The Refuge Of God's Children

Adapted From A Sermon By

Philip Doddridge

In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.

(Proverbs 14:26)

This morning we gather, simply, to open Proverbs 14:26, where Solomon declares, “In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.” We will see how this promise, drawn out by Philip Doddridge, shows every believer a safe place in God—no matter what storm comes.

The victory of the Psalmist expressed in Psalm 46: "God is our refuge and strength..."{Psalm 46:1-5}, remains deeply moving yet entirely reasonable. Though the words stir strong feelings, they carry truth and clarity, expressing a noble and joyful spirit. May this spirit be planted tin our hearts. In this unpredictable world, as we sail through a stormy sea, may our hearts be grounded in a humble, well-supported trust in the God whom the winds and waves obey.

Now the words of our text this morning, Proverbs 14:26, describe good men as children of God and their happiness in that bond.

It most logical to understand the text as referring to good men as children of God—those who honor him, showing the boundless kindness of God toward those in this bond. This is clearly expressed in the New Testament, especially in those memorable words, "I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty."{2 Corinthians 6:18} This represents the most natural meaning of the phrase, his children, meaning the children of the Lord.

The clear teaching then, that the words present, the shining truth they declare, and oh, that we might carve it into our hearts: the children of God will have a safe haven. Does this need proof? Could anything be more obvious, even upon first hearing, than that those so blessed as to be children of God live in a secure and joyful state? Is it not clear that if God is for us, no one can stand against us? What could possibly cause fear if the eternal God is our safe haven, with his everlasting arms beneath us, as the fatherly bond encourages us to hope?

Yet, however little need there is to prove this to the mind, there remains a need to prove it to the heart. The children of God do not always have the confidence and joy in him that they should. Their faith often falters. They think and act below their calling. Therefore, for their comfort and the understanding of others who may not fully grasp this truth, let us explore and meditate into this truth further.

The purpose of this sermon will therefore be,

I. To show the assurance that those blessed to be children of God will discover a place of refuge in him.

II. To connect this truth to various specific difficulties and struggles they may encounter, where remembering this truth will offer particular comfort and significance.

III. To draw some conclusions that naturally arise from this exploration, which, with divine blessing, may support your spiritual development.

I. To show that those blessed to be children of God will find a place of refuge in him, and this applies universally, across all possible difficulties. This could be supported with many scriptures that state it in the strongest terms. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it (meaning in every crisis) and is safe."{Proverbs 18:10} "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty."{Psalm 91:1} "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever."{Psalm 125:1}

However, if you consider the nature and character of the blessed God, you can draw a clear conclusion from examining his infinite qualities, which will confirm the truth of this claim. This reflection would lead us to the same understanding, even if these truths were not written in our scriptures—though it would be truly surprising if they were missing from them. Consider then, as proof that God's children have indeed a place of refuge: Can his eye not see them? Can his hand not help them? Can his mercy not show them kindness?

1. Is there any situation of hardship or distress in which the eye of God cannot see his children? Indeed, there are situations where even the most watchful earthly parent cannot reach his child. Distance often separates them; lands and oceans sometimes divide them, leaving the devoted parent unsure not only of the dangers facing his child but even of whether his child still lives.

Even when your children are closest to you, during their fragile infancy, when you keep them in the same room as yourselves, there are still moments when you must give in to sleep, moments when a mother, despite her deep love for her children, must briefly forget her nursing child. Yet, as he who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps, can his eye ever be closed? Can he forget—not merely any of his children, but even a single one of his creatures? We cannot hold such a poor view of his universal care. We cannot assume that even one of them is overlooked: indeed, "the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous;"{Psalm 34:15} always focused on them, never turning away for even a moment. Consider then,

2. Is there any crisis in which his hand cannot help them? Alas, the gaze of an earthly parent offers no protection whatsoever to his children. They may die before his eyes; indeed, even if he were a prince, a tragic situation might arise where he stands powerless, witnessing the destruction of his beloved children. You read of Zedekiah, and it seems to pierce the heart to consider it. "They captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon."{2 Kings 25:6, 7} What a terrible calamity! What cruel brutality! That the final sight a father sees should be the slaughter of his children; and then, as if to fix the memory permanently in his mind, preventing any new sight from distracting it, his eyes were blinded, and the unnecessary, cruel burden of chains was added to one already imprisoned by blindness, bound by inescapable shackles.

