Last time we considered the first line of this proverb, the wonderful truth that our LORD is a “strong refuge.” Now, let us consider the “steady response” such a refuge expects.
“The righteous runs into it . . .” If He is such a resource, such a refuge, then here is the only right response to it. What a wonderful characterization of the way the righteous lives! The metaphor continues here in terms of “running,” but it gives us good help in getting help.
This is an active and characteristic response.
The righteous does not sit and stare at the tower. He does not spend all His time talking about the tower, about how strong it is and how wonderful it would be to be in it. No, he runs into it. The original indicates a constant, habitual running. This is what the righteous consistently does. He is always running into his strong tower. There is a “beaten path” to the tower. The LORD is his constant refuge.
This is an earnest and eager response.
He does not walk to the tower. He “runs,” he “beats feet” without hesitation and without delay to his refuge. There is a “blessed desperation,” an eager urgency. He senses his situation and his need. He has sized up that he does not measure up to what confronts him. He knows his own helplessness and insufficiency. This does not make him halt, but rather encourages him to flee to the refuge which his Lord is. He runs because he has no confidence in himself. All his confidence is in his LORD. He cannot be embarrassed out of this trust and reliance. This is a blessed “retreat” to where he cannot be moved.
This is a focused and directed response.
He does not run to something else, or anything else. He “runs into it.” Some are running in all kinds of directions to get safe and secure. For the righteous the LORD is not one of many refuges. He is the first and best and only refuge. He also does not around around the tower, circle it. He doesn’t set himself up just outside the tower. He “runs into it.” He runs into it because he is confident that there alone is safety. He runs with the confidence that he shall be admitted, that he shall be received into the place of safety.
What is this “running” that is pictured here?
It is a constantly active and ready seeking, relying and resting in the LORD. It is not a movement of my feet, but my whole soul, my heart, my mind, my will to trust in the LORD to keep me and shield me and protect me. It is a movement of faith made in prayer, in devotion, and in humble dependence upon the LORD.
Beloved, the run is not a far one. It stands within reach of the smallest faith. It is not that the tower is a long way off. Running indicates the haste and eagerness with which He is sought and trusted. It indicates the alacrity with which the righteous approach. The LORD is an ever-present tower. The door is always open through Jesus. The righteous readily make haste to Him. They do not weary of this kind of running.
Have you not run to Him many times in a day? Keep running!
Blessings in Him
