We are living
in a highly volatile and chaotic world. The apostle Paul wrote that the last
days would be “perilous” (2 Timothy 3:1). The word Paul used for perilous in the Greek means difficult,
fierce, hard to live with. The only other time this Greek word is used in the
New Testament is in Matthew 8:28 where it describes a demon-possessed man as
being “fierce.”
A few days ago,
as Carol and I were watching the evening national news, a report came on about
another random shooting spree with eight or nine people injured. I remarked to
Carol that all this senseless violence seems to be demonically inspired.
Early this
morning as I was praying and thinking about our chaotic world, the Holy Spirit
reminded me of a passage of Scripture that I believe contains truth for us to
lay hold of in these troubling times.
David’s journey
to becoming the king of Israel takes him from the solitude of being a shepherd
to the battlefield with Goliath; to becoming a celebrity; to the palace of the
king; to running for his life from Saul, who wanted him dead. Once he became
king, David’s life was far from quiet and subdued. He was very human and made
serious mistakes but he always repented and reached out to God and expressed
his love for the Father.
One of the most
beautiful expressions of David’s love for the Lord is found in Psalm 18:1-3 and
in the parallel passage, 2 Samuel 22:1-4. David penned these words in gratitude
as he thanked the Lord for protecting and delivering him from his enemies,
including King Saul, who had attempted to have David killed.
“I love you, O Lord, my strength. 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. I
call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my
enemies”
(Psalm 18:1-3, ESV).
When I see
repetition, as on the word rock in
verse two, my curiosity kicks in and I have to try to understand what the
writer was saying. In this case, the best way for me to grasp the meaning was
to go to the original language (Hebrew) and see the meaning for these words.
The two uses of
the word rock in verse 2 are
different in the Hebrew and each is rich with understanding for us. Each word
expresses an aspect of God’s protection and character that is just as
meaningful for us today as it was for David.
The first use
of the word rock (cela) suggests the idea of security,
shelter, concealment.
“The
Lord is my rock and my
fortress and my deliverer.”
David was
forced to run from the assassins of Saul for seven years. After a number of
attempts to hide, David and the men with him finally ended up secure in a cave
called the Cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1). In fact, David was so well hidden
there that when Saul and his army passed by the cave opening, they had no idea
that David and his men were inside.
This is a
picture of the safety of grace that becomes ours when we put our life fully
into the love and care of God through Jesus Christ.
In the second
part of Psalm 18:2, David exclaims, “My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge.”
This second use
of the word rock is taken from the Hebrew word suri and suggests the idea of being
strong and immovable, a large mass of rock. The use of the word here is
borrowed from Deuteronomy 32:4:
“The Rock (suri),
his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and
without iniquity, just and upright is he.”
And Isaiah
26:4:
This second use
of the word rock in Psalm 18:2 speaks of more than a hiding
place; it speaks of a bedrock foundation, a mass of rock on which a building
can be safely built.
Jesus gives us
a word picture of being anchored to bedrock in Luke 6:47-48 when He says:
“Everyone
who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is
like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation
on the rock. And when a flood arose,
the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been
well built.”
He is my
Rock—and I love Him—and I trust Him—and my life is built on Him! He is our Rock
for the days in which we live. He is our shelter and we are anchored by our
sure foundation!
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