But can the children of an Almighty God be killed before his eyes, with him lacking the power to rescue and save them? Consider with what majestic awareness of his all-powerful nature the blessed God addresses that proud prince Pharaoh! "Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, Let my son go that he may serve me. If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son."{Exodus 4:22, 23} He speaks, and it is done. He can summon, if it pleases him, more than twelve legions of angels. Indeed, his own right hand and mighty arm will ensure his victory. Is anything too difficult for the Lord? No; yet the question may seem to shift elsewhere: Will all-powerful strength be used for a mere worm? For a sinful worm? Rather than being protected, it deserves to be crushed. Again,

3. If they are his children, will his mercy not show them compassion and protect them? Does the title of Father not suggest tenderness? This tenderness is exactly why the title is used; the deep love of human parents is referenced to show the gracious willingness to help that exists in him. "As a father shows compassion to his children."{Psalm 103:13} He is unfamiliar with the weakness of compassion that we experience, which causes us pain, sometimes overwhelms us, at times strengthens, and occasionally weakens the force of nature: yet in him resides a true readiness to help, as real as if he felt all that and more. Thus it is said, "in all their affliction he was afflicted;"{Isaiah 63:9} and he who touches you touches the apple of my eye.{Zechariah 2:8}

Can anyone truly believe that God’s gracious choice to call Himself Father did not include this deep compassion? Indeed, with a mercy so deep it can never be fully understood, God chooses to show his love for his people through the tenderness of birds toward their fragile young. "Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings..."{Deuteronomy 32:11, 12} And again, "He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge."{Psalm 91:4} There is no need to dwell longer on this point. It is clear; it is more than clear. It is evident to our minds and hearts: no crisis or dire situation exists where God’s eye cannot see his children, his hand cannot help them, or his heart will not show them compassion.

II. Let us now apply this truth to specific crises and hardships that God’s children may face, where remembering this truth will bring special comfort and relevance. His children will find a place of refuge when friends abandon them, when enemies mock them, when need overwhelms them, when physical illnesses trouble them, and when death seems to have full power over them.

1. The children of God have a place of refuge when friends abandon them. We often rely on friends and forget God, but their loss, however it happens, brings us back to him. This is a blessing. I would not hold or encourage unkind suspicions about loyal friends or those whose loyalty is untested, even if evidence is weak. Nor would I urge you to focus on specific individuals. Yet friends may prove unreliable.

Some may love us only for their own gain, staying close for benefits that, if gone, would end their connection. Others, though meant to stand by us in hardship, abandon us when serious trouble comes, like Job’s brothers who betrayed him, like a brook that vanishes or streams that dry up in warm weather and disappear in the heat.{Job 6:15-20} A weak reed not only fails but harms the hand that leans on it.

Even if we find true friends who promise loyalty until death, that bond will break. No matter how much they wish to live or ease our burdens, death will end the connection quickly. My dearest friends, you are mortal comforts. If I live a few years longer, I must stand by many of your deathbeds and walk you to the grave. All the benefits of your love, counsel, and prayers will fade. This thought hurts the heart, but God’s children have a place of refuge. They can turn to him when friends are unkind or unfaithful.

Job says, "My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God."{Job 16:20} Sometimes, those are tears of joy. Our Lord says, "You will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me."{John 16:32} David says, "My father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in:"{Psalm 27:10} and show me his kindness.

O my God, your fatherly love heals my heart’s wounds. Though separated from your dearest creatures, I will, by your grace, cling closer to you. I will think of you more and share my soul with you freely. Instead of asking, Where can I find other supports? I will rest on the Rock of ages. Your guidance will lead me; your love will sustain me; your presence will lift me. You are an immortal, unchanging friend. My dear friends, I feel your loss, but none of you could replace my Father. He lives and will be my rock. Let the God of my salvation be exalted.

