On Sunday, during our streamed church service, Emily challenged each of us to make Psalm 91:1-2 our memory verse for the week:
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (NIV)
The picture of God as our place of refuge and safety – the One to whom we turn when trouble besets us – is an image commonly used throughout the Bible, especially in the Psalms.
Psalm 71 begins similarly:
1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. 2 In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me. 3 Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
And Psalm 9:9-10 reminds us: The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
The imagery of a protective tower would have remained familiar and well-understood by Christians for many centuries after those Psalms were written. The English-Scottish border regions in the UK are littered with the remains of bastle houses, fortified farmhouses and peel towers, a legacy from the almost constant sate of warfare experienced throughout the later middle ages. Reivers (border raiders) of both nationalities regularly rode the countryside, raiding and plundering the villages and farms. When a raid threatened, safety and survival – both physical and financial – could only be gained by retreating with family and livestock into the fortifications. Hidden within the impregnable stone walls, they were sheltered and protected from whatever dangers lurked or roamed outside.
We may not need the physical protection of stone towers today, but we can still remember that whenever trouble approaches, whatever threatens to raid and plunder our lives, we always have a refuge in God, a tower we can flee to, a shelter for our soul.
The old Irish hymn "Be Thou my vision", written c. 8th century AD, includes a verse which captures the refuge, victory and promise we all have in God:
Be Thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight
Be Thou my armour and be Thou my might
Thou my soul shelter, and Thy my high tower
Raise Thou me heavenwards, oh power of my power
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