Imagine you are
traveling during biblical times, or you are a warrior in David’s army, you
notice an overwhelming force coming at you. You see the army of your enemy
coming down on you right where you are with such anger, hate, and violence. You
are all alone—you look around and see that you stand in the path of this
terrible force—you have no chance of survival. What can you do except stand and
fight and be surely killed?
During biblical
times there were fortresses, castles, or strongholds where the king and his
army would, if necessary, retreat and be able to defend from within the walls
of their refuge. When a king received news that an opposing army was marching
to attack and plunder his kingdom, he would send out word for all of his subjects
to retreat to within the walls of the fortress. When the word spread of this
oncoming attack, the people would then pack all of their valuables and hightail
it to the fortress in the hopes of making it on time, before being overtaken by
the aggressing army, to take refuge within its walls.
Some strongholds
had a fortress within a fortress. It was a place where the king and his army
would make their last stand if the outside walls of the stronghold had been
breached. These strongholds served to give people hope that they would be able
to withstand an attack on their kingdom. It gave them a sense of security to
know that they could always retreat within the walls of the fortress. All
through the land fortresses could be seen from great distances because of their
immense size.
Some of these
fortresses were carved into a mountain or sometimes they were a cave where the
king would hide, such as in the case of David when he was hiding from King
Saul. Saul was seeking to kill David, so David would hide by day and travel at
night to stay out of sight.
David hid in the caves of the mountain ranges in the En-gedi, such as Wady
Charitun, which at one time sheltered thirty thousand warriors from their
enemy.
Fortresses served as places of protection and hope.
Now imagine you
are going about your day in your normal life and your phone rings. It’s your
wife; she tells you that the bank has sent notice that they are going to
foreclose on your home because you have missed a few payments. We all know that
the economy is taking its toll on our finances. Imagine your wife tells you
that the doctor said that you two will never be able to have a baby and start a
family of your own.
Imagine that
your car has broken down and you have no money to fix it; it is your only transportation.
You ask your friend for a ride every morning to work but he is unreliable and
sometimes you are late, or you just do not have a way into work. Your boss is
tired of this problem and he lets you go, he fires you. Now you cannot pay your
bills because you do not have a job, and you cannot fix your car to go look for
a job. This is not really too big of a deal for those of us who live in a city
where there is a public transportation system, but it could spell real trouble
for someone in a rural area.
You are being
overwhelmed and you do not know if you can take it anymore. You need somewhere
that you can retreat and call your stronghold to help you face your problems
head on. So today we are going to be looking at Psalm 62, more specifically
verses 5-6, to see what we can learn that will help us in our daily struggles.
It is important for
us to understand the type of literature that the verses we are studying come
from. We read a newspaper differently than we do a novel. When we read a
history book, we do not approach it as if we were reading a poem. So we must
first present what type of literature Psalm 62 is.
The Psalms in
general are poetic writings, or hymns. They represent the way that the Hebrews
worshiped God. They can be seen today as a modern hymnal.
Knowing this aids us in understanding what the author is presenting to the
reader.
So now we know
not to approach the psalms as a history book, for example, because the author
does not intend for us to discover historical facts within the verses, but
instead worship that is given to God. In general the psalms can be broken down
into psalms of lament and psalms of praise.
This particular
psalm would fall under the lament category of psalms, but to do it justice this
psalm is served better by calling it a psalm of confidence. This psalm was
written at the time when Absalom, David’s son, had rebelled against his father
the King and had taken Jerusalem from his father and driven David out of the
city.
In this psalm David is speaking metaphorically when he calls God his rock, his
stronghold, and his refuge. We will be focusing on God as a stronghold in this
study, because at times in our lives we need to know that we have hope and
protection.
What does David mean
when he calls God his stronghold? From the beginning of his rule as the King of
Israel, from the time that Samuel had anointed David as the King, he has had to
be on the run from King Saul. Saul wanted to kill David out of jealousy. However,
at the time that David is writing this psalm, Psalm 62, he is running from his
oldest son, Absalom. David calls God his stronghold for a very good reason. When
we look in the Bible at the word “stronghold” as it is used here in Psalm 62 we
begin to see what David means by this metaphor.
In second Samuel,
David wrote a psalm of deliverance wherein he says that God is his rock, his
fortress, his deliverer in who he takes refuge (2Sam 22:2-3a). He goes on to
say that God is his shield, the horn of his salvation, his stronghold, and his
refuge (2Sam 22:3b). He ends verse three by calling God his savior, who saved
him from violence (2Sam 22:3c). In verse one of this same chapter of second
Samuel, it is explained that David wrote this psalm the day that the Lord saved
him from all of his enemies including King Saul. Here we see the
acknowledgement that God is in control and He delivers those that are His from
all of their enemies.
David also says
that God is a stronghold for those who are oppressed, and in times of trouble
He delivers His people (Psalm 9:9). In Psalm 9 David is thankful for God’s
judgment against his enemies and he writes that God can be trusted because He
is a stronghold for the oppressed and He is a stronghold in times of trouble.
