1 I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies. Psalm 18:1-3 (NKJV)
The Lord is my strength is the theme of this psalm. Each line tells us something about how this is true. For example, in verse 2, we are told “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.” Separating out the ideas within the verse, we find that three separate descriptive images:
1. Rock
2. Fortress
3. Deliverer
Each of these taken alone would be a great promise–a great character trait for God. But we see the three-fold majesty of Adonai in these verses. God is my Rock–that is to say, the foundation under me–that on which I am built. He is not shifting sand underneath me, but pure bedrock–immovable, unshakable, and unbreakable. He is eternal and unchanging.
Then I read that God is my Fortress–I understand that Adonai is my castle, the thick walls of protection around me. He is not merely in front as my shield (See Psalm 18:2b, 2 Samuel 22:3, Psalm 3:3) or behind as my rear guard (See Isaiah 52:12 and 58:5)–for He is both, but He is also all around me–a protection that encircles me.
Deliverer speaks of my escape. Fortresses can be taken or overrun, but God will be there to be my way of escape, my hiding place. (See Psalm 32:7)
These verses not only give this great insight into the character of God, but they also suggest the appropriate responses for us:
1. Love
2. Trust
2. Call
I will love You, O Lord, my strength. For God love is an action word. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 reminds us that love suffers long, rejoices in truth, bears all things, believes all things, and so on. This is the love that instructs our love. As He gives us strength, we respond in love. In the economy of God, love is manifest through obedience. (See Deuteronomy 7:9, John 14:15)
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. A castle is only as good as the confidence its inhabitants have in it. If I don’t believe the fortress will hold, I will run out of it, into the open field and be destroyed. If I don’t believe the deliverer will come, I will try to save myself.
Shield suggests that one might be a way from the fortress–in the throws of battle. In battle, the shield is the miniature fortress–it may be all that separates me from the blows of the enemy, blows intended to kill or maim me.
Horn speaks of strength. It is used in the Hebrew Bible many times as a metaphoric expression of physical and spiritual power.
Stronghold is a synonym for fortress or castle. It speaks as those words do of defense, protection, and safety.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies. In this verse, I am reminded that because of all that God is to me and does/has done for me, I will call upon God (who is worthy) and through Him I will be saved from my enemies. Again, God is the answer to the dilemma–His is the One who will save. He is faithful and He will be there to answer when I call.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Rooted and Grounded 