I think it's probably every year as a year comes to a close, I take some time to think back about all that we've covered in public ministry in the Lord's house here. When you have four times a week to bring the word, you cover a lot of ground in the Lord's house. I think of a Bible class in the past year, we've taken all the time to reflect upon the character of God, particularly in recent studies upon his reliable goodness. Our God is good, morally upright, but also so beneficent toward us as we saw this morning around the table. God is good. I think of our messages in John 13 through 16. I think of the Lord's care for the Hearts of disciples, hearts that were troubled, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. Hearts were troubled, to him Christ came and promised peace. Peace through the ministry of the comforter, peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Peace. The Lord would speak to disciples in John 16. We just finished that section. In the world, ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. The Lord coming and kindly comforting the hearts of his people. I think of Romans. It's the end of Romans 15, last Lord's day. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. That section, church 12 through 15, addressing life as consecrated believers in the context of the body. using gifts for the good of the body, loving one another, respecting one another, even in our differences. All these things, I believe, can be put together and should be put together in the life of the people of God. Romans 15 last week really challenged me afresh. We want the fellowship in the house of God here to be a place of refreshment, that we come and leave, and please don't take us the wrong way, feeling we have a good sleep. Not that you have a good sleep, but you feel that you've had a good sleep in the house of God, refreshed in the Lord's presence. Knowing joy in the house of our God. We need to encourage each other on that end. How do we encourage each other as believers? We do so by encouraging each other to focus upon the character of God. That we would take the example of Christ seriously. That when our hearts are troubled, we'll tell each other to put our trust in God. that our hearts would not be troubled or afraid. Perhaps all of this is just autobiographical for what I feel I need at this time, but whatever the case may be, I think it's good for all of us. So I'm using upon these things at the beginning of the week, my mind turned to Psalm 62, verse number eight. I think it does tie all this together. The psalmist says, trust in him at all times, ye people pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. I suppose it's my desire that if this is posted somewhere in your house, that each day goes by, you would see this text as a reminder, as an encouragement, as an exhortation. It is my hope, perhaps, that sometimes you'll be talking to each other and there'll be a challenge confronted and this will come to your mind and you'll encourage each other. Remember our text for this year. This is the text that God has given to help us to encourage each other. You see, the gift of older believers is to pass on their experience of God to younger believers. Verse 8 is an exhortation. Trust in Him at all times. But it's an exhortation based upon experience. Verse 6 and 7, note the repetition of the word my. He is my rock, my salvation, my defense, my salvation, my glory, my strength, my refuge. Therefore, trust in Him at all times. And so it does come, I believe, in the picture of Romans 12 through 15. What does love look like? As the psalmist loves the people of God, he loves them with this word of exhortation, trust in him at all times. I've done that, you should do the same. You see, do you have such an experience in the past year? Can you look back in the past year and say, yes, God was my refuge and my strength in the past year. Are you therefore willing to share that experience with other believers, with younger believers? And I say this very, very regularly, that those of you who are older in the faith and older in maturity, you must come alongside the younger believers, the younger couples, the younger singles, and encourage them. Pass on your experience and young people have an open ear to hear what is said to you. That's why I went to see Mr. Evans before camp. It would be good for our young people to hear the testimony of a man 100 years old, 50 years walking with God. What's he going to tell these young people? And he gave them the advice. We've got to have that attitude in our congregation. David's particular trial is not known here, it's not specified, like some of the Psalms are specified, but salvation certainly is being used here. Verse number one, from him coming, my salvation is being used here. Not so much of salvation from sin, although it's included, but certainly salvation in the sense of rescue and preservation. Let me enhance the Psalm even more. I encourage you to see not only David's words to us here, but the words of David's greater son. Verse 6 could well be expressive of the Savior's trust in his father's care. He is my defense, I shall not be moved. Again, it's a very clear parallel to the Psalm 16. We saw some weeks ago in our prayer meeting, Psalm 16 and the verse number eight. I have set the Lord always before me because he's at my right hand. I shall not be moved. That's quoted in Acts 2 and Acts 13. And so that's a messianic Psalm. And the principle here in Psalm 62 is the very same. He is my defense. I shall not be moved. It's not stretching things, I believe, to see this as a direct exhortation of the Lord to his people, as the Lord does in John 13 through 16. Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. The Savior, as He sees the troubles and distress of His people, He tells them, put their trust in God. Trust in Him at all times. Christ Jesus says this in so many words in John 14 through to 16. The exhortation is here. Trust. That's the word that's used. Trust. God is a refuge for us. That is the concept here of the word trust. We have different ideas in our English language even when it comes to language of belief or faith or trust. Trust often is used regarding believing words. Can you trust the media today? No, you can't trust them, it's all lies. That's the mindset of our present day. And so trust often has this idea of trusting in God's words. And of course, that's part of the picture here, but the word trust here has a very direct connection to the idea, the metaphor of running into a refuge, a place of safety. That's the concept here. Trust God is a refuge for us. In times of danger, in seasons of storms, we go and we take refuge. We see it in our own lives. If you're out and about, again, I remember playing golf a long time ago now, many times ago, and on one of those occasions, you were, it was a very open golf course, and you could see the storm coming towards you. You literally saw the wall of rain advancing towards you. So what are we gonna do? We're a long way from the 18th hole, if you like, and we had to find refuge somewhere. So it was a tree, and you find refuge under that tree. You get the picture. Storms, trouble coming, and you go somewhere as a place of safety. Again, the Hebrew language is full of these word pictures. It's almost like encouraging children to read. The reading books of your children, they have pictures beside them, don't they? Not just the letters, there's pictures to illustrate the words, and you learn to associate words with pictures, and so does in Hebrew. And this word trust, it's got connection with this word to take refuge, to go to a place of safety. Perhaps a traveler in storms and adverse weather. Perhaps a soldier in a battlefield. Proverbs 18, the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are safe. You get the idea here. And so I want to reflect about the refuge for all the saints. So yes, the exhortation, and we'll say more about that. We've got to begin with the refuge itself. The refuge that is available. The refuge available for all saints. So you look at the text closely. The Psalmist, Christ, would have us trust in God himself. And then the context is very, very important. Verse number eight, trust in him at all times ye people. And then look at verse number nine. Surely men of low degree are vanity and men of high degree are a lie. To be laid in the balance as they're altogether lighter than vanity. Trust not in oppression, become not vain in robbery. If riches increase, set not your heart upon them. And so there are three things that are set here that we are not to put our trust in. Not in man, either of low or high degree, i.e. high social status or low social status. We're not to trust in oppression and in power, and we're not to trust in riches. God would have us trust in him alone. Again, we're coming into a new year politically. A transition of power again in the nation. And there's always a tendency to people to see better things in the world because of a change in political structures or political people. You hear the Psalmist saying, don't trust in man. Again, we've been through an election. I'm the man, I'm the woman to lead you through troubled waters. Oh yeah, we choose our politicians, but for the Christian in the final analysis, there is no hope found in any man, whoever they may be. And they may do good things, they may do bad things. And they may help you in this life, but they cannot guard your soul. And so when it comes to the most important things of life, we may, yes, we may seek confidence and help from those of high degree, but ultimately we must find our refuge in God alone. Not in wealth, not in power, not in political figures, but in God and in God alone. God alone is our place of safety. Safety, I would note, in the trouble, not out of it. The idea of a refuge does not imply that we're delivered from those troubles, but rather in those seasons, we have safety by putting our trust in the Lord. The question is, well, why? What is true of this refuge? A refuge that is available, what is true of it that is not true of anything else? Think about, you know, young people, children here, think about a refuge, a tower here. We're seeing the word tower used in Proverbs chapter 18. Well, what sort of tower are you going to go into? Now, I could take you to a place in Ireland that you would not go into those towers as a refuge in a storm. You wouldn't do it. They're very, very old and they're crumbly. They're about to fall down around you. That's almost the worst place to be in a storm. Perhaps they're built upon a cliff side. And the cliff side is being eroded by the years. And you wonder, is it gonna fall into the sea very, very soon? I'm not gonna go there in a storm. There's holes in the wall. There's no roof, there's no ceiling above your heads. You get the idea. So what is it about God that is altogether different? Well, the foundation is solid and the walls are secure. And praise God, the door is open. The foundation, it is secure. The foundation of God as our refuge is the character and attributes of our God. God is a refuge for us. All that God is is a refuge for us. It does not say God's love is a refuge. It does not say God's holiness is a refuge, God's omnipotence, God's omniscience. You could take any term. It doesn't say that. It says God. All that God is is a refuge for us. Oh yes, we could highlight those things that we hold dear to. God is indeed omniscient. He knows if He tarries, He knows your February. Your February will not surprise or alarm God. It may surprise you. It may bring things in your life that you do not expect, but it will not surprise or alarm or cause any fear of God. Hence God says, fear not for I am