Verse 7
"Jehovah is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that take refuge in him."
It is a characteristic of all God's prophets that, in the very midst of the most terrible announcements of doom and punishment, there always appears the word of hope, encouragement, solace, or reassurance for God's true people. He never forgets them. Whatever disasters may overwhelm humanity, God will look after those who love him and see to it that they will be spared from any type of disaster that could remove them from the earth; but that appears to be a policy regarding particularly the whole body of the redeemed, and not necessarily applicable to each instance of righteousness and service to God. When Herod Agrippa II threatened to exterminate the infant church, God struck him to death at Caesarea; when Jerusalem fell to the Romans, not a Christian lost his life. Forewarned by Christ himself, they fled to Pella. Christ promised to be with his church "always, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20), echoing exactly the same sentiment expressed here.
Three profound affirmations of the character of God appear in this single verse:
"First, he is inately and inherently good, and can never be associated with the opposite attributes. Secondly, he is the incomparable refuge for his own in times of their distress, "A Bulwark Never Failing," as Luther put it; and third, he knows, in the sense of loving, covenant care, all who have reposed their faith in him."[7]
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