|
News for the Pews |
Home
25th October 2025
SaturdayReflection
************************
'Nate Holdridge'
"I love God. I love his word. I love the gospel."
God As Rock
************************
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. (Psalm 18:1-3)
We will consider the concept David mentions at the outset of this psalm of God as rock.
If you take the four sentences David mentions God as a rock in this psalm, you come away with this little prayer:
The Lord is my rock. My God, my rock.
Who is a rock except our God?
Blessed be my rock!
(Psalm 18:2, 31, 46)
David sang or prayed this entire psalm because God was his rock.
God is his fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, horn of salvation, and stronghold.
And this concept is beautiful, especially when we consider the background of this psalm.
David was the young and second king of Israel.
For many years, before receiving the crown, he was pursued by the sitting king, his father-in-law, King Saul.
He spent well over a decade on the run, often in the wilderness, waiting for God's deliverance.
And once he was delivered completely from the hand of Saul, this servant of the Lord suffered much at the hands of enemies, including sabotage from his own son.
And, after God's deliverance in each instance, it seems David used this song as a way to celebrate God's help.
But God wants to be your rock as well.
God is not silent and unmoving - those aren't the elements a rock conveys about God.
But there are many other ways in which a rock can be a good metaphor for what God is like.
He is immense, has always been and always will be, and is unchanging.
For an ancient near east person like David, all those elements are what massive rocks seemed to be.
Without modern cranes and machinery, massive rocks were immense and immovable.
And to the naked eye, massive rocks never changed, even if the landscape around them did.
But here, in this psalm, what did David mean?
He Is Our Resting Place
Remember, David was familiar with life in the barren desert wilderness of Israel.
He'd spent years on the open range as a shepherd from Bethlehem and more years on the run because of the insane jealousy of King Saul.
And out under that scorching sun, David learned to appreciate the presence of a rock.
Not only could it provide shade, but it might provide water or vegetation.
When the spring rains poured down, the heat would quickly kill off anything that grew in the desert regions.
But sometimes, on the shady side of a large rock, a bit of water could collect, and grass might even grow, making it a perfect place to rest, recover, drink, and feed the animals.
Just the sight of a large rock in a harsh desert environment would encourage travellers in that era.
Isaiah alluded to this facet of the rock when he talked about God's workers being "like the shade of a great rock in a weary land" (Is. 32:32).
And God was often a resting place for David.
In his early years, it seems he was forgotten and possibly despised by his father.
Given the destiny of sheep care, David found rest in God time and time again while out under the sun and stars.
He wrote prayers and sang songs to Yahweh.
Neglected by his family, David found solace with his Father in heaven.
But the comfort and rest God provided in those early days proved to be foundational for David.
He handled the scorching heat of Goliath's taunts, Saul's madness, and Absalom's rebellion by finding rest in God.
There, in God, David found everything he needed to endure.
God filled him up. God strengthened him. God energized him.
And after being recharged, David would trudge out into whatever life threw at him.
><(((°>
This is an edited version.
The full article is avaiable on request
Nate Holdridge
I am a pretty simple guy.
I love God. I love his word. I love the gospel.
And I like to talk and write about it everywhere I can, including on this site.
It is an honour to have you here. I hope the text, audio, or video housed here will point you to Jesus.
This life isn't easy, but it can be beautiful, and I believe God does his finest work in those who seek him in his word.
And maybe-just maybe-something I say or write will help you know him better.
During the Interregnum
March 2025 to ....
Contact the Benefice Office
E-mail:
thebeneficeofbhkandr at gmail dot com
Contact the Benefice Office
Sunday School Rooms, Church Lane,
BUGBROOKE, Northampton, NN7 3PB
Land Line: 01604 830373
E-mail:
thebeneficeofbhkandr at gmail dot com
Mon., Tues., Wed., Thur.
9:00am to 11:30am
For Baptism bookings (Christenings)
to arrange an appointment please contact
the Benefice Office.
For Wedding bookings:
please contact the Benefice Office to arrange
an appointment.
Who Made This?
Seeing as you asked, if you can give helpful
advice or report factual corrections and
'deliberate mistakes',email:-
regparker3 at gmail dot com
Email addresses shown using words in an
attempt to avoid 'spam',
Type the email address replacing 'at' with '@',
and 'dot' with '.'
|