with thee. who is with you in your life. There is one who knows your tomorrows when you don't know them. And he understands your tomorrows in such a way that he will not put you in a tomorrow that you cannot withstand by his grace. Not in your own strength, but in his strength. And he will not put before you something you cannot handle, his omniscience. Knowing all things connected with his preservation of your soul gives you safety upon the foundation of this refuge. He is omnipotent. Nothing can come into your life tomorrow that is more powerful than God. Should the devil come and attack you personally? We have this idea of demonic activity in the world. It's taught in the Bible. We war against principalities and powers. Demons and others will come and fight against us in various ways, usually through false teachers, by the way, but that's another story. But you get this opposition. But even if the devil himself came and confronted you in your room tomorrow, he cannot snatch your soul from God. John 10. No one can take you out of the Father's hands. The omnipotent power of God, that truth foundation, is the foundation of this refuge. He is altogether faithful. God will always do what he says. And if he says, those who are justified shall be glorified, he cannot tell a lie. He cannot lie any justified soul to be damned. He will not do it. He's faithful. He keeps his promises. The covenantal promises of blessing and preservation belong to the people of God. He is just and fair. God's never changeable, never treats unfairly, one moment with kindness and the next moment capriciously. His actions toward us are always just and fair and kind. Just a sample, I could go on and on and go back through our studies for the past year and a half in Bible class and show you how all the attributes of God are part of this foundation. And a refuge built upon such a foundation is never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever going to fall apart. Can't. Foundation is so secure. But the walls, the walls are also secure. They're not full of holes. They're not crumbling. The mortar's not decaying. The brickwork is not old and crumbling around you. These walls are secure. So what are the walls of this refuge? Well, I think you can make a very strong argument that the walls of the refuge are Christ, his person, and his work. You see, I say that because when we consider the believer's eternal safety, We must think about those things that would threaten the believer's eternal security. If you were to think right now, what possible things could endanger my soul? You might think of tribulation. The troubles that come upon this life, they may so shake your soul that you will lose your bearings and find your soul lost. Perhaps you think of distress in a general sense or maybe persecution. Or what if famine came upon the land? Would famine shake your soul, endanger your eternal security? Or if you lost all of your property and nakedness, no house and no clothing, would that shake your soul? Or perhaps peril or sword, or death, or even life, or angels, or principalities, or powers? I hope by now you know where I'm coming from. All the things listed in Romans chapter eight are, humanly speaking, the most dangerous things about your soul. And yet Romans 8 makes it clear that none of those things can take you away from the refuge. They may blow upon the tower, but they will not blow the tower down. They may blow upon your soul, but they will not take you out of safety. God is a refuge for us. The foundation is sure and the walls are sure. And when Paul deals with the believers dangers. He sets the believers dangered alongside Christ's person and work. He says, what shall we say to these things? God before us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered up for us all, how shall ye not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifieth. who is he to condemn, that it's Christ that died, you rather, that has risen again, who is even the right hand of God, who also made the intercession for us. You know the text very, very well. The security of the believer is found within the walls of Christ and your unsaved soul. If you're walking in this world, you're heading to a lost eternity and you have no safety outside of Christ. And the storms of the wrath of God will come upon you and you're away from Christ and you will be lost and swept away into a lost eternity. of the believer we are in Christ. Not only safe from the wrath of God, but safe in the warfare of this world, and safe in the woes of this world, but we're safe. The foundation is the character of God, the walls, the work of Christ, and the door. I used to build Legos. And one of the easiest things to build when you're a young guy, we didn't have all the kits in those days, just the bricks. And one of the easiest things to build was the tower. And you had the four walls, you built this tower up and you put a top on it. And I often forgot the door. And the way people couldn't get in the tower, it was just pointless. So we can have the truth of God's character and the foundation, we can have the word of Christ in the walls, but if there is no door, the righteous cannot run into it and be safe. But praise God, He has opened the door. Christ is the door through whom we come and enter into the safety of all he's purchased for us in the cross. It's a refuge that is available. It's not locked up. Christ says to us, come unto me and I will give you rest. We have safety in this refuge. Just a few thoughts upon those words, the Invertex, God is a refuge for us. It is a refuge that is sure, certain, and available. Which leads, secondly, to the thought of running into this refuge. You see, to be told to trust and to find refuge in God is well and good, but sometimes there's just no idea what it really means. What does it mean to trust in God? Sounds good, doesn't