"The name of the Lord is a strong tower:the righteous runneth into it and is safe"-Prov. 18:10.

This text would have been understood by the ancients, for they knew that a tower was a fortress that sheltered all who fled to its refuge. The strength of such is shown in Judges 9:51-55, describing the repulse of an army, the death of its leader, and the raising of a siege. From this we are to gather that the name of the Lord is an impregnable fortress to His people.

When we consider that His name describes Himself, we are glad. For it is:"Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of peace" (Isa.9:6). Hence we may say:"The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble, the name of the God of Jacob defend thee." Again:"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God" (Ps. 20:1, 7). Hence when Asa cries to the Lord in the day of battle, he says:"It is nothing with Thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power:help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go against this multitude. 0 Lord, Thou art our God; let not man prevail against Thee" (2 Chron. 14:11).

We may consider an example of the defensive power latent in this name as shown in the day of trouble. David has arrived in the camp of Israel at the moment of dismay when Goliath defies the God of the armies of Israel. But this youth is unafraid, for he realizes that "the battle is the Lord's." For a moment he permits Saul to gird him with his armor, but upon reflection discards it because he has "not proved it."

On a former occasion he proves that his proper armor is the name of the Lord, as he rescues a lamb from a lion and a bear. Be it understood, however, that in the conflict he is not an attacker but a defender; he is neither a lion-hunter nor a bear-hunter, he is a shepherd. But he will face any foe that attacks the flock, although well aware that it is only in the name of the Lord he can do so. Therefore he says:"The Lord.. .delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear;" and it is with this armor he is now girded as he goes forth to meet Goliath, saying:"I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied."

Goliath's proposition is:"Choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants:but if I prevail against him, and kill him [as he is certain he will], then shall ye be our servants, and serve us" (1 Sam. 17:8, 9). He purposes

To Take Away the Liberty of God's People

David senses the peril as he beholds a people, who belong to God and through whom He would carry out His wishes, endangered by enemy bondage. Will he stand by and see such a people enthralled? Never! Little suspecting the unequal combat before him, the giant mocks the shepherd-lad, but the smooth stone "out of the brook" (speaking of the effectiveness of discipline by God's word) does what no man-made arrow can do. As Dr. Wolston says:It has a "curve" that eludes the "shield" borne before Goliath, and brings him down to his doom. Thus does David by standing for God's claim upon His people, preserve their liberty to them.

Now in the Church it is similarly necessary to guard our heritage. For the enemy is on the alert to estrange us from subjection to God, by proposing some principle which leads to bondage. And those he cannot deceive thereby, he attempts to terrorize. But it is written :"Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." To do this, however, we must "Draw nigh to God," then "He will draw nigh" to us (Jas. 4:8). Thus when the devil looks us ,over to see what chance he has of successful aggression, he finds a prayerful people encompassed by the presence of God. He realizes that they occupy a strong tower, and realizing that he must meet Christ, he flees.

Conflict of this sort we see in Antioch and Galatia. Paul relates its cause, saying that false brethren "unawares brought in" had come in privily "to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage" (Gal. 2:4). They had come down from Judea to teach in Antioch that, "Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved." This was an astounding thing to propose in Antioch, but it had been talked over in some private clique in Jerusalem, and afterwards guardedly whispered in Antioch, before it was launched upon the astonished body of Christians in that city. It was not a hastily conceived thing. We learn from Darby's Translation that the words "unawares" and "privily" are in both cases "surreptitiously." That is to say, there was something underhand in the character and procedure of the propagandists, preparatory to their foisting upon Antioch the false principle proposed. And while of course this was an extreme case, we may gather from it that, even in a modified way, the introduction of a false theory is fostered in a clandestine way, whereas what is true is always upright and simple in its presentation and practical out-working. It may be laid down as an axiom that anything in the Church that hesitates to come to the light, is of the enemy. But while Paul points this out, he does not dwell upon it. It is enough for him that the proposal is contrary to the gospel, a gospel "not after man" as to its character, nor "received… of man" as to his authority to preach it. Therefore "not for an hour" will he give place to it, but will resist it at every turn, so that "the truth of the gospel might continue" with the people of God. For he knows, far-seeing watchman that he is, that if he yields for one moment to the slightest vestige of the innovation, the enemy will extort continual concessions, until the saints are bereft of their liberty.

In Philippians 1:7 our apostle declares that "both in my bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace." Doubtless he is viewed as on guard at the forefront of the battle,' maintaining the rights of the Lord among His people, and thereby guarding their freedom. But he tells us that in this conflict "ye all are partakers of my grace." As those whose measure is small, no doubt we partake of the benefits of his courage in withstanding the foe, but we are also in the same conflict in which he was, and, like him, are safeguarded in the strong tower of the Lord's name.
In conclusion we may learn from Acts 23 that even in failure when the apostle speaks unadvisedly and has to acknowledge it (ver. 5), and when with consummate shrewdness he divides the Sanhedrim by a partisan remark (vers. 6-10), his armor is not taken away; on the contrary the Lord stands by him waiting to be used again-when His servant turns to Him alone. And we may believe that "the following night," while he is despondent as he reflects upon his use of "Saul's armor," his heart was greatly strengthened when he finds the Lord beside him, and saying:"Be of good cheer, Paul:for as thou hast testified of Me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome."

After fleeing to the strong tower for himself, well might he write from Rome those words:"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might!" R. J. Reid