Our Rock and Our Fortress

As I was studying the bible recently, I found myself in the Book of Psalms. I love the book of Psalms. Do y’all know what Psalms are? They’re songs. They’re songs that glorify God and speak to his awesomeness, as well as songs that highlight how our actions that go against the will of God can make us feel distant from him. As I was studying, I found myself in Psalm Ch. 18, and the first few verses really stood out to me:

English Standard Version Psalm 18

1  I love you, O LORD, my strength.

2  The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3  I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies.

4  The cords of death encompassed me;

the torrents of destruction assailed me;

5  the cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

David begins this Psalm with a simple, but powerful statement: I love you, O Lord, my strength. David had found himself in a bad spot. In the midst of battle, he found himself surrounded and recognized that, on his own, relying on nothing but own strength, he would not make it, but he knew that God’s strength was greater than anything he would face.

David recognizes that, as he is in the midst of battle, as he is facing attacks from his enemies, there is a safe place for him. Though we may not be on a physical battlefield ourselves, we face an onslaught every day. We face the dangers of this world, where Jesus tells us that the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. We face attacks in the form of temptation. We face temptations from every angle, enticing us to go against the will of God. We see several times throughout scripture that we are warned to be guarded against temptation.

In Matthew 26, Jesus is preparing himself and his disciples for his looming execution. He takes a few of them with him to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus tells them to sit while he goes to pray. When Jesus returns and finds his disciples asleep, he has these words for them in verse 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” These are strong words that still ring true today. I cannot speak for everyone, but I know, that my flesh weak. I know that, much like David, if I tried to do things on my own, I would be doomed.

Jesus tells his disciples to exactly what David did. To pray. To call on God for his protection and salvation. David was praying for physical protection from his enemies, and Jesus was telling his disciples to pray for spiritual protection from temptations laid upon them by the enemy. That same protection can be found for us today in the same place that David found it. As we face temptations, and pray for protection, we are taking refuge in the rock. Deuteronomy 32:4 says He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.

The bible tells us over and over again that God is faithful, that God will deliver us. Psalms 18 verses 4-5 say: 4  The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; 5  the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

Then if we pick back up starting in verse 16:

Psalm 18:16–18 (ESV)

16  He sent from on high, he took me;

he drew me out of many waters.

17  He rescued me from my strong enemy

and from those who hated me,

for they were too mighty for me.

18  They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

but the LORD was my support.

English Standard Version Psalm 18

19  He brought me out into a broad place;

he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

20  The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness;

according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.

21  For I have kept the ways of the LORD,

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

22  For all his rules were before me,

and his statutes I did not put away from me.

23  I was blameless before him,

and I kept myself from my guilt.

24  So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

David was as good as dead. He was under attack, and helpless without God’s strength. But, because of his righteousness in the eyes of God, because he had kept his commands and not departed from the rules that God set before him, God delivered him from his enemies. This is fantastic news for David, but if your like me, there is always temptation to think about the times that we have fallen short. The times that we have made mistakes and done things contrary to the will of God. Times like that make me question my righteousness. Am I righteous enough to warrant being saved like David? But then, I remember what Paul told the church at Pillipi in Pilippians 3:9 “and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.” God is not looking for my perfect adherence to the law. What he is looking for is my faith in the one that he sent to die for me.

Romans 5: 6-11 puts it beautifully:

6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He died so that we might take part in his righteousness. He died so that we can be reconciled to a holy and sovereign God that loves us and wants us to be with him. Because of this news, just like David, we rejoice! We rejoice that as Psalms 103 tells us, our transgressions have been removed from us as far as the east is from the west, because as the book of Hebrews outlines: Christ was a single offering that has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified, and because of this offering, God remembers the sins and lawless deeds of those who are in Christ no more.

Christ is the rock that not only protects us from the onslaught of temptation, but that also reconciled us to his Father, when we were incapable of doing so ourselves. David had it right, the Lord is our fortress and our deliverer, and he most certainly is worthy to be praised.