2. The children of God will find a place of refuge when their enemies insult them. Scripture often applies this truth to such situations. God’s people in every age, indeed every one of his faithful servants, have faced enemies. Yet what does David, as an example for all, say? "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"{Psalm 27:1} However many or strong they are, what can they do? Can they insult me? God justifies me: Who can condemn me? No false accusations or cruel lies can harm me in his sight. In time, he will show my righteousness like a light. For now, "In the cover of your presence you hide them from the plots of men; you store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues."{Psalm 31:20} Do they attack with rage? No matter how fierce, the anger of man, O Lord, will bring you praise, and you will hold back its excess.{Psalm 76:10}

Even if the anger goes beyond human limits, should evil spirits rise and attack God’s children, he will save his beloved from the power of the dog, the roaring lion, the hissing serpent. The God of peace will crush Satan beneath their feet. The hatred and schemes of fallen angels will fail to destroy the weak man God chooses as his child, no matter how vast their forces. Greater is the one God who stands with us than all those against us.

3. His children have a place of refuge when poverty and need trouble them. This often happens, for God has chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith. Even when their faith is strong, their poverty remains. Through all ages, Christ is hungry, thirsty, naked, a stranger, sick, and in prison. Some of his children are always poor, living a life of labor and want. Others become poor when Providence takes away their plenty in later years, when they already carry heavy burdens. Yet they find a place of refuge. Though their brothers sometimes shamefully neglect them, drinking wine in comfort and ignoring Joseph’s suffering, the God of Israel, their heavenly Father, never forgets them. He always has ways to provide.

They can approach him boldly and joyfully, asking for daily bread. All the beasts of the forest are his; the earth and its riches belong to him. They can say, Lord, have you not promised that while young lions go hungry, those who fear you will lack no good thing? I ask not for fancy or delicate things, but for the basic needs of life for myself and those you have given me, from you who feed the young ravens when they cry, from you to whom the young lions roar for their food. Stretch out your arm, O Lord, and having led me to the wilderness, set a table for me here.

Let faith proclaim it, and Providence will provide in a marvelous, delightful way. The provision will come, often from an unexpected source, as if the earth opens not to swallow but to help him. Trust the Lord, and you will be secure; believe his prophet, and you will thrive. One word says it all: "Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land,"{Psalm 37:3} and you will surely be fed. "If you who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"{Matthew 7:11}

4. God’s children have a place of refuge when pain and sickness trouble them. A man’s worst enemies can be within his own body. He may face illnesses that not only attack him briefly but take hold like a fortress inside him. These ailments may seem, from a human view, to have no cure but death, leaving doctors powerless. Yet even in such times, comfort comes if they turn to the Lord. He can heal if he chooses. He can say the word, and his servant will be restored. He can ease the pain or give strength to bear it. How powerful and comforting these words are! They carry a promise for those who are kind and compassionate. "The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health"{Psalm 41:3}

Child of God! Have you not found this place of refuge? Have you not felt peace in your soul despite your suffering, when you thought, This is my Father’s hand, and his discipline is wise and loving? "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives."{Hebrews 12:6} Have you not known the blessing of being taught by his law and sustained by his promise while he corrects you? Have you never faced a time when speaking to a friend might worsen your condition? When windows were shut and curtains drawn to block out every ray of light?

Yet in that darkness, light has dawned for you. God has let you hear his voice, bringing joy and gladness. Heavenly Father! We praise you for your goodness. We have found refuge in it. If we prefer health to sickness so sustained, it is mainly to fulfill our promises to you and to use our strength in your joyful service.

5. God’s children have a place of refuge when death seems to conquer them completely. The apostle says, "When I am weak, then I am strong."{2 Corinthians 12:10} When the believer is weakest, he is strongest. All supports may fail God’s children amid life’s troubles. Death chases their precious life from one shelter to another until it drives it from the last. The struggling heart stops, and the soul leaves with a final groan. But can you say this dying child of God, lying breathless before you, has no refuge? Such a claim would offend God’s people and their great Father. Have you not heard those who said, "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."{Psalm 73:26} "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil."{Psalm 23:4} "O death, where is your sting?"{1 Corinthians 15:55} Did they say this only in times of health, when death seemed far off and weak?

