Study

Safe In His Arms

August 13, 2023 by in Study

Scripture:

Psalm 4:8:

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

 

Theme:

Safe In God’s Arms

 

Introduction:

  • David and the Psalms:
    • The Psalms from which the text is taken is believed to be the prayer and praise book developed by David, the King of Israel anointed by God. These hymns are hallowed cries of God’s servant, David, as he struggled to serve God in spite of his shortcomings.
    • David’s life was a plethora of varied experiences: reared as a faithful shepherd of his father’s sheep, the slayer of the gargantuan Goliath, the leader of the victory over the Philistines, the one anointed by God as King of Israel, a “son” of God in his appointment to establish Jerusalem as the center of God’s Kingdom, his son appointed to build God’s House in Jerusalem, the Temple, while at the same time, David committed murder, and had an affair with another man’s wife.
    • David knew what it meant to be human, fallible, sinful, weak, stained, tainted, marred, guilty, and ashamed before God but what overshadowed all of the former adjectives was the fact that David was HUMBLE before God and saw God as his only source of strength and refuge. As he writes in Psalms 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”  David knew who he was and whose he was.  David knew that he was a sinner living only by God’s grace and that he was God’s child.  When all else fails, who else could he go to but his creator…the one who created his life and his living.
  • The familiar Gospel song “Safe in His Arms” says:

“Because the Lord is my shepherd, I have every thing I need.  He lets me rest in the meadow’s grass, and He leads me beside the quiet stream.  He restores my failing hand, and He helps me to do what honors Him the most.  That’s why I am safe in His arms.  When the storms of life are raging, and the billows blow, I’m so glad he shall hide me SAFE IN HIS ARMS.”

 

Body:

There are two primary components of our topic: 1) His Arms & 2) Safety

Firstly, what are “God’s Arms”?

  • Anthropomorphism — Forms of speech that attribute human forms, acts, and affections to God…metaphorical.
  • Used to denote power.
    • Arm of man — Psalm 10:15, “Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.”
    • There’s a difference – God answered to Job in Job 40:9, “Hast thou an arm like God?”
    • Arm of God – His Omnipotence — Psalm 89:13, “Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.”
  • Customized to our condition
    • The physical arm bends to securely embrace its object.
      • The power of an embrace is in the ability to adjust the grip to securely hold the object
    • God’s “arm” bends to ensure His secure embrace on His child and their condition
  • God meets us where we are — 1John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
  • The power of God’s embrace is His ability to accept and hold us “Just as we are”

 

Secondly, what is “Safety” in God?

“I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.”

Peace and sleep are blessings that are available to us, and we can choose them.

  • Peace — Romans 15:13, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,” – We may choose peace by believing. – His peace through belief in Him.
  • Sleep — Psalms 127:2, “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.” – God makes sleep available to us…we simply have to choose it.

“I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep”

  • It is our responsibility to partake of the PEACE and SLEEP that God makes available to us
    • We “lay” ourselves down in other states besides PEACE and SLEEP – Can’t sleep, stress, worry, fear
  • We are eligible to partake of His PEACE and SLEEP when we:
    • Repent – Romans 3:23, Romans 10:10
    • Believe in Jesus Christ — the born, lived, suffered, hung, bled, died, buried, and rose again for the remission of sins – Romans 10:9
    • Be baptized – Acts 2:38
    • Receive the Holy Ghost – John 14:26
  • “for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety”
    • “for thou, LORD, only”
      • There is clarity as to who it is!
        • Experiences with God can’t be confused with other forces or people
        • The man who was blind from birth and was healed by Jesus said in John 9:25, “…Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”
        • The experience makes the memory of the source concrete!
      • None other can do what God can do!
        • Deuteronomy 3:24, “O Lord GOD, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?”
    • “makest me”
      • God has given mankind “Free Will” which differentiates us from the angels.
      • However, in specific instances he gives us no choice – “makest me”
  1. We can get rid of sin — Job 13:26, “For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.”
  2. We are tempted and tried in life — Psalms 44:13, “Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.”
  3. We dwell in the safety of His salvation — “for thou, LORD, only MAKEST ME DWELL IN SAFETY”
  • We attain this safety through Salvation in Jesus Christ by learning to:
    • Admit – I am a sinner
    • Submit – I submit all my sinful self to God
    • Commit – I commit my life to His Will for me
    • Transmit – Tell someone else of what God has done for me

 

Conclusion:

  • We are then identified as SAFE!
  • Freed from harm or risk – won’t be destroyed
  • Sound – provided for
  • Harmless – we won’t intentionally hurt anyone else
  • Cautious – we won’t intentionally put ourselves or anyone else in danger
  • Reliable – God and others can trust us

 

The Gospel song “Safe in His Arms” still explains best:

“Because the Lord is my shepherd, I have every thing I need. (Sound) He lets me rest in the meadow’s grass, (Freed from harm or risk) and He leads me beside the quiet stream. (Harmless)  He restores my failing hand, and He helps me to do what honors Him the most. (Reliable) That’s why I am safe in His arms.  When the storms of life are raging, and the billows blow, I’m so glad he shall hide me (Cautious) SAFE IN HIS ARMS.”

 

  • Safe
    • SAFE FROM (harm, risk, hunger, fear, pain, eternal death)
    • SAFE TO (live, rest, believe, laugh, trust Him, praise Him, glorify Him)
    • SAFE WITH
      • God, the Father, who reigns
      • Jesus Christ, the Son, who lived, suffered, died, and rose again for the remission of sins
      • the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who abides to bring all things to remembrance which God had said.

 

  • Safe in God’s Arms
    • Not mama, not daddy, not wife, not husband
    • not pastor, not preacher, not deacon, not teacher
    • not job, not money, not house, not car
    • not of this world, but of God

#32

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