Furthermore, David
writes that God is a stronghold and a refuge in the day of his distress (Psalm
59:16). In Psalm 59 David is asking for deliverance from his enemies and
concludes the psalm with the proclamation that he will sing praises to God for
being his stronghold. In Psalm 144 David says that God is his lovingkindness,
his fortress, his stronghold, his deliverer, his shield, and the one in who he
takes refuge (Psalm 144:2).
We get the idea
that God is where we should turn in times of trouble and distress. Times where
we do not know what to do and have no clue how we are going to make it through
any of our problems. God is the stronghold we can run to when attacked. He is
the fortress that the army seeks shelter in during a war, so to speak.
In Webster’s
Collegiate Dictionary the definition for stronghold is: a fortified place, a
place of security or survival.
From our study here we come up with a similar definition, except our stronghold
is not a place; our stronghold is God. God provides us with security and the
means of survival in the world by His constant watch over us. God as our
stronghold sustains us from all kinds of evil and attacks that can be hurled at
us by the world. His high impregnable walls surround us day and night. We can
find safety inside of His walls, safety from the arrows that are launched at us
by the enemy.
In applying what
we have learned to our lives, we need to remember three things. The first thing
to remember is that God is in control. In other words God is sovereign. This
means that God is King; He is the supreme ruler and lawgiver of the entire
universe. Nothing happens without God’s knowledge. The Bible says that God is the ruler over the
kingdoms of men and that He does with it as He pleases (Dan 4:17). Knowing this,
we can be assured that whatever happens to us, God knows it and sees it.
The second thing
to remember is that God is merciful. This means that although we do not deserve
His mercy, God has compassion on us and extends His mercy towards us anyway. Because
God is merciful, He will ensure that there will be justice for those that are
His; for the oppressed and the persecuted.
The third and
last thing to remember is that God loves us. This one goes kind of hand in hand
with merciful. Because God loves us he has compassion to extend His mercy
towards us. God will not deny us protection or provision if we are His
children. John writes in the New Testament that God’s love made it possible for
God to present His son as an atoning sacrifice for us (1John 4:10). If God’s
love for us allowed Him to do that for us, then we can be sure that He will be
our stronghold.
Remembering
these three things aids us in applying our lesson, for it is because of these three
things that we make God our stronghold and why David can metaphorically call
Him his stronghold. God is God and there is no other; He is in control and
nothing can harm Him. He is the fortress of all fortresses that stands in the
way of the arrows that the enemy throws at us; a fortress that is an
impregnable force in which we can hide and seek security when attacked by the
enemy.
This does not
mean that nothing will happen to you when you turn to God for protection. The
Bible never says that we will not be harmed by the enemy, but actually it tells
us to expect to be harmed. When we obey God’s Word and dedicate our lives to Him,
the enemy attacks full force. The fiery arrows that the enemy throws our way
come fast and are many.
In ancient times
when armies attacked a fortress and the people poured into the gates of the fortress
for safety (due to the tall, strong walls), there were still some that were
wounded and even died. In the same sense, we can expect to be wounded by the
enemy. However, God always stands as our stronghold; He has His plan that we
all must live by. Although we may get wounded, He is always there to heal us
and protect us according to His plan.
When the King
sent out word for the people to retreat to the fortress to prepare for the
oncoming attack by an aggressing army, the people ran for safety inside of the
fortress. In the same way we must turn to God and trust Him for our protection
when we come under attack.
When your wife
calls you and tells you that the bank is going to foreclose on your home,
remember that God will work it out according to His plan and provide the safety
that you need from this problem in your life. When the doctor tells you and
your wife that you two will never have a baby of your own, remember that your
stronghold, which is God, will provide the security that you need. This is not
to say that God will stop these things from happening, but He will provide you
with the strength to overcome these things and to bounce back from them.
When you pray it
would be right to acknowledge God as your stronghold in your prayers. God was
David’s stronghold in David’s time and He is our stronghold in our time. So
acknowledging that He is our stronghold is the right thing to do. God does not
leave you alone to handle troubled times on your own. He is there providing you
with the strength to overcome by being your stronghold who you can retreat into
for security. Pray to God and acknowledge Him as your stronghold, because He
is.
In ancient days
as armies retreated into their fortress they had trust and confidence that they
would survive the onslaught that the aggressing army was about to unleash. Today
as we go through our daily struggles of disappointments, temptations, and
attacks, we can retreat into our fortress (God) because He sustains us and
keeps us secure from harm according to His plan.
David, in this
same psalm, also writes in verse eight to trust in God at all times and that God
is a refuge for us. The word refuge means shelter; similar to stronghold. So
whatever ails us, whatever is happening in our lives, no matter the attack
coming from the enemy, we have a stronghold that we can retreat into. God our
stronghold is always there, Amen.
