Letters of Hope

 Greetings!

“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. 

“I will call upon the Lord Who is worthy to be praised;  so shall I be saved from my enemies.”   (Psalm 18:2-3)

I recently found myself singing these verses from Psalm 18, the chorus ending with the last phrase of verse 1:  “I will love Thee, O Lord, my Strength.”

In my growing passion to consider what a word actually means, or what a statement really says, it occurred to me that it would be a good idea to consider each of the seven graphic titles which the Psalmist ascribes to God in that second verse.

Right in the centre of the list, David declares that Jehovah (the self-existent and eternal Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of life and the universe) is “my God, in whom I trust.”

The titles listed in this verse are all expressive of impregnability and reflect the dominance of this thought during the years when David was hunted and threatened by King Saul.

First, David claims Jehovah to be “my Rock:”  A rock symbolizes a firm support or source of strength.  In the Old Testament rock symbolizes the security and defense of a steep and inaccessible refuge.  Similarly, it is used of an immovable foundation (Ps. 40:2).  To remove the rock is equivalent to shaking the world (Job. 18:4)  In an interplay of these symbols it is not surprising to find God spoken of as a Rock who gives security and safety to His people.  In another Psalm (62:6) David states emphatically, “He only is my Rock and my Salvation;  He is my Defense;  I shall not be moved.” 

Second, David describes Him as “my Fortress:”  A fortress is a fortified enclosure or structure capable of defense against an enemy;  a place of security;  a stronghold.  The Living Bible paraphrase adds “no-one can follow me in and slay me!”  In the 71st Psalm, David prays, “You be my strong habitation whereunto I may continually resort;  You have given commandment to save me, for You are my Rock and my Fortress.“  And again, in Psalm 91:2:  “I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress;  my God;  in Him will I trust.”

Third, David refers to Jehovah as “my Deliverer“ – one who rescues, sets free, or liberates.  Many times, David experienced the deliverance of the Lord – from the lion and from the bear;  from the giant Goliath and from the hand of jealous King Saul; and from all of his enemies who sought to dethrone him.  (Ps. 144:2)

Fourth, David constantly depends on Jehovah as “my Strength“ in Whom he put his trust.  The Lord was David’s Source of sustaining and protective power.  He did not rely on his own human strength, for he realized it was not adequate.  In something like seventy quotations, the Psalmist declares Jehovah to be his strength (might, power).  For example, “God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect.”  (2 Sam. 22:33)

Fifth, he considered Jehovah to be “my Buckler.”  A buckler was a shield used in warfare as a means of defense or protection.  There were two types of bucklers which were commonly used.  There was a large shield adapted to cover the whole body, either oval or rectangular, like a door.  This was carried by the heavy-armed infantry.  The small shield was carried by archers  In the armor of God which we are instructed to put on, the shield represents faith.  (Eph. 6:11-18)

Sixth, David describes Jehovah as “the Horn of my Salvation.”  Horns symbolize power.  Again, the Living Bible paraphrase says, “He is like the strong horn of a mighty fighting bull.”  However, this may well be a metaphor based on the horns of the altar as the place of atonement.  The sacrificial blood was smeared on these and they were regarded as places of refuge.

The Seventh Title was “my High Tower.”  The Tower was a place of safety, security or defense.  A major defense feature of a walled city was an excellent stone tower, sometimes as large as 9 meters in diameter with a central stairway.  Towers strengthened the walls and offered a vantage point of defense.  During a visit to England a number of years ago, we saw the medieval Clifford’s Tower in the city of York.  We climbed the 78 steps up the hill to the tower itself.  It had been used as a defense of the city during the English Wars of the Roses.  (1445-1485)  It may have been different than the towers built in David’s time, but it gave us an idea of what a High Tower might be like and, to say the least, it was very impressive.