it? I'm going to trust in God this year, but it might change nothing in our lives. What does it mean? Well, what does it mean to trust in oppression, or power, or riches, or men of high degree? What does it mean to trust in them? Well, the key concept here is finding rest in them. Troubles come. but you may rest upon your bed at night, believing that one of these things will make you safe and secure. And we are again, blessed nationally with two large oceans, either side of or east and west side, friendly neighbors, north and south. But if you're in some place, like Ukraine or somewhere like that, and armies come and park at your border, you'd be forgiven for losing sleep at night. So what do they do? They trust in men of high degree. They trust in the power of their armies. It's okay, they're there, but our armies are so strong. And you take the example here in the US, we've got all this nuclear power, nothing can overthrow the nation. And so men, they find rest in men of high degree. There are those who perhaps have other troubles in their lives and yet they have a very large bank balance. And so they lie down at nights and they sleep with rest upon their souls. Though troubles come, they put their trust in riches. They find rest in their hearts by relying upon these things. And so if that's the negative, what's the positive? It is that we as God's people do not find rest in these things, but find rest in the eternal God and in the person of Jesus Christ. That's where we find refuge. And so what happens as we run into this refuge, we have the confidence this is safe. So internally, in our hearts, We consider the foundations, we look upon the foundations, they're secure, the character of God. We look at the walls, the walls are sure. We see the door is open and we determine in our minds, we consider the truth, we believe in our hearts, this refuge that is God is a place of safety no matter what's happening outside the tower. And then we run into it. So the confidence is found and then the running is done in the place of prayer. Men run into the refuge by praying unto God. Verse number eight, trust in him at all times ye people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. And so sandwiched between trust in him, God is a refuge, is the conduct that comes from those who have this confidence. Not in riches, not in power, not in men, but their confidence is in God. And thus they pour their hearts out to God's. The running is done in the secret place. It's done in the closet. It's done in the church prayer meeting. This running, this confidence in God takes form in a life of vibrant, determined prayer. We rely upon Him. We trust in Him. We pour our hearts before Him. The language here, pouring out your heart, is very, very vivid. Turn across to Lamentations 2. I'm going to take you to a few verses that really show us what this pouring of the heart looks like. Lamentations chapter 2. In the verse number 19. I'm not going to get into the details here of judgment and trouble, but just listen to the language of Lamentations 2, 19, Jeremiah here. In the beginning of the watches, pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift up thy hands towards him for the life of thy young children that faint for hunger in the top of every street. You see, the language here of pouring out your heart is not the saying of prayers. It is the praying of prayers. It is not the uttering of words. It is the outpouring of our souls' needs before God in prayer. Children are dying for hunger in every street. And those who have that burden, they're crying out unto God with a fervency and an urgency. As Paul would say, night and day, praying exceedingly. I'm not suggesting here that there's no benefit in praying prayers. What we're seeing here is what does trust in God look like? It looks like an urgency and a fervency and a pouring out our souls before God. And much of this will not be done in the public prayer meeting. This is prayer that will often have discretion and privacy attached to it. You know, sometimes the Lord's people are more open with their doctor or their bank manager than they are with the Lord. They'll reveal all their problems in those sources, their financial problems, their health problems. They'll pour out all those problems in that setting, but they won't do the same before God in prayer. an openness, a transparency, getting before God in the private place and pouring out our hearts in that regard. This pouring is seen at least in a couple of ways. You turn back to your Psalm. There's a lot we could say here and I'm trying to preach this in one message. You'll see in verse 11, 12, verse Sam, there's a couple of references. One is to power, verse 11. Power belongeth unto God. Verse number 12. Unto thee, O Lord, also, or also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy. Power and mercy. And when we see those things connected, we pour out our hearts unto God, taking God as our refuge, when we cry unto God for mercy. Turn back to 1 Samuel chapter 7. And here in many ways my burden is to address some of you perhaps still unsaved. Or perhaps some of you who are just very, very backslidden. Treasuring particular sins in your heart. Now's the time to get real with God. You know, you're beginning a new year. Don't go into another new year with harboring and hiding your sins, the bitterness, the anger in your soul, problems perhaps with what you access on the internet. I don't know what the problem may be, but things in your life that you're harboring and you haven't run to the God who refuge. Well, 1 Samuel 7 deals with much of the outcomes that came from the sins, the people of God and the ark and all that events. In Samuel, verse number seven, and the verse number seven, actually verse number six. And they gathered together at Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said