“Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, [is] mount Zion, [on] the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a refuge.” (Ps 48:2-3 AV)
What struck me is that God is known in the palaces of Zion, that God is her refuge. This may not seem odd to some, but the first thought that came to mind was the inordinate amount of security we take in things rather than in God Himself. The palaces of Zion rivaled the best the world had to offer. Jerusalem was a secure city set on a hill, and her palaces were even more secure. It would be easy to forget that God is the refuge and not the city or her buildings. In the best that man could build, God is immeasurably stronger and more secure. One can feel safe in a building, but unless the LORD protects, the building becomes a pile of rubble. It was essential that the teaching priests pointed to the Creator as the only source of security despite the buildings and fortresses which were amassed. It is easy to place one’s confidence in things or other people and forget that God is our refuge. He may use other things and people, and He certainly does. But in the end, it is God who is that person and source of refuge we need in times of trouble.
Because of a health situation, my wife and I are intimately familiar with the workings of our local hospital. It is not a small complex. The hospital boasts one of the top children’s hospitals in the nation. It would take roughly twenty minutes of walking to go from one end of the complex to the other. That doesn’t include covering all the floors. Over the last few years, we have had to be in various parts of the building. In those years, a few departments relocated. With my wife’s health issues, there is a building dedicated specifically for people like her where she can get the specialized care she needs. It is easy to think that because of the massive amount of specialists, care facilities, labs, and equipment, that my wife is completely secure. She cannot get any better care than where we are right now. This condition has a dedicated emergency room. People in her situation are led to this department separate and apart from the general public. It has to be that way for safety reasons. She has one of the leading specialists for her primary care physician. She had one of the best surgeons perform her surgery. We couldn’t ask for a better situation than we presently have. However, it is not the building, the doctors, the labs, the equipment, or the drugs that are our security. Even when we are in the hospital awaiting a test or procedure, prayer is part of our journey. We know better than to think God is not needed.
Whether it is a bunker in the middle of a battle, a shelter in the middle of a tornado, a hospital in the middle of a health crisis, or a church in the middle of spiritual tribulation, these things are provided by God, but do not replace God. This is what Israel forgot. God had prospered them. He blessed them for their obedience. HE gave them palaces. He gave them a temple. That which they forgot was the God who provided all these things. Their faith resided in what they could see. Their trust rested in the evidence of God’s past hand and not in God Himself. When reading the above passage, I can only imagine that while David and the Levites trekked through the halls of the palaces and temple, they sang this song. They sang this song to remember that God is their refuge and not that great things they had built. As long as we are in the center of God’s will, an open field is a fortress!