“I will call upon the Lord, Who is worthy to be praised;  so shall I be saved from my enemies.” (verse 3)

We may not have the same kinds of enemies that the warrior King David had.  But we may be attacked by other more subtle enemies of our souls:  fear, doubt, temptation, discouragement, depression, “the fiery darts of the wicked,” “the wiles of the devil,”   So we are exhorted by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesian Church, “…be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.”  The wonderful thing is that it’s when we are weakest that His strength is most evident.  Again, it was Paul who quoted the Lord Jesus as saying, “…My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in (your) weakness.”  (2 Cor. 12:9) He is all that is needed for our sure defense: our Rock, our Fortress, our Deliverer, our Strength, our Shield, the Horn of our Salvation, our High Tower.

 ”I will love Thee, O Lord, my Strength.”  (verse:1)

Let us be encouraged in the Lord and join the Psalmist in our own declaration that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  (Ps. 46:1)

In Agape, Eulene

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Dear Ones,

There is a wonderfully reassuring passage in the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian Church (10:13). 

 ”No temptation has taken you but such as is common to man:  but God is faithful Who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able to bear, but will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.”  The Amplified Version gives the thought that, “with the temptation He will provide the way out – THE MEANS OF ESCAPE TO A LANDING PLACE – that you may be capable and strong and powerful, patiently to bear up under it.”

This verse always reminds me of my experiences when trying to swim.  I am not a good swimmer (one of those cases of perhaps knowing the theory but being incapable of applying it.)   When swimming in a lake, I remember the feeling of panic whenever I got beyond my depth.  I would dog-paddle furiously until I could feel a landing place for my feet.  What a relief it was to feel solid ground under me and know that, if I couldn’t swim, I could at least wade back to shore.

            “Praise the Lord!  Not a way out, so as to be free of the situation, but a way made TO A LANDING PLACE, where we might stand solid on the Word of truth, and be able to patiently bear up under it.  We are not absolved from carrying the load, but we are brought to a place where we can stand firm, undergirded by the Spirit of truth, supported by the knowledge that God is in control, and by His grace be able to bear it through to a successful conclusion of victory.

            “This is in harmony with James 1:2, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations (testings, trials].”   Thus one scholar gives, ‘Is your life full of difficulties and temptations?  Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow…a process that leads to overcoming, that we might be found to His praise, honor, and glory.”

(Borrowed from “Daily Overcoming” by Ray Prinzing)

I firmly believe that all of this life’s experiences are to prepare us for the next life and all the glorious things which God has prepared for them that love Him.  When the ‘waters’ get too deep, and our inability to ‘swim’ is gone, He provides a ‘landing place’ where we can stand firm.  “Stand therefore…and having done all, stand!”   (Eph. 6:13)

Yes, as Moses said to the people at the brink of the Red Sea with the waves dashing before them, the mountains on either side, and Pharaoh’s army behind them, “Fear not!  Stand still!  And see the salvation of the Lord which He will show to you today…”  “And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.  And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground.”  They walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left!  (Exodus 14:13, 21-29)

The writer to the Hebrews tells us that “by faith they passed through the Red Sea as by DRY LAND…”  The Lord provided solid ground for the multitude to journey in their escape to a landing place at the other side of the sea.  It is interesting to note that the same sea that saved the Israelites was the destruction of the enemy.

The following hymn was written before I was born, and I have sung it most all of my life, but the truth of the words is so enduring, that it means more to me today than it ever did:-

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God!

Standing on the promises of Christ my Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by Love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God!

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
List’ning ev’ry moment to the Spirit’s call,
Resting in my Savior as my All in All,
Standing on the promises of God!

“Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand upon the Rock.”  (Ex. 33:21)

The place of God’s Grace is a landing place
When the waters o’erwhelm the soul;
The rock of God’s Love holds us high above
The billows that break on the shoal.

If you ever feel ‘beyond your depth’ trust in Him to provide that means of escape to A LANDING PLACE – that you may be strong and able to bear up under it.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ we also “have access by faith into this GRACE WHEREIN WE STAND, and we rejoice in HOPE of the Glory of God.”  (Rom. 5:2)

The joys and rewards of overcoming are incalculable!

