#DailyDevotion Who Is Your Shelter, Rock, Mountain Refuge, Fortress, Hope & Confidence?
Psalm 71 O LORD, in You I take shelter; don’t ever let me be disgraced. 2By Your righteousness rescue me and help me escape. Listen to me and save me. 3Be my Mountain Refuge where I can always go. You gave the order to save me because You are my Rock and my Fortress. 4My God, rescue me from the hands of the wicked, from the hands of those who are unjust and cruel. 5You are my Hope, O Lord GOD, You have been my Confidence from my youth. 6I have depended on You from birth; You took me from my mother’s body. I praise You continually.
In these verses there are a number of names or descriptions David uses that he tends to use many times in the Psalms: shelter (chasha) Mountain Refuge (tzoor maon) Rock (sela) Fortress (metzudah). Perhaps we may want to include them in our prayers particularly when we feel oppressed or attacked from the outside. They’re all very strong words in our minds by which we can grasp the protection of the Almighty in trying times.
He wants to flee to the LORD in which he can find shelter. We all need a place we can hide out for a while away from the world. The LORD is that shelter. When we take shelter in Him, we will not be disgraced by it. We note here it is not by David’s righteousness he petitions the LORD for rescue to help him escape. It is the LORD’s own righteousness he appeals to. Most likely this trouble David is experiencing is when he is older based on the words that follow. Perhaps when his son Absalom rebelled against him. So he looks to the LORD to hear his prayer and to save him, which we know the LORD did.
Then the three terms David appeals to he invokes which all have something or rock or mountain themes in their meaning. They invoke images of steadfastness, strength, and protection. Indeed the LORD is all these things to and for us who put our trust in Him. God gives the order and He saves David because of who He is. Many times we may think we are on shifting ground, perhaps even sinking in quicksand about to drown. Look to the LORD during these times. Trust Him because of the sacrifice of His only-begotten Son. He will be the Rock under your feet. He will be for you a Mountain Fortress.
In the midst of David’s troubles, he becomes for us a type of Christ. Did not Jesus Himself need rescue from the hands of wicked, unjust and cruel people? Jesus trusted in the LORD to be His Confidence (tikvah) and Hope (mibtach). The two words are really intertwined with each other. In the garden, Jesus, knowing what was coming made His Father His Hope and Confidence. On the cross, Jesus commits His spirit to God the Father. We see in this Psalm Jesus trusted in God His Father from birth, from His youth.
We should join our LORD Jesus Christ and David in this thinking of our heart, mind and spirit. Even when we are not confident and have no trust in ourselves, we especially should make our heavenly Father our Confidence and Hope. Every day we should cast ourselves upon Him and have Him be our Confidence and Hope when we have nothing of our own.
Jesus and David praised the LORD continuously because of the Father’s goodness. We should join them in their hymn of praise because He has been and is our Shelter, Mountain Refuge, Rock, Fortress, Hope and Confidence, especially when the chips are down. Have no other source for these things and know the joy of the LORD.
O Rock, Fortress, Hope, Confidence, Shelter, Mountain Refuge, the LORD, so move us by Your Holy Spirit that You are all these for us, especially when we are at our weakest points for the sake of Jesus Christ, Your Son, our LORD. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.