This is God speaking through David to the atheist, “you would put to shame the counsel
of the afflicted.”
The counsel refers to the truth about God.
The afflicted referred to the believers whom they have sought to intimidate, and badger,
and persecute, and come against.
They are afflicted because the atheist has risen up in his voice and has sought to bring
much perversity, and difficulty, and affliction upon the godly.
David says, you would put to shame, you would intimidate, you would seek to do harm to the
counsel of the afflicted.
Please note, they would put to shame not just the afflicted, the person referring to the
believers; what they hate is the counsel of the afflicted.
What they hate is the mention of the name of God.
What they hate is being told of their accountability to this God.
What they hate is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they seek to put to shame not
the messenger but the message of God Himself.
Make no mistake about this; they rise up in their unholy hatred against God Himself and
the counsel of the gospel that we would bring.
But note the complete antithesis.
Note the stark contrast, “But.”
“But the Lord is His refuge.”
It refers to you and to me who are the afflicted of this world.
“As all who desire to live godly in Christ, Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
You know living in Seattle is a great challenge; this is not the buckle of the Bible Belt y’all.
There is much darkness, and it’s not just from the clouds overhead.
There is a great moral and spiritual darkness in this land, and you are trophies of God’s
grace.
God has rooted you and planted you in a very important place where you are the remnant.
You are those who are standing in the gap and who have been called upon by God to continue
the work of God here.
As you look to your left and to your right, you do not see vast numbers of men and women
standing with you for the cause of Christ.
But you look up, and you see your God and you are reminded that God plus one always
makes a majority.
God is your refuge.
God is your stronghold.
God is your fortress, and it matters not how the atheists would rage against you and how
liberalism that would seek to throw off any divine authority would seek to squeeze the
life out of you.
God is your refuge.
You can stand against any gathering storm that would swirl in this area and to bring
opposition against your faith.
In fact, the greater the storm, the deeper the roots of the tree grow.
No one can take God down, and when God is your refuge, you are immovable.