Have you not heard of those who spoke these words on their deathbed? When death and the grave seemed to triumph over dear believers who rest in Jesus, many have found refuge in their final moments and rejoiced with courage that made those who attended them almost envy their death. Does this refuge fail them after death? What do you think? What do you think of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Is he a God of the dead? Does he let them perish forever, crushing the heart that, in its last moments, trusted his mighty arm and boldly ventured into eternity? Has that arm abandoned him? Is the grave, where their bodies turn to dust, their only sanctuary? Can a Christian ask such a question?

The angels of God, can bear witness! They waited eagerly for their final breath to carry them upward on gentle wings. The heavenly Jerusalem, city of our God above, can testify! Its countless mansions hold millions. God’s children, even those who have died, have found a place of refuge. The phrase might even seem too weak? It is a place of joy, a place of triumph. The Lord God sets salvation as walls and bulwarks.

In that peaceful place, the glorious Lord lives with his people.{Isaiah 33:21} It is a place of broad rivers and streams, guarding against all harm and filling their souls with endless delight. From the day they enter, through all eternity, they face only one moment of terror. Amid what is fearful, they lift their heads with joy at their redemption’s completion: the day when he leads all his children in triumph, dressed in new robes, to share the final victory of the firstborn among many brothers, through whom God grants them victory over the last enemy, death itself.

III. In closing, let us take a few moments to apply these truths.

1. With profound gratitude and humility, revere the grace of Him who deigns to place us among His children. For, blessed be His name, such privileges belong to us if we are true believers, as it is clearly stated, we are all the children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Let us always remember that it is through Him we have received the adoption; that through Him we are granted entry to this place of refuge. As the apostle, who reasoned so rightly on this matter, exclaims, "We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."{Romans 4:11} Never otherwise would we have been reconciled to God, and oh, if we had not been reconciled, where would our place of refuge have been? God indeed can protect us from every enemy and peril: but what on earth or in heaven could have shielded us from an unreconciled God?

2. Let us, each one of us, earnestly seek this place of refuge. Have you pursued it? Do your consciences confirm that you have found it and are truly safe within it? If so, that is good. But if not, think about how much you will need it. You frail children of men, hear the call to trust in God’s protection. Seek His fatherly love. Consider the terrible storm coming. Where will you run? The loss of friends, the cruelty of enemies, worldly troubles, disappointments, failing health, or physical pain—these are small in comparison. But in the hour of death, when the final enemy attacks, what will you do without a refuge?

One can almost see the panic and fear. Many may find no comfort then. One may fear even for those who try to offer comfort. Their wish to ease the dying's pain might lead to false compassion, offering a peace God does not give. We may tremble at the thought of those dying with false hope who wake to endless despair. Remember, some called, and no one saved them; they cried to the Lord, and He did not answer. On that day when God spares His people as a man spares his son who serves him, His wrath will burn like an oven. All the proud and all who do evil will be like stubble. "The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch."{Malachi 4:1}

3. Let God’s children earnestly trust in this refuge and not weaken it with unworthy fears and doubts. Isaiah says, "God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid."{Isaiah 12:2} Build up your faith. Protect against those doubting fears the enemy may stir. Consider these strong words: "I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand."{Isaiah 41:13} May you know God’s name so well that you trust Him fully. He has not abandoned those who seek Him, and He never will.

4. Let this encourage believing parents to take great care to secure God’s protection for their children as well as themselves. Love pushes us to worry about them. Parents can be nearly overwhelmed by fear, unsure what their children will do after their death. Sometimes, God calls children home before their parents, showing how fleeting such worries can be. Yet this care is good in one way. Common sense tells us to seek friends who will be kind to our children after we are gone. How much wiser it is to seek this refuge for them in knowing the Lord God as their Father!

So, parents, listen and think. While you work to feed, clothe, and provide for your children’s future, bring them to God. Teach them to know Him. Show them why they need Him. Urge them to seek His favor. Pray for His blessing on them every day. Share your own experiences openly. Tell them where you found peace for your soul in this fragile life. Speak of God’s goodness to you. Show your joyful trust in Him. Let them see that your greatest wish is for them to receive His grace.

Finally, speak to them often in David’s words: "Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is there who desires life...the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth:{Psalm 34:11-17} and so, remember that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and all those," and only those, "who practice it have a good understanding,"{Psalm 111:10} and through Christ seek his salvation.