A Psalm without a title.

Let me never be put to shame - Those that take refuge in the Lord are not without struggle, anxiety, enemies that would like to see them fall down, but "I believe,' they say, 'help me with my unbelief." Whatever I must go through let me find Your glory on the other side, save me for the sake of Your honor and Your steadfast love.

…42“He saved others, but He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way, even the robbers who were crucified with Him berated Him.… Matthew 27: 42-44

In Your righteousness deliver me - Because of what You have said, because of Who You are, and that You have caused me to believe in You. 

21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets. 22 And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,… Romans 3: 21-23

You are my rock and my fortress - I may grow old, tired, weak, yet He, in Whom I have placed all my hope, is able to sustain me, to give me peace that passes even my understanding. He is my safe place, Father, into thine hands I commit my spirit.

- Believers find their God to be their habitation, strong and accessible, and this is for them a sufficient remedy for all the ills of their mortal life. - C. H. Spurgeon

O Lord from my youth - In my youth I put my trust in all else, but I wish, I hope and I pray for my girls that they will know early that there is no reasonable substitute for faith in the One Who created all things, and that salvation comes from none other.

 - Thou art my trust from my youth. David had proved his faith by notable exploits when he was a youth and ruddy; it was to him a cheering recollection, and he felt persuaded that the God of his youth would not forsake him in his age. They are highly favoured who can like David, Samuel, Josiah, Timothy, and others say, "Thou art my trust from my youth." - C. H. Spurgeon

…14 But as for you, continue in the things you have learned and firmly believed, since you know from whom you have learned them. 15 From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,… 2 Timothy 3: 14-16

- Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day. What a blessed mouthful! A man never grows nauseated though the flavour of it be all day in his mouth. God's bread is always in our mouths, so should his praise be. He fills us with good; let us be also filled with gratitude. This would leave no room for murmuring or backbiting; therefore, may we well join with holy David in this sacred wish. - C. H. Spurgeon

Do not cast me off in the time of old age - He recounts with such blessedness and fondness the memories of youthful pursuits. He is the giant slayer, the wilderness survivalist, but his legs are no longer so swift, arms are not so strong, and with fading eyes he can no longer aim the sling or shoot the arrow in so tight a group, but that is only our value to the lost. God never needed any of those things.

 - Saying, God hath forsaken him. O bitter taunt! There is no worse arrow in all the quivers of hell. Our Lord felt this barbed shaft, and it is no marvel if his disciples feel the same. Were this exclamation the truth, it were indeed an ill day for us; but, glory be to God, it is a barefaced lie. Persecute and take him. Let loose the dogs of persecution upon him, seize him, worry him, for there is none to deliver him. Down with him, for he has no friends. It is safe to insult him, for none will come to his rescue. O cowardly boasts of a braggart foe, how do ye wound the soul of the believer: and only when his faith cries to his Lord is he able to endure your cruelty. - C. H. Spurgeon

O god, be not far from me - The Father, what a fitting name, eternally that, and as we grow old we come again to being babes, helpless, and for our good, for now we cry Abba, don't leave me. The closer You are O God, the less I am afraid.

Their number is past my knowledge - 

- When David spoke of his enemies, he said they were more in number than the hairs of his head; he had, therefore, some idea of their number, and found a figure suitable to set it out; but, in the case of the Lord's covenant mercies, he declares, "I know not the number, "and does not venture upon any sort of comparison. To creatures belong number and limit, to God and his grace there is neither. We may, therefore, continue to tell out his great salvation all day long, for the theme is utterly inexhaustible. - C. H. Spurgeon

- Now also when I am old and grey headed, O God, forsake me not. There is something touching in the sight of hair whitened with the snows of many a winter: the old and faithful soldier receives consideration from his king, the venerable servant is beloved by his master. When our infirmities multiply, we may, with confidence, expect enlarged privileges in the world of grace, to make up for our narrowing range in the field of nature. Nothing shall make God forsake those who have not forsaken him. Our fear is lest he should do so; but his promise kisses that fear into silence. Until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation. He desired to continue his testimony and complete it; he had respect to the young men and little children about him, and knowing the vast importance of training them in the fear of God, he longed to make them all acquainted with the power of God to support his people, that they also might be led to walk by faith. He had leaned on the almighty arm, and could speak experimentally of its all sufficiency, and longed to do so ere life came to a close. And thy power to every one that is to come. He would leave a record for unborn ages to read. He thought the Lord's power to be so worthy of praise, that he would make the ages ring with it till time should be no more. For this cause believers live, and they should take care to labour zealously for the accomplishment of this their most proper and necessary work. Blessed are they who begin in youth to proclaim the name of the Lord, and cease not until their last hour brings their last word for their divine Master. - C. H. Spurgeon

You have made me see many troubles and calamities - This is when men walk away, when they speak of fair and unfair, unless the Lord is the One Who carries them, teaches them, guides them through adversity, bringing them to rely upon His grace, for that is all the hope there ever was, all else was a smudge upon the lens.

They have been put to shame and disappointed - 

…54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.… 1 Corinthians 15: 54-56