there, we have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah. You see the language of pouring out water and fasting? Psalm 62, pour out your hearts. Lamentations 2, like water. It's a picture of what prayer looks like. It's taking the water and pouring it out before God. Emptying the heart before God, that there's nothing remaining. Not holding back something in your soul. Well, here in the language of sin, those that cover their sins shall not prosper, but who confess and forsake them shall have mercy. Sometimes we're scared to even confess our sins secretly. Come across this. People begin to, again, come to conviction of sin, and they recognize the depth of their sin, but they're scared of even praying about those sins before God, scared of admitting the depth of their sinfulness. Pour out your heart before God for mercy. God is a refuge for us. He is willing to allow us to enter His safety as we confess our sins before Him. You've also got though this need for grace. I'm using grace here in a very, very broad sense. As it's used in the Bible, yes, grace that saves, but also the grace that strengthens us, that gives us the ability to go forward. Unlike Paul, my grace is sufficient for thee. As he struggles with thorn in the flesh, grace in that sense. We're in 1 Simon chapter 1. Another example of someone pouring out their heart before God. You know the story of Hannah and Panina and the affliction that Hannah has in her barrenness, in her struggles in that regard. And verse number 15, it says this, and Hannah answered Eli, he's challenging her, she's drunken. No, my Lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I've poured out my soul before the Lord. If you just get into the heart of Hannah in this text, you think of what happens as she's there. Verse number 10. She was in bitterness of soul and prayed unto the Lord and wept sore. She's praying a very particular prayer for a man-child. I think part of that is due to the delinquency of Eli's sons, but that's another matter. But she's praying before God in bitterness of soul. Verse 12, and it came to pass as she continued praying before the Lord that Eli marked her mouth. She's just unaware of those things that are going on around her. She's so involved in prayer that Eli is there and she's not even thinking about his presence. She's so occupied before God in pouring out her heart. Verse 13, now Hannah, she spake in her heart, only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. It's a very vivid picture. I don't know what your soul needs right now. But it's very possible for someone to be in bitterness of soul and yet still trust in the Lord. The bitterness here is not against the Lord. It's in this life and it's taken to the Lord. If you allow bitterness to harbor in your heart against God's providences, things in your life, and you're allowing them to occupy your mind to such a degree that bitterness is raging within you. If you do not pour that out before God, it will destroy you as a canker. So what do you do, bitterness? You pour it out before God and you cry unto God, Lord, I need your grace and I need your peace. So these are just two general applications of this idea of pouring out your heart for the mercy we need in our sin, for the grace we need in all of our seasons of life, and we get before God. And so you go back to the Psalm 68, and again, you'll see again the connection here there is between trust and prayer. You run into the refuge. You have confidence in its security, but you run into it. God is a refuge for us. Therefore, I will pour out my heart before him. Prayerlessness. Many, many reasons. But one of the most serious is pride. I don't need God. I don't believe God can help. And so see tonight, humble yourself therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting your care upon him, for he careth for you. Running into the refuge. Thirdly, and finally to close, we must run into the refuge repeatedly. Trust in him at all times, ye people. It's a metaphor. It's not this sense that we're in the tower of God's safety, and therefore it's in there forever. That's true in a sense of a justification, but the application here is that there are various storms that will come upon our lives, and on every occasion we must run into the refuge. It's a picture. Please see that. It's not that we're in Christ and out of Christ. Don't confuse this theologically. It's a picture of spiritual experience. that we have the need to continually run into God in the place of prayer, trusting in God at all times. And the idea is that in the people, in the life of the children of God, there are seasons of spiritual danger. You may not be in one right now, but one's around the corner. And there are these seasons of spiritual danger in which we must trust in God at all times. Anytime, every time, all the times. Let's think, I'm going to run through this very, very quickly. Think of those examples of faith that abound in the word of God. Trusting God. Those seasons of spiritual danger. You've got to trust in God when you're confronted by the evil one. It's an obvious one, isn't it? John writes to the young men, I have written unto you young men because you're strong and the word of God abideth in you and you've overcome the wicked one, 1 John 2, 14. We're in a spiritual battle. Finally, my brethren, be strong. Thankfully, there's not a period after that. It doesn't say be strong. It says be strong in the Lord. That your strength is found within the refuge. If you are fighting the armies of principalities and powers, and you're on an open battlefield exposed without any armor and not in the tower, you are so vulnerable, but in the tower there is safety. Get in the Lord. When the devil comes and brings doubts upon us, you're in a spiritual battlefield. Is God true? Is he faithful? Is his word reliable? Is he good? Is he kind? Is he just? All those things we thought we saw this morning around the table. Those things come and they are the attacks of the evil one against our souls. Trust in the Lord at all times. Pour out your heart before him in those scenes of doubts and despair and deception at the hands of the evil one. Then you've got to trust in God. You've got trust in God when enjoying seasons of rest. Seasons of rest are dangerous. It's one thing to trust in God and adversity, we understand that, but also prosperity. You think back to the Lord's warnings to the people of God in Deuteronomy chapter eight, when they go into the promised land, the great danger is that in their prosperity, in the land that flows with milk and honey, that they will have great plenty. Ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God, verse number 12 of Deuteronomy, or sorry, Deuteronomy 12, that's 12, but Deuteronomy 8, and the verse number 12. Lest when you hast eaten, and art full, and hast built a goodly house, and dwelt therein, when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold have multiplied, and all that thou hast has multiplied, then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God. Prosperity and peace are times of spiritual danger. God trusted at all times. Paul could say how he'd learned to be obese and how to abound because he could do all things through Christ which strengthened him. So you may be in a season where life is going well right now. If you don't trust in God in those times, your soul is in great danger. We need to trust in God when God permits obstacles in our way. We see problems all around us. This came to mind this morning because I was reading in Genesis 18. Reading about the Lord coming to Sarah. You know the story. And she laughs, shall I of a surety bear a child to which I'm old? The Lord says to her, is anything too hard for the Lord? I'll appoint it, I will return unto thee. And why do I mention that? Because Hebrews 11 tells us, through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed. Through faith. She's confronted with an obstacle in the purpose and the will of God. She's nothing but mountains all around her, if you like. And yet God says, if you faith that can remove mountains. You've got to trust God in those times. You've got to trust God in seasons of sickness and weakness. Watch and pray, the enter not into temptation, the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. If that was true for three disciples in the prime of their lives, how much more is the flesh weak in advancing years? There's a connection between the weakness of your flesh. If you are in a season of physical infirmity and difficulty, you've got to trust in the Lord at all times. Not just that you get better physically, that might not happen, but that you don't suffer spiritually in the seasons of physical weakness. You've got to trust in the Lord at those times. You've got to trust in the Lord when you've got to choose Christ over sin. By faith, Moses, esteem the riches of Christ greater than the treasure of Egypt. And thus he chose to suffer affliction and enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season. You'll be confronted with choices to make. What will you do? You take the easy path and follow sin? Or will you choose the path of affliction and follow Christ? If you're going to do that, you've got to trust in the Lord at all times. You've got to trust in God when you're involved in the service of the King. continuing prayer and watching the scene of Thanksgiving, Colossians 4, with all praying also for us that God would open unto us a door of utterance. This prayer, this psalm is so true for the individual, but it's also true for the church. All that I've said in many ways could be applied spiritually for the church. Weakness, obstacles, attacks from the devil, Seasons of rest. We've got to engage in corporate pouring out our hearts before God. Though there are things you must pray for in the private place, but a church that is not praying is a church that is not trusting. Do not leave the work of prayer in this place to a few. It's the work of all. If we are to take God as a refuge in this year as a church, we must all seek by grace to engage in pouring our hearts before the Lord in prayer. Privately, corporately, God is a refuge for us. Smith, a little devotional, a daily remembrancer says this. He always warrants us to trust in him. and he is at all times worthy of our trust. We are constantly exhorted to it, but almost as constantly neglected. It is the exercise of necessity, for a creature must trust in another. It is an evidence of dependence, therefore we should cultivate it. Let us trust his word for it is true. Let us trust the deceiver's work, for it is perfect. Nothing should be allowed to disturb our confidence in God, for His nature is always love, His solemn pledge is given, His resources are inexhaustible, and His mercy everlasting. Let us trust Him then in joy and sorrow, in darkness and in the light, when increased or bereaved, when tempted or in repose. Let us trust Him. and we shall conquer our fears, patiently endure our trials, successfully pursue our work, rise above our cares, and overcome our foes. Trust in Him at all times, ye people. Pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us. Seelah. Let's pray. Eternal God and Father, I pray that you would take the word that's before us today and do use it in all of our lives. You know all of our circumstances. You know, oh God, the things that lie before us in your will in the coming year. And we ask, oh Lord, that you give us the grace to run into the refuge that you've given to us, even yourself. Help us to go to trust to rely and not to doubt and not to fear. Grant us grace privately in our families and also, oh God, as a church, grant us your grace in these days. We pray in Jesus' name.