The rock that is higher than I.

Isaiah 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.  What a comfort we have, knowing that God is omnipresent. Even when it seems that He is far off, He is there with us. He hears our prayers and our cries for help. Even more, He is omniscient. In Matthew 6:8 Jesus says:  Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. In Matthew 16:13-19 it says:  Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”  The rock that God leads us to, the rock that is higher than we are, is the revelation that Jesus is the Christ. Upon that rock, Jesus builds His church. On that foundation, believing in Jesus, we have confidence and security in every circumstance. In John 16:33 Jesus says: “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

The psalmist says:  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.  We have confidence and peace knowing that not only will God protect us, but He will also fight for us. While we take refuge and shelter in Him, He fights our battles for us. Even more, in John 19:30, when Jesus was on the cross, He said:  “It is finished!”  The outcome of our struggle is already determined. It is finished. It is fully accomplished in the cross. We are still engaged in battles with the enemy, but he is a defeated enemy. Romans 8:31-39 says:  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?  Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? …  But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  He is our rock and our refuge, our savior and deliverer.

The psalmist says:  For 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.  What is our vow to God?  It is that in response to His love for us, demonstrated in the cross, we love Him in return. 1 John 4:19 says: We love, because He first loved us.  In John 14:15;21;23-24  Jesus says:  “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments… He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him… If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”   Day by day, our vow to God is that we would be obedient to Him and that we would praise His name forever.

Amen. Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit; You are my rock and refuge. You are my Savior and deliverer. By the power of the Holy Spirit, I will live day by day in obedience to You and I will praise Your name forever.  Amen.