refuge noun
- shelter or protection from danger or distress.
- a place that provides shelter or protection.
- something to which one has recourse in difficulty
(“refuge.” Merriam-Webster.com, Merriam-Webster, 2025.)
As you read, listen, and sing through the worship service this morning, notice how many times the word “refuge” occurs, and how it is used. Right at the beginning of the service, we hear, “God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8) and “blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him” (Psalm 34:8). We’ll sing that though we have no other refuge (Jesus, Lover Of My Soul), we can rest in the knowledge that “Jehovah will a refuge prove, [a] refuge strong for all oppressed” (O Lord Most High—Psalm 9). God is called a “refuge” four times in Psalm 31, including the ecstatic declaration that “Oh, how abundant is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You and worked for those who take refuge in You!” (Psalm 31:19). We are promised that “none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned” (Psalm 32:22), and we are commanded “all who take refuge in [the Lord] rejoice” (Psalm 5:11). As we face danger, distress, or difficulties throughout the week, I hope that these reminders from the Scriptures and the hymns of the faith will prod us to take refuge in the Lord, our God.
—Henry C. Haffner
