'Of old' is also a frequent translation, and words of Habakkuk 1: 12 give a similar thought. '[Art] thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.'

You should not only remember that 'eternal' God is 'from of old', for this of itself would not necessarily prove that He would be a refuge, but also that word carries with it idea of 'being beforehand with anything', 'anticipating demand' and providing for it.

As with word 'eternal', so with word 'refuge', it represents a number of ideas. In Deuteronomy 33:27, word is meonah, from a root meaning 'to dwell' .

Deut. 33:27 'The eternal (qadam) God [is thy] refuge (meonah), and underneath [are] everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy [them].'

This refuge is, therefore, a dwelling place. The same word is used for 'dwelling place' of God Himself (Psa. 76:2), and for 'dens' of wild beasts (Psa. 104:22). In either case, meaning is same. It is a place that provides protection, and where one may feel secure.

The refuge provided for people of God is not to be thought of in terms of concrete or steel, for following opening statement of Deuteronomy 33:27 we read: 'And underneath are everlasting arms'. The word 'arms' may have two different meanings, but there is no confusion in Deuteronomy 33:27.

The 'everlasting arms' refer, not to weapons but to arms of Lord, once 'stretched out' to deliver Israel (Deut 4:34; 5: 15; 7:19; 9:29; 11:2; 26:8), and now stretched out in loving support, so that tormented believer, forgetting all terrors and threats, looking not for cold and stark steel or damp and musky concrete, sinks into peaceful and secure rest in arms of God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, God Who is beforehand is thy refuge.