Praise the Lord, my Rock

[Bible Verses]

II Samuel 22:1-4

David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

"The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—
from violent men you save me.

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

[My reflections]

David's life was by no means an easy one. He did not always have smooth sailing. As a shepherd boy, he had to fight with wild animals to protect his sheep. Later, he spent many days in the battlefields. For years, he was chased by Saul, who was jealous and afraid of him. Even after David became the king, he spent many troublesome days, with wars on the outside and rebellions within. Yet, through them all, he relied on the Lord and overcame the troubles. II Samuel chapters 22 and 23 have recorded the song that David sang after all the days of trouble.

In the song, David used many different expressions to exalt the Lord God. One of the expressions was that the Lord is his rock. The expression "rock" has many meanings in the Bible. First, the Rock refers to the Almighty God. There is no other Rock than the Lord (Psalm 18:31). The Rock most appropriately refers to the Second Person of God, the Son of God (I Corinthians 10:4). Second, the Rock carries the connotation of salvation and fortress, a place where one can take refuge (Psalm 40:2, 62:2-7, 94:22). Third, the Rock is the source of the living water, that is, the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 10:4, John 7:38-39). Fourth, the Rock is the foundation of the church (Matthew 16:18), a place of worship (Judges 6:20, 13:19), and individually is a foundation of a house that can be made strong with keeping of the words (Matthew 7:24-25). However, to those who do not obey, the rock is a stumbling stone (Isaiah 8:14, Romans 9:33, I Peter 2:8).

Just as David described in II Samuel 22:5, there are times when I feel as if the waves of death swirl around me and the torrents of destruction overwhelm me. Even at such times, my strong fortress where I can take refuge is my Rock, my God. My help comes from the Lord (Psalm 121) and I lift up my praises to Him.