“The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower”— Psalms 18:22The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. (Psalm 18:2).
THE Psalmist uses seven different words to describe what the Lord meant to his soul. As we meditate upon them we get some sense of His all-sufficiency, not only to meet every need but also to protect from every danger, to strengthen for every trial and to arm us for every conflict. Why, then, should we ever dread the onslaught of the enemy or become distressed or discouraged when circumstances seem to press hard against us. The God who is the rock of our salvation is also the fortress in which we are safe from every foe, and the deliverer who stands between us and the enemy. He Himself is our strength and shield. In Him we have everything that heart can desire. Our salvation is in His keeping; He is the high tower from which we view the land of promise whither His grace will soon take us to be with Himself.
“Oh, safe to the Rock that is higher than I,
My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly;
So sinful, so weary, Thine, Thine would I be;
Thou blest ‘Rock of Ages,’ I’m hiding in Thee.
How oft in the conflict, when press’d by the foe,
I have fled to my Refuge and breathed out my woe;
How often when trials like sea-billows roll,
Have I hidden in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul!”
—William O. Cushing.