The rock that is higher than I

Psalm 61 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Confidence in God’s Protection.  A Psalm of David.

Hear my cry, O God;
Give heed to my prayer.
² From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
³ For You have been a refuge for me,
A tower of strength against the enemy.
⁴ Let me dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah.

⁵ For You have heard my vows, O God;
You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name.
⁶ You will prolong the king’s life;
His years will be as many generations.
⁷ He will abide before God forever;
Appoint lovingkindness and truth that they may preserve him.
⁸ So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may pay my vows day by day.

The psalmist says:  Hear my cry, O God; Give heed to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.    There are not many things in our lives that we can count on as being unchanging and dependable. The cultural norms of our society change rapidly. There are no longer clear lines between right and wrong or between good and evil. In fact we have become a culture and society which often chooses evil over good, only we no longer call it evil. We have renamed things that were abhorrent a few generations ago and renamed them as normal, good and right. Most things change, and many rapidly, but God remains the same. He is unchanging. He is still a rock that we can stand on when times are difficult, when our hearts are faint. He says:  Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.   Some in our nation, our society and our culture, who still believe in God, say “God Bless America.”  Yet as a nation, a society and a culture we have done the very thing that God says will bring woe not blessing.

The psalmist says:   You have been a refuge for me, A tower of strength against the enemy. Let me dwell in Your tent forever; Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.   This nation was birthed as one nation under God, acknowledging that God is our creator, our provider and our protector. We now have made many things our gods. We can no longer cry out to; seek refuge in and the shelter of a God we do not acknowledge. In many ways although our government was formed as one nation under God, government has raised itself above God. It has believed it can usurp the authority and sovereignty of God. Government has become or at least tried to become God. While they have passed laws to destroy the moral fiber of our nation and even passed laws restricting the acknowledgment of the true God, they have not become God. They are only ungodly human rulers. The truth is that even if we no longer view ourselves politically as one nation under God, every nation on the earth, all people are subject to the authority and sovereignty of God. As Daniel 2:21 says:   It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to men of understanding.   We cannot successfully even predict what will happen in the coming seasons. Yet with man’s wisdom they try to warn us about what will happen in the coming decades if we do not bow to the whims of the government. The government has created a generation who is dependent on it for provision. It has created a generation who does not know the power, the protection and the provision of the true God. Still it is the eternal God, the God who is, who was and who is to come, who has authority over this upstart nation which has existed for a couple of hundred years; this government who has turned its back on God over the last fifty years. God is the one who has outlasted every previous human government and He is the one who will outlast this one too. We can choose whether or not we will follow God and be obedient to Him, but we cannot choose whether or not we will be subject to His authority.   

The psalmist says:   You have heard my vows, O God; You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name. You will prolong the king’s life; His years will be as many generations. He will abide before God forever; Appoint lovingkindness and truth that they may preserve him. So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may pay my vows day by day. The government will lie and will break its promises to people. It will change the rules, the requirements and the benefits to suit itself. God’s promises on the other hand are unchanging. He offers provision, protection, peace and refuge to all who will come to Him.  

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, precious Holy Spirit; Hear my cry, O God; Give heed to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a refuge for me, A tower of strength against the enemy. Let me dwell in Your tent forever; Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Thank You for Your unchanging, steadfast love. You alone are my King and my God. In You alone I trust and take refuge.    Amen.