Psalm 18:1-3 Reassurance

[HKHaugan]

Psalm 18:1-3 Reassurance

 We all need reassurance, encouragement, consolation and support. There is no better place than the Psalms to feel the intensity of those words. If you take the first verses of this Davidic masterpiece, they will be a great start to any day, a comfort in any circumstance and the means to move into every next moment.

 “I love you, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock in whom I take refuge.

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

I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.”

 My rock---There is no question as to the nature of rock. It is impervious to being struck, to being flooded, to being heated or made cold. It stands centuries of wind and water erosion. For each generation, rock stands for security. One insurance company uses it for its symbol. While the material rock can be eroded by millennia of wear and tear, it is its stability in any given person’s experience as something that means permanency.

 In Scripture, rock has spiritual significance early on. Moses, in referring to Joseph as a fruitful vine, credits the source as “the mighty One of Jacob…the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel (Gen.49:24).” At the Lord’s command Moses struck the rock at Horeb and out came water (Ex.17:6). (For those who have hiked in the mountains, it is generally true that the purest spring water comes from within a rock formation.) There are over a hundred uses of the word rock in the Bible. Over and over again, rock is a spiritual designation for the Lord God.

 The interesting thing about this word is when Jesus uses it to describe Peter’s response when he says that Jesus “is the Christ, the Son of the living God” in Matt.16:16-17. Obviously, it references the whole of the Old Testament experience of the Rock, Almighty God. Jesus is going to build the church, His Body, based on that realization, that faith, the belief that He is the Rock. Further, it is a key word when John the Baptizer tells the Pharisees that God can make children for Abraham out of the stones lying at his feet (Matt.3:9). Hearts that once were stone hard can be softened by the Holy Spirit. Those who have become disciples of Jesus can attest to this.

 My fortress---A fortress is constructed of walls, inner rooms, tunnels and corridors. They are also called strongholds in the Bible. Jericho was a prime example; the first of many which the Lord ordered to be taken by the Hebrews as they entered the Promised Land. The strongholds, fortresses, fortifications in the early Scripture were built as defensive structures to ward off marauders, armies and give security to inhabitants. Even if they were overcome there were always hidden tunnels for excape and hidden corridors in which to hide. They are the symbols of the way mankind dealt with communal and personal fear. They represent the way man builds physical and emotional mechanisms to cover inner aloneness. Because of Jesus bringing the good news of salvation, these secular strongholds, fortresses, are now seen as the methods we use to control our hearts. They are the attitudes we develop that make up the fortifications for self-defense. Think of the tunnels and corridors we have developed over the years to cover our trail. It is Jesus who now replaces them and becomes our singular stronghold, fortress and fortification against the spiritual enemies that invade our space.

 My shield and horn---these are the defensive instruments to ward off the evil intent of the devil and his spirits. The horn is the strength of the Holy Spirit in saving power; the conviction that we have a moral choice the moment we are faced with a decision and the power to stand firm in the Lord.

 My deliverer---Everyone has a way of coping with the reality that surrounds them. Attitudinal strongholds constructed apart from God are based on fear. It is easy to develop temporary methods of dealing with rejection, emotional separation and personal meaning. Denial, avoidance and wishful thinking work for awhile but fade in the mist of false hopes. The secular world is full of distractions that offer momentary relief. But, they run out of steam quickly. Our hearts need a deliverer who deals with the unseen pressures that beset us every day. Entertainment, hobbies, hard work are just a few of the functions we choose to handle the struggles within. They have instant rewards, the glory of which, fade the moment after they are given. What we inevitably discover is the really meaningful rewards are relational and lasting and come only when we have a heart deliverer. “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul (Mk.8:36)?” Jesus is so clear about this. When He is given our heart, our mind and our spirit, it is this experience that is the ultimate relational answer and the ultimate deliverance. Thus, He is my Rock, my Fortress and my Deliverer, my shield, the horn of my salvation and my stronghold.