In Agape, Eulene

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Dear Friends,

I was asked one time a few years ago to give my testimony at a Women’s Aglow meeting.  My first thought was, “What can I give for a ‘testimony?’ I have no outstanding life story to tell.  I’ve had no dramatic deliverance from drug addition;  no spectacular rescue from a blatantly sinful manner of life;  no return from a prodigal lifestyle;  no reconciliation of a failed marriage;  no recovery of a failed business.  What ‘testimony’ do I have?

Then the Lord gently reminded me that my testimony was as valid and blessèd as any of these:  “I brought you to Myself as a child – and kept you from the evils of the world!”

The first testimony I ever gave was in a little store-front mission in Moose-Jaw, Saskatchewan, where I was ‘born again,’ together with my parents, at the age of eight.  It was a confession of faith in Christ, and included the last verse of the 23^rd Psalm which I had just memorized:  “Surely Goodness and Mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” Now, after these many years, it is the same – as well as also applying in the past tense:  “Surely Goodness and Mercy have followed me all the days of my life…”

Essentially, my testimony is found in six words from 1 Peter 1:5:  “…kept by the Power of God…”  It is a wonderful passage, beginning with Verse 3:  “Blessèd be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who, according to His abundant mercy, has begotten us again unto a LIVING HOPE by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you Who are KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

If you (like I) have had what the world would deem to be an uneventful and mundane life, with no spectacular accomplishments, no profound performances, no fame or fortune, no exotic travels, no noteworthy successes, no seemingly special skills, just remember that God has not chosen the wise, the mighty, or the noble of the world, but he has chosen the foolish and the weak to confound the wise and the mighty.  (1 Cor. 1:26-29)    I think we would have to say that most of us fall into that category, and His purpose in this is that “no flesh should glory (or boast) in His Presence.” 

Florence Nightingale must have had some understanding of this.  She is quoted as saying, “I am of certain convinced that the greatest heroes are those who do their duty in the daily grind of domestic affairs whilst the world whirls as a maddening dreidel.”  (Yes, I had to go to the World Book Dictionary to learn what a “dreidel” is.  You may be interested to know that a dreidel is a “top, spun with the fingers, that has four sides marked with Hebrew letters, and is played with on the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.”  It may also be used to play a game of chance.)

What is required of us is faithfulness.  Jesus said that “He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much.”  (Luke 16:10)   “Moreover,” Paul wrote, “it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.”  (1 Cor. 4:2)  He extended Grace and peace “from God, our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ” to the “faithful in Christ Jesus.”  (Eph. 1:1,2;  Col. 1:2)

And the Apostle John saw in his revelation of The Lord’s Day, those who were “… with the Lamb, (the Lord of lords, and King of kings), called and chosen and faithful.”  (Rev. 17:14)

My childhood was back in those wonderful days when school readers still contained quality, character-building stories, poetry and Scripture passages.  One that I had to memorize in about the third or fourth grade was Psalm 121:

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills.  From whence comes my help?  My help comes from the LORD Who made heaven and earth.  He will not allow your foot to be moved;  He Who keeps you will not slumber.  Behold, He Who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.  The LORD is your keeper;  the LORD is your shade upon your right hand.  The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night.  The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;  He shall preserve your soul.  The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.”

This is my testimony seventy years later.  That Psalm has been so wonderfully true in my life.  He truly is our Keeper, promising to

keep us from falling,  (Jude 1:24)
keep us from evil,   (2 Thess. 3:3)
keep us in all our ways,  (Psalm 91:11)
keep us in perfect peace, and  (Isaiah 26:3)
keep our hearts and minds (Phil. 4:7)
keep all that we commit to Him.  (2 Tim. 1:12)

As we continually put our trust in Him, His Word leads us when we go, keeps us when we sleep, and talks with us when we awake!  (Proverbs 6:20-23)

“…kept by the power of God…”

In Agape, Eulene

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